Reviews

We purchased this for our granddaughter to use for sleeping in this summer when we go camping. We chose this over a playpen because of its light weight and the fact that it folds up into a compact size. We will be using it inside of our RV. We also picked the PeaPod Plus because is it a little bit larger than the regular PeaPod. When it arrived, I opened it and it popped up into a little tent. It has a strong fabric odor, so I've left it open in a spare bedroom to air out. I'm hoping that the odor will leave before we use it. The sleeping bag is washable, so I will wash it before using. I'm hoping that I will be able to collapse it and get it to fit back into it's carrying bag without too much trouble.

The bed is really cute but a but chunky. It pops open automatically which is half the work already done for you. The hand pump takes time so it's better if you just purchase a small electrical one that can both inflate and deflate the mattress. It included a sleeping bag which was a real nice surprise. My only complaint is that I can't get it to compress enough when I pack it back up so it's a but chunky in the suit case. But all in all it's a good product. It's almost like your child has his or her own fort to travel with.

My son and daughter-in-law use the tent for their one-year-old son to nap and play in (in screened comfort!) on their boat and he also likes to play in it in their house. They all love the comfort and convenience.

Reviews

I ordered this pillow for my 2 yr old grandson. He loves it. It is so soft that he likes to sleep with it when he is at my house. He likes the "fish" on it. Well worth the money.

My daughter (age 5) got this pillow for Easter. We had just redecorated her room in orcas and dolphins. She loves it. It is very soft and the tail makes a handle. Now that she has a bedspread of her choosing and decorative pillows, she sometimes remembers to make her bed. The pillow is smaller than I expected but is good for a small child since she can easily carry it around.

Reviews

Released several years ago for the 25th Anniversary of Varese Sarabande, the entreprising label devoted almost exclusively to film scores, this inexpensive compilation is good way to sample many compelling scores from the last few decades of movies. I will run down through some highlights. The first disc contains much of the best music on this collection. Angelo Badalamenti's theme from David Lynch's "Blue Velvet". Also a selection from Maurice Jarre's score to "Witness". John Carpenter's simplistic yet creepy theme from his classic "Halloween". Charles Bernstein's sinister opening credits music to "A Nightmare on Elm Street". Howard Shore's beautiful and dramatic end theme to the Cronenberg film, "The Fly". One of my absolute favorites on this disc is undoubtedly the "Robocop" theme by the late, great Basil Poledouris which is one of the most inspiring action themes from the 1980s. Then we get the familiar march from "The Empire Strikes Back" by John Williams. I also love the all American score by Bill Conti composed for the film "The Right Stuff". Alan Silvestri contributes a selection from his score to James Cameron's "The Abyss", mixing orchestra with a grand choral contribution. It's strange that most of the best music at least to my ears is contained here on the first disc. The other three CDs have much less interesting material but how can one forget Poledouris again in the big march from "Starship Troopers" as well as a selection from Don Davis' score to the sci-fi blockbuster "The Matrix". It's clear that Varese Sarabande intended for this compilation to be more of a sampler to whet your appetite for the full scores instead of giving you much in the way of musical substance. Most tracks don't run much longer than four minutes but it's plenty enough to hold all the famous themes and melodies from these movies. Varese Sarabande has also released a 30th Anniversary Celebration recently with no overlap with this set whatsoever. I get a bang of having these themes in my library as most of the full scores aren't exactly great classics, so it's a great idea to have a compilation of all the winning and recognizable numbers together in one place. The very low asking price also helps greatly indeed.

I am enjoying Varese Sarabande right now as I write this review. It is a true stress reliever. Totally love it. I also play this CD and the 30th anniversary edition to my third graders. They recognize some of the music from movies that they have seen. What a wonderful learning atmosphere it helps to create in my classroom.

This collection is bound to capture your heart and evoke a tin ear on successive tracks. I found much to like and some duds - easy to skip over. Very good value.

Good mix of films! I'm a big fan of this soundtrack music and will be looking for more CD's like this.

For the price, this CD is a great bargain. The musical selections, as you might expect, are mixed in quality ranging from extraordinary to so so, the balance being worthwhile and interesting. Sonically the CD is excellent.

Reviews

My kids and I love this movie! We love Jumanji as well and I didn't know it was made by the same person! Two thumbs up!!

Good script, good story line, but one minor actor problem. Shirley Temple...if she could do it at age 7 (very well by the way), than one actor with charisma could do movies like this one. It's not entirely believable script but it's creative and I like the sarcasm. The older brother was not a very good actor compared to his younger brother. That was until the Astronaut (Dax Shepard) came in......the older brother still weren't All that great but his younger brother and the Astronaut should have won an Emmy, a Golden globes, and a VIP ticket to the MTV movie awards were everyone claps and cheers on Que. The above sentence may have been a little sarcasm but J. Favreau and C. Allsburg have Creative talent. Four starts; nothing more because IMO they should have hired Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone. The actors-over-artist were good but the artist (the script writers and Allsburg) obviously have creative minds. This is for the Blu-Ray edition; same movie just high-def.

I bought this dvd because I saw part of it on TV. It's not usually the type of movie that interest me, but when it came on I was immediately "hooked". Despite the ton of commercials I stayed interested. I was unable to watch the entire movie so I looked for it and ordered it. I bought it so that my nephew and grandson would have something new to watch when they come to visit. Even though it is geared for children, specifically boys, it was interesting enough to hold my attention and to make me want to see the complete movie. I recommend it highly for anyone who has boys to entertain. It's suspenseful and fun and teaches a valuable life lesson.

Very annoying to see two brothers screaming one at the other for two hours, even with a happy ending, in a nutshell that's the story... Also, who needs a second Jumanji.

Great action movie. Once it got going, it never slowed down. Lots of fun. The only complaint I have is that I found the depiction of the teenage girl extremely sexist - and I am not a feminist! She was shown in visually sexual manner and as extremely self-centered. If the objective of the character's portrayal was to depict how a teenage sister might be seen by their younger brothers, the part was very well played by the young actress. If the part was scripted to sex up the movie or include some off-beat humor, I suspect many would find the portrayal offensive. The script did a good job of showing friction between two brothers of differing ages and their reconciliation.

