GONE: The Mystery of the Don Disaster

Great movie
This movie captures the emotions of the little Maine towns that lost so many citizens. I am from Maine, and hadn't heard the story, but found it fascinating. Well done.

So horrible
I don't know what that other reviewer saw, but this was just horrible. I'd rather watch monkeys fling poop at each other than this...which I'm sure the other reviewer has lots of.

Still an intruquing mystery... unsolved, after all these years.
Gone: The Mystery Of The Don Disaster is a video well worth owning.
You cannot sort this mystery out in one sitting.

The Don was a strange looking boat. She was a top-heavy forty four feet long with a nine-and-a-half foot beam. Atop this all was a pipe-framed steering station. Below decks, a large gasoline tank was mounted far forward in her wooden hull. Thirty four people (or was it 36?) were aboard for the Don's last trip. No one came home alive. No one knows why.

This documentary uses historic sources and well done reenacted scenes. The mood is of the early 1940s. The reenactments are gentle backdrops to the telling of the story. The movie was inspired by the research presented in the book Tragedy In Casco Bay by Stacy Welner

There is still a lot of mystery about the Don and its doom. No one knows for sure why she went down or where. This is a dramatic presentation of a classic sea tragedy. The captain who was under pressure running a party...

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Trotsky [Blu-ray]

Don't Start The Revolution Without Me: A Delightful Satire Loses Its Way
"The Trotsky" is one of those films that I wholeheartedly loved for at least half of its running time. A deliciously dark comedy about a Canadian youth who imagines he's the reincarnation of Russian revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky, this film begins as a strong satire of idealism gone awry. The running joke, throughout, is that our hero has very little to rebel against--he's just in love with the idea that he is a relevant trailblazer. But, in fact, he's no trailblazer at all. He's just trying to mirror his life according to the facts of Trotsky's existence--right down to his love life. It's a sly and smart skewering of politics and teen rebellion. The fact that his activism has very little real world context is quite amusing as there is no obvious cause to be fought. But just as the picture had won me over--a subtle shift starts occurring and we're meant to take this arbitrary and absolutely meaningless struggle seriously. A completely implausible, and somewhat creepy, romantic...





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The Endellion String Quartet play Beethoven

Excellent introduction to their full set on CD - a favourite set of mine
The Endellion Quartet was formed in 1979 and is now the resident quartet at Cambridge University. They have become renowned world-wide for their abilities everywhere `setting the audience ablaze' (Daily Telegraph) and for playing with `poise, true intonation, excellent balanceand a beautiful tone' (Grove Dictionary).

All of this is true, not only of this current DVD release but also of their CD recording of the complete Beethoven quartets. Like me therefore, you may be tempted to view this issue as a sort of sampler before adding further to your collection. It is an ideal coupling for that purpose as it contains one quartet from each of the three periods of Beethoven's development - early, middle and late. All three are given fine, possibly revelatory, performances.

You will not be disappointed for indeed, they fulfil all the expectations created by the above quotes. This has been a more involving experience for me than either the much admired earlier Italian...





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Bike-O-Vision Cycling Journey- South Carolina Backroads (Widescreen DVD #11)

Some of my favorite "back roads" to explore on bike!
Last night I did all my cross-training on various machines to the Bike-O-Vision Cycling Journey - South Carolina Backroads.

After 15 or maybe 30 minutes, I was ready to come in and write a review that said, "Beautiful back roads, lots of green trees, but rather boring, not my favorite Bike-O-Vision trip."

Right after thinking those thoughts, the trip changed. We went up King Mountain. We went to little resort towns. Then, my beautiful little town of Beaufort where I've only lived in my imagination, but love it anyway! Then more towns that are just a joy to bicycle through.

Don't give up and think that the long, L-O-N-G, roads at the beginning are all of it. They saved the best for last! Next time I think I'll go straight to the Beaufort part. Loved it!





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Best of Soul Train: Dance Dance Dance

A must have
if you love the honey combs, delfonics, pursade, chi lites, joe texs , al green and many more you will love this two disks sets including the soul train dancers....this is part of history in don cornulis memory iam blessed to have this in procession thank you amazon for having this amazing dvd.

