Customer Reviews:
More frustrating than reviews led me to expect.......2008-02-18
I'm not a new-comer to exercise videos/DVDs, so I was very frustrated at finding unfamiliar routines with little or no explanation about how to perform them. This will probably not be a problem after I try them a few more times, but I felt sufficiently frustrated NOT to want to try again. This was combined with the need for quite a bit of floor space. In the past I have been able to adjust routines to the limit I have of the size of my yoga mat, but these routines don't easily lend themselves to modification, because changes to routines follow each other very quickly. Also, if a person has any problems with knee pain, there are lengthy segments of the aerobic and lower-body workout that might not be comfortable. This workout uses lunges and squats quite a bit. The music was upbeat and enjoyable, but all in all, I agree that there are better aerobic and aerobic/toning DVDs that provide a more comprehensive lower- and upper-body workout.
very good.......2008-01-29
I think I must be one of Rosemary's number one fans, but I have held back writing a review on this DVD because I found that I had to do the routines a couple of times before I realised I really liked it. When she brought this out I thought oh no she has tried to cash in on a celebtrity, but no, Coleen hides in the background and does the routine like any one else and Rosemary is as superb as every. Just one warning. I found you needed a bit of floor space, hence only 4 stars, so my routines have to change with the shape of my lounge.
Good for toning.......2008-01-24
I now have four Rosemary Conley DVD's and this is my least favourite. If you want to do lots of body toning then this is the one for you. If you are interested in aerobics and burning fat there are better dvds to choose from.
Same as 2003 one with a different set.......2008-01-18
I loved her 2003 one, but was getting sick of the late 90's pop music and the same old moves so thought when I saw a new one it would be something different, but alas its not. Although the music was replaced with different, but equally cheesy pop music.
I like Rosemary because I find her exercises do-able, and these still are do-able and there were some odd new moves but only in that they were slight alterations (eg when doing a shuffle to the side, instead of raising your leg afterwards, you simlply bend it behind you, so these alterations are only slight). Coleen just dances with a permanant smile plastered to her face and looks in pain during the floor exercises (and just as a side note, if shes a size 10 I'm a dutch man's Auntie as thats what the DVD claims it helped her go down to).
So I gave it 2 stars, as there was minimal new content, more than anything the workout is just separated into smaller chunks so it looks more restructured and like it has more content. It used to be 10 minute warm up then a couple of 20 minute aerobic exercises, then the toning section, but now its separated into more smaller sections that just amount to the same (although it conveniently looks like more on the back of the dvd).
But to be honest I would still go back to the original 2003 DVD, even if buying it from new as its less than half the price and much more tolerable, I found the new one a bit annoying. And Coleen didnt bring anything to the DVD at all, apart from being one of the smiley background dancers, I thought there'd be more interaction between her and Rosemary or talking about bits she liked etc, but no. Going back to the old version tomorrow.
Amazing.......2008-01-11
What an amazing DVD!!!
Just done this DVD for the first time and think that it is absolutely brilliant. The music on the dvd is fab and encourages you to put 100% into the routine. The routines are easy to pick up and you really feel that you have done a workout. Would recommend this dvd to anyone.
Just fab.
Customer Reviews:
Six stars........2007-04-20
Firstly what is a 'Chi Energy Workout'. Well basically this DVD is two sessions on one disc, the first session an hour of Tai Chi and the second sesion an hour of Chi Kung. I would describe Chi Kung as the Chinese version of Yoga, although people more familier with Chi Kung may or may not agree with that.
Do not confuse this with Carradines 1980s video's which have been repackaged in DVD format as 'An Introduction To Kung Fu And Tai Chi'. The above mentioned has been subject to some bad reviews mainly on Amazon.com and rightly so due to less than perfect production and terrible 80s shell suits, big hair and leg warmers.
Not so this production which I believe is a repackaging of two of Carradines 1990's videos's. I could not find a fault even if I wanted to. Both sessions are superbly demonstrated by a true Master by name of Arnold E Tayham and backed up by what appears to be a small group of experts. Carradines narration is very clear, calm, relaxing and instructive and a pleasure to listen to.
Carradine also joins in with the others and appears quite competent although Mr Tayam is the one to watch, not because anyone else demonstrates bad form but because Mr Tayam seems to have that extra special something about his form that you just cannot put your finger on.
The soothing music of John Serrie and the background sequence of ever changing nature footage is almost hypnotic along with Carradines calming explanations of the flowing of Chi energy and controlled breathing.So much so that I sat and watched the entire two hours almost in a state of meditation and felt has if I had gained from this DVD before I had even tried it.
