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I listened to this CD when I was driving to work this week. I never feel so moved, amazed, uplifted, and compelled so intensively for the whole 20 minutes of "Inner Voice" by this very talented and world famous classical composer, Chinary Ung, who is Cambodian and has won many world highest awards for his musical talent. I am so proud of him, the golden crops, the goldne genes, the golden bones, the golden leaves of Cambodian heritage who has risen so much to achieve American Dream and Success. You are the icon of American Dream. I am very grateful that your music has touched so many lives and especially lives of the hopelessness and helplessness, and I will continue to play your music to my patients in my medical practice since great music like this one is the Most Powerful Medication. Sopheap Ly, MD, Author of "No Dream Beyond My Reach"

Reviews

I love all the love comes softly movies. My young kids love to watch them as well. it is nice to have good wholesome movies to enjoy on a regular basis.

Loved this movie of Jeanette Okes had all the characters in it good family movie In fact I have two copies of the DVD chfancier

Whenever you see the words "based on" you know the film isn't going to follow the original story...as proves the case in this series. I don't usually like films that are "based on" - particularly if I have loved the original stories - but I did enjoy this series directed by Michael Landon Jr. If you can accept these aren't the stories of the books written by Christian author Janette Oke, they are an enjoyable set of films of love & faith to watch in their own right. This film is my favourite of the series. In this film: Willie & Missie LaHaye arrive on their new land and set to work to start up a home & a ranch. Willie hires some cowboys to help out & Missie becomes friends with her neighbour from the Indian settlement - a blessing to Missie as Miriam is a midwife & promises to be there for Missie when it's her little one's time to enter the world. Missie starts teaching the children in the settlement to read, & also befriends an orphan boy in Tettsford Junction who boards with an elderly lady while his older brother goes out on "jobs" to earn money so they can start up their own ranch one day. Oh, & there's a mean trio of bandits who hold up folks...it's only a matter of time before it's the LaHaye's turn. Missie's quote from Ecclesiates at the end of the film "To everything there is a season, & a time for every purpose under heaven" sums up the faithfulness of God in her life throughout all the changing seasons of life. Buy the Series: Janette Oke the Love Comes Softly Series: (Set of 6 DVDs) Love Comes Softly; Love's Enduring Promise; Love's Long Journey; Love's Abiding Joy; Loves Unending Legacy; Loves Unfolding Dream

This was a great buy...didnt get the first shipment it was lost in shipment la la land.

The whole "Love Comes Softly series is fantastic. I watch all of them over and over.

Reviews

I saw Part I of this series when it originally aired on PBS many years ago. I bought this to see the remaining episodes. It was a worthwhile purchase! I honestly think my area PBS stations only aired this one time, which wouldn't surprise me, given that it really is about--as its description says clearly--the lesbian relationship between these two women and its impact on ALL of those, but especially their husbands, around them. Everyone in this production is a fine actor. The story is inherently interesting, in part because it involved at least one famous person, Vita Sackville-West. And these women, even without one another's dynamic relationship, were interesting people by themselves. I must admit, to me, this production is driven by character and conflict. If you want typical action-packed, fast-paced American viewing, this is NOT for you. If you abhor lesbianism (for whatever reasons), this is not for you. I did find myself splitting up these episodes, watching each on a different night, over three nights. Much of this story is, at least I think, depressing. I simply couldn't watch more than one episode a night without having it make ME feel down, but I'm very glad I have this production. It was worth investing in.

I'm appalled by all the positive reviews of this rather tired and maudlin film which is said to be based on the altogether wonderful book "Portrait of a Marriage" by Nigel Nicolson. As far as adapatations go, this is one of the least faithful I've ever encountered. Either the writer of the film used various sources other than Nicolson's book, or she made things up (which is not likely). Gone is the rich history of her mother and grandfather, of growing up, of her later years and relationship with Virginia Woolf. Only a brief line or two mentions Vita's first romance with Rosamond. This is not a portrait of a marriage, but rather the portrait of an affair. Vita is portrayed as a spoiled malcontent trapped in a loveless marriage (which is the opposite of the portrait in the book). The cast is not at fault; indeed they are all to be praised (especially McTeer). Likewise, the production elements are all first rate. It is the direction, teleplay and dramatic pacing which are at odds with the source material. The characters are poorly drawn, and their motivations not well articulated. What about Violet has captured and possessed Vita, is it her personality,her sexual magnatism, is she thrilling and vibrant? Not here. We have no "real" clue as to what has brought these two women together in such an all consuming passion. These characters - as depicted - are spoiled rich brats; and it was hard for me to give a damn about them and their "classy" problems. The book is so rich is detail, history and atmosphere which this film doesn't even attempt to capture. It is a one note affair (pardon the pun) and one I can not in good faith recommend. Please, please, please, read the book and skip the film.

