The Runaway

An Ambitious Six Part British Crime Drama Centering On An Ill-Fated Romance
After loving the British TV adaptation of Martina Cole's "The Take" (with a riveting, star-making performance by Tom Hardy), I was more than eager to check out this six part series. While "The Runaway" is also based on a Cole novel exploring the criminal underbelly of recent London, it has a much broader scope. With a story that spans several decades, occurs across different continents, and focuses on multiple plot lines, "The Runaway" certainly doesn't lack ambition. It may, however, miss out on an intimacy as episodes jump forward through time, often just when things are at their most interesting. Although I have not read the source novel, this television production does feel like the equivalent of reading a sprawling potboiler. By the end, the central protagonists have lived through a good chunk of history and it's fascinating to see just how far they come as actual characters within this broad narrative arc.

"The Runaway," at its core, tells the story of star-crossed...

An Ambitious Six Part British Crime Drama Centering On An Ill-Fated Romance
After loving the British TV adaptation of Martina Cole's "The Take" (with a riveting, star-making performance by Tom Hardy), I was more than eager to check out this six part series. While "The Runaway" is also based on a Cole novel exploring the criminal underbelly of recent London, it has a much broader scope. With a story that spans several decades, occurs across different continents, and focuses on multiple plot lines, "The Runaway" certainly doesn't lack ambition. It may, however, miss out on an intimacy as episodes jump forward through time, often just when things are at their most interesting. Although I have not read the source novel, this television production does feel like the equivalent of reading a sprawling potboiler. By the end, the central protagonists have lived through a good chunk of history and it's fascinating to see just how far they come as actual characters within this broad narrative arc.

"The Runaway," at its core, tells the story of...

Brighton Rock Revisited
Although this series succeeds beautifully as a crime drama and a romance, there's more going on than one might at first think. I have not read the novel on which this program is based, but at the very least the adaptors of Cole's story, if not Cole herself, have put together a stylish twist on the classic literary quest for redemption. Whether or not the creators of "The Runaway" intended to reference Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock," I couldn't help seeing Eamon as a slightly more appealing counterpart of Greene's Pinky Brown, and his struggle as parallel to Pinky's conflict over alone-ness and connection. The production also shares Greene's concern for the divide between various systems of morality and gives at least a nod to Greene's exploration of the role of faith, and particularly Catholicism, in a fallen world. In other words, this is a great show that reminds me of one of my favorite books. As in "Brighton Rock," the story comes to an easily forseen conclusion, but it still...

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Time Team: Unearthing the Roman Invasion

Archeology, Roman-Brit history, and a funny, intelligent team
Scientific yet enjoyable for laymen. Expert teams kept moving, the show hopping & fun with Tony Robinson (actor, comedian, history buff) pointing the way. Digging in dirt has seldom been so much fun. Massive use of geophysics, then back hoes, on to trowel & brush digs. It opens up what 2000 yr-old Romano-British archeology began as. And fantastic artist renderings help the uneducated-but-interested visualize what the experts see in stones, shards, and coins. The bonus material offers 7 text bios of experts filmed in 12 excavations. More bonus in a viewer's guide. A documentary with the look of prime-time TV.

SUBTITLES provided for all episodes, each a 3-day dig.
____1 TOCKENHAM -in Wiltshire, a pagan-looking Roman figure in 600-yr-old Christian St. Giles Church but the area has NO roman remains to explain the oddity. What's below? An archeological lottery win. Filmed in1994
____2 BIRDOSWALD EXHUMATION -Roman/barbarian border, 18 mile stone Hadrian's Wall, &...

time team digs up good tv.
time team is a show that has been on Uk televsion since january 1994! They have made 258 episodes in 19 seasons. That is a incredible job for a show about a group of archeologists who have three days to excavate a site!. Tonny Robinson; a actor and writer most familiar from the black adder tv show is the featured host and he helps out in each episode. This dvd takes a number of shows that had excavations featuring Roman ruins and sites and puts them in a compilation form. The first episode is from the very first season. the rest are from later on. I loved time team on television ,when we were lucky enough to get the show on History 2 via satellite or cable. But it's no longer on! Which seems foolish as you have so many episodes to show by now! The team has only 3 days to accomplish their goals even. Which means they have to move fast and find what they can, the team has alot of fun and you get to discover what they do in each episode. Hopefully more time team dvd's will come out...

Great Stuff!
As a historical buff, specifically the Roman-Britain era, this was a fabulous series! I watched the entire set straight through over 5 nights!

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Ouran High School Host Club: Complete Series (Classic)

I didn't expect It would be THIS cool
I won't go into too much detail, because part of the fun of this anime series is just hanging on for the ride, not knowing alot going into it.

