The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season [Blu-ray]

Contains Bonus Episode!
An unexpected treat of this Season 16 box set is that it contains "Holidays of Future Passed", which aired only two years ago and is in full-screen format instead of widescreen. In future volumes, there should be direct-to-DVD episodes of "The Simpsons" which have not aired on TV. That would be something.

My collection continues, Amazon rocks!
I have favorites from all seasons. Sure, some of the humor isn't as funny as earlier seasons, but each season still has its gems and is enough for me to continue investing in them.

I pre-order through Amazon when I know I don't have time to head to Best Buy (who have the Collector units available immediately on the shelf) and its always quick & easy. Thanks Amazon!

Nuff Said
Its the Simpsons and they totally rule. This particular item is NOT the 3 dimensional plastic character face version. In case you are collecting that alternate version of Simpson's DVDs. This is the flat box version. Long live the Simpsons.
RIP Mrs. Crabapple-Flanders.

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Enough Said

Gandolfini, Louis-Dreyfus exquisite in 'Enough Said'
While this is still going to be a movie review, it's also one of those rare occasions where a massive amount of bias - in this case admiration, will likely overshadow anything and everything that's said about this particular film. This is due largely to the tragic death of a man that will go down in my book (and many others) as one of the greatest actors to ever grace the big or small screen. Of course, I'm referring to James Gandolfini - a beloved individual that was taken well before his time. He was a man with immense talent that saw no bounds, starring in arguably the greatest television show of all-time, The Sopranos. But, before he starred as the loveable gangster, Tony Soprano, he made his everlasting mark in films, like Get Shorty, True Romance, and The Mexican. Since the conclusion of The Sopranos in 2007, Gandolfini took on much more reduced roles, acting in supporting roles, such as Zero Dark Thirty, Not Fade Away, and Killing Them Softly. Thankfully, in one of his...

4.5 stars--- outstanding yet bitter-sweet relationship drama
"Enough Said" (2013 release; 93 min.) brings the story of Eva (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a middle-aged divorcee whose daughter is about to go off the college across the country. As the movie opens, we see Eva make house calls to her clients to provide massages. One evening, Eva tags along with her friends to a party, and there gets introduced to several people, including Albert (played by James Gandolfini), also a middle-aged and divorced (we later learn that his daughter is also about to go off to college). Eva also gets introduced to Marianne (played by Catherine Keener), a well-known poet who is lonely and hires Eva to give her massages (and bend her ear about her lousy ex). Eva and Albert go on a first date, and things are going surprisingly well. Meanwhile Eva is dealing with her daughter's pending departure. At this point we are about 30 min. into the movie, and to tell you more of the plot would surely ruin your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how...

James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Nicole's Holocener's best film yet
Nicole Holofcener has directed a handful of movies that few people have seen. They have fallen into a category of "women's movies" that most men steer clear of lest they become gay or something. I've seen them all ("Lovely & Amazing" is my favorite) and I'm still straight. And while her movies are far from terrible they are not terribly memorable either. "Enough Said" is her best feature yet and yes, it's OK for a man too.

A large part of the attraction is the late James Gandolfini who plays Albert, a bit of a slob, but funny and adorable. Albert is divorced from Marianne (Holofcener regular Catherine Keener). Together they have a daughter heading for college. Although Albert is a key character in the storyline, his counterpart, Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has multiple relationships to deal with. If you've watched Louis-Dreyfus over the years, you should be able to appreciate her dead-pan humor, much of which is displayed all over her face. That talent comes across...

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How I Met Your Mother: Season Five

The story goes on...
Kids... I hope you brought your notebooks, because the story of how I met your mother is a lot longer than you might think...

You get the feeling with each passing season that Ted Mosby's "story" is not so much about how he met his wife, but a cleverly disguised series of lessons for his adolescent kids as they enter young adulthood. That's not to say his quest for "the one" is actually just a footnote in the story, though. Many of the things Ted learned along the way were directly connected to his search for the elusive Mrs. Mosby. It just so happens that after five seasons, information has leaked regarding the wife's identity, but we've still yet to "meet" her. I know CBS has a good thing going with this show, but I'm wondering how much longer the writers can stall this inevitable meeting without the story becoming completely absurd.

