I was compelled to write this review to defend the movie against the mostly negative criticism it has received. I watched it recently, and enjoyed it more than I expected to. I don't know why it is, but people just don't like to have their movie genres mixed-up. Yes you could say it's part romantic comedy, part thriller, part drama...but so was "Nurse Betty" and that's a really good film. In places the film is laugh-out-loud funny (usually from one of Ben Chaplin's lines), and at other times it's serious. Both Kidman and Chaplin give good performances, and the pace is kept reasonably tight with a not-too-long running time. Kidman is convincing as the russian mail order bride, and Chaplin delivers most of the film's laughs. I liked it near the end when Kidman turns the joke of saying "yes" to everything back on Chaplin!. My only point of contention with the movie (***POSSIBLE SPOILER***) is where Chaplin's character is forced to rob a bank...why didn't he just go straight to the police? This bothered me for a while, but by the end of the movie I was willing to overlook it.Ebert & Roeper (who gave it two thumbs down) said the movie was "predictable" - to me it was anything BUT predictable. Unless you want your movies neatly filed under distinctive categories/genres, I urge you to give this film a go...you may be surprised.

What a great DVD! I've never seen an Avril Lavigne concert before buying this DVD, but now I can't wait for her to tour again, because she's great. She sings live throughout, and puts on an excellent performance. Even more amazing when you consider that she's still a teenager!. The concert is filled with energy, and you'll soon be cranking up the volume on your tv. Of course it helps that the only album's worth of material she has out, is brilliant to start off with. There are no "fillers" on the "Let go" album, so not surprisingly Avril performs the entire album here. All of your favorites are here, from the massive hit "Complicated" to an acoustic version of "Tomorrow". On top of the album tracks, there are also some more great songs, including "I don't give", "Knockin' on heaven's door" and a fantastic cover of Green Day's hit "Basketcase". The concert lasts for about 70 minutes, is a sheer joy to watch from start to finish.

As if that wasn't enough, there are also some other awesome extras that make this a must-have DVD!. Firstly you get all of Avril's music videos, a great 40 min (approx) behind-the-scenes documentary following her around on tour, some outtakes, a photo gallery, AND a 6-track audio cd!. What more could you ask for?.

This DVD/CD release is amazing value for money. Its great that Arista have put everything a fan could want onto one DVD, rather than trying to make more money by releasing the music videos separately on another DVD or something. For me this is worth the money just for the concert itself, so everything else is a great bonus. With a superb debut album and now DVD under her belt, I can't wait for Avril's next album.

If you already have Norah's fantastic debut album, then this DVD should be next on your shopping list. Recorded at the House of Blues, Norah (and her band) gives an excellent and intimate performance. Fans will rejoice with the inclusion of some non-album tracks, including Comes love, Bessie Smith, Something is calling you, What am I to you?, and the concert encore Tennessee waltz. Along with these you get many of her much loved songs including the likes of the superlative Don't know why, Come away with me, One flight down and many more. It's a shame songs like Shoot the moon and Turn me on aren't here, but hey...you can't have everything.

Picture quality is excellent - very crisp, vibrant colors, and full screen. Sound is equally impressive. Unfortunately the DVD is a little low on extras; you get the aforementioned concert encore (though why this is separated away from the main concert is beyond me) and one music video, for "Come away with me". Why didn't they include some of her other videos though?.

Nevertheless, and minor criticisms aside, this is a great first DVD of one of the most promising new artists in years. If you love her debut album then there's no reason why you shouldn't love this as well.

It's very rarely I post negative reviews here at Amazon, but I was so disappointed with this latest album from Kim Richey I felt I had to say why. As some of the other reviews have already pointed out, this album is definitely a departure for Kim, and for me it's a change for the worse. First let me point out that I have all 3 of Kim Richey's albums prior to this, and I like them all, especially her fantastic self-titled debut album. Even though her next two albums - Bitter sweet & Glimmer - were good, each album was subsequently a little weaker than the one that went before it. On Glimmer, there are hints of a change in style for Kim, with more mellow, laid-back tracks. This already had me wondering what her next album would be like, which brins us to "Rise"...

No doubt there are people out there who will like this more mature - and certainly less radio-friendly - offering from Kim Richey. My opinion though, is that it's her weakest album yet, and she's sure to lose some of her core fans. Why?...apart from a small handful tracks, most of the songs are dreary, monotonous and just dull. Where's all the life, vitality and upbeat tunes that made her debut album such a classic?. Where's all the memorable melodies and hooks and bring the listener back time and time again?. And if you think I'm berating this album purely because of it's more laid-back approach, you couldn't be more wrong, Norah Jones's excellent album is one of my favourites this year. But that had tunes you remember that make you keep coming back. Kim Richey's Rise however, doesn't. I've listened to "Rise" many times over waiting for it to eventually "hook" me, but apart from 3 songs, it simply hasn't.

