Noah Taylor Books

I delivered my daughter at the parking lot of the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Los Angeles county. She later starred in this episode of
ER second season episode #15. She appeared as one of Nia Long's twin
sons and the crack lady's baby. This is by far my favorite ER episode.

Seventh-day Adventists in the early 1900s were highly influential in establishing the basis for what has evolved into today's "Intelligent Design" concept of creation--a very contemporary issue among educators, parents, and politicians. Far from being a mere sectarian recitative of how a church of highly educated Christians has wrestled with the theological and scientific import of the early chapters of Genesis, Understanding Genesis offers a wide-ranging view of options available to any Christian interested in reviewing the main strains of thought that mesh the Genesis account with the clearly articulated scientific evidence that points to an evolutionary, rather than a spontaneous creation. This is not difficult reading, but it is intensely informative and heavily footnoted. It is also non-polemic and highly respectful of both fundamentalist Christian perspectives and purely scientific points of departure. Given the current national dialogue regarding the merits of "Intelligent Design" theory, this is a book fresh off the press with a great deal to offer anyone interested in engaging intelligently in the national dialogue.

Excellent cast, excellent SFX, excellent acting. I've been an avid Batman comic fan for years and this movie does the dark knight the most justice. Batman in the comic books is a dark character and more of an anti-hero. No sugar-coated stuff in this movie, it's back to basics with "Batman Begins". Love the ending of the film...Commisioner Gordon tells Batman "I never did thank you"...Batman cuts him short and retorts "and you'll never have to"...Priceless.

No, I didn't buy the DVD but rented it from Netflix. The first Batman movie with Michael Keaton was good, the rest I did not like. But this one I liked--a lot. I was never a Batman fan, too dark and sinister for my taste. But this one, which "explained" how Batman came to be, was very good. I've always liked movies that attempted to explain how certain characters came to be, especially when the character as originally created sort of pops up out of nowhere and you are asked to accept they are what they are with little or no background. Such as Sherlock Holmes--great stories, seen many of the movies that have been made, but "Young Sherlock Holmes" provided some background that helped put a lot of the stories into perspective. I'm sure there were those who hated that movie because someone other than Conan-Doyle wrote the story.

I have seen all of the Batman movies. I am not a child but a retired baby-boomer who will always be a kid at heart. -- This movie is undoubtedly THE BEST Batman movie ever, putting ALL others in a secondary "junk" category !!! -- All of the actors in this production do an excellent job portraying "real people" in a comic book setting !!! - This movie IS NOT for the INFANTILE "brain-dead" who DEMAND EXPLOSIVE NOISE, BLOOD & GUTS, SKANK FEMALES EXPOSING THEMSELVES [cow-teats] and an infantile trite & trivial STORY LINE !!!

And I must say ,,, NOT having female exposed private parts i.e. cow-teats, cleavage, whatever ,,, is REFRESHING !!! -- With todays garbage [cows exposing themselves] passing for movies :-( ,,, it's not often I can say I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this production !!!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You ,,, to the Production Team !!! -- I hated for it to end :-)

Sincerely,
Matthew

BATMAN BEGINS suceeds on almost all levels. The acting is wonderfully perfect. The special effects are seamless. The scipt is pretty darn good. Even better than the originals, BATMAN BEGINS revives the story of our beloved caped (or winged) crusader from the very beginning, when his parents are killed. It goes from there to a wonderful semi cliff-hanger that leaves you eaglerly awaiting a sequel (due out in theaters July 18, 2008).
Great acting and script. Seeing the marvelous Bale in the Batman suit is truly a thrill. On a Batman scale alone, this would've been a 5. But, to be honest, though it's great, it's not as good as Spider-man or Iron Man. That's the reason for the deducted star. Highly recommended.

This is a great movie. Best Batman by far. Excellent picture quality on HD DVD. Should be in everybodys collection. Period.

