Lidias Italy Delicious Main Courses 4 Disc Set
June 16, 2009 by Easy Meals · Leave a Comment
Lidias Italy Delicious Main Courses 4 Disc Set
Lidia’s Italy: Delicious Main Courses four-disc set features the following episodes:
The Lamb of the Land - Head to Friuli where Lidia has her vineyards and where she has wonderful friends and family that she visits several times throughout the year. Learn the tricks of the trade to making perfectly roasted lamb shoulder paired with Montasio cheese crisps with Swiss chard or the famous fricos!
Essence of Maremma - Viewers get a feel for Maremma today as Lidia cooks up appetizing poached eggs, a classic yet delightful steak with a side of Tuscan beans and squash. This is where the Tuscan cowboys reign so look out for a few surprises!
Where Barolo Reigns..It Pours - Discover the richness of Piedmont as Lidia serves baked cardoons accompanied by scrumptious beef braised in Barolo wine. Save some room for dessert — delicious crescent-moon shaped cornmeal cookies.
Goulash Italian Style - Travel to Trieste and discover the secret behind Italian-style goulash. Lidia shows us how to serve up this meaty dish with a side of delicious potatoes. This isn’t just your typical meat and potato dish!
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Flavors of Italy Northern Italy and Tuscany
June 15, 2009 by Easy Meals · Leave a Comment
Flavors of Italy Northern Italy and Tuscany
Italy is considered one of the culinary capitals of the world. Each of its great cities exhibits its own culinary identity, and its own exciting and colorful cuisine. In this program, we travel through the great cities of northern Italy and Tuscany, experiencing the local history and pageantry. Under the guidance of Italy’s most famous chefs, we learn to prepare the cuisine that has made the Italian kitchen justly famous. The splendor of Italy and the wonders of its kitchen await us. Buon appetito!
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star Cheesy
I like my cheese in my pasta not in a video about food. This has to be one of the poorest edited and shot video about Italy and Italian food I’ve seen. Some of the narration was absolutely nonsense.
4 Stars 60% Commentary, 40% Cooking
We find the “Flavors” DVDs in general are 60% commentary on locale/history and site seeing, 40% actual cooking. This one is no different. The site seeing parts are interesting as is the cuisine. As others may have mentioned the video quality of the cooking spots does seem amateur.
3 Stars If I wanted to see a cooking show, I would be watching the Food Network
The narrating for each area was OK, but could’ve been more in depth. The focus is definitely on food, but instead of giving the viewer an all-around feel for the local cuisine, this DVD concentrates only on a few recipes from local restaurants, which you cannot replicate, because most of the ingredients are hard to find in the US.
The quality is very low, blurry, and the composition is almost amateur-like. It looks a bit outdated, the music is the same old, lousy Italian stereo-typical mandolin that plays throughout the documentary.
OK, fine, the price is what it is so you can’t expect a Ken Burns film shoot, but I just think this product doesn’t do my country justice!! I would suggest to save your money and watch better shows on the Travel Channel or the Food Network.
5 Stars Learn to cook.
Excellent demonstrations and recipes.
Most involve layers of vegtables and meat cooked together.
The narrator is so so, but does get the point across.
The landscapes are beautiful.
4 Stars Northern Italy and Tuscany
The scenery was magnificent. I did not like the female narrator. She did not pronounce the Italian correctly and that annoyed me. Overall, I loved seeing different Northern Italian cities.
Mr Nice Guy
June 14, 2009 by Easy Meals · Leave a Comment
Jackie chan plays the right guy in the wrong place. The action turns on the character of a tv reporter who is discovered secretly videotaping a crime lords illicit activities. While on the run she literally bumps into jackie who ever chivalrous and agile plucks her from danger and outfoxes the pursuers. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 02/03/2004 Starring: Jackie Chan Gabrielle Fitzpatrick Run time: 87 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Samo Hung
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Jackie Chan and Action fan’s won’t be dissappointed
If you like Jackie Chan movies or just action movies in general this is a great buy.
Its a pretty simple plot of the Bad guys trying to get something from a woman, the woman(and other women)becoming the damsel in distress, and the everyday guy turned hero coming to save her. But thats not much of a bad thing, because a simple plot, means more room for action and also in Jackie Chan’s case, more comedy. And while the fight scences are not his best work, their still more entertaining than most martial art fights in other movies. The action outside the fights is fun to watch too, even if some of it is exagerrated(there is no way that a few hand grenades would do that to an apartment! LOL).
While the movie isn’t that soft, it also doesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes it a great film to watch with the rest of the family(Assuming that every one is 13 or above).
