Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eighth Season

As always, one of the BEST on TV!
It is without reservation that I share my endless "uncurbed" enthusiasm for this series, which is easily one of the best on TV. I own the DVDs from all seasons, and usually can't wait to acquire the next one. I watch them over and over and am never bored. The brilliant improvisational acting, as well as the hilarious humor and fabulous ideas for every episode are of the highest calibre. I highly recommend every season of "Curb your enthusiasm".

"You know what you are? You're a social assassin." - Jeff
Larry David is a comical genius, and I personally can't ever imagine this show getting old. Not only is the material hilarious, but it also has a little dark humor to it. Like Seinfeld, the whole show is pretty much about "nothing." It's just about people getting wrapped up in silly, trivial issues every day, and is kind of a parody of life itself. When asked where the title of the show came from, Larry's response was: "It reflects my perception that many people seem to live their lives projecting false enthusiasm, which I believes is used to imply that "they are better than you."

Do I miss Cheryl? Yes, I do. I would have chosen to keep her in the cast, but her departure opened up a lot more opportunities to put Larry in hilarious and awkward situations with women. And Larry is the same as he is with women as he is with everyone else - he acts just like Larry. Leon is a great part of the cast - he's very "Krameresque" with his constant following of Larry wherever he...

He's a comical genius.
This season was just as hilarious as the one's with Cheryl. I especially loved the Palestinian kebab vs the Jewish deli episode. No comedy today can hold a candle to Curb.

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Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail [Blu-ray]

Robertas back...and she's angry.
Black Lagoon was an unforgettable experience thanks to its intoxicating blend of action and awesome characters. So when the series ended many were left at a loss to find a suitable replacement. But fans need worry no longer, as this set brings back the explosions , guns and characters we love so much - all in an English dub! If that isn't enough to get you excited, then the return of a certain gun wielding Spanish maid is sure to clench the deal for you.

Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail (BL:RBT) is a five episode OVA series animated by Madhouse, that centres around the character of Roberta, who previously appeared in BL season 1. Her first appearance made it clear she was not to be taken lightly as she was one of the few who could match Revy in terms of sheer madness and skills with a gun; however, in RBT we see an even more extreme version of Roberta; one which will excite and create fear at the same time.

The set begins with the death of a certain person...

Let the mayhem begin
I am a big fan of this series, have been since it first aired on STARZ. So when I got the chance to buy this I jumped at it. All of the voice actors return for this string of episodes and it has all of the blood and mayhem of previous installments. the first episode alone is well worth the price of the Blu-ray. and Roberta is one of my favorite characters so seeing a series that she takes such a large part in was very fun. I hope that they are working on more of these in the future.

A must BUY!
I have the import version of this and have waited for this to be released in English and on Blu-ray! If you watched Black Lagoon and saw Roberta...you know she's no joke. That is all!

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Les Miserables: 10th Anniversary Dream Cast

An Exemplary Tenth Anniversary Concert Receives A Noticeable (And Appreciated) Sound Upgrade
I was going to say that the eagerly anticipated film version of "Les Miserables" had brought about a resurgence of interest in the long beloved musical. But let's face it, that's simply not true. Why? Because "Les Miserables" has never faded from our minds, it is an enduring classic that simply refuses to slip into our memories. In the last few months alone, I've seen Tom Hooper's film interpretation, re-watched the 25th Anniversary Concert on PBS, and enjoyed the re-release of this 10th Anniversary Concert DVD. That's a lot of misery and heartbreak for one individual to endure! Having seen various staged versions of the musical over the past twenty years, I must admit that initially it wasn't one of my favorites. Okay, chastise me now. But with time, I've come to appreciate the piece's intricate score (and stand-out songs) with more and more reverence upon different viewings. And I am certainly now to be counted among the Les Mis fanatics!

This concert was enacted...

Now that you've seen the Film, see (and hear) the original cast members and learn the backstory.
With the new feature film version now flooding theaters across the country, it was a perfect time for BB Home Video to reissue the 10th Anniversary Concert (held in 1995 at Royal Albert Hall). As you will see from reviewer "Richard M"s review there were some minor "corrections" to the earlier release but the print has been newly remastered and will look great on any TV.

The neat thing about the concert - which fills Disc One (bonuses are on Disc Two) - is that there are members of both the London and Broadway casts and they all have singing voices. (as opposed to the 2012 movie version which has actors not known for singing - doing just that.).

My fellow reviewer - jjCeo - has already listed the detailed contents so I won't repeat those fact. I will say that if you just found Les Mis from the film version, you'll probably want this to see original cast members and see the bonus features, including the one- hour documentary on the "Making of Les Mis"

I...

