The Barbie Diaries

Description

It's a new school year and Barbie is hoping this year will be a little less ordinary. She loves hanging out with her best friends, playing with them in a band, working at the school TV station, and also has a crush on a boy. With a special diary and charm bracelet suddenly Barbie finds the courage to truly be herself, and exciting things start happening! Find out how fresh, fun, and exciting life can be in The Barbie Diaries!

Customer Reviews:

This movie is so cute.......2007-02-14

I have this movie and I really love it!It is about three girls Barbie,Courtney and Tia that are best friends.One day they go to the mall to find Barbie a outfit for her to go to the dance with her most wished date,Todd.And the salesman lady gives the three of them charm bracelets and Barbie's bracelet comes with a a magical diary.And that's how the whole stories starts it is so adorable!I could tell you the whole story but I think it's better for you to watch for yourself and find out.It is worth buying,trust me.

not good!.......2006-12-26

story line: not for young kids, and not even really good for older kids. she has to try to fit in with the cool kids. whatever. i hate that an animated kid movie took on the teenage ideals of teenage movies. (!!!!!)

animation: sucks. was expecting every other barbie movie animation. those look amazing, this was verrrrrry poor.

We Love Barbie Diaries!.......2006-12-20

My 3-year-old daughter, as well as my 16-year-old daughter, loved this movie. I found the content agreeable.
So what if a girl has a crush on a boy, or had been asked if there was a kiss? It's a natural and human progression, afterall, don't parents greet each other with a kiss or affection in the presence of their kids? Barbie Diaries captured the youngest's attention with very good music, and most importantly, the story is a good lesson on being true to yourself, being studious, (Barbie is an honor student in this movie) loyal to your friends and following your dreams. Even the advice of keeping a diary is a good one, we get to see how far we have come, how our goals are realized, etc.. No dark and evil characters like in Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, Rapunzel, Mermaidia, Fairytopia, etc.., just the nuisance of a self-centered, shallow, popular girl who tries to make Barbie miserable, but all is settled in the end for the benefit of all. It's all good.

Brilliant Movie for an older audience.......2006-12-05

Im 24, i love Barbie and i love Teen Chick Flicks... so this Movie was all i could wish for and more! Loved it. im a big kid inside. but this movie has more of an adult feel to it. its very teen chick flick in the style of such movies as "A Cinderella Story" with Hilary Duff.
Its a great story about the meaning of friendship and a magic diary. The film really gives an important message.. that you dont have to have a magic diary to make things happen. if you Believe you can do it, you can! Its a heart warming movie.. with amazing DIGITAL Animation! Compared the other other Barbie movies the digital animation is STUNNING! Barbie's hair is gorgeous. every strand moves. unlike in the other barbie movies where it only moves as one whole piece of hair. The music was alright to. i liked the songs. quite catchy, surprisingly. very Hilary Duff style. Wonderful colourful movie. i loved it to bits!

Great Movie.......2006-11-24

Hi :)
I have three girls 2, 14, and 15. We thought this movie was wonderful. It kept my teenagers and my toddler interested and I enjoyed it too.

We loved the soundtrack and though the graphics were not the best I've seen I did really like how they had each strand of hair move. Actually I love that in graphics. When she would tilt her head her hair would fall strand by strand as a persons would.

My 15 year old has been a Barbie girl her whole life and I was really happy to see this movie that was more her age range.

Average customer rating:

Eddie's turned into a religious man!
How did I miss seeing this before!!
Stop Comparing it to Other Movies!
Clever, Funny, & Deep
A great Sci-Fi Movie

Holy Man
Starring: Eddie Murphy , Jeff Goldblum , Kelly Preston , Robert Loggia , and Jon Cryer
Director: Stephen Herek
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
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ASIN: 0788814907
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Amazon.com

Holy Man could have been a stellar satire in the tradition of Frank Capra, George Stevens, or Preston Sturges. Instead, this well-meaning romantic comedy was bluntly written by Tom Schulman (Dead Poets Society) and broadly directed by Stephen Herek, who fared better with his 1995 drama Mr. Holland's Opus. Their good intentions shine through, however, and while it's easy to appreciate Eddie Murphy's attempt to shift his career in a more substantial direction, Holy Man delivers some pointed criticism of commercialism and its deadening effect on spiritual well-being.