Reviews

If you don't own all these Webber musicals individually already, this is a great over view of his best songs and works.

1 of the most complete Andrew Lloyd Webber box sets out there as far as what he has done. Every thing from Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, To Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coats. Disk one contains various hits from Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Song And Dance. Disk two Contains various hits frim Starlight Express, Requiem, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of love. Disk three contains various hits from Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, By Jeeves, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down The Wind, The Beautiful Game Disk four Hits and more. Songs sung by other stars such as Cats Betty Buckly instead of Alaine Paige and Any Dream Will Do Donny Osmond isntead of Jason Donovan. Disk five are some rarities and never head songs don for these musicals. Some sond gorgeous and you wonder why they never made it and Andrew Lloyd Webber actual sings in 1 of the songs on this disk. Most product are dont from the west end or european casts but they still sound remarkible stunnung. A definate must get for any Andrew Lloyd Webber fan.

Between Amazone, Ebay and Napster, I don't usually buy CDs anymore, and I usually wait till I can buy them cheaper "new and used". When this set came out, I was excited, mainly by Disc 5, but wasn't going to spend $70 on it. I waited till it was cheap enough, and got it for Father's day this year. It was worth the wait. The concept is great. The packaging is great. The recording is great. Disc five is really cool for an ALW aficionado. There are a few real gems on it; my favorites are Petula Clark's "I Could Have Given You More" and "Benedicite." I've always thought "Gus the Theatre Cat" made a great medley on the piano with "Unexpected Song" and "I DOn't Know How to Love Him," but wished there was an alternate lyric to match the other two songs. Now that I know there *is*, and it's a good lyric, it's a dream come true. The melody of "Benedicite" is one of my favorites from _Sunset_ (the book mis-identifies it as "SUrrender"; it's actually "The Lady's Paying" and "Eternal Youth is Worth a Little Suffering"). The lyrics are the canticle from Daniel 3, which comes up every odd Sunday in the Divine Office, so it's nice to have cool music to sing it with. I haven't bought _By Jeeves_ or _THe Beautiful Game_ yet, to it was great to sample them. There are other parts of the CD taht aren't found in my collection. I like CD 4 "The Hits." But the selections on CDs 1-3 don't make sense. First, any self-respecting ALW fan has the Original London Cast of _Phantom_, so six tracks are totally useless. Why not draw from the Canadian cast with Colm Wilkinson? Or pull out some obscure recordings never published. Why two different tracks with Michael Ball singing "Love Changes Everything", yet they're hardly any different? On Disc 5 is "It's Only Your Lover Returning," sung by Julie Covington. It's an early draft of the song (Lloyd Webber and Rice went through several suggested titles) and quite nice. The very thing one expects on a Boxed Set. So why have the Julie Covington "Don't Cry for Me" on disc 1?? The only difference is a few words, but it's otherwise identical. Why not Elaine Paige or Patti Lupone or Madonna? The _Evita_ section is otherwise the best, choosing a sample from each major recording, though I'd have chosen slightly differently (as above). There is a great selection of "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" from the Sydmonton festival, using the original music that was changed when _Cats_ went to Broadway_. It would have been nice if they'd included more recordings from Sydmonton, like the original lyric of "All I Ask of You" shown on the second DVD to the _Phantom_ movie. With so many great actress-singers who've played Norma Desmond, why does the collection beat us over the head with Glenn Close? Paul Miles Kingston must be set for life in royalties, for the number of albums the original recording of "Pie Jesu" has appeared on. "Amigos Para Siempre" is nice, but it reminds me of Shari Lewis's "The Song that Doesn't End," especially when it's been used on so many compilations. In short, this is a great collection for the obscure material, if you can get it cheap. But for a boxed set, it's a poor sampling, drawn mostly from the most familiar recordings.

Please beware they made a mistake on this. It's actually the shortened Ray Shell version of STARLIGHT EXPRESS from the original 1984 London cast - NOT the El Debarge single from 1987 like it says on the box. I don't know how they let that goof pass. Sorry to Ray Shell. Having said that, this is an outstanding compilation of Lloyd Webber's greatest hits.

