Tony Island Blog - Sane Thoughts for an Insane World

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! I wanted to present you with two quick, but complementary, video reviews that will help you understand the fiscal conservative view. First up is I Want Your Money - this is a neat film that basically summarizes the conservative fiscal viewpoint. It cleverly uses animated Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama sketches to explain various concepts. It also interviews some mainstream conservatives, which was nice to put a face to the books I've been reading by these same conservatives. I recommend the video to get a grounding in current conservative economics and thought. It seems the Blu-Ray version is a Director's Cut with "never before seen footage" - I didn't see this version, but I'm sure the added footage makes it even better than the standard version I saw. Next up is I.O.U.S.A. The film is slightly outdated as it was filmed at the end of the Bush presidency (and thus tends to skewer Bush a bit, though deservedly so) but it st...

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! I finally got around to watching Super Size Me , the semi-controversial look at McDonald's food and its effect on your health. I rather enjoyed this documentary. I know there are some issues out there surrounding the movie, but overall I thought it was very good. Apparently, it had such an impact that McDonald's eliminated the Super Size! It was rather disturbing to see Morgan, the producer and subject of the documentary, not only eat all that McDonald's food, but also the changes that it wrought on his body. At the end of the documentary, they state that he was back to normal in about 8 weeks of healthy eating. I recommend catching this movie along with Food Nation that was previously reviewed here. Have you seen Super Size Me? If so, leave your thoughts below! Do you have a favorite expose-type documentary you can recommend? Leave a comment below - if it sounds interesting, I'll check into it! Thanks for reading Tony Island Bl...

Welcome to my blog! I wanted to let you know about a wonderfully acted, gut-wrenching movie called American Violet . There are so many themes involved - racism, absolute power, federal intervention, 'war on drugs' just to name a few - that it's hard to pinpoint just one. It's the based-on-a-true story of a young black woman caught up in a drug raid gone bad and all the politics behind it.  You really have to see it. Be prepared for a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Available on DVD or Blu-Ray . Thanks for reading my blog!

Welcome to my blog! I wanted to bring two important food related films to your attention. The first film, Fast Food Nation , is based on the book of the same name, but instead of making it a straight documentary (as the book is) the movie is a fictionalized journey of a fast food manager finding out where the food he serves originates. While I didn't read the book, I did find the movie compelling. I found the stories within the main story interesting and never "preachy" except for one small segment with college students. Overall, this film really hits you and makes you want to re-evaluate what you eat and where it comes from. Strongly recommended. The second feature, Food, Inc. , is a straight up documentary on where our food comes from. It's a rather disturbing documentary. Its basic emphasis is on where our meat comes from and how the corn industry has manipulated our food chain for the worse. It's a real eye-opener and is also strongly recommended viewi...

Welcome to my blog! I haven't posted a DVD Review in a long time so I thought I'd get back into the groove. I've been watching "Best of Password" - a 4 disc set that showcases 32 black & white episodes of this classic game show from the 1962-1967 timeframe. You'll play along with the guest stars and contestants -- though you won't win any money! Speaking of money, the top prize was $250 with an additional $250 possible if you got all 5 Passwords during the "lightening round". Not a bad take for the day. There are a lot of nice guest stars featured - Carol Burnett, Bob Newhart, Betty White, Peter Lawford and Paul Anka to name a few. Most of the guest stars had some sort of project to promote - an upcoming movie or play appearance, etc. As you watch, it will be like entering a time machine - men are in suits, women in dresses. While there are no "retro commercials" they do have some original "sponsored by" spots including Sa...

Welcome back! Believe it or not, I never saw the 1981 Bo Derek feature movie Tarzan, The Ape Man until just the other day! After checking out Disney's animated take on Tarzan a few weeks back, I decided to check out this live action "classic". I was expecting it to be terrible and perhaps because of that low, low expectation, I didn't find it that bad! OK - it's not Shakespeare, but what is these days? Bo Derek is there simply for the eye candy value - which isn't a bad thing! She has a lovely body, which we're lucky to see fully naked several times! And, her acting isn't that bad either (again, low expectations at work here ;-). For those who don't know the story...basically, Jane ( Bo Derek ) goes to see her father, who is on an expedition in Africa. They head off with a group of natives to explore an area with a large mountain. At the mountain, they encounter the "Tarzan yell" - and from that point on, it's just a matter of time ...

Welcome back! Well, I just finished Ang Lee's HULK -- and I don't know where to begin! Do I start with the acting (fair)? The "comic book style" shots [picture in picture, split screens, multi-scene shots, etc] (ugh!)? The lame non-story that tries to be "deep" (ew)? Hmmmmm...maybe you get the picture or, in this case, maybe you shouldn't! Ang Lee's HULK is just a plain mess - the film attempts to be some sort of serious drama with the HULK as the centerpiece in place of a menacing villain. Instead of radiation turning Bruce Banner into the Hulk, it's some hooey about nanobots, etc. It's all too silly. The CGI Hulk is not very convincing - how can human sized Bruce Banner become as large as a skyscraper when he becomes the HULK? And, then, to top things off, this HULK can "leap" 3-4 miles at a time! There's a scene in the desert where the HULK is leaping between moutains - practically flying - it's all too silly. The story...

