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Shadow of a Doubt Movie Streaming. Movie Title: Shadow of a Doubt Average customer review: Shadow of a Doubt is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Shadow of a Doubt

Having just watched Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943) last night for the first time, I was surprised at how good it was, and why I’ve never seen it before. I mean, I am a fan of Hitchcock, and I’ve seen many of his movies, but to have heard so little of this particular film seems puzzling to me, as it’s an excellent film, and worthy of a lot more recognition than it seems to have gotten. Either that or I just need to get out of my cookie jar more often…

Anyway, the film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by Thornton Wilder, stars a wonderful cast including Teresa Wright, who appeared with Gary Cooper the previous year in The Pride of the Yankees (1942), Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, The Third Man), and Henry Travers (High Sierra, Mrs. Miniver, It’s a Wonderful Life). Also making an appearance is Hume Cronyn making his film debut in a supporting role as a mousy neighbor.

The story involves a family in a small California town, and the impending arrival of a relative, Charlie (Cotten), from back east. Most anticipatory is younger Charlie (Wright), named after her uncle, as she feels a deep, almost telepathic connection to this man she hasn’t seen in quite awhile. Now, before Charlie’s departure for California, we get a general sense of unease, as it seems Charlie is involved in something of a sinister nature. Upon arriving in California, the visit seems to be going well, as the family welcomes him with open arms, but soon we learn that trouble has followed Charlie in the form of two rather shady individuals who present themselves with a certain amount of deception, which is elaborated on later. The older Charlie’s behavior begins to change subtly, perceptible only to the younger Charlie and us, the audience. As various bits of information are disseminated, the younger Charlie’s begins to realize that her uncle may harbor a terrible secret that could tear apart the very fabric of her family. As her uncle’s slick veneer is slowly peeled away, she eventually learns the truth, with the older Charlie realizing that the relative safety he sought in coming to stay with his sister and her family is in jeopardy. What lengths will he go to to protect himself from his past?

The film starts out very slowly, but it’s obviously deliberate, as the sense of dread within the viewer is cultivated in meticulous fashion. This seems a common tactic with Hitchcock, but I did get the feeling it was more drawn out here than in most of his other films. The pacing felt very similar to Rebecca, another Hitchcock film, which was released in 1940, but while that film had a much more grandiose feel to it, this film keeps things fairly simple, which really works well. There is a good amount of leaving the viewer in the dark within the first hour or so of the film, but when the secrets of the character is revealed, the plot points prior to this fall into place nicely, making sense of these once less meaningful elements. Teresa Wright’s character is wonderful as the perceptive and intelligent niece forced to make a very difficult decision between her family and her uncle, trying to deal with the consequences of whatever path she chooses. Cotten is the real standout performance in the film, presenting a very likeable character, with a highly polished exterior, but an exterior you learn is barely hiding a very ugly and, ultimately, dangerous core. He figuratively becomes the fox in the hen house, as his sinister nature encroaches upon this quiet, unassuming community. As I said before, the pacing is pretty slow, picking up moderately within the last 30 minutes (it has a running time of 108 minutes) to a very suitable and satisfying ending, one that provides a nice jolt during an already tense scene.

The print provided by Universal for this release looks very good, despite a few hardly noticeable signs of age and wear. Special features include a featurette on the making of the film, detailing why Hitchcock considered this to be one of his favorite movies he made, production notes, drawings and photographs, recommendations (to other Hitchcock films), and a theatrical trailer for the film. All in all, and excellent, if underrated, Hitchcock classic.

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To say Hitch’s “Shadow of a Doubt” is a great film would be fair; but in all honesty, looking back on the films (hundreds by now, maybe thousands) I’ve seen, there are few that have left such an indelible impression on me.

By now, everyone knows the story of Uncle Charlie and his adoring niece and how she slowly uncovers the truth behind her mysterious uncle’s past.

What’s brilliant about this movie is the way it foreshadowed and still influences movies today. Think of “Blue Velvet” and its portrayal of the naive small town boy uncovering a secret to his sleepy little town. Or even “The Third Man” just a few years later where, ironically, Joseph Cotton finds the truth about his best friend, Orson Welles.

