Next of Kin (1989) Review

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(More customer reviews)Quick - can you name a movie that has Ben Stiller, Patrick Swayze, Helen Hunt, Liam Neeson, Bill Paxton, and Adam Baldwin in it? Probably not, as most people can't, and what a shame. "Next Of Kin" is a fine portrayal of the "Eastern Mountain Way" as well as the love of family and the bond of brothers.
I enjoyed this movie greatly. Although the plot has been somewhat rehashed many times the performances here stir emotion. Especially Liam Neeson's. If not for his performance in this movie I probably would have given it 4 stars, but he shines brightly here. The loyalty and love of his character combined with the contempt and anger of his character, what a great performance.
When this movie first came out I didn't even know it. I don't know how it fell off the radar screen before ever being noticed but it is cerainly worth a look.
Buy it - enjoy it, over and over.

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A Chicago policeman and his Appalachian kinfolk seek to exact vengeance from the gangsters responsible for murdering his younger brother.

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The Waltons: The Complete Second Season (1973) Review

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(More customer reviews)Other reviewers have thoroughly reviewed the details of the Waltons first year on TV with titles and plot descriptions, so I won't elaborate further. Instead, I will tell you why I feel this DVD set is perhaps is the best series that ever aired on TV, and is true family entertainment.
The Waltons first aired in 1972 on CBS. It was considered "hokey" by some of the critics of the day, yet it captured the hearts of the viewers and went on to be one of the finest long-running series on TV. It captured peoples hearts because it told stories of real people, real people in a family that loved and cared for each other. Although many of the stories are of course fictional, the writer, Earl Hamner (who is actually John-boy), weaves fiction with real-life drama and shows how his loving family dealt with the hard times they grew up in, and how they related to each other with love. In essence, the Waltons shows the viewer what all of us would like our families to be like. One cannot help caring about the characters because Hamner does such a great job of developing their unique personalities for us. The actors and actresses that play his family are perfect for the parts, and even though many of them are just children, their realistic acting makes one believe they are actually a real family. The series is carried on the shoulders of three central characters, John-Boy (Richard Thomas), his mother Olivia Walton (Michael Learned), and Father John Walton (played by Ralph Waite). All three are absolutely superb in their respective roles, and earned honors and accolades for their depiction of Hamner's family. When these three characters eventually left ths show in later years, the show itself folded.
If you have never seen The Waltons on TV, my suggestion is that you buy the first season shows before viewing the second season set. Although not entirely necessary, as each show is a complete story, the first season will unveil the general themes and storylines that help you to better understand the characters and their dire economic situation (the Great Depression). You will also learn that although the Waltons had little money, they were not "poor" when it came to their bond of family love for one another. The second season, (24 episodes) is just as good as the first season, with family stories that will capture your heart. The second season won several awards, an emmy for Michael Learned (Olivia Walton) and an emmy for writer Joanna Lee for her script, "The Thanksgiving Story".
I watch the Walton shows with my own 6 children and even in these modern days with so many other distractions, my kids are thrilled with the stories. Each child relates to a particular Walton child, and after finishing an episode, they beg to watch another. I hope that they will learn family values by watching the Walton family interact with each other. I know that I have garnered some parenting tips from John Walton.
Television does not get better than The Waltons. I recommend this series for those viewers who desire more family values and less violence, sex, and questionable language and topics in their tv viewing. This is true family values TV, and I wish we had something like it today. The Waltons will capture your heart, and you will come to love the characters and care about them. Thank you Earl Hamner for sharing your lovely family with us!
Jim "Konedog" Koenig


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WALTONS:COMP 2ND SSN - DVD Movie

