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Romance And Cigarettes, a review by Rich

Romance And Cigarettes



See and hear the fearless Kate Winslet as you never have before in this down and dirty savage musical from Director John Turturro and Executive Producers Joel & Ethan Coen - creators of "The Big Lebowski" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Nick Murder (James Gandolfini) is a man torn between 2 women - his long suffering wife Kitty (Susan Sarandon) and the flame-haired, foul-mouthed seductress Tula (kate Winslet), who really knows how to flick his switch. With faith in her husband shattered, Kitty surprises even herself with the ferocity of her anger as she struggles to cope with his betrayal. It is only through a tragic twist of fate that Nick finally understands the extent of the pain he has inflicted on his family.
Employing a fabulously eclectic mix of contemporary and classic songs, and featuring such diverse artists as James Brown, Nick Cave, Bruce Springsteen, ROMANCE & CIGARETTES is a unique tale of sex and mortality that features an all-star cast.

Musical, comedy, romance, drama - sounds like it will be awful right?
Wrong.
It was absolutely superb viewing, totally entertaining and if like me you see the genre MUSICAL and shy away, I urge you strongly to try this as it is original and compulsive watching pleasure. Incredibly witty dialogue, superbly and star studded casting, music mixed from so many genres and eras but totally works.
Kate Winslet is like you have never seen or heard before, a foul mouthed lingerie selling slut, and 1st rate performances from Gandolfini, Sarandon, Buscemi etc etc etc  make this a stand out movie. Raunchy and raw, this film dares to be different and was a joy.
 


** Kate Winslet mini-marathon


(From Riches Random Reviews on August 1st, 2009)

Pete's Christmas, a review by addicted2dvd

Pete's Christmas (2013/) IMDb |Trailer | Director: Nisha Ganatra Writing: Peter McKay Length: 89 min. Rating: Rated PG : Some Mild Language Video: Widescreen Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1 Subtitles: English

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Stars:
Zachary Gordon as Pete Kidder
Molly Parker as Dr. Pamela Kidder
Rick Roberts as Ronald
Wesley Morgan as Jake
Peter DaCunha as Kenny
Marshall Williams as Mike Bronski
Jacob Kraemer as Ted Bronski
Bailee Madison as Katie
Bruce Dern as Grandpa

Plot:
14-year old Pete just had the worst Christmas ever. His busy parents forgot to buy his present, his talented brothers outshine him, the neighboring bullies target him for snowball practice, and his grandfather fights with his dad. Pete is relieved when the day ends. But when he wakes up on what he thinks is Dec. 26th, he finds out that it's Christmas all over again. Stuck repeating the day over and over, Pete panics at first, but slowly realizes that he can take advantage of this mysterious gift and enjoy the ultimate family Christmas.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• Digital Copy

For some reason going into this one I really wasn't expecting too much. I guess because I never heard of it... and first time I ever notice it I find it in a discount pile... only $5 for the blu-ray/dvd combo pack. After watching it I find I enjoyed it. Definitely seen better but it is good enough that I can see myself watching it every year around this time.



(From Christmas Reviews 2014 on December 2nd, 2014)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Tom

3.01 Burning Down the House (1997-09-14)
Writer: Paul Haggis (Created By), Paul Gross (Writer)
Director: George Bloomfield
Cast: Paul Gross (Constable Benton Fraser), Callum Keith Rennie (Stanley "Ray" Kowalski), Beau Starr (Lt. Harding Welsh), Camilla Scott (Inspector Margaret Thatcher), Tony Craig (Detective Jack Huey), Tom Melissis (Detective Dewey), Catherine Bruhier (Elaine), Gordon Pinsent (Fraser Sr.), David Marciano (Detective Ray Vecchio), Ramona Milano (Francesca Vecchio), Dean McDermott (Constable Turnbull), George Bloomfield (Zoltan Motherwell), Neil Dainard (RCMP Inspector), Diane Douglass (Greta Garbo), Vito Rezza (Tony), Edgar George (Battalion Commander), Bill Parrott (Junior Mountie), Kevin Lee Louis (Officer), Sam Shields (Janey), David Taylor (Sven), J.J. Evans (Witness)

After Due South was cancelled after season 2, it seemed to be the end. But because this series was very popular overseas (e.g. here in Germany), it got international funding for further episodes. This resurrected series is often regarded as a spin-off series (for example IMDb lists it as an extra entry). There are some cast changes. David Marciano didn't come back to play Ray, so a new Ray was introduced. In my opinion in a fun way (it's funny how Fraser tries to prove throughout this episode, that the new Ray is not the Ray he knew). A lot of people didn't like this replacement, but I always enjoyed it. I think it brings a fresh wind to the series. Other cast change is, that Fraser's dad and his boss (I really do no like her new hair) are now series regulars. Also other supporting characters like Thurnball and Francesca are getting more screen-time (about time!).

Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on September 3rd, 2009)