Archive for category DVD

Shiva Rea A.M. Energy: DVD review

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD on March 26, 2011

Run Time: 71 minutes
MPAA: not rated
DVD Release Date: April 5, 2011
Studio: Acacia
Review source: Acorn Media

A.M. Energy is an extremely challenging workout that incorporates Shiva Rea’s flow style, core strengthening and balance poses depending on the modules you choose. Shiva Rea might take a bit of getting used to at first but her techniques work. You’ll build core strength and open joints and lengthen muscles through her sessions. Shiva Rea has a soothing voice, a perfect yoga body and all of her practices have excellent pacing and a variety of poses.

There are three 20-minute practices—Body Mandala, Viva Flow and Shakti Flow– and a bonus 20-minute Heart Salutation on A.M. Energy. Start out with Meditation Core awakening and then you can choose any of the different modules. In the Body Mandala, Shiva Rea incorporates circular patterns with the body so all the movements are very fluid and concentric. Mandala is a Sanskrit word that means “circle”. In the Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions, artwork often takes a mandala form. I felt this set practice opened up my joints and charged my circulatory system. Shakti Flow energizes and increases flexibility and joint opening through flowing movements. Viva Flow includes tons of balancing poses to challenge our bodies as well as mental concentration. As with all of her DVDs, Shiva Rea starts with the basic balance pose and then shows poses with greater difficulty so that the DVD will suit a yoga practitioner of any level of ability.

purchase at Amazon: Shiva Rea: Am Energy

Shiva Rea, Shiva Rea A.M. Energy, Vinyasa yoga, yoga

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Waste Land: DVD review

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD on March 22, 2011

What I really want to do is change the lives of a group of people with the same materials they use every day.
–Vik Muniz

When one thinks about landfills, one certainly doesn’t think about art. Of course, the materials that many street artists and modern artists utilize today range far and wide. Documentarian Lucy Walker finds the beauty, passion and surprising moments among the ruins of Brazil’s Jardim Gramacho, the largest landfill site in the world. There’s no recycling so “pickers” go through the garbage for paper, plastic, metal etc to be sorted and shipped to various places. Each household generates approximately 1 kg of garbage; within that is 500 g of recyclable material. Watching the truckloads of trash flowing into the landfill, it’s nearly impossible to imagine a worse job in the world.These workers smile, support one another and aren’t bitter. Incredibly talented Brooklyn-based modern artist Vik Muniz grew up impoverished in Sao Paulo. He chose to travel to the world’s largest landfill to get to know the workers and create amazing art based on his observations and what he learns about them as individuals. His goal was to work with the pickers and include the recyclable materials as a way to give back to these hard-working, often overlooked people. Waste Land is the most poignant, enchanting documentary I’ve seen in a long time.

web site

purchase at Amazon: Waste Land

Brazil, Lucy Walker, Vik Muniz, Waste Land

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Week in the Realm: QUOTES

Posted by Amy Steele in Books, DVD on March 20, 2011

How strange that technology has brought us into a world where there are no fixed places anymore. You speak out of nowhere, you can be anywhere, and because nothing can be checked, you choose to imagine is, at bottom, true.
—FAME by Daniel Kehlmann

I just want people to get that this is simple. This is love.
—8: The Mormon Proposition

–So he slipped the hook?
–At least I’m not fishing with no bait.
from Downton Abbey

8: The Mormon Proposition, Daniel Kehlmann, Downton Abbey, FAME, gay rights, Prop 8

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The Switch: DVD review

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD on March 16, 2011

Ten reasons to see The Switch

1. Jason Bateman turns in extraordinary performance as Wally, a successful guy who falters with personal relationships and constantly worries.
2. Clever script by Allan Loeb.
3. Based on short story by Jeffrey Eugenides [Middlesex, The Virgin Suicides].
4. Seeing the film is a great FU to Bill O’Reilly who thinks that a film about single motherhood is a BAD thing.
5. As Kassie, Jennifer Aniston is not the typical desperate-to-get-married-and-have-a-family woman.

6. Aniston and Bateman have fantastic comedic timing.
7. Jeff Goldblum, Wally’s co-worker/ friend, is sexy and hysterical as always.