Murphy plays an enlightened eccentric named "G" (for "guru" or "God"?) who rises to national celebrity when he's enlisted to host a TV shopping network. Jeff Goldblum and Kelly Preston play the show's producer and marketer, respectively, and their formulaic romance provides the movie's lackluster subplot. With skyrocketing ratings and a flurry of cameos by celebrity hucksters (Morgan Fairchild, Florence Henderson, Dan Marino, and even James Brown), G delivers preachy platitudes urging America to stop buying and embrace the finer values of life and love (a hollow message coming from Disney, the most conspicuously commercial of all major Hollywood studios). To its credit, Holy Man occasionally achieves a delicate balance of comedy and commentary, and receptive viewers will be grateful, at a time when crude comedies rule the box office, that someone bothered to try. For that reason, this flawed movie deserves to be seen. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The always hilarious Eddie Murphy (DR. DOLITTLE) stars with Jeff Goldblum (JURASSIC PARK) and Kelly Preston (JERRY MAGUIRE) in a refreshingly funny hit that elevates shopping to a nearly religious experience! A stressed-out senior executive at the Good Buy home shopping channel, Ricky Hayman (Goldblum) is praying for a miracle that will lift the network's lousy ratings and save his job. Then, from out of nowhere, "G" (Murphy) walks into his life! An outrageous, self-styled inspirational guru with a knack for showing up where he isn't exactly wanted, "G" proceeds to wander in front of the cameras just long enough to exude the irresistible star quality that will make him the sales-boosting savior Ricky's network has been looking for! Also featuring a host of well-known celebrities in a sidesplitting series of comic infomercials -- you're bound to be another satisfied customer with nothing but praise for HOLY MAN!

Customer Reviews:

Eddie's turned into a religious man!.......2006-11-27

Hollywood favorite Eddie Murphy will make religious people laugh with this awesome flick. Great support from Jeff Goldblum,Kelly Preston and Robert Loggia. If you saw this film and loved it,I'm sure you'll love 48 HOURS,ANOTHER 48 HOURS,THE DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN,BEVERLY HILLS COP 1,2 and 3,COMING TO AMERICA,THE GOLDEN CHILD,TRADING PLACES,BOOMERANG,HARLEM NIGHTS,the DOCTOR DOLITTLE films(remakes) and THE NUTTY PROFESSOR films(remakes).

How did I miss seeing this before!!.......2006-05-02

Absolutely one of the funniest movies ever, with a great message to boot! I want to thank Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, and Kelly Preston for a great movie! Superb! This movie should have done much better in the theaters. I had never heard about it until it played on digital cable. I will be buying this to free up some space on the DVR.

Stop Comparing it to Other Movies!.......2005-10-16

Look, the biggest complaint I have with the people that have reviewed this movie is they keep comparing it to other Eddie Murphy movies and it's just not. That would be like comparing The Majestic to The Mask and saying it wasn't Jim Carry's finest... It's a good movie but it is a very special movie. The jokes aren't a laugh a second but the good messages are. I don't think it should have recieved the Oscar or anything like that but it's none the less enjoyable, smart humor. Quit watching it with a running track of Nutty Professor in your head and just take it for what it is. A quality movie that really does have some good comentary on american ethics. I'm giving it five stars not because I think it's the best movie ever made but because it dares to be different than a lot of things that are already out there. Yes it could have been just another Daddy Daycare... but then there would just be two kinda average comedies instead of two feel good movies.

Clever, Funny, & Deep.......2005-09-27

There's no way to put into words how it feels to come from a film having taking something special away. After having read many reviews on Holy Man, both here and elsewhere, I've come to the conclusion that this is one of those movies most people just don't get. This is indeed the age of crudity, where shock value is held in higher regard than genuinely good storytelling and uplifting characters. This film succeeds on all fronts by offering itself not just as a hilarious comedy(which it certainly is), but also as a means to convey a message that's too often ingnored and scoffed at. Let's face it, most people today are master cynics, unwilling to accept any positivity but always ready to rebuke something. It seems to me, that's why this film was not a comercial success.

Eddie Murphy has created a phenomenal character in G and plays him with enough love and abandon I found myself smiling all the way through. Forget wondering exactly who G is. If you're really spending time on that, you've failed to see the point of the story. Besides, some things are best left to the imagination. Ambiguity doesn't have to be a scary concept.

The love story between Goldblum and Preston isn't perfect, but their performances-particuarly Goldblum's-are worth seeing. All in all, my only complaint is that their aren't any special features to speak of and letterbox format stinks. Otherwise, let go of yourself and rent this wonderful film. Watch it with a close friend or a loved one. You'll be glad you did!

A great Sci-Fi Movie.......2005-07-13

I know it isn't exactly what you might expect from Eddie Murphy. And of course it is not classic Sci-Fi. Nevertheless, it deals with subjects that have been present in SF since the very beginning. Alienation of man, consumism, manipulation from the media.

I find some similarities between this movie and Truman Show, which I consider to be SF too. Not all Jim Carrey fans seem to like TS, because it's different from the kind of comedy he is known by. The same goes here to Eddie Murphy. He is not wildly funny, he is a spiritual character who gets the best from people around him.

And the character who really makes this movie, for me anyway, is Jeff Goldblum's character. It is he who goes through a transformation, and makes us think if we are going in the right direction.

I actually loved this movie, and recommend it to everybody, although you shouldn't expect an average comedy, but a deep thought-provoking movie instead.

