The Movie:
For those who don't necessarily associate comedy with Christianity (and I of course refer to intentional comedy, not the unintentional hilarity of folk like Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart, and Jim Bakker), Thou Shalt Laugh proves that you don't have to be Jewish (so to speak) to deliver some great stand-up routines, especially routines that are, as is billed prominently in this series, "family friendly." Unlike a lot of current stand-up, this second special under this title is devoid of swearing and other potentially uncomfortable subjects, though a couple of its guest comedians do manage to be surprisingly edgy at times.

Hosted by Tim Conway in his reliably affable and low-key style, the special features five Christian comedians tackling everything from dysfunctional families to racism, usually with very funny results. The only "household name" in the group is proba...Read the entire review

The Movie:

While watching "The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency", I often thought of the British sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous". For those who've never seen "Ab Fab", one of the characters, Patsy, is a past-her-prime fashion model whose years of (and continued) partying and general excess have caught up with her - and then some. Yet, she still marched on, believing herself to be "fabulous", even when evidence clearly suggested otherwise. It was a brilliantly funny performance, as actress Joanna Lumley was able to create an arrogant mess of a character who was somehow - despite her evil moments - somehow incredibly engaging, hysterically funny and even occasionally a little sympathetic.

Janice Dickinson (the proclaimed "world's first supermodel") is rather like a real-life Patsy, only in this case, she may just be truly evil. The "world's first supermodel" looks to now have had a worl...Read the entire review

Gada Meilin (2001) is about a Mongolian folk hero, his tale being told in poems and song, who united the tribes in the earlier part of the 20th century when Japanese conspired to take land away from the common folk who had cultivated the plains for generations upon genrations. One assumes that since the tale is so recent, he was an actual historical person rather than some imaginary figurehead.

As a child, Gada witnessed a revolutionary being executed. While he grew up to be a normal, though ambitious, herdsman, that event left an impression on him. As a young man, his life seems to be going well, his childhood love Mudan returns and the two court each other, but, most importantly, the lands bigwig, the Authority, makes him a meilin, a sort of employed tribal chieftain.

But, the Authority is addicted to opium, an addiction that causes him to take an offer from the Japanese who want to bu...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
Learn about dogs the "Dummies" (and DVD) way

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Dogs
Likes: Dogs
Dislikes: Being thought of as a dummy
Hates: Cats

The Show
With years of experience, experience that's shown through a montage of photos, Dr. Jenny Taylor knows a lot about animals, and on this DVD, she shares what she knows about dogs, especially when it comes to puppies. Using plenty of natural and adorable illustrative video clips, Taylor delivers a very good starter lesson on dog ownership. Her style is very friendly and conversational, but the production could use a bit more polish. Whoever thought it was a good idea to shoot on windy days shouldn't...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/16681 Wed, 06 Jul 2005 20:45:44 UTC Rent It

The Show:

If you somehow made it through the last presidential election withoutsomeone e-mailing you or mentioning JibJab's web site, I am amazed. I must have received half a dozen e-mails about their wonderfully irreverentparody of the 2004 Presidential Election, This Land.  The flashanimated musical short received a lot of praise and was mentioned on manynational news shows.  Riding high on the wave of publicity the twobrothers who run Jibjab, Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, have released a DVDthat contains a series of their shorts that were previously available only onthe web.  JibJab, the Early Years is a somewhat dated collectionof web Flash animations and while a couple of them are very good, overallit isn't a strong set.

This disc contains 14 animated shorts that run just under half an hourin length.  The main attraction on ...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/15734 Mon, 09 May 2005 06:42:17 UTC Skip It

The Movie

Who knew there were so many lesbian strip clubs in outer space?

Longtime professional body double and frequent dropper of clothes Shelley Michelle gets her first starring role in a science fiction adventure so cheaply made and shoddily constructed, you'll have little choice but to down some alcohol of your choice, invite a few friends over, and laugh the night away.

Approaching a sublevel of ineptness generally unseen outside the realm of Albert Pyun or Fred Olen Ray, Galaxy Hunter is about a seriously busty intergalactic space minx who's assigned to rescue some guy from some villains. It's all fairly vague. Along the way our heroine (known as either "3V51" or "Ginger") befriends a quartet of female bounty hunters: a robot who enjoys flashing her breasts, a gal with some Klingon makeup stuck to her forehead, and a pair of lesbian butt-kickers who don't mind stopping for a ...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/14408 Tue, 08 Feb 2005 05:33:48 UTC Skip It

Not happy with being a only a game show host, Chuck Woolery has decided to step into the world of instructional DVDs. Bass Fishing: The basics with Chuck Woolery is one such DVD. While not a professional fisherman, Chuck decides to enlist some help from a friend of his, BASS champion Michael O'Shea. This unintentionally funny instructional DVD might not show you exactly how to catch fish, but I'll be the first to admit I did actually learn something from this DVD. The DVD has a running time of just under sixty minutes, and is divided into 18 chapters each on a specific topic.