What makes this film endure is its theme: The loss of innocence. the innocence of Teresa Wright’s adoring neice (watch the brilliant scene in the bar where she sits down with Joseph Cotton), the innocence of Charlie’s family and of course, the innocence of Santa Rosa itself.

Perhaps Hitchcock and Thornton Wilder were prophetic in the way they mapped out the loss of America’s innocence especially after the war. (the film was released around then). Look at our society now and how everything has changed. The 50’s were looked upon as the decade we lost our innocence (Some even point far later to the Vietnam war as the period that ended it) but Hitchcock back in the 40’s was saying that everything was not all right, and that bad things just didn’t happen in dark alleys and dark houses, that it could happen on the sunniest of days and in most Apple Pie, White picket fence homes.

And then, of course, is the equally superb and brilliantly understated ending where Joseph Cotton’s Uncle Charlie is being mourned in his death as a hero is equal parts chilling and darkly amusing. Hitch’s point? That we still live in denial, that we may need people like Teresa Wright’s Charlie to keep the lie hidden, because we aren’t able to look at ourselves in the mirror and see that dark side and embrace it.

No wonder this film was Hitch’s fave. Hitch loved to explore the dark side of the everyman (or every woman) and along with Strangers on a Train, Vertigo, Rear Window and Psycho, they form a collection of films that perfectly dissects the human condition and this theme.

A truly great film worth watching over and over.

Streaming My-Hime, Volume 2 Online. Movie Title: My-Hime, Volume 2 Average customer review: My-Hime, Volume 2 is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download My-Hime, Volume 2

Mai Tokiha is getting more used to life at Fuka Academy, even if she still has to wake up every morning with Mikoto clinging to her breasts! In addition to looking out for Mikoto and working a part-time job as a waitress, she also has to keep on eye on her sickly brother, Takumi. Along with all this goes the additional pressure of being a Hime, a role which Mai is struggling to reject. She just wants to be a normal high school student. But events are shaping her destiny that are beyond her control. As she faces a lethal battle with an Orphan, Midori, her co-worker, reveals herself as a Hime, and saves her life. Midori, unlike Mai relishes her powers, almost too much….She seems to enjoy it like a cosplayer…but at least she’s having fun…too bad she’s an alcoholic! Even though she says she’s only 17, she’s a bit older. Some other Hime also join the cast, some with a more negative bent than others, who use their powers to serve their own sense of justice instead of battling to save the world.

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Volume 2 of My-Hime further deepens not only the plot but the characters. The Hime seem to be wrestling with what to do with their powers. Whether to serve unknown agents and be controlled, use the power for selfish reasons, or to simply ignore them! Mai, at this point, wants to forget the whole problem and just get on with her life. But she isn’t going to get her wish. The plot is still a little fuzzy, but gives just enough info to refrain from being frustrating. At this early stage, the writers are concentrating more on building up the characters. In terms of animation, this series is pretty top-notch, and the characters are realistically designed with a sexy edge. My-Hime is a keeper!

It was great to see more Hime show themselves… and man was there some crazy twists…

If you havent seen the first disc you should before you watch this one… funny and adventurous series

My Review of Charade. Movie Title: Charade Average customer review: Charade is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Charade

This is an exceptional DVD transfer of an exceptional movie. Criterion has done a magnificent job of restoring Charade to its colorful glory. The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The print is clear, crisp, and beautiful to behold. You feel as if you can reach out and touch the actors.

And what actors! The film features the dashing older version of Cary Grant and the youthful gamine Audrey Hepburn, with enough chemistry between them to ignite a fireworks factory. The plot is a convoluted and flimsy trifle about cold war spy shenanigans, with cases of mistaken identity and episodes of grave danger for Miss Audrey. But Cary, the classic good guy in cad’s clothing, is there to save the day. In addition to which he provides chaste romance that sizzles beneath the civility.

Audio commentary is provided by director Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone. While interesting and funny in spots, it does drag a bit over the length of the film. It may be better to check it out when you find something in the film that you would like to hear dissected. Otherwise, you’d be better to stick with the delightful, corny dialogue spoken in the dulcet tones of Cary and Audrey. The soundtrack music is to also to be savored, done up in classic ’60s spy movie style by the movie maestro Henry Mancini.

