4 comments about Alaska's Inside Passage.

1. This dvd gives all the information you want to know if you are considering a visit to Alaska. If you have already been there, you can enjoy revisiting this beautiful state. I would highly recommend it.



2. This is my first review of anything. Getting ready for our trip next month to Alaska, this DVD sounded perfect. However, of the 4 of us going on the cruise, only one stayed awake long enough to watch the entire film. You would get more out of watching a PBS special or the travel channel.



3. I got two different Alaska DVDs from the library for my elderly in-laws to watch. They have always wanted to go but probably will not make it there because of their health. We watched Alaska's Inside Passage and Discovering Alaska. This one has beautiful photography, and is well narrated. The colors and views were breathtaking. However I agree it was somewhat hard to stay awake for because it was a little repetitious. Also, I hadn't realized before what the "Inside Passage" is, so I was disappointed there was no information on the rest of Alaska. It's well worth watching, as long as you realize it is only about that one geographical area. (Fortunately the other DVD talked more about the whole state, however that one was very dated and the photography was disappointing.)



4. This video contained useful information for our upcoming cruise to Alaska. Scenery is beautiful. Video quality could be a bit better.

5 comments about 20 Million Miles To Earth (50th Anniversary Edition).

1. it was a movie that i remembered from my childhood and wanted to buy it.
   the color/black white change was something new. i really enjoyed the movie



2. I first read about this film over at DVDbeaver and was looking forward to seeing how it had been colourised. I was not disapointed, the film itself is the typical low budget hokum that you would expect from this period. Though the special effects from Ray Harryhousen are very good for their time. The colourisation is variable in it's success rate. At it's best it looks like a 50's colour film but, as is often the case with this process, the greens for trees and grass is less than convincing. Skin tones, often poor in earlier re-colourings are generally pretty good. I certainly did not find the colour distracting. A black and version is also included and it's possible to switch between the 2 versions using the "angle" button on the remote.



3. Getting this is a no-brainer if you are a fan of Ray, or the "golden age of sci-fi".
   I'm not a fan of colorization, but this is actually kind of interesting. It looks like those old hand colored lobby cards (which I collect). And the B&W is there if you prefer.
   Will more of Ray's work get the Blu treatment? Pretty please?!!



4. Great example of Science fiction B movies of the 50's. If you love that kind of stuff, you will love this. If not, don't bother.



5. Well, while this is another level of brilliance by Ray Harryhausen, it is not one of my favorite movies but I grabbed it because I enjoy watching it from time to time. Basically this movie got the same treatment that IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA got (see my other review) as far as the colorization and features. This time, our feature critter crash lands in the sea off Rome and a boy finds a capsule contain a gel like substance, which turns out to be protection for.......our critter, once hatched, our critter begins to grow rapidly because of earth's air supply and soon becomes large enough to be a real pain in the butt and starts wreaking havoc all over Rome. While entertaining to watch, there are others in the Harryhausen series that are better but that's just a personal opinion. It is definitely good enough to add to your Sci-Fi Library for sure.

4 comments about Rick Steves' England, 2000-2007.

1. I liked these DVD's, I found them to be very informative. I did not watch the one on Whales since I did not plan on going there when I go to England. If you are planning a trip to England for the first time these would be very helpful.



2. I find that Rick Steves DVD's are very interesting and informative. I love to arm chair travel with Mr. Steves and go to all those exciting places. I like that he touches on the culture and especially the food they eat. I am a good cook and love to read or see what Mr Steves is eating in far away places.



3. See everything you need to know to go - and discover some places you may have missed in your planning.



4. Has there ever been another travel guide more amiable, more informative, more eclectic and just plain likeable than Rick Steves? This somewhat nerdish but pleasant looking fellow will immediately win the viewer over with his charm, humor and smoothing, layback manner. However what will keep you watching program after program is his consummate knowledge of the sites and people he visits.
   
   While each journey is only 30 minutes in length Rick has a unique talent of synthesizing the many facets that make up a people and place. He leaves no stone unturned in his analysis; historical background, spiritual heritage, cultural underpinnings and political legacy are all equally touched upon to give the audience a fuller understanding of the rural and urban landscape.
   
