Were you a big fan of “That 70s Show”? My husband and son really enjoyed watching the show together when it was in reruns in 2007 through 2008 so when I heard that I could get the holiday edition for just $4 on Amazon, I jumped at the opportunity.
In case you haven’t heard of the show, it’s a drama/comedy that aired on television from 1998 to 2006 about a group of teens living in Wisconsin during the 70s. They spend most of their time hanging out at Eric’s (one of the boys in the group) house and often look to Eric’s parents for parental advice.
This isn’t a show for young children, or tweens, due to the fact that the teens spend some of their time hanging out in the basement smoking pot to destress, or hosting beer parties. That being said, there isn’t any violence or cursing in the show, that I can recall.
When we first began watching the show, I wasn’t impressed but the more I watched it with the boys, the more it grew on me.
In this holiday season, we get to see the teens celebrate Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and several Christmases.
While I would’ve preferred that the DVD only showcase the Christmas episodes, from each season, I can’t complain… the episodes were true to the series, the commercials were removed for easy viewing, and you don’t have to go through the ending credits for each episode.
The other day I was browsing Netflix when I came across a film called, “The Lamp”, starring Louis Gossett Jr. and Jason London. It’s promoted as a Christian film so I was a little leery about the quality of the film. But with Louis Gossett Jr. as a cast member, I just had to watch it and I am so glad I did.
While this isn’t your traditional Christmas film, I think you could fit it into your 25 Days of Christmas films because it’s all about the magic of believing.
A novelist loses his son to a horrible car accident, and two years later he still cannot let go of his grief. In fact, he’s on the verge of losing everything: his house, his career, and quite possibly his wife.
One day his wife comes across a beautiful, old lamp. As she rubs the side of the lamp, she reads the words, “Just Believe” and says aloud, “Just Believe, yeah I wish I could…”
That’s when a gentleman appears in her home and offers to help the couple find peace and redemption… the chance to heal, and move on with their lives.
He offers the couple three wishes but there’s only one catch, they cannot ask for anything they cannot get for themselves with a little hard work, determination, and belief.
It’s that idea that sparks a light inside the novelist, and circumstance upon circumstance continues to present itself until the couple has moved passed their grief and towards healing… as individuals and as couples.
Meanwhile, you get to meet two wonderful little girls who’ve had a rough life and imprint themselves on the hearts of the couple.
Not only is the plot wonderfully written, but the acting is great. I love that it’s not over-the-top so that the plot feels real and plausible. And, no matter how hard your heart may be, you’ll find yourself developing a soft spot for the characters, and quite possibly shedding a few tears.
Order The Lamp on Amazon.com for just $14, or rent it on livestream for just $4.
Disclosure: The reviewer rented a copy of this DVD to review.
This year my daughter asked to create a gingerbread house for Christmas. Not a big fan of creating decorations that must be thrown out as soon as the holiday is over, I was reluctant to comply.
Then this book was offered for review and everything changed… you can actually eat the gingerbread house because everything is adhered with a special type of eatable glue called Royal Icing.
The book contains 23 gingerbread houses for all occasions, plus a getting started guide. It lays flat for easy use and has great photos of each house. But what I like best is the fact that the step-by-step instructions are easy to understand and come with a construction (pattern) guide. Oh, and each house is made with graham crackers… the kind you can buy at any grocery store!
While I really like Santa’s Castle, I thought the Fairy Tree House made with Necco wafers was quite genius! And the Mermaid Palace could easily double as homes for gnomes. Oh and the Cozy Cabin sure makes you wish for a Winter Wonderland…and I don’t even like living in the snow!
But what I can’t wait to try for our annual Halloween party next year is the Haunted Mansion and Dracula’s castle which was surprising made out of sandwich cookies, sugar cones, and a waffle cone.
When Touched By Angel aired on television by kids and I tried our best to never miss an episodes. We loved that a Christian show could capture the attention of the young and the old without being preachy or overly dramatic. And we loved the idea that the God the world has forgotten (and whom we often think has forgotten us) was so present in the lives of each of His people.