If you have nothing to do on a rainy day and own a DVD player, this is the movie you want to have on hand to pop in the machine and deliver you from care. It’s a keeper (and it comes in a keeper case!).

I got this DVD for Christmas and I wasn’t disappointed. Stanley Donen, director of musicals such as “Singin’ In The Rain” starring Gene Kelly, brought together Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (who looks luminous, as always) in this wonderfully-written story about a Parisian widow (Hepburn) who is being pursued by three dangerous men (two of which are played by George Kennedy - an excellent “heavy” - and James Coburn at his most menacing) who want to find out about a large sum of money her dead husband supposedly had. Grant is the helpful stranger but eventually you begin to wonder: is he working with these men? Does he want the money for himself? Or is he really the handsome, older man Audrey finds herself falling in love with?

Enhanced by a lush score by the late Henry Mancini, photographed beautifully in Paris and containing first-rate acting and deliciously wicked dialogue by writer Peter Stone, “Charade” is a film that should be in every serious DVD collection. Grant is older but better, like fine wine, and Ms. Hepburn … well there have been millions of words used to describe her and I can’t add to them other than to say the world lost a marvelous talent at her death.

You’ll enjoy “Charade” for a long, long time.

Best Reviews Of Men of Honor. Movie Title: Men of Honor Average customer review: Men of Honor is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Men of Honor

This is a wonderful, heartwarming film, as well as an indictment of the US Navy at a certain time in history. The story is a cinematic, biographical sketch of Carl Brashear, the first African-American to become a diver for the US Navy. Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Robert De Niro both give Oscar calibre performances in this gripping film.

The movie tells the story of Carl Brashear, whose parents instilled in him a determination that would cause him never to give up his dream of becoming a diver in the US Navy. He stuck to his guns, despite the overt racism that he encountered when he joined the Navy. The racism that he encountered would make it harder for him to achieve his life long dream.

Once he became a diver, Mr. Brashear upped the ante and strove to become a master diver. He struggled to do this against all odds, and just when he was on the cusp of achieving his goal, a tragic accident befell him, derailing him temporarily from the path to his ultimate goal. What he then does to fulfill his dream is radical, yet inpirational.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. gives a perfomance so moving and heroic, that the viewer feels like giving him a twenty one gun salute at the end of the film. Robert De Niro plays a racist master diver who is ultimately converted to the side of the angels, when he realizes that Carl Brashear is truly the best of the best. His performance is stellar.

The only problem with the movie is that most of the supporting roles pale in comparison to the two central ones played by Gooding and De Niro. Charlize Theron’s role, that of De Niro’s wife, is really superfluous to the story. Aunjanue Ellis, who affectingly plays Gooding’s wife, has a more crucial, pivotal role than Ms. Theron, but remains a shadowy figure in the backround. Hal Holbrook’s portrayal of a loony, racist Navy commander is rather one dimensional, more of a caricature than a character. Notwithstanding these small shortcomings, this is a riveting film that should not be missed.

Military training films are becoming so common that they are becoming a genre unto themselves. Among the more prominent we have, “Officer and a Gentleman”, “Top Gun”, “GI Jane”, and now “Men of Honor”. The fact that this one happened to be true doesn’t change the fact that the formula is the same. This film is probably most like “GI Jane” since it focuses on the desegregation angle.

The story is actually quite inspirational and is probably the best human-interest story among those mentioned above. Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is unquestionably a man of great courage and principle, and his strength of character shines through brightly in this film. Unfortunately, director George Tillman, Jr. has tunnel vision in presenting the characters and eschews character development of various characters other than Brashear in favor of showing Brashear in a constant state of adversity. Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro) is a central figure, and except for the initial scene, the fistfight and a couple of scenes with his wife, we don’t know much about him. For instance, Brashear sees the scars on Sunday’s palms and we are to assume that he worked a plow, but there is no follow-up on that point. Mr. Pappy (Hal Holbrook) gets only one short scene by which we can judge him. The rest of his screen time shows him pacing around and ranting. If a director is going to make a human-interest story, he needs to humanize the characters.

