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Stream Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death Online. Movie Title: Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death Average customer review: Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death

A superbly told and excellently researched documentary on the genocide perpetrated against the Congolese people by King Leopold II of Belgium, and covered up and perpetuated by the Belgian State.

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This moving documentary tells in a microcosm the story of modern Africa - which can only be truly understood by looking at each country - and exposes the roots of its current pains.

If the United States thrives because it was built on the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; it can be no accident that a country founded on the undescribable principles instituted by King Leopald II and perpetuated by the Belgian State, remains steeped in violence, poverty and human deprivity.

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Afam Edozie

I watched this film one evening after spending the day reading Hochschild’s “King Leopold’s Ghost.” I was reading quite slowly and underlining in order to absorb the information since I am planning a trip up the Congo river. As I watched the film I recognized one quoted passage after another (archival quotes) which I had read in Hochschild only a few hours before. The numbers of quotes that I recognized were quite extraordinary. I waited for the credits fully expecting to see Hochschild’s name, but it was not there! Someone wanted me and you and everyone else to think that they had studied the archives and struggled to made judicious choices of quoted materials (a gigantic job). Someone didn’t want me or anyone else to know that Hochschild had done their homework for them.

It is particularly galling, in a film that purports to have a moral core, to find that the team making the film stole Hochschild’s work from him and misled their audience in the credits. And in a film about Leopold’s theivery, misuse and misrule of the Congo, no less! What would Joseph Conrad have said!!!!

It’s Tuesday afternoon; do you procure yourself longing for the weekend? Not because the view of having two days off from the daily grind perks your interest, but because your living room television is bombarded by “College Game Day”, the SEC Saturday night Showdown, and of course Sunday NFL Madness. Here are the puny things that score me through the week and the top 10 reasons why I esteem football:

1) I like plunge weather, which in turn means Football Season.

Reason: I can curl up on my sofa wearing my ragged college sweatshirt, dawdle the shroud door begin, and feel the chill in the air. Whether you live in Florida or Minnesota, you have to admit the change in the weather puts you in the mood!

2) I adore tailgating.

Reason: Food, drinks, friends, family, football, and more. What more could you ask for? Not convincing enough? How about loud music, horseshoes, humorous pictures with friends and did I mention food, drinks, friends and family?!

3) I fancy pep rallies.

Reason: Reminiscent of high school where the band plays, the cheerleaders cheer, and the bonfire burns into the wee hours of Friday nights.

4) I savor decking out in my teams colors on game.

Reason: Whether it’s my original Jay Cutler Denver Broncos jersey or that navy blue face paint I impartial bought, nothing is more fun the dressing in the spirit of football.

5) I cherish football food.

Reason: Bratwursts, Burgers, Hot Dogs, Chips, Dips (Queso!) —Need I say more?

6) I appreciate the action.

Reason: Contact sports are the best. Watching superhuman men urge, rupture and juke their opponents is thrilling at the very least.

7) I adore the fans.

Reason: 80,000+ screaming fans of all different backgrounds rooting for their beloved team makes for a glorious intelligent afternoon.

I like my family.

Reason: Obviously among other reason, my family and I piece a fancy for football which means family gatherings of watching our common teams during football season.

9) I treasure being active.

Reason: Playing flag football is considerable more appetizing than being stuck inside a stuffy gym!

10) I savor the players.

Reason: The men who play the game of football are athletes; pure urge, strength and stamina.

Football is the greatest sport of all time and has endured the test of time, dating help to the old-fashioned Greece. If you have never attended a college football game, you need to. If you’ve never seen a high school football game on a Friday night, you need to. If you gather yourself wondering what to do on any given Saturday or Sunday between the months of August and February, turn on the tv….a game is budge to be on. What’s all the hype about Fantasy Football?? Join a group and peep for yourself! Need an excuse to eat high fatty foods and drink a beer? Football is your excuse!! Now what are you waiting for? Go luxuriate in some FOOTBALL!

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All that have been mentioned goes the same with college football helmets. Apart from being just a protective gear, it can also be said that college football helmets are being worn for their aesthetic effect. Every football helmet comes emblazoned with the particular team’s logo. This is essential because it helps coaches identify their players while on field and referees find it easier to record down playing technicalities while every one is out there on field.

College football helmets were not as complex as they are right now. Football helmets actually started way back in 1915. These old types of helmets are very basic looking. They are even simply made out of leather. They are also made with a flat looking top design which can be likened to the ones professional wrestlers have been using. Back then, the main purpose of these helmets was to protect the player’s ear from any damages. However, the lack of ear holes on the helmets has proven communication to be difficult when these old helmets were used.

So through time, helmets have evolved and improved until the National Football League has required football helmets to come with a face mask. From then on, college football helmets have also adapted this particular technical requirement for the games they have held. Nowadays, leather is not the main ingredient of college football helmets. It is now polycarbonate which is being widely used in making such helmets for football.

In addition, college football helmets have also taken into consideration the need for constant communication while on field. Football, after all, is a group sport which calls for much coordination within the team. What happened instead is that these football helmets have changed its design from flat top into a more oval structure. According to studies which have been conducted, this oval shape of college football helmets actually helps a lot in protecting the head from too much impact. Moreover, an inflatable bladder is also now being used to provide more protection for football players while wearing a football helmet.

Then eventually, the chin strap has also been developed as professionals felt the need to secure that these football helmets are safely held in place. This is important especially for a contact sport like football wherein unpredictable actions can happen. College football helmets really did evolve through time. From its humble beginnings, people have realized the need to improve it.

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Stream Water Online. Movie Title: Water Average customer review: Water is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Water

“Water” is the third film in writer/director Deepa Mehta’s elemental trilogy, following “Fire” and “Earth”. It explores the plight of widows in traditional Hindu culture, where women are condemned to a grim, rudimentary existence after their husbands die. Driven by characters as much as by its cause, this is not a bleak film. On the contrary, “Water” is breathtakingly beautiful. In India in 1938, young Chuyia (Sarala) is widowed at the age of 8. By religious law, when a man dies, his wife may either be cremated with him, marry his brother, or live the life of an ascetic -chaste, poor, and pious. Chuyia’s head is shaved, her jewelry removed, and she is sent to live in an ashram with other widows of all ages. She is befriended by a pretty widow named Kalyani (Lisa Ray), watched over by the devout and generous Shakuntula (Seema Biswas), and often at odds with the ashram’s callous matriarch Madhumati (Manorama), who pays the rent by prostituting Kalyani. A handsome law student with progressive politics, Narayan (John Abraham), is smitten by Kalyani. But it is sinful for widows to remarry, and Kalyani is a prostitute besides.

