New Movies Review

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

2011-12-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Jack Black (Actor) | Rated: PG | Format: DVD

Kung Fu Panda 2 is a sequel that definitely lives up to its predecessor, thanks to excellent animation and a great mix of action, comedy, and important life lessons. Dragon Warrior Po (Jack Black) has matured and mastered many new challenges since learning the art of kung fu and defeating the snow leopard Tai Lung, but he hasn't lost his penchant for steamed buns, nor has he achieved what his teacher Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) describes as true inner peace. Before he can settle into the arduous task of self-discovery, word arrives that a nearby town of musicians has been attacked and their leader Master Thundering Rhino (Victor Garber) killed by a newly invented weapon that breathes fire and spits out metal--a weapon that is a harbinger of the end of kung fu and the domination of all of China by Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). Po and the Furious Five (Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, David Cross, and Lucy Liu) set out to destroy the mysterious weapon and save kung fu, encountering the imprisoned and very dispirited kung fu legends Master Oxen (Dennis Haysbert) and Master Croc (Jean-Claude Van Damme) along the way, but the group quickly discovers that their task is far from simple. Even as Soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh) adamantly foretells Lord Shen's defeat at the hands of a warrior of black and white, Po struggles with the realization that he must come to terms with his adoption in order to let go of the past and become who he chooses to be. Only then can he achieve the inner peace that will empower him to triumph over his personal insecurities and Lord Shen. Kung Fu Panda 2 offers excellent animation and 3-D effects, nice brisk pacing, great voice talent, life lessons that ring true, and a healthy dose of comedy that includes everything from wisecracks to a dragon that eats unsuspecting villagers and then poops them out, and a radish trained in the art of kung fu. (Ages 3 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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The Help (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2011)

2011-12-07T04:06:00.000-08:00

The Help (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2011)
Emma Stone (Actor), Bryce Dallas Howard (Actor) | Rated: PG-13 | Format: Blu-ray

There are male viewers who will enjoy The Help, but Mississippi native Tate Taylor aims his adaptation squarely at the female readers who made Kathryn Stockett's novel a bestseller. If the multi-character narrative revolves around race relations in the Kennedy-era South, the perspective belongs to the women. Veteran maid Aibileen (Doubt's Viola Davis in an Oscar-worthy performance) provides the heartfelt narration that brackets the story. A widow devastated by the death of her son, she takes pride in the 17 children she has helped to raise, but she's hardly fulfilled. That changes when Skeeter (Easy A's Emma Stone) returns home after college. Unlike her peers, Skeeter wants to work, so she gets a job as a newspaper columnist. But she really longs to write about Jackson's domestics, so she meets with Aibileen in secret--after much cajoling and the promise of anonymity. When Aibileen's smart-mouthed friend Minny (breakout star Octavia Spencer) breaches her uptight employer's protocol, Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) gives her the boot, and she ends up in the employ of local outcast Celia (Jessica Chastain, hilarious and heartbreaking), who can't catch a break due to her dirt-poor origins. After the murder of Medgar Evers, even more maids, Minny among them, bring their stories to Skeeter, leading to a book that scandalizes the town--in a good way. Not since Steel Magnolias has Hollywood produced a Southern woman's picture more likely to produce buckets of tears (and almost as many laughs). --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)

2011-12-07T04:04:00.000-08:00

Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)
Jim Carrey (Actor), Carla Gugino (Actor), Mark Waters (Director) | Rated: PG | Format: DVD

Based on the 1938 book of the same name by Richard and Florence Atwater, Mr. Popper's Penguins is a comedy about how the surprise appearance of a penguin at a New York businessman's door turns his life completely upside down, while simultaneously teaching him an important lesson about the value of family. Far from the small-town painter featured in the book, the film's Mr. Popper is a real estate developer who lives in an exclusive apartment on Park Avenue, has his sights set on becoming a partner in his firm, and is an every-other-weekend father to his two children. A ruthless developer with no time for anything but business, Mr. Popper resolves to deal with his father's parting gift of a penguin by getting rid of the annoying bird as quickly as possible. That process proves much more difficult than expected, even with the help of his ultra-efficient assistant Pippi, who speaks primarily in p's, and Mr. Popper soon winds up with six penguins. Even more unexpected is how markedly those penguins begin to affect the relationship between Mr. Popper and his children and how that change affects the rest of Mr. Popper's life. Jim Carrey's performance as Mr. Popper is very good--he capitalizes on the many comic opportunities afforded by the idea of keeping penguins in a New York apartment while showing an uncharacteristic restraint that's quite refreshing. Ophelia Lovibond is quite comical as Pippi and Angela Lansbury also makes a strong appearance as one of Mr. Popper's potential business clients. As Pippi would say, the premise of the power of the penguin to promote personal prosperity and perpetuate personal peace positively prevails in Mr. Popper's Penguins. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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American Horror Story Season 1, Ep. 9 "Spooky Little Girl"