Cuba Gooding Jr. gives an outstanding performance as Brashear. This is probably the best I’ve seen him. This is a role and a character that is far more complete than any part he has played before, and he rises to the occasion. In “Jerry Maguire”, Rod Tidwell was a fascinating, but one-dimensional character with the depth of a rain puddle. Brashear is much more complex and grounded, and the issues he faces are life crises, making the part far more challenging. This is an excellent recovery from Gooding’s last role in “Chill Factor”, a film so dreadful that it was almost an act of professional suicide to take the part.

After a stint trying his hand as a comedian (”Analyze This”, “The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle”, “Meet The Parents”), Robert DeNiro is back to his dramatic roots with an outstanding performance. DeNiro isn’t a bad comedian, he is just such a great dramatic actor that it seems like he shouldn’t waste his time doing comedy. DeNiro endows Billy Sunday with a rock hard personality belying a tortured soul. It is a pleasure watching him work.

It seems every film I watch lately has Charlize Theron in it. I saw “The Legend of Bagger Vance”, “Men of Honor” and “The Yards” right in a row and I was beginning to wonder if she had a part in every film in 2000 (actually, she only did five). This was a minor role for Theron, but she carried it off well and managed to stay with DeNiro step for step. David Keith, who co-starred with Richard Gere in “Officer and a Gentleman”, has a cameo here

The DVD has some interesting special features, including reflections by the real Carl Brashear and some deleted scenes.

I enjoyed this film despite the hackneyed plot and the one-dimensional presentation. I rated it a 7/10. I’m a sucker for underdog stories and I have a fondness for stories where strength of character is the central theme. This film is particularly strong in both areas and brings us two memorable acting performances that compensate for some of the director’s shortcomings.

Watch Alex Rider - Operation Stormbreaker on Ipod. Movie Title: Alex Rider - Operation Stormbreaker Average customer review: Alex Rider - Operation Stormbreaker is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Alex Rider - Operation Stormbreaker

Look out 007! There’s a recent secret agent in town, and he’s going to knock the socks off the girls who primitive to swoon over you (at least the teenaged ones.) In this action-packed teen adventure, unwilling secret agent Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) signs up with MI6 to seek on an eccentric eye-shadow wearing billionaire (Mickey Rourke) whose trustworthy offer to equip all the schools in the UK with super-computers seems great too suited to be proper.

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Alex has unknowingly been groomed to be an agent by his uncle (Ewan McGregor) and after all, there’s no one better for the job than the man who was Obi Wan Kenobi. Soon, Alex is sent off to boot camp, prepped for his first mission and outfitted with an arsenal of frigid gadgets and gizmos (but no trusty weaponry) .

The stellar cast makes this movie seem a lot better than the spot indicates, with appearances by Bill Nighy as Alan Blunt of MI6; Sophie Okonedo as the Special Operations Division operative with the Bond-like name of Tulip Jones; Stephen Fry as the Q-like Smithers; Andy “Gollum” Serkis as Mr. Grin; and also Alicia Silverstone, Robbie Coltrane, Missi Pyle and Damien Lewis.

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More grisly than Gaze Kids (people die in this movie, albeit off cover) and less risqué than Bond (no hanky-panky), this movie is stout for teenaged audiences out for light entertainment and a itsy-bitsy adventure.

Amanda Richards, November 28, 2006

Just when you view the Bond genre had finally choked on its hold self-awareness - assisted knowingly by Austin Powers, Johnny English and so forth - enter Geoffrey Sax and his film adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’ Alex Rider character. I’m not distinct Stormbreaker does enough by itself to put the day, but it lays a solid foundation for the inevitable sequels to effect on, so we may not have heard the last of Alex Rider unprejudiced yet.

Rider is a mature-looking (shades of “I say, George! You’re remarkably well developed for a fourteen year-old!) but in truth somewhat wearisome and simpering teenager and so has no interest in Honey Rider, Allotta Fagyna and their ilk (Alicia Silverstone who, ten years ago, might have aspired to play this role, makes do as a big-sisterish au pair), but does quite fleet transform from short-tempered schoolboy ingenue (avec “issues”) to lean mean butt-kicking machine (detached avec “issues”), no sooner has evergreen comedy buzzard, Bill Nighy, arrived on the scene to flap eyebrows and roar him how. Perhaps in homage to Roger Moore, eyebrow flapping passes for silly (and/or dramatic) expression for a number of the lead characters in this film.