Regardless of the fact that some of his latest efforts (most notably, The Woman in White) are disappointing, there can be little doubt that Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the greatest composers ever to work in the musical theatre. Ever since his "Jesus Christ Superstar" hit the stage in the early 70-is, it was clear that the conception and perception of musicals are never going to be the same again. Many of his songs became standards not only in the theatre history, but also as tops on the charts. Even though he's British, his influence on the shape of the modern musical theatre expanded over the West End boundaries long ago and has thus made an enormous impact on Broadway. Two of his shows ("Cats" and "The phantom of the opera") hold the record as two the longest running shows in the history of Broadway. He has also been the only composer to have three of his shows running at Broadway concurrently. Some of his awards include three Grammies, a Golden Globe, an Oscar and a bunch of Tony awards. But perhaps most of all, Lloyd Webber is responsible for bringing the musicals and the theatre appealing to the wide audiences, who in different circumstances would not consider seeing a musical. The secret of his success is probably the mixture of beautiful and catchy melodies, interesting subject matter (though some, like Starlight Express, are too thin) and grandiose staging. Over the years many compilations of his work have emerged. In the late 80-is and early 90-is it was the "Encore" series and lately the one-disc collection called "Gold". The one in question here can be considered one of the best currently on the market. First, it includes a 3-disc selections from all of his shows, minus the latest one, i.e., "The Woman in White", which, considering the triviality of the score, is no great lost. The fourth disc covers some of his most known songs sung by the famous artists. Then, there is the fifth disc with previously unreleased material, most of which are the songs ALW wrote with Tim Rice for various artists during the 70-is. The disks are all neatly packed in a hardcover book that features 67 pages of pictures and text with information about each of ALW's shows. One of the other assets here is the perfect sound quality, since all of the tracks have been digitally remastered. Here are my basic impressions and comments regarding the material on the discs: * Disc #1 has the selections from "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita", "Cats" and "Song & Dance". The Superstar material mostly comes from the Concept Recording. Although the songs sound beautiful as always, their orchestration is a bit dated now. Only Steve Balsamo's "Gethsemane" from the 1996 revival cast has a modern rock sound. "Evita" comes with the material from all of the major recordings: London, Broadway and the movie productions, as well as the Concept album. No objections here; since this is one of ALW's most satisfying works, every song is just perfect, although Patti LuPone, the Broadway and overall the best Evita, is left with only a couple of lines. With the selections from "Cats", however, I have some doubts. A plus to the choice of the "Jellicle ball" impressive orchestral sequence from the 1998 movie version and "Mister Mistoffelees" from the 1981 London cast. One of the best known ALW's songs, "Memory", also comes from that album. It's a pretty version and Elaine Paige's rendition cannot be matched, but why include this when the definite version, featuring an 80-piece orchestra and Elaine Paige with much better interpretation, can be found in the same movie version. Thusly, one has to buy Elaine Paige's latest 2-disc compilation "Centre Stage: The very best of Elaine Paige" to get that one. And "Gus the theatre cat" is more a recital than a song, so there was not much point in including that. Marti Webb brings her vocal charm to the "Song & Dance" sequence, Sarah Brightman sings "Unexpected song" with her famous soprano, but as much as I like her version, Bernadette Peters, who was in this show on Broadway is strangely left out here. * Disc # 2 starts with "Starlight Express". This was never one of my favorite ALW's shows; the plot is even lighter than in "Cats" and the 1984 original cast recording is terribly dated. Yet, here we have one terrific duet, "I am starlight" from the original together with three songs from the later revivals and it seems that fresh orchestrations were just the thing Starlight needed. My favorite remains a touchy ballad, "Next time you fall in love". "Requiem" is the most solemn of all ALW's compositions, written in 1985 to commemorate the death of his father. Placido Domingo's tenor rides together with the chorus all the way through the strong "Hosanna", only to be joined by Sarah Brightman in the final moments of this song. She then gives an echoing deliverance of "Pie Jesu". What can be said of ALW's next show, "The Phantom of the Opera"? A phenomenon in its own right, it's easy to see from the six numbers included here why this is one of the best and most beloved musicals of all time. The cast, the music, the story - everything is perfect. Although "Aspects of love" was never a popular hit, it does have some of the most beautiful love melodies ALW has ever written. "Love changes everything" sung by Michael Ball is probably one of the best tunes ever about love. The rest of the selected material here has a dreamy love flavor and the melodies find their way into your brain in the best Lloyd Webber way. * ALW's first musical, "Joseph and the amazing Technicolor dreamcoat" was more successful in its revival form than the original from the 70-is. The three songs included here are sung by the show stars, Jason Donovan and Donny Osmond. Maria Friedman was not a lucky choice to play the narrator, as the track from the 1998 movie version shows. "By Jeeves" was ALW's only big flop when it came to the stage in the 70-is. The 1995 revival sounds much better though, full of funny numbers in the best manner of the musical comedy. "Travel hopefully" remains one of the show's highlights on this compilation. "Sunset Boulevard" comes next. "Sunset" remains for me one of Webber's best scores; lush and beautiful. I listen to the original cast recording with Patti LuPone all the time. However, here most of the songs are performed by Glenn Close. A big mistake. If you've ever listened the American premiere recording with her, you'll know what I am talking about. She may have a strong stage presence, but her vocal abilities are too limited, and her aggressive approach to the role lacks any subtlety. Therefore, the two big numbers from this show, "With one look" and "As if we never said goodbye" are ruined by the fact she can't sing. The same goes for the American Joe Gillis, who was played by Alan Campbell. Luckily, Patti LuPone and Kevin Anderson, the original Norma and Joe from the London production, make their brief entrance here with the "Perfect year"; enough to show how better they are. The funny thing is, on the jacket and inside of it, Glenn Close and Alan Campbell are credited as performers in this song as well. If this was a mistake on ALW's part, it was a good one. The next ALW's show, "Whistle down the wind" was never a critic's dear and yet the audiences rushed in to see it in London. The score brings back ALW to his rock and roll roots of the seventies and the story is quite interesting. But the selections here are not the happiest, since the cast recording boasts with much better songs. And finally, "The Beautiful Game". Again, we have one of those ALW's shows that is worth in its individual parts rather than as a whole. "Our kind of love" and "Let us love in peace" are two catchy ballads. The latter is a nice amalgam version not available elsewhere. The two other tracks here I could live without. * Disc # 4 has the songs from all the above shows performed by different artists. The assembled tracks have their pros and cons. For example, we have some previously unreleased stuff, like Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's operettic rendition of "The heart is slow to learn", or a stunning and epic "A kiss is a terrible thing to waste" from "Whistle down the wind", performed by The Metal Philharmonic Orchestra. Then again, what was the point in including almost identical tracks as the ones on the previous disks? So we have Michael Ball again singing "Love changes everything" with only a bit different orchestration; Sarah Brightman comes out again with the same Phantom duets, but only with the different male singers. It would be much more appropriate to include tracks from the Toronto Cast of the Phantom, with Colm Wilkinson. Other pop deliverances (Tina Arena's "Whistle down the wind", Barbra Streisand's "As if we never said goodbye", Boyzone's "No matter what" and many more) were wisely chosen. Patti LuPone is again nowhere to be found and Petula Clark's "With one look" sounds too worn-out. * The last disc is probably the one that will be of most interest to Lloyd Webber aficionados. It consists of entirely previously unreleased material ALW for the most part wrote for various artists during his early years, with Tim Rice. Some of these tunes, not successful as a singles, were later used in his shows. Thus "Down thru' summer" became "Buenos Aires"in Evita, "Try it and see", an unsuccessful attempt for the Eurovision was used for "King Herod's song" in "Superstar" and so on. Some of these songs are nicely made pop songs: "Make believe love", ALW's first recorded composition, for which he provided the lyrics; "Goodbye Seattle", sung by Paul Raven, who later became Gary Glitter; "Come back Richard, your country needs you", from a never made musical, sung here by Tim Rice, or Latin flavored "Magdalena", with Tony Christie singing. My all time favorite here is a song called "It's easy for you", sung by none other than Elvis Presley himself. Lloyd Webber and Rice sent him a demo recording that he accepted and recorded this live version a couple of weeks before he died. It's amazing to hear how his voice remained in the perfect shape. Also, there is a track of Andrew Lloyd Webber singing "Policle dogs and Jellicle cats" while plying the piano. His voice doesn't sound bad at all. Taken as a whole, this compilation makes a perfect birthday or Christmas present to any fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows, or just anybody interested in some of the best tunes from the modern era of the musical theatre; despite the flaws I mentioned above. To the former, it may just be the final addition for the Andrew Lloyd Webber collection.