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Vols. 1-3 (Boxed Set)

Average customer rating:

Great series
Go for the individual DVDs
Great series--both funny and sad
Parody and Drama Mixed Just Right
All the fun of every anime in one show

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Vols. 1-3 (Boxed Set)
Starring: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Manufacturer: Adv Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000ADKWNW
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Description

One of 2004's best-regarded series is back, now in a beautiful thinpak set! 12 year old Arumi and Sashi stumble onto a dimensional portal that sends them careening between parallel worlds like their own…only not.

Customer Reviews:

Great series.......2006-01-25

I am surprised no one wrote a review about this anime. It is hilariously funny. Like the description says, it all starts out when Arumi and Sasshi jump into different worlds. They aren't sure how they get there but there are a few connecting facotrs about each world. Each world is a parody or spoof of some video game, anime or movie genre. It is worth watching if you want to laugh. I sponser an anime club and I brought this anime for the club to watch. The members in the club were 14-17 year olds and they couldn't stop laughing.

Go for the individual DVDs.......2006-01-17

You're missing out on some hilarious outakes and the ADVidnotes if you get the thin pack version. I'd originally borrowed the DVDs from a friend and watch thru twice (with Vidnotes the second time). When the thin pack came out I picked it up, pretty much just to have. While going thru my collection recently, I popped in the first DVD and was disappointed that none of the extras were included. I'm probably going to trade in the thin-pack set and order the series here.

Anyways, the series itself is funny in its own right. Much like Excel Saga, Abenobashi takes an irreverent stab at many anime genres and pop culture.

Great series--both funny and sad.......2005-12-15

What I liked best about this series is that it parodied a lot of the genres included in anime cartoons--caveman, fantasy castle, mystery, WWII, etc. It was fun to guess which world the two kids would fall into next....and then be surprised by a sudden sprinkling of a serious episode that would explain why they are going from one world to the next. ...The animation could have been better (especially the water balloon episode--ugh!), but I think it was drawn a little hastily at times on purpose, for humor. ...I was actually kind of sad while watching the last episode; I didn't want it to end. Great series!

Parody and Drama Mixed Just Right.......2005-11-18

On my first attempt at watching Abenobashi, I was only able to see the first two episodes and the last two episodes, so I saw the extent of the comedy as well as the drama that makes-up this show. I was convinced, in seeing these four episodes, that this was as close an FLCL copy as there was, and quite a good copy at that. But, in only seeing the episodes I did, I was left quite confused. I realized only after purchasing the box set that I had missed a lot.

Abenobashi is about two childhood friends, Sasshi and Arumi, who live in a shopping center in the southern Japanese area of Osaka (the accents of the characters seem to play on the American interpretation of north and south). We join their story as Sasshi is exploring the ruins of a bathhouse his family once owned and he's getting the news from his friend Arumi that her and her family are moving to Hokkaido so that her father can live his dream. But, on their way back to her family's place of business, a small French restaurant, her grandfather has a fall and is hospitalized. Thus starts a series of events in many magical worlds of Sasshi's creation, and the conflict comes in discovering just why they keep ending up in these strange worlds and why no matter how much they try they can't get back to their home world.

These worlds are mostly parodies of popular forms of entertainment, namely anime, video games, and Hollywood movies. Sasshi and Arumi must play the game in each world to its fullest extent in order to make the next "jump." And in each world, there is the common cast of characters, all regulars of the normal day Abenobashi, with the exception of Mune Mune, a character-parody of fan-service, and Mister Eutus, who seems to actually know what is happening to Sasshi and Arumi. Both of these characters have a dramatic roles that are revealed later.

The episodes of parody are hilarious, with funny dialogue happening between the characters and recognizable stereotypes in which the characters play off of. It's always interesting to see what will come out of Sasshi's head and mouth next. The rules in each world are different, as are the settings (though always based in Abenobashi), and even with different artistic styles of drawing. Every parody is as unique as the next.

Then there are those four episodes that are purely dramatic. These are what caught me off my guard. In my original viewing of the first four episodes, I got the feeling that everything between episode one and thirteen were purely satirical and comedic. Yet the middle episodes were as serious as possible, explaining the apparent history of Abenobashi, along with the history of Sasshi and Arumi's family. And then we find out the true reason for Sasshi's creation of these parody worlds, and Abenobashi takes a serious dramatic turn.

When all is said and done, you'll realize that, while it parodies a lot of what we know as anime fans, the story itself has plenty of morals and themes. It's more about a boy wanting to protect his best friend from the worst, and only realizing in the end that he might not be able to do it. It's also about the significant power of friendship and what one can accomplish with someone behind them. It's a great story, nowhere near as hectic or comedic as FLCL, with undertones that are meant to jab at the human soul, and not only at our funny bone.