The chapter listing and topics covered are:
1. Introduction
2. Rods & Reels
3. Tools of the Trade
4. Casting Technique
5. The Palomar Knot
6. Baits
7. Top Water Baits
8. Jerk Baits
9. Crank Baits
10. Spinner Baits
11. Jigs
12. Soft Plastic Baits
13. When to catch fis...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/13887 Fri, 31 Dec 2004 05:03:56 UTC Highly Recommended

Themovie

Total Yoga: Water arrived in my mailbox at just the rightmoment: I'd been looking for a new yoga program to try out, since theone that I'd been using wasn't as good as I'd hoped for. After tryingthis DVD, I'm pleased to report back that it's an excellent program,and certainly one that I'll be popping in the DVD player frequently.

Total Yoga: Water is part of a series of yoga DVDs created byexperienced yoga instructors Tracey Rich and Ganga White. This discis labeled as "Level 2" in the Flow Series (Level 1 beingTotal Yoga: Earth). The poses used here are a little morecomplex than truly beginner-level yoga, so if you've never tried yogabefore at all, it's probably better to start ...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/12089 Sun, 29 Aug 2004 18:04:08 UTC Highly Recommended

In 10 Words or Less
Comedy guitarist brings the funny live

The Show
Stand-up comedy's fallen to some real low points lately, after the '90s brought us superstars like Jerry Seinfeld and Tim Allen, among others. Sure, Dave Attell and Lewis Black are still out there, but for the most part, it's a comedy wasteland. Just when you're about to give up on stand-up though, a new guy arrives on the scene, and brings hope. Stephen Lynch is just that guy. Armed with some of the sickest songs you've ever heard, including "A Month Dead" and "Gerbil," Lynch lulls the audience with his musical skill and good looks, and then smacks them upside the head with his twisted comedy.

This disc, Lynch's first DVD, was filmed last Dece...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Clubs. Shoes. Carts. Balls. These seem like the bare essential pieces of equipment for the novice golfer. But the marketplace never really settles on the bare essentials, does it? Custom made driver covers. Distance finders. Golf ball retrievers. Putters taller than the player. Golf bag beverage holders.

Those are just a smattering of the needless accessories for when the golfer is on the course. This is before the computerized swing analyzer, the golf video games, golf books and the "Great Golf Courses of Delaware" calendar that no true weekend duffer can live without.

The DVD market is no exception. A simple search for "golf" on Amazon.com yields 28 golf instructional DVDs, with everything from etiquette and swing to pilates and yoga for golf given full-disc explorations.

One of the most comprehensive on the market is Golf For Dummies. B...Read the entire review

Have you ever watched the Iditarod on USA? Ever watched Animal Planet or the Travel Channel and been amazed by the dog shows on some sunny lawn in northern California? Are you put in a trance when you watch the Great Outdoor Games and see the skills those athletic leaping dogs have (how do they get them to weave in between those sticks anyway)? Well, if you answered "yes" to any one of those questions, then you should pick up this DVD release of the 2004 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

This is the 128th edition of this event and, as the commentators proudly boast, it's the longest running sporting event aside from the Kentucky Derby. As for my background, I started watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show about 9 years ago, and since that time, I find myself looking forward to the pre-Valentine's Day event much more than Valentine's Day itself...much more than several other major spor...Read the entire review

Theprogram

For all you budding singers out there, the ones who secretly long tojump up on a stage and belt out a popular melody but restrainyourselves to just singing in the shower, Love to Sing with RogerLove might be the instructional program for you. Roger Love, avocal coach for celebrities and musicians, brings a relentless goodcheer and upbeat approach to his home video version of his vocalcoaching.

While the presentation is a little hokey, with the trappings of atalent show rather than an instructional program, one thing is clearfrom the beginning: Roger Love knows his stuff. He does an excellentjob of explaining everything, whether it's a basic concept about theway the vocal cords work, or how to do a particular...Read the entire review