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True Women (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hallmark Entertainment offers a sweeping drama about the three women living in the South, from the time of "Alamo" to the Civil War. I am afraid that your teacher of history cannot allow you to use this TV series as a text for American history, and that is simply because it is too melodramatic, in the fashion of that famous Margaret Michell's book. The story is too fast; the characters are too many; but the film never stops, and something happens every ten minutes -- war, lynch, dead bodies (including children), commentary about slavery, rights for women to vote, human rights for native Americans. In a sense, this is a modern version of "Gone with the Wind" with smaller scale.
Georgia and Euphemia are good friends, but the latter is forced to leave her in order to go to Texas (until then, it takes only ten minutes). The film traces the life of the two women separately until their reunion of many years later. Now Georgia and Euphemia (with her independent sister) are both grown up, after the happy and sad times, and as you will expect, their environments changed what they once were; though they know they are no longer the best friends who played together by the peaceful riverside, they come to understand each other after the many plights of life in time of war.
There are so many events that happen every five minutes (as the editorial review say rightly) that it is impossible for me to summerize the whole story. The film goes just like turning pages of paperbacks: now you see delightful scenes, and suddenly, a war or epidemic breaks out. Now you see Georgia meets a man, and next, you see their pledge of love. The film gives no time to think. But that is probably the point.
So, it would be best for us to see the actors. Angelina Jolie and Anabeth Gish are both good, and it is a bit surprise that their characters in childhood are played respectively by lovely Rachel Leigh Cook and Tina Majorino (who stole every scene from Kevin Costenr in "Waterworld." Male character players like Powers Boothe and Tony Todd appear, alongside with Micheal York, but their roles are smaller they should be. But it is a film about women, and female players all shine, of course, with Dana Delaney.
So, see this one as such, as a melodramatic rendition of the Southern history. It is a laudable attempt to spotlight the women's roles in the Western genre, but perhaps the film gives you an impression that there is another way of describing it. My honest feeling is that "True Women" works as a melodrama, and women's life of this time, which deserve our attention more, should be treated with deeper characters and a slower story. Still intriguing.

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SPANNING 5 DECADES FROM THE TEXAS REVOLUTION THROUGH THE CIVILWAR, RECONSTRUCTION AND BEYOND IS A STORY OF LOVE, FRIENDSHIP,SURVIVAL AND TRIUMPH.

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Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All Review

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(More customer reviews)Those are among the first lines we hear from Cicely Tyson in this wonderful movie.
I freely admit that I'm a sap for old movies and old things and old times. And perhaps that's why I love this movie so much. It opens at the beginning of the 20th Century, the early 1900s. As someone who's written a couple architecture books about this period of time, I'm happy to say that the historical aspects of the movie all looked good, so I was able to just relax and enjoy the flick.
We all think that the early 1900s were a simpler time and place but this movie presents a more honest view of history, particularly as it relates to women's issues. One of the minor plot lines presents the story of a woman who has lost her children forever because she sought a divorce. Another poignant scene is where Lucy (lead character) gives up on life after a tragedy in the family.
Laying in bed, she chews on crayons and tells her husband (Donald Southerland) that she's only "fuzz on a pillow." (BTW, crayons in those days contained lead, giving them a taste not unlike sweet tarts and said to be highly addictive. That's what I loved about this movie; it got the details right.)
I've watched this movie about 20 times and even though I've memorized many of the lines, I still cry and laugh and feel touched, stirred and inspired. I love the acting, the setting, the story, the beauty, the love affair between the old "Cap'n" and his beautiful young wife. It's believable, endearing and captivating.
The acting is first rate, too. I recommend this movie 100%.
Rose
author, The Houses That Sears Built


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Item Name: Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All; Studio:Allumination

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (Three-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2010) Review

