Glenn Perrett

Mr. Bean, Beethoven & Slap Shot!

Three recent DVD sets out are for Mr. Bean, Beethoven and Slap Shot. Fans of Mr. Bean (and there are many) will be delighted with Mr. Bean: The Ultimate Collection from A&E. I hadn't watched much of Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson), and what little I had seen didn't overly impress me, but I decided to watch the shows. And I'm glad that I did. Mr. Bean really is funny and the humourous sketches are cleverly done. I thoroughly enjoyed the Mr. Bean episodes and movies and, even better, our children enjoyed them too.

The collection includes the 14 episodes from the original series, on three discs, Mr. Bean: The Animated Series ("It's Not Easy Being Bean" and "Bean There, Done That"), on two discs, as well as the movies Bean: The Movie and Mr. Bean's Holiday. I enjoyed Mr. Bean's Holiday which has Mr. Bean winning a camcorder and "an all-expense-paid vacation to the French Riviera" where he falls into a series of hilarious mishaps. He even gets into the Cannes Film Festival!

In all there is over 12 hours of comedy from Mr. Bean in this entertaining 7-DVD set. The bonus features are numerous and include: "Deleted Scenes", "French Beans", "Beans in Cannes", "Documentary: The Story of Bean", "Never-Before-Seen-On-TV Sketches 'Bus Stop' and 'Library'", "Comic Relief Skits 'Blind Date' and 'Torvill and Bean'" and many others.

Fans of Mr. Bean will definitely be interested in adding this DVD set to their collection.

A movie collection that children will enjoy is Beethoven's Dog-Gone Best Movie Pack (Universal Stuios Home Entertainment) which includes all six Beethoven films including the latest - Beethoven's Big Break. The other movies in the collection are: Beethoven (1992), Beethoven's 2nd (1993), Beethoven's 3rd (2000), Beethoven's 4th (2001) and Beethoven's 5th (2003). The first five films are rated "G" while Beethoven's Big Break (2008) is rated "PG".

Joining Beethoven in his adventures are such actors as Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Dean Jones, Judge Reinhold, Dave Thomas, Faith Ford, Tom Poston and Jonathan Silverman.

With winter break not too far off, this movie collection might come in handy keeping children entertained during their time off school.

The latest "Slap Shot" movie is Slap Shot 3: The Junior League (rated "PG" and released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment). In this movie a boy's hockey team must win an important hockey game and rely on the help of... ... the Hanson Brothers. Joining the Hanson Brothers in the movie are Leslie Nielson, Mark Messier and Doug Gilmour. Special features are deleted scenes, outtakes and "The Making of Slap Shot 3: The Junior League."

For those who want all three "Slap Shot" movies Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released Slap Shot: The Hat Trick Collection which contains Slap Shot (rated 14A), Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice (14A) and Slap Shot 3: The Junior League (PG). The original Slap Shot has become a cult classic and includes the Hanson Brothers and Paul Newman who is a player/coach with the Charleston Chiefs and follows the struggling minor league team which increases attendance at games by playing "old time hockey." There are several new special features with this movie including "Feature Commentary With the Hanson Brothers", "The Hanson Brother's Classic Scenes" and "Puck Talk With the Hansons."

The second movie in the Slap Shot trilogy,Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice, contains more hard-hitting hockey and stars Stephen Baldwin and Gary Busey.

This collection might make a nice way to celebrate the upcoming Hockey Day in Canada (February 21).

CDs From Buffy-Sainte Marie and The Doors

Born in 1941 in the  Qu'Appelle valley in Saskatchewan and raised in Maine and Massachusetts, Buffy Sainte-Marie has been an influential singer/songwriter since the 1960s writing songs such as "Until It's Time for You to Go" and the protest song "Universal Soldier." These hits have been covered from everyone from Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand to Neil Diamond and Cher.

Sanite-Marie's latest album is Running For the Drum and this album features another 12 songs written and beautifully sung by Buffy Sainte-Marie. The songs on this CD are: 1. No No Keshagesh 2. Cho Cho Fire 3. Working For the Government  4.Little Wheel Spin and Spin 5. Too Much is Never Enough 6. To the Ends of the World 7. When I Had You 8. I Bet My Heart On You 9. Blue Sunday 10. Easy Like the Snow Falls Down 11. America the Beautiful 12. Still This Love Goes On  In the CD's liner notes Sainte-Marie has added some comments about each song.

