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Comment on Have Gun Will Travel – The Complete Second Season Reviews by Tim R. Niles "Nomad"

Tim R. Niles "Nomad" — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:48:30 +0000

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

Comparisons, November 20, 2004

Tim R. Niles "Nomad" (Silicon Valley) -

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This review is from: Have Gun Will Travel - The Complete First Season (DVD)

This will be a review by someone who purchased ALL the Columbia House VHS videotapes of "Have Gun Will Travel" (as well as ALL the available "Maverick" and the half hour "Gunsmoke" VHS tapes) as soon as they were available, from 1995 to 1998. The price for four episodes of the half hour series was about $25 (about $5 for shipping.) If you do the math, these DVDs are a fantastic savings AND offer the added bonus of being easier to store and probably to use.

The quality of the VHS tapes was crystalline, which is probably why the DVDs have been reviewed favorably in the technical sense. Much of the filming for "HGWT" was done on location in what seems to be pristine wilderness areas, and this clarity of viewing - the extra effort to get the locations done by the production staff and the effort required by the actors involved - is beautiful to watch as well. Most episodes start out in the SF hotel and then lead Paladin far afield on his missions.+

It is true that the Gene Roddenberry episodes are very special. Even in the 90s, when a script - and the way that the actors presented it - awed me, it was almost certainly a Roddenberry episode. Truly, eye opening. You understand why "Star Trek" has been around forever.

Like many children of the 50s, Westerns were the 'meat and potatoes' of my TV experience, and while I liked the shows like "Maverick" and "HGWT" at that age, but to be able to view them as an adult is amazing. I would also recommend the same for the half hour "Gunsmoke" episodes. Clearly, these series went far beyond the standard shoot 'em ups and good guys versus bad guys plotting of production line Westerns. There were a lot of adult level references within the programming and it makes re-viewing later in life even more entertaining, and, leaves a powerful positive impression of all involved.

I would suggest also that the first few years of the "HGWT" series are the best. In the 50s, there were a lot of episodes being filmed every season, so at least the first three seasons are mainly outstanding.

Cannot say enough about the acting skills of Richard Boone: FANTASTIC! He brought that character to life as a multi-dimensional human being.

I would definitely recommend the three series mentioned above. Have great video experience!

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Comment on Venice & the Veneto (Eyewitness Travel Guides) Reviews by Bill A. Belt

Bill A. Belt — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:08:50 +0000

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Eyewitness Venice, September 12, 2010

Bill A. Belt (Dallas, Texas) -

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This review is from: Venice & the Veneto (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)

We will be makign our third trip to Venice in a few weeks and needed an up to date travel book. We find the Evewitness books to be excellant. The paper quailty is outstanding, the write ups excellant and when ordering through Amazon, the prices and shipping are always excellant. The information in Eyewitness books is some of the best. Always up to date and accurate. Plus we find more interesting places to visit as a result on their information. We ordered several books from Amazon for this trip and since we have Amazon Prime shipping, the shipping was free. this is a great deal especially when compared with the prices at the local book store.

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Comment on The Rough Guide to Europe On A Budget by Little Tank "LT"

Little Tank "LT" — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:05:16 +0000

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Practical Portable Guide - 'Way more than "Top 10"!, April 22, 2010

Little Tank "LT" (Metro Washington D.C., USA) -

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This review is from: Top 10 New York (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides) (Paperback)

So it says "Top 10"??? It's MUCH more than that. My daughter and I used this on a recent 5 day trip to the Big Apple, and it helped us take many more bites of it than we'd anticipated, including ferry info for the Statue of Liberty, great restaurants in various areas (in all price ranges), learning about free concerts at a Church near Ground Zero, how to navigate MoMA, and the like.

It's not a heavy book, it's purse-packable, and it's extremely handy in design and features. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! While you might want to read others prior to heading to NYC, this one is the one to actually bring along (maybe with some photocopied pages from others... if you insist!)

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Comment on Have Gun Will Travel – The Complete Second Season Reviews by Deborah MacGillivray "Author,"

Deborah MacGillivray "Author," — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:00:18 +0000

61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

Classic western with Boone firmly in control, July 17, 2004

Deborah MacGillivray "Author," (US & UK) -

This review is from: Have Gun Will Travel - The Complete First Season (DVD)

Richard Boone was one of the most natural actors ever to grace the screen. Good guys, bad guys, he did them all with such a grace and ease that he made it seem so effortless. Paladin was a product of the post-Civil War. A West Point Graduate, he was an educated man, a man who appreciated literature, opera, culture. So it was not surprising he settled in San Franscisco after the war. Though a man of refinement, he made his living by hiring his gun out to those in need. He passed his little cards around - "Have Gun, Will Travel. Wire Paladin, San Fransisco" and waited for clients to find him.