2011-12-06T04:49:00.000-08:00

American Horror Story Season 1, Ep. 9 "Spooky Little Girl"
Runtime: 41 minutes
Original air date: November 30, 2011
Network: FX

Synopsis: One of history's most famous murder victims pays the house a visit. Constance discovers more of Tate's bad behavior.

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Top Chef Season 9, Ep. 5 "Don't Be Tardy for the Dinner Party"

2011-12-06T04:48:00.000-08:00

Top Chef Season 9, Ep. 5 "Don't Be Tardy for the Dinner Party"
Runtime: 44 minutes
Original air date: November 30, 2011
Network: Bravo

Synopsis: The Chefs have already hit the road on the way to the next city when Padma stops them at a roadblock -- surprise, it's the next Quickfire challenge where the chefs create a delicious dish using only ingredients found inside a standard survival kit. In the elimination challenge, the chefs will be cooking and serving in three different houses. They will be split into groups and assigned to serve the appetizer in one house, entree in the next, and then dessert in the final house. Guest judge John Besh joins Gail Simmons, head judge Tom Colicchio, and host Padma Lakshmi.

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Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall (DVD/CD) (2011)

2011-12-06T04:46:00.000-08:00

Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall (DVD/CD) (2011)
Adele (Actor), Paul Dugdale (Director) | Rated: NR | Format: DVD

Live At The Royal Albert Hall was recorded on September 22 at the height of what has been an amazing year for Adele. Available on DVD and Blu-ray, "Live At The Royal Albert Hall" features the full 90 minute concert performance, plus special behind the scenes footage shot throughout the day leading up to the concert.
The package also includes an exclusive live CD of the entire show. This is the first time all of Adele's hits and best loved songs will be on one CD plus her stunning covers of Bonnie Raitt's "If I Can't Make You Love Me" and The Steeldrivers "If It Hadn't Been For Love"
This version contains mature language.

Track Listing:
1.Hometown Glory
2.I ll Be Waiting
3.Don t You Remember
4.Turning Tables
5.Set Fire To The Rain
6.If It Hadn t Been For Love
7.My Same
8.Take It All
9.Rumour Has It
10.Right As Rain
11.One & Only
12.Lovesong
13.Chasing Pavements
14.I Can t Make You Love Me
15.Make You Feel My Love
16.Someone Like You
17.Rolling In The Deep

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Crazy, Stupid, Love

2011-11-24T23:30:00.000-08:00

Crazy, Stupid, Love
Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling
Supporting actors: Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, John Carroll Lynch, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, Jonah Bobo, Analeigh Tipton, Josh Groban
Directed by: Glenn Ficarra

Synopsis: Fortysomething Cal Weaver has the perfect life...until his wife Emily asks for a divorce. Now Cal has to navigate the single scene, but his heart keeps leading him back to where he began.

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X-Men: First Class (+Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (2011)

2011-11-24T23:28:00.001-08:00

X-Men: First Class (+Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (2011)
James McAvoy (Actor), Michael Fassbender (Actor), Matthew Vaughn (Director) | Rated: PG-13 | Format: Blu-ray