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The story of making “Water” is a drama in itself. Filming in India in 2000 was shut down by violent protests by religious fundamentalists, who believed the film was anti-Hindu. Deepa Mehta’s view is that a misinterpretation of religious texts has perpetuated the dreadful state of widows in Indian culture, which is actually the result of economics. If a widow is sent away upon the death of her husband, her own family does not have to pay to feed or house her, and her would-be inheritance remains in her husband’s family. In any case, there were riots, Deepa Mehta was burned in effigy, and the film’s sets were thrown into the river. Four years later, the film was recast and the production moved to Sri Lanka, where filming began again. All of the temples and buildings that you see are sets by production designer Dilip Mehta. Sarala, who plays Chuyia, is Sri Lankan and does not speak a word of Hindi. She learned all of her lines phonetically. Somehow that doesn’t even seem odd amid this international cast and creative crew.

Giles Nuttgens’ cinematography is a force in this film. Everything appears so alive and luminous that I wanted to step into this world to be bathed in its beautiful light and touch its delicate features. The light has a striking purity. The film’s score by Canadian Mychael Danna and songs by Indian composer A.R. Rahman are an ideal auditory accompaniment to “Water”’s visual splendor. Although it focuses our attention on the plight of widows in India, “Water” is not a realistic film on the narrative level. Kalyani and Narayan are idealized characters. She is pure, lovely, and suffering. He educated, and socially progressive. To Narayan, Kalyani is a romantic figure, a fragile, innocent soul in need of rescuing. The idea that a wealthy, educated man would want to marry an illiterate peasant prostitute who will never understand his causes or his world view seems far-fetched. But Kalyani’s reticence and Narayan’s sensitivity draw us in. Narayan is a change of pace for John Abraham, who is an Indian supermodel and Bollywood star. Lisa Ray is Canadian, also a supermodel in India, but Hindi is not her first language. Director Deepa Mehta has a real talent for casting the perfect actors from seemingly unlikely choices.

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For all of Kalyani and Narayan’s beauty and sympathy, “Water” is not their film. Shakuntula is the character who has an arc, and Seema Biswas gives the film’s great performance. She personifies the conflict between conscience and faith that is at “Water”’s core. (You many remember Seema Biswas from her lead role in “Bandit Queen”.) Manorama, who has acted in an extraordinary 1301 movies, is memorably sharp as the matriarch Madhumati. Professor of Hindi literature Dr. Vidula Javalgekar plays the kindly, sweet-toothed, elderly widow Patiraji, a woman who must be very unlike herself. “Water” is simply a gorgeous sensory experience that movie-lovers won’t want to miss. In Hindi (and some Sanskrit) with English or Spanish subtitles or English captions.

The DVD (20th Century Fox 2006): “Behind the Scenes” (20 min) includes interviews with writer/director Deepa Mehta and the cast. Mehta talks about the controversy surrounding the film and its themes. The actors discuss Mehta’s directing style, mastering the period mannerisms, and their characters. “The Story Behind the Making of Water” (4 min) is about the controversy and the ill-fated first attempt to film “Water”. There is a good, continuous audio commentary by Deepa Mehta in which discusses the sets, actors, character development, cinematography and lighting, the film’s score, and provides additional information about Indian culture.

When I was in film school, I remember a professor showing an Indian film called “Panther Panchali”. Despite the terrible print, I could see director Satyajit Ray was an artist. “Panchali” is a beautiful film about a poor Indian family living through the monsoon season. I then went on to discover some of his other films. A couple of years ago, Merchant Ivory hosted a retrospective of Ray’s films and these restored prints are available on DVD. You are depriving yourself if you do not watch these films.

As I watched “Water”, the new film from director Deepa Mehta, I was constantly reminded of Ray’s films. The composition, pacing, subject matter and acting style are all the same.

Chuyia (Ronica Sajnani Sarala), a seven year old girl, finds she has become a widow; her arranged husband has died leaving her adrift in a society that favors men. Religious law dictates if she lives a chaste life she will join her husband in heaven. Of course, she doesn’t know or understand any of this when her family takes her to a home, to live with other widows. She soon meets the matriarch of the house, Sadananda (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), a fat woman who eats the most food, Shakuntala (Seema Biswas), a bitter woman who shows some compassion to Chuyia and Kalyani (Lisa Ray), a young woman who is allowed to grow her hair out and meet `clients’ to help support the house. Soon, Chuyia meets Narayana (John Abraham), a bachelor from a rich family who is instantly attracted to Kalyani. As their relationship grows, there are murmurs of Gandhi leading the Indian people to independence from Britain.

Deepa Mehta has crafted a beautiful film depicting a sad reality in India’s history. As one character states, families used this religious practice to free themselves of a financial burden and another mouth to feed. In this belief, there are three ways of dealing with a widow; marry her to a younger brother of the deceased male, have her join her husband on the funeral pyre, or banish her to a house to live with other widows until she dies and rejoins her husband in Heaven. Of course, if a wife dies, the husband is free, encouraged to remarry. After Mehta establishes the details of this practice, she introduces us to the main characters, the people who will inhabit the story we are about to watch. There are people from every generation in this house; “Auntie” is an elderly widow who still dreams of the sweets she had at her wedding, when she was seven, Sadananda seems to be a gang leader, or pimp, sending Kalyani out to meet married men, to help support the house and her eating habits. Sadly, every generation is represented.

