© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc. This feed is subject to our terms of use: http://www.epinions.com/help/rss_terms http://www.epinions.com/user-hbala Recent reviews written by member hbala en-us 121 37 http://www.epinions.com/ http://img.epinions.com/images/epi_images/logos/epinions_121.gif http://www.epinions.com/content_443877133956?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - 3.5 stars for this one. Since this is a big deal to me, I'll first mention that none of these three films are presented in widescreen format. Before Schwarzenegger and Stallone, my go-to cinematic action dudes were Clint Eastwood and Burt... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~443877133956 Sat, 6 Sep 2008 13:18:54 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_443877133956?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_443236388484?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Rhys Bowen has definitely got something here, with Lady Georgiana Rannoch, her newest and very blue-blooded sleuth. And, with apologies to Constable Evans and Molly Murphy, Georgie is fast becoming my favorite Bowen protagonist. A ROYAL PAIN happens... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~443236388484 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:13:16 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_443236388484?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_439604907652?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - - Caine (being all condescending): "So, your father disappears and you don't even want to know why? Interesting. Me, I've always wanted to know who my real parents were." - Sam: "Let me guess: you're secretly a wizard who was raised by muggles."... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~439604907652 Sat, 2 Aug 2008 13:58:32 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_439604907652?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_439553330820?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Long before Indiana Jones, there was another dashing archaeology professor who fought the Nazis. PIMPERNEL SMITH, released in 1941 and alternately titled MISTER V, is an updating of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, with the backdrop of the French Revolution being... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~439553330820 Sat, 2 Aug 2008 04:14:54 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_439553330820?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_431459765892?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - John Wayne didn't really tame the wild, wild west; it just seems like he did. The man is larger than life and about as iconic as it gets. JOHN WAYNE - THE FOX WESTERNS doesn't come close to showcasing his best films, with two of the four - THE... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~431459765892 Mon, 26 May 2008 08:14:04 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_431459765892?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_431222394500?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - This one is kind of a departure for Robert Asprin, who made his hay crafting light humorous books (the Myth and Phule Company series). DRAGONS WILD is an urban fantasy, set in a contemporary New Orleans that never was. And the promising thing is, unlike... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~431222394500 Sat, 24 May 2008 03:24:44 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_431222394500?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_429575016068?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - I am a sick, sick fan of hoops, and I cannot get over how much I like LOVE & BASKETBALL. Yet, here's the thing. My appreciation of this film doesn't largely hinge on its basketball aspects (although they play a part). LOVE & BASKETBALL, as the title... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~429575016068 Sat, 10 May 2008 22:55:38 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_429575016068?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_428923457156?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Finally, Marvel Comics' ol' Shellhead arrives on the big screen, and he arrives with stunning force. I don't quite know if this is the best superhero film ever made, but IRON MAN's just about got me convinced that it at least ranks right up there with... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~428923457156 Mon, 5 May 2008 17:13:09 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_428923457156?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_426500918916?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - If you're any fan of Bollywood, OM SHANTI OM is sure to entertain the bejeesus out of you. This movie is joyful and extravagant and at times very funny. It tells of love and revenge, and of reincarnation and redemption. There's also a bit of film... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~426500918916 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:00:17 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_426500918916?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_424809500292?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - As wonderful as DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE is, I like this one even more. Shahrukh Khan and Kajol are the most popular romantic film couple Bollywood has seen in some time, and in 1998's KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI, their fourth of five movies together (so far),... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~424809500292 Fri, 4 Apr 2008 06:31:59 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_424809500292?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_421532438148?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - As I get older and older and get more wrinkly and cranky, I start to vindictively resent awful films. After all, I only have so much time left on this earth. So what did I ever do to Lucy Lui that she'd blatantly steal away two hours of my life? Lucy... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~421532438148 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 06:15:41 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_421532438148?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_420451356292?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Plot SPOILERS all over the place! And, definitely, do NOT read this if you haven't yet gone thru MAGE: THE HERO DISCOVERED. To start off, I dig King Arthur stories. As far as novels featuring him go, I've a personal short list (Tim Power's THE... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~420451356292 Sat, 1 Mar 2008 17:46:22 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_420451356292?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_418775993988?