This album also comes with a bonus DVD containing "A Multimedia Life" - an excellent documentary (worth the price of the CD itself) about Buffy Sainte-Marie with interviews with Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson, Randy Bachman, Bill Cosby and Taj Mahal.

A very good CD just released by Warner Music Canada is The Doors Live At the Matrix '67. Recorded at The Matrix in San Francisco, which didn't hold many people and which wasn't nearly full, the setting provides good acoustics to listen to The Doors in their early years. The 2-disc set contains:

Disc 1: 1. Break On Through (To the Other Side) 2. Soul Kitchen 3. Money 4. The Crystal Ship 5. Twentieth Century Fox 6. I'm a King Bee 7. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) 8. Summer's Almost Gone 9. Light My Fire 10. Get Out of My Life Woman 11. Back Door Man 12. Who Do You Love 13. The End

Disc 2: 1. Unhappy Girl  2. Moonlight Drive 3. Woman Is a Devil/Rock Me 4. People Are Strange 5. Close to You 6. My Eyes Have Seen You 7. Crawling King Snake 8. I Can't See Your Face In My Mind 9. Summertime 10. When the Music's Over 11. Gloria

Whether you're a fan of The Doors or a fan of music in the sixties, this CD will make an important contribution to your music library.

Classic Movies on DVD

I enjoy old movies and three classics have recently been re-released on DVD - Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961), Funny Face (1957) and Gigi (1958).

Breakfast At Tiffany's (rated PG) starring Audrey Hepburn is a romantic comedy featuring Hepburn as Holly Golightly, a "carefree New York playgirl' whose lifestyle is disorganized to say the least and focuses on finding a millionaire to marry. Holly becomes friends with a neighbour who has just moved in - Paul "Fred" Varjak played by George Peppard. Varjak is a struggling writer who falls in love with Holly and eventually saves her from herself. The entertaining film won two Oscars including the song "Moon River" by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. Other actors featured in the movie include Buddy Ebsen, Mickey Rooney and Orangey who played "Cat." Beautifully packaged and including a nice booklet of photos and information about the film, Breakfast At Tiffany's (based on Truman Capote's best-selling novella) is part of Paramount Home Entertainment's "Centennial Collection." Besides the movie, the 2-DVD set contains a disc of "Special Features."

Another good film in Paramount's Centennial Collection is the 1957 film Funny Face (rated G). This movie also starred Audrey Hepburn as Jo Stockton as well as Fred Astaire as Dick Avery. This comedy/musical/romance featuring the music of George and Ira Gershwin was nominated for four Oscars.

Set in Paris, France Hepburn is a shy bookstore clerk who Astaire (who plays a fashion photographer) transforms into a "modelling sensation". Numerous songs and dance numbers are part of this fun musical. As with Breakfast At Tiffany's, there is a second DVD specifically for the numerous "Special Features".

It's been half a century since Gigi (PG) was released as a musical by MGM. Warner Home Video has just released a 2-disc set of the movie featuring Leslie Caron (Gilberte/'Gigi'), Maurice Chevalier, Eva Gabor, Louis Jourdan and Hermione Gingold. Winner of 9 Oscars, the film features the relationship of a rich Parisian playboy (Louis Jourdan) and a girl who has grown into a young woman (Leslie Caron). Numerous songs (lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe) are featured throughout the movie including "Thank Heaven for Little Girls.

Disc 2 contains numerous special features including the documentary "Thank Heaven! The Making of Gigi" and the "1949 Nonmusical First Screen Version of Gigi".

3 Movies on DVD

Three movies that we watched recently are Meet Dave (Fox Home Entertainment), Fly Me To the Moon (Seville Pictures) and The Mummy (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment).

Meet Dave (rated PG)is an entertaining movie featuring Eddie Murphy as Dave Ming Chang - an alien ship which is on Earth to save his own planet. Inside Dave's head are a crew of tiny aliens led by a "miniature version of himself"! If this sounds a little confusing, it is, but it works. I found the movie both entertaining and funny. Things become even more complicated when Dave, who struggles to appear normal on Earth, falls for an Earth woman!

