DVD Movie: The Emperor's Club

William Hundert, a retired "old-school" classics teacher is passionate about his subject. Moreover, he strongly believes in moulding his students by using principles. However, his methods are put to the test by a new student, Sedgewick Bell who shakes Hundert's controlled world and threatens to undermine all that he stands for. Hundert's challenge is to change this young man while maintaining his integrity. Lessons abound for the students and teacher culminating in a reunion 25 years later.

Reknowned prep school St.Benedict's celebrated history professor, William Hundert, happily devotes his life to instilling Classical knowledge and values into his students, usually with some success. When passed-over as headmaster by a younger colleague who excels mainly in fund-raising and networking, he resigns. However Hundert agrees to earn the school a huge donation simply by staging a re-match of the Mr. Julius Caesar annual Roman history contest edition. This was previously lost despite cheating by a most promising pupil who let him down, Sedgewick Bell, the confused son of a US senator without morality.

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My Rating: 4 out 5

DVD Movie: Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog

In this family adventure story, John and Catherine McCormick (Bruce Davison and Mimi Rogers) relocate from Vancouver to the coast of British Columbia, where sailing enthusiast John teaches his sons Angus (Jesse Bradford) and Silas (Joel Palmer) basic seamanship and outdoor survival skills. Angus has rescued a stray Golden Labrador he calls Yellow and considers his best friend, though his folks aren't so sure he's responsible enough to care for the dog. One day, John takes Angus and Yellow sailing; a sudden gale bursts out, and the boy and his dog are thrown overboard. They wash up on a rugged coastal area, where Angus' abilities to survive in the wild are put to the test. As Angus and Yellow fend off wild animals, build a shelter, and signal for help, John and Catherine work with the Coast Guard in a desperate search for their missing son.

As the family searches for them, Angus and his dog travel through the woods using rugged survival instincts to stay alive -- but their trek is made even more difficult when Angus breaks his arm. Will this troubled pair last long enough to make it back home?

Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog was the final film by Canadian director Phillip Borsos, who died of leukemia within a month of its U.S. release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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My Rating: 3 out 5

DVD Movie: Silent Night

Fact-based World War II story set on Christmas Eve, 1944, finds a German Mother (Linda Hamilton) and her son seeking refuge in a cabin on the war front. When she is invaded by three American soldiers and then three German soldiers, she successfully convinces the soldiers to put aside their differences for one evening and share a Christmas dinner. Source

If any film needed levity and laugh now and then, it was this movie, and that call was quickly and with an outstanding performance, answered by Private Jimmy Rassi, played with expert talent by Romano Orzari. This actor really put his heart into his performance and the result was a character that was not only heartwarming but completely and utterly believable.

If you want a movie that can convey the message of what Christmas is REALLY about, then you must see this film. It will make you think, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry...it will give you hope that our future, if we could simply put aside our differences could be a lot brighter than what people could ever dream... Source

My Rating: 4 out 5

DVD Movie: Hotel Rwanda

Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 historical drama film about the hotelier Paul Rusesabagina (played by Don Cheadle) during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. The film, which has been called an African Schindler's List, documents Rusesabagina's acts to save the lives of his family and more than a thousand other refugees, by granting them shelter in the besieged Hôtel des Mille Collines. Directed by Terry George, the film was co-produced by US, British, Italian, and South African companies, with filming done on location in Johannesburg, South Africa and Kigali, Rwanda. As an independent film, it had an initial limited release in theaters, but was nominated for multiple awards, including Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. It continues to be one of the most–rented films on services, such as Netflix, and is listed by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 most inspirational movies of all time.


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My Rating: 5 out 5

DVD Movie: The Rookie

When a shoulder injury ended his minor league pitching career twelve years ago, Jim Morris resorted to the next best thing: coaching. But Jim's team, knowing their coach is a great ball player, makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, they want Jim to try out for a major-league organization. Going from worst to first, the team makes it to state, and Jim is forced to live up to his end of the deal. While there prove to be a lot of pitches to be thrown before he makes it off the mound, big-league dreams are revived, and there's no telling where he could go.


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My Rating: 3 out 5