It’s been years since I’ve seen Touched By An Angel and I’ve longed to watch the series again so when I discovered they had a holiday collection, I decided to purchase a copy for my holiday collection.
The collection only contains 4 of the 9 seasons and is priced at $14, which I think is a little steep but I won’t complain too much because I actually enjoyed the four episodes on the disc.
There’s Fear Not.
An older brother (Wayne) is left to care for his mentally-challenged brother (named Joey) and has grown both weary and bitter about the whole experience. But when the angels appear to help Joey deal with the death of his friend, Wayne discovers hope.
Then there’s The Feather.
The day after Christmas Wayne is beginning to doubt the hope he experienced the night before, but when his conman of a brother shows up and tries to take the town of its hard-earned money, the angels make another appearance and help Wayne put things right, while still keeping the respect of the townspeople.
Then there’s An Angel On A Rooftop.
This was probably my favorite of the four. God orchestrates the meeting of a bitter old man and his ex lover’s granddaughter. The meeting softens the man’s heart and gives him a second chance at life.
Finally, there’s It Came Upon A Midnight Clear.
To be honest, I’m not sure why the angels had to return to see Joey and Wayne, but return they did. Wayne leaves Joey home alone while he runs an errand, but when he gets into a car accident, Joey is left home to fear the worst. To help Joey pass the time, Monica tells Joey the story of Mark Twain’s heartbreak and loss and his newfound hope.
I am a huge fan of Gaiam… and while I haven’t always been impressed with some of their choices for instructors, I have always been a fan of how well-done their videos are.
I have to come , though, and say that I am really bad when it comes to sticking to an exercise routine. I get bored really easy and then life gets the best of me and before I know it, a month has gone by before my last attempt at exercising.
But I promised myself, and my doctor, that I would stick to some sort of daily exercise regimen in 2012 so when Gaiam contacted me about three new Yoga videos they had coming out, I thought it was a sign…
I’m afraid I’ll have to work up to this video as it seems geared towards those who aren’t new to Yoga, or who’ve actually committed to doing Yoga on a regular basis, for at least a year. Which isn’t me… but it sure does give me something to strive towards!
The routine showcased in this video is based upon her experience working with athletes and consists of:
20 minute lower body workout focusing on hips, legs, thighs, and glutes.
20 minute upper body workout focusing on strengthening the shoulders and arms.
20 minute abdominal workout focusing on strengthening the back and building the core.
The second video I tried was Trudie Styler’s Strengthen & Restore Yoga, which I must admit has me excited as my goal in 2012 is to find inner peace and happiness again and this DVD was designed to help people reach that goal.
Once thing I liked about this DVD is that it has an instructional option for those learning the routine and then a music only option for those who have the routine down and find having to listen to the instructions annoying and distracting. (Personally, I think all exercise videos should offer this option. It’s such a great feature!)
The routine showcased in this video is presented by Trudie’s personal trainer, James D’ Silva. Trudie stays in the background performing the routine along with her trainer. This video consists of:
20 minute toning practice that stretches and lengthens the body.
20 minute Vinyassa practice designed to build heat and help with weight loss.
10 minute breathing practice to help slow the mind and relieve stress.
6 minute calming meditation designed to be done from a regular chair. This reminds me of a cool down… it’s quite relaxing.
The only drawback I see with this video is that the “omms” guy is a bit loud which can be annoying when you’re first trying to learn the routine because James is very soft spoken and it can be difficult to hear him at times.
The video offers two choices when viewing the practices: full audio mix and instruction only.
The full audio mix gives instructions on how to perform certain moves, but also includes practical tips to help you live a healthier, happier lifestyle. It’s during this time that you discover why certain yoga moves are important to the body, why breathing deeply heals the body, how being spiritual helps is beneficial when practicing Yoga, and so much more. I’d say this is kind of like attending a health and wellness lecture while you perform your yoga moves.
The instruction only option is just that, instructions to help you practice each yoga move properly.
