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“ | “I like this pretty little DVD, and I have watched it several times since I got it, but it's an expensive piece of Anna. If you want to get this enjoyable and luxurious, albeit pricey, Netrebko release, it is worth it, but I think it would have been even greater, and possibly even more of a chart topping, hot selling product if it was priced at the standard music video $14.99 level. DG Label, listen up please! “Anna Speaks!” interviews are cool, she comes across as a smart and little crazy cookie, and the videos are great, bad lipsyncing and all. I especially like Non Mir Dir, done in artsy and creepy Julie Taymor style, and Rusalka, campy fun at its best, but the real reason to get this DVD would be the three live pieces, two from Traviata and one from Anna's early days at the Mariinsky Theatre. What a firecracker she was on stage even then! It's also interesting that while her overall diction is still mushy nowadays, she sounds great in Russian in this Ruslan and Ludmila piece, I can understand every word. I don't understand what the ruckus was about with this whole “opera video clips are evil and will mean the death of opera” campaign geared against Anna's videos. I think many people still like their stodgy, immobile Fat Lucy clones too much to embrace a singer that looks hot and sings great. It's time to wake up though, evolve or die. I think the days of dominance of trim, athletic and shapely singers who can sing, move and act the hell out of any opera and are not allergic to modern productions are finally here. Netrebko, Roland Villazon and Simon Keenlyside for starters, there's no going back.” – Customer Review on Amazon.com | ” |
“ | “I have been a fan of japanese animation in partuclar for about 5 years now. I have seen countless animated films and studied them in depth. I own almost every Studio Ghibli film ever made (including “Whisper of the Heart”, “The Cat Returns”, “Ocean Waves” and “Castle of Cagliostro”). I am here to tell you that “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” is without a doubt the greatest animated film I have ever seen in my life... First of all, this is the first film that the animation genius Miyazaki ever attempted through his own studio. It is also a greatly condensed story, being adapted from a manga that it's creator wrote which was quite lengthly. That being said, this movie is PERFECT. ...” | ” |
“ | “Youngsters will relish the antics of Mimiko, a Japanese girl with as much spunk as another animated favorite, the little French mademoiselle, Madeline. Lighthearted and cross-cultural, this Japanese cartoon, made popular for American audiences through English dubbing, is based on “Panda koPanda” (“Panda, Little Panda”), the 1972-73 two-parter written by anime master Hayao Miyazaki (“My Neighbor Totoro”, “Spirited Away”, “Kiki's Delivery Service”, “Princess Mononoke”). Isao Takahata, another anime king (“Grave of the Fireflies”, “Pom poko”, “My Neighbors the Yamadas”), directs the production, showcasing some characteristic elements of anime that surpass usual Saturday morning fare: crisp animation, depth of characters, and sophisticated musical tracks. Cinematography aside, viewers will be captivated by the optimistic orphan who lives with her grandmother and has no fear of “burglars, ghosts, or any old thing”. In the first story, “Panda Family”, Grandmother must travel to Nagasaki and, reluctantly, leaves Mimiko at home alone. To Mimiko's delight, she is not alone after all when a father and son set of panda bears moves in. Unaware they are Zoo escapees, Mimiko adopts Papa Panda and little Panny and writes to grandmother, “I've got myself a daddy and a baby”. Rapid-fire adventures begin for the trio, yet Mimiko keeps her cool whether dealing with Panny's mischief, zookeepers' threats, or a close call with a raging waterfall. High-flying fun continues in the second tale, “The Circus in the Rain”, as a baby tiger escapes the Big Top to join Mimiko's menagerie, a monsoon floods her home, and a runaway train spells disaster. All in a day's work for this daring do-gooder; Grandmother would be proud.” – Lynn Gibson, Amazon.com | ” |
“ | Plot: “Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow.” – IMDB.com | ” |
“ | “This series is an excellent series. However, like other high quality shows, this one was cancelled prematurely. Science fiction often takes time for people to warm upto it, but in the end, the fanbase makes up for the time lost. (Stargate SG-1 was tossed around from HBO to Fox and now to SciFi where it is now the hottest scifi show on television) The magnitude of Star Trek: The Original Series was not realized until it was prematurely cancelled. Look at the money Paramount is making off of the franchise. This show is like many others who deserve recognition in science fiction. I recommend anyone who appreciates science fiction to watch this series, however, I must warn you that the ending is exceptionally disappointing. It is unfinished... an abrupt ending with so many lose ends, it may leave you with a feeling of grave disappointment when you realize there's no more episodes to watch... when everything that has been building up in suspense comes to nothing. Networks sure know how to get people to stop watching TV... cancel anything of any value.” – IMDB.com | ” |