Despite all of my criticisms, this album does have about 3 tracks I really like, and yes - I don't care to admit it, they are the most radio-friendly songs on here. These are "Me and you", "The circus song (can't let go)", and "Cowards in a brave new world", all of which are upbeat an reminiscent of Kim's earlier work. Overall though, this album is a let-down, and I won't be in quite such a rush to buy Kim's next album.

THE FILM: It's a shame that a lot of people won't get to see this french movie. For some it will be the ignorance of watching a foreign language film, but for others there's also the highly taboo subject matter; this alone will stop many viewers from going anywhere near it on account of their principals. As I said, it's a shame as it's a very good film and the subject matter is delicately handled throughout. The biggest difference to this particular lolita-type film is that it's the young girl that seduces the older man, and not vice versa. Patrick Dewaere is good as the older man, but it's the scintillating performance of Ariel Besse as the beautiful young girl that stands out. Showing a maturity way beyond her years, you start to empathize with Patrick's character and the moral dilemmas he has to contend with.

THE DVD; Unfortunately, Beau Pere has been given a somewhat poor DVD release. Don't expect any extras; the picture quality is ok, but not great; and you can't even get a time display up to see where you are in the movie!; However, it's the poor subtitling that disappoints the most. As many have already pointed-out, the subtitles go out of synch for about 20 minutes or so during the movie, which makes matters a little confusing. Not only that, but occasionally subtitles will flash-up on the screen very briefly, not even giving you time to read them!. Several times I had to "rewind" the picture, and then pause the DVD so I could read it!. Whilst I don't regret buying the DVD of Beau Pere, this poor subtitling will put me off watching this movie as many times as I would of done otherwise.

Very good film, but fans of Beau Pere demand a new DVD release now!!!.

I don't mind admitting it - I'm a 30 year old guy who really likes this film, and if there's one phrase I hate, it's "chick flick" - I'd like to get my hands on whoever coined that phrase!. Apart from immediately limiting a film's potential maximum audience once it's been branded a "chick flick" (which no doubt this one has), it assumes that guys won't like it. Well I can tell you that not only do a lot of us guys want to see a good romantic film, we also aren't all into action and sci-fi films, we just like a good story. Now I've got that out of the way...

A walk to remember seems to get better with each viewing. The first time I saw it I just thought it was ok, but quite cliched. But there are certains elements of the film I really liked, so I watched it again and really enjoyed it. For starters, it nice to see a charming, sweet-natured film that doesn't feel the need to resort to scenes of a sexual nature, or that uses crude/vulgar humor. This alone for me lifts AWTR above your typical "teen movie". Then you have great performances from the two leads of Mandy Moore & Shane West, who do the script proud. I particularly like Mandy's character Jamie, who although definitely isn't the coolest person in school, is confident enough about herself to not let other people's opinions worry her (except for one incident in the film). I think it's this personality trait that first appeals to Shane West's character Landon, who *does* worry (initially) what is and isn't perceived as being cool, and often succumbs to peer pressure. It's this transforming of character for Landon that takes him onto "a walk to remember".

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is where Landon takes Jamie to the state line one night and tells her to stand over it. He then tells here that she's in two places at the same time- thus realizing one of her dreams. Talk about romantic!. Another scene I like is where Jamie asks Landon to promise not to fall in love with her, which at the time seems a little arrogant and which Landon laugh's off. It's only later you find out the relevance of her request. I also like the play scene where Mandy sings "Only hope". Mandy sings impeccably, looks beautiful, and this is where I believe Landon really falls in love with her.

Unfortunately the DVD of AWTR is a little thin on extras. What you do get however is two good commentaries. The first is from Mandy, Shane, and the director Adam Shankman which they all recorded together (doesn't always happen that way). They share anecdotes from making the movie, have a laugh, and generally makes a very entertaining commentary. This is probably the one most people will listen to, but the other is also worth checking out. This second commentary is from the original novelist of AWTR Nicholas Sparks, and Karen Janszen who adapted it for the screen. This commentary is very interesting as they talk about the differences between the book and the movie, how it was adapted for a modern day setting, what they thought of the cast, amongst other things. On the DVD you also get the music video for Mandy Moore's "Cry", but that's about it. There's no "making of" or behind the scenes stuff. And there's not even any deleted scenes, even though they are mentioned several times on the cast/director commentary track!.

AWTR is more a romantic drama than comedy, so those looking for laughs may want to look elsewhere (although Mandy's retort "God's too busy looking for your brain" is hilarious!). That said, this is a very good movie, well acted, and the nature of the story should make it appeal to many older viewers - male and female alike - that will lift it above typical teen fare.

