The Heart Guy, Series 2: DVD Review

Hugh Knight (Roger Corser) is a truly one of a kind surgeon. You could probably call him a hotshot because of just how good he works. Problem is his life was out of control and was placed on probation. He heads back to his hometown a very rural Australian town that he wanted out of. His life continues to face problem after problem that could either tear his family apart or bring them closer together like they never were before.

Hope is the name of Hugh’s rural home town and it still has his parents living there. His mom Meryl (Tina Bursill) still wants to be mayor and make all the decisions for this small little bump in the road of Australia. His father Jim (Steve Bisley) has serious health issues that the two are constantly talking about. Penny (Hayley McElhinney) used to be in charge of the local hospital where Hugh works and there is a little flirting that goes on between the two. Penny had fled Whyhope and was in Sydney but it was her son that brought her back unfortunately with some baggage. She comes back to Whyhope with a fella by the name of Dr. Toke (Angus McLaren). We can honestly say with all the little twists and turns in this beautiful story it really turns it into a dramedy. That’s right a comedy/ drama mix.

Acorn brings this wonderfully acted show to us on June 26th, 2018. The quality of the DVD is fantastic and the sights and sounds are perfect. You will want to add this to your personal library and will enjoy watching it over and over. So don’t waste any time and pick this one up for that rainy summer afternoon and some truly enjoyable TV.

'Girlfriends' DVD Review

Kay Mellor’s 'Girlfriends' comes to DVD on June 26th, 2018. This beautifully written, incredibly acclaimed drama has to be one of the best coming out of Britain in a long time. Phyllis Logan plays Linda whose husband goes missing while on a cruise. Miranda Richardson is Sue who helped co-found a business only to find herself being forced out. Zoe Wanamaker plays Gail whose son is returning home from a stay in prison. What you must understand about all this is that the three woman are lifelong friends.

The beauty about this show is that even with the complications of their lives there are more unexpected events that are yet to come. Thus bringing them closer together and relying more on each other. The fun part of all this are the little secrets of each other's lives that begin to unravel due to the circumstances of each other’s lives.

This is a humorous and heartbreaking story of three woman who have known each other since childhood and how each has endured the challenges of growing up. The most wonderful aspect of this story is how the person watching it can relate to the characters. The acting is superb. The story line is the best and you will want to watch it over and over. The ensemble cast is pretty great also, like Matthew Lewis, Anthony Head, Adrian Rawlins and Valerie Lilley to just name a few.

Acorn TV brings this heartbreaking comedy/drama to us on DVD on June 26th, 2018 as I stated in the first paragraph. The quality of the two DVD set is excellent and the sights and sounds are exquisite. This will make a wonderful addition to the personal library that you may have in your home. So don’t waste any time and pick this one up for some enjoyable TV watching during these summer months.

'The Curse Of The Cat People' Blu-Ray Review

Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) has remarried. He has married a fellow co-worker named Alice Moore (Jane Randolph). The marriage produces a baby girl who is named Amy (Ann Carter). Now, we jump forward to six years later. Amy is an introverted little girl who spends most of her days in school daydreaming. Oliver tries over and over to get his daughter to open up and play with her classmates but to no avail. Amy simply has trouble dealing with reality. She finds a picture of Oliver’s first wife Irena (Simone Simon) but finds out little of who is in the picture. Irena’s name is never mentioned in the house and since her death little has ever been spoken of her.

Irena appears to the young Amy and a friendship or bond takes place. About the same time Amy strikes up a friendship with an aging actress by the name of Julia Farren (Julia Dean). Julia is estranged from own daughter Barbara (Elizabeth Russell). Now, the kicker about Julia Farren is that she believes her daughter Barbara is a spy only pretending to be her daughter.