8. Multi-talented Juliette Lewis plays Kassie’s best friend.
9. Kassie [Aniston] makes her own plan to conceive.
10. The trailer doesn’t give away all the funniest parts of the film.

purchase at Amazon: The Switch

Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, The Switch

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Documentary Round-Up: Waiting for Superman; Kings of Pastry; Inside Job

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD on March 11, 2011

Waiting for Superman
–our public education system desperately needs to be fixed but no one seems willing to make the necessary changes

Prison: 33K/yr or 132K for four years
Private school: $8300/yr or 108K for four years

Worldwide: United States ranks 25th for math and 23rd for science among school-aged students

Kings of Pastry

–Every four years in France, there’s the Meilleur Ouvrier de France [MOF]
—an intense pasty competition. Contestants prepare 40 different recipes to be judged on presentation, taste, technique. There’s a wedding cake, chocolate piece, pulled sugar, cream puffs and more. It’s truly an amazing display of craftsmanship.

This documentary mainly focuses on Jacquy Pfeiffer, an instructor at Chicago’s The French Pastry School. There are 16 MOF finalists to compete in the three day competition. Kings of Pastry completely enthralls with lovely pastries, amazing technique and dedicated artisans.

Inside Job

“Since deregulation began, the world’s biggest financial firms have been caught laundering money, defrauding customers and cooking their books.”

–JP Morgan bribed government officials
–Riggs Bank laundered money for Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet
–Credit Suisse laundered money for Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions
–Citibank helped funnel drug money out of Mexico

By 2010, there were six million foreclosures in the United States.

**for the first time in history, average Americans are less prosperous and less educated than their parents**

Inside Job, Kings of Pastry, Waiting for Superman

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DVD review: Who Do You Think You Are? Season One

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD, TV on March 6, 2011

Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
DVD Release Date: March 15, 2011
Run Time: 293 minutes

Lisa Kudrow and writer/director Don Roos co-produced this intriguing series that follows celebrities as they work with genealogists, historians and researchers to investigate their family histories. It’s heartfelt and uplifting. Sarah Jessica Parker [Sex and the City], Matthew Broderick [Wonderful World, Addicted to Love], Lisa Kudrow [The Opposite of Sex, Friends], director Spike Lee [Malcolm X, 25th Hour] , Susan Sarandon [Dead Man Walking, Thelma & Louise], Brooke Shields [The Blue Lagoon, Suddenly Susan] and former Dallas Cowboys player Emmitt Smith take unforgettable, fascinating journeys to trace their roots.

Sarah Jessica Parker travels to California to find out information about a relative who may have been in the Gold Rush. Interesting Gold Rush fact: 10 people died for every mile traveled. Then she finds herself in New England and Salem, Mass. where a relative has some connection with the Salem witch trials. Is her relative an accuser or an accused? I won’t reveal it. Sarah’s husband Matthew Broderick has two relatives who fought in major wars. His great-grandfather served as part of the Connecticut regiment and fought at Gettysburg. Remember that Matthew played a Civil War hero in the film Glory? Lisa Kudrow’s research takes her to Minsk, Belarus. Her great-grandmother was killed in the Holocaust. She was “killed and burned.” Kudrow states: “You make people afraid enough of something completely manufactured and you can drive them to be cold-blooded murderers.” Emmitt Smith and Spike Lee both find slave-owner ancestors. Lee reunites with a relative he didn’t know he even had. Brooke Shields discovers her royal connections [she’s related to Henry IV 25 times removed]. Finally Susan Sarandon traces her artistic ancestors to Tuscany. Fun fact: 50, 000 Italians immigrated to America in 1888.

In finding out about their familial background, the stars inevitably uncover aspects about themselves in the process. Who Do You Think You Are? is riveting and intriguing.

Purchase at Amazon: Who Do You Think You Are?: Season One

Brooke Shields, Don Roos, Emmitt Smith, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon, Who Do You Think You Are?

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some favorite films about love [not always happy] for Valentine’s Day

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD on February 14, 2011

Though I rarely have a valentine on Valentine’s Day and am not a particular fan of the holiday, I’m hopeful to find LOVE someday. Here are some of my favorite love stories on film.

Brokeback Mountain
“I can’t quit you.” That just says it all. Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger show what unconditional love is all about.

Love & Sex
Kate [Famke Janssen] is a magazine writer given the assignment to write about love and sex: a guide for single women. She hasn’t dated since she broke up with Adam [Jon Favreau]. In writing the article she recalls past romances and Adam keeps coming back. It’s hysterical and Janssen and Favreau are great together.

