Georgia Rule (Widescreen Edition)

Customer Reviews:

I watched a different movie than most reviewers.......2007-09-16

I truly enjoyed this movie. I've always been a Fonda fan. Felicity has never disappointed. And Lindsay shows she is a quality actress, right up there with the other two. In the scene in the boat where she's seducing the guy and they show a close up of just her face, you can see every emotion that crosses her mind.

My biggest difference, however with the reviewers is that they harp on how odd it is to have humor in a film on such a serious topic as sexual abuse. I found this movie to be rather on target with its light hearted moments mixed in with the pain. And then these usually male reviewers go on about was she abused, wasn't she, why doesn't she make up her mind. To me, it seems obvious these fellows have never experienced such abuse personally, nor have they observed, with any care, someone who has. There's no straight line to recovery.

I loved this movie for its story and the acting. Nothing rang false in my book.

hostile movie masquerading as a heartwarming movie.......2007-09-13

This is a movie about a ridiculously dysfunctional family composed of morbidly dysfunctional women. There are people who actually like movies about this type of person (for whatever reason). If you are one such, fine; but if you are not, avoid this film at any price.

After 100 minutes of watching them tear each other apart and blame each other for everything, abruptly in the last five minutes, all their deep psychological problems disappear without therapy or any other cause, and everybody is going to live happily ever after. Right. This cheap shot of an ending was obviously tacked on to save this movie from being a total economic disaster.

Even if you're a fan of Jane Fonda or of Lindsay Lohan or both, you won't like them in this movie (unless, as I said, you like this type of movie).

Bottom line: you have a better chance with almost any other movie.

How do we know we're loved? 4 1/2 stars.......2007-09-11

Though I don't recall this movie getting great reviews from the critics, I expected at least a decent movie considering the three main stars. I got more than expected. The three lead actresses were well chosen. Jane Fonda, looking exceptionally well at age 70, is outstanding as the grandmother, Georgia, who lives her life by certain 'rules,' hence the title, and who has a history with her daughter, Lilly, (Felicity Huffman), that seems lacking in emotion. 'Seems' is the operative word. While we aren't exactly privy to what has caused this rift between mother and daughter, we glean from one particular scene that Georgia's parents never told HER that they loved her. We gather that Georgia's apparent inability to say the three words, "I love you" to her daughter may simply be because she was not told what she needed to hear from her parents. In one touching scene between Georgia and Lilly, when Lilly asks her mother if she ever loved her, Georgia replies, 'How could I not love you?' She still is not able to say those three magic words to her daughter though she has no trouble saying them to her granddaughter, Rachel, (Lindsay Lohan). Dermont Mulroney is wonderfully cast as the kindly veterinarian whom Rachel works for and Cary Elwes well cast in a somewhat chilling performance as Rachel's stepfather.

Rachel lies, manipulates, has a history of drug abuse and all manner of teen problems. There is, of course, a reason for her behaviour and underneath it all, we see many glimpses of a tender heart.

This is Ms. Lohan's best performance since she made her wonderful debut as identical twins in 'The Parent Trap' at the age of eleven. Despite the two other big name stars, Lindsay Lohan is THE star of this movie. We can only hope that this gifted young lady is able to heal herself before a very promising career is ruined.

Georgia May Rule...But This Movie Sure Doesn't.......2007-09-10

I am uncertain what to make of this misshapen 2007 dramedy. Attempting to be a new millennium cross-hybrid between On Golden Pond and The Prince of Tides, this film ends up being an erratic mess shifting so mercurially between comedy and melodrama that the emotional pitch always seems off. The main problem seems to be the irreconcilable difference between Garry Marshall's sentimental direction and Mark Andrus' dark, rather confusing screenplay. The story focuses on the unraveling relationship between mother Lilly and daughter Rachel, who have driven all the way from San Francisco to small-town Hull, Idaho where grandmother Georgia lives. The idea is for Lilly to leave Rachel for the summer under Georgia's taskmaster jurisdiction replete with her draconian rules since the young 17-year old has become an incorrigible hellion.

The set-up is clear enough, but the characters are made to shift quickly and often inexplicably between sympathetic and shrill to fit the contrived contours of the storyline. It veers haphazardly through issues of alcoholism, child molestation and dysfunctional families until it settles into its pat resolution. The three actresses at the center redeem some of the dramatic convolutions but to varying degrees. Probably due to her off-screen reputation and her scratchy smoker's voice, Lindsay Lohan makes Rachel's promiscuity and manipulative tactics palpable, although she becomes less credible as her character reveals the psychological wounds that give a reason for her hedonistic behavior. Felicity Huffman is forced to play Lilly on two strident notes - as a petulant, resentful daughter to a mother who never got close to her and as an angry, alcoholic mother who starts to recognize her own accountability in her daughter's state of mind. She does what she can with the role on both fronts, but her efforts never add up to a flesh-and-blood human being.

At close to seventy, Jane Fonda looks great, even as weather-beaten as she is here, and has the star presence to get away with the cartoon-like dimensions of the flinty Georgia. The problem I have with Fonda's casting is that the legendary actress deserves far more than a series of one-liners and maternal stares. Between this and 2005's execrable Monster-in-Law, it does make one wonder if her best work is behind her. It should come as no surprise that the actresses' male counterparts are completely overshadowed. Garrett Hedlund looks a little too surfer-dude as the naïve Harlan, a devout Mormon whose sudden love for Rachel could delay his two-year missionary stint. Cary Elwes plays on a familiar suspicious note as Lilly's husband, an unfortunate case where predictable casting appears to telegraph the movie's ending.

There is also the omnipresent Dermot Mulroney in the morose triple-play role of the wounded widower, Lilly's former flame and Rachel's new boss as town veterinarian Dr. Simon Ward. Laurie Metcalf has a barely-there role as Simon's sister Paula, while Marshall regular Hector Elizondo and songsmith Paul Williams show up in cameos. Some of Andrus' dialogue is plain awful and the wavering seriocomic tone never settles on anything that feels right. There are several small extras with the 2007 DVD, none all too exciting. Marshall provides a commentary track that has plenty of his trademark laconic humor. There are several deleted scenes, including three variations on the ending, and a gag reel. A seven-minute making-of featurette is included, as well as the original theatrical trailer, a six-minute short spotlighting the three actresses and a five-minute tribute to Marshall.

Uneasy blend of comedy and drama.......2007-09-10

In an industry that increasingly misrepresents its products via preview trailers, this is the most appalling example I've ever seen. Have you seen the trailer? Are you expecting a mostly lighthearted "troubled girl puts her life on track with guidance from her sassy grandmother" movie? Think again.

I'm spoiling a plot development from about 20 minutes in so don't read farther if you don't want to know.

*Georgia Rule* is actually a heavy-handed molestation tale, with Lohan playing a dangerous and unpleasant "am I telling the truth or lying?" game by accusing (then recanting, then accusing, then recanting) her stepfather of abusing her when she was 12-14, three years ago.