Oliver becomes angry at his daughter for speaking of this imaginary friend all the time and punishes her. Irena comes to Amy and tells her to leave the house. While out a snow storm kicks up and Amy seeks shelter at the Farrens house. Barbara is jealous and angry at all the attention that her mother shows on the little Amy. It becomes too much for Barbara to handle and she wants to kill little Amy.
Barbara tries to strangle the little girl but then Irena becomes part of Barbara and Amy gives her a big hug. Barbara is so taken aback over the hug that she spares the little girls life. Oliver arrives on scene and takes his daughter home. He promises to always respect her fantasies and peace comes to Tarrytown, New York where all this has taken place.

Scream Factory brings this wonderful story to Blu-Ray on June 26th, 2018. The quality of the Blu-Ray is excellent and the sights and sounds are exquisite. This is definitely one for that personal library and you don’t want to waste any time picking one up. Enjoy.

'Flower' DVD Review

Erica Vandross (Zoey Deutch) is a young 17 year old female who is quick witted but very rebellious. In one of the opening scenes she and a couple of friends are trying to set up a cop. Yes sir, they were able to get a cop to agree to let Erica go down on him and perform fellatio. What the cop isn’t aware of is that he is being filmed with the intention to blackmail him at a later date. Erica comes from a very broken home. Her father is serving time in prison for taking part in a casino caper that takes him away from his loving daughter. Her mother Laurie (Kathryn Hahn) thinks of her daughter as if they were college pals.

The mother Laurie also brings more problems into her daughter Erica’s life. She recently got a new boy friend Bob (Tim Heidecker) and his son Luke (Joey Morgan). Laurie and Bob’s relationship is a so-so kind of thing. The problem is the boy Luke. Erica doesn’t have a problem giving fellatio to Luke as a matter of fact she gives it to almost anyone. Her reputation at school is disastrous. The girl simply is living on a prayer from one day to the next.

The problem with Luke is he is being molested by one of the teachers. Will (Adam Scott) has been molesting Luke for some time. Eventually Erica finds out about what has been going on with Luke and his teacher Will and decides to do something about it.

This film has many aspects to it that are disturbing at best but it tries to laugh at some of the things teenagers have to go through to actually grow up. It has definitely some good scenes in it.
Lionsgate brings this DVD to us on June 19th, 2018. The quality of the DVD is excellent and the sights and sounds are perfect. This DVD will make an excellent addition to that personal library. So don’t waste any time picking this one up.

'The Best Of Agatha Christie, Volume 4' DVD Review

Agatha Christie has been called by some, the best novelist of all time. Her books have sold in the hundreds of millions and the BBC has been airing her stories for years. In 'The Best Of Agatha Christie, Volume 4' we are entertained by two pieces each of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. In 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles Poirot' (David Suchet) and Hastings (Hugh Fraser) take on their first case in the search of a killer who poisoned a wealthy elderly woman. This in fact was one of Christie’s first successes as a writer.

Another story using Poirot is 'Dead Man’s Folly'. This story has Poirot searching for a killer of a young woman at a murder hunt which crime writer  Ariadne Oliver (Zoe Wanamaker) had put together. Both stories find Poirot at his best and you will love watching them.

Miss Marple is another character that Christie has literally brought to life for many wonderful mystery thrillers. In 'The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side' Miss Marple (Julia McKenzie) must find the murderer of a villager who was attending a party that a local movie star was giving. The suspicious characters that live in the village makes this an extremely enjoyable experience to watch. Joanna Lumley and Lindsay Duncan also star in this very entertaining show.
 

Finally in 'A Caribbean Mystery Miss Marple' (Julia McKenzie) finds herself staying at a rather ritzy hotel where a fellow guest is murdered. What makes this a rather interesting story is the dark magic and deceit that comes forth in search of the killer.

Acorn brings Volume 4 to DVD on June 19th, 2018. The quality of the DVD’s is excellent and the sights and sounds are exquisite. The entertainment that you will receive is unbelievable. This is a must for your personal library. Enjoy.