Reviews

I wasn't expecting much, but this product wasn't even up to those standards. The pegs at the base of the pieces don't fit into the holes in the board and the paint is already rubbing off of both the board and the pieces. The set won't even be usable until I individually widen each of the holes. The only good thing about this product is that very poor glue was used to attach the board to the travel case, so it can be easily removed and the orientation of the board adjusted (it's sideways as another reviewer has already mentioned). In fact, simply by unzipping and opening the travel case the board begins to pull away at the corners because of its slight curvature.

My son and I have really enjoyed this travel chess set. It is small and easy to transport. Perfect for travel. We keep ours in the car so we can pass the time waiting for appointments, etc. Pieces are easy to move around the board yet fit tight enough not to fall out. I would have liked the little zipper storage compartment to face the other way to make it easier to get the pieces in and out. The only other fault is that the silver and gold pieces don't have much color contrast and it is sometimes difficult to tell the pieces apart, especially in the bright sun. Black and white pieces would have worked better.

I bought this item as an avid chess fan, so I guess my rating doesn't really apply to the other games availabe. I've been looking for a good travel set so I got this one. But be careful and look at the pictures of the actual board. It's attached to the case and it appears that whoever made it doesn't really play chess. The orientaion of the board is sideways (white on right). So, if you're OK with having an akward case end in front of one of the opponents, or you like one of the other games, go ahead and buy it. But for my money, I'm still looking for a good quality travel chess set.

Reviews

TRON is one of my all time favorite films. This 20th Aniviversary Edition is awesome. It is packed with extras for you folks who, like myself, are into the conceptual/behind the camera element of film making. The image quality is very good, no complaint really. Some film grain is visible but nothing distracting. The trailer for the upcoming sequel, TRON: Legacy([...]) made me bust out my copy of this 20th aniversary Edition to watch the original again. Popped it into my PS3 and it is upconverting to 1080p beautifully. Since there isn't an HD quality version available *yet* I figured this info might be useful to someone who wanted to pick it up but was waiting for Blu Ray version. Unless they spend lots of time remastering it for HD, I don't think it will get much better. Most of the older films I have picked up on Blu Ray haven't been that much better than an upconverted version of the DVD, only exception I can make is Close Encounters, it looks fantastic.

product came in brand new in wrapper and also came in good time. very happy with this product and their service

My husband asked me to buy this movie for him. We watched it when kids and it has become a science fiction classic. We just love it!

Great movie that changed how computer graphics was done back then. It is a must see movie. If you loved Kingdom Hearts 2 on the Playstation 2 and wanted to know more about Tron which was in the game, you owe yourself to get this DVD.

It was easy to do. The movie came pretty quick in the time the order said it would. Loved the movie

Reviews

A remake of Sid and Marty Krofft's Land of the Lost TV show. Your take on the movie will depend on how you feel about the show. If you thought the show was great science fiction (you were probably high watching it or 7 years old), than this isn't for you. Most people who remember how bad the show was will get this! It is funny! Comedy master Will Ferrell is as a washed up scientist, who gets vindicated when his expedition takes a wrong turn. Now, he and his smoking hot assistant Holly and a dumb as nails redneck named Will, with no weapons and limited smarts must survive a world full of smart dinosaurs and weird creatures. If they can't, Will Ferrell will never be able to stick it in Matt Lauer's face!!! This is an enjoyable slapstick comedy. The visuals are great as well. The dinosaurs in the movie would make Spielberg cry! Bottom line, if you are into sophisticated comedies...steer clear of this! This is a must own for Will Ferrell fans. NOW FOR MY BLU RAY THOUGHTS: Universal rocks! The picture is outrageous! The sound is fantastic. All the special features are ported over from the DVD. FINAL VERDICT: UPGRADE WORTHY!

There is something about Hollywood's relentless drive to take any old script from a somewhat serious 70's children's show and turn it into a comedy. Gosh knows why. Lack of imagination? Lack of drive? I mean, if you really took the effort to take a show like the land of the lost and make it into a serious movie it would certainly generate lots of money for those who grew up in that era and would watch it purely for the nostalgia. Sigh, anyway, Hollywood has their own version of mathematics: turn a fun, nostalgic kids show from the 70's into a comedic pile of garbage and alienate the fans and ruin the franchise potential and loose a couple of million dollars and then scratch their heads and say "gosh, why didnt that work". Simply put, dont watch this movie.

I ordered this as a girt, and it arrived safely, well packaged and even sooner than they said it would. Much easier than shopping in the mall.

Aside from the fact the comedy itself is bad my main beef with this movie is that LOTL is supposed to be a scifi genre. This was not scifi but very poorly done comedy. I can't believe they took a somewhat decent show and ripped it to shreds. Hopefully someday a remake that does justice to the series will be done.