Such stories have a place, and some probably open doors of communication in troubled families. However, this one strikes an extremely uneven balance between comedy and drama thanks to director Garry Marshall's mistaken vision. A mother's alcoholism, a daughter's abuse and subsequent slide into drug use and sexual promiscuity can't be juxtaposed with Fourth of July pie-eating contests (naturally featuring cameos by Marshall's never-ending supply of relatives) and wacky hijinx down at the local vet's.

The acting is good, but the script and direction are very, very, very bad. The script kicked around Hollywood for a decade; it should still be gathering dust on a forgotten bookcase.

Average customer rating:

Clearly a Gem
"Courageous"...But Not Particularly Good
All Surface and No Depth

Georgia Rule (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Jane Fonda , Lindsay Lohan , Felicity Huffman , Dermot Mulroney , and Cary Elwes
Director: Garry Marshall
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000T988II
Release Date: 2007-09-04

Customer Reviews:

Clearly a Gem.......2007-09-11

I viewed this film without any prior knowledge as to what it was or what it was about.
It gets five bright and shining stars from me.

The plot was strong for a number of reasons. It's life. Plain and simple. Real life doesn't segregate families into those who live only dramatic experiences and those who live only comedic experiences. This movie dances with comedy as well as tragedy with a timely encore of hope and willingness for healing.

Each character was believable and convincing (kudos to the actors as well as the writing and directing). That includes even the brief roles played as the townsfolk, neighbors, and the teen girls living in the neighborhood.

Dialogue and delivery by and for all of the actors was superb and authentic. You quickly forget that you are watching actors and are drawn into their lives because you start to care.

There are several scenes which just keep adding layer upon layer of polish to this incredible gem of a movie.

If you are a person who knows and understands that a person can genuinely laugh and hear their own echoes of falling tears at the same time, this is THE movie for you.

I do not own this film, but I can promise you that I will soon.

"Courageous"...But Not Particularly Good.......2007-09-07

Viewing GEORGIA RULE recently I flashed back on a passage from Salinger's FRANNY AND ZOOEY (which I had recently re-read). There is a passage in that book in which a young television actor, speaks disparagingly of scripts that are "courageous," without their necessarily being particularly good. What he's talking about, of course, is the kind of drama that is supposed to be risky and challenging, a bit off beat maybe. "Edgy" might be the current word. That's precisely the kind of dramatic work GEORGIA RULE tries to be. You can just imagine the filmmakers patting themselves (and each other) on the back, congratulating themselves on their frankness and daring.

This is a movie that wants to say SO MUCH--to bravely go where no screenwriter (or director OR producer) would have dared to go before (except that they HAVE, in point of fact). You've got your intergenerational conflict, your intergenerational substance abuse, you've got promiscuous teens--and apparently incestuous step-dads. You've got salty grandmas, agonized moms and troubled, but spunky teens. Now even if you haven't seen all these ingredients mixed up before, it's hard not to find GEORGIA RULE a bit contrived and quite desperate. It nearly breaks under the strain.

The reviews for this film have not been kind, and it seems likely that whatever notoriety it may have garnered may have more to do with Lindsay Lohan's reported bad behavior on the set than with the film's inherent quality. As it turns out, she probably could have just pleaded "Method" and claimed that she was just staying in character off-camera. Her Rachel is a bit of a wastrel. With a heart of gold, of course.

This is a film that virtually invites reviewers to say something cranky about a stellar cast adrift in a lame production. Well, it IS a pretty solid cast, and all the actors have their moments. Felicity Huffman and Lindsay Lohan have some very strong scenes--and others where the script or their director (or their own best instincts) let them down. Jane Fonda is probably the most consistent of the three starring actresses, but that may have much to do with her character's flinty, discipline-for-discipline's sake nature. She can coast a bit on her character's quirks. Huffman and Lohan are required to take more risks. Sometimes they take off, and sometimes they fall flat (quite literally in Huffman's case).

GEORGIA RULE, while not especially good, could prove instructive to aspiring actors. It's true you get to see good actors at work (and I mean, HARD at work). What you don't get is a good, solid story. In 2007, simply presenting viewers with intergenerational dysfunctionality doesn't cut it anymore--if it ever did. Yes, we know that happy families are all alike, and that unhappy families are unhappy in uniquely different ways. If that's true, however, you shouldn't have to struggle so much to show those differences. GEORGIA RULE #1 should probably have been: Don't try so hard!

All Surface and No Depth.......2007-09-05

Garry Marshall is highly regarded for his style in pulling of sophisticated comedies ('Pretty Woman', 'The Other Sister', 'Beaches', 'Frankie and Johnny' etc) and for this film he selected a script by an equally respected writer, Mark Andrus ('As Good as it Gets', Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood', 'Life as a House'). To add to this assured formula he managed to cast some fine actors, and so the audience is left wondering 'What happened?'

Most people would judge the cover of this DVD to represent a full-blooded comedy. But that is the first blunder. What happens in this film is the examination of a severely dysfunctional family of women: Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) is an oversexed 17 year old tyrant whose alcoholic mother Lilly (Felicity Huffman) can no longer tolerate and ships her miscreant daughter off to the 'hell world' of Lilly's distant controlling mother Georgia (Jane Fonda) to shape Rachel up for college. Georgia of the many rules and rigid lifestyle lives in Idaho and Rachel arrives and immediately plies her bad personality on the folks of the little town, including seducing a soon-to-be Mormon evangelist Harlan (Garrett Hedlund) and shocking the little boys who are cared for by Georgia. Georgia gets Rachel a job as an office girl for Dr. Ward (Dermot Mulroney) who is an ex-lover of Lilly but a role model for the town since his wife and son's accidental death. Rachel decides to get back at her mother and her stepfather Arnold (Cary Elwes) by explaining her misbehavior to Simon: her stepfather sexually abused her from age 12 to 14. In an attempt to help Rachel's family heal, Simon informs Georgia who informs Lilly about the abuse and Lilly responds by leaving Arnold to return to Idaho, cut her hair, and give in to drinking wholeheartedly. Was Lilly's confession true or fabricated? This question serves as the climax that brings about changes in everyone. The point is dulled by the fact that we never really care about any of these involved characters, so shallow is the writing that could have salvaged a story by fleshing out potentially interesting characters.

The cast is so good that they give it their all to try to save this sinking ship of a film. We want to praise Fonda and Huffman but their roles simply don't allow the actors to go very far. Marshall has worked with many of these actors before (even Hector Elizondo is given a very tiny part!) but this time the cake doesn't rise. Worth viewing for the opportunity to see some very good actors given a few moments of valid screen time. Grady Harp, September 07

Average customer rating:

The Dangers of Ego & Capitalism
A Biography of a Newspaper Tycoon
If you like movies with class, buy it. If you don't, then stay away from it (it's that simple).
Not a movie
4 Stars???

