Exhale: Core Fusion Barre Basics for Beginners

Notes from a beginner
UPDATE Aug 2013: This workout gave me love handles! Not kidding. But it's a good thing ... here's why...

The tightening of the muscles up and around the top of my hip bone is so intense with this workout that where I previously had a nice (apparently) smooth round shape, the underlying muscles got so toned that the remaining fat around my midsection suddenly appeared like love-handles. Amazing results. And I expect the fat-burning that's occurring because of the additional lean muscle tissue will take care of the mid-drift fat in just a few more weeks/months. Good-bye love handles ... hello sexy! :)

I've been using this workout a few times a week for about 3 months now. I LOVE it! I've found that for me it's better if I still select to play the tutorials that come in between each of the 10-minute segments. I don't need the tutorials anymore. Instead I use the extra time to intensify my stretching. That has really helped my overall flexibility, wellbeing and lean...

Amazing results!
I got this dvd after attending barre classes at exhale soho, nyc. The exercises are great for getting to the lean dancers body. I wanted to get healthy and tone but didn't want to "muscle up" . Ive tried hitting the gyms year after year but never got rid of " lumpy knees" and inner thigh until I tried this . The barre method helps you use your own weight to do these exercises and the beginners cd is great for that. The calories burn even after the hour routine. I tried comparing the calories in the exhale barre (1300) vs a slimming series (850) with a resting burn of 860 cal vs 534 cal . my posture has improved and my knees and inner thighs are toned and butt well lifted! highly recommend the series.

Don't let 'basics' fool you!
Don't let the title of this CD, barre 'basics', fool you. These workout are short (10 minutes each) but very intense. I work out regularly and found all 7 of these workouts a challenge. I do one 10 minute workout a day and have gotten great results. I recommend this CD to everyone but caution those not familiar with core exercises; as noted before, these are intense. You will be glad they are only 10 minutes.

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The Mulberry Tree

Simply Wonderful
Great movie! I had the pleasure of seeing this film at a local film festival. The story is very well executed with depth that is not often seen anymore. The acting is superb with Joe Morton and Louis Crugnali giving absolute, award winning performances. You won't be disappointed.

Outstanding movie
Highly recommended. A heart breaking story about a young man struggling with his past and where his future should lead. The complex relationship between family members and the losses they each suffer will leave you pondering the movie for some time after.



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Mr. Sardonicus & Brotherhood of Satan - BD Double Feature [Blu-ray]

Mr. Sardonicus& Brotherhood of Satan Blu-Ray
I am a huge fan of William Castle.He was an A producer of B films. He comes through again in Mr. Sardonicus. It is a solid film with some good performances, most notably from Oscar Homolka. He is excellant as the servant. Brootherhood of Satan I felt was disjointed,and slow. Not a great film. For a Blu-Ray no extras for either film.TMr. Sardonicus & Brotherhood of Satan - BD Double Feature [Blu-ray]hey should have had isolated scores,and comentary's. Scene selection, these movies were really bare bones.

Even better than when at the drive-in!
These are two great low budget horror films that are unique, tell a great story, and are entertaining from start to finish. The remastering is superb and the detail is amazing. Mr. Sardonicus (1961) was one of William Castle's most original films, and you'll not want to take your eyes off the screen. Strother Martin's performance in The Botherhood of Satan as a coven leader is unforgettable. The nostalgia factor is huge especially if you can remember evenings at the drive-in theater in the 1960s.

great blue ray
If you think that an old movie isn't worth making into a blue ray think again Dr.Sardonicus in black and white looks so crystal clear its amazing it looks better than when it was released.this movie is on the order of a hammer film,a little far fetched but it sucks you in anyhow the acting is top notch with some graet stars.

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Dance Academy: Season 1, Volume 1

A TV show for all ages
I've streamed the first two seasons of this show, originally attracted by the ballet setting and quickly becoming completely addicted. I'm a grandmother watching a show developed for teens, but am enthralled by the acting, dancing and character development. The dancing and choreography are first rate (particularly in season 2) and deserve special mention. I'm eagerly awaiting the third season, which has been completed and will air on Australian tv in June 2013.

Into The Fire: The First 13 Episodes Of The Popular Australian Import
The popular Australian teen import "Dance Academy" has been discovered and embraced by North American audiences after its run on TeenNICK and its availability on Netflix. Its first two seasons are getting an official DVD release, however, for those that want to add it to their permanent DVD collection. I always have to question the marketing thought process behind the decision to split television seasons into different products. I understand, perhaps, if the season airs over two distinct time periods and you want to rush the first batch of episodes to market. But in this case, these are all ready to go. And instead of Season One and Season Two sets with all 26 episodes present, we're getting each Season in Two Volumes of 13 episodes. Truthfully, it doesn't make it any less expensive to the consumer. Are there a bunch of viewers that are going to say "I loved the first half of Season Two, but who wants the second half?" Doubtful and especially so when they are released on the same day...