Fly Me to the Moon was another movie that is worth watching. Rated "G" this movie is suitable for the whole family and features three flies - Nat, I.Q. and Scooter- who are the first three insects to ever journey into space aboard Apollo 11. In fact, Nat and I.Q. save the space mission by fixing a short circuit in a control panel. The flies overcome other obstacles in this movie that features the voices of Christopher Lloyd, Kelly Ripa, Buzz Aldrin, Nicollette Sheridan, Tim Curry, Adrienne Barbeau and Ed Begley, Jr.

Fly Me to the Moon is in 3D and 4 pairs of 3D glasses are included. While it was neat watching the movie in 3D, it was difficult to watch the entire film wearing the glasses. You can also watch the movie in 2D. Special features include "Interactive Planetarium Game."

The latest in "The Mummy" series is The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) featuring Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello and John Hannah. Rated PG (not recommended for young children), this adventure film sees Rick O'Connell's (Brendan Fraser) son discovering the tomb of the first Emperor of China. The breaking of a 2,000-year-old curse allows a ruthless dragon emperor (Jet Li) to come back to life resulting in the O'Connell family trying to stop the dragon emperor by following him from China to "the icy Himalayas and beyond."

Lots of special effects and battle scenes.

Books to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day

This year Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is on January 19 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is the third Monday in January). A good way to celebrate the life of this remarkable person is to learn more about him and introduce children to his wise words and inspirational beliefs. The following audio books and children's book are ideal to read (and listen to).

King for Kids: School & Family Edition
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hachette Audio
2 CDs
ISBN: 9781600240980

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) was instrumental in the American civil rights movement, a great leader and a Baptist minister. King won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts promoting peace and non-violence while attempting to have all people treated equally.

King for Kids is an excellent 2 CD set featuring King's inspirational speeches. The speeches contained in this audio book were delivered during the 1950s and 1960s and included such speeches as "Love Your Enemies", "I Have a Dream" and "I've Been to the Mountaintop."

Everyone should listen to the wise words of this great man and King for Kids is an excellent audio book to share with children.

A Knock At Midnight
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Time Warner Audio Books
8 CDs
ISBN: 1594831009

Another very good audio book of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s inspirational words is A Knock At Midnight. This impressive collection includes numerous sermons from King recorded "at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, and in other churches where he carried his ministry." Sermons included are: "Rediscovering Lost Values", "A Knock At Midnight", "The American Dream", "Three Dimensions of a Complete Life" and "Unfulfilled Dreams."

This collection, which includes some sermons "not heard since he first delivered them", is an important addition to any library.

March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World
Christine King Farris, illustrated by London Ladd
Scholastic Press
2008, 30 pages
ISBN: 9780545035378
ages 6+

March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World is a wonderful children's book written by King's older sister - Christine King Farris. The book, which is beautifully illustrated by London Ladd, tells of that special day on August 28, 1963 when hundreds of thousands of people marched into Washington, DC where Martin Luther King, Jr. was talking about civil rights - the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." It is here where King gave his inspirational speech "I Have A Dream."

Farris provides a glimpse into history by letting the reader know many of the things that happened on August 28, 1963 including King meeting with other organizers of the march, marchers gathering at the foot of the Washington Monument where they listened to singers and then marched toward the Lincoln Memorial.

Later Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous speech that called for freedom and equality and which gave people hope.

Nature Books by Darwin & Muir

Books that educate people about the environment and promote a greater respect for the natural world are important - and often very interesting. The following books of the works of Charles Darwin and John Muir are impressive and good additions to a naturalist's library.

John Muir: The Eight Wilderness-Discovery Books
John Muir
The Mountaineers
Reprinted 2008, 1030 pages
ISBN: 9780898863352

John Muir (1838-1914) was born in Scotland and emigrated to the American Mid-west when he was 11. Muir was a writer, conservationist and activist who first proposed the idea of National Parks. He was also the founder of the Sierra Club. In this impressive book there are eight of Muir's books: "The Story of My Boyhood and Youth", "A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf", "My First Summer in the Sierra", "The Mountains of California", "Our National Parks", "The Yosemite", "Travels in Alaska" and "Steep Trails".

Muir's respect for nature and his desire to protect the wilderness are as relevant today, maybe even more so, than it was a century ago making this collection of his writings important for anyone with an interest in nature.