When Bryan Singer brought Marvel's X-Men to the big screen, Magneto and Professor X were elder statesmen, but Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) travels back in time to present an origin story--and an alternate version of history. While Charles Xavier (Laurence Belcher) grows up privileged in New York, Erik Lehnsherr (Bill Milner) grows up underprivileged in Poland. As children, the mind-reading Charles finds a friend in the shape-shifting Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) and Erik finds an enemy in Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), an energy-absorbing Nazi scientist who treats the metal-bending lad like a lab rat. By 1962, Charles (James McAvoy) has become a swaggering genetics professor and Erik (Michael Fassbender, McAvoy's Band of Brothers costar) has become a brooding agent of revenge. CIA agent Moira (Rose Byrne) brings the two together to work for Division X. With the help of MIB (Oliver Platt) and Hank (A Single Man's Nicholas Hoult), they seek out other mutants, while fending off Shaw and Emma Frost (Mad Men's January Jones), who try to recruit them for more nefarious ends, leading to a showdown in Cuba between the United States and the Soviet Union, the good and bad mutants, and Charles and Erik, whose goals have begun to diverge. Throughout, Vaughn crisscrosses the globe, piles on the visual effects, and juices the action with a rousing score, but it's the actors who make the biggest impression as McAvoy and Fassbender prove themselves worthy successors to Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. The movie comes alive whenever they take center stage, and dies a little when they don't. For the most part, though, Vaughn does right by playing up the James Bond parallels and acknowledging the debt to producer Bryan Singer through a couple of clever cameos. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Bridesmaids (2011)

2011-11-24T23:27:00.000-08:00

Bridesmaids (2011)
Kristen Wiig (Actor), Maya Rudolph (Actor), Paul Feig (Director) | Rated: R | Format: DVD

The delightful Kristen Wiig, who's shone in dozens of supporting roles and on Saturday Night Live, hits a bull's-eye with her first lead role in Bridesmaids. Annie (Wiig) isn't doing so well; her bakery failed and she keeps sleeping with a good-looking louse (Jon Hamm, Mad Men), but she's always had her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph, Away We Go) to buoy her up… until Lillian gets engaged. Annie becomes maid of honor, but another friend of Lillian's--the rich and lovely Helen (Rose Byrne, Get Him to the Greek)--wants to take over that position. Misadventures with bad Brazilian food, dress fittings, an unfortunate flight to Vegas, and a sympathetic traffic cop (Chris O'Dowd from British TV comedy The IT Crowd) follow, with increasingly hilarious results. Bridesmaids successfully balances raunchy comedy and character portrait. The embarrassing and socially catastrophic stuff, which in too many movies balloons into absurdity, is here kept in check just enough to allow Annie and the other characters to be multidimensional people--without the movie losing its comic capacity for cringe. (Actress Melissa McCarthy, of Mike & Molly, works miracles with a character than in most hands would be pure cartoon.) Wiig's enormous appeal keeps Annie sympathetic, even as she becomes more and more of a train wreck. Bridesmaids is both smart and dumb, raunchy and earnest, and altogether enjoyable. --Bret Fetzer

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Bridesmaids Unrated

2011-10-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Bridesmaids Unrated

Synopsis: From the producer of Knocked Up, Bridesmaids Unrated takes Maid of Dishonor, Annie (Kristen Wiig), and four wild bridesmaids on an outrageous ride to their friend's wedding.
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph
Supporting actors: Rose Byrne, Chris O'Dowd, Ellie Kemper, Weindi McLendon-Covey, Melissa McCarthy, Matt Lucas, Jill Clayburgh, Rebel Wilson, Michael Hitchcock, Terry Crews, Kali Hawk, Tim Heidecker, Jon Hamm, Carnie Wilson, Chynna Phillips, Wendy Wilson
Directed by: Paul Feig
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 2 hours 11 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: NBCU

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Bad Teacher

2011-10-29T03:59:00.000-07:00

Bad Teacher

Synopsis: A foul-mouthed seventh grade teacher who is dumped by her sugar daddy starts to pursue a colleague, which provokes conflict with the school's model teacher.
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake
Supporting actors: Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins, Jason Segel
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 3 hours 9 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Captain America: The First Avenger

2011-10-29T03:57:00.000-07:00

Captain America: The First Avenger

Synopsis: Steve Rogers volunteeers for a top secret project.
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving
Supporting actors: Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Runtime: 2 hours 5 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Marvel

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Green Lantern (2011)

2011-10-29T03:56:00.000-07:00

Green Lantern (2011)

Synopsis: Protectors of peace and justice, the Green Lantern Corp must rely on their newest and only human recruit, Hal Jordan, to save the Earth from a new enemy called Parallax.
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively
Supporting actors: Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Horrible Bosses

2011-10-29T03:55:00.000-07:00

Horrible Bosses

Synopsis: Three friends, harassed, insulted, and terrorized by their bosses, devise a convoluted but foolproof plan to rid the world of their respective employers...permanently.
Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day
Supporting actors: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Foxx
Directed by: Seth Gordon
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Wanted Dead or Alive: The Complete Series

2010-05-30T03:44:00.000-07:00

Wanted Dead or Alive: The Complete Series
Starring: Steve McQueen, Michael Landon Director: various

Join Hollywood-legend Steve McQueen in his career defining role as bounty hunter Josh Randall. Originally aired on CBS from 1958-1961. His legacy as the ultra-cool 60s pop culture icon continues, and his films sold millions of units on DVD. Starring Steve McQueen, Michael Landon, James Coburn, Deforest Kelly, Warren Oates, and many more!

