Rory O'Shea Was Here

Meet Rory, he's got spikey hair, a nose ring and a larger-than-life personality and when he rolls into a room he makes sure everyone takes notice! Rory has muscular dystrophy and not much time left in this world. He is determined to enjoy every moment and refuses to abide by the rules that others think he should live by. But he is not perfect; when he is hurting he verbally lashes out. But his friends love him anyways. His closest friend is Michael. Michael has cerebral palsy and has lived in an institution his whole life. He never even imagines life outside of there, until Rory comes along and teaches him a thing or two about independence. This movie doesn't make you just "feel sorry" for those with disabilities. The movie veiwer shares the everyday moments but also the fun ones. This movie will touch you and break your heart. It is also a reminder that we all leave an impression on this earth. Enjoy. 1/5/09

Venus Beauty Institute

This story follows the character of Angele, a forty-something esthetician who works in a busy beauty salon in Paris. The day in and day out activities and adventures include a parade of colorful characters that frequent the salon. Angele has satisfactory relationships with her coworkers but seems distracted by her own melancholy to really connect with them. It is not that she doesn’t care for them; in fact she extends herself to them when they truly need her. Her love life is another story. After a series of one night stands and failed relationships, Angele finds herself lonely and fed up with love. Then a younger scruffy stranger who has become smitten with her starts pursuing her. She reluctantly starts seeing him and navigating yet another romance, only to find he has a few hang ups of his own. It was an enjoyable, down to earth movie that I would recommend to others who enjoy Foreign films.

Paris When it Sizzles

If you are in a mood to see something light-hearted, altogether silly, and somewhat romantic, then queue this. It was delightful as the two main characters (Hepburn and Holden) come up with a twisty, over the top screen play together and in that process really come to like one another. The dialog is funny and they refer to Hepburn's previous films every once in a while. A true fan will catch on to that. This film allows you just to watch and enjoy the early 1960's in the music and wardrobe. No thinking is necessary, only fun is to be had!

New York City Ballet: The Complete Workout: Vols. 1 & 2

As an instructional video I cannot rate this very high. There is NO instruction. The dancers on screen, while beautiful and graceful, quickly move from one dance move to another. It is nice to watch if you want to watch it as a ballet video, but even with a dance background I had a difficult time enjoying the workout. You may not avert your eyes, which for some, especially auditory learners, can not follow. The music is very nice however.

Frontline: The Medicated Child

This documentary, while informative, should inflame parents. It examines a couple of families' lives that are controlled by so called mental disorders and their medications. These poor kids are drugged to maximum capacity because the "experts" are admittedly using their best guess when prescribing powerful drugs that have not even been tested in children. What is eye opening to me is the parents in this film who feel that these drugs are absolutely necessary for their children. Their blind faith in the medical community seems very natural, however is astounding. The sheer volume of mental disorder diagnoses in children in this country compared to others alone raises red flags within me. These doctors seem to throw out common sense with all their evaluations, which is shameful. "Medicine" is not always the answer, and no alternatives are even suggested. Striping the chemicals out from the body, found in our over-processed and artificially flavored foods, everyday products and medications would seriously aleve a lot of these issues in these kids. There are Natural alternatives out there. Parents: Your child is not a guinea pig. If one even suspects these types of diagnoses, one should do some serious research on their own.