   However Rick is not one to miss out on a good time, he also provides a delightful tour of the contemporary markets, music, restaurants and nightlife. The kind of information would really want to know if you're out for a good time.
   
   The production values are also wonderful offering fanstastic visuals that are worth watching even if there where no commentary. Traveling with Rick Steves' is the next best thing to being there.
   
   This particular DVD contains eight episodes, thirty minutes in length. Imagine four hours in England and Wales await, better get started!

5 comments about 2001 - A Space Travesty.

1. Sorry Leslie - I used to enjoy your movies (Naked Gun series and Airplane especially), but this movie was horrible. I kept watching it, in the expectation that it had to get better (funnier) at some point. It never did. You robbed me of 90 minutes of my life.



2. Leslie Nielsen takes aim at: Sci-Fi
   and Bill Clinton at the same time.
   Yes, he's still chasing the babes
   and he IS over 70! Nobody else could
   have pulled this off but a Canadian!



3. I saw this movie on Tivo the other day and I thought it was funny and granted it is kinda stupid in some parts but when you watch these kind of movies no matter how good or bad they are you expect to see this kind of thing. My favorite part was the 3 fake tenors singing "In The Navy" by the Village People.
   
   I actually liked it better than Naked Gun 2 1/2. I'm also getting the Police Squad series when it comes out.



4. I recently rediscovered this movie in a box of bargain-basement, second-hand videos I had bought. I seem to have a weakness for "spoofs." I liked the first Naked Gun (even though the cop sidekicks were better cast on TV's Police Squad), and rode out the two disappointing sequels. I tried but never got into the Airplane movies. I stuck with the increasingly thin, sophomoric Austin Powers films. I made it through Loaded Weapon, Scream, three Scary Movies, Not Another Teen Movie, and a series of Leslie Nielsen clunkers so lame that I did not think it could sink any lower - Repossessed; Dracula: Dead and Loving It; Spy Hard; Wrongfully Accused; and Mr. Magoo (by then, all a well-known film critic who had once praised Nielsen's comic talents had to say about him was that he was the "bozo du jour"). But Spy Hard is a masterpiece compared to "Travesty."
   
   "Travesty" has enough budget and production values to not quite give away by its looks alone how bad a film it really is. The name of Nielsen's character -- Dick Dix -- is catchy (certainly better than Spy Hard's weak "Dick Steele, Agent WD-40"). Early on, there are a couple of laugh-out-loud moments: Dix being snapped back and forth from front to back of a space shuttle by the suspenders of his pants snagged on a seat, sending him flying head-first into a levitating anvil; and Dix crushed on top of someone and undergoing various contortions during a gravity-defying drop in a high-speed space elevator.
   
   But the movie is a thin, slow-paced, forced, brain-dead mess. It does not even get Dix into space until it runs through an infantile "history of the universe" sequence (featuring the constellation "stifficus" and takeoffs on a "white dwarf," a "moon," and "aliens" (shots of Michael Jackson and Dennis Rodman)) and scenes that play like rejects from a bad Naked Gun movie. Dix is a "Marshal" with the "International Security Force" (whatever that is). His car radio is conveniently tuned to the local police frequency, and he butts in on a hostage situation at a fast-food joint. He goes from there to more unfunny, chaotic scenes at the "bull pen" of his D.C.-area headquarters.
   
   You expect things to pick up when Dix is sent to a moonbase for humans and aliens to investigate a report that an evil doctor there is cloning and replacing world leaders. But almost immediately, it becomes clear that the film has nothing interesting to do in space. It sags and drags.
   
   This is partly because of a cut-rate, no-name supporting cast which has zero rapport with Nielsen. The worst are a laid-back, jive-talking black dude and a hammy, low-rent, Italian-version Inspector Clouseau, neither of whom manage a single funny or even understandable line or action in the entire movie; and two unremarkable novice actresses who go through the motions with little or no apparent acting skill or characters to play (reviews that slobber over them need to get a life -- or take a look at any random actress starring in any major movie).
   