Great Series!
My daughter and I have watched this series on TV and it is a great show! The dancing is superb and fits into the storyline. The actors are great and the writing wonderful! This is a great series for teens. Get it.

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The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection

Classic Marx Brothers not classy presentation
The Marx Brothers hit their peak with "Duck Soup". Sure, "A Night at the Opera" and "A Day at the Races" were both bigger box office hits and, while both those latter films have their moments they just can't quite compete with the inspired anarchy of "Duck Soup". Let's start with the positives first. It doesn't look like most of the films have any footage missing as near as I can tell. Sure, some of the editing still looks ragged but most of their early films (and films from that era for that matter) have that "look". The first three movies are a bit static looking (since the first two were based on their stage plays that's not a surprise--they look like photographed stage plays). With "Monkey Business" and "Horse Feathers" The Marx Brothers began to develop a style that was a bit more cinematic. All five films are essential for fans.

Now the bad news. Universal has been slapping together boxed sets lately of older films and TV series with little to no extras and without...

No Restoration, Weak Extras, but ***** Movies!
If you already own the previous DVD or Laserdisc releases of these great classic movies, you may want to think twice about investing more money for only 15 minutes total of "Today Show" interviews with Harpo, Groucho, and Harpo's son promoting their books. There is some fun here, but you want to kick the Today Show Director when they interrupt Groucho's story, after only 5 minutes, because they have other things to get to. Groucho really looks stunned and put out that he was stopped.

There are also 3 trailers (Cocoanuts & Monkey Business have none) strangely tagged at the end to promote the MCA 1980's Home Video Tape release.

I guess Universal forgot that they own the rights to the Marx Brothers half-hour 1950's TV special "THE INCREDIBLE JEWEL ROBBERY". This would have been a great addition to the box set! I have never seen this except for the old Castle Films home movie clip.

Restoration? Well, Universal never used that word in their description,...

Stars are for the movies, with no help from Universal
In summary, I will echo what's been said already about this collection. The films are worth having, because after 70+ years of existence, this is apparently the best Universal will do with the classic Marx Brothers performances of their day.

Now I will heap on some gripes of my own. First, there's just over six hours of material spread over six DVDs. You do the math--they're obviously NOT TRYING VERY HARD here. They could have easily fit this all on 3 discs, or fewer. It's not like there's a COMMENTARY TRACK or even a RESTORED PRINT that would make each film worthy of its own disc. Universal did the BARE MINIMUM knowing that real fans would buy these crappy prints anyway, and will pay again if they release restored and augmented versions later. (The Warner Collection beats this one hands down, but with different titles. Hell, even Universal's treatment of ABBOTT & COSTELLO was done better.)

The "exclusive book" is fluff; it has credits and pictures but...

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The Big Comfy Couch - Season 5 Episode 12 - You're A Gem

Season 5
So do great for children of all ages! Even my 9 year old loves it! The characters really grow on you, I was so sad when they stopped making this but so happy it is on Amazon Prime for all to see! It is a classic and will surely stand the test of time!





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The Unbelievable Truth [Blu-ray]

My favorite Hartley Film
If you like Trust and Simple Men then you'll love this film. Personally I love all of Hartley's works, but to me these three films just go so well together. They're all earlier works and in these films you witness an incredibley inspired director do more with a low budget film than most high paid directors could ever dream of doing. I'd also like to say that if you've never seen a Hal Hartley film then this is probably the best point to start out at.

RIP Adrienne Shelly
I was saddened to hear of the tragic and senseless passing of the beautiful actress Adrienne Shelly. Nobody can watch Hal Hartley's "The Unbelievable Truth" and not be struck by how talented and engaging Shelly comes across onscreen. At the time of the film's release it seemed as if she was a star in the making. However, she seemed more content to stick with modest indie films and sporadic appearances in acclaimed TV shows rather than become a fixture in vapid Hollywood product that would have increased her exposure. Eventually she moved behind the lens for what was shaping up to be a very interesting directorial career. Sadly, we will no longer be able to witness her growth as an artist, but as a small consolation we still have films like "The Unbelievable Truth" and "Trust" to remind us of her once luminous presence.

...at last, a Hal Hartley feature film on DVD!
When I heard about a year ago that Hal Hartley's "The Unbelievable Truth" is going to be out on DVD in 2001, I feared some low quality production - but this release should prove worthy for this masterpiece. The picture will be 1.85:1 anamorphic and hopefully the image quality is going to be excellent considering Anchor Bay's good reputation... Having been the directorial feature film debut for acclaimed director Hal Hartley, the film does not long for any big extras to be on the disc - an audio commentary would have been illusory - but we do get an interview with Hal, and the theatrical trailer of course. This is definitely a disc to get for all Hal Hartley fans, and the only thing that could make me even happier would be more DVD releases of his movies: Trust, Simple Men, Amateur, Flirt, his short films, etc... I'm desperately waiting!!

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