“ | “This is one incredible movie. No, you don't have to be familiar with the series to enjoy it, but the familiarity will make several moments in the movie that much more tragic. The action here is incredible, and unlike several of the Star Trek movies, the characters don't deviate from their series personnas. The emotional impact of several scenes is so intense it was hard to stay seated (a crash landing sequence can almost give you motion sickness). This brings a satisfying end to the storyline the original series had started. It's a shame the show never got to tell this story in its entirety. You can see where some parts of the movie are rushed in a way. Something that could have been stretched over weeks in a series had to be handled in minutes, and that robs it a little. But you have to applaud Whedon for being able to tie up all the loose ends he started with just two hours. Shame on the network for cancelling this, but congratulations to Whedon for giving the fans – both old and new – the ending the show deserved. Heroes will shine, and some will fall, but Serenity will live on.” – Customer Review on Amazon.com | ” |
“ | “The Neverending story is by far the best “Fantasy” film ever made and I doubt that it will ever be topped. I saw this movie with my dad one cold autumn afternoon, and my life changed forever that day. This movie taught me that fantastic places and wonderful creatures really do exist. You only have to want them to. Even today, aged 23, working in the computer industry, I find myself slipping in the Neverending Story soundtrack in my CD player and dreaming away to Fantasia... This movie the most beautiful and touching movies ever created. It's an example of a timeless story, told with wonderful creatures and dazzling vistas of the land of Fantasia. The amazing and perfect soundtrack help capture your heart and won't let go until the end credits fill the screen. At which time you notice that you've been crying for the last 1/2 hour. I consider myself extremely lucky that this wonderful movie was shown to me at such a young age, telling me that the world is what you make of it.” – IMDB.com | ” |
“ | “The 12 shorts in this collection were made at the Soyuzmultfilm Studio during the late '80s, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet regime ended the subsidies that had financed the studio's output since its establishment in 1936. Nina Shorina's mordant stop-motion film “Door” (1986) probably ranks as the best known work in the anthology. The outre' inhabitants of a crumbling apartment house go to enormous trouble getting in and out of the building without using the front door – even after a boy demonstrates that it's unlocked. “Door” satirizes the mismanaged life Soviet citizens endured for decades, but the rest of the films draw primarily on non-Russian sources for inspiration. Natasha Golovanova's charming “Boy Is a Boy” (1986) reflects the influence of British illustrator Ronald Searle; “Liberated Don Quixote” (1987) by Vadim Kurchevsky offers backgrounds that evoke the paintings of El Greco; Mikhail Aldashin and Peep Pedmanson borrowed heavily from the Hubley Studio films “Keke” (1988). While Shorina's “Alter Ego” (1989) resembles a watered-down version of the work of Czech surrealist animator Jan Svankmajer. Although many of the films are interesting and entertaining, the studio was clearly past its prime. The viewer looks in vain for the compelling personal visions of Yuri Norstein and Fyodor Khitruk, who dominated Soyuzmultfilm during its most creative period.” – Charles Solomon, Amazon.com | ” |
“ | “This is like watching a children's book come to life. If you enjoy the imagery of illustration, than this series is for you. Yuri Norstein dominates this collection with “Tale of Tales”, one of the best animated shorts in the history of animation. Every one of these shorts is amazing and I would recommend it to any parent, librarian, teacher, or educator that wants to show something better that the corporate, lifeless animation that is being produced today.This has heart it every cell!” – Customer Review on Amazon.com | ” |
“ | “Winner of 5 “Nika” Awards (Russian Oscars) including Best Film. Somewhere in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery lives a very unusual man. His fellow-monks are confused by his bizarre conduct. Those who visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise demons and foretell the future. However, he considers himself unworthy because of a sin he committed in his youth. The film is a parable, combining the realities of Russian everyday life with monastic ritual and routine.” – Amazon.com | ” |
ENGLISH: Good news! Pictures are back! Please don't use [ext-img]! Publications with this tags will be refused. Yours faithfully, AH-Team (see picture above). |
RUSSIAN: Дорогие друзья. AH-Team (чей метафорический портрет вы можете наблюдать чуть выше) торжественно рапортует: сервис картинок снова с нами! Блин, как это по-русски-то объяснить? Ну вот вы когда в последнее время делали публикацию, то использовали тэг [ext-img] и пихали в него ссылку на изображение, лежащее на стороннем ресурсе. Теперь же всё вернулось на своеобычные круги – в форме добавления публикаций жмём на соотвествующую кнопочку, указываем картинку на своём HDD, загружаем её к нам – словом, всё как и раньше – при этом [ext-img] НЕ ИСПОЛЬЗУЕМ! Ибо – мастдай. Такие дела. Ура, дорогие друзья! (Про себя, вспомнив старый анекдот: – А теперь посмотрим, как эта хреновина взлетит, хрю-хрю!). |