It’s all comely routine stuff, fine well executed on the whole, with nice (but not overdone) consume of CGI from time to time. By and gigantic it zings along and importantly never takes itself too seriously: most of the abet characters collect plenty of amusing opportunities (Nighy and Mickey Rourke milking theirs for all they’re worth), but Alex Pettyfer as Rider himself gets none - there’s none of the cheeky wisecracking hero here, which a lost opportunity to effect a natural successor to Bond.

A couple of irritants: no doubt for the American market, the word “heck” is veteran liberally in station other expletives, which impartial sounded amusing, but more to the point hypocritical given that the characters in demand were satisfied to punch, kick, knife and machine-gun each other without a second opinion, but all pruriently refrained from using the word “hell”.

Lastly, there are a couple of unnecessary extra characters, and the final exchange between arch (but not particularly well established) villain Yassen Gregorovich and hero Rider defies all credible explanation, effect as a means of wrapping up the film and laying the groundwork for the first sequel.

Interesting first instalment.

Olly Buxton

What did you think about The Untouchables?. Movie Title: The Untouchables Average customer review: The Untouchables is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download The Untouchables

Sometimes dubbed “the Master of the Macabre,” director Brian De Palma is best known for his enactments of the supernatural (”Carrie”), mania (”Dressed to Kill”) - and his mob stories. The latter part of his reputation is primarily grounded on four of his movies from the ten-year period between 1983 and 1993: “Scarface” (1983, starring Al Pacino), “Wise Guys” (1986, starring Danny De Vito, Joe Piscopo and Harvey Keitel), “Carlito’s Way” (1993, again starring Pacino) … and “The Untouchables” (1987), featuring an all-star cast including Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith. Among these, “The Untouchables” stands out as the only movie not primarily told from the gangster’s but from the lawmen’s perspective - but what it does share with all of De Palma’s works is an almost voyeuristic appeal to its audience’s visual senses; going far beyond the lavish display of film blood it is most often cited for.

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Less fact-based than cinematic grand opera par excellence, the movie takes as its premise the end of the career of Chicago’s ganglord of ganglords, Al “Scarface” Capone, who (after a few half-hearted attempts to prosecute him for murder had failed due to the unavailability of witnesses) pled guilty, in 1931, to evading federal income tax, and was sentenced to an 11-year prison term and a $50,000 fine. Capone’s downfall was brought about by a group of initially 50 but later only nine Treasury Agents, formed in 1929 (not in 1930, as suggested here) with the express purpose of breaking up his operations, and headed by Eliot Ness, whose 1957 book “The Untouchables” posthumously gave new rise to his fame - Ness died of a heart attack without ever having witnessed the full extent of his book’s success - and inspired, inter alia, the like-named 1959 television series starring Robert Stack and Brian De Palma’s 1987 movie.

Scripted by Pulitzer Prize winner and Chicago native David Mamet (”Glengarry Glen Ross”), “The Untouchables” is not so much a study in character development as based on a western’s classic “good versus evil” setup; although that doesn’t mean that its protagonists are two-dimensional in any way. On the contrary: Robert De Niro imbues his Capone with a ruthlessness and glib charm very likely matching those of the real “Scarface,” who was known for his little hesitation to commit murder and other acts of violence as much as he cultivated a reputation as a savvy businessman and benefactor of the poor, for example by running several soup kitchens. (And yes, all of De Niro’s mannerisms are on full display, too; but rarely have they fitted a role as well as here.) Kevin Costner’s Eliot Ness may be a little too assertive - Robert Stack once commented, after several conversations with Ness’s nearest and dearest, that the real-life Treasury Agent had been described to him as “rather soft-spoken, but very effective and brave” - but mildness is certainly not the principle trait written into the larger-than-life role of the man who “got” Al Capone, and Costner *is* an effective lead; although he is matched (not entirely sidelined, but darn near outplayed) by Sean Connery, who deservedly won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a National Board of Review Award as the crotchety old-timer Malone who has seen it all, somehow managed to stay both clean and alive, and now lets Ness talk him into becoming his tutor in all things Chicago Gangland. Andy Garcia, in his break-through role, is instantly likable as George Stone, the smart, fast kid from the South Side who doesn’t take kindly to put-downs of his origin but can nail a human target with one hand while lying down and holding a baby stroller with the other hand. Charles Martin Smith finally brings humanity and subtle humor to the character probably closest to the real-life “Untouchables,” accountant Oscar Wallace, who first has the idea to charge Capone for income tax evasion. Strong performances by Billy Drago as Capone’s right-hand man Frank Nitti (who of course was not really thrown off a rooftop by Ness), Richard Bradford as Police Chief Mike Dorsett, Patricia Clarkson as Ness’s wife, Jack Kehoe as Capone’s bookkeeper Walter Payne and others round out an altogether impressive cast.