Best Les Mis
This is the best version of Les Miserables out there! The original stars in key rules were all superb. I rushed to buy this after seeing the movie because these performances are superior. I love the encore the Jean Val Jeans from around the world.

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Steve Martin: The Television Stuff

a review from an owner of the set...
When I cracked this baby open , I was first wondering where the promised '79 concert in its entirety was and was fuming... until I found it buried in disc 2 after the Homage To Steve..so Excuuuuse Me! I enjoyed that show in person and can say it brought back so many fond memories...
I was around 21 when Steve Martin blew up big time as a stand up so he's my (Daniel Tosh, Dane Cook etc.) and holds a special place in my heart along with George Carlin. Steve actually ended up with the career that Carlin had wanted when he began in the late 50's early 60's which saw him move from being court jester to movie star but for my money Steve Martin has never touched in any of his movies the brilliance displayed on these 3 DVDs of lunacy...stupidity..and surprisingly intelligent comedy. Of course I also LOVE all the banjo playing. While I am so happy to have the '79 show I actually attended..the '76 show from the Troubadour was a total surprise (I didn't have HBO in '76 and didn't know...

Classic Martin and One of the Year's Best DVD Retropsectives
Steve Martin, renaissance man - writer, author, comedian, playwright, screenwriter, producer, actor, banjo player extraordinaire - is more than deserving of his own Shout! Factory retrospective, and the label's wonderful STEVE MARTIN: THE TELEVISION STUFF ranks as one of the year's most enjoyable DVD catalog retrospectives.

Available on September 18th, this three-disc set focuses primarily on the early Martin years, with his two taped concert performances and handful of network TV specials comprising the set's first two platters. Martin's stand-up is particularly noteworthy, seeing as he abandoned it in lieu of his feature-film career. In both a 1976 HBO special and a 1978 appearance at the Universal Ampitheatre (included in the 1984 home video special "Homage to Steve," along with the funny short "The Absent-Minded Waiter"), Martin shows off both his adroit comedy writing and a side of his on-screen "persona" that viewers unfamiliar with his early material will find...

Excellent package and content...
Worth the price just for Martins "Comedy Is Not Pretty" special. Still kills me to this day. Great to have his classic stuff all in one spot. The new interviews and comments from Steve Martin really highlight the discs and makes this another winner from Shout Video.

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Gladiator

How to definitively know you got the remastered version
Pay very careful attention when trying to determine which disc you actually received from Amazon. There's conflicting information on the internet as far as the telltale signs of the remastered disc versus the original crappy transfer. For example, most people tell you the packaging for the new version has a yellow UPC....not always true. Other people tell you the copyright on the back bottom right of the box says 2010 DW Studios LLC instead of the original which says 2009, also not always true.
It seems the only definitive way to tell if you have the new version is to look at the innermost rings on the underside of Disc One itself. Hold it up to the light, and at the end of a string of letters and numbers, you should see "B1R2". If you have anything else (i.e. B1R1), you have the original version and NOT the remastered one!
If so, exchange it promptly.

A Total Mess
This review refers to the blu-ray picture quality only. The movie itself is an absolute classic. Unfortunately this blu-ray was a victim of considerable DNR and EE that has actually removed and distorted picture detail. Here's a good example. At the beginning of the movie where we see Maximus as a General leading a final battle, you see an amazing wide shot of flying, flaming, arrows. It should look amazing, right? Wrong. The picture was DNR'd so badly that it actually removed arrows and the ones you can see are a blurred mess! Absolutely terrible. Don't waste your money on this. Wait until they release a quality blu-ray because "this is not it!"

Remaster confusion put to rest... hopefully.
I do have the remastered version and it looks and sounds great! At first I wasn't sure. After doing some research I have confirmed that I HAVE THE REMASTERED VERSION.

BD has yellow UPC bar code not white.

2-DISC SET does not appear above the Paramount logo on the slip case (outside cardboard of BD packaging). However, and this is what threw me off; 2 DISC SET does appear above Paramount logo on the inner sleeve of keep case.

Remastered version no longer has a white, titled security sticker on the top of the case.

As for the inner ring number issue there are multiple numbers identifying the disc as the remastered version.
NA13081B1R2 - remastered version

BVDL-103860B1 (on my BD) is ALSO the correct number for REMASTERED copies of Gladiator.

The final confirmation that I had the remastered version; all the arrows appear in the opening battle sequence.