I recommend this for anyone who enjoyed FLCL, as it's made by the same people and has a lot of the same themes and animation style. I also recommend Abenobashi for anyone who enjoys experimentation in their anime, as well as good, plot driven stories. Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi ends up being one of those smart anime that needs further interpretation in order to understand it.

All the fun of every anime in one show.......2005-09-21

As pronounced here in America "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi" is the most off the wall anime I have ever seen. *SLIGHT SPOILER AHEAD*. Main characters Sasshi and Arame go on adventures... many of them. Most of the adventures make fun of other Anime. This is also about Sasshi and Arame trying to get bakc at their own dimension. Every dimension is pretty much a different anime. They get to these dimensions by Pokemon like Goblins [You have to see it to believe it.] And lastly... there is a great story about how The Magical Shopping Arcade came to be. At first it can be confusing but it's great.

Average customer rating:

Stylistically superb but emotionally lacking
Maybe it's not love but the opportunity of love
"Tony" A Visual Poem That Works... Occasionally
And an island never cries.
Moving, but who gets the credit?

Tony Takitani
Starring: Issei Ogata , Rie Miyazawa , Shinohara Takahumi , Hidetoshi Nishijima , and Shizuka Moriyama
Director: Jun Ichikawa
Manufacturer: Strand Releasing
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ASIN: B000BQ7JXO
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Amazon.com

Sound and visuals are what movies are made of, yet in Tony Takitani, director Jun Ichikawa somehow communicates primarily through feeling. This is a work of profound, aching sadness, made exquisite more by what isn't heard and seen than what is, as Ichikawa brings writer Haruki Murakami's short story to the screen with a sense of restraint, apparent in every aspect of the process (storytelling, acting, music, cinematography), that transforms the usual cinematic experience into something much closer to a prolonged meditation. Issei Ogata plays the title character, son of a jazz musician who gave Tony his strange, Americanized name. Like his father, who is no more fit to be a dad than Tony is to be a son, Tony lives a life of total solitude. But solitude isn't the same as loneliness, as the middle-aged man learns when he meets and marries the much younger Eiko (Rie Miyazawa). At that point, as we're told in voice-over (a wonderfully low key performance by Hidetoshi Nishijima, who actually does more talking than the characters themselves), the newly-content Tony now is beset by feelings of terror and dread as he imagines what life would be like without her. But Eiko is no more connected to the real world than Tony, and her addiction to designer clothes ("they fill up what's missing inside me") eventually leads to tragedy. That happens in a sequence that might be amusing, in a black kind of way, in any other film, but not in this one. As it is, it triggers some rather strange behavior on Tony's part, as well as his return to a state of impenetrable, ineffable melancholy. Tony Takitani is not a warm experience. The dialogue is spare, the scenery severe, the colors muted, and Ichikawa's directing, though masterful, keeps us at arm's length. But there is greatness in this beautifully-rendered, 75-minute movie. --Sam Graham

Description

Tony is an illustrator who's been alone all his life…until he meets Eiko, a beautiful woman who transforms his life. The only problem is that Eiko is a compulsive shopper with a penchant for high end couture that leads to darkly satiric consequences.

Customer Reviews:

Stylistically superb but emotionally lacking.......2007-06-20

There's no denying the superb visual style of this film. A lot of people will fall in love with it for that, alone.

We are shown a very lonely boy whose mother died shortly after his birth and whose father was away most of the time, who adapts to life by isolating himself. He said that he did not realize that he was lonely. Then nature intervenes and he finally falls in love with a woman who agrees to marry him. He is supremely happy, but in the back of his mind, he is afraid that one day his loneliness will return. And, sure enough, it does, maybe because of his own actions, maybe not.

That's pretty much it....lonely boy grows up to be a lonely man. If you want more than that to a plot, you'll be disappointed. It is meticulously told and one hopes for some sort of happy ending for this man, but we're not given much to bank on.

I give it four stars for the exquisite artfulness of it, but hold back because the whole thing left me feeling incomplete and empty. Maybe that was the point---to leave us feeling as empty as the characters were. If so, the film succeeded. Enjoyable? Naw!

Maybe it's not love but the opportunity of love.......2007-04-14

I don't understand the reviews for this movie. I didn't read the book but I didn't get the same impression from this film as any others. I'm not sure if I am more disappointed in the story because I don't agree with the perspective or because I don't agree with the interpretation of other viewers. I did laugh at Rie Miyazawa's last scene when she didn't even want free latex gloves. That was great. Hopeful. I certainly enjoyed her scenes. But I wanted to see this movie shot again and retold. I understand that this movie is the way it is intentionally but it seems that the deep analyses of this film are not all that deep. Is there a hidden message in this film because the background is war-based and this film embodies and is about and practices circumvented emotion? Is this film actually a litmus test?

