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Comment on UK Low Price Mad Dogs – Series 1 [DVD] for Sale by Meowington

Meowington — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:31:41 +0000

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

Wow, 12 Mar 2011

This review is from: Mad Dogs - Series 1 [DVD] (DVD)

Love it, brilliant cast, brilliant plot. very exciting and tense absolutley loved it, i pre-ordered the dvd before the last episode had aired and when i watched the final episode i was so glad i had - cant wait to watch it all again! and all my friends are loving it too!

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Comment on UK Low Price Mad Dogs – Series 1 [DVD] for Sale by JSB

JSB — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:09:54 +0000

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

Slow to start but well worth sticking with, 7 Mar 2011

JSB (Essex, england) -

This review is from: Mad Dogs - Series 1 [DVD] (DVD)

For the first half hour of this show, I was nonplussed. By the shocking end of the first episode, I was waiting for the next installment with baited breath!

I wont spoil it but in short, 4 old school friends with issues aplenty between them head off for a week in the sun with their cheesy and ultra successful friend Alvo in his majorca villa. Villainy and mayhem ensue.

It's an unexpected, grown up drama that is also wickedly funny, it could have easily been disappointing given the high hopes such a cast line up gives you but it delivered. Glennister is magnificent as grumpy, sensible Quinn thoguh you could be forgiven for suggesting that it's just Gene Hunt on holiday. John Simm and Marc Warren were both convincing and amusing in roles you might not have pegged them for based on other work, Simm being a bit mean and Warren going from cocky to vulnerable and all the way around again. Max Beesely seemed in danger of just being there for the pretty factor initially but holds his own in the drama, particuarly in the last 2 episodes. His character is a lot more understated but still compelling to watch as the events unfold. Ben Chaplin does a marvellous smarmy ex-pat, briefly, and the handful of minor additionals all fit in well to the over all story.

The 'sets' should also get a mention, as it was filmed on location in majorca and made me a few degrees warmer just watching it!

Yes, it is far fetched and silly but it's also incredibly satisfying, it certainly keeps you guessing. Murder, drug deals, a gun weilding midget (can I say that?), sun burn and middle aged angst, some shocking swim wear and a goat in a pool. What's not to enjoy? The ending, well, it's a bit marmite really and hard to judge if they did a good job of finishing until Sky confirm whether there will be a second series next year. Fingers crossed.

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Comment on UK Low Price Mad Dogs – Series 1 [DVD] for Sale by nin/ja77

nin/ja77 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:34:06 +0000

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

A HOLIDAY TO DIE FOR, 14 April 2011

nin/ja77 -

This review is from: Mad Dogs - Series 1 [Blu-ray][Region Free] (Blu-ray)

Mad Dogs is a four part series about four long time friends from England heading over to Majorca, Spain to visit their recently retired friend Alvo(Ben Chaplin) for a holiday of a life time! Alvo has paid for all their flights, taxi's and will put them up in his large Villa, it seems that the "property business" has been good to Alvo and it's going to be a reunion to remember for all five!

Of course that would be to simple, as is evident from the opening scene in which the four mates Baxter(John Simm), Rick(Marc Warren), Woody(Max Beesley) and Quinn(Philip Glenister) are seeing recording messages for loved one's that all has not gone well in the reunion.

The one thing for sure is if there is trouble to be found, these guys will find it, in each episode they get deeper and deeper in to trouble. Not knowing Who to trust they begin to take it out on each other, In episode one Alvo is seen belittling all his friends that their lives are a mess and he has the perfect life!

Mad Dogs is a British gangster series, so expect dead bodies, drugs, guns and bit of everything else. It's been compared to British gangster movie Sexy Beast and there are some similarities between the two. John Simm(Baxter) and Philip Glenister(Quinn) do provide some strong acting compared to Marc Warren(Rick)who just seems like a spoilt brat. María Botto who plays Spanish Cop María also turns in a fine performance and you can never be sure what side of the law she's on.

This is a good series and their is rumours of a second series, the script is good, there is some good humour thrown in and there is some real tense moments throughout. With a lack of good British series lately Mad Dogs is a welcome addition.

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Comment on UK Cheap Bleak House – BBC (3 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2005] Lowest Price by P. W. Taylor "Father Unwin"

P. W. Taylor "Father Unwin" — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:23:25 +0000

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

Gillian Anderson gives the acting performance of my lifetime, 29 July 2008

P. W. Taylor "Father Unwin" (London United Kingdom) -

This review is from: Bleak House - BBC (3 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2005] (DVD)

By pure coincidence I read Bleak House twice just before it was shown on television. I enjoyed it so much the first time that I just had to read it again. When I heard of the BBC dramatisation I was pleased because it is always interesting to see if the casting of the actors and actresses matches the reader's own visualisation.

There were many performances to enjoy including the perfect casting of Alun Armstrong as Bucket and Hugo Speer as Sergeant George. I also felt that Denis Lawson as Jarndyce, Patrick Kennedy as Richard, Carey Mulligan as Ada and Anna Maxwell Martin as Esther did exceptionally well in their key roles.