The growing relationship between Kalyani and Narayana is very believable and touching. Indian tradition and the difficulties of Kalyani’s position dictate they must behave in a certain way. But Narayana is a modern Indian man and he soon tells his mother he and Kalyani will be married. When his mother finds out his intended bride is a widow, she is shocked and won’t allow it. But Narayana has no doubt that he will wed his lover, all it takes is some convincing.

As the story moves towards its emotional climax, Shakuntala becomes the voice of reason. She helps Kalyani get out of the house to meet her lover and eventually helps other members of the house.

Mehta composes every shot with a painter’s eye. Vivid colors poke out throughout every frame, colors so bright they appear to be painted on the screen. As we watch these characters struggle to live in the house, they make infrequent trips outside to bathe, walk, and experience. Inside the house, everyone wears a sari made of the same natural cloth and everything is rather drab. But as they explore the neighboring community, we see women wearing bright saris, vivid flowers and bright gold, copper and silver. The difference between the two worlds is very noticeable and helps to contrast the living conditions of the two different groups.

Ray used the same attention to detail in his films creating beautiful compositions in black and white.

Both filmmakers chose similar subject matter. Like Ray before her, Mehta has chosen a fairly simple, straight forward story. Because the story doesn’t have a lot of distractions, it allows you to concentrate on the characters and give them your attention. The actors provide vivid, interesting portrayals that compliment the story.

“Water” is a very good film. Search it out and you will be rewarded.

Stream Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer Online. Movie Title: Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer Average customer review: Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer

This is a fine look at Gene Kelly. Some of the footage used is miraculous - the duet of Kelly with Astaire is amazing. The reminiscences from a number of people work well, the pace of interview/footage is well crafted. Some of Kelly’s career gets glossed without much attention, but for a 90 min. documentary, this is about as good as it gets. The tone of the piece is never cloying, for all the admiration Kelly engenders, and rightfully so. He was an immense artist. Stanley Tucci narrates, and there’s ample enough coverage of his private life, especially with his children, to whet your appetite for more. The presentation of his art is first-rate, even as you want more. Gene Kelly’s admirers won’t be disappointed.

Every once in a while a biographical documentary comes along that transcends the genre and is a worthy film into and of itself. Very often those shows have been part of the wonderful AMERICAN MASTERS series on PBS, and GENE KELLY:ANATOMY OF A DANCER is probably the best I haev ever seen. Intelligent, cogent, and taking a decidedly non-traditional approach, the film is made with the same kind of meticulous care that its subject put into his filmmaking, choreography, and performing.
The interviews are provocative, the clips not predictable, and always entertaining. It’s shows like this that remind us what cinematic life portraits used to be like before …Truly ‘S wonderful!

Stream Bewitched - The Complete First Season Online. Movie Title: Bewitched - The Complete First Season Average customer review: Bewitched - The Complete First Season is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Bewitched - The Complete First Season

At a time when interracial marriage was still making many Americans anxious, this sitcom helped to diffuse that real-life tension through a suburban fantasy. This show thus focuses less on the supernatural and more on issues of family, community, and idenity.

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Thirty six episodes make up this 1964-1965 season. A 1963-filmed pilot episode is included in this season for good measure.

Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) is a witch who fell in love with and then married the mortal Darrin Stephens (who, for the first couple of seasons, is played by Dick York). Darrin accepts her `heritage’ only on the condition that she now refrain from using witchcraft and `settle down’ to be a normal American middle-class housewife.

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To the horror of her mother Endora (Agnes Moorehead), Samantha has agreed to the request. But, Endora ultimately worried over nothing. Samantha herself soon discovers that giving up witchcraft was an impossible promise. Conflict between her promise and an often-more complicated reality drive this series’ storylines.

Tensions immediately flare in the first season when an old flame of Darrin’s (Nancy Kovak) invites them to a dinner party. Because Shelia Sommers is so obnoxious, Samantha breaks her promise in order to avoid being shown up in front of her husband. Beginning with this episode, Darrin recognizes that he cannot control when Samantha does/does not use her magic, and can only make suggestions. Whether this advice is taken then rests entirely with Samantha.

In “Be it ever so mortgaged” we meet Gladys and Abner Kravitz (Alice Pearce and George Tobias) who are the Steven’s next door neighbors. Ever the busybody, Mrs. Kravitz begins a series-long tirade about `something weird going on over there’. Less concerned, her husband is a largely-silent type.

“It shouldn’t happen to a dog” introduces us to Darrin’s boss Larry Tate (David White) and his wife Louise (at this point being played by Irene Vernon). It also previews the many problems Darrin will have working at the McMahon & Tate advertising company.

“The witches are out” finds Samantha protesting the negative pop culture images of witches traditionally associated with American Halloweens. With the help of her beloved Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne) Samantha convinces an advertising client of Darrin’s that using a pretty witch for their candy sales would be a better strategy through changing that executive’s appearance: If he did not like being an ugly witch, neither did they! Aunt Clara has the distinction of being Samantha’s only female relative who genuinely appears to like Darrin

Samantha meets her in-laws, Phyllis (Mabel Albertson) and Frank Stephens (Robert F. Simon) during “Samantha meets the folks”. Aunt Clara’s unexpected return and helping out upsets Darrin who had wanted his parents to believe that Samantha did all the housework by herself. Because she had wanted to find some fault with this housework (regardless of who actually did it), Phyllis was honestly disappointed by how perfect everything looked. Darrin’s mother is later relieved to learn that her daughter in law is not actually a good housekeeper, and Darrin then makes up with Aunt Clara.

Aunt Clara makes another great appearance in “There’s no witch like an old witch”. Aunt Clara is a great babysitter until she accidentally tells the kids that she is a witch. Because witches supposedly do not exist, she is barred from babysitting. Although a judge (who had every reason to doubt her statement of being a witch) is instead impressed with Aunt Clara, the Stephens decide to send her to Miami for a convenient get away vacation with her friends. This will provide time for people to forget what they were told in this episode.

Forty years later, these episodes hold up great. Some sitcoms which cannot age well obviously depend on extras in the DVD sets in order to gain market appeal with `today’s audience’. Bewitched is one of the rare titles which has always remained watch-able and really does not need the special features included in this release.

