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shawn_allen
Reviews
Good Eats (1999)
Really Great Eats!
I started watching the show with the Thanksgiving show "Romancing the Bird" and it just blew me away.
SPOILER When he sat his sister Marsha (Marsha Brown BRADY, Marsha Brady, get it?) down in front of the fireplace and did the Matrix take-off, I was hooked!
I am keeping some of the shows, just those I really like and/or plan to cook something from, but all of them should be seen. Also, I recommend checking out AB's website, altonbrown.com, to see what he does off camera too.
This Is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers (1988)
Simplified, but informative tale
As a descendent of one of the Mayflower passengers, seeing their story played out by familiar characters is a refreshing change of pace.
Since most people skip right from Halloween to Christmas, it seems that the story get lost in between the two other holidays. The only other telling of this story I can remember is from 5th grade history class.
This show is set as a double-bill with the Peanuts Thanksgiving special and makes an effective one-two combination. To really get the better effect, see this one first and then the Thanksgiving special.
Great Performances: Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
Not bad, if you can't make it to the stage play
I liked this as a version of the stage play. I saw JCSS onstage in London where Glenn Carter played Simon Zealot.
What I can't determine is why no one has tried to do a theatrical version of JCSS and make it outside, using period costumes and settings. The 1973 movie used actual locations in Israel, but it looked like they sang standing on one pile of rocks after another. This version is just the stage play on film.
What I'd like to see is a version like "Jesus of Nazareth," "Jesus (1999)(tv movie)" or even "Monty Python's Life of Brian." (Period costumes and setting simulating 1st century Galilee and such).
Anyone else looking for this?
HBO First Look: 'X-Men': The Mutant Watch (2000)
Not bad and minimal spoilers
I saw this as part of the DVD and it looked really good. It especially raises a question at the end concerning Senator Kelly's prejudicial treatment of mutants.
The interviews were superb and the background scenes looked neat.
Can't wait until X2.
The Making of 'Star Wars' (1977)
Very nice Documentary
I have had this particular show since the Early 80's. I believe I picked this one up in Japan at a military exchange store. Since home videos were still new then, I figured this was the only way to get a copy of anything "Star Wars" for a while.
I have always like to watch it for many reasons, none the least of which is the background on the series. (Seeing George Lucas in his early-mid thirties reminds one of watching old home movies.)
The droids bickering is still the same, amusing. Seeing Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, before all of their later work, is nice, too. Harrison Ford in particular, compares Han Solo to Bob Falfa (interesting parallel in the names, huh), because that was what he'd done at the time. Of course, no mention of Indiana Jones, Jack Ryan and other memorable Ford Characters. Another funny comment by Mark Hamill is how "George [Lucas] was so successful with the first one, he could set the next one in Redondo Beach."
One added bonus that I had forgotten about was a trailer (yea, AFTER the credits) for Empire. I had forgotten about it and only saw I because I watched end credits to see when the show was made (and couldn't find the remote.)
Hopefully, when the Original trilogy gets put onto DVD, Lucasfilm will be able to resurrect this.
Now, let's hope we can convince them to include the "Star Wars Holiday Special".....Sorry George, just kidding. :)
R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2001)
Funny!
I bet the casts of the new and old movies are having a blast making this. Only the first two episodes are out as I write this, but it has got to be one of the funniest "mokumentaries" ever. Especially fun is what R2 did with himself in the intervening years between "Return of the Jedi" and "Phantom Menace." I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone, so go to the Star Wars website and see. Thumbs up for the guy who thought this one up, and for George Lucas, for letting them take a shot at his creations.
Y2K (1999)
STUNK!!!
I too watched the movie to see some of the possibilities. I was working with computers at the time and wanted to see how they were going to portray the hitch. When the fetal heart monitor started acting up, I knew that they missed the point. Y2K would only hit on something that counted the YEAR and then used it for clocking for the operations of the machine connected. A FHM doesn't care what year it is, no more than a toaster with a chip in it. And setting it (the FHM) to go hay-wire at 9:00 pm Pacific time (to match the 12:00 midnite East Coast time), c'mon, where did they stretch to get that?? Another thing. even with all the possiblities, they still reverted to a BIG EXPLOSION at the end. Someone should lock this away in a time capsule and bury it where no one would look.
Gymnasium Jim (1922)
Funny Short
This is an enjoyable little short that my dad has on 8mm film. (yeah, that celluloid stuff, and not the Super-8 of the mid-70's, either). Typical of the b&w shorts of the time, it concerns Jim who has to
-defend his sweetheart- from the villain, who is intent on stealing not only her, but Jim's commission for inventing the "Noiseless Auto Horn."
Actually, it had no credits on the print so this is the only place I can find even mentioning it.
The Wonderful World of Disney: Santa Who? (2000)
Leslie Nielsen is great as Santa!
Leslie Nielsen was the best part of the movie! He was perfect as Santa, better than in "All I want for Christmas," albeit that was more a cameo role. He played an amnesiac Santa with just the right amount of confusion and sympathy. The part where he (re)learned the Christmas Carols was one of the most original parts. Overall a very enjoyable holiday movie.