Just average - I expected more

I have just watched this movie. I had been waiting eagerly for a few months for the release of the DVD and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I thought the acting from all the leads was excellent but the story was deprressing - obviously the subject matter wasn't going to be one of laughs but even so, I thought it may have been a bit more uplifting. Very slow and quite boring up to half way through. At least I rented the DVD and didn't pay full price at the cinema. Shame - could have been better in my opinion.

"It's ridiculous to suggest that we would ever have to go to war to assure our oil supply"

The creators of this show decided to end the series with a thunder, and therefore delivered a season that has it all. There are clear parallelisms between some of the situation seen in the show and those faced by the current administration, and the criticism could not be clearer. There are many comments regarding"Stay the course", and even though it is based on a different environment, the message comes through loud and clear, and with a good level of sarcasm. Also, talking about the inexistence of an exit strategy for a war that the US may march into should ring some bells.

We are used from previous seasons to see a team in the White House that is trying to govern in an ethical way, but instead of facing an"ideal situation" to do so, has to compromise and do things little by little. This is still true, but the main focus of this season is on the race for the presidency between Matt Santos and Arnold Vinick. This makes for some exciting episodes and the fact that Vinick is not a typical Republican leads to some very interesting situations. I bet many people wish that the debates we get to see in real life were as good and revealing as the one we witness during this season.

Then there is the romance. If you are one of those that during the previous seasons was always waiting for relationships to develop between some of the characters, and saw that it was not happening, you will now have your redemption. I understand why the writers crafted it this way, since too much romance in the past would have take focus away from the main issues, but now they really went all out and made good in their unpaid debts.

The usual cast does an outstanding job, but Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda are so amazingly good in their roles that they place themselves a step above the rest. It will be hard to see these actors in other roles in the future without thinking of them as the president candidates Santos and Vinick. I also liked the idea of bringing in Janeane Garofalo, an actress that is known for her strong political activism and that plays the role displaying that passion.

Of course, I cannot write a review about this series without mentioning John Spencer and his untimely death. This actor was the heart and soul of the show and the fact that he played a character that shares many characteristics with his real persona is not a minor detail. The episode"Requiem" is one in which you can feel that some of the members are not acting at all, but showing their true emotions and appreciation for Spencer instead. The creators of the series did a good job in modifying the script to deal with the unexpected event, and should be praised for this.

The quality and success of this show through its seven years has set the bar extremely high for any future political series. And the reasons behind this are clear as water. I hope someone in the future can come even close to this altitude, but I am not holding my breath, since the odds of that happening are not too good!

At Last!!

Without a Trace is, without doubt, one of the most compelling crime dramas of recent years - much better than the plethora of other shows out there to my mind. The story-lines are always carefully crafted and realistic, and the script and acting is always top-notch. However, despite now being into its sixth season, Warner Home Video have been very slow in releasing the show to DVD - citing poor sales as the reason. I'm delighted that they've seen sense and given the legions of the show's UK fans the chance to buy Season 4 on DVD. I only hope that sales will be good, persuading Warner to bring us Seasons 5 and 6 sooner rather than later...

wealth = happiness

2 good performances, but what a sad message. I presumed that the film was a typical, liberal bashing of the"greed is good" ethos of the '80s...but it ends up celebrating it!

Serene TV viewing

I have seen all the episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford on BBC1 and must recommend it to people who haven't. It was a wonderful series of well-made, well-acted, self-contained episodes.Granted, nothing much happened in any of them but there was something incredibly touching about this evocation of rural life in late 19th century England.The standard of acting was very high and each character was fully brought to life with subtle accuracy. Only Dawn French failed to make a success of her interpretation. She remained herself and was only Dawn French in petticoats but as for Julia Sawahla, Ben Miles and all the rest, they were a joy to watch. A serene moment of good television I was always looking forward too.I do miss it and hope there will be another series.

Surrealism at its best

This is one of the funniest most original shows i have seen in a long time. It follows the hangman (Berry) and his assistant (Fulcher) into their bizzare world of Ladies, Whiskey, Bears and Pleasure. The show was only shown once on BBC Three and the dvd release has been a long time coming. I would say if your a fan of Berry and Fulcher in Might boosh or darkplace then you will enjoy this. And be prepared to have the theme song in your head for days!!!

Fantastic!

This is the only medical drama I've watched that actually makes me want to be a doctor!
Brilliant characters, plot lines and genuinely hilarious moments!
It contains everything a good Tv show should have.

brilliant

this film is great and a must have for all hip hop lovers (whether its the music, dancing or both), the ending is a bit predictable but apart from that a great film!

Charming and insightful

This film is lovely to watch - the childhood scenes in Bangladesh particularly so. The film successfully makes you, as an audience, relate to Nazeen whilst also empathizing with the other characters in the film.
As with all films adaptations I wouldn't recommend watching this soon after reading the book - due to the nature of film they can't capture the depth of the novel. It is a bit of a slow burner so I wouldn't recommend this for action lovers. This is great for anyone wanting to see a beautiful and well executed piece of drama.