Citizen Kane
Starring: Georgia Backus , Fortunio Bonanova , Sonny Bupp , Ray Collins , and Dorothy Comingore
Director: Orson Welles
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00003CX9E
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Amazon.com essential video

Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles's 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 26, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions, and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconsciousness. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brecht on film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films from the 20th century. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

The Dangers of Ego & Capitalism.......2007-09-05

To me Citizen Kane is about the dangers of the self-made man and his ego. America loves the image of this kind of man making his way to the top. This film shows what often can be involved and how good intentions over time often become distorted by issues of power, greed and ego. The Protestant Work Ethic has long been the bane of our exisitence in this country since Colonial times. Combine that with a born again christian outlook and you have all the excess and extreme of the American character.

We claim to have no aristocracy in this nation, but are not all the Kane's, Hearst's, and Rockefeller's our eqivilent! I would argue that the self-made man is more of a danger than any noble. The self-made man has tasted poverty and wants to crawl his way to the top no matter the price. This outlook, born out of the merciless Industrialism of the last Century has ravaged the natural resources of this land.

Citizen Kane shows us what total, uncontrolled Capitalism is, and how autocratic men like this run it, making any modern day King or noble sweet by comparison. Watch this film for its brilliant camera techniques, and for the incredible stage presence of Orson Welles, yes by all means. But also see this film as a perspective on the American character which has given us our very bloody and ruthless 200 + years of history. Can we change our natioanl outlook and save the enviroment? Only time will tell.

A Biography of a Newspaper Tycoon.......2007-08-24

The film opens on a silent and dark night. An old man dies peacefully in bed, alone. It shows the vast riches of this extremely wealthy man - his monument. Charles Foster Kane was the greatest newspaper tycoon of his day. His wealth derived from a gold mine in Colorado, obtained almost by chance. His newspapers were loved by many, and hated by many. The news reels give his history. He was on track to be elected governor, but a sex scandal caused a loss. He retired to Xanadu, his lavish estate, then died as all must. The journalists will try to investigate his life to figure out his dying words (as if that could be relevant to anybody). This film continues as a search to uncover a mystery that may be unexplainable.

Charles Foster Kane was taken from his parents at an early age because of a contract his mother signed (her investment advisor). Kane received the best education money can buy, but this is omitted. Kane's pleasure is his newspaper, he is a crusader for the masses against the Robber Barons (to deprive a third party of this cause). But in time he is forced to sell control of his 'Inquirer' to a bank. The scenes show how editorial policy is remade. [Note the gas lights, an open flame.] Kane hires away the newspaper men from a competitor to create the greatest circulation in New York, the financial capital. Kane marries the niece of a President (money talks?). Jed Leland tells his memories of Kane. The scenes show Charles' changes in his marriage (he is more arrogant and powerful). Kane runs for governor, a liberal who is the friend of the working man and decent people. [But will the ruling class support this upstart?]

Poor Charlie doesn't realize that private investigators were shadowing him, and his private life ends his hope for a public life. [Most big city politicians were taking payoffs to support the local corporations.] Nothing is more scandalous than a reformer with hidden faults; a politician who is known to love drink and women won't be defeated for this. Susan's singing career soon ends. Perhaps they aimed too high, musical comedies rather than grand opera? Some very dramatic scenes follow and reveal more of the personalities of Charles and Susan. Poor Susan can't stand the strain and pressure. Can a publisher really create a star? Can a millionaire provide a starring role for his girlfriend today? Does great wealth and power lead to corruption and insanity? Was Kane's search for love the result of an unhappy childhood? Charlie's vandalism of his wife's bedroom suggests a sick mind. There is an inventory of Kane's property. What is it worth? Kane saved everything (like many of his generation). At the end we see a child's sled and its name.

This film may have been novel in its day, but now seems dated. It seems like it came from a radio play. It is not really historical or satirical. There were plenty of other targets available, but this film barely recognizes the events that existed during Kane's lifetime (post Civil War to World War II). A fictionalized account closer to reality might have been better.

Since he died alone, how did anyone learn his last word?

If you like movies with class, buy it. If you don't, then stay away from it (it's that simple)........2007-08-19

Don't worry. I'm not going to tell you who, where, when, or what Rosebud is. And, actually, you have to watch the entire film to understand why Charles Kane's last word was Rosebud. This film takes a while to get into but by the end you know it was worth watching.

I still struggle with the meaning of the movie. But here's my guess (it could be wrong or maybe there are several answers):

It tells the story of someone who as a child had fortune thrust upon him and as a man tried to use it to do perhaps the one thing it could never do: buy people's love. Initially we think his enormous wealth is a blessing but by the end we know that it is a curse (and he knows it as well). And so who, where, when or what Rosebud turns out to be makes as much sense as anything else in this crazy world. And I thought it was very touching.

But sorry, I lied: I'll save you 20 dollars right now by telling you that Rosebud is..........just buy the movie before someone else spoils it for you.

Not a movie.......2007-08-04

I bought this expecting to see the movie "Citizen Kane" however, when it arrived in the mail it was not a movie. It came in a weird box that was not like a movie and when I opened it there were two CDs inside. Normally when you buy movies they have a large tape inside that you put into a VCR. I put the CDs into my VCR but they didn't do anything, the machine just made a weird sound. So then I tried putting them into it one at a time but the same thing happened. I even tried rewinding it but nothing happened. I thought maybe it was just the music from the movie, but I don't have a CD player so I can't find out. The box says that it is a movie but it does not include instructions for using the movie or how to make it work. I just wanted to see a movie, I didn't ask for all of this!

4 Stars???.......2007-07-31

Some reviewers have commented on the "snobbery" of some reviewers when reviewing Citizen Kane. I sympathize. But it seems to me that those who take any knock against this film so personally do so for very valid reasons. I knew plenty of what are considered the "finest" films before I watched Citizen Kane, and even enjoyed some of them. However, I perhaps knew very little of film craft and technique, lighting, composition, etc. before I finally sat down and watched Kane.

Like many have said before me (Ebert and and a whole posse of film critics online, CHUD for instance), it was Citizen Kane that made me a - I cringe while stating this! - "film buff." I assume the feeling is likewise with many of the reviewers here. Quite simply, so many movies by so many directors/cinematographers/actors would have passed by me along with their emotional resonance, if it wasn't for Citizen Kane.

It's true; you can enjoy Citizen Kane without trying to notice the innovations that Welles unleashes. It is a brilliantly entertaining story and still one of the best examples of non-linear storytelling (is that too snobby?). But the beauty here is in the details and the way Welles actually _makes_ that emotional resonance happen.

The reason so many people get so personal about this movie is because Citizen Kane is a cinematic gateway drug of sorts. I watched Citizen Kane, and I got it, and from there on in, I found it increasingly harder to be sated by the severely below-average movies that are being pushed on audiences now. I jumped to the Kubricks, the Bergmans, the Renoirs, the Langs, the Quays(s?), the Fellinis, the Melvilles, the Kurosawas, and blah blah blah. Most importantly, _I got it_, and it's because of Citizen Kane.

