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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Barbie in The 12 Dancing Princesses

Lovely return to basics from Barbie, fun, classic, great dancing
A nice return to good Barbie movies. This is (loosely) based on the fairy tale of the 12 dancing princesses. Rewritten and remodelled for a Barbie-style ballet movie.

Genivieve is the 7th of 12 princesses. Her father calls for the Duchess Rowena to look after them as his wife is dead. The duchess has plans of her own, and with her strong-man servant and her monkey, she works to take over the kingdom and get rid of the 12 daughters. She starts by taking all the fun and colour out of their lives, trying to quash their spirit.

Genivieve, however, discovers a secret magical kingdom below the floor of their bedroom where the princesses can escape at night and dance the night away until morning. They have their dancing shoes from Eric, the Cobbler who also happens to be extremely gorgeous and nice - and not a little in love with Genivieve. When Rowena discovers the secret stairwell she seeks to trap the princesses down there forever. But toghether they escape, and...

Charming take on the children's story
Before we first rented one of the Barbie videos for my daughter, I was expecting them to be trite, over-commercialised, and over-sugary. However, I have been pleasantly surprised.

Yes, they do have a lot of commercial spin-offs and a high saccarine count, but the quality of the Barbie films we have subsequently bought or rented, including "12 Dancing Princesses," was significantly higher than I had expected. They have not just kept my children engrossed for hours - including my son as well as my daughter - but introduced them to some beautiful stories and truly wonderful music. On more than one occasion I have been listening to a CD of a classic such as Beethoven's pastoral symphony, or The Queen of the Night's aria from Mozart's magic flute, and my daughter has recognised and expressed appreciation of the music, and correctly remembered which Barbie film had used it. ("Magic of Pegasus" and "Mermaidia" respectively.)

The soundtrack to "Twelve Dancing Princesses"...

Really fun!
This movie is very nice.I like all the sisters,my favorite ones are Genevieve,Fallon, and Lacey!Twyla looks cute when she's dancing.:)I liked the part when they go into the magical world, and seeing it outside, that was really cool! I also liked the preview for Barbie Princess Collection; and Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow. I'm looking forward to buying it! ( But I have to wait a whole year. sigh. ) Anyway,I really like the Shine music video. The game on the disc is really short,I got bored of it. I really love the dvd,and the song the sisters sing to the triplets on their birthday! PS.I think Mattel should make 2 more musicals. Princess and the Pauper was so good!I don't want the first musical to be the last musical! PS.Please vote on my review!PS.The monkey Brutus,was SO rude. :(

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Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy (Blu-ray) (Import)

Jurassic Park: Great Video & (finally) Uncompressed Audio
In the light of so many negative customer reviews of this set, I decided, before writing this review to do a direct comparison between the DVD version of Jurassic Park vs. the Blu-ray. I made it a point to set my BD player audio compression to wide range and set the volume levels for each version to be approximately at the same level for the spoken dialog to give each version a fair comparison.

I chose four sections to compare:

1. The scene at Sam Neill's dig beginning with the brushing away of sand from a fossil.
2. The helicopter ride into Jurassic Park.
3. The first encounter with the brachiosaurus beginning when the jeeps come to a stop and Sam Neill and Laura Dern first see the creature.
4. The night storm scene with the T-Rex encounter.

All of the above begin at a chapter change of both disc versions, making them quick to locate.

The video: In no instance can the DVD version compare with the Blu-ray.

In...

The Jurassic Park Trilogy
Steven Spielberg's 1993 blockbuster is still the best of the Jurassic trilogy, and the film retains all the amazement and anticipation it had when it was first released.
Taken from Michael Crichton's thrilling novel, Jurassic Park is one Spielberg's most expertly-crafted films. The special effects are from FX maestro Stan Winston, who did the special effects for Aliens (1986) and Terminator 2 (1991). The seamless combination of CGI and robotic creatures creates some truly terrifying action set- pieces.

Despite what some critics thought when the film was released, I feel that all the principal actors give good performances, especially Sam Neill as Alan Grant and Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm. But admittedly, the dinosaur creations are the main attraction, and Winston's monsters (which won him another Oscar after Terminator 2) are truly frightning. Great entertainment.

The Lost World is an exciting adventure starring Jeff Goldblum, Vince Vaughn, Julianne Moore and Pete...