Even the ‘black and white’ filming of this season is not annoying. Bewitched was head and shoulders above many other sitcoms of the era to begin with.

The price for this product is really affordable considering the production quality AND all of the DVD extras. Exclusive DVD featurettes include bloopers, a feature how the ‘magic’ was performed, and a theatrical trailer for the upcoming Bewitched movie with Nicole Kidman.

I am only saddened that Montgomery and both `Darrins’ are no longer around to participate in the DVD release for this series.

Maybe I’m stuck in the past, but I don’t think that (most) modern TV programs can compare to the great writing and acting from the older shows. Bewitched is one of those shows from my childhood that still shines brighter than anything new on the air today. Unless you subscribe to one of those specialty TV stations that replay the oldies, this DVD set is a must!

Download Heroes: Season 3 Online. Movie Title: Heroes: Season 3 Average customer review: Heroes: Season 3 is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Heroes: Season 3

HEROES and LOST are the 2 more ambitious grand scale Sci-Fi series on today’s TV. They both have in common stunning visuals spiked by well executed special effects, relentless action, a lot of it brutal and violent, intriguing story lines occasionally hinting critically at today’s social and political realities (government-sponsored torture, the erosion of liberties, the roles played by large and secretive transnational corporations), large casts of great actors and the promise of getting at some core secret that would explain ‘everything’ but which is always elusive.

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Of the two, HEROES seemed to be on the verge of self-dissolution last year, following a promising Season One. I am happy to see the series back on track with a vengeance on Season Three.

- CONTENT

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HEROES Third season easily tops the first two seasons as the core that survived the frantic struggles of Seasons One and Two understand that ‘normal life’ is not possible for those blessed or cursed with super powers, not when a government that’s jealously trying to maintain its own monopoly on violence is after them and not when there are so many opportunities to ’save the world’. The plot slowly shifts focus from the first 2 seasons’ “HEROES vs. the Company” to their constant running and hiding from a secret branch of ‘Homeland Security’ determined to wipe them out but not before doing a little torture and experimentation on them. Not that what we would politically correctly call ‘people with abilities’ are all angels. Most of them are not and the struggle continues between the good and the evil ones where the good ones sometimes turn evil and some of the evil ones turn ‘good’, permanently or only for an episode or two but, interestingly, the old ‘company’ staff seems to be taking sides between the government and the HEROES and a lot of the plot is driven by their shifting loyalties and what appear to be their own personal agendas.

I hope I will be forgiven but I really don’t wish to give away any of the plot’s twists and turns because… this season’s HEROES is THAT good. It’s also possible that most have already watched many or all the episodes on TV and already have an opinion on what HEROES 3 was about. It’s probably a lot more productive to discuss the Blu-ray edition which I shall.

My conclusion on ‘content’ - following the somewhat disappointed ‘amputated’ Season Two, this Season is a true treat.

- PACKAGING

To my surprise, after being spoiled by some other very tightly packed seasons, this Blu-ray box is quite large. While the 25 episodes where squeezed on only 5 disks, the box is thicker than I expected. On the positive side, the disks seem to be held securely in place by a new and innovative locking mechanism.

There isn’t anything other than the disks in the box but brief summaries for each of the 25 episodes can be found on both the back side and on the interior wall that does not hold disks. The folding carton that holds the disks slides inside a cardboard sleeve.

- PICTURE AND SOUND

As expected, it’s 1080p video, 16:9 or 1.78:1 - meaning ‘full screen’ on an HD TV set, no top and bottom bands. Some of the extra features may be in lower resolutions.

The Sound is DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with English Dolby Digital 2.0 on the features.

- PRESENTATION AND PLAY

The episodes, about 42 minutes each, run for close to 18 hours.

The menu is relatively well designed but it’s not perfect. The ‘Play’ option will play all episodes on a specific disk but, at least on my PS3, it could not resume play once interrupted. It was not possible to do a ‘play all but start from the second episode’. To do so, one would start with ‘Play’, then fast forward or press the chapter skip button to reach the desired start point. Or episodes could be played individually. Individual episodes are not broken into ’scenes’ in the menu.

During play, one can take advance of U-Control which can be turned on or off by pressing one of the colored buttons. During playback, Picture in Picture provides cast and crew commentaries. I found this distracting and I was glad to see that it’s possible to play the same commentaries separately from the menu. The other U-Control enhancement is the availability of Hero Connections ‘post it’ like notes that pop on the screen and provide some information about a specific character that’s meaningful within the context of the scene that’s playing at the time. Each disk allows for the viewing of the updated Connections network separately from playback.

BD-Live allows for the downloading of a Season 4 preview and, being ‘live’, it’s possible that more features may become available in time.

One annoying defect, at least on a PS3 is the playback becoming unresponsive once the Universal screen saver kicks in. After that, it’s impossible to resume watching - pressing play/pause/fast-forward would return ‘this feature is not available at this time’ and pressing STOP would get me out of the movie and force me to reload the disk.

- SPECIAL FEATURES

They are quite few and thin for this season and many are bad enough to almost cross into the ‘unwatchable’ territory. After being spoiled with treats such as the story/legend of Takezo Kensei on Season 2, this season’s disappoint. There are the obligatory ‘behind the scenes’ interviews but there is very little as far as ‘creative content’ is concerned. The short Pinehearst Commercial reminded me of the similar feature we watched while waiting to enter the Terminator 3-D show at the Universal Studios park in Florida and the Alternate Stories features are so bad, one wonders how they made it even as ‘extra’ features. Same for the Deleted Scenes - clearly, they were deleted for a good reason and watching them proves the director’s wisdom not to include them.

