Reviews

I have seen the first two movies of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and have read the Hobbit when I was in elementary school. I didn't realize the film was done by Peter Jackson, until the end. Nonetheless, I was expecting a good movie and that's what I saw. This was my first time seeing a movie in high definition and it was quite amazing. The acting was powerful, the scenery breathtaking and the sound effects were incredible. I don't remember the book well enough to know how true the movie stays to Tolkien's text, but I do know that the book wasn't as gory or violent as the movie. This is my only complaint about the movie; when you take a children's book and make it into a blockbuster film, parents will think it's safe to bring their kids to it, and it's not. There is already enough violence in Hollywood films, and I was disappointed that the movie intensified the fantasy violence in the book. Other than that, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a great film and if you're over 18, I would encourage you to see it.

I just watched this movie on Turner Classic Movies and I really enjoyed it. I don't know how closely it follows the book, as I haven't read this book, just "Tom Sawyer", but I find the movie to be a great family movie. It was fun watching Huck get out of one scrape just in time to get into another. He was always on the run, along with the Widow Douglas' slave, Jim. It made think back to my boyhood days and honestly, it made my boyhood adventures look dull. The plot hearkens back to a time when life was simple and offered more freedom to boys then today's world does. I'm not sure the movie is entirely realistic, but that's quite all right with me. The acting was well done, the colour quality was great for 1960, and the whole plot flowed quite smoothly. I didn't quite understand the ending, which I won't spoil for you. If you like tales of boyhood adventure from an America the world will never see again, you have to see Huck Finn. And it's got some of the greatest actors of the day in it as well. What more can you ask for.

10/10

This year (2008) I saw this movie for the first time in a few years. Despite being from the 1960's, the animation is great and the sound quality excellent. It's funny watching the Grinch stew and fret about while he decides how to make the Who's in Whoville completely miserable. I still find it amazing that the Grinch can fit so many presents in just a few bags, but I guess his Santa suit gives him the same magic that the real Santa Claus has.

The Grinch is a sly and sneaky creature. He's also very quick with his wits, as evidenced in the scene where he's confronted by a 2 year old Who girl. But what I really like about this movie is how the Grinch eventually comes to learn the true meaning of Christmas. I won't spoil the ending, but suffice it to say that the ending will warm the cockles of your heart, and remind you what Christmas is really all about. Truly this is one of those holiday must sees.

Corey

I just recently purchased the DVD of this film from Amazon.ca, and it arrived today. I watched it for the first time in several years, having last seen it on a VHS copy my Mom taped off Superchannel some years back. The movie is quite original, with the basic plot being that Ralph gets conned out of his father's good stamp by Tommy Tricker and in the process, discovers a valuable stamp album stored in Australia. The whole idea of a live action film involving stamp travel is quite ingenious in my mind. The location details in China and Australia are quite good, as are all the special effects. The acting is also, in my opinion, very well done, and very believable. I won't spoil the ending for you, but I think you will find the ending to be an interesting twist. Either way, the adventures, acting and special effects will keep you enthralled from start to finish. If you see this movie in a store, you have to buy it.

10/10

Over the years, I've watched select episodes from various home renovation shows, and contractor shows. And except for "Bob Vila's Home Again", most of them never kept my interest, until Mike Holmes came along. I discovered the series last year (2005), and I watch faithfully every week. "Holmes on Homes" is great because Mike Holmes, his crew and many of the subcontractors clearly explain (in plain English) what they're doing and why, so that a renovation dummy such as myself can understand it.

But what I like most about Mike Holmes, is the fact that he's part of a rare breed of contractors that still care and who are true craftsmen, settling for nothing less than quality work. I love how he prefers older homes to newer homes, but my major beef is when he removes lathe and plaster and replaces them with drywall and removes old windows and replaces them with new. But other than that, he shows people what a contractor should be like. So many people have had their lives salvaged, because he came to the rescue in their home renovation disaster. On one episode, Mike and all the other crew members and subcontractors donated their time (and I think materials) to help fix a poorly constructed addition built for a family's wheelchair-bound son.

He is a true hero and this is one reality show I highly recommend!

Now I am no longer a kid, but I must admit that I still enjoy watching "Monster by Mistake" almost every day at 9:30am on YTV in Canada. Warren is an 8 year old boy, who after getting in the way of a magic spell, turns into a 7' blue monster every time he sneezes. This "secret" of his gets him and his sister Tracy into all kinds of adventures.

The plot times are fairly simple, but then after all, it is a kids show. The shows are generally educational in nature, because they teach kids some simple things about life. Some of the themes covered have included: sibling rivalry, working together, sharing etc. I kind of like it, because when I was a kid, I always liked fantasy, magic spells and strange lands (like Benrap -- or is it Fenrap?).

I highly recommend it to parents out there, who are looking for some clean family friendly television programming. It's better than most of the shows on YTV, at least, in my opinion.

I don't remember this series that well, but I remember growing up in the early 80's, and I often watched this show on TV. It was on fairly early in the morning (I think 6:00 or 7:00am, which is pretty early for young kids), and one place I often watched it was at my Aunt's house. She only had two channels, and this show was on one of them. Circle Square promoted good Christian values before the world decided that was uncool. It was a good family show produced by the same people that do 100 Huntley Street, and run CTS Television.

I remember two episodes in particular. One show dealt with the sudden death of a loved one, after the father fell through the barn roof and died. Another episode dealt with the dangers of hitchhiking. Sadly, the years have erased many of my other memories of this series. Should anybody else have more specific memories of the series, I hope they will post them here on the IMDb site.

Corey Walker

I recently purchased a 4 DVD set, which included "Shoot Out", "Apache Rifles", "Sitting Bull" and "Drums in the Deep South." Like most westerns of its type, it has a very basic plot. Nonetheless, except for the beginning and the very end, I found it to be an interesting and captivating movie. It features elements of current love, love that once was but is no more, and of course, a pretty girl. Combine that with the added dramatic irony of two friends fighting each other without realizing it, and lots of fast paced action, it makes for a fairly good western movie. What I found to be very disappointing was that two DVD's (I exchanged it today for another copy of the same movie) both have glitches, such as the picture skipping a little bit (kind of a like a skipping CD or broken record, except it's pictures, not sound) and pausing here and there for no reason. Also, an amateur could have done a better job of restoring the colour (or was it adding colour to B&W). I'm glad to know at least, that I'm not the only one experiencing these problems.

I will not spoil the ending, but if I was a director re-doing the movie, I would revise the ending, or perhaps re-write it. And I found the dinner scene in the beginning to be rather lacking in action. Other than that, it was not too bad of a movie. In fact, fix the graphics and I'd really like it.

Corey Walker