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Clash of the Titans (Snap Case)

2010-05-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Clash of the Titans (Snap Case) (1981)
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin Director: Desmond Davis

You have a classic tale full of drama, passion, and adventure. A tale of universal archetypes that speak to everyone. A tale that has remained unfailingly popular for thousands of years. Why not spice it up with a wacky mechanical owl? Such was the thinking behind Clash of the Titans. Maggie Smith, Laurence Olivier, and Harry Hamlin (one of these things is not like the others...) star in a toga-ripper about a valiant hero, capricious immortals, and lots and lots of giant stop-action monsters. Perseus (Hamlin) is the favored son of the god Zeus (Olivier), but he has unwittingly ticked off the sea goddess Thetis (Smith). Just to make things worse, Perseus falls in love with the lovely Princess Andromeda, who used to be engaged to Thetis's son. Soon Perseus is off on one quest after another, with Zeus helping, Thetis hindering, and lots of innocent bystanders getting stabbed, drowned, and squished. Of course, the whole thing is just an excuse to show as much of Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion animation as possible, and good thing too. It's an old technique, but it still looks pretty darn cool, and it means the cast can just relax and do a bunch of reaction shots. Don't use this one to study for that big classical mythology exam, but if you just turn your brain off and enjoy the Kraken, it's pretty good fun. --Ali Davis

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Mulan (Special Edition)

2010-05-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

Mulan (Special Edition) (1998)
Ming-Na (Actor), Eddie Murphy (Actor), Barry Cook (Director), Tony Bancroft (Director)

Solid entertainment from a new group of Disney animators. The story source is a Chinese fable about a young girl who disguises herself as a man to help her family and her country. When the Huns attack China, a call to arms goes out to every village, and Mulan's father, being the only man in the family, accepts the call. Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen, sung by Lea Salonga) has just made a disastrous appearance at the Matchmaker and decides to challenge society's expectations (being a bride). She steals her father's conscription notice, cuts her hair, and impersonates a man to join the army. She goes to boot camp, learning to fit in with the other soldiers with some help from her sidekick, Mushu, a wise-cracking dragon (voiced by Eddie Murphy). She trains, and soon faces the Huns eye-to-eye to protect her Emperor.

The film is gorgeous to look at, with a superior blend of classic and computer-generated animation. Directors Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook make the best of it: a battle in the snowy mountains is as thrilling as the best Hollywood action films. The menacing Huns are not cute but simple and bad. The wickedness is subtle, not disturbing. The film is not a full-fledged musical, as it has only five songs (the best, "Be a Man," is sung during boot camp). Eddie Murphy is an inspired choice for the comic-relief dragon, but his lines are not as clever as Robin Williams's in Aladdin. These are minor quibbles, though. The story is strong, and Mulan goes right to the top of Disney animated heroines; she has the right stuff. --Doug Thomas

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Taken (Single-Disc Extended Edition)

2010-05-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

Taken (Single-Disc Extended Edition) (2008)
Liam Neeson (Actor), Famke Janssen (Actor)

What could be a skillful but ordinary action flick gets a surprising emotional heft from the presence of Liam Neeson as the hero. Bryan Mills (Neeson) has given up his career as a spy to form a relationship with his estranged teenage daughter--but when, on a trip to Paris, she's kidnapped by slavers, Mills uses all his connections and skills to turn the city of lights upside down and rescue her. Like most of the movies that writer/producer Luc Besson has a hand in (such as La Femme Nikita, The Transporter, Unleashed, and many other French action movies), Taken drips with lurid violence (a bit toned-down to get a PG-13 rating, but there's still plenty of it), deranged sentimentality, and stereotypes of all kinds. But this doesn't stop his movies from being effective thrill-rides, and Taken is no exception. Taken pays just enough attention to the illusion of procedure--making it seem like Mills knows all the right steps to track down his daughter--that the movie cheerfully seduces your suspension of disbelief, despite many plot holes and scenes where Mills doesn't get scratched despite bullets flying in all directions or pretends to be a French policeman despite not speaking French or even adopting a French accent. What holds it all together is Neeson; his gravitas and emotional availability make his character--the usual action fantasy of impossible competence and righteous fury--somehow seem real and relatable. --Bret Fetzer