Overall, it’s a good movie that deserves a place in every action fans library, and with it being so cheap these days, one of the best buys you can make.
4 Stars Maybe not Chan’s best, but a truly fun film nonetheless
When it comes to the career of Jackie Chan as far as his films and stunts go Mr. Nice Guy won’t be one of the first brought up; Chan has made a career out of amazing fight scenes and some of the most dangerous stunts ever seen on film. In my opinion Jackie Chan just might be the greatest action star of all time. Chan really raised the bar for action sequences and nobody has really ever managed to top him.
The thing about Jackie Chan even if you view some of his 80s movies like even Police Story you can clearly see the Hollywood influence and Mr. Nice Guy was clearly aimed at an American audience. This movie does have that B-grade feel, but its Chan’s fighting and stunts that raise the movie above the normal B-Flick. Here in Mr. Nice Guy it seems to be a more slightly toned down Jackie Chan or just maybe it’s just damn near impossible to top some of his earlier work. Regardless of which it is this isn’t gonna make the Jackie Chan highlight reel, but it’s still filled with some great fight scenes and some great stunts.
The screenplay by Fibe Ma & Edward Tang is what it is; look nobody really goes into a Jackie Chan movie for the script. We watch his flicks for the fights and stunts. The script by Ma & Tang is good in the sense it’s never boring, but the plot is very thin and actually as the movie goes on its quite easy to even forget how this whole thing started. The characters though are mostly likeable and the villains are silly fun. The script is weak, but I suppose it serves its purpose.
Mr. Nice Guy was directed by Sammo Hung who has appeared in many of these kinds of flicks and should be best known to American audiences from the TV series Martial Law; Sammo’s directing is fairly good; the movie is well paced and there really isn’t a slow moment at all. The action starts off quick and its non-stop. Most of the running time is filled with action and any breaks are very brief. This isn’t one of the great martial arts movies and does feel too American in structure, but Sammo Hung does a good job in the sense the movie is never boring.
The performances are decent from the cast with Chan being the best of the lot. But like we don’t see these movies for the script we also don’t really watch them for the acting. Jackie Chan really isn’t a bad actor he’s actually fairly good and while I’m a big fan of his work I would love to see him with better material from a writing stance. Miki Lee as Miki is just so cute and fun to watch and her scenes with Chan are highly entertaining.
Like I said before most of the running time of Mr. Nice Guy is packed with action and while these may not be the best of Chan’s career they are still excellent and thrilling to watch. While Mr. Nice Guy isn’t quite a 4-star movie and it really is very much an American B-Movie, I still rate it 4-stars for the simple fact Mr. Nice Guy is just so entertaining; from the get go until the closing shot this movie is never once boring and will keep a smile planted on the viewers face. Don’t go in expecting classic Jackie Chan just sit back and enjoy the ride.
5 Stars The perfect title
Jackie Chan is one tough guy, but he always looks out for the women and children, and only fights when there is no alternative. Great combination of action, comedy, drama, Jackie’s balletic kung fu and acrobatics, and fun.
3 Stars Stunts are fine, but in real fights people get hurt
Moving from Hong Kong to Melbourne Jackie Chan continues
his dance routines. Choreography seems to be the method in his movies.
He can probably disable somebody with one punch ( if he wanted to).
But action, comedy and gangsters make people pay to see these.
For me this is a boring kind of film. Jackie Chan is a master of bobbing and weaving, but must have scars to prove you can’t always get the stunts right.
He does seem like Mr. Nice Guy.
4 Stars solid nice guy entertainment
As with many of his films, Jackie Chan relies more on stunts and action than story in Mr. Nice Guy. The movie contains mostly stunts like Rumble in The Bronx & First Strike and not so much in the way of one on one fights such as Who Am I and Legend of Drunken Master.
Jackie Chan plays “Jackie Chan”, famous tv chef located in Melbourne, Australia, where the movie pretty much all takes place in. He becomes the “Nice Guy” by helping out a female reporter escape from Gene Carter (Richard Norton) and his gang of goons. She accidentally leaves her videotape of one of Gene’s illegal business deals with Jackie, and that’s when Jackie becomes entangled in the mess throughout the rest of the movie.
Several highlights in this film include Richard Norton, who plays the bad guy boss, like in many of his movies. There is a funny cameo from Sammo Hung, who also directed Mr. Nice Guy. There are tons and tons of chase/stunt scenes featuring Jackie. The best is one of the last scene at a construction sight. Another good but small one is on the street. A Pepsi truck overturns, looses all the cans of soda, and Jackie and a goon are fighting it out in thousands of exploding cans of soda. The final scene in the movie involves Jackie driving a MASSIVE construction vehicle through Gene’s “cheap-looking” mansion. Really cool, though you can kinda tell its a cardboard set. Oh yeah, and his sports car collection gets crushed too. Oh, and the dubbing on the film is rather done well too.