"Tony" A Visual Poem That Works... Occasionally.......2007-01-26

For everything I liked about "Tony Takitani", there is something about the film I disliked. In the end, I'm glad I saw the Japanese film on DVD, but if I had paid to see it at a theater, I wouldn't have been as happy. It takes the right type of person to appreciate this film and I don't know many of those people.

Tony Takitani (Issei Ogata), the son of a Jazz musician (also played by Ogata), grows up living a solitary life. From an early age, he learns to care for himself while his Dad is away, touring the far corners of the globe for months, years on end. Tony learns he has the ability to draw, but prefers to be very methodical and precise, so he becomes a mechanical illustrator. A darn good one at that, because he earns a good living. But as an adult, his life is empty; he sees his Dad every two or three years and has no one else in his life, focusing his attention on his work. One day, he meets a young woman, Konuma (Rie Miyazawa) and becomes enamored of her. Despite her objections, they fall in love and marry. But will Tony be happy after all?

Because Tony says little, the film is narrated, providing a sort of guiding poem to Tony's life, giving us occasional clues to his thoughts and feelings. As his world grows, with the addition of a wife, a housekeeper, others, they occasionally finish the narrator's sentences. This is an interesting idea, a partially successful, interesting idea. The narration paints a portrait of Tony's isolation, of his loneliness. Because he rarely speaks, we need a window into his world and the narrator provides that. Every time the narrator returns, we are reminded of this, giving us further evidence of the main character's life.

The narration helps to lend the film a fable quality. We hear "Tony began to cook his dinners for himself at an early age." for instance, as we watch scenes play out. Because someone is describing Tony's life, no matter the obtuse, somewhat poetic descriptions sometimes used, it makes us feel as though we are watching a picture book come to life. This, and the sad, rather unusual nature of his life, helps to make the film seem a little more unusual.

"Tony" has an interesting, visual style. A partially successful, interesting visual style. A majority of the scenes begin with the camera slowly moving across the horizon, from left to right. As the camera moves, we pick up a character and their actions until the camera moves beyond and picks up the next scene, moving from left to right. This technique helps the film seem more fluid, because the camera is always moving. Without this movement, "Tony" would feel very episodic. This camera work also creates a sort of visual poem complimenting the Japanese setting and time.

Unfortunately, the combination of the narration and the slow camera sweeping across every scene serve to make the film seem long. At roughly seventy-five minutes, "Tony" barely qualifies as a feature length movie. Yet, because of these two techniques, it feels as though we are watching an epic length film without any of the `epic'.

The performances are universally one note but even this sort of fits, no matter how annoying it might be. Because the camera is always moving, it rarely lingers on a scene for long. Essentially, we are watching a series of narrated tableaus illustrating the man's life. Interesting, but not entirely successful either. It would seem unnatural if any character showed a lot of emotion because we are only watching them for a brief period. But staying true to the filmmaker's ideas has created a very unnatural, slow paced film.

A watchable, but nonetheless unnatural and slow paced film.

And an island never cries........2006-10-31

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
-John Donne, Meditation XVII

Thanks to our local Arts Center, we were privileged to enjoy four thought-provoking foreign films this season. Each was extraordinarily good in its own way, yet it is TONY TAKITANI that remains strongest in memory. Set apart from the rest of his world by a foreign name, Tony would express his soul through art, but, ironically, his artistic precision is too exact, depicting reality with exceptional precision but thereby lacking in the symbolism and interpretation required of an artist, and he becomes a technical illustrator instead.

While his business is successful, it is a sterile profession that does nothing to link him to the rest of humanity. Tony is truly alone, separate, apart, an island in the human sea. It is a condition that he never desired, nor, I think, does he understand how it came to be, but his awareness of his "apartness" makes his social isolation even more painful.

Is there any succor for Tony? Any avenue through which he might be able to join with his fellow man, to leave his island of isolation behind, to feel fulfilled and accepted by others in a way that is meaningful and significant, something more than the sterile "success" of being an unfeeling illustrator? (Tony, of course, certainly feels; it is his profession that provides no outlet for feeling.) Indeed, Eiko enters his life when she comes as a customer but becomes his lover and his wife.

Yet, as all humans, Eiko has weaknesses. Hers is shopping and an inordinate love of clothing. After converting a goodly part of their apartment into a huge closet for Eiko's vast collection of clothing, Tony must finally urge her to control her obsession. For love of her husband and obedience to him, Eiko begins to return some of her recent purchases to the stores, yet weakens as she drives home and, turning around to reclaim a piece that she has just returned, is killed in a traffic accident.

Tony's utter devastation is undoubtedly amplified by the knowledge that it was his own admonition that ultimately resulted in the death of the one link he had ever established with humanity. He makes one pathetic attempt to pretend that the link can exist again by employing a young woman ostensibly as a secretary but in reality to play the role of Eiko by dressing in her clothes. As quickly as he does this, though, he realizes the futility of such a fiction and dismisses the woman. Alone once again in the now-empty closet that once held his wife's clothing, he lies on the floor, overcome by loneliness and isolation, conditions which have trapped him as surely as the prison cell that had contained his father years before.