While a cultured man, he was just as comfortable in the deadly knight errant persona, the man in black. Boone excelled at making you believe both sides could exist within one man. While he was a hired gun, he often spent more time talking to people making them listen to reason.

A loved all these Westerns. Have enjoyed the reruns on TVLand, Starz Westerns, and the Hallmark Channel. But so many of the old Westerns don't hold up well. I was surprised how well Rawhide and Have Gun, Will Travel hold their quality. So these are a super addition to any video maven's collection. Sadly, I don't think Boone ever got the true recognition his talent deserved, but those of us who appreciated him can now watch his talent shine.

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Comment on Around the World in 80 Treasures by C. Sawin

C. Sawin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:44:17 +0000

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Ship really does happen..., June 26, 2011

C. Sawin (TX) -

This review is from: Gulliver's Travels (2 Disc Set with Gulliver's Fun Pack) (DVD)

Jack Black is one of those actors/musicians that you either like somewhat or hate with a passion. There really is no middle ground. For me, Jack Black the actor will best be known for Be Kind Rewind, the Kung Fu Panda films, Saving Silverman, and High Fidelity while Jack Black the musician kind of lost his mojo after the first Tenacious D record (which is still a favorite amongst friends). Truth be told, Black seems to be at his best when he's not confined to the limits of family entertainment or at least has some room to stretch in a PG-13 environment. Gulliver's Travels actually feels like a Jack Black movie despite its family friendly rating, but that still can't save the fact that it's a fairly horrid experience overall.

Gulliver (Black) works in the mail room and comes to the realization that he's not going anywhere in life. He finds himself on the way to The Bermuda Triangle after informing the office travel editor, Darcy Silverman (Amanda Peet), that he's this supremely gifted (plagiarized) writer. On his journey there, Gulliver wakes up on the island of Liliput which is filled with nothing but tiny people. As a giant amongst mere men, Gulliver sees this as a chance to start over and be the "big man" for once. He soon learns that the size of a person isn't always an accurate portrayal of how big they really are.

For a movie being marketed towards children, it was kind of shocking what actually made it into the film. There's an entire conversation centered on the term, "lame ass," which is blurted several times throughout the entire two minute conversation. Can you remember the last time Mickey Mouse called Donald Duck a "dumb ass?" I sure can't (that "South Park" episode doesn't count). After a fire breaks out in Liliput, Gulliver thinks on his feet er...with his groin and puts out the fire by urinating on it as well as a handful of tiny people in the process. When all else fails, when you have a problem you're having a difficult time resolving, just piss on it as well as everyone around you. That's pretty much what you'll take away from the segment. And did they really squeeze the phrase, "skeet skeet," into a family movie? Really?! That's pretty insane. What's even more ludicrous is what the film followed that part of the conversation up with; "ship happens." It sure does, Gulliver. It sure does.

You can probably accept the way the movie begins; mostly because it actually looks and feels like the way Jack Black wakes up every morning. Walking around without pants on, re-enacting Star Wars with action figures, and mixing coffee and creamer in the filter to make coffee all seem like something the Jack Black people have gone to see on-screen the past fifteen years would do. That's kind of the only good thing about Gulliver's Travels. It does feel like it's Jack Black approved and authenticated by the man himself, which it probably was since he also produced it. The movie is based on the Jonathan Swift novel of the same name, which was written in 1726. But the movie gives no on-screen credit to the novel and that should be the first sign that you should probably abandon ship before you even board.

The bottom line is Gulliver's Travels isn't funny. Not even a little bit. It's just toilet humor and expensive special effects colliding together while Jack Black shoves his goofy antics down your throat. The guy passes out after he falls on his backside, which is honestly something I've never seen before this movie. While Black does look to be having fun in the role, it just doesn't translate very well. These tiny people build Gulliver a life size home in less than seven days, which doesn't seem very logical. Forcing Horatio (Jason Segel) to recite Prince's "Kiss" while trying to woo Princess Mary (Emily Blunt) probably should've been more entertaining than it was. Jack Black can sing. He has the talent and the ability, but he's one of those performers that's better heard rather than seen. Him singing "War" at the end of the movie really should've just played over the credits rather than be an in-movie, choreographed with tiny people music video. Was Emily Blunt being awful on purpose? She was just horrendous at times. Plus she dropped out of Iron Man 2 for this? Somebody explain that to me.