But basically the story is about a girl who enters a very nice, prestigious high school where rich kids are numerous and poor people are thought of as fairytale material. She meets the highschool's Host Club, which is basically a group of young men who entertain the school's young ladies. Keep in mind they're all rich, and somewhat arrogant, so they kind of just sit around and talk about rich kid stuff.

The Host Club thinks she's a guy, she accidently breaks an expensive vase and instantly earns herself a very large debt, and the only way to pay it off is to join the Host Club.

This is just the beginning. Like I said I don't want to go into too much detail because Ouran High School Host Club is the type of anime that is best enjoyed when not too much is known about it going in.

I was mainly interested...

Review on the Actual Product, Not the Series Itself
I just got this item today and have looked through some of the extras and I must say they are pretty entertaining. They have the "outtakes" section, which is basically a blooper reel from all the episodes, and while it doesn't show the actual voice actors, it does show the the scenes with the dialogue of the voice actors messing up or doing some improv. Some of the other extras include audio commentary on certain episodes and the textless songs. There's a preview for the manga provided by Viz and it shows some shots from one of the volumes that's big enough to read but don't expect it to be the complete volume. The episodes themselves are pretty good quality and you can choose from having English or Japanese audio and subtitles.
The packaging is pretty nice, too much pink for my taste, but still nice and it has some quotes and pictures throughout. There isn't a booklet but after the case is taken out of the sleeve it folds out to show an episode guide on the left side and what...

Great Anime!!
This is one of the greatest romance comedy. I mean I could watch this anime over and over. The characters are so colorful and full of life. This anime is a real enjoyment. I love this anime and I watch it over and over!!!

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Patton / Longest Day / Sand Pebbles / Tora Tora [Blu-ray]

A worthwhile package
To answer the person who questioned which version of THE SAND PEBBLES is featured in this package, it IS the 3-hour roadshow version. Of the 4 movies in the package, I would say PEBBLES is still the weakest transfer, although it is still of a higher quality than many blu-rays I've seen. I suppose that just points to the superior quality of the other 3 in the set. Both PATTON and THE LONGEST DAY are stunning. Extras are strongest with PEBBLES. It's possible that PATTON and LONGEST are single disks in multiple-disk collections. Still, given the price and the quality of the selection, this is a very strong package.

It meets my expections.
I have not watched the movies yet. I just tested it for the quality of the DVD. I am pleased with it.

Patton / Longest Day / Sand Pebbles / Tora Tora [Blu-ray]
Great value for the money. A must have especially for the World War II afficiando. Tora Tora Tora is the best movie depicting Pearl Harbor.

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Eraserhead [Blu-ray]

"But what the hell do they know, I said?"
If you're reading this, then you've seen this movie or are at least curious what all the hype is about?

The late Stanley Kubrick, the only major filmmaker Lynch has cited as a direct cinematic influence, believed that ERASERHEAD was one of the most perfect "cinematic experiences" created to date. This movie has enjoyed success on the midnight movie circuit for years, particularly in NYC where it ran almost every night for something like five years straight. I've seen it on big and little screens in three different states. Insofar as interpretations are concerned, I've long since tossed all that out the window. In terms of rational comprehension, ERASERHEAD is the fabled big fish that remains brilliantly elusive of any attempts to capture it.

This movie gets better, and more humorous, every time I watch it: in my opinion - ERASERHEAD is the cinematic experience that comes the closest to capturing "dream logic", next to the equally brilliant WAKING LIFE. If you...

A haunting dream of dark and disturbing things...
WHEN will they re-release this masterpiece on video and DVD? This film is purest Lynch. It isn't a movie, it's an experiance. David Lynch himself said that he didn't so much think of Eraserhead, than feel it. Never have I heard a more true statement. 'Eraserhead' is Atmosphere with a capital A, and contains some truly unnerving moments that come straight out of our darkest nightmares. David Lynch is a true artist. To watch Eraserhead is to be totally absorbed into another world; Henry and his bizarre hairdo; the gentle yet strangely disturbing Lady in the Radiator; and last but not least, the hideous 'Baby,' a truly grotesque little monster who is more terrifying than any other man-made creature in motion picture history. (Lynch has refused to say how he created the Baby....IF he made it, that is. CREEEEEEEEEEEEPYYYYY! ) There is an unrelenting sense of menace and fear throughout all the proceedings. Some may huff and dismiss 'Eraserhead' as an 'artsy-fartsy' flick intended...