Romeo & Juliet
Shakepeare’s classic story of star-crossed lovers gets the updated treatment with Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
When a romance goes awry, would you want to erase all memories of it and that person you loved? That is the unique concept behind writer Charlie Kaufman’s script. Under the astute direction of Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, ranks as one of my favorite films. It is a fabulous and romantic film. It’s amazing and thoughtful and the performances are brilliant all around [Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood].

The Apartment
Love Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon together here. Such a romantic classic and it won Best Picture in 1960. Fran [MacLaine] is an elevator operator in CC. “Bud” [Lemmon] Baxter’s office building. She keeps having affairs with married men. Bud falls for Fran and wants to protect her at all costs.
“That’s the way it crumbles . . . cookie-wise.”

Roman Holiday
Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn together. I need not say much more. Audrey won an Oscar for her performance as a rebellious princess who sets off to explore Rome on her own. She meets an American newspaper reporter who wants a real scoop. He pretends he doesn’t know who she is to get the story but then they fall in love. Oh so romantic!

Love and Basketball
Friends since they were children, both Monica [Sanaa Lathan] and Quincy [Omar Epps] are ace basketball players. Both make very different decisions about their relationship, the sport and their academic careers. It’s a fantastic sports film and feminist love story [written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood].
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Kate & Leopold
Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman make time travel so appealing. Do you ever wonder if you were born at the wrong time or in the wrong place? I’ve thought about it. This is a fun and sweet film.

Pride & Prejudice
Keira Knightley stars as Lizzie Bennet in this Jane Austen classic. This is probably my favorite adaptation [excluding the miniseries with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth].

Possession
Two literary scholars are studying Victorian poets who had an affair. This brings together Maud [Gwyneth Paltrow] and Roland [Aaron Eckhart] as they attempt to uncover the mystery of the Victorian affair. Based on the wonderful novel by A.S. Byatt.

The Whole Wide World
Writer Robert Howard [Vincent D’Onofrio] created the Conan the Barbarian series. This is the true story of his love affair with a small town school teacher Novalyne Price [Renee Zellweger].

Before Sunrise/ Before Sunset
It’s imperative that you do a double feature of these Richard Linklater romantic films starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.

Once
A brokenhearted street musician [Glen Hansard] meets a keyboardist [Marketa Irglova] and for a week they make music together and fall in love. The soundtrack is spectacular too.

Aaron Eckhart, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Claire Danes, Ethan Hawke, Famke Janssen, Feb 14, Glen Hansard, Gwyneth Paltrow, hearts, Heath Ledger, Jack Lemmon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Ehle, Jim Carrey, Jon Favreau, Julie Delpy, Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Leonardo DiCaprio, love, Mark Ruffalo, Marketa Irglova, Omar Epps, Once, Renee Zellweger, Sanaa Lathan, Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment, Valentine's Day, Vincent D'Onofrio

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CROPSEY: must-see documentary exploring a Staten Island urban legend

Posted by Amy Steele in DVD on February 11, 2011

CROPSEY investigates an urban-legend from the 70s on Staten Island. It’s creepy and fascinating. Less than 10 minutes in, I got up to make sure my front door was locked. Directors Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman grew up on Staten Island and knew about this story about a man who went around taking children. As the two met later as adults, they decide to probe the story they repeatedly heard as adults that a bogey man ran around Staten Island harming children.

Staten Island is a notorious dumping ground for the unwanted and undesirable: trash; mob hits; TB patients (there was a well-known hospital for TB patients on the island); the insane (again, there was a long-running insane asylum on the island) and mentally disabled children (a school existed called Willowbrook State School for the mentally disabled).

It turns out that this myth that the bogey man might get you if you’re not careful was somewhat true. Between 1972 to 1987 several children went missing. Eventually authorities arrest and convict Andre Rand. Is he really responsible for the brutal murders or a scapegoat? Zeman and Brancaccio make CROPSEYan engrossing documentary that delves into the mysteries of the now abandoned Willowbrook State School, the insane asylum and other unexposed secrets about Staten Island. It’s an investigation of Staten Island’s history as well as about the ongoing case with Andre Rand. Interviews, explorations of the abandoned buildings on the island and news footage make CROPSEY thorough, provocative and mesmerizing.