A true disappointment. Maybe it's because I don't appreciate this type of sense of humor, but I really thought this was a disaster from the get-go. It was much like a made-for-cable movie, but I've seen much better in that genre. With its sexual overtones and Chaka constantly grabbing Holly's boobs, this misses the boat for the family as well. It earns "1" star for some of the special effects...definitely not for the script or acting. This flick is eternally condemned to the "Land of the Lost".

Reviews

I adored this movie in spite of the cheesy wire fighting. I rented it first to watch with my nine-year-old, who is a junior blackbelt in shotokan karate. We both loved it so much that I ordered it the very next day. It has all of my favorite elements of The Wizard of Oz: beautiful scenery, good magic, a lovely road story, an epic journey, good versus evil, and a very wicked witch (who, unlike the wicked witch of the west, is beautiful). My son caught some of the similarities, and he loved the story, but he was most amazed by the (non-wired) bo fighting. Jackie Chan and Jet Li - away from the wires - are both incredibly strong and fast. There are obvious moments in the fight scenes in which they are relying on their own skills, and those moments are beyond amazing. There are treats here for fans of both actors' other work (e.g. Jackie Chan's wine jug), and the movie is interesting and beautiful enough for parents to watch with children who are individuating out of the wonderful Pixar movies. I wouldn't recommend it for very young children, because of the danger and violence, but it was wonderful to have something to watch with my nine-year-old besides a pokemon movie.

Jet Li and the great Immortal Jackie Chan bear their respective ages well. Li has had personal problems of monumental proportions, and shouldn't be making movies at all. Chan as I said is Immortal, long live he! Yet this film is a clear and rather pathetic torch-passing to the lithe and cute Michael Angarano ("Little Secrets", "Sky High")...is he deserving? From what I see in this film, he certainly fares better than Chuck Norris or the later Steven Seagal. Angarano plays a strange little teen who likes 'kung fu' movies, and is acquaintances with an ancient, played by Jackie Chan, who happens to sell/rent Chinese dvds from his old curiosity shop. Kid stumbles into room, finds the Monkey King's staff, gets his little white butt transported back to ancient China, meets YOUNG Master Chan (a Taoist Immortal who never really got his chance) and also meets a Buddhist monk (Li) who turns out to be a 'facet' of the Monkey King. Action ensues, and I must say that Chan, Li and Angarano are satisfying enough...why bitch endlessly about the camera tricks? Can you people spell "INSURANCE"?? Hollyweird don't like real martial arts in film anymore! Even Chan's latest ouvre, "Jackie Chan Presents Wu-su", has clever tricks to hide the inexperience of the young fighters. I shan't spoil the storyline further. Watch it yourself. I won't spill the magic beans. The fact is, "Forbidden Kingdom" is something we never see nor will be likely to see again: TWO, not one, great martial arts stars are passing their torches to this terrific American kid. Go and do likewise, they are telling him, make buku bucks and many kick-butt films. Angarano, I can tell, he's up to it man! This kid is going to be the new Chuck Norris. One thing: do not expect to see the proper original story of the Monkey King here. The Monkey King is a great and famous Chinese Buddhist fable. Some believe the Monkey King was a real-life Buddhist cleric who could fight monkey style, or who loved monkeys, or something along those lines. He's a Zen riddle. Is "Forbidden Kingdom" a good film? Well, I liked it and I ought to know. It has everything: clumsy fight scenes that could have been better, weird dubbing for Jet Li who nevertheless does his own speaking parts, corny and poorly filmed story arc. They come much, much worse than this. What I really want to know is boiled down to two things: WHY did Chan and Li wait til NOW to do something together? And, why did they annoint Angarano in the first place? I love this kid, but right now lacking experience he is not yet martial arts hero material. Ah well, neither was Chuck Norris in the beginning. (Remeber Norris got his start as the bumbling idiot who got beaten up by Master Bruce Lee.) Watch, all fans: get this great film because I think the answers lie in its future. It's fun, Chan is fun, Li is fun in his usual sourpuss fashion, and Angarano is fun, fun, fun--and I don't just say that because I think he's cute.

Based on the Chinese legend of the monkey king, an American teen discovers the king's legendary stick weapon in a pawn shop. He is transported back in time to ancient China, where he joins a crew of warriors fighting to free the imprisoned king. This movie works on many levels, it is a great action movie with very well done kung fu action scenes involving Jackie Chan and Jet Li, two of the greatest kung fu movie stars in the past couple of decades. In the midst of all of this is a great deal of fairly well done comedy. Very satisfying none the less.

A lot of low rating reviews are too picky. They pick out a single thing in the movie and say the whole movie is bad. I was surprised by a well rounded fantasy story mixed in with Chinese folk-tale. You simply can not compare it to the Chinese movies. Those tend to be darker with complex relationship and usually the fighting and killing are ruthless with body parts getting ripped apart. Maybe that is why reviewers are saying this is more family friendly. Overall, the story was well thought out. The kung fu fighting scenes were intense and top quality. All actors did very well in portraying their characters. I never watched it because I heard bad reviews from critics when the movie came out. Finally saw it. And I was thoroughly entertained. In terms of showing it to kids, there are still some spots of violence that are not for kids. I probably would limit this movie for kids at least 14 years old. One more thing. The bonus features are fantastic. I have the single disc version and it has quite a long list of bonus features. Make sure you watch all the bonus features!

Lots of action and it makes you laugh as well. I would recommend seeing this one. It is very entertaining and lots of fun to watch.

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Creative Kids Gift Basket I FORGOT MY GRAND DAUGHTERS BIRTHDAY. I NEEDED SOMETHING FAST, INEXPENSIVE ENTERTAINING, AND WORTHWILE FOR THE PARENTS AND THE KIDS. THIS GIFT FITS THE BILL FOR ALL MY REQUIREMENTS AND MANY MORE. A SUPERB GIFT THAT PLEASES PARENTS ANS KIDS ALIKE. CHILDREN SHOULD BE SUPERVISED SO THAT PARENTS AND CHILDREN CAN HAVE A SUPER TIME TOGETHER.