I miss a really good fight scene the most from this movie, but the stunts make up for it. If you enjoy Rumble In The Bronx, First Strike or Supercop, Mr. Nice Guy needs to be added to the collection.
Sesame Street Elmos Magic Cookbook
June 12, 2009 by Easy Meals · Leave a Comment
Sesame Street Elmos Magic Cookbook
Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 08/03/2004 Run time: 50 minutes Rating: Nr
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Elmo’s Magic Cookbook
Elmo’s Magic Cookbook is great! It taught my 20 month old daughter to the importance of washing her hands before she eats. It is filled with entertaining music and kitchen tips for kids. (Don’t touch the knives, etc.) My daughter loves playing in her toy kitchen so she really enjoyed this DVD.
5 Stars Fun Learning
My 3 year old son watches this video over and over again! He loves to watch me cook in the kitchen so he really enjoys watching Elmo. It’s filled with lots of laughs and learning experiences that Elmo’s World always offers!
5 Stars Elmo’s Magic Cookbook
I got this after seeing Elmo on “Emeril Live” one night, and Emeril is in Elmo’s DVD. Elmo is so cute, and through his eagerness to learn he encourages children to learn. He’s a good example for children. Elmo actually does some of the cooking in this one. The guy behind Elmo is brilliant. He knows what’s good for children to see and hear, and he certainly has the right voice for this character. I would recommend anything with Elmo in it.
2 Stars My Son was not at all interested…
But this is just a personal opinion. My son didn’t find it exciting and it just didn’t keep him interested. We just have to keep looking for something else that is as exciting and captivating as Grouchland. Now that was 5 Stars! Even me and my husband like that movie.
5 Stars Kyle’s favorite
My 6 year old is non-verbal and a movie fanatic. He had Elmo’s Cookbook years ago and wore it out - this year that was all he wanted from Santa - 1 hour after opening it he accidentally cracked the dvd - and was heartbroken. Thus the reason for re-ordering - this is a wonderful movie!!!!!!!!
Yes
June 10, 2009 by Easy Meals · Leave a Comment
It’s unsurprising that a movie written in rhyming verse would have stilted or self-conscious moments–but the sumptuous beauty, sinuous rhythms, and cinematic intricacies of Yes may astonish viewers who expect something stuffy or antiquarian. The plot is little more than an affair between an unnamed Irish-American biologist (Joan Allen, once the queen of repression in The Ice Storm, now becoming an art-house sexpot in this and Off the Map) and an unnamed Middle-Eastern chef (Simon Abkarian, Ararat), yet the movie explores just about everything: Marriage, religion, international politics, motherhood, and the nature of zero, while travelling from London to Belfast to Beirut to Havana. Writer/director Sally Potter (Orlando, The Tango Lesson) has enormous ambitions; Yes abounds with complex ideas and daring flourishes, both verbal and visual, juxtaposing the austere and the erotic, intellect and grief. If not everything succeeds, what doesn’t is more than made up for by what does. Also featuring Sam Neill (The Piano, Jurassic Park) as Allen’s aloof husband and Shirley Henderson (Topsy-Turvy) as a housecleaner with a philosophical perspective on dirt. –Bret Fetzer
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars masterful
a truly masterful and original way of telling a love story in between the clashes of culture, language and separation by holy wars. A clear telling of what happens when cultures collide and love is in the mix, and which one will come out the winner in the end. Sally Potter is a master storyteller with a unique eye for showing the other side of relationship power struggles, there is so much of this missing in cinema today.
5 Stars Masterpiece!
This movie is simply a masterpiece! The actors are all very believable and passionate. We fall in love with Joan and Simon from the very beginning. We learn about love, deception, loss, poetry, language, the list is neverending. Thank-you Simon for telling us how the East feels about the West. You are simply touching and your speeches are overwhelming. Please see this movie, give it a try. Let the love and characters set you free:)
5 Stars YES DVD SALLY POTTER
Quite the most intelligent DVD I have seen in years. Written immediately after 9/11 it is a moving love story, with witty disalogue. This is real life, political as we all live politics, whether an MP in London, a low wage earner washing up in a big kitchen hotel, or a struggling immigrant. It defines what it is to be human, whoever we are, in a rivetting short moment in the two main characters lives. surprisingly the dialogue is in iambic poetry, but this rarely intrudes as it is spoken so well, and it adds an intensity to the speech. It also has a sort of Greek chorus in the form of a cleaner who sees all without herself being seen or acknowledged. The results is deeply philosophical and makes one think about a huge range of issues,war,love, marriage, immigration, racial prejudice, inequality, teenage difficulties, etc. etc. Camera work is highly creative, unusual angles and even CCTV footage. This is essential viewing .the only problem is `I could only buy Area 1 DVD and that cannot be played in the UK. This is crazy as the film is about London. My early copies were Area 2, so they are about, and well worth the searc h.