DINO-MITE!!!
Yeah, I know the title of this review is corny, but you have to admit that this is a pretty nice boxed set. It contains all three films from the "Jurassic Park" film series. The first film stands alone as one of the most impressive and progressive films of its time. It featured the best special effects of its time and each film builds on these effects. Let's break each film down:

"Jurassic Park" Five stars

Perhaps the greatest dinosaur film ever made, "Jurassic Park" features brilliant special effects, wonderful acting and a great plotline filled with suspense and horror. With Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough heading up a small cast of characters including Samuel L. Jackson, this film is sure to be a winner in anyone's collection. Briefly, this is the tale of a man who hopes to cash in on genetically bred dinosaurs by creating a sort of theme park that allows the average man to get an up-close-and-personal look at T-Rex,...

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The Lion King (Four-Disc Diamond Edition Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy)

Yes, buy it.
Disney's The Lion King is finally available on DVD. Considered the cream of the crop of all the Disney animated features by many, it is definitely worth owning. I don't think I'll go into the story, which I'm sure most of you know. Chances are you've already seen the movie and are just waiting to own it on a piece of media that won't rot like your VHS tape that probably fell apart by now. Even if Disney released a sub par release of this movie, you'd buy it.
Luckily, this is one of the best releases ever.

Video and Audio is supreme in this release. Especially vibrant is the 5.1 sound. Of all the older Disney releases, this one benefits the most I think, with the powerful music and sound effects present in this release. Hearing James Earl Jones as Mufasa blaring in thunderous 5.1 sound is quite amazing. Likewise the excellent music, such as the opening Circle of Life. Present in this release is the original theatrical version as well as a version with new music/song...

Movie 5 stars, 3D -- only about a 2.5
I own a quite a few 3D movies, so perhaps my expectations were too high, but despite some stellar reviews on the 3D on this product by some other reviewers, I have to tell you the quality is FAR less than made-for-3D movies such as Despicable Me.

Do you remember those "3D" games/cartoons where the "3D" effect as you were supposedly either walking, or in a car, going along the road was the part closest to you moved slow, then there was a part in the middle that moved a bit faster, and then the part near the top of the screen moved the fastest? This is only a step above that. It is more like layered 2D images than true 3D. Yes, there are a few parts where true 3D is apparent, but those are few and far between.

Sorry, I can't help but think that some of the people have either let their love of the movie color their perception of what good 3D looks like, or they simply do not have many 3D movies to compare to.

I actually found the 2D blu-ray disc, or...

probably THE BEST ANIMATED FILM !
After the movie Little Mermaid came out, Disney would make 3 other animated masterpieces: Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, that would change the way we looked at animated films, somthing new, something wonderful.But of all these 4 great animated films, in my opinion The Lion King was the greatest. The music was just, beautiful, and Scar was probably the most EVIL Disney villain the was ever drawn on a piece of paper.You hated him, but you almost liked him, because he was so great. But probably the best part of the movie was Simba's pal's Pumbaa and Timon, the BEST Disney characters EVER!!! The scene where Timon was doing the hula, I thought I was going to die from laughing. Anybody from toddler to 10 year old to 60 year from boy to old woman to teenager and so forth will, without a doubt, LOVE this movie, everyone.

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The Joy of Painting Series

Bob Ross Joy of Painting DVD Series
I remember growing up and being fascinated watching Bob Ross paint. Each 1 hour episode was intriguing, and seemed so simplistic in the methods and art of painting. Since I am just learning a new hobby, I thought, "What better way to learn to paint?". I was not wrong. These instructional DVD's show you lots of tips and tricks to learning how to master the art of painting.

Highly recommend this series of DVD's as well as any other Bob Ross set you can get your hands on.

Read the product description!
The title of this product is misleading. "The Joy of Painting Series" is not hours and hours of Bob Ross episodes; this is only 9 instructional episodes for an exorbitant price. I'd like the whole SERIES of the show; not a select collection.

Bob Ross Joy of Painting Series
I thoroughly enjoyed this series, "the BoB" is just delightful! I have never had any formal art lessons and wanted to learn some basic techniques so I ordered the series. Bob Ross's kind, persistant teaching method (and the rewind function) walked me through the basics in a very clear and enjoyable manner. At the end of the day I had a lovely painting to encourage more efforts. It was great! I would highly recommend this series. My sister, Mom and I did two paintings together.
We had a blast and hung our paintings on the wall when all was done. Since then I have purchased more Bob Ross DVDs as gifts. So far everyone loves him and there are several more fledgling painters enjoying their new passion! Thanks, Bob!