Having said this, the reason I am writing this review is that I feel compelled to acknowledge what I consider to be the greatest television performance I have ever seen by any actor or actress. I am not a fan of the X-Files, and have seen no other films in which she has appeared, but I consider that Gillian Anderson has given the performance of my lifetime.

I would like to understand and try to explain to myself why it is that I can only watch Gillian's scenes as Lady Dedlock with tears in my eyes, not just once but every time.

In Pride and Prejudice, I was captivated by the performances of Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle as their mutual dislike turned to love. I read somewhere that Colin Firth strived `to do nothing' in certain scenes, a difficult thing for an actor to do, and maybe that was part of the reason for his outstanding success.

In Pride and Prejudice the communication is between the actors, Lizzie and Darcy. By this I mean that the viewer is not directly involved but can experience the joy of their love affair as it gradually blossoms. However, by contrast I feel that in Bleak House the main line of communication is between the character, Lady Dedlock, and the viewer.

Lady Dedlock has all the barriers up to everyone she knows. This has the effect of making the viewer the only person who understands her. There are many close up profile shots of Gillian - and what a profile! - where little or nothing is said but the viewer telepathically knows what she is thinking and feeling.

The beautiful blue eyes, trembling lip and fantastic body language scream noiselessly at you - isolation, despair, hopelessness, defiance! The tiniest of facial changes, such as when she seems to acknowledge Sir Leicester's profound love for her, pull your heartstrings in a way that I have never before experienced from a television show.

Her proud, disdainful manner, exceptional ice-queen beauty and yet utter vulnerability make for a potent and heady portrayal. You want to reach out and help her but you cannot. When Jarndyce and the girls ran through the rain to the summerhouse and encountered Lady Dedlock sheltering from the storm what a moment that was. The guarded dialogue that followed, the dismissal of Hortense with the latter walking barefoot through the wet grass, was terrific storytelling by Dickens.

Finally, and on a lighter note, it was amusing to see that Lady Dedlock's face appears alongside a lobster and lettuce in the opening credits - no, really! Mention should also be made of the nice little double act between Krook and his cat, Lady Jane. What a cat!

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Comment on UK Cheap Bleak House – BBC (3 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2005] Lowest Price by A music lover

A music lover — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:29:24 +0000

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

atmospheric adaptation, 11 Dec 2006

A music lover (UK) -

This review is from: Bleak House - BBC (3 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2005] (DVD)

It's a pity that one reviewer's annoyance with the release policy (see below) has reduced the customer star-rating for this series to, currently, only three stars. Perhaps awarding it five stars herewith will redress the balance a bit, because this is definitely five-star stuff.

The acting is universally excellent and a complicated plot is told with great skill and subtlety. Even if the screen version doesn't follow the story in every detail, the atmosphere is authentically 'Dickensian' throughout. The viewer soon becomes emotionally involved with the characters, not least because both caricature and sentimentality - which can be hazards with Dickens adaptations - are successfully avoided. A thoroughly enjoyable series.

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Comment on UK Cheap Bleak House – BBC (3 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2005] Lowest Price by Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane "almac1975"

Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane "almac1975" — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:10:46 +0000

119 of 121 people found the following review helpful:

couldn't be better - absolutely wonderful, 9 Jan 2007

Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane "almac1975" (Fife, Scotland) -

This review is from: Bleak House - BBC (3 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2005] (DVD)

The BBC decided to screen this adaptation initially in 30-minute episodes, two a week, like a soap. Unexpectedly this worked quite well, but more because of the excellence of the production than because of their quirky manner of showing it. Seen on DVD, when you can watch as much as you wish, it is even more powerful. The cast is astonishingly good - many famous names (Warren Clarke, Pauline Collins, Phil Davis, Matthew Kelly, Alistair McGowan, Anne Reid, Ian Richardson, Liza Tarbuck, Johnny Vegas, Timothy West) taking roles which they inhabit as if they were made for them. But the central roles, of the unfortunate litigants in the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, the corrupt lawyer Tulkinghorn (Charles Dance, menacingly lizardy), kindly John Jarndyce (Denis Lawson) and above all Gillian Anderson as the chilly and tragic Lady Dedlock and the heroine, Anna Maxwell Martin as Esther Summerson (described in Dickens' character list in the novel as 'a prudent and wise woman and a self-denying friend') are even better. The sets are totally convincing, Dickens's huge compass of characters and events is covered entirely satisfactorily, the complicted plot emerges clearly and there are moments of great pathos and genuine dignity. But above all is is absolutely riveting (and perhaps that is why the BBC's cliff-hanging original approach was not so daft after all). Anyway, I cannot recommend this too highly. It is really wonderful.

P.S. (25th. December 2009) I see Carey Mulligan, who played one of the wards of court in this production, has been nominated for a Golden Globe for her work in the recent film 'An Education' - in which she is indeed excellent.