Tony Takitani is the personification of the antithesis of the connectedness expressed in Donne's oft-quoted "Meditation." As John Donne proclaims all life to be interconnected and avows that the death of one diminishes the lives of all others, Tony Takitani shows us the separateness, the isolation, and the acrid taste of not belonging. It is of Tony that Simon and Garfunkle have sung, with bitter irony:

I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries.

The motion picture is a powerful commentary on social isolation and on suffering as it is expressed in one individual's emotional agony. I recommend it most highly to all who give an occasional thought to humanity.

Moving, but who gets the credit?.......2006-08-10

I go back and forth about how I feel about movies like Tony Takitani. There is a palpable emotional impact here, and why shouldn't there be? The images of Japan are stately in their DV solemnity, and whenever the images are speaking for the film, they work - heads bobbing up hillsides, rooms full of clothes then vacant, two connected images of lying in a cell. These are images of power, but they're rarely let to speak for themselves - instead, Hidetoshi Nishijima's narration inserts the Haruki Murakami story for which Tony Takitani is based like an uncomfortable apparatus. Uncomfortable not because it's unwelcome, but because it begins to feel like the movie didn't do much in the process of adaptation - it winds up giving you a very nicely illustrated Haruki Murakami story, an effect which always leaves you questioning the movie's need to exist. Now, I'm a Murakami fan, and I find this movie's notion of casting its two leads in dual roles to be especially symbolic for the story being told, but it ultimately creates a movie of feeling in which it must be said that the adaptation is lazy.

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping

Average customer rating:

Rev. Billy is entertainment with a purpose -- hallelujah!

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
Starring: Bill Talen
Director: Dietmar Post
Manufacturer: Go Kart Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GDIBS4
Release Date: 2006-09-05

Product Description

Reverend Billy, a.k.a. Bill Talen, is an actor/performance artist and a leading figure in the anti-globalization movement. His work combines the forces of social and political change with the means of theater arts to counter act our media culture. His artistic and political work is influenced by various concepts of street theater. His disruptions or shopping interventions in public spaces are in the tradition of the Living Theater, Jos Bov , Lenny Bruce, The Yippies. New York Times theater critic Jonathan Kalb calls his work the most hilarious and pointed political theater in New York, something that has to be done in the risky environment of the street. The actions/performances inside and outside of Starbucks coffee shops and Disney stores often end with the Reverend being arrested. He calls it stepping into somebody s imagined box. The police call it illegal trespassing.

The Reverend claims that social change always begins with civil disobedience and includes as his heroes the civil rights, peace and labor movements.

The film follows the Reverend s shopping interventions/actions into cultural dead zones within the island of Manhattan such as Starbucks, Disney and the New York University construction site at the Edgar Allen Poe House.

System Requirements:
Running Time: 60 Minutes + 30 Minutes Bonus Footage

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Rev. Billy is entertainment with a purpose -- hallelujah!.......2007-04-02

Bill Talen is a performance artist and activist who created the character of street preacher Rev. Billy and the faux Church of Stop Shopping. He has found an original way to speak out against the globalizing of our consumer culture while also speaking up for neighborhoods in a funny and yet curiously heartfelt way. The DVD shows activist appearances at Starbucks and The Disney Store and details how he and his band of ravens created a political action to save the Edgar Allen Poe house in New York City. [...] Better than a day at the mall!

Average customer rating:

Terror in the Mall
hilarious!!!!!!
WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY
Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.

Terror in the Mall
Starring: Rob Estes , Shannon Sturges , Kai Wiesinger , Angeline Ball , and George Anton
Director: Norberto Barba
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00009V7S6
Release Date: 2003-07-08

Customer Reviews:

Terror in the Mall.......2007-07-19

This film was excellent and was very exciting with the people being trapped in the Mall. Cherri was the main character in this film and she is the sherif's wife. It was exciting when they were trapped under water and the killer Glen was making a pest of himself saying " Nice day for a swim aint it" I saw this film on the TV before when I was little and wanted this film on DVD.

I give this film 5 Stars.

hilarious!!!!!!.......2007-07-04

my brother and i watched it on lifetime one afternoon and cracked up!!! it is so far fetched that you can't help but laugh!!!!! i recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor, its a classic!!!! the fact that they all survive after being exposed to methane gas, a huge flood and torpedo guns is amazing to me!!!! buy it, you won't be sorry!!!

WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY.......2005-12-26

After seeing this movie on the LifeTime (AKA: Women's Channel) I wish I never saw this movie. This movie is soo unbelievible and very cheesy. Its one of those, "it can't it get any worse, then it does. . ."
The movie follows a group of people as they try to escape from flood water during a dam clopase. One of this people is an espaced killer. Of course, during their climb the killer shots the designer of the mall (who just happens to be there.) as they find a way to roof. Then they must shut off all elctrical equipement otherwise the methane gas despoists under the mall will explosed. This movie is soo horrible.