   It is also because of crude, childish, labored, unfocused, rip-off gags that smother anything remotely funny. For example, Dix chases around after and makes a disgusting mess of the doctor's toupee; Dix tracks ink all over the white carpet and destroys an office; Dix gets hands and feet stuck on a door bearing a note written in glue; and so on. A disco scene is another loud, chaotic waste of time.
   
   The movie even ruins the elevator scene by having Dix and the woman remain entangled long after the doors open, with him standing up and holding her upside down, facing him, so that she has to peer through his legs and he gets a "backfire" in the face. The movie also sinks to this kind of "comedy" in the space shuttle bathroom; in sloppy mispronunciations by a French security guard ("backstage p*ss"; "no one will get p*ssed"; to musician, "you can blow your instrument with confidence knowing I will be here holding the f*rt"); and in the simple-minded gimmick, after the end credits roll, of disembodied sound effects with captions. None of this has anything to do with satire about space movies or anything else. It is cheap, junk "humor."
   
   By the time Dix returns to Earth, the film has become unwatchable. What feels like the movie's last half, or more, slogs through desperate, disorganized, clumsy, endlessly drawn-out scenes at a Paris opera house, before a "world leaders' conference." Dix and his cohorts (wearing stupid, unfunny "disguises") and the villains take forever to reach and then fight in the control room for the stage, trying to keep their version of the U.S. President in place.
   
   Along the way are senseless, tasteless jokes (Pavarotti's condoms?!?); quick cuts to bad impersonations of dignitaries or pop stars in the audience (the Pope is the worst); lame, obvious humor about the Clintons (he acts like a good-ol'-boy boor and she rolls her eyes); and frantic, loud, boring antics backstage and on stage. Cutaways to the increasingly embarrassing supporting cast and material, which by now have the movie in near-total meltdown, ruin an already forced bid for laughs with the "Three Tenors" singing "In the Navy." The movie limps to an end with a strained, tacked-on scene at a restaurant where one of the young women, who the movie never bothers to develop as a love interest, dines with Dix, who for no reason makes a mess.
   
   Mindless, goofy, silly movies can be fun. But calling something a "parody," "satire," or "spoof" hardly makes it an automatic laugh riot. And any feeble effort that comes along is not worth recommending with the lazy, sloppy excuse "come on, this is supposed to be bad." It is no fun to watch a stand-up comedian die on stage, much less to watch it for 100 minutes. This pretty much sums up how it feels to watch "Travesty."



5. I first saw this Movie in Moscow Russia on a Cable Channel at the Hotel that I was staying in in 2005.I only caught the last 30 minutes of it.but I laughed the whole 30 minutes.I tried to locate this movie many time,until recently when I logged on to Leslie Nielsons Web Site,and found this movie.
   I found it as funny today,as I did in 2005.
   
   Anthony A Smelgus

5 comments about Amazon (IMAX) (2-Disc WMVHD Edition).

1. Thank YOU for taking me into the Amazon in the comfort of my own house. If it weren't of you guys, I would have never seen these beautiful sceneries that nature has to offer.



2. Enjoyed the scenery in this movie, and was glad I purchased it. Very informative about how we are destroying the coral reefs, and how global warming is affecting the reefs.



3. So far I have gave 53(I think) reviews and to tell the
   truth at 25 was going to quit! At 26 I had a comment
   than another and another pretty soon all I was getting
   was comments and they were not all neg. No! Most of
   them we're positive and from people all over! It is
   now July 20th 2007 and most people are excited for
   Harry Potter. Not me! I love to get home have dinner
   and see what my friends from AMAZON have written.
   For I know I will find something not only knew,but
   totally amazing from my friends Betty Dravis,James Wanzer
   Gen.Zombie,Finulanu,Grigory's girl,Marina(mermaids rule)
   Galina,Mike Liddell,Horror Man,M.Moriarty(my pic.is scary)
   The smile girls D.Pawl and Jenny J.J.I. The Puzzle box, Biz
   Steven Ledge,DR.Shock who does know it all,Melika Dannese
   Lux,Amy Lynn,R.A.(Sabbath)Bean and of course Geri(MOTORCYCLE)
   BIRD! They are what makes AMAZON! They are what makes my day!
   thank you all i ALWAYS look forward to reading your reviews!!!
   Oh! Did I forget Blackshere(of the CTHULU Blackshere's)?
   All of you are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   Clint Bronson