This movie is a timeless statement of the stupidity of human nature and the nature of Government Representatives. Some so-called 'doooo-gooder'decides that the house of pleasure must be closed and brings it to the attention of a nation. The Establishment has only been in existence for a hundred years and locals are gobstopped that there a 'whorehouse' in their town. Well hush my mouth!!!
Dolly Parton fans will love this movie - the part was made for her and she was gorgeous in it.

The greatest thing about it is that it not really that far off from the true story! The real name of the TV watchdog is Marvin Zindler, who passed away recently.

Just buy it and enjoy!

This movie is a classic! The music is wonderful and entertaining, the acting is subperb! I have loved this movie since it's release!

This is a replacement DVD for one I purchased some years ago, that didn't work properly. I absolutely LOVE this movie - it makes me feel glad when I'm sad; calmed when I'm ticked about silly Government stuff! This DVD is top quality - in A-1 condition.

My husband really enjoys Dolly Parton and had been looking for this film on the cable channels. No luck there so I checked Amazon and there it was. I got it for his birthday and we had lots of laughs watching it and remembering back to the time we first saw the movie.

This movie is a timeless statement of the stupidity of human nature and the nature of Government Representatives. Some so-called 'doooo-gooder'decides that the house of pleasure must be closed and brings it to the attention of a nation. The Establishment has only been in existence for a hundred years and locals are gobstopped that there a 'whorehouse' in their town. Well hush my mouth!!!
Dolly Parton fans will love this movie - the part was made for her and she was gorgeous in it.

The greatest thing about it is that it not really that far off from the true story! The real name of the TV watchdog is Marvin Zindler, who passed away recently.

Just buy it and enjoy!

This movie is a classic! The music is wonderful and entertaining, the acting is subperb! I have loved this movie since it's release!

This is a replacement DVD for one I purchased some years ago, that didn't work properly. I absolutely LOVE this movie - it makes me feel glad when I'm sad; calmed when I'm ticked about silly Government stuff! This DVD is top quality - in A-1 condition.

My husband really enjoys Dolly Parton and had been looking for this film on the cable channels. No luck there so I checked Amazon and there it was. I got it for his birthday and we had lots of laughs watching it and remembering back to the time we first saw the movie.

We found this book to be full of interesting stories about early Texas. It was helpful in finding information about our ancestors and our early Texas family.

I learned of this book through the H-Texas History forum online and I was not disappointed. Occasional "old time" expressions make the account interesting and remind the reader that the writer is speaking from another time. The story as told from a first-person point of view was enhanced by my prior knowledge of events in Texas history. Reading about those events in the words of a person who was there was impressive. I highly recommend this book. I have purchased copies as gifts.

Dictated to one of his daughters when he was well past eighty, Noah Smithwick witnessed the panorama of Texas History. From the early days of Austin's Colony to the the aftermath of the Civil War, the text is lively with a dry sense of humor. But the reader is urged to use this book with caution. Some facts don't match up with other documents that were written at the time, instead of years later. (Noah had been banished from Texas in a round-about way. He had made a rifle and loaned it to another settler, who promptly used it to commit a murder.) Smithwick seemed to posess a fair education, which on the Texas frontier was something of an accomplishment. Blacksmith, carpenter, tobacco smuggler, gunsmith, racontour par excellance and even somewhat of a romantic, Smithwick's book is well worth reading.

Noah Smithwick was an old man, blind and near his ninetieth year, when his daughter recorded these words. After his death in 1899, she polished the manuscript and had it published in 1900. He had stayed on in "paradise" Texas from 1827 to 1861, when his opposition to secession took him to California. This book is his story of these "old Texas days." If his memory for facts sometimes fails him, his stories never do.

Read about what happened from someone who was really there for the early days of Texas.

Original, fun, with a sad unconventional ending. A definite love it or hate it movie. Makes you appreciate what you have rather than taking everything for granted as David Ames does. If you "don't get it" at first, watch it again. If you watched it once and hated it...don't bother.