Good, could have been better
I'll start out by saying that for the most part I liked all the performances. The interviews were okay too. The afro-sheen commercials I thought there were too many of them, although it was amusing to see them again after all these years. What bugged me the most was on disc 2 some of the performances were clipped off at the end. Also I would have liked to have seen the Sylvers performance of "Fools Paradise" which they performed on the same episode after "Wish that I could talk to you". Also I would have liked to have seen Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band playing "Scorpio" as well as the Soul Train dancers stepping to it (I saw them play it on an episode I saw back in the 1970's). I see why some people have complained about the way Time-Life put the Soul Train DVD's together, it seems like they didn't take all the advice they were given to by the people who put the show together in the first place.

Baby Boomers
All the old memories will flood back in your mind, when you watch all the great music that you'll watch. If your a Baby Boomer, it's a must watch.

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The Ark of the Covenant. ByFaith Quest.

Thoroughly entertaining and Educational Quest for the Ark of the Covenant with Stunning Locations
ByFaith - Quest for the Ark of the Covenant is a great DVD of family entertainments, coupled with biblical exploration in so many places in Egypt and Ethiopia. The two explorers look into Tutankhamun's Treasure, Pharaoh Shishak's Siege of Jerusalem, the Queen of Sheba's Ethiopia and the Lost Gold of Solomon's Temple.

As always, the ByFaith team look at the evidence, present the biblical case and look at what is credible and what is not. The DVD is entertaining as well as educational, with some stunning cinematography (especially location, like the Rock Churches or the Steles of Axum) in this documentary of exploration and fact-finding mission. The DVD also uses animation, photos and 3D illustrations and is split into four episodes, or just sit down and watch it through in one sitting as I did - you will not be disappointed.

Thoroughly entertaining and Educational Quest for the Ark of the Covenant with Stunning Locations

OK for newbies to Bibical studies
This is a documentary given in a traveloge type of view, by two evangelists. They travel through the various locations looking for indications of evidence for the Ark's final location.
a bit goofy in some parts, but the whole comes out well.



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Pecker [HD]

not to be missed commentary by John Waters
If you're not a John Waters fan already, you probably won't even be reading this. I won't even comment on the film Pecker, since the critics and other viewers have done a pretty thorough job of that, but I will comment on John Water's running commentary, which is almost as good as the film itself. Even if you have already seen Pecker in a theatre, buy the DVD to hear John's commentary. He is so smart and funny and simply lovable, and he accepts everything and everyone with a wide-open heart. I watch every commentary that is included on DVDs, and without doubt, John Water's is one of the best. After hearing this wonderful commentary, you will love the movie even more!

Instant Waters collection
If, like me, you've been collecting various versions of the Waters films over the years, this will be a welcome addition to your library. I bought the three 2 movie sets individually and then mailed away for the 7th disk that this collection includes. It's got little videos and pictures and other trivia on it. At long last I can finally retire my second generation VHS dubs of Female Trouble and Desperate Living.
Buy this set, and invite your more open-minded friends over. You'll laugh your heads off. These movies literally changed my life (for the better) when I saw them for the first time in my early teens.
Oh, and to knucklehead that gave this set 1 star: Criticizing John Waters' films is like criticizing Picasso's paintings because the people don't look real.

Charm City - Trade Capital of the World!
From Charm City comes another Waters charmer - another minor masterpiece!

From start to finish Pecker is a delight and Waters infuses his script with enough loveable oddball characters to populate an entire city. Whether it's Christina Ricci's obsessive compulsive wreck of a laundress, the sugar addict Little Chrissy, eternally hopeful Mom, sleaze loving Tina or best of all Memama, who's room contains a shrine to the Virgin Mary - and a statute of the Virgin that shrieks "Full of grace! Full of Grace!" there is always someone to watch and enjoy.

Edward Furlong is all wide-eyed innocence - even when he's secretly photographing bottomless lesbian lap dancers at the and male strippers at a gay bar with the unfortunately hilarious name of "The Fudge Palace." Big sister, Tina offers a rip-roaring good time from Martha Plimpton, and Brendan Sexton III is a delight as Pecker's betrayed best friend. Throw in Mary Kay Place (!), Patty Hearst, Mink Stole, Lili Taylor,...

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