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This book contains tons of coupons all around US Casino, especially for Las Vegas. Compared with other coupon books, this book has the best value-cost ratio. It really saved me a lot of money when I visited Vegas recently.

You can save a lot of $ with this book. Plus the actual book is really informative also.

The coupons were the main reason I bought the book, but I was disappointed to find that I wouldn't use most of them. The rest of the book was ok, but not nearly as useful as "The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas". If you are planning a lot of off-strip activities, the coupons would be helpful. I'm not and they aren't.

If you are going to Vegas, there is no reason not to purchase this book. We used a lot of the matchplay coupons and came out ahead $80 just on those during our last visit. The restaurant and buffet coupons for 2009 were good, but 2010 looks even better. There is a BOGO for the Rio's amazing buffet. If you only use that coupon for dinner, you've paid for the cost of the book. Just picked up our 2010 copy for our trip to Vegas early next month. A must have if you are willing to try something other than just walking up and down the strip.

A new edition of this book comes out every year. The main reason to purchase it more than once is the coupons included. Several years ago these included good deals on rooms, etc. This year, 2010, I found most of the coupons had no value. Many were 2 for 1 deals, that could not be used as a single traveler. Others might get you to a restaurant, but you could get better prices elsewhere. The book remains useful if you are planning a trip to a new destination.

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I got this for my 3 1/2 year old and 5 year old. It's great for the 5 year old, but too challenging for a non-reader to figure out on their own (and it's that the point of a travel book?) Even my 5 year old needs explanation on some of the activities, but she's only beginning to read. Overall, a great activity book, but will best occupy a child that reads.

I bought this as a "going away" gift for my 7 year old nephew so he would have some non-video game entertainment on his flight to England. He immediately started in on the puzzles and really seemed to enjoy it. The only thing that would make this activity book better is if it was spiral bound to make it easier to color and work on the puzzles.

I got these for my 3 and 6 year old. They are full of activities that both of them can do. There are lots of mazes, coloring activities, and puzzles for them to do.

The book is great, but be sure to order it at least two months before you travel. I ordered mine one month in advance, and received it only upon returning from our trip. Too bad; we'll store it until our next trip, or use it as a regular activity notebook.

I've purchased three of the books in this series, one for each of our children for our upcoming trip. Of the three (Kid's Road Atlas, Are We There Yet, and the Best Travel Activity Book Ever), this one is the most like a coloring book (basic black and white pages) and the thickest (most pages) Highlights: *Lots of dot-to-dot--some color by number, mazes, spot the differences, drawing, and puzzles that answer a riddle. The book would be good for 5 and up....some reading skills (or someone helping who can read) would be required for parts. *This book would work for a broad variety of ages...my five-year old would need some help, but would enjoy it, some parts would be too simplistic for my 7 and 9 year olds, though they would enjoy other parts. Probably best for 5-7 I'd say. *Crayons required...not just pencil. *Good value for the $...more engaging than just a plain old coloring book. Some educational value in there...but mostly just fun.

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On a trip, in the car, on the plane, or just at home.. a great fun teaching tool for you and your kids. I have purchased several of these throughout the years and they never get old.

I bought this for my 3 year old. He enjoys "doing" the cards and it allows me to see what things he does not know or understand so we can talk about them while playing a game. Every few days he brings me the cards and asks me to do some with him. To him it seems as fun as reading a book.

I like the simplicity of all the Brain Quest items. My kids like going through them. It seems to be too easy for my 5yr old. My younger one likes doing this version. I have all of them from 2yr old up to kindergarten. My youngest does not stay focused for very long, it might just be him though. We will keep using them to learn a few new things and to make learning fun.

My two and a half year old loves Brain Quest. He thinks it's a game that just he and I play together. I was surprised at just how much he knew and it's also proved to teach him things he didn't know. Awesome learning tool.

This is the second set of Brain Quest flash cards we have for our son. The first set was given to us for a gift and our son instantly loved them. He is only 2 1/2 so some of the questions are a little hard for him but he does very well. We usually do these before bed and he actually requests to do them. They are fun and eductional.

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Well, it wasn't what I ordered. The listing states it is a DS Light TRAVEL Battery Charger. This is just a regular charger. The key word is TRAVEL, which means it adjusts the voltage, as described in the listing, for international TRAVEL. This is only a standard US charger. I wish sellers would read the listings before offering to sell their items. It is what we do as customers. I don't think it asking too much that they sell what they are listing.

I bought this because I couldn't, for the life of me, remember what I did with the original one that I had. The one that I got wasn't the one I was expecting to get. I was expecting the gray one with prongs that pivet in and out, but I got the black one with the prongs fixed in place. I guess that's what you get when you go solely by the picture shown and not reading the description. Anyway all that aside, the one I received works great. It arrived on time, and I've been using it ever since. Good stuff!

When I read previous reviews I was under the impression that this Battery charger did not look like the picture and that the prongs did not fold in, but it is perfect and works/looks just like the picture. Very great deal, my sons charger that came with the DS stopped working and now he is very happy with this product.

I ordered this for my daughter for Christmas, and it didn't even last a month. When she plugs in her Nintendo DS Lite, there is a short in the connector, and it only connects for a few seconds before it stops charging.

Very satisfied with this purchase. Saved money by ordering here. I only gave it 4 stars because it took longer then I expected to recieve it. It works perfect for my Son's DS lite.

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We have an Envoy & we placed the DVD player in between the front seat. It worked perfectly & was so easy to install. We have a 9 inch Sony DVD player & it fit great even though the bag goes up to a 10 inch DVD player. There are Velcro straps inside the bag to hold it in place if your DVD player is smaller than the 10 inch.

This case is about 2 inches too long and 2 inches too wide for my 9" DVD player. The paperwork that came with it says that it is a case for a NetBook or DVD player. It may be perfect for a NetBook or a 10" DVD, but my DVD player is very loose in there, and I don't want a bigger case than needed. I use the DVD player for flying, and wanted the case to fit inside my carry-on, not for it to be another carry-on.