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Babes in Toyland

Marching Wooden Soldiers
DVD REVIEW
This DVD release at the time of my review of this film adds nothing to the VHS. No Widescreen, no re-mastering, and no extras. I will keep my VHS copy for now. Now on to the original film itself:

FILM REVIEW
In this 1961 film, the first true live-action musical from the Walt Disney Studio, Tommy Sands is paired up with America's girl next door who got her start with Walt Disney, Annette Funicello. Also the famous Ray Bolger and Ed Wynn are featured, and Ann Jillian was a child actor in this movie. There is more great talent from the Disney in-house stable of stars, Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran, who played brothers in both "Old Yeller" and "Swiss Family Robinson".

The story is simple enough, we are in Mother Goose land and the villain shrinks our heroes to toy size. They must enlist help from the toys in the Toymaker's shop to fight back. The effects were eye-popping at the time, and to see a toy army coming to life and fight the bad guys is...

Step back to yesterday!
Granted this was filmed on a Disney Sound stage for very little money, but this movie was the brilliant work of Walt Disney himself. I was a kid when this movie came out and how impressed i was with the colors, music, story and cast. Now i'm in my 50's and this same version still impresses me. This version is timeless and the colors, music, story and especially the cast mean more to me than ever. This is a great movie for the Christmas Holiday and a walk back into yesteryear for us baby boomers. It also would be a great idea to show this to the kids of "now and "me" generation. They might learn something. The special effects were state-of-the art back then and may seem a little campy today, but this movie with it's special effects has heart,,,something that lacks in many of the new Christmas movies. This Disney version is warm, creative, visually beautiful and has a wonderful cast.

a kitschy delight - but deserves better treatment
The opening sequence alone, a colorful song and dance in Mother Goose Village Square that could only have been designed and choreographed in the early 60's, is enough to bring a huge smile to faces of those of us who fondly remember the pre-digital days of Walt Disney.

The colorful production design is sensational and reminds me of the early days of Disneyland - whimsically artificial but gorgeous to look at. Sure, the story is Squaresville, and many complain that the set is too stagey, but those are main elements of the film's lasting charm. Dated and corny to some is a cool breeze of nostalgia and simpler times for others.

I am sad that this DVD is shamefully bargain bin. Apparently someone at Disney has deemed this delightful slice of early 60's pop culture woefully insignificant, so not only is the film greatly reduced to fit on standard televisions, but there are NO special features whatsoever, a shame considering that many of the original principals in...

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Rome: The Complete Series

'Rome' raises the bar for history-inspired TV shows
THE SERIES

Rome wasn't built in one day, we all know that and its story can't be told over 2 seasons but this is probably the best we're going to have, audio-visually, for a long time to come. This is an interrupted, extremely ambitious and, eventually, unaffordable HBO project meant to illustrate the process though which an up and coming but flawed - expansionist, aristocrat driven, slave labor dependent - republic morphs into an equally or more so flawed, unsustainable empire. [Hmmm... lessons to learn? Anyone? Anyone?]

HBO and the producers of the show should be commended for doing everything in their power to stay as close as artistically possible to the historical record, whatever was available, of the period - and 'Rome' covers Cesar's climb to power and the period shortly thereafter, up to Octavian's triumph and transformation into 'Augustus' - the struggles, the intrigue, the atrocities - and how the events it triggered affected the aristocrats and the...

Phenomenal! Best depiction of Rome ever!
When I was younger, I used to love watching movies like Spartacus, not so much because they provided particularly great depictions of ancient Rome, but because they were the way anybody get any sense of the grandeur of the Roman empire. In fact, looking back, those films were often quite cheesy. Hollywood stopped making movies about ancient Rome for a long while, until Gladiator came out in 2000. As a movie, Gladiator was awesome and showed a vastly more realistic yet grander Rome than ever before seen in Hollywood. Yet, as history, the movie had its flaws (most notably that it distorted the historical record quite bit). However, I'd despaired that it would be the pinnacle of our ability to visualize Rome.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that HBO did an...

Sellar!
To paraphrase the United States recording industry mega hit, Superlatives are not enough.

Roman history, while always fascinating, has always seemed cool and static in North America. HBO, in "Rome", has breathed life into well documented time period. Those who not historically minded, will merely see this as a very well produced HBO drama. Being hstorically minded, I am thrilled that this period of history can see life.