- RATING

CONTENT - 5 Stars

PACKAGING - 4 Stars (could have been thinner)

PICTURE - 5 Stars

SOUND - 5 Stars

PRESENTATION AND PLAYBACK - 3.5 Stars

SPECIAL FEATURES - 2 Stars (big disappointment)

OVERALL (subjectively weighted average) - 4 Stars

Heroes season three is not terrible like many people say it is. It’s definitely not the best television out there, but it’s at least better than the poor second season the show suffered from. This review is very spoiler heavy, so only look at the star ratings I give each volume if you haven’t seen them. Instead of writing huge paragraphs for each volume, I’ll just give a list of what I liked and didn’t like about this season and the individual volumes:

VOLUME THREE: VILLAINS - 3 stars

VOLUME FOUR: FUGITIVES - 4 stars

SEASON THREE

The good:

- This season expanded the the role and depth of secondary characters like Ando, Angela Patrelli, and Sandra Bennet. These characters are well acted and usually counter-act dumb decisions made by the main characters. Example: Hiro creates a stupid plan to get one half of The Formula from The Haitian. Hiro gets the attention of the Haitian to start his plan, but Ando just sneaks up behind The Haitian and knocks him out.

- Claire matures and becomes stronger as the season goes on, and it’s a good change from the ditsy cheerleader she’s been for the past two volumes. She is less reliant on HRG to protect her, and can take care of herself pretty well by the end.

- The heroes use their powers more often than they did in the previous volume, Generations, and this makes season three a lot more exciting. It gives you a better feel that they actually do have powers.

- Sylar was humanized in this season. In volume three, Sylar was shown glimpses of a normal life with a loving family. In volume four, Sylar goes on a personal quest to find his father and discover why he’s so messed up. Sylar was no longer a bad guy just for the sake of needing a bad guy, and it showed that he just wanted to be loved by someone this whole time.

- This season was more action packed than Generations, and has a couple fights that kept me on the edge of my seat. I was a disappointed that there were no epic battles, but the fights they did have made good use of the abilities everyone had.

- The characters began to question if the means to justify the ends. Many times the characters do gray things to accomplish their goals, and it’s interesting to see how they react.

The bad:

- Nathan’s family is completely forgotten. This could have added a great conflict within his character like it did in season one, but the writers don’t seem to like them at all. Claire’s boyfriend West was completely forgotten about too. No one ever mentions them, and they never show up. They’re not even back in the current fifth volume.

- This season reused old plot devices from the previous seasons way too much. How many comics did Isaac Mendez paint and write before he was killed? Does everyone and their mom have the ability to paint the future? How many flashback episodes are we going to have? Oh, and Heroes tricks you into thinking Nathan died… AGAIN. That’s three times by now. These are particularly annoying in volume three, but Heroes start moving away from them in volume four. There were also way too many opening narrations in volume three.

———–

VOLUME THREE: VILLAINS - 3 stars

The good:

- Villains gives us the luxury of actually knowing the heroes’ mission from the first episode. In Generations, the heroes’ mission wasn’t clearly presented to us until the seventh episode. This volume is about trying to stop The Formula from falling into the wrong hands. The Formula gives anyone abilities when it is injected, and it will eventually destroy the world if it is allowed to be mass produced.

- Mohinder gives himself abilities, and then starts to mutate as a result. I thought this was a good way to give Mohinder motivation, as he needs to perfect The Formula in order to reverse his mutation. It was also a very human thing to do. If I had been studying people with super powers, but didn’t have any myself, I would jump at any chance to get one. Wouldn’t you?

- Once the volume found its footing, it was very streamlined and better paced than Generations. One complaint I keep hearing about Villains is that every episode had a different direction, and that Heroes kept creating and dropping storylines each episode. This is true early on, but stops at about episode six. Starting with this episode, the writers quit screwing around with the storylines and got their act together.

- Angela manipulating Sylar into thinking she is his mother. This was pretty cleaver on Angela’s part, and showed that Sylar just needed a parental figure to guide him. Sylar too showed that he is capable of compassion, but he still has very low self-esteem even when he’s happy.

- Arthur Patrelli is the best villain yet. He put his wife into a coma, wants to kill his son Peter, wants to manipulate his other son Nathan into becoming a puppet president, steals any power he gets his hands on, killed Adam (he was really getting on my nerves by the time Generations ended), and the actor playing him is wonderful.

- Daphene is a great addition to the Heroes gang, and her character becomes very well developed in Villains. Matt’s storyline was pretty blah before he met Daphene, but after that the two worked very well together. I liked her relationship with Matt, and she gives you the most realistic sense of having a power out of all the heroes and villains this volume.

- Hiro being suspicious of Ando because of what Hiro saw in the future. Their arguments were a great vehicle for giving Ando a voice, and it showed that he wasn’t just a nameless tag-along like in seasons one & two. Hiro loosing his memory was a good twist, and worked to show us a lot of his past. This storyline had lots of fun writing to complement it, so these guys on screen was usually a high point for Villains.

- This volume fixed Peter’s and Hiro’s powers to be more balanced with everyone else on the show. I know this divided fans, but they were just getting too powerful for them to be in any real danger. Now Peter can only have one power at a time, and Hiro is powerless for a lot of volume four.

The bad:

- The creating and dropping of various storylines. I’ll go into more detail below.

- Tracy Strauss. She was a terrible, terrible way to replace Nikki. She’s a triplet sister of Nikki? Are you really going to insult with that kind of excuse? Her character overall is pretty good, but wow that was stupid. There was nothing to hint at this before, and they never even think about trying to find the third sister. So it’s a stupid character replacement AND a dropped storyline. Come on writers, we’re not goldfish.

- Sylar’s Hunger. Why was this needed? Sylar’s reasons for taking peoples’ abilities was already well established. There’s no need to add another thing which was never mentioned or hinted to at all. It was an interesting twist when Peter gained Sylar’s ability of understanding (and subsequently the Hunger) to save the world, but all it did was make Peter do stupid things. The Hunger thing was dropped when the volume ended, and to add insult to injury, Peter didn’t even need Sylar’s power to save the world anyways. Nice going guys.

- Mohinder traps people in these cocoons for no reason what-so-ever. They never even give a throw away line to explain it. He just does it for to look creepy, and nothing else. This is also dropped half way through the volume.

- Heroes tries to link solar eclipses to people’s powers. This is wrong. Heroes already showed that the main characters gained their abilities months before the first solar eclipse (season one episode “Six Months Ago”). They use another solar eclipse to temporarily shut off everyone’s powers (which is actually interesting), but those episodes are poorly written and are pretty lame overall.