"Portrait of a Marriage" is the superb, controversial Masterpiece Theater miniseries from 1990. Nearly two decades old, it was shocking at the time, before the show became the redundant "Masterpiece Classic" and more historically than emotionally authentic. "Portrait" has endured. In the '90s, the Bloomsbury group inspired numerous movies, from this series to Sally Potter's "Orlando" and Emma Thompson in "Carrington." "Portrait of a Marriage" is a biopic of feminist author Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband, Harold Nicolson. They married, and had a deep emotional bond, despite the fact Harold had flings with handsome young men, and Vita carried on with women--such as Virginia Woolf. The series is quite affecting in showing their affectionate, passionate devotion. Janet McTeer and David Haig are an excellent, credible couple. Their marriage is endangered by Vita's longtime friend, Violet Keppel (Cathryn Harrison). Vita is torn between her husband's devotion and Violet's flighty passion. Harold provides constancy,despite the fact he has a handsome unseen lover named Edward in Paris. Vita and Violet are impassioned&obsessed. One can argue that it was the infidelity and the obsession that was the problem, not the homosexuality. "Portrait of a Marriage" is a superb period piece. It depicts a time when homosexuality was more stigmatized, and gender roles were more rigid. It's a powerful, passionate portrait.

I too watched this PBS special, but was out of town for the last installment and never did see the ending. I was heartbroken and have been searching for it ever since! The story captivates me and the acting was superb. I am now reading the book by Vita and Harold's son and cannot wait, truly, cannot wait to see the movie again! I am thrilled to find it at Amazon!

I remember seeing this series when it first came out in England many years ago. I recently bought the DVD's issued here in the US. Seeing it again, so many years later, did not diminish the effect it had on me. I was quite surprised by this and I think that fact alone says something about the quality of this production. It is really an examination of the conflict between stable family life and the wild passions of youth. Many people might contemplate the kind of marriage/relationship that Vita had, but very few would actually go through with it. There are some very violent scenes so this is not for the faint of heart, and some heartbreaking ones when you see the effect the turmoil is having on her children. It superbly acted by all parties especially the husbands- they are very hard parts to play. Janet McTeer is absolutely perfect as Vita. Many people know of Vita Sackville-West because of her later relationship with Virginia Woolf. But it is vital to understand her first major extramarital affair with Violet to understand the context of her later relationships with other women. For gardeners out there thinking that this might show Sissinghurst, a word of caution, most of the action takes place while Vita and Harold were creating their Long Barn garden, not Sissinghurst. But there are some divine shots of Sissinghurst (especially the White garden) at the very end.

Reviews

Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt give outstanding performances in the Devil's Own. Definitely worth buying if a fan of either Harrison or Brad. I did not think the story line was very original but it is interesting enough to keep the film very enjoyable, given the outstanding acting throughout.

This is a worthy to watch film, because we are talking about Alan Pakula, one of the most talented and intelligent American directors of his generation who bet for a script of beating actuality. A young Irish terrorist goes to New York in order to broke an arms deal and get room just at home of a very honest cop (who has not the minor idea whom is lodging). The plot resents itself, specially in what concerns the predictable final. But the initial shooting sequence is now a cult reference. Brad Pitt is credible as the ruthless terrorist and Ford is at top level with this hard role, on one hand he has to cover a grievous mistake of his partner and the other he will have to deal with the disillusion of having lodged an outlaw of such importance, widely wanted in Europe. Above the average, but the script had by itself major stamina to expose.

I like to watch any H. Fords movies, I cant think of any movies he has been in that it was seen over and over agin. L Sturdavant

This movie tried very hard to avoid the political context and background of the IRA/UK conflict...too hard! What you got instead were two movies in one sloppily plasted together. At first you have the IRA Guerrilla Frankie McGuire (Pitt) fighting off hoards of British soldiers in Belfast. Literally ten minutes later you are zoomed to New York City where you will not hear another word about the IRA for quite some time. Instead you are immersed in a story about the life of NYPD cop Tom O'Mera (Ford). Now you get the story of the never ending drama in Tom's life, family, work, etc. You began to forget the IRA has anything to do with the film. The movie then attempts to contemplate the concepts of political violence and murder through a series of well acted but over dramatic dialogues between Pitt and Ford. I got the movie with the intent of seeing a dramatized political thriller but instead got a softened look at the life of an NYPD officer (which I didn't care about in the least bit) and an IRA gunmen to a far lesser extent. Good acting with bad writing equals a mess. You can't tackle a situation as complex as the IRA conflict and simplify it to the extent the film did to avoid getting political. Very disappointed.

