Big Easy Express [HD]

3 1/2 stars for a joyful train ride
The corporate descriptor has it about right regarding this brief (67 minutes) documentary. "3 bands. 6 cities. 1 train, and thousands of miles of track..." The bands are the U. K.'s Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros from down under and the Old Crow Medicine Show from Tennessee. The train stops and concert venues are Oakland, San Pedro (L. A.), Phoenix, Austin and New Orleans. I know I'm missing one. Maybe L. A. and San Pedro are considered separately.

In any case don't expect a concert film. It isn't. Certainly there is plenty of music, especially the final joyful 3 band collaboration on "This Train." The unrated film is the Amtrak equivalent of a PG Jack Kerouac "On the Road" film. We see the various bands practice, write songs together, jam and generally have a good time with various family members along for the ride. For this viewer, I enjoyed the gig in Austin when the Mumfords invited the Austin H. S. marching band to perform with them with...

My Last Waltz
I have memories as a kid of my father showing me the classic documentary The Last Waltz. I have a feeling my son will have the same memories of me watching this documentary over and over again.

I was lucky enough to see Mumford and Sons just before they blew up at a little venue with 200 people in Phoenix and then less than a year later with over 10,000 people at the biggest venue of this Rail Road Revival Tour in Tempe. Being at the concert was an unforgettable experience, and this documentary captures that brilliantly.

I would have liked more interviews with the muscians, I would have liked to have learned more about them. That is my only criticism of this video. I watched it two times in the few hours since it arrived via UPS. The music, the bands, the train, it is musical nirvana.

Nothing will beat having been a part of the rail road revival tour, but this video captures it and I hope you will watch it and watch three brilliant bands, Mumford,...

Amazing!!! I didn't want it to end.
What a great documentary. All three bands are amazing. Alexander Ebert (Edward Sharpe) and his music is the 2nd coming of Jesus. Old Crow Medicine show needs to stop screwing around and do a Northwest tour....please. But seriously, this documentary was great. I loved it, my kids loved it and it's the closest thing you can get to experiencing this legendary tour outside of being there. Easy purchase.

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Stowaway [HD]

A Poignant Fox Farewell for Shirley Temple
"Young People" was Shirley Temple's final film under contract at Twentieth-Century Fox. Although she would go on to make some excellent movies as a teenager and young adult, "Young People" effectively marked the end of her reign as a child star.

In this picture Temple plays Wendy Ballentine, the adopted daughter of two vaudeville stars (Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood). She literally grows up onstage (just as Temple grew up before film audiences in the 1930s), stealing scenes from her parents and becoming an integral part of the act.

However, the Ballentines yearn for a more stable and "normal" existence, and, thus, retire from show business to take up residence in a hamlet in the countryside. It isn't an easy transition: the townsfolk seem to have a poor opinion of "show people" and shun the Ballentine family. Wendy also has trouble adjusting to life offstage: she reads "Variety" at home, teaches her entire class to do...

A sweet movie, you can watch with your kids
My six year old daughter and I watched this film together and enjoyed it very much. Shirley Temple as always, gave it her best, as well as the other actors. The story is touching and teaches children about the importance of being open to change. It teaches about caring for your fellow man, and being a good citizen. I would recommend this for parents and young children to watch together.

Temple's last Fox musical
YOUNG PEOPLE (1940) was, despite it's mix of the regular Temple movie trappings, an even bigger flop at the box office than THE BLUE BIRD, released earlier that same year. Back in black-and-white, and with the "child star" cuteness becoming a slightly uncomfortable fit for the rapidly maturing twelve-year-old Temple, it lacks a certain zest; although Temple gives a great performance and is matched every step of the way by her co-stars Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood.

The story follows vaudeville team Joe and Kitty Ballantine (Oakie and Greenwood) and their adopted daughter Wendy (Temple) as they attempt to retire on a farm in New England, only to find hostility and scorn from their old-fashioned, small-minded neighbours.

This was Shirley's last movie for Fox. After her two failures in 1940 (and with no scripts on the immediate horizon), it was decided, in an agreement between producer Darryl F. Zanuck and Temple's parents, to finally terminate her contract...

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Shining Secrets of the Stanley Hotel

A true look at the paranormal
This documentary truely captures the paranormal history of The Stanley Hotel. This is a real look at the hotel that inspired Stephen King to write "The Shining", without any spin from a reality show producer. I found this documentary to have a perfect blend of history of the hotel, paranormal experiences from guests & staff and unexplainable events captured on film during a true paranormal investigation. The hour goes by quickly while watching this film. If you can not make it out to The Stanley Hotel (where this documentary is also sold in their gift shop) for a stay or tour, this documentary is the next best thing!

Boring
I had hoped to see more than just a crew of people standing around waiting for something to happen. There were lots of close-ups of "ghost hunting equipment" doing nothing. People talking to the air with no responses, recounting of being poked while trying to sleep - typical. In the last few seconds, a door slammed. OK. The historical facts as told by the hotel staff were interesting, but other than that, nothing new was brought to light by this documentary. It would have been nice if they had included a bit about Stephen King's stay, but no. It wasn't scary or even fascinating, it was extremely dull and a total waste of money. The "Ghosthunters" TV show version was much better than this.

BLAHHHHHHH.......
I guess I expected more footage would be revealed with the all the ghost hunting/paranormal equipment. But the footage sucked- showed very minimal, if ANYTHING, for paranormal activity. The stories were neat, but thats it. I live 1/2 hour from Estes Park and I would have had a better experience going by myself. Waste of money.

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Children of the Stars

wow
This is a funny and surprisingly touching little film about some endearingly eccentric people and the sci-fi films that may or may not have warped their minds. How do I get a ride in the Space Caddy?