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Comment on UK Sell To Kill a Mockingbird [Limited Edition Digibook] [Blu-ray] [1962] In Stock by Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator"

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:09:27 +0000

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

a great film from a great book, 21 Nov 2002

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) -

This review is from: To Kill a Mockingbird [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This would be a wonderful film for parents to watch with children old enough to understand the depth of its message. Good and evil are clearly drawn, and the values of justice and humanity portrayed with rare and memorable strength.
Reading Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel had a huge impact on me as a teenager...I never forgot, as Atticus says to Scout, that you "never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them".

Horton Foote won an Oscar for his screenplay, which is so faithful to the book. Set in depression era Alabama, the story is seen through the eyes of 8 year old Scout, beautifully played by Mary Badham, and the sensitivity of director Mulligan's vision is remarkable.

Prejudice is the theme that runs through the story, from the harrowing court case of Tom (an amazing performance by Brock Peters), to the demonization of Boo (played by Robert Duval, in his screen debut...he is intensely moving as this innocent and silent man).

Russell Harlan's b&w cinematography is superb, and Elmer Bernstein's Americana style score adds so much to the film.

Gregory Peck's Oscar winning performance is magnificent. His Atticus is a hero of immense proportions, with compassion, integrity, and humility...and one of the reasons I think this powerful classic deserves to be in every film library.

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Comment on UK Sell To Kill a Mockingbird [Limited Edition Digibook] [Blu-ray] [1962] In Stock by James Gallen

James Gallen — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:08:08 +0000

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

Something new every time!, 5 Dec 2007

James Gallen (St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.) -

This review is from: To Kill A Mockingbird [DVD] (DVD)

This is another rendition of an American classic. I had seen this movie and read the book in the past, so was there really anything new this time? We watched it as a school project for my daughter. She watched it as a teenager, my wife watched it as a teacher and I watched it as a lawyer and, for tonight, at least, a part-time tutor. We each saw something in it that we had not appreciated before. For me, the courtroom scenes were interesting, but I identified more with Atticus, the father, than Atticus the lawyer. No matter how often you have watched this in the past, you will find something new to admire when you watch it again. Never stop!

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Comment on UK Sell To Kill a Mockingbird [Limited Edition Digibook] [Blu-ray] [1962] In Stock by Sarakani

Sarakani — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:43:21 +0000

121 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

Southern Comfort, 23 Aug 2006

Sarakani (Harrow United Kingdom) -

This review is from: To Kill A Mockingbird (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] (DVD)

To those who judge a book by its cover, Gregory Peck in spectacles looks like too serious a film to dig up - but this film is not about serious old Gregory Peck. It is quite a simple story from the vantage of two motherless children who play around and are intrigued by an unknown fearful character in their neighbourhood reputed to be mad, and the events surrounding Gregory Peck, their father defending a black worker unjustly accused of raping a woman - during the 1930s when segregation was the norm in the south.

Gregory Peck comes across as a very dignified, handsome, moral character - who abounds in justice and strong paternal qualities. The true star of the show is Gregory Peck's daughter and her tomboy antics along with her brother and their friend. Peck's character is a admirable lawyer defending a case which in all probability he will lose. But the unfairness meted to the black defendant though forming a core aspect to this film is not centre stage. What is centre stage is the children and their vision of the proceedings and the danger they are placed in from those who hate Peck's advocacy of a black man's justice.

The music and overall atmosphere of the film describing quiet southern town life evokes a bygone age of innocence, friendliness and charm - along with the grosser aspects of intolerance at the time. The music if very special.

This film got several oscars including best actor for Gregory Peck.

This DVD comes with one version of the film with a producer/director commentary and a 90 minute documentary about the whole project with critical exploration of what the film and book convey.

Truly an American classic and the best aspects of humanity from a south US heartland.

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Comment on UK Cheap The Dark Knight (2 Discs) [DVD] [2008] for Sale by os

os — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:43:46 +0000

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

The best of the series?, 21 Dec 2011

os -

This review is from: The Dark Knight (2 Discs) [DVD] [2008] (DVD)

This is one long,spectacularly convoluted film- with more twists and turns then the average Raymond Chandler/ Phillip Marlow story ( and that's a lot!). Even so,'Dark Knight' must rate as one of the best and darkest of the crime fighting hero's adventures. The big set pieces, the skulduggery and the portrayal of the Joker by Heath Ledger make this movie well worth the two hours plus investment of your time that it will warrant.In addition,the outfits,vehicles and atmospheric soundtrack add pleasure upon pleasure to what is already a rich brew.

On the minus side,the romantic interest element is a rather cliched botch job which feels a little 'bolted on'.Also,and I could be being a little harsh here, but isn't it a shame that the writers couldn't have added a little more humour or emotion to Batman himself? Does being one of the good guy's mean that character has to go out of the window? My final moan is the fact the film seems to take forever to resolve,undoing much of the preceding tension and fun.These are relatively minor quibbles when compared with what is a pretty absorbing, not to say, awesome movie.Recommended.

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