**Possible Spoilers in Next Section**
For HIMYM fans who are drawn in by Ted Mosby's journey to find his soul mate, Season 5...

another great season
this season was pretty great. some classic episodes like Of Course, Rabbit or Duck, Definitions, Last Cigarette Ever, Jenkins and Doeppelgangers. If you're a fan of the show, you'll love it!

Addictive
I've come to terms with the fact that if we ever learn who the mother is, it will be the very last episode. Despite being trailed along all this time, the happenings of Ted and his friends are super funny. To some degree, their regular antics do get a little old, but in the next season the writers begin to change things up a bit and give it a little freshening. I do like this show and it's one you can watch several times, though I recommend having the seasons on hand because it is kind of important to be able to watch them in order.

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Christy - The Complete Series

Warm and Family Friendly Television
This gentle and heartfelt drama was wholesome and substantive television for families. Based on the cherished book by Catherine Marshall detailing her mother's time in the Tennessee Smoky Mountains in 1912, it is the story of a young and exuberant city girl who comes to teach in poverty-striken Cutter Gap and the manner in which it changed her life forever.

The book was warm and wonderful and those like myself who loved it had doubts that the essence of it could truly be captured for television. It was a pleasant surprise when those doubts were proven to have no validity. It was faithful in conveying both the feelings and the atmosphere of the book and, for many, including myself, Kellie Martin will always be Christy Huddelston. Her wide-eyed and hopeful performance was perfect, and Tyne Daly added emotional depth as Miss Alice, the Quaker woman who had seen heartache before yet found the strength to carry on.

The wonderful Tess Harper portrayed the sensible and...

It's about time!
How I loved this series when it was being aired on TV ! I'm so glad it is finally being put on dvd (and the whole series to boot!) --- It's just too bad that they never finished the series completely, but instead just left us hanging in the last episode as to whom Christy would choose as her husband .... I know they followed up this story with some tv-movies later on with different characters, but it would have been great to see it finished with the original cast -- However, this is a great family show, well worth watching ! Buy it -- you won't be sorry !

Finally on DVD!
Having greatly enjoyed the novel by Catherine Marshall, I had decided to give the tv series a try as well...

Many times, I've been disappointed; tv shows or movies based upon books often cut out significant parts or change things around, creating a completely different impression from the original work. However, this wasn't the case with the "Christy" series! First and foremost, Kellie Martin and Tyne Daly were perfectly cast in the roles of 19-year-old schoolteacher Christy Huddleston and Quaker missionary Alice Henderson. Secondly, the show generally kept true with the storylines and descriptions first brought to life in Marshall's classic novel, making it easy for fans to make the transition to the show.

If you aren't familiar with the story, the general premise involves the title character, a recent transplant from a wealthy North Carolina family, who has just arrived in the poor but proud community of Cutter Gap, Tennessee, in 1912 to teach school. It's...

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The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season

THE last great Simpsons season
Mike Scully's reign of terror has begun!

There is a theory that the best seasons of the Simpsons are its single-digit seasons. While I feel that Seasons 10 and 11 are certainly respectable, it is true IMO that Season 9 is the last season in which one could consider the Simpsons truly great.

As great a writer as John Schwartzwelder had become over the seasons, Season 9 is where Ian Maxtone-Graham really shined through with not only three great episodes but also having two of the three that should be in the discussion of the greatest Simpsons episodes of all time. Here are the episodes for your enjoyment.

1. The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson - classic Simpsons episode written by Ian Maxtone-Graham where Homer goes to NY to recover his illegally parked car from the WTC. Definitely one of the great Simpsons episodes of all time. Also the introduction of Duffman OH YEAH!

2. The Principal and the Pauper - the somewhat controversial...

THE last great Simpsons season......
Maybe I'm a moron for owning all the collectible head packs to date but I guess I'll stop with the Bart head. Here is my review from the other thread.

Mike Scully's reign of terror has begun!

