This film is quirky in the extreme. I expected to find it mildly amusing. However, Jason Bateman is wonderful in this movie. His performance alone is worth viewing the film for. And there is so much more here to adore! Give it a chance if weird and wondrous appeals in the least.

I just finished my first listen, and I am completely blown away. The arrangements are amazing. This is no celebrity self-aggrandizement fest either: Mr. Laurie gets out of the way or sings backup while guests (Tom Jones, Irma Thomas, and Dr. John) shine through on a track each. Some reviews say his voice is distracting, and I'm not sure if that would be because of hints of his accent are creeping through or he's not primarily a singer, but blues is the perfect genre for imperfect voices. I just do not understand the problem. If you enjoy old time blues, this is a fantastic labor of love to show and share classics and less-well-know songs alike.

While the instructor is quite advanced and his models/students are at least upper-intermediate level, Mark Blanchard has a very healthy attitude toward working at your own level, in your own ability, and not pushing past your edge, eschewing competition in achievement.

I would not recommend this disc for anyone completely new to yoga merely because it might tempt the competitive into trying challenging moves they are not ready for, regardless of the instructor's healthy attitude.

For students with some yoga instruction or experience, especially in the ashtanga tradition, and an ability to withstand thoughts of pushing farther than ability allows, this is a dynamic and balanced program, and I strongly recommend it. Know that it is very, very tough. For one thing, the main program is 90 minutes of very strenuous vinyasa. There is very challenging work here, such as strong balances, which I look forward to working on and through. I immediately added it to my wish list to own. I want this program in my library, even though much of it is way beyond my ability at this present moment.

This would be a great beach read. It is nice and light, with a little romance and a little danger. The characters are for the most part nicely three-dimensional, with foibles, quirks, and other signs of being realistic instead of cardboard cut-outs. A little yoga philosophy hardly intrudes. Very enjoyable and recommended.

The two little otamatones are a blast to play around with. I do wish they had the ability to be marked like the ones in the video above with half-tone or scale markings. Some kind of removable sticker would probably work, but I would hesitate to try it for fear of damaging the surface.