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I'm so very happy that I can recommend this one without any hesitation at all!
The last couple Harry Potter films disappointed me in a myriad of ways. My disappointment didn't cause me to hate them, but I did feel let down and I have to admit that I found Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince pretty forgettable. But, being a Potter fan, I still found myself rushing out to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I today. And to my great relief and happiness, I loved it - really loved it! Yeah!
The chase of the Seven Potters by the Death Eaters and the trip to the Ministry of Magic are tense and exciting, the endless camping trip is just as effective at portraying the helplessness and frustration the characters are experiencing as it was in the book and the scene that gives us Hermione reading Beedle the Bard's "Tale of the Three Brothers" is riveting and wonderfully creative - much, much better than I would have thought it could be. We finally get to meet Bill (and Fleur's briefly-glimpsed wedding dress is gorgeous!) and the whipped cream on top of all this goodness is that the film is much more humorous than I expected. While not everything is included, of course, I didn't come out of this film grumbling things along the lines of "How could they leave out _____?" or "Why did they add ________when it wasn't even in the danged book?" - both comments I have been known to make after viewing some of the other films. Instead, I left the theater feeling like I'd seen a relatively faithful rendering of the "real" story. And there were even one or two things that I thought the film did better than the book, most notably the interruption of Harry & Ginny's kiss. The not-in-the-book added scene of Harry and Hermione dancing was both amusing and incredibly poignant - a true highlight of the film for me.
For some reason, the enjoyment this film gave me seemed to lift some sort of weight off me - which seems a very odd thing to say, I know. I think it returned a good deal of the joy I found in the earlier films - when seeing the characters and the places come to life on the screen was so magical. (That first glimpse of Hogwarts!) In a way, I feel like I'm back *in* - that I'm once again immersed in the film version of the story in a way that more closely echoes the effect the books had on me. While the films, IMHO, can never hope to match the books, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part I, let me feel the magic again. For that I thank everyone involved with it.

I thought the acting by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson was better than it's been in any of the Potter films - they really seem to have come into their own here. Helena Bonham Carter was freakishly perfect as usual, Jason Isaacs very good and Rhys Ifans as Xenophilius Lovegood a welcome newcomer. The film sounds good - the score is a mood-setting addition to the film (especially effective, I thought, were the screeching radio sounds during many of the camping scenes) - and it looks even better. The shots of the English countryside are beautiful but often seem almost overwhelmingly empty and lonely - perfect for the story.
When it was announced that Deathly Hallows would be split into two films, I was glad because I hoped that by doing so the filmmakers would be able to do justice to the complexities of Rowling's plot. And now, having seen Part I, I feel that they've succeeded in doing just that. After this, I can look forward to the last film, not with dread, but with pleasure. And I am incredibly thrilled to be able to say that.
Very highly recommended!The following information on the DVDs is taken, with only minor edits, directly from Mugglenet:
Included on both the DVD and with the 3-Disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo Pack:
Additional Scenes
- The Burrow's Shed: Ron Discusses Radios with Mr. Weasley
- The Dursley House: Harry and Aunt Petunia As They Leave House
- The Dursley House: Harry and Dudley Shake Hands
- The Granger House: Death Eaters Search Deserted Home
- Ministry of Magic Lifts: Harry Tells Arthur He's Being Tracked
- Tent: Trio Discusses Destroying The Locket
- Rabbit Chase in the Forest
- Montage: Ron and Hermione Skimming Stones
Along with the Additional Scenes, the following are also included in the 3-Disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo Pack:
- Exclusive Sneak Peek of an opening scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
- Maximum Movie Mode: Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) and other members of the cast and crew take viewers on an interactive journey through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. Plus, revisit important moments from the previous films to prepare for the final battle that takes place in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.
- Dan, Rupert and Emma's Running Competition - While filming the escape scene from the Snatchers in Swinley Forest, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson engage in a little competition of their own. With commentary by director David Yates.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: Behind the Soundtrack
- The Seven Harrys - See how Daniel Radcliffe recreated the personalities of the different characters that transform into Harrys during the escape from Privet Drive.
- On the Green with Rupert, Tom, Oliver and James - Accompany Rupert Grint, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Oliver Phelps (George Weasley) and James Phelps (Fred Weasley) for a round of golf and get a glimpse into their 10-year friendship that developed while making the Harry Potter films.
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Promotional Trailer - Join Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and other cast members from the Harry Potter films on their first visit to the Grand Opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida.

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Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort\'s immortality and destruction – the Horcruxes. On their own and on the run, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever\'but Dark Forces in their midst threaten to tear them apart. Meanwhile the wizarding world has become a dangerous place. The long-feared war has begun and the Dark Lord has seized control of the Ministry of Magic and even Hogwarts, terrorizing and arresting all who might oppose him. The Chosen One has become the hunted one as the Death Eaters search for Harry with orders to bring him to Voldemort\'alive.

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