- The Level 5 Prisoners. I was excited about these guys when they broke out, but then they become a total non-issue the very next episode. Oh, and one of them is killed for no other reason than Sylar can’t control his Hunger. Please don’t make me laugh Heroes.

- Peter’s story was changed way too many times early on. First he was trapped in a Level 5 escapee’s body, then he was brought to the future and absorbed Sylar’s ability. He absorbed Sylar’s ability of understanding to know how to change the timeline, but all it did was make him evil for no reason. He’s then put in a chemically induced coma for a couple episodes, beats the crap out of Sylar, looses his all of his powers, and THEN the writers stop messing with him. I swear I almost got whiplash from his story changing so much. Peter got better after they stopped messing with him, but he was pretty painful to watch for a while.

- Some characters acted dumb way too many times. I already explain Peter’s dilemma, but Claire and Nathan also do lots of stupid things in the first half of Villains. Claire becomes smarter as the Volume goes on, but Nathan is pretty dumb throughout.

- Maya. She was already useless and annoying enough in Generations, but she’s even more useless and more annoying in Villains. Every second she was on screen I felt like offing myself.

- The writing and acting is very uneven in some parts of this volume. This happens mainly in early episodes, but also ruins the two part episode “The Eclipse”.

- What happened to Matt’s family? I already explained about Nathan’s family, Matt’s disappeared for this volume too. Peter also forgot about his girlfriend trapped in the future.

- They retconned Sylar and Elle into a relationship. Turns out that Elle, to spy on Sylar before he was evil, was in a relationship with him. She was found out, and Sylar started killing people because of this. It’s not because of the well established reason of Sylar having mommy and daddy issues. The reason which is used as one of the main plot devices in this very same volume. If they had developed a relationship without the retconning, it wouldn’t have felt nearly as forced as it did.

———–

VOLUME FOUR: FUGITIVES - 4 stars

The good:

- Fugitives is about the government rounding up people with abilities to keep the population safe. Nathan, HRG, and new villain Danko leading the operation, and this creates resent from Peter and Claire. Danko, while not as evil as Arthur, is certainly a man on a mission. He’ll stop at nothing to capture everyone with abilities.

- Fugitives goes back to the simpler story telling that the first season had. No jumping back and forth through time like Villains did, and less storylines get more screen time each episode. Plus no super-Peter and super-Hiro makes things more tense now.

- As I mentioned above, HRG and Nathan are leaders on the round-up. This causes major rifts between the Patrellis, and they become more fractured than ever. Slowly though, they come together after going through hell and back. This shows that the Patrellis, under all of the bizarre events and hate that flies between them, have an unbreakable love for each other.

- Claire feels guilty about HRG protecting her from Danko, so she forms this type of Underground Railroad for people with abilities. Sandra and Claire form a deep mother/daughter bond through these hard times, but the Bennets break apart after Sylar and Danko manipulate them. It creates a very neat contrast between them and the Patrellis.

- Daphene is pushed out of the way early on. She was very good in Villains, but she feels forced and annoying in Fugitives. Her being shot also gave Matt good motivation to resist the government too. She ultimately ends up dead by the end, so she can’t annoy us anymore.

- This volume explores Sylar’s real family history. We get to see how washed up his father really is, and why Sylar was given up for adoption in the first place. Sylar’s last shreds of humanity are destroyed with this, and he goes on a crusade to destroy the world after meeting his real father.

- Heroes begins to move away from its tiring plot devices with this volume. Most episodes aren’t narrated at all. There is some future painting stuff early on, but this is dropped after the first 3 episodes.

- Former co-executive producer Bryan Fuller was brought back in the middle of Fugitives. He started moving the show in the direction of the season one episode “Five Years Gone”. He penned the season’s best episode “Cold Snap”, and changed the volume’s story when he learned Sylar’s dad was originally going to be the main villain.

- We’re given insight into the founding of The Company and the history of Angela. It gives a lot more depth to her and clears up the confusion about her connection to The Company.

- Hiro must deal with having no powers, and is jealous of Ando having powers. This creates another interesting dynamic, and is a nice change from the mainly playful Hiro of the past 3 volumes.

- Matt’s family returns this volume, and he even has a son. It gives him a sense of purpose after Daphene dies, and it shows real world issues like his wife Janice worrying about the safety of Matt and their son. It’s nice to see the writers haven’t completely forgotten everything from season one.

- The writing and acting are more consistently good compared to Villains. The early episodes are much, much better compared to Villains too.

The bad:

- Mohinder is non-existent this volume. He has some small parts, but for most of it he’s left in the dark. It seems like the writers had no idea what to do with him after he got powers, so they just decided not to do anything with him.

- There are very few secondary characters in this volume. With the previous ones almost upgraded to main characters this season, there isn’t much extra to spice things up. Sylar had one that made no difference, and Claire had one that ended up doing nothing in the end too.

- For over half of this volume Tracy was locked in a cell, and didn’t make much of a difference until the last few episodes. What a great way to under-use another character.

- The final battle is cut out. This is the dumbest thing Heroes did the whole season. Peter, Nathan, and Sylar are having an epic battle, and all we see is Claire’s reaction to the scene. Really, if you don’t have the budget, don’t have it at all!

- The writing, while on average is better than Villains, is still not as good as season one. It got close a couple times, but missed the mark.

This season is still not close to season one material, but it’s getting there. Season two was just so boring that it killed a lot of the show’s momentum. I think the good out weighed the bad in both volumes, but the show is still healing. Season three is not worth $60 in my opinion, but it’s your money. The current season (Volume Five: Redemption) is the best since season one, so let’s see if Heroes can truly redeem itself.

Download The Berenstain Bears: Christmas Tree Online. Movie Title: The Berenstain Bears: Christmas Tree Average customer review: The Berenstain Bears: Christmas Tree is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download The Berenstain Bears: Christmas Tree

This is a charming look at paying attention to the needs of others. Papa Bear is determined to find the “perfect” tree so he takes the kids up the mountain on his quest. Every “perfect” tree is the home to another animal, bird, etc. The bears pass each by to let the animals keep their home(s). In the end, the tree expedition is stopped by a storm and the bears return home without a tree at all. When they arrive, their house has been decorated by all the animals whose homes have been spared. A message of sharing that grown-ups and kids alike should see.