'The Best Of Agatha Christie, Volume 3' DVD Review

Agatha Christie has to be one of the best known sleuth’s. In 'The Best Of Agatha Christie, Volume 3' two of her best known crime solvers are featured. Miss Marple is featured in 'Ordeal by Innocence'. Geraldine McEwan plays the wonderful Miss Marple in a story about a wedding gone wrong. She is attending a wedding that brings out the tragic history of the family Argyle. It’s Marples intuitions that makes her realize that there is a murderer in their midst. Jane Seymour, Richard Armitage, Juliet Stevenson and Gugu Mbatha-Raw also star in this wonderful thriller.

In our second program David Suchet does another wonderful job as Hercule Poirot. The title of this show is 'The Hollow'. Poirot is invited to spend some time in the country with the family Angkatell. You would think a weekend in the country would be a relaxing time. Unfortunately, he becomes involved with the families love interests and affairs while searching for a killer. Jonathan Cake and Edward Fox also star in this enjoyable mystery.

In our third and final program titled 'Partners in Crime: The Secret Adversary David Williams and Jessica Raine' are the lovely crime solving couple Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. In Cold War Britain the couple stumbles into a spy net while looking for a missing woman. Clarke Peters is also starring in this extraordinary spy thriller.  Agatha Christie has been a part of our thoughts and entertainment for decades upon decades. We all grew up watching the BBC programs that featured her thrillers. Some of us actually have read all the books.

Acorn brings Volume 3 to us on DVD on June 19th, 2018. The quality of the DVD’s are perfect and the sights and sounds are superb. This is a definite for the personal library so don’t waste any time and pick it up ASAP. This is going to move fast so don’t hesitate and waste any time. Enjoy.

'Menace & Murder: A Lynda La Plante Collection' DVD Review

Lynda La Plante was born and raised in Lancashire, England. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She used the stage name of Lynda Marchal and appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company. It was in 1983 that her big breakthrough came when she wrote the TV series 'Widows'. The story was about the widows of four armed robbers carrying out a heist that was thought of by their four dead husbands. She would write a second series of 'Widows' and later wrote several novels. They would all become best sellers. It was in 1991 when she would write the acclaimed TV series 'Prime Suspect'.

The collection of mysteries that we are going to talk of today are 'Supply and Demand', 'Killer Net', and 'Mind Games'. In 'Supply and Demand' Eamonn Walker stars as an undercover police officer who is extremely street smart. He joins a an elite unit of the force that specializes in hunting down drug dealers, human traffickers and other hard criminals. Miriam Margolyes and Benedict Wong also star in this highly acclaimed series.

Next included in this package is the award winning series 'Killer Net'. Our story is about a young student who becomes obsessed with a game that he plays on his computer. He is a psychology major in college and begins to freak out when his girlfriend is actually killed and he believes the computer game may be involved in her murder. Paul Bettany and Tam Williams star in this wonderfully done mystery.

Last but certainly not least our final series titled 'Mind Games' is an excellent mystery to sink your teeth into. Fiona Shaw is a former nun that becomes a super sleuth when two woman are killed in their homes and she wants to find their killers. This series also stars Colin Salmon and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Acorn TV brings this fabulous collection of Lynda La Plante's mysteries to us on DVD on June 12th, 2018. The quality of the five disc set is excellent and the sights and sounds are perfect. This is definitely one for that personal library. So don't waste any time and pick this one up very soon. Enjoy.  

'Altered Perception' DVD Review

Designer Drugs are here to stay. Pharmaceutical companies and the government are hand in hand trying to shape the way we recover from certain illnesses and the side effects don't matter as long as calm is restored. When people experience trauma and stress in their lives sometimes the mind loses control over what's real and what's not. The government believes that if they can come up with a drug that will control the mind in such a way that it doesn't lose its concept of what is real or not then they could cure all sociopolitical tensions.

A study is put together and four couples actually volunteer for it. What they realize is what they have gotten themselves involved in. Their past and present are looked at and examined as they take variations of this new designer drug. In the process they begin to lose control with their own memories and some begin to lose their sanity.

