Our Picks Reviews - Page 27

Holly Hunter stars in this acclaimed network TV series as a hard-living Oklahoma City police detective who gets a bit of divine intervention when her messed-up life hits rock bottom. Unlike your typical cop show, Saving Grace tackles issues of theology as well as criminology in a world that doesn’t always have easy answers for tough questions. In addition to all 13 episodes from the 2007 season, this collection includes behind-the-scenes featurettes and commentary, plus a music video from Everlast, who performs the show’s theme song.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Some 30 years ago, popular folk singer Pete Seeger was picketed, protested, blacklisted and banned from television because of the strident “left-leaning” political views expressed in his music. This moving 90-minute documentary sings the praises and examines the cultural impact of the renowned folk icon and social activist who gave the world the songs “If I Had a Hammer,” “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “Where Have All The Flowers Gone,” and who continues to believe in the power of music to change the world.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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From 1977 through most of the ’80s, this British-American hybrid band, led by the flamethrower vocals of Lou Graham, stormed the charts with a string of singles that helped define the “arena rock” era. If you’ve forgotten just how your stereo speakers thumped to “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold As Ice,” “Double Vision,” “Juke Box Hero” and “Urgent” (with its burn-down-the-house guest-star sax solo by the great Jr. Walker), this 32-tune collection—which also includes a brand-new song, “Too Late,” and three live tracks—will be a thoroughly rockin’ reminder.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Over the decades, the Boston Red Sox have created enough characters, history, lore, drama and trivia to overspill Fenway Park several times. Author Green—who’s similarly saluted the Cubs, Mets and Giants—assembles rare photos, quotes, anecdotes, stats and facts for this affectionate, informative, totally engaging rundown of legendary players, momentous moments and other highlights in the colorful annals of one of baseball’s top teams and its passionate fans.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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The “Godfather of Soul” gets his due respect in this triple-disc collector’s edition, which also illustrates just how richly James Brown deserves his other title, “The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business.” It thumps with sweat-soaked, floor-shaking performances of “I Feel Good,” “Please, Please, Please,” “Cold Sweat” and other classics. But its centerpiece is the real gem—a documentary about the night Brown’s televised concert in Boston on April 5, 1968, saved the city from being town apart by rioting following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King—because virtually everyone in Boston stayed home, mesmerized by the onstage magic coming through their TV screens.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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When it comes to bad hair, every dog has its day—and so do kittens, monkeys, horses and just about every other kind of fuzzy, furry creature in this collection of cute animals caught in hilarious hair-don’t moments and other comical poses. It ain’t exactly brain food, but Bad Fur Days is good for a cheer-up on those mornings when you just can’t get your own ‘do to fall into place—or any other time you need a smile.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Selections from the soundtrack evoke the swinging, retro-styling ’60s setting of this hit AMC TV series about Madison Avenue advertising executives and their lives—and loves—in and out of the office. It’s a cocktail party in your ears with The McGuire Sisters, Bobby Vinton, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald and other radio stars of the era, plus several ’60s-sounding tunes composed specifically for the show.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Culled from the archives of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, these 15 performances from 1957 to 1979 demonstrate the songs, style and on-stage charisma that made Robbins one of country’s top stars. The hits include “Devil Woman,” “El Paso,” “A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation), “Ribbon of Darkness” and other crooned-to-perfection classics, plus a bonus interview and video from Robbins’ induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, just two months before his death in 1982.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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If, after six years, you still haven’t discovered the offbeat joys of TV’s most gifted germaphobic gumshoe, there’s no better time than now to see what you’ve been missing. If you’re already a loyal fan of actor Tony Shaloub’s colorful character—whose numerous phobias and obsessive-compulsive habits make him attuned to details missed by other detectives—then you’ll relish the opportunity to revisit all 16 episodes from 2007-2008, enhanced with bonus commentary from cast, crew and writers.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

from Amazon.com

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This 1978 miniseries was a major TV event in its day—a sprawling, 8-hour epic about one Jewish family’s heartrending struggle to survive Nazi Germany’s “final solution.” Available now in its entirety on DVD, it features memorable performances by James Woods and Meryl Streep as members of the persecuted Weiss family, and Michael Moriarty as a young German lawyer turned into a concentration-camp murderer. The made-for-TV production values look every bit of their 30 years, but the emotional whallop of the story remains timeless.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

from Amazon.com

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