High quality CSI clone with an appeal of its own

The second season is slightly better than the first. It's more consistent in quality and the MIT graduate agent who was in a few season one episodes has now joined the cast full time. The characters have a lot of funny dialogue between themselves making them more appealing and interesting than the various CSI casts.

I'm not sure if it's better than the Las Vegas show, but NCIS is at least as good as CSI.

If you're tempted then I recommend you give it a try as it's better than it looks. Also the Navy setting isn't anywhere near as restrictive and boring as it sounds. Very little is set in air bases or aircraft carriers.

This is soo cool

I started watching this on Living and its a few series ahead, so I thought would go back to the beginning and see how it all began. I love the character Gibbs, he rocks very tough really but at the heart of it all quite soft. Dinozzo is also cool in an annoying way, he's that guy you think you want to be when you are younger. But my two favourite have to be Ducky and Abby. They are so very funny and get away with so much. With Duckys really odd stories for all events and Abby's odd way in general it just makes the plot line so enjoyable.

The Plots themselves are easy enough to follow, not so much as you would get bored with them but easy enough so that you are not lost by the end of the episode.

I have never been one for extras really but neigh most people seem to find them important. I enjoyed the dvd set and I only had one problem with it, the design with the three individual cases. I don't know why but it just makes it feel cheap. But as I say over all very cool set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

BEST FILM EVER YOUVE GOT TO SEE IT !!!

ALL IVE GOT TO SAY IS TRULY AMAZING!BRILLIANT
YOU COULD WATCH IT ABOUT 1000000000000000000 TIMES

What a disappointment

Where's the passion? Where's the drama? Bad casting of leading lady. The love of Bathsheba is something for which two men die. There was no reason for them to do so in this production! The leading me are OK but I'm sure would have come across better had they had acted opposite a better love interest, to bring them out of themselves. The story just plodded along with no feeling of time or events. The scenery and sets are good but all in all not worth watching. Stick to the original film with Julie Christie.

Good Transfer?

Every DVD version of this extraordinary film that I have seen or owned has had a slight 'flicker' problem running through the whole running time. I've seen the Superbit version, the original issue and an another version and all had this flicker. Can anyone enlighten me if they've finally made this go away? And before anyone asks, I have multiple DVD players and TVs and they all did it on each machine.

Powerful

This is one great film. It must have been quite cheap to make as it's set almost entirely in one room. Very powerful stuff, great acting and a simple but compelling story. This film deserves all it's praise. I was mesmerised from start to finish.

DUPLICATE EPISODES

Why was"Ravenous" on 2 discs? All the other episodes were just listed once. I even checked to see if it wasn't a typo, but it wasn't, I have the same episode recorded twice. Either I have been short changed or no one else has really noticed what is on the DVD?

What am I missing here?

I am told in other reviews that this film is"hilarious", that it is a"brilliant satire", that it is"laugh out loud" funny. Well, I smiled at the running business card gag but otherwise I watched it with mounting disbelief - all the more so when I got to the end and felt cheated by the"open verdict" trick. The big joke is how vapid, self-regarding and immmoral the 80's Wall Street scene was, but, once that has been established, it's hard to squeeze much more out of it. Tom Wolfe did a much better job of that in his satirical novel"Bonfire of the Vanities". It seems that some people find the graphic violence and animalistic sex funny; a phenomenon I've wondered at in films before: the more gruesome the event, the louder people laugh. In that regard, this film reminds me of another stinker which sharply divide reactions:"The Rules of Attraction" (see my review - I loathed that, too!). I guess your reaction to these films tells you more about the kind of person you are and your worldview; for me, the supposed satire just doesn't have the legs to sustain itself even over a short 90 minutes. Bale is a fine actor and all too believable in this ungrateful role - but he is so wholly unlikeable and repellant that you cannot identify in any way with him; he is just a monster and so the satire fails to bite if you cannot recognise the humanity within which has been perverted by greed and fear. Everyone in the film is a mess; thre's no balance to it. I'm sorry that I wasted my time watching it and it really worries me that there are people out there who love this kind of thing. It affirms nothing but simply exploits a fascination with the utter self-absorption and the lunacy that results.

"House call"

Cannot praise this show, it is rubbish don't waste your time...NOT..LOve it again the Genius of House md will make you think about LIFE from all angles, can we handle it, bring it on.

Deals with life altering changes for the main characters

More so than"Horse Whisperer", the movie deals with life altering changes for the four main characters (the mother, the father, the daughter, the horse whisperer) and the horse of course. Even the affair is positive. It helps Tom Booker get over his wife when he puts that record back in it's sleeve, and it helps Annie get off her so called"high horse attitude." It's a movie of changes for the better all around. Enjoyable, real, well done.The scenes interacting with the horse are wonderful. Sitting in that field waiting for the horse to feel comfortable enough to deal with Mr. Booker was an enormous hurdle. The best scene is after two and a half hours when Tom brings the horse down to Grace's level, so that they both rise together. That scene,is to joyfully cry for, and laugh yes.