Gulliver's Travels is more than likely just as bad as the unfortunate soul that actually sat through it told you it was, if not worse. Jack Black does try to carry the film the best that he can, but it all crumbles once he literally and figuratively urinates all over everything. Throw in a giant robot and Black's butt crack and it's immediately labeled as something you should probably never sit through. Ever. Although featuring some well done special effects, any little bit of good Gulliver's Travels once had is massively outweighed by bad acting, weak story points, and humor that's more disgusting than it needs to be.

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Comment on Venice & the Veneto (Eyewitness Travel Guides) Reviews by Robert N. Jenkins "Travel writer"

Robert N. Jenkins "Travel writer" — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:42:57 +0000

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

You'll want to keep this one nearby, even at home., August 23, 2010

Robert N. Jenkins "Travel writer" (st. petersburg, fl, US) -

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This review is from: Venice & the Veneto (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)

Eyewitness Travel Guides have long been considered among the best of breed: thorough, readable and beautifully illustrated. These illustrations go well beyond pictures of the famous paintings, statues and buildings you will encounter. Typical are the "look-down'' drawings of, in this case, Venice's sestiere, or main neighborhoods. They provide the visitor walking about a better idea of where he or she is in the community. These guides are like miniature coffee table books -- once you have returned home, you want to pick them up to re-live your experience.

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Comment on Gulliver’s Travels by Marivaux "Ulriccowl"

Marivaux "Ulriccowl" — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:40:52 +0000

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

Have Gun Issues, March 20, 2010

Marivaux "Ulriccowl" -

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This review is from: Have Gun Will Travel: Season Four, Vol. 1 (DVD)

Like many reviewers, I was not thrilled with CBS' decision to do a high-price split season with Season 4 of "Have Gun Will Travel". I did purchase the set, but it wasn't an automatic decision and I stalled on making the purchase for a few weeks to see if the price would be adjusted. However, once I received the set I did notice that the picture quality appeared to be superior to the quality of the first 3 seasons that were released. The picture and audio seem much crisper. And as far as I can tell, CBS did not mess with the original music, as they unfortunately have done with such a classic TV series as "The Fugitive". I was disappointed that they did not include the "Wire Paladin" feature that was a part of the first 3 seasons, which gave you background information on the episodes and the guest stars that appeared in a particular episode. Overall, I'm glad that the show is being released again and I hope that if sales for this half season are not as spectacular as CBS hopes for, that they recognize their own role in possibly discouraging sales by the split season treatment. However, the acting work of Richard Boone in this series, the excellent writing that dealt progressively with many social issues within the context of a Western still deserves to be seen and enjoyed by the public. Those are some of the reasons that motivated my 5-star rating. I hope this series continues to find a large, receptive audience.

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Comment on Where To Go When (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by MK

MK — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:34:14 +0000

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

Some flaws, but better than anything else out there, February 17, 2011

MK -

This review is from: Let's Go Europe 2011: The Student Travel Guide (Paperback)

Admittedly, this guide had omitted some major cities, and the maps didn't have the hostels or restaurants labeled.

However, to be honest, the listings for stuff like accommodations and nightlife are just UNBEATABLE, so I'm willing to deal with the flaws in order to get those recommendations.

I was trying to keep to a budget, so maybe I'm biased, but when I opened the Lonely Planet and Frommer's guides in the bookstore, their idea of "cheap" was like...65 euro a night. Even the "shoestring" book was borderline. That's just not the sort of budget I'm operating on.
Let's Go, on the other hand, listed hostels and cheap mom-and-pop places that got me through most of Western Europe on 20 euro or less a night. No complaints about those prices.

And nightlife? My friends' guides had maybe 3 awkward ex-pat bars listed each. And I found that it's super-tough to come upon a fun, hoppin' nightlife place that isn't just full of American study-abroad students without some guidance. Let's Go provided that guidance, and the places they listed were almost all great! And as for the ones that weren't - at least the reviews were honest, so I knew what I was getting into if I DID end up in one of those American-students-everywhere clubs.
My friends and I used only my guide to find bars and discotecas, because their guidebooks (from other series) were pretty useless on that front.

