title: Blind Melon: Letters From A Porcupine function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); studio: Capitol Records DVD MPAA rating: NR starring: Shannon Hoon, Christopher Thorn, Brad Smith, Glenn Graham, Terry Stevens, Andy Wallace release year: 2001 film rating: Four Stars sound/picture: Four Stars reviewed by: Bryan Dailey The day Chris Farley, wearing a bumblebee girl outfit, introduced Blind Melon on "Saturday Night Live," it was official. Blind Melon had made the big time. In a few short months, this band of North Carolina alterna-rockers was thrust into the spotlight, thanks to their single "No Rain" being in constant rotation on the radio and MTV. It was too much fame, too fast for lead singer Shannon Hoon, who after repeated trouble with the law, and battles with drug addiction, died of an accidental cocaine overdose on October 21,1995. As a tribute to Hoon, the remaining members of Blind Melon and Capitol Records released "Letters from a Porcupine" in 1996 on VHS and received a Grammy nomination for Best Long Form ...

title: Phantom Of The Paradise function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); <br> studio: Fox Home Video MPAA rating: PG starring: Paul Wiliams, Wiliam Finley, Jessica Harper, George Mmoli, Gerrit Graham, Archie Hahn, Harold Oblong (Peter Elbling), Jeffrey Commanor release year: 1974 film rating: Four-and-a-half stars reviewed by: Bill Warren Better and hipper than "Rocky Horror Picture Show," the movie to which it's often compared, "Phantom of the Paradise" has a cult following, but a minor one compared to that of the better-known "Rocky Horror." It's not likely that this DVD release is going to significantly increase the number of "Phantom" fans; the disc has, essentially, no extras at all, the cover is uninviting (particularly ridiculous considering the great John Alvin poster), and Fox has done no promotion. They don't even tie it in with the mini-flood of other Brian De Palma DVDs recently released ("Carrie," "The Fury," "Dressed to Kill," "Blow Out"), though it's one of the key entries from his most creative period as a director.

title: Irving Berlin's White Christmas function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); studio: Paramount Home Video MPAA rating: NR starring: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger, Mary Wickes, Anne Whitfield release year: 1954 film rating: Three and a half stars sound/picture rating: Three stars reviewed by: Bill Warren With these four stars, direction by Michael Curtiz and songs by Irving Berlin, 'White Christmas' should have been a genuine classic instead of just seeming like one. It was a major hit at the time, and has lots of good songs and some excellent dance numbers, but the story is routine, the pacing too slow, and the crises artificial. No, this isn't the movie that introduced Bing Crosby's rendition of the all-time favorite song that gives the movie its title; the movie, in fact, was pretty much based on the popularity of the song, which is sung twice in the film. One rendition, Bing's solo, is right off the bat, so audiences didn't have to sit through ...

title: Little Shop Of Horrors function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); <br> studio: Warner Home Video MPAA rating: PG-13 starring: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, Bill Murray release year: 1986 film rating: Four Stars reviewed by: Abbie Bernstein From the animated opening menu, that slips onto the screen one vine-covered option at a time, it’s easy to pick up on the exuberant spirit of ‘Little Shop of Horrors.’ The 1986 musical began life in drastically different form, as a 1960 ultra-low-budget horror comedy, directed in two days by Roger Corman. It turned up off-Broadway in 1981, reincarnated as a stage musical, which introduced the public at large to the brilliant talents of composer Alan Menken and his partner, the late writer/lyricist Howard Ashman.

title: Pink Floyd: The Wall   studio: Columbia Music Video MPAA rating: R starring: Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson, Eleanor David, Kevin McKeon, Bob Hoskins, David Bingham, Jenny Wright, Alex McAvoy release year: Four stars film rating: 1982 reviewed by: Bill Warren The virtues of the strangely-titled 'Pink Floyd the Wall' are inextricably tied to its defects; in fact, sometimes they're the same thing. But even if you're not a fan of the rock band, the movie is fascinating, beautiful to watch, and a real pleasure to hear in this masterfully produced DVD. When it's over, you may still be puzzled about what it was you've just watched, but it's unlikely you'll think you wasted your time.