4. In contrast to the other reviews on this website for the IMAX film "Amazon" (which are highly supportive of the film) this review takes a much more critical approach. There was some nice imagery in the film of some of the diversity of the Amazon forest but there was very little explanation to go along with it. The real goal of the movie was to highlight the medicinal value of the plants in the Amazon and then to show how happy the Indian tribes are to give it all away for a fast speed boat or a plane ride. That is simply *absurd*. The Indian tribes are being used and short-changed by the big drugs companies who turn around and patent the active ingredients in the plants that are given to them by the tribes. The tribes get little if anything in return. On the other hand, a drug company can make billions of dollars on a single new drug. This film felt like complete propaganda from the pharmaceutical industry and it is insulting that people actually had to pay money to see this bad film.



5. I got this for my kids and will show it to my Geography class as well. It has very good information and has quality production and narration.

4 comments about Durango Kids.

1. if you have not seen this movie you dont know what your missing. this is the best movie i have seen in years



2. The dynamic Root duo deliver yet another yawner in this painful children's comedy. My advice to Root is that he should be selling barbeques rather than this silly trash. The only thing that redeems this movie is the acting of the child Curtis. Big props to my man for his preformance. Hope to see you in more movies to come.
   p.s. I think Taylor Root is still a virgin.



3. Colorado's San Juan Mountains from Durango to Silverton to Ouray is my
   favorite place to vacation in the USA. So when I saw the preview of
   Durango Kids on another DVD, I decided to rent it on Netflix. It is
   one of those movies where villains are cartoonish, and the kids, while
   cute, outsmart all the stupid adults. The first 30 minutes showed some
   nice locations in and around Durango, including the steam train (that's
   why I purchased a used copy) but then it goes into time travel to save
   Ouray from becoming a ghost town and the movie becomes a stupid bore,
   intended for young and undemanding children. Don't bother unless you
   love Durango as much as I do.



4. OK - I got a little bored after watching the movie for the 17th time, but my kids (ages 7 - 12) thoroughly enjoy it EVERY time. Lots of fun for them... and the adults, too. It's a clean movie with good moral messages. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Clockstoppers.

1. The concept is not original. You have seen this before many times from Twilight Zones to "The Girl, The Gold Watch & Everything" (1980). Some do it well as in "Timestalkers" (1987) and then there is this movie.
   
   Standard premise, misunderstood youth know better than parents. Yep and of course has to save sire from the evil bad guy that has gone amuck. Zack has Henry's (Michael Biehm) molecular watch and he wants it back. On the side father of Zack can be useful in completing project. So will Zack save his dad or will Francesca runoff to Tahiti with the bad guy?
   
   One plus is the presents of French Stewart; I guess they needed one actor in the movie. And for distraction purposes Paula Garcés.
   
   Timestalkers Starring: William Devane, Lauren Hutton



2. CLOCKSTOPPERS reminds me of an afterschool special, aimed at a teen audience but okay entertainment for we adults too.
   Jesse Bradford plays a young man who stumbles upon a watch that can stop time, which he finds amusing at first but then when corrupt government agent Michael Biehn comes after him, he finds himself in danger.
   The special effects are okay and Bradford and his fellow castmates appealing; it's all been done before and better, but this one's passable.



3. My grandchildren love this movie. They want to watch it when they stay with us.



4. It could be the handful of hours rest that I am currently working on or the pathetic excuses for film that I am currently enjoying, but "Clockstoppers" didn't anger me or make me smile. This was a near-perfect example of a film that played it safe, worked with the teen audience, and boasted special effects that honestly, were appealing to the eye. "Clockstoppers" won't win you awards at the company Trivia Night, nor will it impress your co-worker's mind at the water cooler the next morning, but it doesn't make you go into a fit of rage either. The script is loose at best, the acting fits well into the predestined can of cliché, but it is the special effects that really make you sit and watch this film from beginning to end without fits of rage. This may be surprising to my loyal readers, but I could not willingly sit here and bash a film that honestly engaged my inner boredom as much as this film did. "Clockstoppers" was a film dedicated to hitting the median, not going above or below, and wildly succeeded.
   