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Angels & Demons (Single-Disc Theatrical Edition)

2010-05-16T05:11:00.001-07:00

Angels & Demons (Single-Disc Theatrical Edition) (2009)
Tom Hanks (Actor), Ewan McGregor (Actor), Ron Howard (Director)

If the devil is in the details, there's a lot of wicked fun in Angels & Demons, the sequel (originally a prequel) to The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard delivers edge-of-your-pew thrills all over the Vatican, the City of Rome, and the deepest, dankest catacombs. Tom Hanks is dependably watchable in his reprised role as Professor Robert Langdon, summoned urgently to Rome on a matter of utmost urgency--which happens to coincide with the death of the Pope, meaning the Vatican is teeming with cardinals and Rome is teeming with the faithful. A religious offshoot group, calling themselves the Illuminati, which protested the Catholic Church's prosecution of scientists 400 years ago, has resurfaced and is making extreme, and gruesome, terrorist demands. The film zooms around the city, as Langdon follows clues embedded in art, architecture, and the very bone structure of the Vatican. The cast is terrific, including Ewan McGregor, who is memorable as a young protégé of the late pontiff, and who seems to challenge the common wisdom of the Conclave just by being 40 years younger than his fellows when he lectures for church reform. Stellan Skarsgard is excellent as a gruff commander of the Swiss Guard, who may or may not have thrown in with the Illuminati. But the real star of the film is Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness, with lush cinematography by Salvatore Totino, who renders the real sky above the Vatican, in a cataclysmic event, with the detail and majesty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. --A.T. Hurley

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Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)

2010-05-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition) (1998)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon Director: Steven Spielberg

When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first home movie was abackyard war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his 20s, he saw old men crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image became the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission following the D-day invasion that many have called the most realistic--and maybe the best--war film ever. With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has been able to create a stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at Omaha Beach as troops are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost insurmountable odds.

A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier, who takes a small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a private whose three brothers have recently been killed in action. It's a public relations move for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating back to the Civil War. Some critics of the film have labeled the central characters stereotypes. If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good name: Tom Sizemore as the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private Reiben, Barry Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew, Vin Diesel as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful medic, and Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most memorable performance.

The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg's Oscar-winning Schindler's List, but it's more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace technicians (the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle sequences that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy, and chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us deeper than Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we should feel today. It's the film Spielberg was destined to make. --Doug Thomas

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Planet 51 (Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

2010-05-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Planet 51 (Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray] (2009)
Dwayne Johnson (Actor), Jessica Biel (Actor), Jorge Blanco (Director), Javier Abad (Director)

What if there are creatures living on other planets in other galaxies? And what if those creatures are a lot like us? When American astronaut Chuck Baker (Dwayne Johnson) lands on what's supposed to be barren, rocky planet devoid of life, he gets a big surprise. It seems that Planet 51 is home to little green people who are living in what's basically 1950s Americana--or should that be 1950s Alieana? Chuck bears a marked resemblance to Planet 51's science-fiction comic book and horror movie characters the "Humaniacs," and hysteria breaks out because the little green men think his appearance marks the beginning of an alien invasion. Lem (Justin Long) is a junior curator at the local planetarium and one of the only people on the planet who is awed, rather than frightened, by the concept of a larger universe. While his fellow citizens set out to capture the invading alien, Lem believes Chuck when he declares that his mission is peaceful, and Lem risks his own safety to help him return to his ship and his home planet. With a little help from Rover (an American robot probe that has been sending rock samples back to Earth while ignoring the planet's life forms), Lem's neighbor and secret crush Neera (Jessica Biel), his friend Skiff (Seann William Scott), and hippie protester Glar (Alan Marriott), Lem just might be able to save Chuck. The question is--what will the personal consequences be for Lem? The story is an amusing twist on America's long-standing fascination with the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and the film has plenty of comic moments, but it ultimately lacks suspense and fails to truly engage the viewer. The result is a film that provides some laughs but is ultimately not that entertaining. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection (Dark Alibi / Dangerous Money / The Trap / The Chinese Ring)