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Clara Etmoi

A Beautiful, Intelligent, and Sensitive Contemporary Love Story
Arnaud Viard has written and directed a quintessentially French love story that simply has everything going for it. The dialogue is richly imbued with both light hearted comedic elements as well as radiant moments of verismo that make this little story one that, once seen, will be indelible in the memory of the viewer. This is a love story awash with all of the nuances of contemporary life in Paris - and in the entire world.

Antoine (Julien Boisselier) is a thirty-three year old actor, having given up his business career to pursue his dream, yet a young man without a partner. Serendipity strikes on the Metro as Antoine sees a shy woman his age Clara (Julie Gayet) and from the silence surrounding their exchanged looks it is obvious something will happen. Antoine demurely writes a note on his pad and without speaking shows it to Clara. Clara responds with a written message, and the game ends with Clara giving Antoine her telephone number! At a surprise birthday party that...

depends upon how you look at things...
and where you are in life. this move is heartbreaking. because its about a burgeoning love that faces what so many of us see as an insurmountable obstacle. antoine (beautiful) falls in love with clara (more beautiful), but its clear early on that antoine has issues with selfishness. its no wonder then when they find out that clara is hiv positive, he rejects her. in the months that ensue, he pines for her. how could he not. its clara. his dream woman. she is the most amazing woman that he could ever want to have and to love. and he cant let go of her illness. it asks of the viewer: how do you view this illness? do you think that it damages a persons value. this is why i titled this post as i have. its very easy to determine that you would do one thing or another if you are not faced with this situation. one cannot help but understand antoines fears: will i lose her, will i contract this disease too, will she get sicker and suffer before my eyes, rendering me helpless. will i fall even...

Julien Boisselier et Moi
Julien Boisselier gives a genuine performance as Antoine, an aspiring actor who falls in love with Clara, a woman he meets in metro.Reminiscent of " Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" (1964), the couple sings, dances on Parisian streets. But as their romance unfolds, at times lively, though in the background, Schubert's lovely melancholic Fantasia for piano four hands in F minor is introduced , waving in and out, giving us a taste of the biterness to come. Clara is HIV positive. The Antoine's transformation is captivating. What will happen to the young couple? Ending left open, as in real life...who knows. For classical music lovers, Schubert's fantazia four 4 hands, adds a special treat. Enjoy.

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Adolescence Has Not Changed
I am 74 years old. The world is different now; there are more risks and more choices than when I was 15, but this movie reminded me of what it felt like to be 15 and 16 in 1954 and 1955. In those days homework was accompanied by radio with Rock and Roll music thanks to Alan Fried, Ranger hockey against Maurice Richard, and Gene Shepard,the best story teller of all time. Most of us had after school jobs which gave us enough spending money to begin making choices independent of our parents, and every day we left home and entered the world alone, with very little confidence but with the hope that everything was going to work out. Watching Charlie going through his day, observing the antics of his friends and trying to make sense of it all, brought tears to my eyes. The beauty of the movie is that it captures the universal experience of adolescence, and fortunately, as difficult as the experience may be, just like Charlie, most of us make it through.

"And in this moment I swear, we are infinite."
Every now and then, you come across a film where everything was done just right. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of those films. Directed by Stephen Chbosky, who wrote the screenplay as well as the popular young-adult novel of the same name from which it was adapted, The Perks of Being a Wallflower seems to hit every note just right, capturing all of the tumult and the extreme highs and lows of adolescence as experienced by a group of friends in high school in Pittsburgh back in the early 1990's.

(*** Note: this review contains what some people feel to be spoilers, so if you're sensitive to such things, please stop reading now and just take my word that this is really well-done, enjoyable film and is well worth going out of your way to find and see. ***)

The film begins with 14-year-old Charlie (Logan Lerman) writing a letter to an anonymous "Dear Friend" about his nervousness about starting his first year in high school. He writes because he doesn't feel...

An underrated movie worthy of awards.
When I think of this movie, I think about perfection. Everything about it is spot on. The acting, the directing, the music, the story, everything. Had their not been so much focus on Argo, Lincoln, Zero Dark, and Les Mis, this movie would have won many awards.

The story keeps you guessing and is anything but predictable. There are several things hidden from you as the plot unfolds and right away the mind gets busy trying to figure everything out.

You feel very involved when watching Charlie's freshman year in high school progress. You root for him and are riding on his emotions, but you are also trying to understand who exactly he is.

Without spoiling anything, the basis goes like this: Charlie's best friend shot himself the summer before Charlie goes to high school. As a result, he enters high school as a loner and outcast, and has to try to get through the year with as little resistance as he can. Luckily he starts to make friends and you are brought...

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