After the Wicked Witch of the West’s defeat, Queen Ozma has appointed Dorothy the Princess of Emerald City. With her feet firmly grounded in her ruby slippers, Dorothy tackles her royal duties with enthusiasm, bravery and farm girl feistiness. And whether it’s magic, munchkins, flying monkeys or her arch-nemesis Wilhelmina, the wicked witch-in-training and niece of the Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy is ready to track down and put a stop to any problem that comes Oz’s way. Packed with memorable melodies and iconic Oz imagery, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz is also sure to delight fans of the original books and the classic film The Wizard of Oz.
Close your eyes and click your heels together three times for more animated adventures featuring Dorothy, the plucky Kansas farm girl and her adorable dog Toto, as they star in 10 delightful episodes featured on this entertaining, new release.
We have some DVDs to giveaway.
To be eligible to win a copy of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz: Emerald City – Season 1 Volume 2, email us at [email protected] with “Dorothy OZ Giveaway” in the title. Please supply your name, address, phone number and email address (so we can let you know if you are a winner).
Ben Kingsley stars as The General, an international war crimes fugitive in the dramatic film An Ordinary Man. The movie was filmed in Serbia, giving it the gritty reality of the story.
Hiding out from the world, The General acknowledges he committed war crimes in the bloody war between religious and cultural factions. Friends of his cause hide him and keep him safe, although he refuses to stay a prisoner in his own apartment. He wants to go out and live his life, although that is greatly diminished by the fact that he has to be careful who sees him and where he goes.
Then a young woman, Tanja (Hera Hilmar), enters his life as his supposed maid. She looks after him and they form a bond of friendship. The General still refuses to keep to himself, but Tanja is right by his side whenever he goes out.
The General is stubborn and steadfast in his beliefs, and when he learns his maid is not a maid at all but an agent sent to look out for him and keep him safe – and inside – their relationship changes. Together they learn how the two generations have been effected by the war.
This is truly a dramatic story. The movie is very slow moving and won’t appeal to everyone. It’s gritty and dark.
Ben Kingsley has a long list of dramatic roles in his resume, and he took home the Oscar in 1983 for his performance in Gandhi.
There is not much to say about An Ordinary Man except it is slow, dark, and emotional. There are no bonus features on the DVD.
This is a story of humanity, beliefs, and civilizations. The movie is rated R for language, some nudity, and brief violence.
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is the quintessential movie musical. This 1954 movie was based on the story “The Sobbin’ Women” by Stephen Vincent Benet. Howard Keel and Jane Powell star in this classic story of love in the old west.
Keel is Adam, the oldest of seven brothers. Living in the mountains they rarely get into town. One day Adam decides they need a woman around so he sets off to town to gather his supplies and find a wife. He meets Milly (Powell) who agrees to marry him, not knowing there are six more men up in the cabin.
Well, as time goes by Milly manages to tame the backwoodsmen and they soon decide they want their own wives. There are six women in town they have their eyes on. Taking matters into their own hands they kidnap the six women and soon they’re all living in the mountains, only the girls are in the cabin and the boys are in the barn.
The story continues through the winter as they are snowed in and they all fall in love by the spring. With fun dance numbers and a wonderful score, the movie has been a favorite among viewers for decades, and the story has been performed countless times in High Schools around the country. It’s truly a classic movie.
The brothers: Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank, and Gideon were comprised of several professional dancers and a couple professional actors. The women: Milly, Alice, Dorcas, Sarah Liza, Ruth, and Martha were also both dancers and actors.
There is a 43-minute bonus feature on this special edition hosted by Howard Keel. Even if you have this movie, it is worth getting this edition for this feature. The filmmakers, actors, and choreographer all talk about making the movie. Keel describes the film as “magic.” Because it was going to be shown in Cinemascope, they had to film it two times – once in Cinemascope and once for regular screens. They all discuss creating the elaborate barn raising dance sequence, which took a physical toll on several of the actors. But the final outcome was, to use Keel’s word, “magic.”
While it was originally intended to film the movie on location, that idea was quickly dismissed with the studio learned they would need to take a year in order to capture the four seasons.
All the information in this amazing bonus feature adds plenty of insight into creating this classic film. It’s definitely worth watching for any fan of the movie.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Two-Disc Special Edition is part of the Warner Archive Collection and can be ordered from their website or where Blu-rays and DVDs are sold. It includes the bonus as well as two versions of the film – the classic version and the rarely-seen 1.77:1 alternate Widescreen Version (1080p HD).
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
Peter Pan is a classic animated film. It has been enjoyed by audiences for 65 years.
We all know the story of Peter and the Darling children: Wendy, John, and Michael. Their adventure in Never Land with Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, and the Lost Boys has entertained generations of fans. Tink herself has amassed her own worldwide fan base, and Peter, the boy who won’t grow up, is a beloved character for all ages.