In two seasons, viewers across North America thrilled to the power struggles within the Roman senate played out in venues from Gaul to Rome. Caesar and his men, in battle and out, realized that the power of plebian popularity. The death of Pompeys' wife, Julia, leads to a struggle for wifery, and eventually his death. The power play between Mark Anthony, Casesar, Vorenus, Pompey, Cato, and Brutus is fascinating. Social standing is valued, to the extent of sacrificing personal happiness. Integrity is merely the price of success. Ambition is...

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Sean Connery 007 Collection Volume 2 Ultimate Edition

BIG BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!
This compilation is an excellent value for the money. With the purchase of both volumes you get all six of the Sean Connery Bond films (the best in my humble opinion). Each film comes with another disc of bonus material such as documentaries, trailers, interviews, etc. If this wasn't enough, each film features commentary tracks as well. Each film is remastered and the picture quality is extraordinary and very impressive especially when played on a blu-ray player and hdtv. If, like me, Connery is your favorite Bond and you've been looking for a set of his movies at a great price along with all this bonus material; then look no further.

3 disc versus 6 disc!
I bought vol 1 AND 2 each the 3 disc version of the set. The 3 disc version is the movies themselves, it does not include the special features discs that accompany each film with the 6 disc version. This was great for me because I only wanted the movies and didn't really care for the extras and they're cheaper. Hope this clears up confusion as to what is included. Each disc does have some kind of commentary which I haven't explored. Great Bond movies!

The names Bond, James Bond
As a kid growing up I always looked forward to the marathon weekends featuring 007. To me Sean Connery and James Bond are synonomis with one another. I thought about purcahsing the entire Bond collection, but when you get right down to it, Sean Connery's movies are simply the best. There are six discs total including an extra feature disc for each movie. I guess the extra stuff is cool to a point, but it generally doesn't make a difference to me if it's included or not.

As for the discs themselves.....Volume two contains Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and my personal favorite Diamonds are Forever. The video and audio digital remaster of these movies is really well done in 5.1 dts. Watching on Blue Ray only enhances the quality. If you're a bond fan you will want these for your collection.

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Baby Babble - Speech-Enhancing DVD for Babies and Toddlers

A speech development DVD that works
I'm the mother of a 3.5 year old boy who sits on the spectrum. My son's new speech therapist lent me a copy of Baby Babble to watch with my LO. After two months of using it here are my thoughts:

Pros:
* Focus on lip movement. My son seems to really pay attention to the therapists' mouths as they coo out sounds/words.
* The simple sounds make it easy for my son to repeat them.
* Good rhythm. Just enough breaks to stop his frustration, but not too many that he gets distracted.

Cons:
* Really dated. I think this video was originally produced for VHS, it certainly feels that way. The producers should consider releasing an updated version with better sounds and graphics.

In addition to Baby Babble, here are some other videos that have been really helpful for my son's speech and language:

* LeapFrog: Learning DVD Set: Great for letters and their sounds. I...

Focuses on speech and communication.
I think that this video is different from other videos such as Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby, etc. because it focuses on speech and communication rather than language. What I mean by that is that our other videos seem to just throw out a bunch of words and hope that kids pick them up. Instead, this video takes fun sounds from toys, forms them into simple vowel and consonant sounds, and then shows how to make the sounds. So, for example, it takes a fire engine sound, transitions the sound into a narrator saying ah-ah-ah, e-oo-e-oo-e-oo, and then later shows the narrator's mouth making the vowel sounds. My son picked up the sounds before he started saying the words. I noticed that the words that the video uses are simpler than other videos use, words like ball, up, and down. They are the words that a child would commonly say first in speech development. Also, my son picked up a couple of signs from the video. Even though he can't say "eat" yet, he now signs "eat" instead of feeling like...

Great tool for our language delayed toddler
We just got our copy yesterday. All three of my children love to watch it (5,3 and 2). My non-verbal 24 mth old laughs and giggles through the whole DVD and most importantly has attempted some of the sounds. We are really impressed with it. In fact, as far as encouraging late talkers, we would rate this one up there with "The Miracle of Mozart Numbers and Shapes". "The Miracle of Mozart" takes a different approach by using kid's voices to entice children to repeat what they hear. This DVD uses Speech Therapists and is really usefull in motivating our non-verbal toddler. It will also show you how to promote language. I can see why the parent of a typical child with normal speech development might not be impressed with this product- but if you are a parent looking for something to help promote language, this is a great choice. Good Luck.

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