John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings
John Muir
The Mountaineers
912 pages
ISBN: 0898864631

Another collection of John Muir writings is John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings. This collection includes "The Life and Letters of John Muir" which was "compiled posthumously by Muir's literary executor, William Frederic Bade" and published in 1924. this book contains "elements of John Muir's unfinished autobiography with letters selected from the voluminous correspondence between Muir and his many collaborators and admirers". Also included in this volume are three of Muir's books: "The Cruise of the Corwin", "Stickeen" and "Edward Henry Harriman". Also included are some of Muir's pamphlets and essays.

John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings is another important collection of nature writings.

Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition
David Quammen, general editor
Sterling Publishing Co.
2008, 544 pages
ISBN: 9781402756399

Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition is an impressive edition of Darwin's famous, and controversial, book On the Origin of Species. This edition of Darwin's book is edited and introduced by David Quammen. More than 300 illustrations complement Darwin's "theory of evolution by natural selection". Much of the information used for his theory of natural selection was gathered aboard H.M.S. Beagle "during its round-the-world voyage of 1831 to 1836."

Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition is a beautiful book that will be of interest to those with an interest in science, history or nature.

Neil Young & Stompin' Tom

A couple of Canadian music icons, Neil Young and Stompin' Tom Connors, have just released CDs. Neil Young's was recorded in 1968 while Stompin' Tom Connors is a recent recording.

Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968 (Warner Music Canada Co.) was recorded on November 9 & 10, 1968 at Canterbury House in Michigan. Canterbury House is still in existence and this live album set in an intimate setting (you can hear individual people clapping, coughing etc.) whisks you back more than 40 years to the sixties. Young sings and plays the acoustic guitar while telling stories between songs - such as why he got fired from a Coles book store in Toronto and what he did with his first big residual (bought a 1934 Bentley). This intimate concert was given after the Buffalo Springfield broke up. The approximately 70 minute album is excellent and combines some popular songs, such as "Mr. Soul" and "Sugar Mountain" along with lesser known ones including "The Last Trip to Tulsa" and "Birds".

Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968 is a must have for Neil Young fans or those who fondly remember music from the 1960s.

Songs on the album are: On the Way Home, Mr. Soul, Expecting to Fly, The Last Trip to Tulsa, The Loner, Birds, Out of My Mind, If I Could Have Her Tonight, Sugar Mountain, I've Been Waiting For You, Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing, The Old Laughing Lady, Broken Arrow.

Another album just released by a popular Canadian singer-songwriter is The Ballad of Stompin' Tom by Stompin' Tom Connors (EMI Music Canada). This CD features some of Stompin' Toms classic older songs, such as "The Olympic Song" (written in 1976, although the version on this album was done in 2008) and "The Hockey Song" (1971, although this is the new 2008 version) along with numerous new songs written and performed by Connors such as "Rose of Silver Falls", "My British Columbian Home" and "Chickee Pooh".

While I've never been a fan of country (or Western) music, one of my favourite albums growing up was the live double album of Stompin' Tom performing at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto. The Ballad of Stompin' Tom is another good album featuring the very popular "The Hockey Song" (how the CBC didn't attempt to make this their "Hockey Night In Canada" theme song when they lost their other song is beyond me) along with more recent popular Stompin' Tom tunes such as "Hockey Mom Tribute aka My Hockey Mom" and the "Ballad of Stompin' Tom".

If you are a fan of Stompin' Tom Connors, chances are you will enjoy this album.

Song List:
1. The Olympic Song (new 2008 version)
2. The Hockey Song (new 2008 version)
3. My Hockey Mom (new 2008 version)
4. Bride & Groom Waltz
5. Lady Slipper
6. The Cowboy's Broken Ring (aka Broken Wedding Ring)
7. Rose of Silver Falls
8. My British Columbian Home
9. Kevin Barry
10. Birth of the Texas Gulf Mine
11. Chickee Pooh
12. Bush of Buctouche (aka the "Doot" Song)
13. Chase Me, Charley
14. Ottawa Lures
15. Ballad of Stompin' Tom
16. Take Me Back to Old Alberta

One Last Look at Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone. For those who want to hold onto this special time of year a little longer or for those who want to stock up early on their Christmas DVDs and books for Christmas 2009 here are some more festive titles that yule enjoy! Happy New Year!