This animated Christams tale, tells the story of Papa Bear’s quest to find the perfect Christmas tree. But, oh no! The one he finds is home to so many animals. Will he learn to share? This movie is warm and family-spirited. Great enjoyment!

Stream Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte Online. Movie Title: Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte Average customer review: Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte

“HUSH…HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE” is my 3rd favorite movie ever. My 2 favorite are Joan Crawford films. I agree with the other reviewer. As great an actress as Joan Crawford was, she would not have been the BEST Miriam. Olivia de Havilland’s brilliance in the role of Miriam is the way she played with understatement. That’s what makes the psychological abuse inflicted on Charlotte so chilling…Miriam is unbelievably believable right up to the very last. Had Joan Crawford gotten into a power struggle via the camera, the whole film would have suffered. She would have had to keep too much charisma, strength, and presence pumping to hold her own with Bette Davis (which she was ENTIRELY CAPABLE OF DOING). Someday, if it still exists, 20th Century-Fox Video would be able to make a mint by releasing the unreleased film footage shot with Joan Crawford. Agnes Moorehead is excellent as Velma Ca–rothers: “Shooo-weeee! She ain’t nothin’ but a chiiiiiild…” This is my favorite Bette Davis performance (a close tie with “Deception” from 1946). Joseph Cotton’s and Mary Astor’s roles could have been walked through by just about anyone, so you can’t blame the actors. All in all, you just can’t beat “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte” for putting the “fun” back into dysfunctional family reunions. Show it at YOUR next one! Hopefully, 20th Century-Fox Video or Key Video will get around to repackaging this title soon. The box artwork has not changed since…well, since about 1964!

Whew!!! Here’s a great film that took ages to finaly make it to the DVD format. Hey Fox, what took you guys so long?! Oh well, it doesn’t matter. At least it’s finally here.

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This is the film that single-handedly transformed my perception of what an “old” film could be. I remember when I was thirteen years old (1996) and I caught this one on AMC on a stormy evening. By the fantastic staircase confrontation scene between Velma (Agnes Moorehead) and the sinister Cousin Miriam (Olivia DeHavilland, the movie had absolutely grabbed me by the eyeballs and wouldn’t let go. I was captivated. I’ve had a lifelong love affair with older suspense films such as this one ever since, and this particular masterpiece is still my all-time favorite film.

If you’ve got a young person in your family who wonders why people are always talking about the “Golden Age” of film, you just pop this baby into the DVD player and let those young’uns learn a thing or two. If they’re anything like me, they’ll fall in love.

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The iPaq hx2415 is my second PDA. It is replacing my slower, but still fully functional Compaq iPaq 3635, one of the original iPaqs. I loved it and used it daily for everything from productivity to entertainment. My review is going to be more of a comparison between the two devices.

Expansion/Memory Cards:

The hx2415 is awesome! It’s everything I had in the 3635 and so much more. Because my 3635 did not have any built-in expansion card slots, I had the compact flash expansion sleeve, which added bulk and took away from the slim, ergonomic style. In searching for a new PDA, one of my main requirements is that it would have to take compact flash cards natively, without an attachment. There are others on the market, however, I never had any problems out of my Compaq so I wanted to stick with the HP/Compaq brand. Not only does the hx2415 take the compact flash, it also takes the secure digital (SD) cards as well! Great job on providing multiple expansion slots HP.

Display:

I have been doing research and looking at the newer PDAs for about six months. The vast improvement in the displays just blew my 3635 out of the water. The colors are brighter, sharper and much more crisp on the hx2415 and the newer PDAs. Without a doubt, it was much easier on the eyes, even with the screen protector that I put on, right out of the box.

Battery:

I bought my 3635 new in the summer of 2001. I replaced the battery myself with a high-capacity battery. The original was down to about 20 minutes of good usage per full charge! After the new battery, I could go for a week and a half with more than my normal daily usage and the backlight on! Having said that, the standard battery of the hx2415 doesn’t compare, which is why I’m getting the high-capacity battery for it as well. I love the fact that it is removable and I don’t need any tools to replace it.

Design:

When the iPaq was first introduced, it’s radical style was on the cutting edge. One of the main reasons I bought it is because it was unlike any other PDA at the time. It made all the Palm devices look like standard calculators. I loved the placement and functions of the buttons. They were all right where they needed to be. On the hx2415, it’s even better because the buttons are designed so that it is not as easy to accidentally press one of the buttons, especially the voice recorder.

Networking:

Aside from infrared on the 3635, in order to do any type of networking with my iPaq, I needed to get add-on cards, which I didn’t want to do. The hx2415 takes care of all of your networking needs - from infrared, to Wi-Fi, to Bluetooth. It has it all.

Applications:

HP has included great applications that I found were very easy to use. I guess being a previous owner of an iPaq helped too. But it won’t be a problem for those just buying their first PDA either.

Sound:

This is probably the only thing that I wish would have been better on the hx2415. The sound is not what I’m used to on my 3635. The speaker was a lot bigger and produced a much louder sound. I very rarely had the volume maxed on it. With the hx2415, the volume is all the way up - all the time.

Overall I am smitten with my new iPaq. I paid over $500 for my 3635 brand new (with cradle, charger, case, and expansion sleeve). I found this hx2415 for $370.00. What a deal! I couldn’t be happier.

One thing I would like to mention, which isn’t a problem with the iPaq as much as it is a problem with the PocketPC interface. I recommend you get a third-party management utility, such as Wisbar. It makes using the iPaq so much easier and fun. One thing I dislike (and probably most PPC users do as well) is that when you open an application, such as Pocket Word, there is an ‘X’ button to close the application. However, the ‘X’ button is more like a ‘Minimize’ button because the program is still active. You have to navigate through the settings control panel and close it from the running programs in the Memory task panel. So much of a hassle. But not with Wisbar. You’ll be glad you did!

