Archive for category DVD

Choice Quotes: The Normal Heart

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD, TV on September 3, 2014

“I see him. He doesn’t see me.” — Ned Weeks [Mark Ruffalo]

“You don’t look gay so I guess we could both pass for white people.” –Ned Weeks

HIV/AIDS, Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart

Shiva Rea Meditations: DVD review

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD on June 4, 2014

When I first took a yoga class 20 years ago, I didn’t like Shavasana at the end. It took some time before I could settle in and breathe into the quiet mediation that typically closes any yoga workout. The teachers didn’t make me feel safe. I’ve tried several yoga DVDs and Shiva Rea’s the best. A marvelous guide and inspirational yogini. I’m a fan and often use her wonderful DVDs.

Renowned yoga teacher and flow expert Rea collected her various mediations on one DVD. Settings include the Greek island of Santorini and New Mexico’s White Sands National Park. Meditations from previously released programs such as Daily Energy, Fluid Power, A.M. Energy, Yoga Trance Dance, Radiant Heart Yoga, Yogini and Yoga in Greece. Shiva Rea guides you through each meditation and scenic settings boost the mood.

Whether you want to perk up, cool down or completely bliss out you’re covered here. Use the cool and uncomplicated matrix to improve your overall health by increasing blood flow via solar, lunar, Shavasana, heart opening, mantra and mudra (hand gestures) options. Rea’s unique flow style might feel strange at first but is completely liberating and opens you up.

Shiva Rea Meditations
Acacia
100 min.

purchase at Amazon: Shiva Rea: Meditations

meditation, Shiva Rea, yoga

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DVD: AFTER TILLER a must-see documentary

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD, Women/ feminism on May 28, 2014

A powerful and inspirational documentary filmed with a calm focus through beautiful and reflective moments. Directed and produced by Martha Shane and Lana Wilson.

It’s legal to perform third-term abortions in nine states and (at the time of filming), only four doctors in the United States openly performed third-term abortions.

“At times I struggle and times I don’t and I always come back to the woman and what she’s going through and what life will this baby have. What will it mean to be alive with horrific fetal abnormalities? It’s not just about being alive. It’s about life and what does it mean.”
–Dr. Shelley Sella

“There’s two reactions to being bullied. One is to pull your head in and try to get away from the bully and the other is to go ‘oh yeah.’ That’s how I feel.”
–Dr. Susan Robinson

“(The anti-abortion threats) are a traumatic experience for everybody in my family. It’s been hard for me to feel sometimes that I can continue.”
–Dr. Warren Hern

“Things have changed since Dr. Tiller’s death. And it’s a shame George had to die to get that started. I think he did get a lot of the dialogue started that’s going on today. We don’t have Dr. Tiller anymore but we still have four of us who are still practicing and I think Dr. Tiller would be proud that we’re still carrying on his work.”
–Dr. LeRoy Carhart

abortion, After Tiller, documentary, feminism, prochoice

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Women’s History Month: Biopics About Women Writers

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD, Film, Women/ feminism on March 25, 2014

Black Butterflies [2011]
Director: Paula van der Oest
Starring: Carice van Houten, Liam Cunningham, Rutger Hauer
–about the volatile life of South African poet Ingrid Jonker

Sylvia [2003]
Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig
Director: Christine Jeffs
–focuses on relationship between poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

Iris [2001]
Starring: Judi Densch, Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet
Director: Richard Eyre
–lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley from their days as students through her battle with Alzheimer’s disease

Becoming Jane [2007]
Starring: Anne Hathaway
Director: Julian Jarrold
–pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman

Miss Potter [2006]
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson
Director: Chris Noonan
–Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children’s book, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”

The Children of the Century [1999]
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Benoit Magimel
Director: Diane Kurys
–love affair between novelist George Sand and author Alfred de Musset

Mrs. Parker and the Viscous Circle [1994]
Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Cambell Scott, Peter Gallagher
Director: Alan Rudolph
–Dorothy Parker and her heyday with the Algonquin Round Table circle of friends

Impromptu [1991]
Starring: Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin
Director: James Lapine
–writer George Sand pursues pianist/composer Frederic Chopin in 1830s France

An Angel at My Table [1990]
Starring: Kerry Fox, Alexia Keogh, Karen Fergusson
Director: Jane Campion
–Janet Frame grows up with lots of brothers and sisters in a poor family in 1920s and 1930s New Zealand. She always feels different from others. After getting education as a teacher, she’s sent to a mental institution for eight years. She gains success when she begins writing novels.

[reprinted from March 2013]

Angel at My Table, Becoming Jane, Black Butterflies, George Sand, Impromptu, Ingrid Jonker, Iris, Iris Murdoch, Jane Austen, Janet Frame, Miss Potter, rs. Parker and the Viscous Circle, Sylvia, Sylvia Plath, The Children of the Century

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Women’s History Month: Documentaries about Women

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD, Film, Women/ feminism on March 19, 2014

Bhutto [2010]
–riveting, inspirational and moving documentary of the recently assassinated Benazir Bhutto who fought for democracy in Pakistan.

The Business of Being Born [2008]
–Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein investigate maternity care in the United States. fascinating whether you have children or not or plan to have children or not.

Venus and Serena [2012]
–engrossing documentary about top two tennis players in the world

What I Want My Words to Do to You [2003]
–A look at playwright Eve Ensler’s writing workshop inside Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women. intense. emotional.

Shut up and Sing [2006]
–the aftermath for the Dixie Chicks after Natalie Maines’ anti-George W. Bush statement at a 2003 concert.

Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer [2013]
–the story of the trial of the three Russian feminist punk singers/ performance artists on trial for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral.

Very Young Girls [2007]
–disturbing and hopeful film about Rachel Lloyd, a former sexually exploited youth-turned-activist, who started the New York City organization GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services) to help victimized young women escape their pimps and find another way of life.

Lioness [2008]
–The untold story of the first women in U.S. history to be sent into direct ground combat.

Searching for Debra Winger [2002]
–Rosanna Arquette directs this honest and important film about Hollywood sexism and ageism and why there aren’t very many good roles for women over the age of 35.

The Punk Singer [2013]
–look at the life of activist, musician, and cultural icon Kathleen Hanna, who formed the punk band Bikini Kill and pioneered the “riot grrrl” movement of the 1990s.