This case is nicely padded and seems to be of good quality, but I think a few improvements would make this a great case. Pros: Quality, decent dvd storage area, fits nicely between the car seats, has good carrying handle, nice storage compartments, good price, and the kids love the idea of watching dvds in the car now. Cons: The securing straps are way too long and cause instability (I need them to be a little shorter, but there is no adjustment in only out), the inside color is really obnoxious (why not black or gray?), should have a little hole in the bottom for the power cord to snake through, bottom dvd storage area has one zipper where two would be appropriate for easier access, my 7" player is way too small inside the case (probably great size for a 9"-10" player), and it would be nice if it could attach to the center counsel.

I have had a small DVD player that I use in my car when the grandchildren are on a long ride with us. I have tried many different ways to attach it to the seat, between the seat etc. All have been pretty much disasterous. I fold this holder for the dvd player on Amazon that I would solve my problem. It is sturdy enough and stable enough for the grandchildren to enjoy their movie.

All I can say is; smart design, excellent quality, excellent price, and ease of use & portability. Excellent buy! Out of many options on potable cases on Amazon, this was the only one that had everything I needed. I purchased the Sony DVP-FX930 9-Inch player and later this case for my husband as Christmas gift. He travels a lot and needs a case that can hold his Sony player, and his BOSE headphone (which comes in its own case), and other accessories. This case holds it all! I looked at other cases, but they only had room for the DVD player. You needed to purchase another case for other accessories. My husband and I are very satisfied with this purchase. We were traveling on a weekend and I was driving, he decided to watch a movies with my niece and used the traveling case for the first time and loved it. We have used it in the front and rear seat. It is very sturdy. We have also used it in the plane, watching our own DVDs to pass time. I highly recommend this to people with kids, you don't have to worry about any damages to your DVD player!

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I saw many bad reviews about game capacity. That may be a serious issue for some, not for us. We trade in games so we don't have more than 15 at a time. So if huge capacity for games is the problem, don't buy this...although you could easily get a little plastic container and put the container within the movable divider slots. It is the perfect size for us...not too big and bulky, but big enough for all the accessories, especially the AC and DC chargers. I want the kids to keep the chargers with the DS at all times for those trips to the doctor's office, etc. This case faciliates those needs nicely. We can charge the DS on the road, and usually we find an AC outlet if we need one. The kids like these cases too with the handle and all. These are solidly made, have a cushy interior, and have held up well for a few years now, being tossed around in the car, taken with us camping, etc. The zippers are solid too. I can't tell you how many high quality things we have purchased that failed down the road because of poor zippers. Two thumbs up for us.

This a very nice case and I would advice anyone to make this purchase.This case is very well constructed and will help keep your things a little more organized.

This case is perfect size. I ordered 3 of these (one for each child) and they love them. They hold DS games and GB Advanced games. They use it to carry DS unit, home charger, and car charger. They also put their iPod nano in them when we travel. Good quality product.

Sturdy, cool looking case! Fits tons of games, styluses and room for other accessories. My son can beat the crap out of it and DS stays safe. Good buy.

I definitely like the layout and the space that this organizer has. It has slots for SD cards, and plenty of slots for games. Holders for two extra styluses. The only thing is a week ago I had a battle with the zipper to the main compartment. Instead of the zipper closing the case as I moved the zipper along it didn't zip it shut. The teeth didn't get meshed together. I had to go backwards all the way and then forward again. This happening after only a month doesn't provide much confidence.

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lmao this comes up in the ds search but the picture is of a sandal. the description on the search page is that its a ds case. click on it and it reverses. picture of a ds case but description of a sandal. even the "other things bought by people who purchased this product" shows ds stuff. someone fails for listing products lol

It's amazing. If the photo is to be believed, it looks like an evening wear shoe, but apparently it converts into a PSP case (or something). Now all your fashion needs are met if you don't have shoes but happen have your PSP on hand! I'd recommend this for the female PSP owner who can't decide between the practical protection of a PSP case, and the glamorous desire for a fashionable shoe. I don't own this, but it seems like it would be AWESOME.

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I was so happy when I found this suitcase/backpack for my daughter's Strawberry Shortcake themed birthday. She's only 18 months old, but loves to pull it around the house just to play with. It's very adorable and good quality.

I was really pleased with the quality of the Strawberry Shortcake backpack! Also very cute and my daughter can't wait to use it for school each day.

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the product arrived on time. now, i can have the psp, usb cable, memory cards and headphones in one case. It's strong enough to protect my psp from damage and impact.thanks!

This inexpensive case is much better than others that cost much more. For $9 you get a case that can hold a PSP, at least four UMDs (one in the system), a spare battery, ear buds and a few memory cards. Watch for the rivet issue discussed here. I simply stuck a piece of foam on top of it and the issue was rectified. The only other con is the weak looking zipper but what do you expect for the price? Buy two.

When I bought my husband a PSP I looked at cases....knew it would get thrown into his duffel bag or pack along with all sorts of other things and it would need a sturdy case to help it take that abuse. This case is PERFECT. The cover really helps protect the PSP. The pockets fit up to 4 games. It still looks the same today as it did the day I gave it to him. Great for keeping your PSP safe when you are traveling..

Material seems to be very solid so protective function might be well achieved. There are two very annoying things: 1. In the PSP compartment there is a rivet's head that will surely scratch your psp if not in the protective cover - BEWARE. 2. There are small pouches to store memory or mini headsets. However they are so loose, that each time I open the case, I need to be very careful, not to drop my cards or so. If these things could be improved I would give this product 5 stars...

I can put the psp along with a couple of accessories in it. The PSP and the accessories everything are safe due to the great quality of the product.

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This is the best case we have had for ds so far. It can hold two ds systems and up to 20 games.