The routine showcased in this video is based upon her 20 years experience as a yogi and consists of:
30 minute twist and flow routine designed to improve circulation and build strength. This routine is designed for beginners and I am glad because it took all I had to get through the routine… I am so not limber! It’s only been a short amount of time since I’ve done this video but I can tell you that the circulation part is true!
60 minute purify routine designed to increase flexibility and remove tension. This was quite difficult for me to do, and as it should be since it’s geared towards intermediate yogis.
As I thought about which film I wanted to watch tonight, I couldn’t help but feel the need to watch something “comforting for the soul” but not too magical or “Christmasy”… that’s when I pulled out the old faithful: Sleepless in Seattle starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.
And then it hit me.
Every year around this time, I have the need to watch both Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail.
I love these films… the charisma between Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks is amazing and I never, ever grow tired of seeing the two interact with each other. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the screenwriting is pretty amazing, in and of itself.
Both of these films have a Christmas scene so technically, they can fall under the “Christmas films” category so if you’re trying to stick to only watching Christmas themed films this holiday season, there’s no need to feel guilty about picking up a copy of either of these films.
Sleepless in Seattle is about a man who loses his wife to an illness and decides to pack up his belongings and move his son to Seattle, to start over, because everything in his life reminds him of his wife and it’s simply too unbearable. Then one day his son calls a radio station with a Christmas wish to help jumpstart his dad’s love life.
During the radio show, news reporter, Annie, hears him describe his relationship with his deceased wife, and she falls for him. Unable to get him out of her mind, she concocts a news story and flies to Seattle to meet Sam.
As many times as I watch this film, I can never get enough of Tom Hanks, as Sam, describing how much he loved his wife, and how amazing she was in his eyes. To this day it still sends goose bumps down my spine…
You’ve Got Mail is about a young woman named Kathleen who is fighting to save her small bookstore from being gobbled up by a big bookstore chain that is going up around the corner from her shop. In the meantime, she’s instant messaging a man who appears to be her soul mate, but there’s a complication… they are both in relationships of convenience so they try to keep their attraction to the Internet only.
Another complication takes place when they decide to meet and she gets stood up by her dream guy because he turns out to be, Joe Fox, one of the bookstore chain’s owners.
Then, in a weird turn of events, Joe backtracks and manages to become Kathleen’s friend, if only to get her to fall in love with him, the guy who destroyed her business.
As many times as I watch this film, I can never get enough of the view of New York City in the fall… or Kathleen’s marvelous little bookstore. By the time the film ends, I can’t wait to get on a plane and fly to New York… just to see if it’s as romantic and dreamy as You’ve Got Mail makes it out to be. And, of course, the entrepreneur in me just wants to take everything that’s right with Kathleen’s store and open up a shop in my own hometown.
And that scene where Kathleen and her friends are sitting around singing Christmas carols… priceless!
Didn't have much time today to write a review of the Christmas movies I've been watching, so I thought I'd share a few favorites...
A Miser Brothers' Christmas
Santa is injured by the North Wind and it is up to the Miser Brothers to help save Christmas.
I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown
Linus' little brother, Rerun, is tired of playing with Charlie Brown's dog, Snoopy, so he sets out to get a dog of his own.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas, the movie
The Grinch does everything in his power to prevent the residents of Whoville from celebrating Christmas.
Jack Frost, the cartoon
Jack Frost has grown tired of his supernatural abilities to control winter and longs to be among people, but will giving up his role in helping nature move along jeopardize mankind?
Jack Frost, the movie
A musician dies in a car accident and returns to his family, one year later, as a live snowman.
Story Watchers Club Christmas
4 storytellers act out four different Christmas stories, helping children learn how to appreciate their imaginations.
Twas The Night Before Christmas
A mouse sends Santa a note that says he doesn't believe in Santa. As a result, Santa decides to boycott the town and it's up to the mouse to make things right.
T.V. Sets: Holiday Treats
8 half hour holiday episodes from the first season of eight television shows that existed between 1955 and 1993.
