Rear Window (Collector's Edition) (DVD)

The review about this product

This film was always one of Hitchcock's finest. There is nothing I could add to what has been said before in praise.
However, I question why the film was letterboxed when the original movie was shot with a ratio of 1.33:1 (or 4:3). Paramount Pictures, in 1954, had not released anything in Vista Vision, their wide screen answer to Cinemascope. "White Christmas" would be the first to be released later that year in the new process.
After comparing the new DVD to my 1984 VHS tape, I noticed some striking discrepancies. The most obvious were the shots when James Stewart looked through his camera viewfinder. What he, and we, saw was a complete circle, with the image contained within the circle. On the DVD, this circle is cropped at the top and bottom. Why?
Also, during the DVD documentary on how the film was restored, a technician is seen holding the actual film. It plainly shows the movie was shot in the common ratio of 1.33:1. When before and after comparisons are shown, one can clearly see extra image at the top and bottom of the before shot. Again, why letterbox?
For such a great film, my criticisms may seem of low importance. I would just rather not see cropping like this happen to other restorations of great classics in the future.

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Darwin's Blade: A Novel of Suspense (Mass Market Paperback)

The review about this product

I'm shocked that this book made it to press. It starts out with the hero "Darwin Minor", crack insurance fraud investigator, looking into an "accident" that turns out to be the result of some idiot who strapped a couple of solid fuel rockets to his 1982 El Camino out in the middle of a long stretch of road, lit the match and flew several thousand feet into the side of a mountain (get real). How did "Dar" figure this out when there was nothing left but a hole in the ground and an El Camino door handle? "A simple matter of friction coefficient" and some asphalt that had melted and resolidified. The weird part is that you don't know if the author is pulling your leg or not. I mean, the book cover says it's a "Novel of Suspense" but I'm thinking comedy at this point. It turns out the cover and I were both wrong. The only suspense in the book is around the question "How bad can the humor get?"
You know the list of old insurance jokes that keeps recycling every few years? There's half a chapter devoted to retelling every one of them and another WHOLE chapter whose only purpose is to tell an old courtroom joke. It felt like Simmons just decided to tell some jokes in the middle of a book. Maybe he was hoping he could distract the reader from the fact that he had no story to tell.
In another chapter we get a lesson in physics where several pages are filled with mathematical equations (square root signs, subscripts, really cool math stuff), drag coefficients of asphalt versus concrete, bumper heights versus center of gravity for a man. All of these senseless values are calculated and recalculated until we get some van's speed at the point of impact down to the nearest tenth of a mph. You have to go back several pages and reread to remember why you were put through this mind numbing exercise. This is about halfway through the book and you're still left wondering when there's going to be a story.
The editors at HarperCollins must have been asleep when they read this book. It drags on and on without a decent plot. Characters say one thing, then contradict themselves a couple of paragraphs later. Not a single character in the book has an ounce of intelligence (because they don't know what they're supposed to be doing in the story). There's no cohesiveness from chapter to chapter, characters change personalities, everyone is driving from one end of California to the next every day until you don't know where they are or why they're there...
Hey, you know what, I'm done. This book is just plain BAD. !
Simmons has written some of the GREATEST FICTION EVER (try the Hyperion trilogy). It would be a real shame if this book formed your impression of a truly great writer. Those of us who have been following Simmons will no doubt be forgiving (really forgiving).

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A complete rip-off - outdated, focused on New Jersey; a complete waste

The review about this product

This is easily the worst purchase I've ever made from Amazon. At just 104 pages, AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE MADE SIMPLE is priced at %body_review%.19 a page. At this rate, the new Harry Potter would cost $150, and you're likely to find just as much worthwhile insurance information in THE DEATHLY HALLOWS as you will in this book. Not only is everything contained in AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE MADE SIMPLE common sense, outdated, or available online; the book is written for New Jersey citizens only - despite the fact that this is not prominently disclosed. Even New Jersey consumers will be wasting their time with this pitiful excuse for a "guide," since their state laws have recently been overhauled. Quite literally, this book is not worth the paper it's printed on.

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Provides excellent information to get best insurance value

Its a review about this product

Mr Abler has excellent information about the type and amount of insurance coverage you need and how to use your state's department of insurance. The information that is "new" to most consumers is about filing claims (don't threathen to sue) and acting as your own agent. I did not know you could be your own agent. The book will save me money on rates, but more importantly, it will aid in getting a fair settlement of any future claims. I would like more information about being your own agent, as this appears to be the best way to save money.

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Reviews About How to Save 25% Plus on Your Auto Insurance (Paperback)

The review about this product

Mr Abler has excellent information about the type and amount of insurance coverage you need and how to use your state's department of insurance. The information that is "new" to most consumers is about filing claims (don't threathen to sue) and acting as your own agent. I did not know you could be your own agent. The book will save me money on rates, but more importantly, it will aid in getting a fair settlement of any future claims. I would like more information about being your own agent, as this appears to be the best way to save money.

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