Welcome back! Well, after the other day's fiasco with Mel Brooks' High Anxiety, I sat down to watch Mrs Henderson Presents ( Judi Dench , Bob Hoskins ) and I must say it was a total 180 in experience! It's a wonderful little film, based on a true story, about an eccentric rich widow ( Dench ) who buys a run down theater, renovates it and then reopens it, with the help of hired manager Van Damm ( Hoskins ), as a British vaudeville theater. Soon after, the other local theaters begin to copy the success of the Windmill Theater, causing it to lose money. Dench decides that they'll introduce female nudity and the rest, as they say, is history. The story take place just before and during World War II and as such the war makes an impact on the theater and vice versa. Dench does an Oscar nominated performance as Mrs Henderson. Though not nominated, Hoskins' Van Damm is just as good. Their chemistry together is truly wonderful. The supporting cast does a very good job as th...

Welcome back! So I decided that I wanted to try a comedy - I've been doing lots of dramas, etc and it was high time for a comedy in the mix. Mel Brooks box set was recently released and I hadn't seen all the films in the set, so I dutifully added them to my Blockbuster Online queue. The first film from the box set, High Anxiety ( Mel Brooks , Madeline Kahn ), arrived the other day. Now, normally, I don't rent films I've seen (if they're good, I buy them!) and I had seen this film as a kid (for some odd reason, I didn't delete it from my queue when it was added automatically with the other films from the box set). Anyway, I vaguely remember the film as being so-so and I totally forgot it was Brooks' homage to Alfred Hitchcock (an opening blurb mentioning that reminded me!) Well, I wasn't in for my expected laugh fest - maybe in 1977 when I was 13 years old I found this funny.....but now, when I'm -- um, never mind-- I found it stupid. Madeline Kahn...

Welcome back! So far, most of my DVD reviews have been rather ho-hum...the movies themselves have been good for the most part, but nothing to get overly excited about either. I would definitely recommend renting them at the least. Call Northside 777 ( James Stewart ) falls into the "wow - that was good!" category. Based on a true story , Call Northside 777 opens with a narrator explaining life in Chicago in 1932. Lots of underworld violence has resulted in many policemen being killed in the line of duty. We see one such murder of a policeman take place in a deli which was a front for a speakeasy. Fast forward 11 years -- the editor of a Chicago newspaper sees a small personal ad that catches his attention. It's offering a $5000 reward for any information regarding the murdered policeman from the film's opening scene. The editor assigns one of his reporters (James Stewart) to check out the story behind the ad. The ad leads to a middle-aged scrub woman, Tillie Wiecek, ...

Welcome back! I recently viewed Roman Polsanski's Oliver Twist , Charles Dickens' story of an orphaned boy attempting to survive19th century London. I thought it was very well done - the acting was top-notch with the sets wonderfully re-creating 19th century London.The overall atmosphere was very Dickens-ian.. The story is condensed from the original source material - necessary since the original material is about 300 pages! So, some of the twists and turns of the original have been elminated or changed to fit the set of characters presented here (ie, they used the core set of characters from the book thus minor characters and their roles in the plot were eliminated or given to the characters used here). I didn't realize that Fagin was played by the wonderful Ben Kingsley ! That's how good he is and how good the makeup/atmosphere is. 9 year old Barney Clark did a fine job as Oliver while 14 year old Harry Eden makes a fine Artful Dodger. The DVD has several special feat...

Welcome back! As you can see from the post title, this is yet another DVD review post! Most of the DVD review posts will be courtesy of my Blockbuster Online subscription  - I get unlimited (one at a time via mail) rentals PLUS one free rental per week at my local Blockbuster store! It's a good deal - they have other packages for more out at a time, etc. " The Bostonians ( Christopher Reeve , Vanessa Redgrave )" is a Merchant/Ivory period piece based on the Henry James novel. Vanessa Redgrave plays a suffragette who meets up with a young suffragette orator. On the scene arrives Christopher Reeve as Vanessa's cousin. They vie for the love of this young woman. The film is rather dull and the underlying semi-lesbian relationship between the two female leads is a bit uncomfortable to view -- can't pinpoint why it is, but it just didn't sit right - Vanessa's character seems to be manipulating this young woman using their common goal of women's equality a...

Welcome back! As promised, I viewed and will now review " The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex " ( Bette Davis , Errol Flynn ). Just to let you know, my DVD reviews will be short and sweet - I won't bore you with long winded reviews unless the film (or DVD features) really really impresses me! Bette Davis stars as Queen Elizabeth (the virgin queen) and Errol Flynn is her love interest Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. When the film opens, the Earl is returning to England in triumph over the Spanish at Cadiz. There's only one problem - he never brought back the spoils of war (gold) that England so desperately needed. This sets off a battle royale between the two. Elizabeth sends Essex off to Ireland to defeat the rebellious natives there but comes home defeated himself. In the end, Essex is beheaded - and Elizabeth remains a virgin. This film was originally released in 1939 - and only shows its age in terms of sets (fairly bland for a period piece) - the acting is st...