I don't think that the average filmgoer has to know the ins and outs of editing and direction and cinematography in order to enjoy some of the movies that are considered the "finest" ever made. But it certainly helps, and it more than pays for the effort. It makes you a much more attentive filmgoer, at the very least. It was when I first watched Kane that I asked myself questions like, "How in the world did the camera move through that table? Has lil' Kane been in the window frame this entire time? Oh my god, has that lit window been in the same place the entire time (even its reflection, no less!)? Where the hell are the boom mics? Why is there a gigantic portrait of Kane in every other conversational scene? Have I ever seen a deep focus shot before?"

There is a reason Kane is still atop the AFI's 100 Best list. It is a 5-star movie, through and through. And if you have any idea about the amount of #*$& that Welles went through in his life just to finish his movies (if he even managed that), you'll know that he deserves that top spot more than anybody else. I think that there are better movies out there at this point, I think that Welles himself even did better movies than Kane, but Kane is still one of the best. It is a marvel that this movie still has the power to turn an inattentive college student into a perfectly attentive filmgoer. And hell, I still like Michael Bay's "The Rock"...

This movie deserves 5 Stars, nothing less.

Average customer rating:

If you liked End of Suburbia, you'll like this
Sad but true...
A real awakening
A good introduction to the subject...
One of the most important films of the decade.

A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash
Director: Basil Gelpke , and Ray McCormack
Manufacturer: DOCURAMA
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Science & Technology | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

ASIN: B000PY52IG
Release Date: 2007-07-31

Amazon.com

While the previous eco-doc Who Killed the Electric Car? spent some time on the world's oil crisis, A Crude Awakening (formerly OilCrash) builds an entire film around the subject. Swiss journalist Basil Gelpke and Irish filmmaker Ray McCormack have constructed their narrative in a conventional manner, alternating between talking heads, archival footage, and modern-day material, but the addition of several pieces by Phillip Glass is an artful touch (and evokes his work on 1988's The Thin Blue Line). Throughout, a diverse array of experts from the U.S., Azerbaijan, Venezuela, and other countries explain how the 20th century became addicted to "the blood of the dinosaurs," and why contemporary society needs to change course. As attorney/activist Matthew David Savinar puts it, "Oil is our God." As Stanford professor Terry Lynn Karl adds, "More and more oil is going to come from less and less stable places...places that actually challenge the taking of oil in the first place." One of the more chilling revelations concerns the discrepancy between the reserves oil-producing nations claim they possess and the actual amount. These padded estimates allow them to drill with impunity, leading to an abundance of wealth in the short term and cataclysmic consequences once they've depleted their supply of this non-renewable resource. A Crude Awakening isn't exactly a day-brightener, but Gelpke and McCormack are comprehensive and impartial in their inquiry, which makes for an informative examination of a vitally important subject. Extras include extended interviews with four participants and bonus chapter Petrostates. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

An unforgettable and shocking wake-up call, A CRUDE AWAKENING offers the rock-solid argument that the era of cheap oil is in the past. Relentless and clear-eyed, this intensively-researched film drills deep into the uncomfortable realities of a world that is both addicted to fossil fuels and blissfully unaware of the looming "peak oil" crisis. Drawing on an international cast of maverick energy experts and thinkers, directors Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack debunk the conventional wisdom that oil production will continue to climb, and instead stare bleakly at a planet facing economic meltdown and conflict over its most valuable resource. Featuring a haunting score by Phillip Glass and a fascinating array of rare archival footage, the film explores oil's rocky relationship with human progress in locales ranging from ancient Baku, Azerbaijan to dusty oilpatch town McCamey, Texas.

Amidst a dark and disturbing vision of our future, A CRUDE AWAKENING hints at a humbler way of life built around sustainability and alternative energy, providing a visually stunning, boldly prophetic testament which provokes not just thought but action.

Customer Reviews:

If you liked End of Suburbia, you'll like this.......2007-09-01

These Peak Oil documentaries aren't for everyone. Peak Oil means that half the world's conventional oil has been used and only half is left. The fight for the remaining oil will be fierce and that oil will become very expensive.

The concept that our present way of life may be seriously in jeapardy is too much for many to grasp or accept. Crude Awakening is very well done as is End of Suburbia. The message of both documentaries is essentially the same -- the cheap oil is gone and nothing is going to replace it that will allow our present level or life style to go on. There will be a lot less driving around in the future, for instance. End of Suburbia focuses on North America, US and Canada, Crude Awakenings, a german production I believe, focuses on the whole industrial world. Both DVDs start with how we got into this mess back when oil was first discovered.

The US uses nearly 21 million barrels of oil per day. That volume is equal to the flow of water over the Niagara Falls in 19 minutes. Or that's one square mile, four feet deep. If that square mile were corn, it would produce only 8000 barrels of ethanol in a year. Presently the world uses one cubic mile of crude oil per year. The Sears Tower is only 1/4 mile tall. Estimates are there are only 30-some cubic miles of conventional oil left. Nothing will replace oil in terms of low cost, concentrated, abundant energy. When it's gone's it's gone.

And if the world doesn't get it's act together, serious economic collapse is highly possible -- that is the message of Crude Awakenings and End of Suburbia.

Both Crude Awakenings and End of Suburbia are worthy. For me, there's enough differences in each one that I didn't regret purchasing both. However, if your budget is limited, you only need one of the two. Watch it. Show it to your friends.

Sad but true..........2007-08-31

This was certainly a sad assessment of the current energy debacle. Hopefully, this documentary ignites the hearts and minds of more creative individuals to join the cause of ensuring a sustainable future. There isn't many negative things I can say about this video. I thought it seemed very factual and seemed pretty unbiased, unlike a lot of media revolving around the same subject matter. There were some disturbing things I was unaware of (like countries claiming to have much larger reserves to ensure they keep a large enough production quota), as well as A LOT of things I think most people are already aware of. The movie had a nice pace, and didn't seem boring at all. It didn't get too technically involved either, anyone can watch it. Also, Philip Glass's musical score that accompanies the movie was very moving. It's certainly worth renting, maybe even purchasing.

A real awakening.......2007-08-31

Compelling information that should be widely distributed. Whether it happens now, in 10 years or 30 years, we can't wait to plan for the end of oil. That, combined with the damage we are doing to our world is screaming at us to wake up.

A good introduction to the subject..........2007-08-16

I have read numerous books on the subject, so nothing in the movie was really new to me. That being said, to someone who is unfamiliar with the subject, this movie will serve as an excellent introduction.

One mistake that many make when thinking of the subject is to concentrate merely on finding a replacement for oil so that life as usual can continue. The movie mentions (in passing, really) that it was the petroleum-fueled green revolution that lead to unprecedented increases in the total human population on the planet. But consider what happens when cheap oil is no longer available? How much food will we be able to grow? Will we be able to feed the 6-billion-plus people that currently live on the planet? People have given it serious study - many have concluded that the maximum sustainable human population is between 1.5 to 2 billion people. Bartlett mentions this in passing towards the end of the film, but the full significance of this point could easily be missed if you aren't paying full attention.