Joining in was a dissapointment only in my own limitations as I discoverd that I couldn't get into the half lotus that Carradine 25 years older than me sat in for the medditation at the start of the Chi Kung session.
Also at the end of the Tai Chi session in the attempt to do the continious form and follow along I found out that Tai Chi is not as easy as it looks. This though is part of the challenge and the learning of the continiouse form gives something to aspire to. It is certainly not the fault of the production which at the end of the session films Master Tayam performing the form many times over from every concievable angle including from behind.
However this DVD is not ment to be used only when you have an hour spare for the Tai Chi or an hour for the Chi Kung. It is cleverly separated into several segments that are quite benificial on thier own.
I gave a review of David Carradines 1990's video's repackaged into the DVD entitled 'Shaolin Cardio Kick Box' and I wanted to give it 5 stars but only gave it four because I considered this Chi Energy Workout deserved an xetra star and there is no provision for six stars.
Customer Reviews:
Billy Wilder makes us squirm, and Ace in the Hole makes it worthwhile: It's an excellent film.......2007-11-03
"Don't worry, Leo. I'm your pal." That's Chuck Tatum speaking. He's a hot-shot big city reporter who has been fired from every top paper he's ever worked for. Now he's hit bottom. He works for the Albuquerque Sun=Bulletin, a small town daily which puts yard sales on its front page. Tatum needs the job, but he's determined to find that one big ticket story that'll put him back in New York. The man he's talking to is going to be that big ticket. His name is Leo Mimosa, owner of the desolate, dusty Mimosa's Indian Curios ("Gas and Oil, Drinks on Ice") in Escudero, in New Mexico's high desert. Leo is currently 300 feet underground, trapped in a cave-in while looking for ancient Indian pots he can sell for a few hundred dollars. In the next 111 minutes, covering five or so days, we're going to experience so much corruption of the soul, misplaced trust and consuming ambition...leavened by so little humanity...that we'll want to take a bath afterwards. This is one of director Billy Wilder's greatest pictures. For me, it's permeated not by Wilder's famously sardonic outlook toward humanity but by the inevitability of commonplace tragedy. That there are only one or two people we might think well of isn't so much a limitation as an element that sharpens the fascination with great story-telling combined with vivid acting.
While Tatum controls his big story, and while Leo becomes increasingly desperate, to the point of believing Tatum is his only friend, we encounter a cast of characters who are either stupid and venal or sly and venal. Top of the list is Tatum, himself. Kirk Douglas gives an utterly believable portrait of a man, excellent at his job, who can taste the big-time again and is determined to do whatever it takes to achieve it. "I'm on my way back to the top," he says, "and if it takes a deal with a crooked sheriff, that's alright with me! And if I have to fancy it up with an Indian curse and a broken hearted wife for Leo, then that's alright too!" Close behind is Jan Sterling as Leo Mimosa's wife. Lorraine Mimosa wants out...out of Escudero, out of New Mexico and out of her marriage with Leo. She's a pouty bleached blonde, callous and discontented. Gus Kretzer, the local sheriff, is corrupt and more than willing to work with Tatum to insure he gets the kind of news coverage he needs for his re-election. And there are all those visitors to the cave where Leo is trapped...gawkers, thrill seekers, whole families out to set up camp and see what happens. Food booths and a carnival keep them contented while a drill pounds away at the rock to reach Leo. It's the slow way which Tatum has maneuvered to insure his exclusive coverage of Leo's predicament can play out over the next few days. Leo literally is Tatum's ace in the hole. The conclusion is as depressing as Wilder's depiction of human character. The movie's whole set-up, in fact, is designed to make us feel uncomfortable at what we're seeing. If we've ever slowed down to get a better view of a traffic accident, if we've ever watched with fascinated revulsion as a snake swallows down a live mouse or a mantis gnaws at a struggling lizard, we have to recognize that in spirit we're also part of the crowd eager to see what happens.
What makes the movie stand apart from so much of Wilder's skilled cynicism in some of his other films, I think, are two elements. First, Wilder plays this story straight. There's no sardonic comedy or witty, misogynistic lines. He serves us up a serious, well-acted drama and then compels us to take it seriously while he makes us squirm a little. Second, he includes two characters that give us some relief from Tatum's ambition and our own unease. First is Herbie Cook, played by Robert Arthur, the young photographer from the newspaper. Herbie is a graduate of a journalism school, a little naive and so innocent-looking you want to protect him from Tatum's manipulations. Second, and most important, is Jacob Boot, played by that fine character actor, Porter Hall. Boot is in some ways our conscience, the serious, realistic publisher and owner of the Sun=Bulletin who has the quaint idea that telling the truth is important. Boot is able, although not by much, to show us that people come in all flavors, and that venality is only one of them, no more or less than trying to do the right thing also is. In Ace in the Hole, however, nothing good happens in time. As Tatum said earlier, "It's a good story today. Tomorrow, they'll wrap a fish in it." Same with people.
