Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Review: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Review: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants


The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Posted:

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)
By Amber Tamblyn

This is a truly amazing film brought to life by four truly amazing girls-- Alexis Bledel as shy Lena, Amber Tamblyn as rebel Tibby, Blake Lively as fun-loving Bridget, and America Ferrera as writer Carmen. Each girl has a different story to deliver from different parts of the world. Lena's in Greece with her grandparents, Tibby's at home working a dull job at Wallman's, Bridget is at soccer camp in Mexico, and Carmen is visiting her father in South Carolina.

Together, they form the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants after discovering that a hot pair of Levi's fits each of their different body types perfectly. They decide that the best thing to do is to share the jeans since they'll be spending the summer apart, wearing them for one week and then mailing them to the next person. Lena gets them first, almost drowning the first day she wears them, only to be rescued by a cute Greek boy, who will no doubt get her out of her shell. Tibby gets them next, who is staying home to work to get money for more camera equipment to make her "suckumentary." She meets a vivacious 12 year old named Bailey, a girl who loves life as opposed to Tibby's "life sucks" attitude. Carmen then gets the jeans-- she learns that her father (who left her when she was young) is remarrying a woman with two children. She feels like an outcast in a see of blonde Brady Bunchers. Then the jeans head to Bridget. She's still coping with her mother's suicide, and flirts with the off limits soccer coach because it gives her something to do other than be sad.

So the jeans travel between each girl throughout the movie, each time getting a new story and opening up new chapters in these girls' lives. This is a wonderful movie. Very well played out and extremely well written, surprisingly so for a film about girl power...
...


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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Review: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2

Review: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2


Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2

Posted:

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2 (Limited Gift Set Edition) (DVD)
By Amber Tamblyn

I think both of these movies portray a great story about friendship and family values. Both of these movies, as well as the books, do a great job giving us an insight of the issues many young women face on a daily basis. I would recommend showing this movie to any young person, both young men and young women.


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Monday, July 29, 2013

Review: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2

Review: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2


Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2

Posted:

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2 (Limited Gift Set Edition) (DVD)
By Amber Tamblyn

I think both of these movies portray a great story about friendship and family values. Both of these movies, as well as the books, do a great job giving us an insight of the issues many young women face on a daily basis. I would recommend showing this movie to any young person, both young men and young women.


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Sunday, July 28, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Third Season

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Third Season


Gilmore Girls: The Complete Third Season

Posted:

Gilmore Girls: The Complete Third Season (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

The third season of "Gilmore Girls" offers a lot of ups and down for Lorelai and Rory, not to mention pretty much everybody else at Stars Hollow or Chilton. I was prepared to declare that this was my least favorite season of the series because I did not like Jess and I though Rory's choice to ditch Dean for Jess was the lost of the innocence that made the character so endearing in the first place. Then I took into account that "Gilmore Girls" airs on the WB and from Felicity choosing Ben over Noel and Joey picking Pacey over Dawson I have been nothing but disappointed with the romantic choices of their ingénues. Buffy chose Angel and then she ended up killing him. If Lorelai and Luke do not end up happily ever after I might be compelled to give up on the show (consider this fair warning, WB), but if Rory could dump Dean I knew Jess could never go the distance and I could take heart in that fact.

What defines this third season for Lorelai and Rory are not the men (or boys) in their lives but rather their goals of realizing their dreams. For Lorelai this means opening up her own inn with Sookie. That dream gets put on the front burner when a fire damages the Independence Inn ("A Tale of Poes and Fire"), but buying the Dragonfly Inn (the house from "The Waltons" if you know your television history) proves to be a problem ("Say Goodnight, Gracie"). When Lorelai insists on spending the money she got from her father on her daughter's education at Yale it is Rory who has to cut her own deal with Richard and Emily so that her mother can get her dream too ("Those Are Strings, Pinocchio"). It is supposedly a "win-win-win" situation, but that remains to be seen.

Of course, Rory getting into the college of her dreams is the real defining element of the season.
...


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Saturday, July 27, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls - Pilot

Review: Gilmore Girls - Pilot


Gilmore Girls - Pilot

Posted:

Gilmore Girls - Pilot (TV Premiere DVD) (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

Just so you know, this is the IDENTICAL PILOT THAT IS IN THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON SET. I give the show itself 5 stars, and for everyone who just wants a taste, buy the DVD. BUT if you own the first season, there is NO NEED to buy this one.


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Friday, July 26, 2013

Review: I'm Reed Fish

Review: I'm Reed Fish


I'm Reed Fish

Posted:

I'm Reed Fish (DVD)
By Jay Baruchel

I stumbled on to this on my Netflix "instant play" feature as something to watch. The Netflix rating system told me I'd like it, and they were right! So much so that I'll probably buy it soon.