I’m sure I’m leaving some other great features out, but these are what really drove me to buy the hx2415. Hope it helps you in your search!

After my Visor Edge died on me suddenly, I was considering buying another palm device, but I decided to try my first Pocket PC because of the ability to create and edit files created in Microsoft apps like Word and Excel. The other features interested me as well such as Windows Media Player, Bluetooth, expansion slots etc. Not to mention, it looks so good (even better in your hand).

I have been using my iPaq for over a week now, and I am loving it. Who needs to carry around an iPod when u have an iPaq. If u need hours of music, simply use a high capacity SD memory card and you are in hog heaven. Bluetooth works excellently. I have used it synchronize information with my PC and transfer files with my T610 cell phone. I have not had a chance to use WiFi as yet.

My friends and coworkers are all drooling over my iPaq. While I was researching which model to purchase, a coworker tried to convince me that a notebook was the way to go. I listed to her attentively and purchased the iPAQ hx2415. She quickly changed her mind when I started showing her the features the little iPaq had. Her exact words were, “It’s like a notebook…just smaller and cuter!” The clarity of the screen, processing speed, and functionality blew her away, in fact, right now she is considering buying herself an iPaq because she is tired of carrying around her notebook.

The device itself feels very good in hand, this is aided by the rubberized side grips. It is slightly heavier than my old Visor Edge, but I don’t mind. The things I am doing now on it, were only a dream with the Edge.

The only complaint I have is that the X button does not close apps, but minimizes them. Once you get used to that it is ok. To date, I have had no lockups. I have never had to reset the device. According to my research, lockups are usually caused by too many programs running in the background, which brings me back to my complaint, the X button. There is an iTask button that is used to close applications, but it would be better if the X button did what X buttons are supposed to do - close applications.

Also, help could have been better when it comes to the actual applications, although they are similar to the versions we are accustomed to in Windows.

As I am on the topic of applications, this device came with a nice selection of programs, plus the companion CD has more software, even though many of them are trial versions.

In conclusion, I am pleased with the iPAQ hx2415. I did alot of research on it, and so far, it has exceeded my expectations. My life now has order again and more music. I have found my new friend.

I got to try the various handhelds of friends and family over the years, but I never really felt the need for one. But in the last few years they’ve become much more than glorified clip boards. I have both a Windows XP PC and an older Mac at home, and it occurred to me that I could get by with just one PC, since my wife and I usually just check e-mail and surf the Internet anyway. The thought of checking my e-mail while soaking in the hot tub in our back yard had immense appeal too!

The latest models have tons of features, though they are still stripped-down versions of full PCs. On the plus side this makes them much simpler to operate. On the down side you have to be careful not to lose content in the files you synchronize through your handheld due to the different versions of software on your handheld and your PC. And there’s obviously not nearly as much software written for handhelds as for PCs.

At first I really wanted a Blackberry, as it combines a handheld with a cell phone, but I had just bought a new cell phone with contract and didn’t want to waste that money. Plus, the Blackberry really needs a wireless broadband Internet service to be useful… and that’s usually $50-60 a month. And since I already have DSL at home, and T1 or whatever at work, I couldn’t see spending more money for yet another fast connection service. I did have to shell out $59 for a wireless Linksys DSL router so my iPaq could use my DSL connection, but it works much better than the wired one I used to have (the old Linksys constantly needed to be rebooted).

The HP iPaq hx2415 is what I ended up buying, partly because it appeared to have all of the features I wanted, and because of HP’s good reputation. And price is now below $300!

Mine came with just Windows Mobile 2003, but even with the $35 the Windows Mobile 5.0 upgrade CD cost me, I was well ahead on price as these are on sale often now. I decided not to install Mobile 5.0 yet, as I wanted to test the older software first for various reasons. While I like Mobile 2003, there are some shortcomings, the major ones being:

1. Mobile 2003 doesn’t seem to support nested folders (at least I haven’t figured out how to view them). This is also true if you synchronize your Explorer favorites. The nested folders of favorites aren’t viewable, and don’t get transferred to your other PC; you need to place them only one level deep, no folders inside of other folders.

2. Mobile 2003 doesn’t retain all of your files and settings in the event of your battery completely dying or being removed.

3. The 2003 version of Pocket Excel doesn’t support charts. Fortunately I knew this before I bought it, or I might have lost the charts in some Excel spreadsheets I synchronize with my PCs at home and work. As a work-around I have the “convert files” setting unchecked. But that means I can’t edit Excel charts on my iPaq until I upgrade to Mobile 5.0.

These things are all improved in Mobile 5.0 (at least 2 and 3 are), so I highly recommend getting Mobile 5.0.

I usually read the manuals (yeah; I must be the only guy who does!), but this iPaq was so easy to work with right out of the box, that I was surfing the web literally within 10 minutes! Both my PCs are now synchronized with my iPaq and the e-mail server at work, and setup for this was incredibly easy (Note: I made sure to *not” convert files when synchronizing, so as not to lose charts in Excel due to the older version of Pocket Excel on the iPaq).

OK, the iPaq itself:

I love that it boots in about 2 seconds, instead of the 2 minutes my PCs take to boot! I can instantly access my synchronized e-mail by hitting one button (holding it down brings up my Wi-Fi settings); another button brings up my calendar (holding this button changes between landscape and portrait modes on the big display); another brings up my contacts. A button on the side brings up my notes; I love that! I usually just type in a quick note, but if I hold that button down, it brings up notes, then starts voice recording; great for when I don’t have two hands free!

The stylus and handwriting recognition work well, but I usually use the screen keyboard, though it’s slower than typing. I may invest in the $45 thumb keyboard some day.

The iPaq body is OK looking, and comfortable enough, but nothing spectacular. But it *is* small, light, and rugged; I dropped mine once with no problems. (I have a hard time believing the other reviewer set theirs down one evening and that the display cracked overnight while it was just sitting there; I’d talk to their janitors or kids!). I have plenty of memory for what I’m doing, but it’s upgradeable if I need more. Flash cards are so cheap now anyway.

So, for this first-timer, this handheld has sold me on the concept. I definitely recommend it!