Andre Rieu is currently touring Australia with a brand new show and is as popular as ever with Australian audiences. Andre Rieu is a classical violinist that uses his own unique style to engage audiences at his shows.  Although his adaptation of the classics is criticised by the classical music purists, it can’t be denied that he has created a revival in interest in waltz music. Andre and his orchestra give new life to classical works with their use of colour, costumes and humour as well as dance and guest soloists.

Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra are heading around the country this October with their ‘And The Waltz Goes On’ tour, performing classic waltzes but also a dynamic mix of music genres which can include anything from folk songs to film scores to the Seekers. Combined with Andre’s magnetism and sense of humour is a winning combination for audiences.

Whilst in Australia, Andre has also been doing the rounds of the Aussie TV breakfast shows to promote his concerts, and his new album where he gives ABBA songs the classical touch. Andre Rieu has created a huge body of work over his long career, which include a busy touring schedule, CDs and DVDs. Andre Rieu DVDs are incredibly popular as his fans enjoy reliving the magic of his colourful and dynamic concerts over and over.  Andre has a DVD for every occasion, Christmas, New Years Eve, movie scores, romance and the list goes on.  He also releases many of his international concerts on DVD so fans can enjoy many different cultures and stunning locations. The best way to get your hands on Andre’s concerts is to get the DVDs online. Andre began 2013 by releasing his Happy Birthday DVD which celebrates his 25^th year with the Johann Strauss Orchestra and has also released his Live in Brazil concert, Rieu Royale in honour of the new Dutch king’s coronation, Magic of the Movies of best loved screen hits and most recently Live in Maastricht 7 filmed at his magnificent Dutch castle.  So there is plenty of opportunity for his fans to own a piece of Andre Rieu magic!

We all know that Americans love Halloween. Dressing up, trick or treating and carving pumpkin Jack O’ Lanterns we instantly recognise as an American tradition. Over the last few years however, more and more Australian kids are getting into the Halloween spirit and celebrating this old tradition in a modern way.

Gone are the old meanings of Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, and now it is a time for fun and dressing up. Celebrated on October 31 each year, Halloween centres around trick or treating, although I’m sure that most kids are more interested in the treats and not the tricks, dressing up as scary characters and generally using it as a reason to have a party. Halloween is a great excuse to have a costume party that both kids and adults can participate in and just have fun with.  I’m not sure that Australians have really adopted the Jack O’ Lantern pumpkin carving that the Americans love. It’s maybe because Aussies don’t get the gigantic pumpkins that the Americans do, it’s just not the same carving a scary face into a butternut, but I suspect it’s because pumpkin carving isn’t a top priority skill for most people.

Now back to the treats…while kids love collecting Halloween lollies (or candy if you’re American), there’s nothing like getting the kids full of sugar, dressing them up in scary costumes then plonking them in front of a horror DVD for an entertaining evening of screams.  I reckon it’s just as much fun for the adults. For the littlies, there are also plenty of Halloween cartoon DVDs to entertain them if you don’t want to cause too many Halloween nightmares.

So while the Americans have traditionally owned Halloween celebrations, Aussies are adopting it as a fun celebration and getting into the spirit of the occasion.  (Get it…spirit…a little Halloween humour there….)

What makes a good movie?

Is it things like an engaging plot, likeable characters, and witty dialogue? Or is it the search for treasure, swash-buckling sword fights and Johnny Depp? Given the success of the Pirates of The Caribbean movie franchise I’d say all of the above.

Back in 1967, the Pirates of The Caribbean ride was the last attraction personally overseen by Walt Disney before he passed away. Since then it has become a favourite Disneyland attraction for so many Disney fans and Disney DVD fans.  You can’t get off that ride without humming the Pirates theme (Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me…) for the rest of the day.

So when the Pirates of The Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl was released back in 2003, there was already a huge fan base to launch a movie franchise from. Johnny Depp brought the character of Captain Jack Sparrow to our screens with humour and flair, and the world of Pirates of the Caribbean expanded beyond the confines of a Disneyland attraction.

Creating this modern franchise of Pirates movies has introduced a whole new legion of fans to the classic Disney ride as well.

We’ve now had four movies; Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, At World’s End and On Stranger tides.  The 2015 release of the next installment, Dead Men Tell No Tales, has been pushed back while the script is being reworked. The producer Jerry Bruckheimer wants to ensure that Dead Men Tell No Tales has a simple and fun script before they start shooting. Good news is that Johnny Depp will definitely be back as Captain Jack Sparrow.

Hopefully the next Pirates movie will also have a 3D version like On Stranger Tides. The 3D Blu Ray of On Stranger Tides really brings to life the world of Captain Jack and gives a new dimension on the action. Grab the 3D Blu Ray online now to see for yourself.

The 65th Emmys is now over but check out the blog below we updated every few minutes during today’s Emmy Awards.

In a little over an hour the 65th Emmy Awards get under way hosted by Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met Your Mother. He did an absolutely awesome job hosting the last Tony Awards so I can’t wait to see how he goes hosting the Emmys. I’ll be updating this blog throughout the Emmys so this is the place to hear all about the Emmys.