This movie is a genuine setback for the intellectual future of mankind. Somebody in the production team should be slapped, I'm not kidding. I read somewhere that Ford and Pitt tried to distance themselves from this stinker, and I'm not surprised. Shame on them for taking the big Bucks in the first place. A case of two pampered actors adding fuel to a (then) fire that really needed no fuel adding to it, from a safe distance, whilst doing themselves a lot of good in the process. To just say it's confused, etc, is really letting it off the hook. It's awful, but if you're into 'pro Irish/anti British' you'll probably put this right next to the copies of Braveheart and The Patriot you already have on your shelf. If you haven't seen it yet, just borrow it, and don't say 'thankyou' to the lender. Take care, Baby Cromwell

Reviews

A taught story, interesting characters, and a slew of cleverly crafted sentences make this one of the better thrillers I have read. A horrific murder takes place, and the story takes off deftly linking together a pharmaceutical executive, a hero with a tragic past, and a group of Chinese investors who have found a nifty way to profit off the stock market. But even without the plot, Harrison is so good at writing about the small details that you can see, hear, and smell everything that is taking place. And unfortunately, smelling everything won't be so great.

I agree with the other reviewers that the plot on this one is a bit contrived and that it depends too much on one-in-a-zillion coincidences (how likely is it that the father of the hero is going to be a police detective who, thirty years earlier, worked on a case involving the story's villain, then just a 17-year-old kid?). The ending is especially cheesy. Harrison does everything but tie a damsel in distress to a railroad track with the train whistling in the distance. But the basic plot device, while perhaps a stretch, is a lot of fun, and there's verve to the writing. I also liked the New Yorkiness of it. You get the feeling Harrison really knows and loves New York. So just turn off your b.s. detector and enjoy. It's a pretty rippin' read.

I can't believe the reader praise for this book. The plot is both contrived and overlayered, the characters are one-dimensional formula types (your "good guys," your "bad guys," and, of course, your "superman" hero), the editing is terrible, much of the story is implausible, and most disappointing of all, the resolution is entirely dependent on several unbelievable coincidences (the crutch of poor mystery writers). Two examples: 1) Editing: At one point the "hero" is forced to accompany some men on a drive, leaving his truck in his driveway. While gone, his truck is briefly removed then put back in place. When our "hero" is released and returns, "his truck is back in the driveway, he noticed." How did he know it was removed? 2) Coincidence: Our 'hero" is searching the apartment of his girlfriend, who has been missing for several days. Upon leaving the apartment, without clues, he just happens to come in contact with a neighbor. And although the girl was trying to be as secretive as possible, it just turns out that she had revealed to her neighbor certain specific details of her job, including an important obscure location so necessary for the resolution of the plot. And of course it just so happens that the neighbor reveals this vital information to our hero -- so the story can continue. One newspaper reviewer actually favorably compared this novel to "Bonfire of the Vanities." What an insult to Tom Wolfe!

The writing is AWFUL. The story makes no sense, none of the characters are appealing. And the author has some serious fixation on poop and bad sex. This is a stinky mess!

Chen is in China and offers confidential investment advice to a wealthy syndicate in Asia. He cleverly gets his inside information from his beautiful sister Jin Li who runs a mobile document shredding operation in New York. This allows her access to carefully selected companies they are contracted to. As part of her daily routine she is able to steal information that will allow the syndicate to make advance purchases that can push their holdings up or down and influence the direction the market will take. This plan worked well until a major wealthy investor, Bill Martz, had huge losses in a small pharmaceutical company that he had heavily invested in. Good Pharma, suffered a dramatic price drop because the Chinese group had shorted it. Most of the plot is about how Bill Martz figured out how the stock price had been manipulated and how he planned to recoup his losses. The other key figure was Ray Grant,Jr.,a former boyfriend of Jin Li. He had been a fireman, badly injured during the 9/11 attack, who had become a relief worker going to foreign locations to clean up after natural disasters. He became the foil to Martz as he searched for Jin Li who had been kidnapped. I have read all of Colin Harrison's books. He is one of my favorites. So, I was really anticipating this. But, for some reason, even though it's reasonably fast moving with a good plot and I liked it. But, not as much as his previous books. I didn't get that feeling I couldn't put it down. Nevertheless, I'd say most people would find it a worthwhile read.