Far out!
Children of the Stars is a must see for those who want to get an insight of the history and beliefs of the Unarius intellect. The film maker did a fantastic job interpreting both current and historic footage in his film. Here, you'll discover great coverage with spectacular and informative interviews. Enjoy!

Somewhat lacking
I found this documentary lacking in a number of ways. While I would not describe it in any way as propaganda, it's really just a video about what Unarius's believes, teaches, and some of their history. There is little to no discussion about faith or how the organization has coped with it's failed prophecies or other demonstrably false claims that have been made. The description of this film says it is "a sympathetic look at faith and how people justify it in different ways", however, I found no exploration of how people justify faith in the eccentric beliefs taught by Unarius.

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Dark Horse [HD]

Amazing. Hillarious. Thoughtfull. Better than The Master.
Yeah I said it. I enjoyed this more than The Master which I saw on the same day as this. The Master was beautiful in many ways but this movie leaves you with so much more. Justin Bartha deserves an Oscar nomination for bringing this miserable character to life with out making him annoying or any more ridiculous than he needed to be. Donna Murphy was also incredible and deserves all the supporting actress awards that will be bestowed upon others.

No one makes movies like Todd Solondz. One of the only true independent filmmakers out there. Shoe string budget, unconventional storytelling, great performances and respect for the audience. Check this out while you have the chance. I would love to see more films like this (that are only released in a handful of cities) receive the accessibility and cost effectiveness of the digital format. Doesn't replace seeing it in the theater but if you live in bum-f*** Utah this might be your only shot.

NO CREDIT, NO EXCHANGE, NO REFUND
There is nothing like getting two dysfunctional people together to create a successful quirky indie. What I liked about this film more than many of the others in this genre such as "Jack Goes Boating" or "Greenberg" is that I felt comfortable laughing at the plight of the main characters.

Abe (Jordan Gelber) works for his dad and lives at home with his parents (Mia Farrow/ Christopher Walken). He still collects toys and hasn't reached his maturity potential. He lives in the shadow of his successful brother (Justin Bartha). At a wedding, Abe meets Miranda (Selma Blair) a shy, overly medicated woman once married to Mahmoud (Aasif Mandvi). Abe is supported by his secretary (Donna Murphy) who becomes his imaginary conscience.

The setting takes place somewhere in New Jersey between Eagles and Giants country. The title "Dark Horse" is a reference to Abe. His dad likes dark horses. i.e. like the old days when the Giants would lose, but cover the point spread. Abe...

A Different Direction from Todd Solondz
Dark Horse is the latest film from Todd Solondz and is a markedly different animal from his previous films. It still maintains his misanthropic spirit but it's lacking much of the provocative material that so often brings attention to his work. That's not to say Dark Horse isn't provocative; it just shows Solondz at his most gentle and forgiving.

Solondz has long had a knack for great opening scenes and this is no exception. Abe (Jordan Gelber), an overweight and balding man, sits at a wedding next to Miranda (Selma Blair). He begins hitting on her, completely unaware of her disinterest. Following her outside, he asks for her phone number and seems oblivious to her obvious reluctance to give it. From here Abe goes home and we see he epitomizes arrested development. He lives with his parents (Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow) in a room filled with action figures, he works for his father but brings nothing to the company, he blames all of his problems on the failings of...

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The Walking Stick

Samantha Eggar Shines in Suspense Film
It was a stellar year for film as this film, "The Walking Stick" was released in 1969 or 1970 and the list of stunning films goes on almost as memorable as 1939. The difference was many of these films became classics without being good films. Films were looked at as art. It was quite a time for Samantha Eggar as well as she did "The Molly Maguires" opposite Sean Connery prior and followed this with one of her better performances as the heroine of the movie version of Sebastien Japrisot's book, "The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun" opposite Oliver Reed (who she later starred opposite in 1979 in a comeback in David Croenberg's "The Brood"). Her co-star in "The Walking Stick" is David Hemmings who was having surprising success in films as a leading man after Antonioni's "Blow-Up" considering his looks and build and their chemistry together is quite good. Written by George Bluestone, the film is based on a rather good Winston Graham novel (Graham was responsible for a number of...

Great!
This is a wonderful movie, although if you have read the book, you will have to put it out of your mind when you see the film. Thematically, the movie is not on very firm ground, relative to the book. However, Samantha Eggar is just great, and I wouldn't change the film because she is so good in it.

I really just wanted to write a review because this is an on-demand film, burned to order. The quality is fantastic. I was concerned at spending the asking price for burn-on-demand, but I couldn't ask for better. I played it on an HDTV, and it was film-quality. I don't know what technique was used to make the print, but it justifies the price.

The movie "The Walking Stick" involves a tragic love affair betrayal and a surprise ending.
The movie "The Walking Stick" is an intriguing story where a beautiful young women stricken with polio who is employed by a prestigious antique auction house, is coerced into participating in a robbery. Deborah Dainton is a crippled woman played by Samantha Eggar whose main purpose in life is her job, until a young man named Leigh Hartley played by David Hemmings comes into her life. Leigh proceeds to charm Deborah off her feet and she is happy for the first time, Leigh tricks her into getting involved in a robbery of the business where she works. She then discovers that Leigh has been lying to her all through the romance. The acting is excellent with Samantha Eggar giving an especially skilled performance. The movie is well worth watching.

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Passage through Chile's Tierra del Fuego around Cape Horn

Cape Horn video
Delightful overview of area around southern tip of South America. Good video primer for travelers and cruisers around Cape Horn.

like going there!
Like going there in luxury and comfort! Impressive to see the site of so many shipwrecks. Felt sorry for the cold birds though.



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