   "Clockstoppers" is one of those simple PG plots which involves a boy, a watch, and no need to corrupt the system. A kid, unlike you or I, finds a watch from his super-genius father that can literally slow down time (actually, speed up his molecules so that time seems to be going slower). Instead of stay in that time forever, growing old and experiencing the powers of "invisibility", he uses it to win over the heart of an unknown girl and stop the world from catapulting into utter annihilation. Yep, something I would do if I could stop time. Like any other film of this nature, I am sure you know what ultimately happens in the end. Helmed by "Star Trek's" very own Jonathan Frakes, "Clockstoppers" boasts the talents of Jesse Bradford, Michael Biehn, and French Stewart - with a cast like this, who needs enemies. Using amazing CGI to bring this story from the page, where Frakes falls short are the characters and his inability to grapple with the technology he is filming. I am not going to cover my issues with the molecular speed-up, because I am sure they have been nauseatingly been said before, but they did force you to consider the unmentioned possibilities. Why wasn't this whole film done with slowed time? How could some inanimate objects fly through the air in slow time, while others fit into the pattern of going slow? Why didn't Bradford fall through the floor? Age issues - don't make me go there! Again, this could be a whole topic of conversation, but instead, lets talk about the other pivotal downfalls of this film, and how they related to me feeling decent after watching this.
   
   I must admit, Frakes does a decent job behind the camera. He has learned from his acting lessons and can tell a complete story. Without the science fiction plot holes, the story itself for "Clockstoppers" was pretty cliché, yet straight forward. He didn't try to overdo it, while his actors might have attempted to gobble every line they could, Frakes kept the story simple and the CGI impressive. I have to applaud him for his work here, he could have made this a very dark story, but instead kept it suitable for a teen audience. This wasn't the original "Agent Cody Banks" in any way, but it did attempt to stand on its own, and I must applaud Frakes for his attempt. The acting, as mentioned before, was horrid. French Stewart was possibly at the lowest point of his career with this film. His attempt to be a honest scientist was goofy at best. He was never mad, just loony with his approach to this character. Jesse Bradford was middle of the road. Consistent with the standards of this film, he never went above where we wanted him to be. Oddly, his Ebay selling reminded me of another character from "Transformers", but I don't want to think the two films plagiarized. Julia Sweeny, well, just don't make me go down that tunnel. Paula Garces was middle of the road as well, she played off Bradford with ease because there was nothing they needed to attach themselves to. Could I be any more vague? When I finished watching this movie, I wasn't feeling upset or happy about the results - this was a mediocre film, and I can applaud it for staying within that genre.
   
   Sometimes I listen to music half my age - this film is a prime example of music that is half my age. There was an attempt to take it even further up the tween channel by employing the music of Blink 182 to heavily dominate the scenes of joy, empowerment, or victory. There was the overuse of Smash Mouth, which seems to plague every tween movie today - but oddly, that was allowed this time. Typically, I find myself yelling about how one-sided these releases tend to be. Focusing their marking towards a singular audience instead of just pushing the boundaries, but with "Clockstoppers" I felt their average outing calmed me. It worked I shouldn't have worked, but it did. Frakes subdued me, and I cannot argue with him. The special features surrounding this film were pathetic as well, staged "behind the scenes" which only showed how "fun" a film like this could be - it was disgusting. The music videos didn't fit, and the Saturday Morning interruptions also included were vile as well. See this language, yet I am going to give this film at least three stars. See, Frakes did dupe me.
   
   Overall, I gotta stop this review before I stick myself in a deeper hole. Agents with no names, bad villains bent on total domination using everything in their arsenal outside of the weapon of choice, a cool watch that may have sold well over the holidays, and plot holes the size of Miami. I hate these features on a film, but again, "Clockstoppers" filled a hour and a half of couch time well for me. I never laughed, but I never got bored with this story. Call me a quitter or a lacky to the cause, but "Clockstoppers" never came out of its shell, and I am happy for that. It was pathetic, but delightful in the same sense. I cannot suggest this movie to friends, but if it rained one afternoon and we needed something to kill the time - I think "Clockstoppers" would find its way back to the DVD player! Thank Frakes - you duped me again!
   