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Unmistakeably scored by Ennio Morricone (whose style often, and certainly here, doesn’t even take a full bar to recognize; and who with an ASCAP Award, a Grammy and a BAFTA Award was the movie’s other major winner besides Connery), “The Untouchables” lives off its splendid cinematography, production design - costumes courtesy of Giorgio Armani - and the exquisite timing of its sharp-edged dialogue and editing: Not only is screenwriter Mamet known to have his actors practice their lines according to a metronome; the editing of some of the movie’s most memorable scenes has the distinct feeling of a carefully choreographed, veritable ballet. This is particularly true for Malone’s death, pointedly set against the aria “Vesti la Giubba” from Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera “I Pagliacci” (”The Clowns”), which is based on a real-life murder and which Capone attends while his lieutenants waylay Malone in his own apartment; and the famous shoot-out in Chicago’s Union Station, which turns into a deadly dance of bullets, blood and a baby stroller, shot almost entirely in slow motion.

Paradoxically, the one plot element this movie is most often criticized for - the jury switch at Capone’s trial - is one of the few facts that actually did take place (although Capone’s attorney would have had to be given the right to conduct a new voir dire). But ultimately, it doesn’t even really matter how much of the plot is fact-based and how much fiction: Even if “The Untouchables” doesn’t quite reach the mythical status of the “Godfather” trilogy - particularly its Parts 1 and 2 - as the mob movie to end all mob movies, it is one of only a handful other films that at least come close to the proportions of Francis Ford Coppola’s epic masterpiece.

Also recommended:

The Untouchables

Eliot Ness and the Untouchables: The Historical Reality and the Film and Television Depictions

Capone: The Life and World of Al Capone

Scarface

Carlito’s Way

Wise Guys

GoodFellas

Casino (Widescreen 10th Anniversary Edition)

Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition)

The Godfather DVD Collection (The Godfather/ The Godfather - Part II/ The Godfather - Part III)

What kind of incompetent nutbag puts out a classic like this on DVD without 1 single extra feature. Come on.. Where’s the bonus material? Where’s the Commentary, Deleted Scenes, etc? It’s not like Kevin Costner is too busy doing other movies! There should be a law against putting out DVD’s that only contain the movie without extra stuff. It’s not only a waste of valuable space, it’s very nearly a ripoff. Thank you, goodnight.

Download Barney’s Adventure Bus PS3. Movie Title: Barney’s Adventure Bus Average customer review: Barney’s Adventure Bus is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Barney’s Adventure Bus

My 19 month old son seems to like this tape the least of the 10 other Barney tapes I’ve purchased. There’s a part where a kitten gets stuck in a tree and a tin man attempts to get the cat out of the tree– This seems to scare my son. His favorite Barney Tapes are “sing and dance with Barney”, “Let’s Play School”, “Barney Songs”, “Barney’s Big Surprise”, and “Live in NYC” and “Waiting for Santa”. I’d definitely recommend purchasing these first– I feel they are more worth the money. “adventure Bus”, “Imagination Island” “Kids for Character” are his least favorites. And “Alphabet Zoo” is my specially least favorite.

My 2 year old daughter is entranced with buses right now - school buses on the street, her toy bus and especially the Wheels on the Bus song. What could be better than Barney singing her favorite song? We have to watch this everyday while she sings and dances along. And I’m so happy not to have to sing the same song quite as many times each day!

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Movie Streaming. Movie Title: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Average customer review: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

I decided to include this description in case Amazon doesn’t put it up right away. Here is what is included on the new ‘Baby Jane’ Special Edition DVD due out May 30th, 2006!