I think Shrek is a brilliant film, and enjoy it even more than both of Disney's Toy Story movies (which I still think are very good). I think that the humour in Shrek is a little more cutting, and therefore appeals more to the older viewer (I'm 30), and the film also doesn't quite indulge with the schmaltz factor as much as the TS ones did. Also, even though the rapport between Buzz and Woody is great, the same can also be said of that between Shrek and Donkey. I've already seen Shrek about 5 times, which says quite a bit considering that animated films aren't normally a genre I normally go for. Fantastic computer graphics, excellent script, superb chemistry between Myers & Murphy, great music score, hilariously funny, and just an all-round great feel-good movie.

What great value for money this DVD is!. The concert is obviously the main feature here, and as great as it is, several of the songs will probably only be familiar to the more hardcore fan. I think if more songs from her two album releases (Falling into you & Let's talk about love) prior to this concert had been included, I would have definitely have given a full 5 stars. Nevertheless, what is here is still good - highlights being To love you more, Je sais pas, Pour que tu m'aimes encore, and an excellent cover of the Bee Gees classic Stayin' Alive where Celine's voice sounds remarkably similar to Barry Gibb's original vocal!. There's one bit quite early on where Celine talks to the audience in french for a good 5-10 minutes, and I think subtitles would of been nice here, as I didn't have a clue what she was saying!. The concert runs for 1hr and 52 minutes.

What makes this DVD even better though, is the inclusion of two "behind the scenes" features on the recording of two of Celine's albums. The best one is the "Let's talk about love" one which is about 56 minutes long, and is hugely enjoyable. Special guests include The Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand, Sir George Martin, and Carole King, amongst others. Watch Barry Gibb come close to tears as Celine sings (the excellent) Immortality!. Another highlight for me was seeing Celine recording the song "Us" - one of my favourites. This programme alone almost makes the DVD worth buying - and it's an "extra" on top of the main concert!. The other behind the scenes feature concentrates on the french album "S'il suffisait d'aimer". This one is entirely in french, but it's mostly singing anyway so it doesn't really matter. This programme is about 25 minutes long, and is definitely worth seeing.

A great DVD, super value for money, and probably the best of the Celine Dion DVD's currently available (July '02).

I have now seen Monsoon wedding twice, and it's without a doubt a great movie. Depicting a modern indian culture, the film gives you an insight into the preparations during the days leading up to a family wedding. It often has a "fly-on-the-wall" feel/look to it, and the director successfully manages to juggle several characters within the film, with none leaving the screen for too long. Sometimes funny, often romantic, the occasional drama, and even some quite moving scenes later in the film when a terrible family secret is revealed, but ultimately Monsoon Wedding is best catergorized as a feel-good movie. The cast are excellent, though I haven't heard of any of them previously. Special mentions go to Naseeruddin Shah who plays Lalit (the bride's father) who gives a touching performance when faced with a relative's shameful history. Also good are Shefali Shetty (Ria), Vijay Raaz (dubey) and the gorgeous Tilotama Shome, who plays the shy house maid Alice. Ironically, the most heart-warming romance in the film isn't between the two people who are about to wed!, but between two others (who I won't name here, in the interests of people who haven't yet seen the movie). Monsoon Wedding is also something of a multilingual film, with no fewer than 3 languages being used - English, Hindi and Punjabi. This means the viewer (presuming they're not multilingual) will often be switching between listening to the conversations, to reading the subtitles, but you'll soon get used to it.

Overall then, a wonderful movie. Great direction from Mira Nair, who manages to make everything hold together perfectly. Good performances from the cast, and a worthy soundtrack that I'm now considering buying. Along with "Amelie", it's nice to see some excellent "feel-good" films recently that don't overdo it with the schmaltz factor.

Alicia Keys, and now Vanessa Carlton...Piano players seem to be the hot thing at the moment. And Vanessa is certainly hot, but she's not only sexy, but very talented with it too. Reading the sleeve notes, she wrote all-but-one of the tracks on this debut album. The great first single aside (A thousand miles), other favourites of mine are Ordinary day, Unsung, and the excellent Wanted. Without trying to discredit Vanessa, her cover version of Paint it black is awesome, and probably my favourite track here. I've always loved the Rolling Stones original, so wasn't expecting much from this, but it's an amazing cover that should be released as a single (perhaps once a few more of her own songs have been released).

I didn't give a 4 or higher though, as around a third of the album is pretty average stuff, with a few tracks best described as "fillers" (Sorry Vanessa!!). It's still worth checking out though, and is a little different to your pop-by-numbers that regularly populate the charts. Vanessa's singing voice is just as good as her piano skills, but it's the fact that she wrote virtually the entire album that probably impresses the most.