The Most Personal Film Ever Created
David Lynch's surreal masterpiece ERASERHEAD, is in my humble opinion the most personal 90 minutes of celluloid ever created. As with many of his other films, theories abound about this "nightmare on film," and it seems people have more fun dissecting (no pun intended) the imagery and symbols than actually watching the film. It's certainly not enjoyable to watch, or entertaining by any stretch of the imagination, but it is compelling, engrossing, and disturbing. A true film "experience." There's never been anything like it from anyone else, or Lynch himself for that matter, and more likely than not we'll never see anything like it again. At it's most simplistic it's Lynch's fears and horror concerning "family" and "industrialism" taken to the nth degree. Most people describe it as post-apocolyptic, but it's truly modern/contemporary, just dark and unfamiliar to most. But again, like with many of Lynch's films--especially the recent MULHOLLAND DRIVE--you'd have to be David Lynch to...

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We Juke Up In Here: Mississippi's Juke Joint Culture At The Crossroads

Wonderful documentary on the Delta blues today
This brand new documentary from Jeff Konkel and Roger Stolle gives a true vision of the today situation of the juke joints and the blues in the Delta area. Remarkably filmed, it intersperes strong interviews with musicians, juke joint owners and patrons with great musical sets. Very well filmed and recorded. Enthralling!
And what a good idea to have subtitled the film, a thing that is very often lacking from US music documentaries and nevertheless very useful for non-Americans. This essential set combines the DVD + a CD of all the songs featured in the film.

Almost as good as being there
This is an excellent DVD/CD combo. I do wish more of the performances were complete in the DVD but they were long enough to get the feeling of being at a juke joint.

The CD has longer performances and the sound quality is pretty good.

I can't really add much to the first reviews. If you like authentic music. If you've been to the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic and Blues Festival and had a great time. And if you just want to hear music being played because they love the music you should get this set.

'Nuff said.

A great DVD
This is a film that is well worth watching multiple times. There are parts of the film that are very sad as it shows the struggles of the Blues in Mississippi, but at the same time it is inspiring watching the great Blues performers that are still there, thus the uplift (and that is in part what the Blues is all about). The quality of the cinematography/editing/sound is topnotch. My favorite performers in this film are Big A & The All-Stars and Terry Harmonica Bean. The interviews with Red are great!

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Pure Krav Maga - Self Defense Mastery

Best 'Pure Krav Maga' DVD collection in the market place
I have wanted to write a review on Boaz Aviram's DVD set on `Krav Maga Mastery' for some time now but decided to hold off to read some of the other reviews. I now feel that after reading these its time to put my point across.
I have viewed many instructional DVD sets from martial arts and other KM `systems' and their experts. There are a few points I feel should be put right owing to criticism levelled by other reviews.

1) Production may not be as good as some, but this in no way takes away from the quality of the instruction.

2) In connection with the above; Boaz shows you that to master a system you need to do a little bit more than
watching. You need to practice the basics of kicking, punching, learning how to use a knife or a club. You need to read the book, Krav Maga - Use of the Human Body as a Weapon Philosophy and Application of Hand to Hand Fighting Training System. You also need to find a training partner to actually practice the...

Buy only if you want to be a TRUE expert in Krav Maga
After purchasing Mr. Boaz's book and DVDs, I secretly hoped that no one else buys it. Why? Because it is so very good that I wished I am the only true krav maga practitioner on this planet!!

However, after speaking with him and knowing that he released the book and DVDs as a social gift to society (esp to the krav maga practitioner), I think hoarding this great system to myself is a tad selfish. Why?

1. For the very first time, Krav Maga is presented as a SYSTEM. Techniques is just PART of it. Mr. Boaz doesn't show you how devastating Krav Maga is. If you want to see that, just go to youtube.

2. You are in for a lesson! Yes, you have to be a STUDENT! (That explains why many "masters" does not like what they hear in the DVD) Mr. Boaz teaches warm ups, principles of krav maga (no...not MMA with an eye poke), pressure points, how to punch effectively...etc.

Most KM instructors shows you how to punch. Boaz Aviram shows you how to KNOCK SOMEONE...

Excellent instructional package on the Original and Authentic IDF Krav Maga system!
Review Title : "Excellent instructional package on the Original and Authentic IDF Krav Maga system!"
Review of the "Pure Krav Maga Self Defense Mastery" DVD Set produced by Mr Boaz Aviram
Reviewed by Chionh Chye Chin (Mr).
Rated 5 Stars.

Order and Shipping Process :

This DVD Set is available via Amazon.com from Createspace (an Amazon company). Purchases from overseas are shipped by International Economy Shipping, and the time of delivery from date of order can vary from between one week within the USA to three weeks in South-east Asia.

Credentials of the Producer , Mr Boaz Aviram :

Mr Boaz Aviram is very well known and well respected in the Krav Maga community. For those who are not yet acquainted with him, he is a Krav Maga top expert, recognized by the Krav Maga Founders, his peers and Israeli institutions such as the Wingate Institute and military authorities. As the former Israeli Defense Forces Fighting Fitness Academy's...

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