There are two new sing-alongs as well as a discussion with Kathryn Beaumont who voiced Wendy and Paul Collins who voiced John. They describe recording their lines then acting them out for the animators to see how they would move in different situations. They also discuss being at the studio and with Walt Disney himself.
Another new bonus looks at Walt’s love of flying and how many of his films incorporated flying. Let’s face it, without Tinker Bell’s Pixie Dust, Peter would never be able to get to Never Land.
The classic bonus features are also included in this Anniversary Edition. Peter Pan is the seventh title in the Walt Disney Signature Collection. It joins Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Bambi, The Lion King, and Lady and the Tramp.
Peter has endeared himself to people around the world since his story was originally published in 1939. And with this classic film, generations of fans have been entertained by the delightful little boy with a lust for life and a great imagination.
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
Since Timeless, NBC’s time travel drama, has come and gone like a tornado (and the future of this show still remains on the bubble), I was seriously dreading this summer with nothing substantial to watch. Distress no more. There’s a new girl in town! Join me in welcoming Mara Kint of the new high-concept drama series Reverie debuting on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. She’s a lot like Timeless’ Lucy Preston; a petite yet dynamic, determined, and compassionate powerhouse woman. In other words, another nod to female empowerment from NBC!
“Reverie” is an immersive virtual reality program developed by Onira Tech that provides ‘an ideal escape’ from your miserable/painful lives. When seven of their clients decide to stay put in the beautiful and painless ‘heaven’ they had created, they fall into comas. Why bother to come back to harsh reality of your existence when you can linger in your virtual world where the impossible is possible?
In order to keep the funding coming, Charlie (Denis Haysbert) was ordered to do something radical since they are radical problems. Mara (Sarah Shahi), who used to work for Charlie as a hostage negotiator in the force, is intrigued by the notion of a field trip to heaven. After all, she has been drowning in guilt, pain, and sorrow for the last two years since an unimaginable personal tragedy took place. Her escape and numbing agents are alcohol and prescription drugs. After a brief training, Mara attempts to persuade the first coma patient to let go of his past and come back to his family. Can she do it?
Mickey Fisher, Executive Producer/Creator, came up with Reverie after experiencing the exhilarating virtual reality platform with Google Cardboard. “It was so much fun even with this basic equipment that I thought if this gets better where we can design and build the world around entirely to our specifications, we are doomed as a species because nobody wants to come back,” says Fisher. Then came the idea of a tech company with such a VR program that needs to face up to precisely the issue of users getting stuck. Who better to extract them than a hostage negotiator who is trained to read someone like a book? Fisher’s template of Mara also includes physical capability of an action hero yet warm & compassionate human being.
“Mara’s superpower is her ability and willingness to understand you,” Executive Producer Tom Szentgyorgi describes our heroine’s gift. “The show really requires an action hero who can break your heart and there aren’t a lot of actresses who can cover that much ground,” Szentgyorgi raves about Shahi’s outstanding performance. I agree. They couldn’t have picked a better actress!
In this digital and highly divisive off-kilter world, we have been losing human connections, specifically empathy, left and right. Mind you sympathy and empathy are dissimilar. When was the last time somebody sat with you in your darkest hour without judgment? Empathy is gained only when you learn radical self-acceptance through great losses; to be more compassionate toward the unforgivable parts of your Self. No wonder I kept singing, “What the world needs now is empathy, sweet empathy. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of,” while I was writing this review. I hope empathy is not totally eradicated from the earth and ends up being a foreign concept or a vague memory that you can experience only in virtual worlds. I don’t want to live in a world without compassion, but we certainly are heading that direction, aren’t we?
Reverie premieres Wednesday, May 30, 2018 on NBC.
About the Author
Meg Mimura is a TV critic who actually watches shows zealously in search of human drama worth watching. She is a member of Television Critics Association as well as Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Are you looking for something new to do with your family? How about creating a 3D mechanical wooden model? UGears and Wooden City both make moveable wooden models that do not require glue and are eco friendly. Forget about those old plastic models from the craft store. Try creating an elaborate wooden reproduction of a windmill, jeep, train, or just about anything else. And, the fun doesn’t end once you are finished creating your item.
The pieces come on a slim wood slab. Press the perforations to release the individual pieces. They are numbered and the instructions are easy to follow. The pieces are then press-fitted together. While this sounds super easy, think again. It’s not difficult but it is time consuming and a wonderful family project.
There are many different items to create. Putting them together is only half of the fun. Once they have been created, these objects are then moveable.
If you put together the UGears Locomotion, there are spinning gears, pistons that move, and the train becomes another fun item in your house, not to mention the fact that the kids will be able to brag that they helped create it. If you have a child who wants to create something by themselves, there are some UGears 4 Kids kits that are not as intricate as the other kits. Kids can use their own markers or paint to paint them when they are done putting them together. This company, out of Ukraine, started the moveable wooden model industry that has become a fun activity for all ages. UGears has won several Family Choice Awards!