The coming of age love story watches the goings-on of Reed Fish, a "literal" big fish in a small town who has a daily radio show he inherited from his dad. The slam dunk in this movie is Schuyler Fisk's performance and music. She's incredibly engaging. Her music is wonderful. Jay Baruchel, as the title character Reed, and Alexis Bledel, as his fiancée, do an excellent job.

Some reviewers trash this film for various perceived ills, but they are completely missing the humour and the point. Reed Fish is a big fish, pun intended, in this little town, and spends his days solving problems for his listeners and otherwise operating as a pillar of his community despite his youth - it's meant to be a little weird, I think. There are many moments where the movie laughs at itself for all these "flaws", which I'm sure were engineered in in part to mimic reality. Do yourself a favor - suspend your reality for a moment and enjoy it for what it is - a delightfully engaging, charming romantic comedy.


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Thursday, July 25, 2013

Video: Mad Men Talks Vincent Kartheiser and Alexis Bledel's Wedding and Jon Hamm as Director!

Video: Mad Men Talks Vincent Kartheiser and Alexis Bledel's Wedding and Jon Hamm as Director!


Mad Men Talks Vincent Kartheiser and Alexis Bledel's Wedding and Jon Hamm as Director!

Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT



Mad Men Gespräche Vincent Kartheiser und Alexis Bledel ' s Hochzeit und Jon Hamm als Direktor! Von: Laylan-Anayumks-Aufrufe: 24 1 Ratings Time: 03:02 mehr in Nachrichten & Politik

Also Recommended:

Gilmore Girls - Pilot (TV Premiere DVD)
Gilmore Girls - Pilot (TV Premiere DVD) (DVD)
By Lauren Graham


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Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Fifth Season

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Fifth Season


Gilmore Girls: The Complete Fifth Season

Posted:

Gilmore Girls: The Complete Fifth Season (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

Gilmore Girls is one of those rare shows that has maintained a consistently high standard of quality throughout its run and has even managed to get better with age. The show started with the Lorelei (Lauren Graham) & Rory (Alexis Bledel) as mother & daughter who are best friends. Rory was an innocent intellectual who was starting a prestigious high school as sophomore. Through the years, the show has transformed her from a young girl who lost herself in books and education to a young woman who is experiencing life first-hand. The change started at the end of season four when Rory sleeps with her ex-boyfriend, the married Dean (Jared Padalecki) and continues in this season with her relationship with the rich Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry). The change in Rory is startling and Lorelei has a tough time dealing with it thus creating rift between the two. This season also shows the blossoming of her relationship with Luke (Scott Patterson) and how that relationship is handled by her parents Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard (Edward Hermann). One particular funny episode involves Richard taking Luke golfing. The best episodes of the season involve Richard & Emily's wedding to renew their vows and the fall-out from Emily's visit to Rory's father Christopher (David Sutcliffe) who shows up at the wedding and gets into a verbal fight with Luke. The season ends with Rory and Logan stealing a yacht and Rory decides to drop out of Yale. Lorelei goes to her parents for help in this matter and they agree Rory shouldn't drop out. They provide the cruelest slap of all in Lorelei's face when they renege on their promise and Rory ends up moving into the pool house. Ms. Graham is particular superb in this season and fact she was snubbed for an Emmy nomination is criminal....


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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete First Season

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete First Season


Gilmore Girls: The Complete First Season

Posted:

Gilmore Girls: The Complete First Season (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

"The Show That Almost Wasn't."

That's the most surprising lesson learned about the nature of television production -- as told by the show's creator Amy Sherman-Palladino -- in the WB's stellar GILMORE GIRLS release: Ms. S-P had pitched a variety of programs for WB executives, and, when they asked for more, she made up an idea on the spot -- with no preparation or background detail -- which the executives took! Then, Ms. S-P had to go and create it.

GILMORE GIRLS arguably stands as a benchmark in television history. In some ways, the program is like SEINFELD: if you don't get it, you won't get it. In other ways, it's a high quality Hallmark Channel movie-of-the-week, currently stretching out beyond its fourth season and soon to be entering its fifth. Still, in more ways, there's absolutely nothing else like it on television.

GG is far more than just the story of Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore: it's the story of the fictional town known as Star's Hollow -- the dreamland for bed-n-breakfast businesses -- and the odd assortment of characters who happen to live, work, and breathe there. While the centerpiece is clearly the Gilmore family -- a contemporization of the BRADY BUNCH, if there could ever be such a thing -- the spin of the show is, to its benefit, the plethora of wonderfully imagined and uniquely quirky townsfolk who populate the secondary storylines.