Unaccompanied Minors
Five children find themselves in a battle of wits against the airport’s head security officer as they try to salvage what’s left of Christmas for one very special little girl.
Yogi Bear's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper
Yogi Bear leaves Jellystone Park to spend Christmas with his friends when he runs into a little girl who has run away from home. Now Yogi must help her get back home.
The first time I saw the West Side Story, I was in junior high school. Sadly, the only thing I remembered about the film is that it had fantastic dance scenes and great music.
Oh sure, I knew that there were two rival gangs fighting for territory, and a love interest complicates things, but for the life of me, the only real thing I could remember from the film was how much I loved the song, “America” and how Natalie Wood, as Maria, seemed off somehow… I couldn’t even remember how the film ended.
So when my daughter showed interest in the film, after watching a scene remake on Glee, we put it in our Netflix que… then a week later, I was offered the chance to review the film on Blu-Ray and I couldn’t resist… not only would I get to watch the film, but we’d get to check out all the cool bonus features. And bonus features there are!
The West Side Story is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It’s set in New York City and deals with two rival gangs: the Jets and the Sharks, and a love affair between Maria, the sister of a Shark and Tony, a member of the Jets.
Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks, kills the leader of Jets then gets killed by Tony, the brother of the deceased as he tries to protect himself. Unwilling to let the death of Bernardo go unanswered, Chino, another member of the Sharks, kills Tony. Now Maria must morn both the death of her brother, and the death of her lover.
When the film first aired, in 1961, it received 10 Academy Awards, including Best Original Score, Best Picture, and Best Acting.
My only dislike of the film is the fact that Natalie Wood, bless her heart, just doesn’t fit the role of Maria… her fake accent bothered me back as a teenager and it bothers me even more as an adult. And why on earth would they cast a main actress who can’t sing? I had no idea that Natalie’s voice was dubbed over, but it makes complete sense… I never could understand why her singing voice didn’t fit her acting voice.
Setting the miscasting of Maria aside, the acting was superb. And the musical numbers are fantastic…
I really appreciate how well the musical numbers integrate into the main storyline; there’s no choppiness and there’s no second guessing why that musical numbers was included. There are just great lyrics, great choreography, and breathtaking cinematography!
And having watched the ending for the second time, I can see why I blocked it as a teenager… it was so heartbreaking and tragic! And yet there’s this hint of hope; hope that the violence and hatred, and anger can end.
If you haven’t seen the West Side Story in years, I encourage you to give it another go… they just don’t make musicals like this anymore; and they should! Order it on Amazon.com for under $20.
As for the bonus features, you’ll get:
POW: The Dances of The West Side Story
This is simply AMAZING! The dance sequences are analyzed and taken apart by cast members, choreographers, dancers, and actors.
A Place For Us: West Side Story’s Legacy
This 30 minute documentary talks about the huge impact this film had during its run.
West Side Memories
A behind the scenes look at the creating of the film with interviews and home movie footage.
Song Commentaries
A look at several of the songs in the film.
A Montage
A look at how the film went from storyboard to film.
Disclosure: The reviewer received a complimentary copy of this DVD to review.
When I first saw Snowglobe on Netflix’s instant stream, I wasn’t sure if it would appeal to me. The cover art for the DVD made the film seem too “young”, as though it was more for young children. But then I read the description and thought, “What the heck, lets give it a try.” And I’m glad I did!
It’s such a cute family film!
Angela is a New Yorker with a very overbearing, in-your-face Italian family who doesn’t understand the meaning of “boundaries”. Tired of not having any personal space, and dying for a “traditional” picture perfect Christmas, she finds herself getting really irritated with her family.
One day, while returning home she receives a mysterious Christmas gift; a magical snow globe that allows her to enter a dream world where everything is perfect and simple. Soon, she finds herself escaping more and more into this dream world, even to the point of missing her sister’s baby shower.
Then one day, while hosting a family dinner in her apartment, a male character from her dream world (a.k.a. the snow globe) appears in her bedroom and asks to see Angela’s world. Angela leaves and takes the guy to explore New York, then asks her new neighbor to keep an eye on him while she works.