For many years this has been one of my favourite films. The very film itself is very "Faustian", in it's theoretically never ending quest for love, experience and knowledge. It also has a much darker side to it, reminding me somewhat of another absolutely wonderful dark film; "The Jacket", with a touch of "Donnie Darko". I've seen the original Spanish film "Abre los ojos" that this more or less is an exact remake of, and amusingly, it contains the same lovely Penelope Cruz in her role as Sofia Serrano. The lead character David Aames is played by Tom Cruise, not someone I particularly like neither in "real life" nor in this film, but he does a good job in this film, and that is after all what counts. His role as a lucky rich boy with no responsibility and who's "all about fun", in his own words, represents my complete opposite, that being so, he quickly finds himself forced to recognize that "there are consequences in life".

Aames falls completely in love with a girl that his lonely best friend brings to Aames' own birthday party (some friend, huh?). Jason Lee does an excellent role with his character Brian Shelby. The happiness ends suddenly though, after Aames lack of responsibility comes back around to him the morning after and he ends up emotionally and physically crippled afterwards. Cameron Diaz plays the character of the slut stalker of Aames, and no fault of Diaz, her character is completely horrible, an awful person.

Without revealing the end and the entire plot for those of you out there who strangely have not seen this marvellous film yet, I would just like to recommend this beyond words. Even though the upper layer of the film seems very "decadent" and "shallow", it really is about (in my view) the greatest thing of all, the search for knowledge and experience. Add the beautiful Penelope Cruz and a really existentialist theme throughout, which I'm sure everyone who thinks for him or herself can relate to (is the world real or merely an illusion?), and you've got yourself one of my favourite films. The end scene is simply sublime, with what probably is the best song in the world, Sigur Ros' divine "Njosnavellin".

Watch it!

This movie is a love story with some sci-fi elements awkwardly thrown in, but there are some moments of good acting and dialogue that make it worth watching.

All the reviewers who said that this is a movie you love or hate,and I really hated it. It was long, boring, and I just didn't connect with any of the characters. I would have turned it off long before it was over, but I was watching it with other people. The only thing remotely good is Camron Diaz, I guess I did like one character after all. Stay away unless you feel you just have to, and if you hate it, you can jump into our ship!

A film which makes an attempt to pattern itself on the fantasy vs. reality films that had become popular at the turn of the new millennium - David Fichner's "Fight Club" and M. Night Shamalan's "Sixth Sense" both from 1999, Christopher Nolan's "Momento" from 2000, and David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" released the following year (all of which don't surpass the reigning king of this genre when Terry Gilliam released his 1985 masterpiece "Brazil") - by no means fails in this respect since I found it both entertaining and intriguing for the most part, but is noticeably long and certainly may confuse the average '2hr-max-movie-goer'. Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz both stand out playing their respective, 'good gal/bad gal roles and Jason Lee is quite appealing as the best friend of our dashing lead Tom Cruise. Yet Cruise may be viewed as stretching this performance given the physical challenges that are demanded. I hesitate to reveal these challenges to those that have not seen the picture as they are indeed the focal point of the plot. Many good things like the witty Cameron Crowe retrospective soundtrack that is weaved into clever culture references and tributes which are indeed enjoyable and even necessary to solve the riddle presented in 'what's is going on?' scenario of the main character's pressing dilemma which may not be easy to access with a single viewing. But still the ride can be entertaining as Tom runs away and into trouble as he often does in quasi-action films that are laced with mystery and intrigue like Sydney Pollack's 1993 "The Firm", Brian De Palma's 1996 "Mission Impossible" and even the more cerebrally dark, "Eyes Wide Shut" from Stanley Kubrick. As noted by many educated critics as well as the tasteless tabloids Mr. Cruise may be biting off more than he can chew as he dives into the land of independent production. I applaud Tom for his efforts and are rooting for his success yet do believe that his choice for future roles should include a return to comedic territory as a deviation/diversion to selecting elaborate/complicated efforts which could be prove too risky and result in a poor reception at the box office.

Original, fun, with a sad unconventional ending. A definite love it or hate it movie. Makes you appreciate what you have rather than taking everything for granted as David Ames does. If you "don't get it" at first, watch it again. If you watched it once and hated it...don't bother.