There are other cases besides oil where we are using resources in a non-sustainable way. We are over-fishing the oceans. We are over-extracting water from underground aquifers in order to grow the food that we currently have. And in response to high fuel prices, some advocate growing even more corn and turning it into fuel for our SUVs.

There is a final point at the end of this however, and these questions weren't really addressed in the film. If you dig a little bit into the subject, they come up rather quickly however. Our economic systems depend upon and for that matter require growth to be healthy. But as we wind down oil usage, it seems inevitable that the world economy must contract - especially if the human population must also contract at the same time. But a contracting economy is one that we would consider to be deeply in a depression. So perhaps another question is whether there is a more suitable economic model that doesn't require constant growth (both in population, and also in the size of the economy). No current or past economic model meets these requirements, and while there has been some academic thought given to the subject, at this point nobody really knows what such an economy would really look like.

It would be a huge mistake to treat this issue as a left-vs-right type of issue however. Most of the world has become conditioned to a world where resources are always available for whatever we want to do. Or that when one resource does run short, we can trivially substitute something else in order to continue on with life as usual. None of us - neither left or right - have ever had to face anything of this magnitude.

One of the most important films of the decade........2007-08-12

This outstanding documentary has won many awards, and has been called "possibly the most important film of the decade." Although, there are several other documentaries of the past few years that should be required viewing.
As a film, "A Crude Awakening" is brilliantly crafted. The cinematography and the music are moving. While the message of the film is of utmost importance. For years, environmentalists have been advocating for a more sustainable energy system. In this film, they have their concerns and goals validated by Republican representatives like Roscoe Bartlett, several energy industry investors, and the former head of the CIA - James Woolsey. While "Earth First" and the CIA may seem like strange bedfellows, there appears to be a shared interest in avoiding an amplified global catastrophe that is pulling them in similar directions. I say "amplified" because in many ways, there is already a catastrophe related to oil going on - the megadeath in Iraq, the propping up of dictators, the oil production waste sites in Nigeria and Ecuador, and much else.
As disconcerting as this film is, there are hopeful developments. Documentaries like The Power Of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil and the recently released film "The 11th Hour" point towards the ways in which global society can transition from the oil economy. Journals like Plenty Magazine and Sustainable Industries Journal also help people to avoid being neutralized by despair, and also provide entrepreneurs and investors all sorts of leads as to where money can be made in the "next industrial revolution." Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
But, this transition will face a lot of opposition by extremely wealthy entrenched interests that have designed society to addict the world to their products. Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives
and Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back
These are perilous times; but if people discover their power as consumers, investors, citizen advocates, conversationalists, socially responsible entrepreneurs, organic farmers/gardeners and so forth, we can make our way towards a world that would be not only sustainable, but a lot more fun. This film is an excellent tool to begin that process.

Average customer rating:

I liked it
Did they have to put Kevin Smith in it?
Entirely forgettable -- should have been a Lifetime movie
Good background noise for a nap...
A great movie....

Catch & Release
Starring: Jennifer Garner , Timothy Olyphant , Sam Jaeger , Kevin Smith , and Juliette Lewis
Director: Susannah Grant
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: B00005JPF3
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Amazon.com

Jennifer Garner's lips grow more Angelina-esque every year. In the romantic comedy Catch and Release, Garner (Alias, 13 Going On 30) plays Gray Wheeler, a young woman whose fiance dies unexpectedly before the wedding, leaving Gray unable to afford her home--so she moves in with her fiance's best friends, Sam (Kevin Smith, director of Clerks and Dogma) and Dennis (Sam Jaeger, Lucky Number Slevin). But the presence of another old friend named Fritz (Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood) leads to the unveiling of a secret: Gray's fiance had a child with another woman. Catch and Release lacks the clear story structure that most romantic comedies are built on, but trades it for a richer sense of the ambiguities of human relationships. Garner, though lovely and personable, is a bit bland--fortunately, she's surrounded by actors with all kinds of edges, including Smith (who shows an unexpected and uncloying earnest side), Fiona Shaw (from the Harry Potter movies) as the fiance's grieving mother, and Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear), who demonstrates once again her powers as a fearless and surprising actress. Catch and Release is an uneven movie, with a remarkably elegant visual style that sometimes clashes with the workmanlike dialogue, but it can't be written off as the same old Hollywood claptrap. Though a happy ending is inevitable, the path it takes has some surprising turns and flashes of unexpected emotional depth.-- Bret Fetzer

Stills from Catch and Release (click for larger image)

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Customer Reviews:

I liked it.......2007-09-17

The premise of this movie seems quite depressing but Jennifer Garner lightens it up with her beautiful smile and comededic acting. She meshes well with her male costars and she fits great into the "one of the guys" role. I always liked her in a romantic comedy aspect liken to "13 going on 30" so this was right up my alley. Well worth renting

Did they have to put Kevin Smith in it?.......2007-09-02

He adds nothing to the movie except his sick jokes and terrible non existent acting. And Jennifer regretfully plays an airhead role, she is starting to turn into an Angelina Joile, and we don't want anymore trash in Hollywood, try Washington DC.

Entirely forgettable -- should have been a Lifetime movie.......2007-09-02

"Catch & Release," starring Jennifer Garner, was an entirely forgettable film, much better done for TV as a Lifetime movie.

What happens when you find out the person you were set to marry turns out to be entirely a different person, with an unsavory past life? And then dies on the day before the wedding? And you live in a shared craftsman bungalow in Boulder with his two other best friends? And they all know he had a kid but never bothered to tell you? And then the flakey blonde woman and son show up in Boulder? And you have some treacly-sweet bonding moments with all the guys and the ditz? And your fiance had a lot more money than you were aware of? And his mom want the family heirloom engagement ring back? And the DNA proves the boy is not really his son? And you unwittingly fall in love with his LA-ish best friend? And because of an overheard misunderstanding he returns to LA in a snit? And one of the roommates falls in love with the blonde flake and her son? And then you decide to go to LA to reunite with the best friend? And you find him on the beach, playing catch with his dog? And you lock lips and he asks what took you so long?

Do you need to watch this movie to find out? I don't think so.

Good background noise for a nap..........2007-08-29

I don't even know where to begin. This movie starts slow...and just gets slower. There's very little character development, despite that being the one of the main (implied) themes of the movie. The acting isn't great and the script was lousy. Since I'm one of those people who always tries to find something nice to say, I'll mention that I loved the house. The layout was open and beautiful but it didn't really fit the mood of the movie. Garner's "trapped-in-my-mind/trapped-in-the-situation" attitude with the situations in the movie really didn't fit with the home she was staying in.

There needed to be more action (vs. boring dialouge) in this movie. There are too many twists and turns and only a vague storyline. If you absolutely ~have~ to see this movie, borrow it, rent it, but whatever you do, ~*~don't~*~ buy it. You'll only be able to stomach the monotony once (if you're lucky).