When she returns home from work, another person from the snow globe enters her world and as she tries to return them both to their own world, via the snow globe, she gets whisked back into the snow globe instead.
It’s then that she realizes that “perfection is over-rated” and what she really wants is to spend the holiday with her imperfect family, and their imperfect Christmas. And it’s that realization that frees her from the snow globe.
I loved the message behind this holiday special… you can have a wonderful holiday with those you love if you just let go of perfectionism and embrace their idiosyncrasies.
Order Snowglobe on Amazon.com for just $5 or watch it on Netflix instant stream.
Disclosure: The reviewer rented a copy of this film to review.
We don’t have cable and my daughter misses watching certain television shows… some of which don’t even air on network websites, so I thought I’d give Hulu Plus a try. I thought it would beat having to wait an entire year to watch the same episodes on Netflix (which I still have and love by the way) and she could catch up on shows she missed.
Well, after a day exploring the Hulu Plus interface and watching some shows in the process, I’ve concluded that Netflix is far superior… even if we cannot watch the latest and newest episodes. And I am so grateful that Netflix does NOT have advertisements! (Thank you, thank you, thank you!)
My original intent was to keep Netflix for me, and add Hulu Plus for my daughter. At $7.99 each per month, it still beats out cable television! But, I can’t decide if Hulu Plus is worth keeping…
On the one hand, it’s nice to be able to watch certain shows that Netflix doesn’t carry, and even nicer to watch shows that we cannot find on network websites.
But when it comes down to it, I am not sure paying for Hulu Plus is worth the money when so many shows available on the paid side are also available on their free side and there really aren’t many perks on the paid side.
The only advantage I really see to paying for the service is the ability to watch the episodes via our television set, and not being strapped to the computer.
Still, I can’t shake the annoyances I already have for the paid service...
Things I dislike about Hulu Plus:
Far too many advertisements for a paid streaming service.
I understand the concept of including advertisements to offset the cost of streaming recently aired episodes of current television series, but the number of advertisements for a paid subscription is too high!
In fact, I saw no difference between the number of ads shown on the free service, versus the number of ads shown on the paid service. And if I had my way, there would be ZERO ads for a paid subscription, but if they “had” to have ads, then couldn’t they stick to just one ad per half hour?
Another thing I found annoying was the fact that older television shows… shows that by all accounts shouldn’t need advertising dollars to support the cost of airing when it's a paid membership… also had advertisements.
In one half hour episode of Cleopatra, a t.v. series that aired back in 1999, there were a total of 4 commercial breaks with 8 advertisements; that’s too many!
There were:
2 Ads before show began
2 Ads after introduction.
2 Ads five minutes into the episode.
2 Ads before the episode ended.
Clips are annoying.
When searching for episodes to watch, I ran into more 1 to 10 minutes clips than I did actual television episodes.
I don’t want to have to weed through clips just to find actual episodes; it’s a waste of my time. I also found it extremely annoying to think I found a show I was looking for only to discover the show wasn’t available for viewing, just a clip.
Showcased on interface but episodes aren’t on Hulu Plus.
Another thing I found quite irritating is the fact that there are shows appearing in the Hulu Plus interface, but they are NOT available for instant streaming through Hulu Plus.
Instead, I was directed away from Hulu Plus and to the network’s website.
I get offering that choice when you’re on the free side, it’s a search engine optimization tactic… but there is NO reason to include that crap on the paid side. I don’t care that the episode is available outside of Hulu, I want to know what’s available inside of Hulu... what I can watch on my television set.
Web only content.
Hulu prides itself on offering their content for various devices, but I ran into episodes that could NOT be watched on my television. In fact, they were only viewable via the web. Since our laptop is on its last leg, and my desk top is used for work only, I found this very disappointing.
Constant buffering and freezing.
Every time an advertisement plays, I have to sit through buffering. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that the ads would be preloaded? Just another reason I hate the ads!