There is a theory that the best seasons of the Simpsons are its single-digit seasons. While I feel that Seasons 10 and 11 are certainly respectable, it is true IMO that Season 9 is the last season in which one could consider the Simpsons truly great.

As great a writer as John Schwartzwelder had become over the seasons, Season 9 is where Ian Maxtone-Graham really shined through with not only three great episodes but also having two of the three that should be in the discussion of the greatest Simpsons episodes of all time. Here are the episodes for your enjoyment.

1. The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson - classic Simpsons episode written by Ian Maxtone-Graham where Homer goes to NY to recover his illegally parked car from the WTC. Definitely one of the...

"Hey, they have the interenet on computers now..."
This Simpsons are my favorite show of all time, and this season is no exception. My parents gave me this season for Christmas, and it's downright great. Like the previous 8 seasons, it's filled with celebrity guests (one of them happens to be U2), funny one-liners, and plenty of "D'ohs" from Homer. In this episode, we get to see Homer's beef with New York, Lisa finding an angel in a construction site (which turns out to be a publicity stunt), Homer entering the navy, and even Apu getting married (who eventually cheats on later in the series)! This season also introduces Dufman and Gil, 2 of the best "side" characters in the series. In the Halloween episode, we what Homer does when he finds out he's the last person on Earth (which is dancing around nude), what would happen if Bart's body got switched to a Fly's, with his body having a fly's head after a failed experiment in teleportation devices Homer bought at Professor Frink's yard sale ("I'll teach you to mess with my machine!"),...

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Angel: The Complete Series

Review of boxset - not show
To begin I must confess, the only time I have watched Angel..was after it arrived at my door this week in a cute little package. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge "Buffy" fan and own the Chosen Collection (Seasons 1-7). But because I have only recently started watching Angel, this review is for the boxset itself.

Since, I have the Chosen collection, I cannot help but compare the two. Angel the series comes in a (obviously) box, with 5 separate DVD holders that layer to make the face of our lovely brooding Vamp-hero-person guy. The sturdiness of the DVD holders caught my eye right off, they are much better than those in the Chosen collection (which were basically bonded with a weak adhesive) The box kinda folds apart, when you lift the lid, a panel falls down so you can see all the DVD season holders, the panel that falls down has a color pic of the Angel Cast. (this is similar to the Chosen collection)

The set includes a color-print booklet that outlines each...

So much more than a sequel to Buffy
Angel ran an all too short five seasons from 1999-2004, and the now defunct WB network may be defunct in part because of its decision to cancel the show. The story starts out where Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 3 left off, with Angel leaving Sunnydale and his beloved Buffy so that she can have a semblance of a normal life, or at least a normal relationship, which the two of them could never have. The entire series can be divided into three parts, all of which take place in L.A., Angel's new home. I'll warn you right now, there are SPOILERS AHEAD.

The first part consists of season one, and is in monster-of-the-week format rather than the season-long story arcs that Joss Whedon was famous for in Buffy. In season one, Angel starts a supernatural detective agency, "Angel Investigations", with the help of Cordelia Chase, who has moved to L.A. after her family lost all of their money the previous year, and half human-half demon Doyle. Doyle dies a courageous death half-way...

So much more than a sequel to Buffy
Angel ran an all too short five seasons from 1999-2004, and the now defunct WB may be defunct in part because of its decision to cancel the show. The story starts out where Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 3 left off, with Angel leaving Sunnydale and his beloved Buffy so that she can have a semblance of a normal life, or at least a normal relationship, which the two of them could never have. The entire series can be divided into three parts, all of which take place in L.A., Angel's new home.

The first part consists of season one, and is in monster-of-the-week format rather than the season-long story arcs that Joss Whedon was famous for in Buffy. In season one, Angel starts a supernatural detective agency, "Angel Investigations", with the help of Cordelia Chase, who has moved to L.A. after her family lost all of their money the previous year, and half human-half demon Doyle. Doyle dies a courageous death half-way through the season, and Wesley Windham-Pryce joins the cast as...