Reviews

A lot of people compare this book and others that Colin Harrison has written (I've read only this one) to The Bonfire of the Vanities. Having read both books, I can't see the similarities, except for maybe some black humor. Wolfe's novel is a satire, and Harrison's is something different. What did strike me, however, in reading The Havana Room was the similarity to The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby becomes "Jay" John Rainey . A first-person narrator, Bill Wyeth in Harrison's book, and Nick Carraway in Fitzgerald's, give you the proper distance and provide verisimilitude to the somewhat murky mystery. Long Island's North Shore is West Egg in Gatsby and North Fork in The Havana Room. Daisy Buchanan finds a descendant in Eliza Carmody. Rainey deliberately sacrifices himself as Gatsby does, for people one senses are unworthy. The conclusion of Gatsby could be the conclusion of The Havana Room: "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then ... and let other people clean up the mess they had made..." ... Having a good friend suffering from emphysema, I appreciated the suffocation metaphor embodied by the novel's main character.

Jim Thompson is my favourite crime novelist; Michael Ledwidge is number two. Harrison's novel The Havana Room is his first novel I read and it is a revelation. Original, candid and ingenious. He is on his way to become my number three. Next to read: Afterburn and Manhattan Nocturne.

One day Bill Wyeth is an upscale Manhattan lawyer with the requisite beautiful wife, eight-year-old son, oversized apartment and a bright financial future. When Wyeth falls asleep at night he may be a bit bored with the predictability of his world, but contentedly falls into dreams knowing he is safe. Wife Judith is already planning for a vacation home, Timothy hosting a birthday-slumber party for eight friends, a few of them sons of influential men his father wants to impress. On the night of the party, when Bill assumes he is performing a good deed, a tragic accident occurs and a boy lies dead. Suddenly the world drops away as the grieving father takes revenge the only way he can, destroying Wyeth's carefully constructed career. Judith panics, files for divorce and moves with their son from the east coast to the west. Wyeth learns how quickly a fall from grace can alter the direction of his life from an upward trajectory to a slippery slope that seems to have no bottom, left with little cash and a few nice suits in a third floor walkup. Harrison's talent shines in this dense novel, a happy man's descent into the darker corners of the city that wealth and privilege avoid, where crime is rampant and the struggle to survive is ferocious. Wandering the chaotic streets of his new neighborhood, Wyeth discovers a popular steakhouse that has been a staple in the area for generations. He makes himself a regular, ensconced at table 17, even beginning a long flirtation with the attractive manager, Allison Sparks. Allison is a bit dangerous, but this appeals to Bill, who has little left to lose. He doesn't realize he has farther to fall, but of course, Bill is a naïf in this world, still nursing predictable hopes with marginal success, measuring all by what he knows; he is fascinated by a closed, invitation only room at the steakhouse, the Havana Room, deeply curious about what happens there and the fact that only Allison can issue invitations. When Allison asks a legal favor from Bill for her current flame, he reluctantly agrees; it concerns a multi-million dollar transaction that will take place in the Havana Room. Allison's friend, Jay Rainey, appears an intelligent, straight-forward client, but Wyeth advises Rainey under duress and a time constraint that makes him uncomfortable as the attorney of record. And Wyeth has reason for concern- soon enough he is embroiled in an increasingly suspect business deal that has troubling ramifications. Every favor he does for Rainey pulls Bill deeper into a morass from which he is unable to extricate himself, pursued and kidnapped by thugs, pressured for information by the new owner of the property and searching for his suddenly unavailable client, a man with a tragic past and hopeless future. Harrison delves into the murkiest corners of the human heart, the small cruelties families inflict on one another and the greed of the powerful in a complicated tale that ends one violent night in the Havana Room, the mendacity of others exposed: "Like insect colonies and creeping plants, these intrigues need a bit of moisture and darkness to thrive. " Luan Gaines/ 2008.

I read this book after reading Afterburn, which was stellar. Harrison constructs atypical, unpredictable plot movements with a very literate style. Good character development, nice prose, and unexpected twists and plot development. Havana Room is a ridiculous, implausible, poorly executed story. Worst of all, Harrison relies on the very sloppy, lazy literary technique of keeping the reader in the dark about essential elements of the plot until it is revealed all at once by a single character (read: the author) explaining it all in one fell swoop with a big long monologue. I have written better material than this myself and I am in no way a writer in Harrison's league. I don't know if he had to produce this piece of drivel to pay his taxes or fulfill a book contract but I say with confidence that he is a fine writer as evidenced by Afterburn and the outstanding review that I just read of his newest novel, released in April of 2008. So.....read Afterburn and I will check out the new one but this.....is a waste of time.

The characters interwining stories along with the secrets of the Havana Room makes this a compelling read. I throughly enjoyed it.