So, yeah, I sometimes had to ask a local for directions to my desired hostel, but if you can just buck up and ask someone where the street is, you won't have any problems. In fact, you'll have a great time. (At least I did. ^-^)

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Comment on Where To Go When (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by T. Biondi

T. Biondi — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:20:52 +0000

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

This Guidebook is Truly Written By College Kids For College Kids, April 24, 2011

T. Biondi -

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This review is from: Let's Go Europe 2011: The Student Travel Guide (Kindle Edition)

As someone who is well past my college years, I was somewhat amused by the content of this travel guide. It is highly focused on drinking establishments, where to find affordable lodging near drinking establishments, and how to avoid ending up in an area of Europe that has a lack of fun places to drink.

However, I wasn't surprised. This is a guidebook written by college students for college students. I can't be too critical of this book's focus because I am certainly not among the target audience.

I will say that, since Let's Go Europe is written by Harvard students, I feel kind of bad for the college kids without trust funds or a parent's credit card in hand who try to live the lifestyle expounded on in the book. I wouldn't recommend that kids take out thousands of dollars in student loans in order to finance a "Let's Go-Style European Vacation."

The book is written with the expectation that the reader is going on a months-long grand tour of Europe and can spend well over $100 a day all summer long, eating gelato and drinking local beer in picturesque European settings.

Also, one note about the logistics of using this book on the Kindle: although it is easy and convenient to skip around the content of this book with a Kindle, the maps are very, very difficult to read as are some of the icons used in the book. In addition, some of the content's formatting is lost on the Kindle which makes for confusion, especially when whole pages are rearranged and words are cut off the page.

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Comment on Around the World in 80 Treasures by Kelly Klepfer

Kelly Klepfer — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:19:38 +0000

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

Maybe Not Worth the Full Theater Price Unless You LOVE Jack or Popcorn, January 5, 2011

Kelly Klepfer (Iowa) -

This review is from: Gulliver's Travels (2 Disc Set with Gulliver's Fun Pack) (DVD)

If you hate Jack Black you will not want to see this film. If you love him, you will probably love Gulliver.

For everyone else: Moments of cleverness, special effects and sweet humor make it watchable. I didn't see it in 3D which I'm sure added an element that would make it more watch-worthy. Overall, it is a sweetish story of growing up, doing the right thing, taking responsibility for your actions, and overcoming slackerness.

Basic plot: Gulliver is the manager of the mail room at a large newspaper. He has a huge, silent crush on the travel writing editor. He packs up all his boyish pride and charm and intends to ask her out, but he flakes and pretends to want to write a travel article. She gives him a fake one to test his skills and he plagiarizes some impressive write-ups. She offers him an obscure gig in the Bermuda Triangle. And there the story gets freaky. He's sucked into a whirlpool and wakes up on a beach and discovers that he's infested with little people --- angry little people. He goes on to befriend them by saving the king but makes an enemy out of the head of the military, the king's soon-to-be son-in-law. Drama, angst, and more drama follow, lessons are learned and everyone who deserves to lives happily ever after does.

High points: The Lilliputians are extreme builders and there are very entertaining moments watching them in action. Live theater wherein the Lilliputians act out scenes from Gulliver's "life" are entertaining too. "Live" interactive video games ala Rock Band or Guitar Hero are funny. One scene was an inappropriately laugh out loud moment for me. During the arrest scene on the beach, Gulliver's shorts get yanked on exposing some crack, and then he falls, onto one of the most unfortunate Lilliputians. The credits may have been a bigger laugh though because he was billed as the butt crack guy. My friends and I thought that would be a fabulous addition to his resume and/or a great ice breaker at parties. "So have I seen you in anything?" "Well, my best part was Butt Crack Guy in Gulliver's Travels."

Low points: Lots of bathroom humor. From saving the king by putting out the fire via bladder contents, to the scene where the words Lame A--are used about ten times while Gulliver tries to convince the General that Lame A--is the ultimate in compliments, to the whispered say-what-I-say-to-your-lady-love scene, to the anti-war dance, there are plenty of flat or odd moments. Gulliver's relationship with Darcy (Amanda Peet) is not real fleshed out or believable, and Emily Blunt really doesn't get much of a chance to shine.

It's worth the investment of a Red Box or Netflix rental. Unless you hate Jack. If you do, don't even put it on your queue.

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