A great movie...........2007-08-23

I loved the movie catch and release. Many people did not like how it ended, but I thought the ending was perfect. This is definitely a must see!

Average customer rating:

"History? It's just one f****** thing after another."
Good, but Flawed
Teachers and Student Unite
History Boys, Teens, and Gays
Contrived and unlikely

The History Boys
Starring: Samuel Anderson , James Corden , Stephen Campbell Moore , Richard Griffiths , and Frances de la Tour
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B000NIVJFO
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Amazon.com

The play's the thing in The History Boys. Unlike most stage-to-screen transitions, Nicholas Hytner assembled the entire original cast for the celluloid version of Alan Bennett's award-winning work. (The two previously joined forces for The Madness of King George.) As in Hytner's National Theatre production, a group of Sheffield sixth-form boys, Timms (James Corden), Lockwood (Andrew Knott), Rudge (Russell Tovey), Scripps (Jamie Parker), Crowther (Samuel Anderson), Akhtar (Sacha Dhawan), Posner (Samuel Barnett), and Dakin (Dominic Cooper)--the latter two standouts--spend an extra term in 1983 preparing for their Oxbridge exams. Hector (Richard Griffiths) and Dorothy Lintott (Frances de la Tour) are their regular instructors (both performances garnered Tony Awards), while Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore, Bright Young Things) is the enigmatic new history teacher. The Headmaster (Clive Merrison) brings him on board to lend the precocious lads "polish." Irwin, however, is more interested in encouraging them to think creatively--not merely to recite facts. The boys just want to get into Oxford and Cambridge. If that means withstanding the occasional grope from Hector and harsh word from Irwin, so be it. In the end, which boy gets in where isn't insignificant, but Bennett's greater concern is what they learn along the way. If Hytner isn't always successful in reconciling the intellectual with the more earthbound, The History Boys is one of the funniest films yet about Britain's educational system--and education in general. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Stills from The History Boys

Description

From award-winning playwright Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George) comes this delightfully witty comedy of eight boisterous-yet-talented schoolboys hoping to gain admittance to England's most prestigious universities. They're aided on their quest by two teachers, a shrewd young upstart and an inspiring old eccentric, whose opposing philosophies challenge the boys to confront the true meaning of education and the relative values of happiness and success.

Adapted from the original Tony Award winning play and starring the original Tony Award winning cast, The History Boys is an engaging, thought-provoking, and wickedly funny look at history, the pursuit of knowledge, and the utter randomness of life.

Customer Reviews:

"History? It's just one f****** thing after another.".......2007-09-02

I don't know if Alan Bennett thinks it's impossible to be gay and happy or it's impossible for anyone to be happy. This movie (while it does have witty dialogue and an interesting story) is full of the "sad homosexual" character from another era - - in movies like The Children's Hour, The Detective, Advise & Consent.

It's believable that Hector (in his fifties or sixties in the 1980s, when this movie takes place) would have made a loveless marriage long ago and now gropes seventeen-year-olds on his motorbike, but Irwin, the new teacher just out of university, can find lots of gay adult men. It's England in the eighties! Ever hear of Boy George? Elton John? The Notting Hill parades every year? Gay clubs? Personal ads?

Irwin doesn't need Hector's speech about "innoculating" himself against the torment of falling in love with the boys. Not to mention, this perpetuates the idea that grown gay men want boys. (One of the episodes of the Inspector Lynley Mysteries dealt with a gay teacher in a much more believable way.)

The last scene, which brings the boys' lives up to date (presumably to around the year 2000), is even more annoying. One of the boys (also gay) has become a teacher himself. He is apparently unmarried (to anyone of either sex) and has inherited Hector's aura of tragic self-pity along with his erudtion.

It may have been a mistake for Alan Bennett to write a story that must have been inspired by his own school experience, but setting it decades later.

The soundtrack uses eighties music, but not the original versions of the songs. A Muzak version of The Clash - - what's the point? The movie Billy Elliot used period music much better. (Now that I think aboout it, Billy Elliot dealt with several of the same themes - - getting out of an impoverished environment, appreciating art for its own sake, and dealing with someone else's love when you can't return it in the same way.)

Another quibble: a couple of the actors might have been able to pass for "boys" on stage, but they were a little too old for the screen. In one scene it looks like one of the boys is standing next to his father.

But Frances de la Tour's performance alone makes the movie worth watching. Especially her angry speech when she gets fed up with the boys she's tutoring. (Didn't they let women into Oxford and Cambridge in the 1980s?)

Good, but Flawed.......2007-08-23

THE HISTORY BOYS is a compelling, though imperfect film. It tells a absorbing story. A group of young men from working class England circa 1983 take exams which show they are of above average intelligence and have excellent shots at getting into either Oxford or Cambridge. We meet the young men after they have taken the exams. The headmaster (played by Clive Morrison) knows that the students have been well prepared by teacher Dorothy Linnott (Francis de la Tour) but fears what they've learned from a teacher affectionately known as Hector (Richard Griffiths). So that the young men can be "polished" the Headmaster hires Irwin, (Stephen Campbell Moore). Irwin obliges the headmaster but knows what it is the boys truly need, namely an edge that makes them different from the other applicants, and he does his best to try and shape his young charges in a short period of time.

If the film had consistently stuck to this story line, it probably would have been more convincing, but there are a number of subplots which at times distract from the overall story. One involves Hector. Hector enjoys giving his students a lift home on his motorcycle which includes a" friendly" bit of groping which seems to be accepted by the students as a small, almost endearing quirk. The school discovers his actions and decides to dismiss him at the end of the semester to avoid controversy. Perhaps this could happen, but in working class England in 1983, this behavior would hardly be acceptable nor would the pining of love by Possner (Samuel Barnett) for fellow student Dakin (Dominic Cooper). American audiences and critics found this a bit less than believable, especially the nonchalant reaction to the abuse of students by Hector, and a friend from England who attended a similar school told me that his compatriots would not have accepted it either, nor would a young man like Possner be so forthcoming about his feelings in such a setting. While one person from England's "two cents worth" may hardly be an exhaustive survey, my feeling is that his opinion is accurate. These subplots seem to keep us from getting to know some of the other characters, namely Lockwood (Andrew Knott) and Rudge (Russell Tovey) who seem to be more interesting than either Posner or Dakin, at least in my opinion. Also, there is a scene where Linnott discusses what happens in the future to may of the characters and while it probably works well on stage, it's somewhat confusing in the film version.

Still while it may be a less than perfect film, it does maintain a viewer's interest and presented a good story. The characters can be multifaceted which makes them interesting and there are a number of ironies in the film which likewise gives it strength. Perhaps on stage it would work better, as can be the case with so many stage works. Still, in spite of its weaknesses, it's still an enjoyable film.

Teachers and Student Unite.......2007-08-10

Well written, well structured, well directed and well acted. Did you apply to go to the Ivy League? Do you know your SAT scores? Do you value education? Please watch this movie at least once.