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - So here's some background: Whilce Portacio was one of the original seven artists who founded Image Comics back in 1992. Whilce's contribution to the cause was WETWORKS, which didn't debut until 1994 due to the illness of his sister. The original WETWORKS... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~418775993988 Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:26:10 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_418775993988?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_417730891396?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Review? More like an unabashed plug, this one. I am simply blown away. Listening to Ana Moura's PARA ALEM DA SAUDADE (Beyond Mere Longing), it puts a body in a mood and transports a soul into a place redolent with unfulfilled yearnings, and pain with... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~417730891396 Sat, 9 Feb 2008 17:13:46 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_417730891396?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_415079566980?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Son of a - ! Pal, you have got to see this one! This is a bonafide summer extravaganza masquerading as a wintertime release. And, yes, it's eardrum-shattering loud and special effects heavy, but, amazingly, CLOVERFIELD also has heart. At a frenetic hour... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~415079566980 Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:40:25 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_415079566980?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_414864936580?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Simon Templar, aka the Saint, has been around a loooong time. Author Leslie Charteris debuted him way back in the 1928 novel MEET THE TIGER. Since then the Saint has seen plenty of time on-screen, as fleshed out by a boatload of actors (Louis Hayward,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~414864936580 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:17:15 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_414864936580?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_411923418756?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Polly's friend (staring at the baby): "Where did it come from?" Polly: "I got it for Christmas." Polly's friend: "This Christmas, or last Christmas?" Lovely and multi-talented, and a best actress Oscar winner, Ginger Rogers might be chagrined to... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~411923418756 Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:08:51 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_411923418756?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_411024395908?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Some SPOILERS here. Any comic book fanboy worth his salt knows of Steve Rude, that phenomenal multi-award winning artist from Wisconsin. Steve "the Dude" Rude exploded on the scene way back in the '80s with NEXUS and has since gone on to produce... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~411024395908 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:19:12 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_411024395908?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_410019663492?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, here and gone. This was one of my most looked forward to shows of 2006, and I'm still resenting NBC playing Indian giver. If nothing else, this show confirms one thing in my mind: Matthew Perry can definitely act, his star... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~410019663492 Sat, 8 Dec 2007 02:32:07 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_410019663492?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_410017566340?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Edgar Rice Burroughs was mediocre at best in all of his vocations. That is, until he professionally took up the pen and typewriter, after which he speedily became rather remarkable. Nowadays, Burroughs is mostly known for having created Tarzan of the... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~410017566340 Sat, 8 Dec 2007 02:00:06 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_410017566340?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_408048144004?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - BEOWULF isn't exactly subtle. In the annals of barbaric Sword & Sorcery, subtlety doesn't much enter into the picture. This movie instead is over-the-top, gruesome, and oh so violent. And that's just the way we like our Beowulf. The story, written by... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~408048144004 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:34:47 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_408048144004?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_407342648964?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Snuff: "I am used to curses, and no one can tell when I smile." Snuff, the narrator of A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER, is a watchdog. His master is Jack the Ripper. They're the good guys, and this is mostly their story. SPOILERS alert. Three... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~407342648964 Thu, 8 Nov 2007 16:15:48 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_407342648964?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_403959811716?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - Some plot SPOILERS here. "It was a dream, but Moist was good at selling dreams. And if you could sell the dream to enough people, no one dared to wake up." Moist von Lipwig, fresh from his heroic connivings in GOING POSTAL, is back for more... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~403959811716 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 02:43:25 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_403959811716?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_403574656644?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - O Happy Day! As presented in widescreen, here's Season 2 of Bones. The great news is that there's no slack off at all from season one's most excellent run. Involving forensic conundrums and grim visions of death once again winningly meld with great... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~403574656644 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:20:10 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_403574656644?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_401022029444?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author hbala - This is a 2-and-a-half star review of THE LAST LEGION. This film purports to reveal the beginnings of the King Arthur myth. Legend says that a sword was once created for Julius Caesar, a sword forged from a fallen star in the barbaric land of... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~401022029444 Sat, 18 Aug 2007 15:46:40 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_401022029444?linkin_id=8003929