And that's not all... half the episodes I watched stalled constantly, freezing as though I had stopped a frame, then within a minute starting again. Trying to get through an episode of Vampire Diaries was a complete and utter nightmare. It would play for one minute, then freeze, play for another minute or two, then freeze again. Forty-eight minutes later, I was still trying to get through the first 15 minutes of the show, and from what I read online, that's not uncommon.
Limited content.
The last thing I noticed is that the actual content on Hulu Plus is NOT all that. I wasn’t impressed with the choices offered.
You know, if Hulu Plus insists on keeping the advertisements on the paid subscriptions, they really should come down in price… $50 to $75 per year, or $4.99 per month sure would make the advertisements more tolerable. But of course, if I had my way, they'd do away with the advertisements on the paid side altogether!
Disclosure: I purchased the service used in this company. This is "my opinion" of the company, its service, and its product. I was not paid to give a review.
What is not to love about Doris Roberts? She’s an amazing actress and I just love it when she plays the “caring role” so when I discovered she was in “Mrs. Miracle” I knew I had to watch it and I was not disappointed.
When Seth’s wife dies, he closes his heart to the outside world. Struggling to hold it together, he hires housekeeper/nanny after housekeeper/nanny, but his twin boys constantly runs them off.
But just when he’s ready to totally give up, Mrs. Merkle arrives and charms the pants right off the boys. With her magical touch, the boys do a complete 180 and instantly fall in love with Mrs. Merkle, whom they affectionately call Mrs. Miracle.
Then there’s Reba… Reba is a travel agent who was deeply hurt when her fiancé ran off and married her sister. Deeply wounded, Reba has become withdrawn when it comes to men. Then she directs the school play that Seth’s children are performing in, and the two paths cross.
Throughout the film you witness one small miracle after another, with each miracle orchestrating the meeting of Seth and Reba… and all the while you can’t help but feel that Mrs. Merkle was sent down by God to give Seth’s family and Reba a second chance at finding love, happiness, joy, and peace.
It’s not an original plot, you can see the ending coming a mile away, and the storyline is far too simple for such a complicated subject, but it works… it’s such a fast moving, fun family film; perfect for relaxing during the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations!
Order Mrs. Miracle from Amazon.com for just $5 or watch it on instant stream, via Netflix.
Disclosure: The reviewer rented this film to review.
Looking for a corny, hard-to-believe Christmas special? Then you’ve come to the right place. Holiday In Handcuffs could’ve been so much more… still, it left me feeling that corny holiday magic that says, “Anything can happen.”
The film is about a 27 year old woman who just wants to paint, but hasn’t yet caught her big break. Everything she does disappoints her family, and the disappointment she feels in them affects every aspect of her life.
When her boyfriend breaks up with her right before they’re to leave for her parent’s infamous Christmas gathering, she’s beside herself with panic... surely she can’t show up at her parent’s house alone… not this year.
Then she sees a rather handsome, well-dressed man and something inside her snaps…
She kidnaps the gentleman and whisks him off to her family’s holiday weekend.
At first, the guy is beside himself and tried to escape, but once he gets a hold of his soon-to-be fiancée and informs her that he’s been kidnapped, he decides to “play nice” until help arrives.
During this time of “playing nice” he and his kidnapper get to know each other on a persona, and honest level, and by the time the cops show up the two have fallen in love with each other.
In the end, it’s highly unlikely that any of the events could ever really happen. It’s a totally ridiculous plot, but it works…
I wish I could say that it’s good, clean, holiday fun the whole family could enjoy, but as cute as the outcome is, the fact that the main character kidnaps a man, then creates one lie after another to cover it up, well… that surely can send the wrong message to young kids, can’t it?
You can order Holiday In Handcuffs from Amazon.com for just $7 or you can watch it on instant stream via Netflix.com
Disclosure: The reviewer rented this film to review.
Marcie Lovett is an author and Professional Organizer and Productivity Consultant who coaches residential and business clients on goal setti...
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on Amazon.com for just $4!