Be afraid. Be VERY afraid........2003-12-12

Having lived through my own disaster at the mall (well, the parking lot, at least), I was quite curious to see how similar this film was to my experience.

IMDB summarizes the movie as:

"A disparate group of people is trapped in a shopping plaza during a flood. To make matters worse, one of the folks is an escaped killer, and deadly methane gas is seeping up through the flood waters."

There are a number of chilling parallels: a flood, seeping methane gas, and an "escaped killer" (so to speak).

Now, the title is inconsistent (the movie is listed either as "Disaster at the Mall" or "Terror in the Mall")--but either one certainly works.

Description

In the tradition of Slacker and Swingers, Late Night Shopping;is a quirky, offbeat comedy, in which four friends who work the graveyard shift at dead-end jobs spend their evenings at the local café. Vincent has an eye for the ladies, while Sean and Lenny are both searching for love in all the wrong places, and Jody is stuck on an assembly line. Stuck in a twilight world, going nowhere fast, the four friends suddenly find they have more in common than they might expect, and embark on a journey that just might change their lives.

Customer Reviews:

Enjoy =).......2005-03-16

I watched "Late Night Shopping" one night, then put it on the next night, and the next. Ridiculous plot lines and endearing characters make for quite a funny film. I love the idea that you could be living with someone and never see them. I love the questions posed (which happen to be quite pertinent to twenty-somethings, or anyone working a dead-end job): "And then what?" "So, what now?" Well, if you don't know the answer to those questions, you can at least put on this film and have a laugh. Highly recommended. Enjoy.

Late Night Shopping is a Pleasant Surprise.......2005-02-23

"Late Night Shopping" is done in the style of movies such as "Swingers," "Clerk's," and other sorts of generally chatty films, except these people have great British accents. However, there is most certainly a plot, and a charming one at that. The scenes in the film all connect somehow, bringing together the lives of the characters in a very fun, and smooth, way. The four main characters are friends who initially bonded over the fact that they all work graveyard shifts at thankless jobs. However, a deep friendship has blossomed between the four, which is even more evident by the end of the film. One of the characters, Sean, is trying to save his relationship with his girlfriend -- a storyline that ends up entangling the entire group. The film is funny, bright and delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed "Late Night Shopping," and I recommend it highly.

All i remenber.......2004-10-01

This may not be a great film as many reviews suggest. But like the charectors in the film it is a good company. a warm and charming film that touches your heart and lingers in your mind long after you have seen. in my case it has been more than two years when i saw the film in a european film festival in India. And i have been wanting to watch the film for long.thankfully i can now watch it again on dvd. i recommened this film strongly especially for some of those lonely nights that dont seems to end. happy viewing.

Average customer rating:

Sweet, low-budget ladies' comedy

Going Shopping
Starring: Victoria Foyt , Rob Morrow , Lee Grant , Mae Whitman , and Bruce Davison
Director: Henry Jaglom
Manufacturer: Mti Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000LP5CXO
Release Date: 2007-02-20

Customer Reviews:

Sweet, low-budget ladies' comedy.......2007-01-21

Jaglom and his oft-times writing partner and starlet, Victoria Foyt, have crafted a thoughtful look at the appeal of clothes shopping for women and the emotional holes they're often trying to fill with the right dress and the right pair of shoes.

Co-writer Foyt stars as Holly G., dressmaker and owner of a Southern California clothing boutique. Amidst occasional breaks for the many actresses and extras to share poignantly and humorously their relationship with shopping, Holly herself winds up in a horrible Mother's Day weekend that no amount of customer purchases seem to fix. Her irresponsible boyfriend (Davison) has squandered her past few months' rent, and now Foyt and her daughter could be out of a shop and out of a home. Holly even tries the Mafia to get her rent money together by Monday, when her landlady's set to boot her.

It's not true to life, but it's true to a good Hollywood comedy.

As a male, I completely missed that this low-budget, charming little comedy's biggest draw could be the grandmother-mother-daughter story, which grows from a small part of the plot to a big one. I found myself wrapped up in listening to women talk about how shopping for clothes makes them feel. I think maybe I understood a little bit of what the ladies are getting out of just the right look for just the right day.

Morrow shows up as a good-hearted 3-o'clock-shadow-sporting love interest for Holly G. My wife was reminded how cute he was.

Average customer rating:

A Bit Too Cool

Too Cool for Christmas
Starring: George Hamilton , Brooke Nevin , Donna Mills , Adrienne Carter , and Michael Gelbart
Director: Sam Irvin
Manufacturer: Liberation Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000HLDFAY
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Description

The alternative gay version of A VERY COOL CHRISTMAS - A teenage girl wants nothing to do with her family at Christmas. After meeting the mall's Santa, she finally comes face to face with the true meaning and spirit of the holiday.