For many years this has been one of my favourite films. The very film itself is very "Faustian", in it's theoretically never ending quest for love, experience and knowledge. It also has a much darker side to it, reminding me somewhat of another absolutely wonderful dark film; "The Jacket", with a touch of "Donnie Darko". I've seen the original Spanish film "Abre los ojos" that this more or less is an exact remake of, and amusingly, it contains the same lovely Penelope Cruz in her role as Sofia Serrano. The lead character David Aames is played by Tom Cruise, not someone I particularly like neither in "real life" nor in this film, but he does a good job in this film, and that is after all what counts. His role as a lucky rich boy with no responsibility and who's "all about fun", in his own words, represents my complete opposite, that being so, he quickly finds himself forced to recognize that "there are consequences in life".

Aames falls completely in love with a girl that his lonely best friend brings to Aames' own birthday party (some friend, huh?). Jason Lee does an excellent role with his character Brian Shelby. The happiness ends suddenly though, after Aames lack of responsibility comes back around to him the morning after and he ends up emotionally and physically crippled afterwards. Cameron Diaz plays the character of the slut stalker of Aames, and no fault of Diaz, her character is completely horrible, an awful person.

Without revealing the end and the entire plot for those of you out there who strangely have not seen this marvellous film yet, I would just like to recommend this beyond words. Even though the upper layer of the film seems very "decadent" and "shallow", it really is about (in my view) the greatest thing of all, the search for knowledge and experience. Add the beautiful Penelope Cruz and a really existentialist theme throughout, which I'm sure everyone who thinks for him or herself can relate to (is the world real or merely an illusion?), and you've got yourself one of my favourite films. The end scene is simply sublime, with what probably is the best song in the world, Sigur Ros' divine "Njosnavellin".

Watch it!

This movie is a love story with some sci-fi elements awkwardly thrown in, but there are some moments of good acting and dialogue that make it worth watching.

All the reviewers who said that this is a movie you love or hate,and I really hated it. It was long, boring, and I just didn't connect with any of the characters. I would have turned it off long before it was over, but I was watching it with other people. The only thing remotely good is Camron Diaz, I guess I did like one character after all. Stay away unless you feel you just have to, and if you hate it, you can jump into our ship!

A film which makes an attempt to pattern itself on the fantasy vs. reality films that had become popular at the turn of the new millennium - David Fichner's "Fight Club" and M. Night Shamalan's "Sixth Sense" both from 1999, Christopher Nolan's "Momento" from 2000, and David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" released the following year (all of which don't surpass the reigning king of this genre when Terry Gilliam released his 1985 masterpiece "Brazil") - by no means fails in this respect since I found it both entertaining and intriguing for the most part, but is noticeably long and certainly may confuse the average '2hr-max-movie-goer'. Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz both stand out playing their respective, 'good gal/bad gal roles and Jason Lee is quite appealing as the best friend of our dashing lead Tom Cruise. Yet Cruise may be viewed as stretching this performance given the physical challenges that are demanded. I hesitate to reveal these challenges to those that have not seen the picture as they are indeed the focal point of the plot. Many good things like the witty Cameron Crowe retrospective soundtrack that is weaved into clever culture references and tributes which are indeed enjoyable and even necessary to solve the riddle presented in 'what's is going on?' scenario of the main character's pressing dilemma which may not be easy to access with a single viewing. But still the ride can be entertaining as Tom runs away and into trouble as he often does in quasi-action films that are laced with mystery and intrigue like Sydney Pollack's 1993 "The Firm", Brian De Palma's 1996 "Mission Impossible" and even the more cerebrally dark, "Eyes Wide Shut" from Stanley Kubrick. As noted by many educated critics as well as the tasteless tabloids Mr. Cruise may be biting off more than he can chew as he dives into the land of independent production. I applaud Tom for his efforts and are rooting for his success yet do believe that his choice for future roles should include a return to comedic territory as a deviation/diversion to selecting elaborate/complicated efforts which could be prove too risky and result in a poor reception at the box office.