If you own a DS gaming system, you need this case. It is a high quality and excellently designed product. The felt lined pouches provide a snug, secure fit for the gaming system. It's the best solution I've found to keep my kids from leaving their DS systems and games all about the house. They can store both of their DS Lites in this bag as well as their 2 chargers, car adapters, stylus, etc. If you're using the Nerf armor, then my guess is you'd probably only be able to fit one game system. The product description says it will hold up to 20 game cards because there are 20 pockets. But really, if you're not using those clear little game card cases, each pocket could hold 2 game cards so it has the potential to hold up to 40 games (although I'm not sure my 5 year old would have the dexterity to pull that off). It really is the perfect size. It's large enough to keep everything in one place, but not so big that a child would object to toting it around. In fact, my 8 year old carried it through various airports on our recent vacation and thanks to the convenient strap, I didn't have to worry about him setting it down somewhere and forgetting it. This is a must have. I'm extremely satisfied with this purchase and will be recommending it to friends and family.

This is a great little bag!! When it arrives, it's flat. But as you open the zippers and peek inside, you realize how roomy it is! There's two spots designated for two DSi's, which can be used for one DSi and charger. Then that same zipper area can hold game booklets. There's also holders for extra styli, and pens. The back zipper part has individual slots for 20 games, though 40 can fit if needed. Those slots also can hold any memory cards. A zippered slot is inside that area too. Can be carried like a handbag, or comes with shoulder strap. It's just such a great bag!!

This is a great case for the DS. My children share this bad and is perfect for trips in the car.

Keep all the acessories in one bag. Finally, even the charger. It holds my son's DS and DSi with both chargers plus the games.

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Ok I received this game over a year ago on Christmas, deal is I knew this game was a classic so I was excited to play it. I really like old school RPG's, but this game is kind of tedious. At first I was engaged when the I started playing the game, but now that I'm all of maybe 5 to 10 hours into the game (over a year later due to boredom) I wonder why am I even playing it. Chrono has to time travel constantly and do things that have little mention as to where I am going and why. Although the game hints at some things other's it's like why and where am I going. Truthfully I spend more time reading what I should be doing than it takes to do it. Even aside from that the story line is mediocre at best. I'm sorry I wanted to like this game, but I'm starting to find it a waste of time. I recommend instead Earthbound, Secret of Mana and/or Illusion of Gaia (be warned this game is very hard!). (I only give this game two stars because I can tell the company tried to make it fun).

Chrono Trigger was a fancy of my youth. A game that I played again and again, fascinated by the depth, variety, and unceasing quality. Everytime I played the game I would get drawn in to the Chrono trigger world, loathing to the complete the game and end the journey. It really was one of those games that makes you feel like you really are a knight or sorceror battling your way through hordes of evil monsters. It came to the DS?! SOLD. Chrono Trigger really does have a bit going for it, even in terms of modern games. The plot is engaging, fast paced, and fun. The characters are loveable, if childish. The gameplay is simple, but engaging enough that you won't loathe fighting, and the tech/combo system is fun, if only for the variety of attacks you can create. Graphically the game does smell of 1995, but the cartoony nature of the animation is stylized enough to keep most people from focusing on technical shortcomings. So, the game holds up fine in a modern context (though the battle system is a bit dated/simple as compared to modern JRPGs). The real problem with this version is it doesn't really add anything. This is basically a port of the old game 100%. There are a few new dungeons, but they are piss poor. I mean, they are really bad. Think grinding through monsters for no reason bad. Also expect endless and meaningless quests to collect items, and other trivial things. No plot, no reason, just random and useless. The only consolation is that they did add one final boss battle you can unlock that attempts to tie Chrono Trigger more tightly with its successor Chrono Chross. For an afficiando this might be worth the purchase of the game all unto itself. I can't give this game a bad rating, since the quality is excellent. But even for a hardcore Chrono Trigger fan this version of the game is not seminal (assuming you have played it before). I suggest you read the plot synoposis of the last boss battle on gamefaqs and leave it at that. Buy if you haven't played it before, otherwise don't bother.

This game is a remake of an older game. I never played the original, but it apparently has a legendary reputation, and having played this version, I can agree. Though it's an old game, the art style and the soundtrack have held up quite well, in my opinion. I must praise the music in particular: some of it is just delightful and oh-so-very hummable (I'm thinking Frog's Theme and Battle with Magus, for example). This is an RPG; you spend the game running around exploring, talking to people, and fighting enemies. Time travel is a key plot feature; your characters inadvertently travel to the future and find out a monster destroyed the world. The rest of the plot involves your efforts to prevent that disaster, via time travel. Despite witnessing the end of the world, practically, I felt the overall tone of the game had a rather upbeat quality, which I appreciated. One great feature of this game, in my view, is that features a number of optional actions one may undertake, which have visible in game consequences, in terms of how people treat your character. There aren't a huge number of these choices, but they are intriguing for the way give you, the player, a sense of control and of your choices having meaningful consequences. The game is relatively easy; I don't consider myself a particularly skilled gamer, and I only rarely struggled (no offense meant to anyone who considers this game hard :-) ). Regarding morally objectionable content, this game has a little: there was one statement in dialogue that I think might have been some form of double entendre and didn't care for (I don't recall exactly what it was at this point...), and there are a couple of female characters who dress immodestly. The cartoony art style partially mitigates this, but it is still an issue to acknowledge. Though with that objection, I would still recommend this game: it succeeds on so many levels and this issue is relatively limited.

First off, I'm completely biased. I loved this game when it first came out on the Snes, and I was thrilled to finally have it in a portable manor. Like everyone else said- It has a fun and mostly light story line. Vibrant colors and good gameplay mechanics. Also, a fantastic soundtrack. I don't mind the new translation, I actually prefer it. And the extras are mostly throw away to me. The raising monsters mini game thing (I don't know, I wasn't interested.) A great classic.

This game brings back lots of memories from playing the original on the SNES. The added movies can be turned off for a classic feel but I think they add more enjoyment to the whole experience.