Carry On Christmas (Image Entertainment) contains four funny "made-for-TV Carry On Christmas specials" - Carry On Christmas 1969, Carry On Again Christmas AKA Carry On Long John 1970, Carry On Christmas AKA Carry On Stuffing 1972 and Carry On Christmas 1973.

If you enjoy British humour, chances are that you will thoroughly enjoy these hilarious, and slightly twisted, TV specials from the Carry On gang including Sid James, Frankie Howerd, Barbara Windsor et al. Carry On Christmas 1969 features a very loose rendition of A Christmas Carol. How loose? Well, included in this special are such characters as Dr. Frank N. Stein, Dracula, Robert Browning and Cinderella!

Carry On Again Christmas AKA Carry On Long John 1970 has the Carry On gang doing Treasure Island with Sid James playing Long John Silver and Barbara Windsor as Jim Hawkins.

Two years later in 1972 the Carry On people did Carry On Christmas AKA Carry On Stuffing 1972 where they did Aladdin. Carry On Christmas 1973 sees the Carry On team portraying "how Christmas was celebrated by cavemen, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and also in the WWI trenches!"

Carry On Christmas provides a hilarious, light-hearted alternative to other Christmas DVDs.

Men In Red Suits: The Secret History of Santa Claus (Seville Pictures Inc., 52 minutes) is an interesting documentary about Christmas in general and Santa Claus in particular. Written, produced and directed by Marc Girard and Gary Evans, this film looks at the men, and women, who dress themselves in Santa Claus outfits, complete with stuffing, to impersonate Father Christmas in shopping malls and at parties. The documentary even looks at the thousands of drunk Santas who converge on Central Park and the Santas who travel above the Arctic Circle to participate in the Santa Claus Winter Games. There is even a Santa school in Denver, Colorado!

Men In Red Suits: The Secret History of Santa Claus is an interesting look at the character who is Santa Claus and the diversity of those who portray this magical character across the world.

A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! (Paramount Home Entertainment, rated 14A) has Stephen Colbert welcoming guests Toby Keith, Elvis Costello, Feist, Jon Stewart, Willie Nelson and John Legend where Colbert and Keith address the issue of Christmas coming under attack and Willie Nelson invades Colbert's nativity scene as the fourth wiseman. Special features include "Video Yule Log of Burning Books!!" and "Stephen's 25-Day Video Advent Calendar!" A Colbert Christmas will appeal most to Colbert fans and fans of Comedy Central.

A nice holiday movie is This Christmas (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) which has the Whitfield family getting together for Christmas for the first time in four years. Each member of the family has some problems and/or secrets. As Christmas draws closer and closer the secrets are revealed and family arguments, confrontations and fights occur. Fortunately, the Whitfield kids realize the importance of family and come together supporting each other. This Christmas isn't a holiday classic, but it's an entertaining festive flick.

A very good collection on Christmas stories, poems, scriptural readings and lyrics on CD is the audio book A Family Christmas (HighBridge Company, 2007, abridged on 6 CDs - approx. 7 1/4 hours, ISBN: 9781598875737).

The numerous tracks were selected by Caroline Kennedy and are the ones "most dear to her". Kennedy also introduces the Christmas anthology that includes many relatively unknown stories along with several popular ones such as "The Christmas Truce, World War I". Heartwarming stories such as Billy Collin's "Christmas Sparrow" mixed with humourous ones such as a "Letter to Fred Allen" by Groucho Marx result in a wonderful and diverse collection. Some of the other selections include: "Is There a Santa Claus? ("Yes, Virginia"); "Letter from Santa Claus" by Mark Twain; "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore; "The Second of the Three Spirits" by Charles Dickens and "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry - to name a few. I enjoyed listening to ones that I was familiar with along with ones that I wasn't familiar with. I particularly liked "A Christmas Sermon on Peace" by Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Family Christmas is the best Christmas audio book collection I've heard and is one you will bring out to listen to each year during the holidays.

A fun children's book is The Dog Who Saved Santa by True Kelley (ages 4+, Holiday House, 2008, 32 pages, ISBN: 9780823421206). Young Santa was lazy and didn't do a very good job of delivering gifts.  Fortunately, Santa's dog Rodney wasn't lazy and he got Santa's act together teaching him geography and getting him into shape turning him into the "hardworking spirit of Christmas we know today!"