And, yes, the acting is top notch. The direction is absolutely superb. The writing is, by far, some of the most deserving work being put up on the boob tube today.

Still, GG is on the WB, meaning that it will, more than likely, never find the kind of ratings the show deserves. Like STAR TREK, GILMORE will find its true financial potential in syndication and DVD releases ...

...


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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Second Season

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Second Season


Gilmore Girls: The Complete Second Season

Posted:

Gilmore Girls: The Complete Second Season (Digipack Packaging) (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

The second season of "Gilmore Girls" is when a lot of things did not happen to Lorelai Gilmore. It started with Lorelai not marrying Max ("Red Light on the Wedding Night") and ended with her not marrying Christopher ("I Can't Get Started"), but Sookie got married so at least there was some progress in that area, although the duo's plan to open an inn together hits a major roadblock ("The Ins and Outs of Inns"). Of course, the most important thing that did not happen to Lorelai was that she manages to really notice Luke despite the fact he is pretty much there in front of her every morning at the diner. Clearly the creators of "Gilmore Girls" remember what happened to "Moonlighting" once Dave and Maddie stopped bantering and started kissing and other things, so the agenda is to put off the inevitable for as long as possible. So even if it is obvious to everyone else in Stars Hollow (to wit, Emily), does not mean that Lorelai has a clue.

As for Rory, her junior year at Chilton has its ups and downs. and not just because of Paris. The ups would be "The Road Trip to Harvard" and making her society debut ("Presenting Lorelai Gilmore"), while the downside would be the rift between her and her grandfather because of Dean ("Sadie, Sadie") and the problems with Dean because of Jess ("There's the Rub" and "A-Tisket, A-Tasket"). If anything, the common denominator is to make sure that none of the Gilmore women are happy, which means Rory is mad at Lorelai for blaming Jess for the accident ("Help Wanted," Lorelai is mad at Emily for arranging their going to a spa together ("There's the Rub") and Emily is mad at Richard for quitting his job without consulting here ("The Bracebridge Dinner"). What? You thought Emily was going to be mad at Rory? Are you kidding?
...


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Monday, July 22, 2013

Review: Celebrity Mix

Review: Celebrity Mix


Celebrity Mix

Posted:

Celebrity Mix (DVD)
By Zooey Deschanel

So few short films become commercially available on DVD you can't help but think a better collection could have been culled here. But "Celebrity Mix" (presumably so named because people you've heard of appear in some of the films) has its worthwhile moments, as well as one true gem.

Most of these eight films classify as comedies. Of them, only "Laud Weiner" - an incredibly obvious take on shallow Hollywood producer/managers (see the feature "The Player," the TV show "Action," and about a million other sources for smarter, funnier treatments of the same topic) falls completely flat. "Dysenchanted" offers a few smiles but never overcomes the cuteness of its premise; "Media Whore" mocks vapid entertainment reporters but needs more bite to be truly memorable; "Mr. Dramatic" (yet *another* swipe at Hollywood - can any shorts auteurs see beyond their disillusionment with LA-types?) takes an okay but underdeveloped concept and slo-mo's it to death.

But "Dependable People" has some very funny bits, even if they never coalesce into a whole that's as good as its parts, and "Curiosity" is a sharp, if simple, thriller with some edge. "House Hunting" bears an obvious literary imprint (it's based on a Michael Chabon short story) in its dialogue and themes, and remains watchable throughout its often uneven execution.

And then there's "Waking Dreams," by far the most accomplished piece of filmmaking here. Though not a comedy, its smart humor makes it in some ways the funniest short in the collection - as well as the best written, best directed, and best acted. Inadequately described on the DVD packaging as a "paranormal thriller," it takes a sharp turn toward the sublime at the end and actually gets there.
...


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Sunday, July 21, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls - Pilot

Review: Gilmore Girls - Pilot


Gilmore Girls - Pilot

Posted:

Gilmore Girls - Pilot (TV Premiere DVD) (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

Just so you know, this is the IDENTICAL PILOT THAT IS IN THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON SET. I give the show itself 5 stars, and for everyone who just wants a taste, buy the DVD. BUT if you own the first season, there is NO NEED to buy this one.


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Saturday, July 20, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Sixth Season

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Sixth Season


Gilmore Girls: The Complete Sixth Season

Posted:

Gilmore Girls: The Complete Sixth Season (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

I have been a fan of the 'Gilmore Girls' since the second episode of the series (I never saw the pilot until the DVD release), and ever since that episode I had been hooked into this wonderful, magical, comedic, and heartfilled world with these characters.