History Boys, Teens, and Gays.......2007-08-10

This movie is beautifully shot, very low key, and fairly entertaining. However, one of the implications in the film is that the homosexual groping of teenage boys is forgivable when done by a quirky "intellectual", and that boys are willing able and to tolerate it. Also,the "bad guy" is the head of the school who fired him for his bad behavior. If you can overlook those themes in a movie you may enjoy it, otherwise pass on it.

Contrived and unlikely.......2007-08-08

This film came highly recommended so I checked with our local library to see if they had it and, lo!, they did..with one catch: There was a waiting list of 35 (unprecedented in my experience) waiting to get it. I added my name; months later I got an email saying my turn had come. I approached the movie with high anticipation considering its simultaneous popularity and (to me) obscurity.

I have to say I was very disappointed. None of the movie rang true except perhaps the most basic of premises, i.e. a bunch of underdog students trying to better themselves.

The friendships between the "boys" did not seem real, nor did the student/teacher relationships, or, for that matter, the teacher/teacher relationships. The frank sexual interactions between the faculty and the students was not convincing, either, neither in the way it was protrayed nor in the way it was dealt with by the other factulty/students once "discovered." It seemed more like wish fulfillment-and disturbing wish-fulfillment, at that--on the part of the playwright/screenwriter.

Melodramatic, theatrical (in the bad sense of the word), forced...these are the words that come to mind to describe it. Fortunately, they assembled an excellent cast, the film's most redeeming quality. If they'd had better material to work with, it could have been an excellent film.

Open Season (Widescreen Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Shrek Meets Born Free
hilarious surprises...
BEST LAUGHS IN YEARS
Nothing groundbreaking here..
Unexpected suprise

Open Season (Widescreen Special Edition)
Starring: Martin Lawrence , Ashton Kutcher , Gary Sinise , Jon Favreau , and Jane Krakowski
Director: Anthony Stacchi , Jill Culton , and Roger Allers
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000L22SG6
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Amazon.com

Growing up can be a confusing journey fraught with difficult choices. Boog (Martin Lawrence) is a domesticated Grizzly Bear who leads a perfectly happy life inside of Park Ranger Beth's (Debra Messing) garage, but a chance meeting with an overly energetic mule deer named Elliot (Ashton Kutcher) quickly changes everything and lands Boog high in the forest a few days before the opening of hunting season. Devoid of even the most basic survival skills, Boog and Elliot stumble through the woods and find themselves at the mercy of every forest animal from skunks to chipmunks as well as an evil hunter named Shaw (Gary Sinise). After unintentionally inciting and endangering an entire forest full of clever animals, Boog and Elliot come to the realization that only by banding together do the forest animals stand a chance of outsmarting the hunters and ensuring their own survival.

This first animated film from Sony Pictures Animation takes its inspiration from cartoonist Steve Moore (In the Bleachers) and features animals with human-like intelligence, a vibrant color palate, and skilled animation that makes everything from the wind blowing Boo's fur to the animals' wild trip down the falls simply breathtaking. While it doesn't quite live up to Over the Hedge, Open Season is an entertaining production that explores the difficult process of maturation, the universal need for acceptance, and the true value of friendship. Special features include a 15-minute featurette about the animation process at Sony Pictures Animation and Image Works, a 7-minute look at the recording sessions featuring the voices behind the characters, two deleted scenes, three short animated cartoon strips, a short "Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run" that's an extension of the trailer scene in the movie, art gallery, beat boards, humorous commentary from the animals' point of views, and a full length commentary by Producer Michelle Murdocca, Directors Roger Allers and Jill Culton, and others. Activities include a "Voice-A-Rama" where viewers can hear specific lines spoken by alternate voices and a trivia "Wheel of Fortune--Forest Edition" as well as a DVD-ROM link to more online fun. (Ages 3 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Meet the Critters of Open Season (click for larger image)

Boog (aka Martin Lawrence),
hear Martin Lawrence, "On Boog":
high bandwidth

Elliot (aka Ashton Kutcher),
hear Ashton Kutcher, "On being Elliot":
high bandwidth

Shaw (aka Gary Sinise),
hear Gary Sinise, "On Shaw":
high bandwidth

Stills from Open Season (click for larger image)

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Meet The Chubbchubbs!

For a limited time, purchase Open Season (Widescreen Edition) on DVD and receive a complimentary copy of the Academy Award winning animated short, The Chubbchubbs!, exclusive to Amazon.com.

Amazon.com Review
When it was briefly shown in theaters with Men in Black II, the delightful animated cartoon The Chubb Chubbs had the awkward distinction of being funnier and more inventive than MIIB. The six-minute film won the 2003 Oscar for best animated short. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

In Open Season, the odd are about to get even. Boog (Martin Lawrence), a domesticated grizzly bear with no survival skills, has his perfect world turned upside down when he meets Elliot (Ashton Kutcher) a scrawny, fast-talking mule deer. When Elliot convinces Boog to leave his cushy home in a park ranger's garage to try a taste of the great outdoors, things quickly spiral out of control. Relocated to the forest with open season only three days away, Boog and Elliot must acclimate in a hurry. They must join forces to unite the woodland creatures and take the forest back.

Customer Reviews:

Shrek Meets Born Free.......2007-09-04

A big and kind, but scary seeming, guy just wants to be left in peace when his peace is invaded by a small four-footed wise cracker with big ears. Sound familiar? The big guy is a tame grizzly bean and the annoying hanger on is a deer. Although the bear has been peaceful for years, the ranger who takes care of him is forced to return him to the wild. The bear is now a fish out of water and totally unprepared for life in the wild. But he should be all right as he was taken high into the mountains away from the hunting grounds.

But a flood sends the bear, deer, and many others down river to where they are endangered by the local hunters. Now the bear that just wanted to be left alone has to figure out how to deal with the wild and protect everyone from the hunters. Of course there are lessons to be learned while this is going on and everything winds up for the better.

Most of the elements of this movie are very familiar. The animation is reasonably good with a consistent level of cartoonishness. The story is pretty good and most of the characters are well realized. I was rather pleased with this film although its focus was different from what is shown in the trailer (the business with the hunters only comes in in the end). Not too rude or too cute, check it out.

hilarious surprises..........2007-08-15

*Open Season* is lap-slapping funny, with parts that were so unpredictable.

Boog is a domesticated bear who lives with Beth, a park ranger. Boog performs small shows along with Beth. At the end of the day, he has his own place in the garage with everything that a pet could ask for.

Then, one day by happenstance, Boog meets Elliot, a one-antlered deer who has been tied on the hood of a jeep by a hunter. Pleading with puppy eyes, he begs Boog to free him. At the last moment, he does. Life is never the same for Boog afterwards.

Almost immediately, Boog finds himself in the middle of a forest with Elliot. Both of them have no survival skills or instinct. However, Elliot initiates that he knows his way back to town but he doesn't.