Wooden City (from Poland) came around a few years after UGears and have designed their own great 3D models to create moveable objects. The Ferris Wheel is especially interesting once it has been assembled. It really works. Or try assembling your own Jeep, with moving wheels and parts. There are 569 individual parts in the Jeep (4X4) kit. The company says it should take about 12 hours to make this wooden vehicle. Talk about a great family undertaking. The Mill (Windmill) has 222 parts and when assembled the blades do rotate just like a real one.
Both UGears and Wooden City offer a variety of wooden model kits, ranging in size and price. With levers, gears, wheels, etc., they become moveable fun once they have been assembled.
About the Reviewer
Francine Brokaw writes about products, travel, and entertainment. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
A hilarious and heartfelt adventure the whole family can enjoy, SHERLOCK GNOMES brings the fun home on Digital June 5, 2018 and on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD June 12 from Paramount Home Media Distribution and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures (MGM).
The Blu-ray Combo Pack is loaded with nearly 45 minutes of bonus content.
In DreamWorks Trollhunters Part 3, the fate of troll and human civilizations hang in the balance. The Trollhunters are racing to stop Gunmar and the now resurrected Morgana from bringing about the Eternal Night and shrouding the world in darkness forever. To defeat them, the team must seek the help of the legendary wizard Merlin to unlock his ancient magic and unleash a powerful weapon that will alter the course of their lives forever.
Check out the new trailer for DreamWorks Trollhunters Part 3 on Netflix that debuts May 25, 2018.
With stylistic nods to the Beatles, 1970s era Sesame Street, School House Rock, and “The Point” by Harry Nilsson, Why Why Why? celebrates a childlike wonder at the natural world, beginning with the first track, “Morning Song” and continuing with songs about where the moon goes, what the largest mammals on Earth are like, the lilting “Willow Tree” and the soothing “Stars” above.
As every parent knows, kids never tire of asking “Why Why Why,” and this title song goes a little further into its Beatles-esque refrain of: “These are the questions, questions of our lives. Sometimes the answers aren’t so clear.” Indeed, the spinning “Pinwheel” provides a cosmic set of questions. The falling “Helicopter Leaves” leads to soaring possibilities. The age-old question of long car trips is celebrated with the anthemic “Are We There Yet?” Even the busy marching “Ants” imagine a different life where they can “play in the grass all day, look up at the sky and dream away.”
To be eligible to win a copy of Why Why Why?, email us at [email protected] with “Why Why Why Giveaway” in the title. Please supply your name, address, phone number and email address (so we can let you know if you are a winner).
We only live once, or do we? Michael Sarrazin stars in The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, a 1975 thriller about a man who discovers his past life. Is that a blessing or a curse?
Sarrazin is college professor Peter Proud. He is suffering from horrible nightmares, but according to Dr. Sam Goodman (Paul Hecht), they aren’t nightmares at all. He is experiencing something unexplainable. Then one day he sees the images on TV of a town that he has been “dreaming” about. In his dreams he lives in this town in the 1940s. And it’s there where he was murdered.
Proud travels to Massachusetts to locate this town that has been haunting him in his dreams, and finally figure out what is really going on with him. He discovers Marcia (Margot Kidder), his wife from his past and his daughter Ann (Jennifer O’Neill) still living there. Ann was a few months old with her father Jeff (Tony Stephano) died.
As Proud puts the pieces together he knows for sure that he has been reincarnated. He was Marcia’s husband and Ann’s father. But in this lifetime he is not Ann’s father and the two begin a romantic relationship. Is that incest? Well, if, as Proud’s experience has demonstrated, we have all been here before, who knows whom we were with in the past? In any case, Peter is finally coming to terms with his dilemma and coming to terms with the entire situation, even the fact that Marcia brutally killed her husband all those years ago.
With a haunting score by Jerry Goldsmith, the story (taken from the novel by Max Ehrlich) is electrifying. It is just as captivating and unforgettable now as it was when it first came out. It is a chilling yet thought-provoking story.
Sarrazin had an impressive resume of films from 1966-2012, including They Shoot Horses, Don’t They, Harry in Your Pocket, For Pete’s Sake, and more. O’Neill caught the attention of audiences in the 1971 film Summer of ’42, and is still acting today. And Kidder might best be known for her role of Lois Lane in the 1978 film Superman, Superman II in 1980, Superman III in 1983, and Superman IV in 1987.
The Reincarnation of Peter Proud is an interesting movie and even if you know the shocking ending, it still manages to capture your attention as the story unfolds and Peter Proud tries to reconcile his past life with his present one. The movie is rated R (there is nudity and smoking throughout).
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