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Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) - The legendary dispute between rival divas Bette Davis and Joan Crawford fuelled the fire both on- and off-screen in Director Robert Aldrich’s Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Its Grand Guignol story of an aging ex-vaudeville child star (Davis) waging a psychotic reign of terror over her crippled ex-movie star sister (Crawford) became a smash hit and nabbed Davis her 10th Academy Award nomination for her acid portrayal of the title role. Nominated for an impressive five Academy Awards (winning for Best Costume Design), Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? is a mirthful masterpiece of the macabre.

DVD Special Features:

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New 16×9 digital transfer from the original camera negative and restored audio elements (Enhanced for widescreen televisions)

Commentary by author and film historian , Charles Busch and film historian John Epperson (a/k/a “Lypsinka”)

3 fabulous documentary profiles of the movie and its 2 immortal stars:

Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition (A new making-of documentary)

All About Bette, Biographical profile, hosted by Jodie Foster

Film Profile: Joan Crawford

Vintage featurette “Behind the Scenes with Baby Jane”

The Andy Williams Show

Theatrical Trailer

Languages: English & Français

Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

Oh yeah! I’ve been waiting quite awhile to partake in this slab of metaphysical weirdness! Needless to say, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” is everything you’ve heard and more. People went back and forth, frothing at the mouth in anticipation of a Freddy Krueger versus Jason Voorhees duel in “Freddy vs. Jason,” but if you want the real deal all you need do is check out Joan Crawford versus Bette Davis. By all accounts sworn enemies in real life, “Baby Jane” finally brought the two powerhouses together for a knock down, drag out fight of epic proportions in a movie that is so utterly insane it really does defy description. Every thing I will write about the film below won’t do it justice. I imagine this movie is a lot like the Taj Mahal or the Grand Canyon–you can look at pictures and say “Wow! That looks incredible,” but a two dimensional photographic image won’t give you the full effect. You’ve got to go there to appreciate such natural wonders, and you’ll have to rent or buy this DVD to appreciate the wonder of Bette Davis on autocamp as a former child star grown up into, well, read on and see.

Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) had it all when she was a child. A hit song insured that big audiences turned out to see her perform on the stage. Unfortunately, little Jane suffered from an ego the approximate size of Wyoming, an ego that resulted in temper tantrums with her parents and her sister Blanche (Joan Crawford). Eventually her raging sense of self torpedoed her career even as her sister’s began to soar when the film industry blossomed. Jane Hudson sank into obscurity, liquor, cigarettes, and a monstrous case of mental illness that greatly accelerated when a tragic accident put Blanche in a wheelchair for life. Now the two sisters live together in a decrepit house reminiscing about the old days. Well, at least Blanche reminisces. Jane Hudson spends her time stalking around the house in pancake makeup and a gossamer gown now tattered and spattered, spewing sarcasm and veiled threats at her sister, the neighbors, and the maid who arrives once a week to see how things are going. Hudson still thinks it’s possible to resurrect her long dead celebrity if only she can figure out a way to rid herself of the onerous burden that is Blanche. Obviously, she finds a way. She begins tormenting her sister by placing disgusting things in her food and making her sound crazy to outsiders. When that fails to work fast enough, she resorts to out and out physical violence.

With Blanche under lock and key in a bedroom upstairs, Jane begins the rigorous training all performers undertake to return to greatness. She hires a down and out musician by the name of Edwin Flagg (Victor Buono) to drop by the house for voice and dance lessons. Now the real insanity starts as Hudson rapidly devolves back into her childhood persona. She prances about the house singing her old musical numbers, giving it her all without realizing how incredibly grotesque the idea of an elderly woman imitating a child is. Flagg thinks Jane is crackers, and he’s right more than he could possibly know, but a paycheck is a paycheck. Until he finds out what is going on in a bedroom upstairs, that is. Faced with the distasteful presence of the local constabulary and the probability of a lot of probing questions about what’s been going on between the two sisters, Hudson packs Blanche in the car for a trip to the beach. I won’t spoil the conclusion of this cult classic for you, but let’s just say a startling revelation at the seashore proves to be the straw that finally pushes poor Jane Hudson over the edge. The denouement is upsetting, the sort of ending that has you putting your hand to your mouth in a “oh my” gesture.

“Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” is a masterpiece of casting, directing, and performing. The idea of putting these two lionesses of the silver screen in the same picture was a stroke of genius on the part of director Robert Aldrich, although many questioned his sanity for making such a decision. Wouldn’t the two actresses tear each other apart on set? Apparently not, but there were a few confrontations–including a thrown back and some real kicks delivered in a certain scene–and sniping that hinted at the turmoil just under the surface. Aldrich moved forward, crafting a film that is both claustrophobic in its set pieces and one that uses the black and white photography to great advantage. The film really succeeds, however, because of Bette Davis. She blows Joan Crawford out of the water in this movie, although to be fair Davis from the start had the meatier role. Her garish appearance and screeching voice deliver the chills to the nth degree, and her progressive decline into total insanity is shocking and absolutely convincing. Davis was nominated for an Academy Award for her disturbing portrayal of Jane Hudson, and rightfully so. She should have won. I’ve seen hundreds if not thousands of horror films, and Davis’s Jane Hudson ranks as one of the most disturbing characters I have witnessed in any of them.

Sadly, the DVD doesn’t give us much in the way of extras aside from cast and crew biographies and a few pages of text describing the production. Then again, it’s unlikely we would hear about the movie from the primary figures involved in its production since they are all long dead. Perhaps a commentary track with a film historian or a similar person could have been put on the disc; I know of other films that do this. Anyway, if you haven’t seen this film you’ve got to run, not walk, to get a copy. It’s that good, it’s that disturbing, and it’s that memorable.

Download Best of Filipino Food Vol. 1 - Cooking DVD Xbox. Movie Title: Best of Filipino Food Vol. 1 - Cooking DVD Average customer review: Best of Filipino Food Vol. 1 - Cooking DVD is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Best of Filipino Food Vol. 1 - Cooking DVD

Best of Filipino Food, Volume 1 is a cooking instructional DVD that walks viewers through the creation of some of the most popular regional cuisine of the Philippines. From Kare-Kare to Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Pinkabet, Leche Flan, and more, Best of Filipino Food Volume 1 covers a wide array of meat and seafood dishes, as well as a few vegetable dishes, snacks, and desserts. Highly recommended for cooks of all skill and experience levels who are interested in making and sampling Philippine delicacies, and a welcome addition to public library DVD shelves. 150 minutes.

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As a first generation Filipina-American, this is a wonderful dvd. This dvd makes you feel like you are cooking with your Lola/Tita (Grandmother or Aunt). Cookbooks are good but it is even better to actually see the dishes being prepared. I anxiously await the next volume!

No doubt rugs beautify your living place but the most tedious task is to clean and protect them. Sometimes purchasing them could be an expensive affair and sometimes they might be dainty. So in order to protect your money invested and keep their shine preserved, you need to avoid few common mistakes and follow few tips while Rug Cleaning

which can increase the life of your rug.

We should not thump the rug as this process might slacken the threads interweaved together resulting in breaking of the rug backing.

Do not vacuum the fringes of the rug as vacuum cleaner will engulf the edges into its beater bar and fringes will get untied and become crinkly and stringy.

You are also suggested not to use rug sprays or shampoos because if they are not washed out thoroughly, they will catch more dust making them appear dustier.

If still you have any plans to shampoo the rug, then first brush the rug so that imbedded dirt gets slackens. Sweeping should be succeeded by vacuuming so that dust is removed completely. This will make the rug look cleaner and might delay your plans of washing the rug.

You should also make certain that stains on the rug should be cleared as soon as they happen. On the basis of category of stains or spills, they are to be blotted or scraped. It can be blotted with help of dry clean towel by pressing from the outside towards the center. Repeat this action by folding the towel till the maximum moisture has been absorbed. If the milk has been scattered, then the affected part should be thoroughly washed with the mild soap and water so that the left over doesn’t sour. Incase of greasy spills and sugar based drinks spills, careful cleansing and washing is also needed with relevant cleaners.

You are also recommended to scatter mixture of 2 cups of cornmeal and one cup of Borax to nullify the pet odors. Let this mixture be left for about an hour before vacuuming.

As rugs get dirty quite often, you can also call experts to do this job but this could cost you much more. But with little heed, rug cleaning can be done easily at home.