60 Minutes Presents: Obama: All Access - Barack Obama's Road to the White House

Actors: Steve Kroft, Barack Obama

Number of discs: 1 

Studio: Paramount

DVD Release Date: February 10, 2009

Run Time: 240 minutes

Price: $16.99 on Amazon

From Barnes and Noble

This four-hour retrospective documents President Barack Obama's historic campaign from its small and unlikely beginnings, to the historic election of America's first African-American President. Among the material included are segments from pre-election broadcasts of 60 minutes featuring Obama and his family, as well as his declaration of candidacy and powerful speech regarding the state of race in America. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide 

American Teen

Starring: Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens

Supporting actors: Geoff Haase, Megan Krizmanich, Mitch Reinholt, Jake Tusing, Ali Wikalinska

Directed by: Nanette Burstein

Genre: Documentary

Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes

Release year: 2008

Studio: Paramount

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some strong language, sexual material, some drinking and brief smoking-all involving teens.

Price: $14.99 on Amazon

When this movie played in the festivals, it got a huge amout of buzz. I was so excited to see it. The director Nanette Burstein is a solid filmmaker. Beautifully shot, they obviously used the style of MTV's Laguna Beach. Sometimes. I even forgot that I was watching a documentary. The film was interesting but I'm not really qualified to legitimately review it. The whole time I kept thinking, "Oh no, is this what I have to look forward to? How am I going to cope with teenagers?" I would recommend it to anyone who has teenagers, I am sure it would provide some great talking points. As for me, I just gave my 6 and 8 year old girls big hugs and played a game a Candyland the rest of the afternoon.

From Amazon:

Popularity is everything; breakups and missed jump-shots are the end of the world; a college acceptance is a dream come true; and an email forwarded to the wrong person is your worst nightmare. Now experience senior year of high school through the eyes of five real-life Indiana teenagers: the Prom Queen, the Heartthrob, the Jock, the Rebel and the Geek.

7 out of 10 binkies

Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns

Actors: Click & Clacks
Format: Animated, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Rating:
Studio: PBS PARAMOUNT
DVD Release Date: September 30, 2008
Run Time: 300 minutes
$19.99 on Amazon

Start your engines! PBS brought Tom and Ray Magliozzi, of CAR TALK, to TV! This animated sitcom, based on the hit NPR radio show, follows the on- and off-air escapades of Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers, as they try to fix cars, fend off disgruntled customers and seek out increasingly creative ways to goof off!

Taken from Amazon.com

Rolling Stones Shine A Light

A Martin Scorsese Film
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 121 Min

It's the Rolling Stones-as you've never seen or heard them before.  This landmark musical event captures all the fire, soul and raw power of the World's Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band through the eyes and artistry of Oscar winning director Martin Scorsese.  With classic band clips, exclusive behind-the-scenes moments and blistering concert footage (featuring special guests Jack White III, Christina Aguilera and the legendary Buddy Guy), this film is destined to be one of the greatest musical experiences of all time!

MUHAMMAD ALI: MADE IN MIAMI

PRODUCERS and WRITERS:
Alan Tomlinson and Gaspar Gonzalez
 
RELEASING COMPANY:
PBS Home Video and Paramount

SUGGESTED PRICE:
$19.99
 
REVIEWED BY:
Isabella Lucero
 
MUHAMMED ALI:  MADE IN MIAMI illustrates the flamboyant boxer’s formative years, in the early 1960s, when he trained at the famous Fifth Street Gym in Miami beach and lived in the Overton neighborhood, which was considered to be the Harlem of the South.  Sadly, even though Cassius Clay had just won a gold medal in Rome, he was still not allowed to purchase clothes in a ‘whites only’ department store.  The shopkeeper said to him, “We don’t allow blacks to try on clothes in my store.”  The local police would also regularly harass Clay, during his training, when he would jog to South Beach.
 
This retro documentary is a combination of archival footage intercut with contemporary interviews with the now mostly old men who were lucky enough to see firsthand the blossoming of Cassius Clay into Muhammed Ali.  The contemporary interviews are with his feisty trainer Angelo Dundee, the fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco, and some writers who were obsessed with Ali back in the day, and appear to be still quite enamored with him. It is thrilling to see how brash, over-the-top, and fun he was during these glory years.  His boasting and bragging makes contemporary self-promoters seem pretty lame. The build up to the legendary and tragic Sonny Liston battle is worth seeing for its crazy splendor. And Ali was just as beautiful as he claimed to be.
 
This was an exciting and vibrant time and Ali’s training to become the heavyweight champion of the world coincided with the national civil rights movement.  It examines, in a fresh way, the relationship Ali had with Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam.  It is remarkable what Ali had to give up in order to not go to Vietnam.  He said he did not want to be a black man, sent by the white man, to go and kill the brown man in Vietnam.
 
If you are interested in our segregated and unequal history and witnessing the evolution of a fiercely brave trailblazer, buy it from Shop PBS shop@pbs.org.  Your purchase will support PBS and make PBS programming possible.
 
The DVD extra features has the trailer and a conversation with the producers, Alan Tomlinson and Gaspar Gonzalez.
 
7 out of 10 binkies
 
Isabella Lucero is a writer, mother, cook, and gardener living in Tucson, Arizona.