   Grade: *** out of *****



5. This DVD can be used as a benchmark for your plasma monitor (or large-screen LCD).
   
   ... and aside from the excellent photography and good sound, its actually a good movie....
   if you happen to like teenage films (and I do).
   
   Check the scene in the consulates mansion on the first date... particularly the honey bee in flight against the
   pink flower petals.... the "frozen" water of the sprinkler... the close-ups of the faces
   in the kitchen scene.... the rat scampering along the tiles.
   
   From the point of view of lighting, focus and high quality imaging it
   deserves 5 stars
   
   I watch a LOT of movies... and I am also a professional photographer...
   
   trust me, this disc is just the thing you need to restore your confidence
   in your home theatre setup.... after watching all the "other" movies !!

3 comments about Mystery of the Maya.

1. Mystery of the Maya includes very interesting information. The way of communicating the facts is really descriptive and very clear. Very nice landscapes.



2. Better than expected. No movie can capture the beauty there, however. But this one is the closest!



3. The Film has nothing to say about the mysterious disapperiance of the maya's. thats what i want to hear about.

2 comments about New Zealand to the Max.

1. 
   A good DVD if you want an overview of New Zealand, doesn't go into great depth on anything, but on the whole its a good watch.



2. Very little coverage of the vast and numerous highlights of this beautiful country. Way too much focus on a few specific lodging, dining, and recreation providers and too little on the wonderful places to see and things to do. The advertisements for one of the largest on-line travel companies are the best example of the commercial rather than informational nature of this DVD. Very dissapointing.

3 comments about Over America Deluxe Box Set.

1. The producer tried to put stuff together, only the 4th disc (Washington DC) worth watching.



2. I only wanted the "Over America" DVD itself, but ordered this because I did not realize what was included. The set includes:
   
   Over America - 116 minutes
   Washington D.C. - 58 minutes
   Globe Trekker: San Francisco - 60 minutes
   Globe Trekker - New York - 60 minutes



3. Over America - Deluxe Box Set is great for learning some interesting facts about the United States that you may have forgotten, or never knew in the first place!
   
   The first disk simply called Over America has wonderful photography taken from a helicopter flying over various parts of the United States. Sections of New England, New York City, Florida, Texas, California, and the Pacific Northwest take up most of the disk. My state, Virginia, is only shown where the flight cruised down the Potomac River and flew over Great Falls, Virginia, on the way to Washington, D.C. It is great to see some of the monuments of Washington, D. C. from the sky. That was enjoyable, but the South was pretty much ignored in most of the series. In defense of the project, I know that every state could not be covered.
   
   The second disk is San Francisco where the city is introduced as the most liberal town in the United States. This is more like a city tour where you walk around with a guide who does street interviews and gives you local history. The guide covered many parts of the city where various ethnic areas are visited including Chinatown, Haight Ashbury, and North Beach. A trip to the old prison, Alcatraz, is also interesting and lots of wonderful scenery with huge redwood trees are shown in all their glory.
   
   The third disk is Washington, D. C. Having worked in D. C. for a number of years and living within a short distance away, I know this area the best. The Capitol, White House, Jefferson and Lincoln monuments are all showcased, as is the Library of Congress. I think most Americans would find it very interesting.
   
   The fourth and last disk is New York City. Again, very enjoyable, with two different guides giving their personal tours and visits of the city. This was done in a light hearted way and there are some fun and amusing scenes. I especially loved seeing The Statue of Liberty and many of the tall buildings from the air! Also, the viewer is given a visit to all five Boroughs. The horrible destruction to the Twin Towers is discussed and Ground Zero is shown. An interview is conducted with a man who survived the bombing. That was a very mournful and sad part of this otherwise easy going tour. We Americans will never forget that day in our history!
   
   I found this series to be very rewarding and recommend it to anyone who wants to visit some of the places mentioned. If you have no thoughts of a visit, this series will make you feel like you've been there!