Most fans of both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman know that we might never see a DVD release in this country due to trouble with the different parties who hold the rights coming to some kind of consensus. Both shows have been released on Region 2 DVDs overseas, but a Region 1 release seems nothing more than wishful thinking. So imagine my surprise when I saw that Hulu is showing episodes from the original Bionic Woman’s first season on their web site. Now usually everything Hulu shows is also available on DVD. So does this mean that a Region 1 release of these beloved shows could actually be on the horizon? Let’s hope so.
Archive for November, 2009
To rip off a quote from What About Bob, there are two kinds of people in the world, those who like Michael Jackson and those who don’t. I’m in the latter category and my wife is in the former. So when we finally hit a weekend where we didn’t have to deal with a broken down car or running errands for a parent, I steeled myself and accompanied her to see This Is It.
Now as I said, I’m not a fan of Michael Jackson’s music. During his heyday of the 80’s I listened to David Lee Roth era Van Halen and Robert Plant (nowadays I also listen to Elvis and Sinatra), so you will have some understanding of how important this next statement is. I really liked the movie.
Stripped away of all the scandal and odd public behavior, the film allows Jackson’s actual talent to show. He sings, dances, choreographs, rearranges compositions on the fly and stage directs his concert. The film shows how much untapped potential Jackson still had at fifty and instead being a has been from the 80’s going through the motions, really had been on the verge of a comeback to rival Tina Turner’s. The rehearsals show what the concert would have been, and it would have been awesome.
I also like the structure of the film. Each song gets set up by showing the planning of the stage set or the filmed intro that would be shown on a projection behind the stage, then you get a brief snippet of Jackson and his dancers working out the moves and stage direction. Finally comes an actual performance of the song. The last part is the most amazing part as the film cuts from one rehearsal performance to another and in each one Jackson is so spot on that it plays seamlessly as one complete performance. Another nice thing about the film is that it gives an opportunity for the musicians and dancers to have their performances actually seen.
I will be very surprised if this doesn’t get nominated and win Best Documentary at the Oscars.
My wife got Food, Inc. through NetFlix this past week and it is an eye opening documentary. Ever wonder where our food comes from? This film answers that question. Wonder why we seem to keep having outbreaks of e coli and salmonella that cause massive recalls on food? This film shows some possible reasons for it. Food, Inc. goes inside major food producing companies and shows what exactly goes into the mass producing of ground beef and chicken. Comparisons to Upton Sinclair would not be out of order, showing images that would give the most hardened Saw fan pause as cattle and poultry are packed into areas like sardines, unable to move and standing in their own filth until butchered. Most disturbing for me is the man who proudly shows the paste his company makes that is used as filler in most fast food burgers. Now I’m not some Peta radical calling for a boycott of all meat, but I think everyone should see this film so that you can make an informed decision on what kind of food you put in your own body.