Some call Ace in the Hole a noir. I'm not one of them. For me, it's a powerful drama, and it transcends genre classification. We might as well call Macbeth a noir simply because Macbeth has a tragic hero, a femme fatale, death and the inevitability of fate. The two-disc Criterion release features an excellent black-and-white picture transfer and several extras which include interviews with Kirk Douglas, Billy Wilder and screenwriter Walter Newman. There is an audio commentary by Neil Sinyard, identified as a film scholar. Amusingly, the booklet insert which has essays by Molly Haskell and Guy Madden is in the form of an edition of the Albuquerque Sun=Bulletin.
Excellent presentation of a great film.......2007-08-09
Ace In The Hole was written, produced & directed by American cinema legend Billy Wilder in 1951 following his success with `Sunset Boulevard'. Wilder only began directing in order to protect his scripts and this film is testament to that. Ace In The Hole is as bitingly cynical and pessimistic a film you'll get. I rate it alongside `Sweet Smell Of Success' (1957, Mackendrick) and `Network' (1976, Lumet) for its bleak vision of the media and our complicity in it. Kirk Douglas stars in what has to be regarded as one of his greatest performances as irredeemable reporter Charles Tatum who'll stop at nothing for a story. No punches are pulled here; this is hard-boiled with some excellent memorable dialogue. Cinematography was by Charles B. Lang (A Foreign Affair; Some Like It Hot; The Big Heat).
Criterion have excelled again with this wonderful presentation boasting a superb transfer with excellent contrast as well as many extras including an informative commentary. Other extras are included on a bonus disc.
An ace in Billy Wilder's output.......2007-07-28
This is another classic Billy Wilder movie which, like Kiss Me Stupid, was sorely underestimated on its initial release. Whereas the public of the time was not ready for a comedy like 'Kiss' with its controversial moral values, this drama punched too hard at the American way and cynical journalism -- it is also one of the four best films that Kirk Douglas made (the other three being Paths of Glory, Lonely Are the Brave and Spartacus). I have been waiting a long time for this and the only work of Wilder's I would give it up for is the Peter Seller's footage of Kiss Me Stupid (which probably does not exist, anyway). With the exception of his last film 'Buddy Buddy', Wilder's films range from good to great and this is certainly in the latter category. Anyone interested in well made intelligent films (the kind where you get really annoyed at the moronic voice over at the end credit roll when they are shown on TV) should give this one top priority.
Customer Reviews:
Mixed feelings.......2008-02-13
I don't think this workout deserves 4 and half stars. Compared with other workouts it is not that strenuous. It maybe more suitable for very overweight people. The 5 minute tone up/balance etc sections are better. They include some very run of mill exercises though. Press up for arms and sit up for abs. Woah! There's nothing original or exciting here but having said that the exercises do still work.
The DVD is for charity and Kate Winslet's only input is to do the introduction explaining that. The celebrities each do a 5 minute section but 6 celebs are involved in the main breakthrough buster aerobic section. Most of them are fine but a few of the younger girls from Hollyoaks (middle one) has all the coordination of a new born foal. They also look disinterested and that got on my nerves a bit. The one instructor does everything and she comes across well.
I've mixed feelings about this DVD. On one hand its for a good cause and the sheer number of celebs and different mini sections make it original but on downside it is a bit dull,music non existent and not strenuous or motivating enough. Buy it if you want an extra DVD but not as your sole exercise DVD. The only thing that keeps me exercising is the fact i have several different DVDs to keep me amused.
Good stuff!!.......2007-06-04
I've really enjoyed this DVD - I've found it's not too hard but also interesting enough to do it again and again (although must confess don't do all that often!!) but great to put on if you can't get out. Music gets a bit boring, but once you've sussed all the moves you can mute it and put your own music on. Also it's good that each area of the body is in it's own separate session so you can choose what you do and make your workout shorter or do the whole lot.
A great start for those of us who haven't exercised for a while.......2007-01-17
This is a fun program for anyone starting from a more basic level of fitness and i highly recommend it. Not really for someone who wants to challenge/punish themselves though, as one of the previous reviewers also says - it's more for someone who hasn't exercised for a while (ie me!).