Customer Reviews:

A Bit Too Cool.......2007-01-10

Children under the age of eight may enjoy this. Over that age it stretches credulity to the point where it snaps completely. It's a morality tale that loses its way long before the ending in sheer disbelief at what you're seeing, at least if you've made it out of grammar school.

Average customer rating:

A tasty tonic compared to the dearth of Hollywood tripe
Good but not great...
This version is cut up!
Brilliant
STUPID, STUPID MOVIE!

Shopping
Starring: Sadie Frost , Jude Law , Sean Pertwee , Fraser James , and Sean Bean
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Manufacturer: New Concorde
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JXYH
Release Date: 2001-07-31

Amazon.com

Pretty boy Billy (Jude Law) is an amoral rebel without a cause. His anarchic response to a bleak London existence is to steal cars and drive them through shop windows: "crash and carry," as one fellow "shopper" terms it. But he and his tough, video-game obsessed gal-pal Jo (Sadie Frost) are no Bonnie and Clyde. Their shopping trips are merely a pretext for the adrenaline rush of destruction and the thrill of playing high-speed tag with the cops, a game that starts to wear thin on Jo. "Why don't you grow up, eh?" she finally asks. "And do what?" he helplessly replies.

The feature debut of Brit stylist Paul Anderson (Event Horizon) is a sleek film of misty alleys, blue-lit underground garages, and slick city streets. It's a dystopian London of the near future through the lens of Blade Runner driven almost single-handedly by Law's reckless charm and wild energy. It's hard to tell if the film is about the nihilism of sensation-hunting lost youth or simply a sensational melodrama of aimless rebellion, but there's nonetheless something irresponsibly appealing in Billy's anti-establishment rampage. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

A tasty tonic compared to the dearth of Hollywood tripe.......2007-07-30

This film understands something that 99% of Hollywood films dont. Its the journey not the destination that matters. Most films are like inanimate objects these days, skeletal building frames carefully joined together to get to the pre-determined and cliched ending. Boring. Most Hollywood movies make me want to shoot myself in the head they're so trite.
If you breathe life into the characters, setting, and film itself you dont need a destination, you dont need black and white. Everything speaks for itself.
Thats why theres so much hostility towards this film, it doesnt fit in a box.
The hero is an immoral thief, yet his humanity shines through and you cant help but like him. This film is reminscent of Menace II Society in the way you excuse the criminals to some degree for their crimes.
I deduct a point because the film is a bit glossy and the characters sexed up a bit for the screen.
Great film for those who dont need to be spoonfed.

Good but not great..........2006-12-16

This film about big city boredom could have been written about any young people in any industrialized nation in the world. Jude Law plays an angst ridden young man, recently out of jail, dogged by bad decisions, an embarrassment to his family, who chooses the thrill of stealing cars and crashing them into shopping malls to "shop" as a way to add a missing something to his life. He's at odds with a gang of vicious thugs that are bent on his destruction. The film is well done for the most part, but it feels like there's something missing - some critical piece just around the corner, hovering just out of sight - that will make it all come together. Jude Law does well, but even then it's only good, not great.

This version is cut up!.......2005-12-14

This is actually the edited version of Shopping. I taped an uncut version off of a network here in Canada called Show Case that runs unknown smaller films like this. I also own this DVD and thats how I know this DVD is edited. My taped movies run time is about 1 hour and 42 minutes (102 min). This DVD is only 89 minutes. The uncut version is a bit better as a couple of key scenes were left out of this DVD.

Brilliant.......2005-10-25

This was an amazing piece of cinema. Soundtrack, acting, and cinematography was wonderful. It is a bit dated now, but otherwise well done. It never tries to justify what these people do and how they live, but merely make us understand why they do it, and maybe have some sympathy as well. They treat life like ride and they have to face the consequences: it shows we eventually have to take responsibility for our actions, no matter how fast we run (or drive) away from them.
Sean Pertwee's performance as a drug-addicted, crime tycoon was especially good. He had a constant flow of energy just under the surface, making him seem unpredictable and dangerous, which he is.

STUPID, STUPID MOVIE!.......2005-06-23

What a waste of time. I feel like the producers owe me 90 minutes of my life which I'll never get back.

You read the back cover about guys "shopping" that is, crashing cars into stores and stealing. Sounds interesting, right?

IT NEVER HAPPENS IN THE MOVIE.

There is one scene where the main characters crash into a huge department store and one takes a teapot, the other a tshirt.

WOW! THAT'S PRETTY EXCITING.

Cult hit? Cult crap.

Don't buy this, don't even rent it.

It's horribly edited, obviously pieces are missing from the story.

Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings) is listed as one of the actors. He has about a 2 minute role.

Save your money and your time. The ad copy only serves to trick people into buying.

DVD:

DVD

DVD