Season six starts off on a much different note, taking the show in a direction that it has never been: What would things be like if Lorelai and Rory where no longer friends, and never spoke? After the rift between mother and daughter at the end of the fifth season, Rory dropped out of Yale and moved in with her Grandparents, aliennating her mother, who was eccentially at a loss for words on the entire subject.

Trying to make up for each other's loss Rory starts to go down a path of wallowing and denial as her relationship with Logan gets more and more serious. Lorelai on the otherhand has a wedding to plan and a new dog to take care off.
...


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Friday, July 19, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Third Season

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete Third Season


Gilmore Girls: The Complete Third Season

Posted:

Gilmore Girls: The Complete Third Season (Digipack) (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

The third season of "Gilmore Girls" offers a lot of ups and down for Lorelai and Rory, not to mention pretty much everybody else at Stars Hollow or Chilton. I was prepared to declare that this was my least favorite season of the series because I did not like Jess and I though Rory's choice to ditch Dean for Jess was the lost of the innocence that made the character so endearing in the first place. Then I took into account that "Gilmore Girls" airs on the WB and from Felicity choosing Ben over Noel and Joey picking Pacey over Dawson I have been nothing but disappointed with the romantic choices of their ingénues. Buffy chose Angel and then she ended up killing him. If Lorelai and Luke do not end up happily ever after I might be compelled to give up on the show (consider this fair warning, WB), but if Rory could dump Dean I knew Jess could never go the distance and I could take heart in that fact.

What defines this third season for Lorelai and Rory are not the men (or boys) in their lives but rather their goals of realizing their dreams. For Lorelai this means opening up her own inn with Sookie. That dream gets put on the front burner when a fire damages the Independence Inn ("A Tale of Poes and Fire"), but buying the Dragonfly Inn (the house from "The Waltons" if you know your television history) proves to be a problem ("Say Goodnight, Gracie"). When Lorelai insists on spending the money she got from her father on her daughter's education at Yale it is Rory who has to cut her own deal with Richard and Emily so that her mother can get her dream too ("Those Are Strings, Pinocchio"). It is supposedly a "win-win-win" situation, but that remains to be seen.

Of course, Rory getting into the college of her dreams is the real defining element of the season.
...


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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls - Pilot

Review: Gilmore Girls - Pilot


Gilmore Girls - Pilot

Posted:

Gilmore Girls - Pilot (TV Premiere DVD) (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

Just so you know, this is the IDENTICAL PILOT THAT IS IN THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON SET. I give the show itself 5 stars, and for everyone who just wants a taste, buy the DVD. BUT if you own the first season, there is NO NEED to buy this one.


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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls - Pilot

Review: Gilmore Girls - Pilot


Gilmore Girls - Pilot

Posted:

Gilmore Girls - Pilot (TV Premiere DVD) (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

Just so you know, this is the IDENTICAL PILOT THAT IS IN THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON SET. I give the show itself 5 stars, and for everyone who just wants a taste, buy the DVD. BUT if you own the first season, there is NO NEED to buy this one.


Pin It Now!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete First Season

Review: Gilmore Girls: The Complete First Season


Gilmore Girls: The Complete First Season

Posted:

Gilmore Girls: The Complete First Season (DVD)
By Lauren Graham

"The Show That Almost Wasn't."

That's the most surprising lesson learned about the nature of television production -- as told by the show's creator Amy Sherman-Palladino -- in the WB's stellar GILMORE GIRLS release: Ms. S-P had pitched a variety of programs for WB executives, and, when they asked for more, she made up an idea on the spot -- with no preparation or background detail -- which the executives took! Then, Ms. S-P had to go and create it.

GILMORE GIRLS arguably stands as a benchmark in television history. In some ways, the program is like SEINFELD: if you don't get it, you won't get it. In other ways, it's a high quality Hallmark Channel movie-of-the-week, currently stretching out beyond its fourth season and soon to be entering its fifth. Still, in more ways, there's absolutely nothing else like it on television.

GG is far more than just the story of Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore: it's the story of the fictional town known as Star's Hollow -- the dreamland for bed-n-breakfast businesses -- and the odd assortment of characters who happen to live, work, and breathe there. While the centerpiece is clearly the Gilmore family -- a contemporization of the BRADY BUNCH, if there could ever be such a thing -- the spin of the show is, to its benefit, the plethora of wonderfully imagined and uniquely quirky townsfolk who populate the secondary storylines.

And, yes, the acting is top notch. The direction is absolutely superb. The writing is, by far, some of the most deserving work being put up on the boob tube today.

Still, GG is on the WB, meaning that it will, more than likely, never find the kind of ratings the show deserves. Like STAR TREK, GILMORE will find its true financial potential in syndication and DVD releases ...

...


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//PART 2