That said, it is easy to follow, fun and allows you to pick from a variety of exercises so you don't get bored having to do the same thing each day, which is mainly why i bought it. I'm really enjoying and my thighs are really aching today so it must be doing some good!
The Working Woman's work out!!.......2007-01-05
This DVD is excellent - It was bought for me in what was supposed to be a Secret Santa insult, and instead has proved to be one of my favourite Christmas pressies of 2006! The routines are energetic and easy to follow, and the celebrites are great as, unlike so many other fitness DVD's, they don't take themselves too seriously and really look like they are having fun. The fact that they make as many mistakes getting to grips with the moves as you do keeps you entertained throughout. The Ramsey's are hysterical and informative, and the workout pick and mix menu is great for anyone with a busy schedule...Highly recommend for anyone who wants a New Year head start on the fitness front!!!
For once i wasn't bored!.......2006-12-20
I have tried many celebrity DVD's over the years. this is the first one that i have not been bored with. you have a 5 minute warm up then you have to do the body buster section, which takes about 20 mins. from there you are taken to a menu where you can choose from a number of diffeent excerises, depending on what area you want to work on. they all last 5 minutes. Then to end it all there is a 5 minute cool down. Because you can pick and choose, and you know that each section isn't very long, it makes you feel better and more motivated. The celebrities aren't the main focus in it, which is good, but you can tell that they haven't had much tarining so they get it wrong too, which is so refreshing! One of the Hollyoaks girls hardly got any of it right! finally, because you can pick and choose you can alter how long your workout is. so if your like me and haven't got much time it's brilliant.
Customer Reviews:
Best comedy i have seen for a long time!!!.......2006-09-15
I wanted to watch this film based on the double clip emailed to me - the one where Alex befouls his friends mum with creamy white spooge - and the dance dance revolution clip. Having watched the movie last night i have to say it lived up to my expectations and wasn't just a few funny bits with lots of filler (eg roadtrip, although i do like that film). It makes a change to see a movie based on a 35 year old with a gaming obsession like so many of us have. You need to watch this film now!
absolutely awesome!!!!!.......2006-09-02
i got a copy of this film from the internet and i have to say in 2006 this is the best comedy movie i have ever seen, i love all the happy maddison films, big daddy, joe dirt, deuce bigalo etc so for any fan of these or just comedy films get this movie
Customer Reviews:
Heartwarming tale, for when you're under the weather........2008-02-07
There are times in life when you need things to be simple. To find pleasure in simple things, to watch life bloom in surprising ways and relax in the company of friends. That is what this film is about.
The cast are all old friends of ours, who help us breifly to forget our troubles, by showing us the restorative value in watching nature grow.
The perfomances are understated, there are no great lines delivered, no dramatic intensity. It is the clever use of flowers and plants that puts life into the story.
I recommend you watch this movie whether you are a gardener or not. However save it for when you are feeling low. It is all smiles from start to finish and is sure to cheer you up.
One more of Britains finest.......2005-08-20
No one is as good with doing heartwarming little movies as the Britains. This is a touching comedy, noone with a heart would not love. Owen is adorable and so is the rest of the cast in this fine movie.
A comic, heartwarming, rather old fashioned tale........2003-02-03
Based on a true story, Greenfingers is about a man that gets transferred to an open prison and is befriended by an older inmate. As their friendship develops, he helps him find a purpose to his life after serving a sentence for the murder of his brother. From a gift of a packet of Viola seeds, we see the transformation of the prison garden and inmates, until they take their place at the prestigious Hampton Court Flower Show.
It is a comic, heartwarming, rather old fashioned tale with excellent performances from Clive Owen and Helen Mirren. This film draws its audience from armchair gardeners everywhere who sit glued to the many gardening makeover programmes which have found such popularity over the past few years. Well worth watching.
UK DVD:
- Sacred Yoga Practice: Vinyasa Flow - Pure Tranquility [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Sara Ivanhoe's 20 Minute Yoga Makeover: Sculpted Buns and Thighs (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Simply Hip Hop and Funk for Beginners
- Slim Goodbody Allfit: Stress & Relaxation (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Small Miracles (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Stott Pilates: Be Kind to your Spine (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Stott Pilates: Core Challenge, Level 3 [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Stott Pilates: Pain-Free Posture [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Stott Pilates: Relaxation Workout (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Stott Pilates: The Secret To Weight Loss Vol.1 And 2
UK DVD List
UK DVD
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