Michael Biehn and Travis Romero take a simple topic of designer drugs and turn it into a psychological thriller. Twenty maybe thirty years ago this would be a horror story but now these days it has become a topic at the dinner table. Opiods and other designer drugs are simply destroying our societies all across the planet. What's even worse is that our government actually has allowed this to take place. Our citizens are walking around like zombies and all the government does is slap the hands of the pharmaceutical companies.

Our cast includes Jon Huertas, Jade Tailor, Nichola Flynn, Jennifer Blanc Biehn, Matthew Ziff, Hallie Jordan, and Ehmrys Cooper travel down this road of drugs and governmental control to actually come up with a pretty good story. SKD is bringing this psychological thriller to us on Blu-ray, DVD on June 5th, 2018. The quality of the Blu-Ray, DVD is fantastic and the sights and sounds are excellent. So you may want to pick this one up and enjoy the present. This will also make a great addition to that personal library. Enjoy.

'The Steam Engines Of Oz' Blu-Ray Review

The Emerald City is not what it use to be. It has been a hundred years since young Dorothy would walk the yellow brick road so that she could find her way back to Kansas and home. If you remember she would come across a Cowardly Lion, a Scarecrow in need of a brain and a Tin Man looking for a heart. All would be granted their wishes by the wizard of oz, but those days are long gone.
Dorothy has been a long time. The Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow would just hang out in Oz but it was the Tin Man who would go on to bigger and better things, at least on the surface you thought so. The Tin Man was the leader of Emerald City and the Land of Oz. He ruled it like a tyrant. He ruled it with an iron fist and had no heart for anyone. He had over the last century lost that beautiful heart that he longed for so long ago with his friends.

The Emerald City was nothing more than a toxic dump. It was a heavily industrialized wasteland that was not truly fit to live in anymore. It was a young engineer who was called Victoria Wright that had an idea of how to turn everything around and back to normal. The Tin Man needed his heart back and she and a group of munchkins along with some flying monkey's and the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow would attempt to find the Tin Man's heart.

The journey would not be easy and there would be many hardships. They would learn how to get along and actually learn how to be friends. For you see friendship and will power will allow you to overcome all obstacles. You see a heart is simply an organ and its not how much you but that you are loved by others.

This is a must for the whole family, and Cinedigm is bringing this version of Oz to us on DVD on June 5th, 2018. The quality of the DVD is excellent and the sights and sounds are perfect. Ron Perlman, William Shatner and Julianne Hough lend their talents to this wonderful animated story. This is an excellent addition to that personal library of DVDs and the whole family can sit back and enjoy.  

'East West 101, Series 2' DVD Review

Our show takes place in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. This section of the city has many clashes dealing with culture, religious, and socioeconomic issues. The time is post 9-11 and tensions are high. The differences between the East and West cultures are at an all low. People are angry and it shows all over the world.

Detective Zane Malik (Don Hany) works the western suburbs and as a Muslim is taking a lot of heat for it. The citizens of the suburbs that aren't Muslim don't take kindly to a Muslim cop. A car bomb goes off in the suburb and all it does is inflame the hostile tensions that have already existed. Malik does not agree that this was not a terrorists attack and wants to find out the answers. In doing so he joins a task force that is headed by Agent Richard Skerritt (Gerald Lepkowski). The two agencies are out to find the answers at all costs. Malik goes undercover that targets a suspected arms-dealer who is believed to be part of the car bombing incident. The mission takes him away from his family and in the end puts their lives in danger. In another twist to our story-line Malik's boss inspector Patricia Wright (Susie Porter) is having to deal with issues that are tearing her apart because they are bringing up horrible memories from her past.

Now what makes this such a great show is that the writing is based upon actual experiences from real life detectives from the district of the western suburbs of Sydney. In other words its all real these things actually took place. Not only do you get the side of the citizens but of the police as well during this explosive time in human history.

Acorn brings this wonderful series to us on DVD on May 29th, 2018. The quality of the DVD is excellent and the sights and sounds are perfect. This is going to make a perfect addition to that personal library so don't waste any time in going out there and picking it up. Enjoy.