For those that were expecting a musical number to begin the Emmys, were, like me, were wrong. It was however a fun beginning with bit by host Neil Patrick Harris and past hosts including Conan OBrien and a hilarious bit by House Of Cards star Kevin Spacey.

Merrit Wever wins for best supporting actress in a comedy in Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey wins for comedy series writing for 30 Rock
Tony Hale wins best supporting actor in a comedy for his work on Veep

Robin Williams in currently on stage. Is it just me or he is looking really old?

How hilarious is it right now with Julia Louis-Dreyfus accepting her award for lead actress in a comedy with her on-screen assistant Tony Hale helping her with her speech

Melissa Leo, Bob Newhart wins for guest stars appearances.
Gale Mancuso wins for comedy directing for Modern Family
Jim Parsons wins lead actor in a comedy for the Big Bang Theory DVD.

Elton John is currently on stage playing his tribute to Liberace who dies 25 years ago.

Laura Linney wins for her work on The Big C
Writing for drama series goes to Henry Bromwell the writer of Homeland who died earlier this year
Supporting actress in a drama goes to Anna Gunn for Breaking Bad.

And here we go, finally with a Neil Patrick Harris sing and dance number…

The Voice wins best reality program. Really? I guess the US version is better than the Aussie version?
Bobby Cannavale wins Best Support Actor for a drama series for his work on Boardwalk Empire.
Lead actor in a drama goes to Jeff Daniels for The Newsroom. He was a stand out this year.

Carrie Underwood is currently on stage singing about the events of 50 years ago starting with the Beatles ‘Yesterday’.

We’re up to the big awards now for the final hour of the Emmys.
Lead Actress in a Drama series goes to Claire Danes for Homeland which you’ve got to watch on DVD.
Directing for a drama series has just been won by David Fincher for House Of Cards.
Outstanding writing for Variety series has just been awarded to the team from Colbert Report.
Directing in a Variety series goes to Don Roy King for Saturday Night Live for the 4th time in a row.
The choreography award has just been given to Dancing With The Stars
Outstanding variety series Emmy goes to Colbert Report – that’s award number 2 for this year.
Writing for mini series or movie goes to Abi Morgan for The Hour.
James Cromwell wins Emmy for Supporting Actor in a mini series for American Horror Story.

We’re in the final stretch after watching the In Memoriam segment.

Emmy for the outstanding Director in mini series has just been awarded to Steven Soderbergh for Behind The Candelabra.
Supporting Actress for a Mini Series goes to Ellen Burstyn for Political Animals
Michael Douglas wins for Actor in mini series for Behind The Candelabra.
Best mini series or movie has just been awarded to Behind The Candelabra. That’s their 3rd today from 15 nominations.

We’re a couple of minutes away now from the announcing of the big 2: Best Drama and Best Comedy.
Modern Family has just taken out the Best Comedy Emmy… and now the final award goes to
No surprise with the big one just announced. Breaking Bad wins best Drama series award for their final season.

That’s it for this years Emmys. Probably not the best Emmys that has ever been. We didn’t see enough of the host and it felt a little rushed at times to keep it on time (which is actually succeeded in doing) but it was pretty good. Catch the replay tonight if you get a chance.

The Smurfs are back!  For those of us that remember collecting the figurines as kids in the 80s, will appreciate that everything old is new again. After the success with the 2010 Smurfs movie the Smurfs are now back in Smurfs 2. The Smurfs however have been around longer than that. They first appeared in a Belgium comics magazine in 1958 and haven’t looked back since.  With simple characters and a simple good vs evil message delivered with smurfy humour, what’s not to like.

The Smurfs, who are only three apples high are lead by Papa Smurf (not to be confused with a blue Santa Claus in that outfit) and have a quirky language style. Smurfs substitute words in normal sentences with the word ‘smurf’, leaving the viewer’s imagination to create their own interpretation, like ‘what a smurfy day this is’. And who hasn’t used the classic ‘what the smurf’?

For those wanting to reminisce about the original 2D animated Smurfs cartoons can always pick up one of the many Smurf DVDs online. The original DVDs hold up over time for those who haven’t seen them since the 80s, and the kids will enjoy them for the first time.

Smurfs 2, like the first Smurfs movie, is an animation/reality production which will look great on 3D Blu Ray. Neil Patrick Harris, Hank Azaria, Jayma Mays and Katy Perry are back for Smurfs 2 along with a host of other great actors to bring the Smurfs to our screens again. This time the Smurfs adventure will see them in Paris, with the help of their human friends, in order to stop Gargamel the wizard his cat Azrael in one more of their evil Smurf catching schemes.

The release of The Smurfs 2 DVD, along with the enduring popularity of the Smurfs cartoons, will ensure that we will continue to see plenty of the Smurfs around, including the little plastic figurines we all loved as kids.  So don’t smurf around, catch the Smurfs 2 movie and enjoy your smurf with some smurfy fun! Have a smurfy day…