To make things worse, it's now open season. Like the lion, the forest animals look up to Boog as this great grizzly bear to lead and protect them. The problem is that Boog can't even save himself. However, he gradually learns the ways of the forest and rounds up the forest animals to fight back against the hunters.

Beth, feeling guilty, returns to the forest to bring back Boog. However, it's a question of whether Boog will go back to his sheltered and performing life or stay in the forest where he naturally belongs.

*Open Season* is plainly hilarious. There's one part that really cracks me up. This part is after Boog and Elliot have been dropped off in the forest. Soon, Boog has to go to the bathroom...with privacy. Elliot is like, just go. All I can say is just be prepared to laugh hard.

BEST LAUGHS IN YEARS.......2007-08-08

From the moment youi first meet boog, till the end of this movie you will be laughing till the end, poor ole boog has it made until he befriends a one antler deer named elliot, no one especialy boog could ever dream of the trouble a sweet little deer could cause until he takes him to his home in the garrage where he lives,soon after the chance meeting of these two wildlife animals boogs lifestyle of a bed, snacks and espicaly a toilet are transformed to the good old backwoods, where he is teased and tormented by the wild animals until open season comes in, then things change and everyone starts to look up to boog to save them, this is a non stop laughing comady that couldnt have been done right without the help of martin lawrence who plays boog, this is a must see...

Nothing groundbreaking here.........2007-08-02

Had this movie been released 5-6 years ago, it probably would have made a huge impact in both story and technical achievement. Unfortunately, we've seen this movie many times before with the likes of Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Shrek, Hoodwinked, and even the 2d animated Emperor's New Groove . Animals that venture out into the woods to learn 'valuable life lessons'(Madagascar); the big calm, collective character vs. the small annoying, hyper character (Shrek and Emperor's New Groove), and animals constantly finding themselves out of their habitat (all of the movies).

Not only is the storyline hardly original, the main characters played by Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher don't quite gel together well. Funny moments are few and far in between. The animals (skunks) with the stereotypical 'black attitude' formula has been beaten to death in this movie as well.

Sony, along with Pixar need to put the 'animals in peril' storyline in the shelf once and for all and start coming up with fresh ideas. The last great 3d animated experience that was released as of late seems to be last years 'Monster House'; technically astounding and original storyline, not to mention very funny HUMAN characters.

Don't get me wrong, the 3D movie studios are great at what they do. Being a student of 3d animation myself, I can certainly understand the hard work they go through to make movies like this. The truth remains, however, that beautiful 3d images and animation alone don't make for a great movie.

Unexpected suprise.......2007-07-28

I really didn't think I would like this one but I think it is the best work of Auston Kutcher so far and I'm not too fond of him.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The Complete Second Season (1971)

Average customer rating:

Good Clean Fun
Fabulous!
Why can't sitcoms today be this good?
MTM 2nd season
MTM

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The Complete Second Season (1971)
Starring: Cloris Leachman , Georgia Engel , Joyce Bulifant , Nancy Walker , and Betty White
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00096S480
Release Date: 2005-07-26

Amazon.com

The Emmy-winning first season was an auspicious beginning. By its second season, the classic theme song "Love is All Around" has been revamped with an even more optimistic outlook: "You're gonna make it after all." In the sophomore season of this instant gold-standard sitcom, the ace writing staff and peerless ensemble begin to flesh out the iconic characters. Gruff Lou Grant (Ed Asner, enjoying his second Emmy-winning season) reveals his more loveable side when he discovers his son-in-law out with another woman in "The Six-and-a-Half-Year Itch." Vain Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) becomes a more sympathetic character in "Cover Boy," featuring the hilariously preening Jack Cassidy as Ted's competitive brother, and "And Now, Sitting in for Ted Baxter," in which a substitute anchor earns higher ratings than the vacationing Ted. Mary, the sweetheart of prime time, is still something of a pushover (in "Feeb," she feels compelled to write a letter of recommendation for an extraordinarily incompetent secretary), but she develops the backbone to stand up to an anti-Semite who disapproves of Rhoda in one of the season's best episodes, "Some of My Best Friends Are Rhoda." The indelible friendship between Mary and Rhoda (Valerie Harper, also earning her second consecutive Emmy) is sorely tested when they become temporary roommates in "Where There's Smoke, There's Rhoda." As with the most enduring shows, The Mary Tyler Moore Show eschewed topical humor that would date the series, and instead, mined its more universal and timeless humor from the wellspring of the characters. More than 30 years later, there is still, as ever, something about Mary. --Donald Liebenson

Description

Mary and the gang from WJM-TV return in another award-winning season. No longer the new girl in town, Mary has come to think of the newsroom staff as family. But along with the good times and close friendships come the often trying—and ultimately hilarious—situations every family faces. From Mary explaining the facts of life to Phyllis' daughter to going on a blind date (set up by Lou!) to attending her disastrous high school reunion, it's clear why this TV classic is one of the most beloved comedies of all time.

Customer Reviews:

Good Clean Fun.......2007-07-23

This series was incredible--no sex, violence or vulgar language, yet it makes you laught out loud. Highly recommend.

Fabulous!.......2007-07-10

Another sensational season of Mary Tyler Moore and perhaps even better than season one. Season two continues with Mary in the news room and the usual cast of characters. However, season two begins to pick up on more social issues such as explaining sex to children, antisemitism, race, as well as some feminism-lite but despite the appearance of more serious issues Mary and Rhoda continue plugging away with plenty of laughs.

Why can't sitcoms today be this good?.......2007-04-12

I can remember watching the Mary Tyler Moore show as a kid and I always enjoyed every episode. To now have the first four seasons on DVD means that I can pop in a DVD anytime and enjoy what is probably one of the best sitcoms every made.

Season Two finds the WJM newsroom staff developing their styles. Ted is still annoying (but Lou can't let him go no matter what) and Murray and Mary continue to develop their friendship. The episodes are always funny especially when Ted is forced to take a vacation only to find out his temporary "replacement" has WJM's ratings going sky high. Rhoda's mother plays a role in the season with her visits while another episode has Ted trying desperately to impress his brother by pretending to date Mary. Another episode has Ted interviewing a local City Councilman who is actually less intelligent that Ted!

You can't go wrong with the Mary Tyler Moore DVDs. They are family friendly, funny, well written and are an example of top notch sitcom writing that, for whatever reason, we just don't see anymore.

MTM 2nd season.......2007-03-18

Like the first season DVD, I never get tired of seeing it. It's better than any sitcom currently running on TV.

MTM.......2007-03-08

This show is a classic. It's funny and realistic. Great to see fashions from the 70's.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The Complete Fourth Season

Average customer rating:

ONE OF THE FAMOUS
Bring on the Next Season, Fox Studios
Please more Mary Tyler Moore
A classic series
Are they gonna make season 5 after all?

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The Complete Fourth Season
Starring: Cloris Leachman , Georgia Engel , Joyce Bulifant , Nancy Walker , and Betty White
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Television | Genres | DVD | Video