4 Stars So just what am I agreeing to here?
Two of my favorite films are ones by Sally Potter, _The Tango Lesson_ and _Orlando._ So it was pretty much a given that at some point, I’d sit down and take in Yes, a film about two nameless people who encounter one another, and lives get turned upside down.
She (Joan Allen) is a research scientist, married to an icy politician, Anthony (Sam Neill), who only seems to find any sort of emotional release in the blues. When we first meet them, they’re off to a dinner party, all very formal, and he warns her not to make a scene. Once there, She wanders into the dining room, where a very elegant mideastern man in a tuxedo (Simon Abkarian) has a passing conversation with her.
It’s clear enough that they are both interested in each other, enough to where She hands Him her business card on the stairs. A phone call, a meeting, and soon, enough, the interest and conversation soon lands them both in bed together. It’s a slow, tumultuous affair, lasting from spring blossoms, to the Christmas season.
Others, from His co-workers in the restaurant where he is a chef, and Her family and friends, suspect that something is up, but no one can quite put a finger on it. His coworkers engage in the nature of God and religion and of course, women, over dirty pots and dishes, and she goes running and out and about with her sister Kate (Samantha Bond) and her niece.
Her world is the sparse, sterile one of the London flat, all whites and bare walls, crisp white couches and linens, while His is full of colour and textures. And She, under his careful touch and words, slowly begins to bloom.
But things start to unravel, first for Him, when an argument with a fellow employee results in a drawn knife, and for Her, when her husband can’t even summon up the guts to engage in an verbal fight with her. And that animosity expands to the He and She, with her being drawn away to a death in her birthplace of Belfast, and he runs to his homeland of Beruit.
No, not everyone is going to like this one. The themes are very adult, it’s mostly a plotless film about two people who find each other, lose one another and then come again full circle. Everyone in this one are extremely lonely, each one existing in their own little microcosm, and rarely can see beyond themselves if at all.
In fact, the only ones who seem to get what things are really about are the various charwomen in the film, especially the one who cleans She and Anthony’s immaculatte London flat (Shirley Henderson), who whispers up commentary and secrets as she gazes directly at the viewer. All of the cleaning women in this film, who silently push about their brooms and mops and brushes, seem to be saying can you believe these fools?
And frankly, that’s where the film starts to disintegrate. While it’s composed of beautiful cinematography and images, the dialogue is of rather insipid poetry — nice, but rarely inspiring — there are times when it is delivered in such muddled sound that I had to really crank up the volume to hear, or just guess at what was being said.
That’s a big problem. Too, there isn’t a plot beyond of He and She’s encounters, and the unraveling of their lives until they have to make choices. Sadly, the film only has subtitles in French, so I couldn’t even resort to using the subtitles to figure out the story. Another problem was that I was left wondering if the story was about discrimmination and the question of terrorism through His eyes, or her general alienation to everything for Her. Secondary characters appear, give soloquies, then vanish into the background, and don’t do much except to spread more confusion in their wake.
Sadly, there really ought to be more on the DVD to help the viewer along. The only audio track is in English, and the only subtitles are in French; there is a photo gallery of images in the film, and a little featurette on the making of the pivotal scene in the film, where the relationship shatters in the face of reality. Nice, but there could have been much more, what with the level of DVD technology these days.
Sally Potter both directed and wrote the script for this one, and while I really admire her courage in seeing her vision through to the end, it’s a murky one at best, and a snoozer at worst. Not for everyone, but if you have the patience to sit through it to the end, you might find it an interesting ’slice of life’ film.
Recommended, with three and half stars rounded up to four.
5 Stars I hear you. Tell me more.
Ms Potter is trying to teach us that adults solve their problems of expressing their feelings via dialogue rather than by acting them out/in (what adult children do). “I hear you .. tell me more.”
Her macho stiff husband didn’t want to talk (act in). The dishwasher and the cook/doctor want to fight with weapons (act out). She keeps saying, “Hold the phone, how did we get here, we all want the same things for the same reasons, let’s talk” (my paraphrase). To stay bound to our old systems or to cut the cords and grow up. That is the question.