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Don Jon

A fresh turn on relationship films
Don Jon is a witty and thoughtful film about relationships. Jon treats everything in his life as objects he gains pleasure from, including the women he "scores" every weekend. But nothing can compare to the porn he accesses on his computer. The real life girls have the complications of being, well, REAL and don't always exactly match his lofty expectations. The porn girls don't disappoint, so he always returns to them.

Jon is a creature of habit - from his workout routine, to going to church (and confession, although he never actually changes his behavior), to cleaning his apartment, to Sunday dinner with his family (his family is wonderfully portrayed by Tony Danza, Glenn Headly and Brie Larson. All hilarious and convincing). When he meets Barbara (Scarlett Johannson), things are turned somewhat upside down. She's a true "10" and Jon is willing to change himself to get a chance to sleep with her. As much as Jon objectifies her as a sex object, she also...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt writes, directs, & stars in 'Don Jon'
If you believe the porn industry has no relevance in the modern world, you're sadly mistaken. Like it or loathe it, porn is big business, earning somewhere in the ballpark of $10-15 billion per year. Much like Hollywood, the adult film industry has stars of its own, a few of which have managed to become household names, most notably of which include Linda Lovelace, Jenna Jameson, and Ron Jeremy. It should come as no surprise that pornography has been around since man began using the printing press, and speaking of men, they are by far and away (statistically) the greatest abusers of the material. As it pertains to relationships, and depending who you ask, porn will either ruin a relationship or stimulate a relationship. All of this and more, including the impact porn has on the male species and how it comes into play during relationships happens to be the basis for the new comedy, Don Jon.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes his feature length directorial debut, also writing...

`There's only a few things I really care about in life. My body. My pad. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. My porn.'
Joseph Gordon-Levitt keeps testing his boundaries as an artist and that is to be applauded. The strength of his performances in the past few films grows steadily and now he branches out in to writing, directing, and starring in a film that is truly his own. Is it a great film? No, but it is an inventive one - and that is a breath of fresh air in the current Marvel Comics shoot-`em-bang-bang-explode obsession. The fact that it deals with the current focus on sex-rated themes may be off putting to many, but that the theme is solely that speaks loudly for a young writer/director to register a parody of our current shaky quasi-relationship fad.

There is not a lot of story so the more brief the synopsis the better: A New Jersey guy, Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love. Though he has many sexual liaisons those...

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Act of Valor [Blu-ray]

Wow!!!
I know some people will think this movie shouldn't have gotten 5 stars because of the acting. I did not go to this movie for the acting, I went to see our real life Navy Seals pay tribute to those who sacrificed everything for our country, and I was not disappointed.

I have read several books by Seals and about Seals over the years, starting way back when Dick Marcinko's first book came out, and I always watch any movie or tv special about them. I feel it takes a special kind of person to do this job and it fascinates me.

This movie has a fictional plot; however, the extractions and sacrifices in the movie all have actually happened in the field and they are re enacted in this movie in different locations. How awesome was it to sit their and watch the things I had imagined in my head in real life. I say real life, because these are things they actually do, real technology actually used, real split second decisions actually made. The action was fantastic and...

Saw It Yesterday...Saw It Again Today...Would Buy It Tomorrow
This one really grabbed me. It reminded me of the same emotions I had watching Taking Chance(also recommended). This movie was harder to watch the second time, but man, do I love this film. I am a retired Chief who served on submarines. Everything I saw that related to my career was absolutely accurate. I imagine the rest of the film was just as credible. I sure admire these military folks!

About as real of a movie as it gets.
You might notice the date for this post is two weeks before launch. that is because I am part of the military and was invited to an advance showing of this movie.

Non-spoiler summary: Act Of valor is based around SEAL Team 7 sometime around September 2010. This is a fictionalized film, these events really did not happen but they are based on events that have happened to SEALS since the war on terrorism. In 2007 the two directors of this film, Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh, worked on a film project where the navy allowed them to work with real Navy SEALS. The directors came out with an idea to make a realistic movie based on the Navy SEALS. While deciding on casting they decided that the only people they wanted playing the Seals were the Seals they met themselves. Act of Valor uses real Navy SEALS and at times real ammunition in some of the fire fight scenes.

If you have not seen this film I definitely recommend to at least rent it. It is not a documentary but it is...

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