2010-05-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection (Dark Alibi / Dangerous Money / The Trap / The Chinese Ring)
Sidney Toler (Actor), Roland Winters (Actor), Phil Karlson (Director), Terry O. Morse (Director)

# Actors: Sidney Toler, Roland Winters, Benson Fong, Victor Sen Yung, Gloria Warren
# Directors: Phil Karlson, Terry O. Morse, Howard Bretherton, William Beaudine
# Format: Box set, Black & White, NTSC
# Language: English
# Number of discs: 4
# Studio: Warner Home Video
# DVD Release Date: June 8, 2010
# Run Time: 199 minutes

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Edge of Darkness

2010-05-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

Edge of Darkness (2009)
Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone Director: Martin Campbell

The good news is that Edge of Darkness (no relation to the fine 1943 war picture of that name) brings back Mel Gibson in front of the camera for the first time in nearly a decade. Although he's grown creased and leathery and his thatch has thinned, the movie star who was Mad Max still has the charisma and gravitas to center a dodgy suspense tale and propel it to the finish line. Gibson plays veteran Boston police detective Tom Craven, who welcomes home daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) for a rare visit, then sees her shot down at his front door. Because the gunman shouted "Craven!" and because a cop makes enemies, Tom assumes Emma took a bullet meant for him, which adds considerably to his grief and pain. But as he looks into the life of a daughter he loved yet scarcely knew, he discovers she'd been preparing to turn whistleblower on her employer, a corporation doing unsavory clandestine things for the government. Craven starts having oblique chats with a philosophical Brit named Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), who keeps turning up unexpectedly--in Craven's backyard at night, say--always giving the distinct impression that he could just as well kill a fellow instead of schmoozing. Their strange rapport, like Craven's tendency to mutter ironical asides as if in ongoing conversation with the departed Emma, is more intriguing than the conspiracy involving corporate skullduggery and a rogue assassination bureau. The bar for that sort of thing was set in post-Watergate days by Alan J. Pakula's The Parallax View, and we're nowhere near its cinematic elegance or pervasive paranoia. Edge of Darkness, based on a British miniseries from 1985, was directed by Martin Campbell, who also handled the six-hour original (and more recently the successful James Bond reboot Casino Royale). Campbell does decent-enough work--the occasional bursts of "shocking action" do shock even as we know they're coming--but rarely exceeds generic requirements. For killing comparison among contemporary suspense films, catch Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer, in which every frame unsettlingly conveys a world where disquiet is the natural order of things. --Richard T. Jameson

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In Plain Sight: Season One

2010-04-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

In Plain Sight: Season One (2008)
Starring: Mary McCormack, Fred Weller

An amusing blend of cop show action and dysfunctional family fireworks, the comedy-drama In Plain Sight benefits greatly from the charisma of its lead, Mary McCormack, as well as some promising episodes in this first-season set. TV and film vet McCormack (The West Wing, Murder One) finally gets a lead as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshal working in the Albuquerque office of the Witness Protection Program. The array of offbeat characters that fall under Mary’s jurisdiction--everyone from innocent witnesses of terrible crimes to less scrupulous types like Dave Foley’s obnoxious mob squealer (“Trojan Horst”) to a diamond smuggler (Missi Pyle) with wedding fever (“Never the Bride”)--present less problems for her than her family, which includes her overly dramatic mom (Lesley Ann Warren) and troublemaking sister (Nichole Hiltz), who has designs on Mary's on-again-off-again boyfriend (Cristian de la Fuente). Frederick Weller (as her quirky partner) and Paul Ben-Victor as her boss offer solid support, but In Plain Sight is McCormack’s showcase, and she shines in both the comic moments and more serious elements, most notably a confessional monologue in “High Priced Spread.” One wishes the scripts lived up to the performances--too often, the program coasts on glib dialogue, or worse, heavy-handed voice-overs--but these are fixable problems in the face of considerable potential. All 12 episodes of the first season are included in the three-disc set, as well as brief deleted scenes from each episode. --Paul Gaita

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The Protector [Blu-ray]

2010-04-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

The Protector [Blu-ray] (2006)
Starring: Tony Jaa Director: Prachya Pinkaew

Thai-born martial artist Tony Jaa, whose gravity-defying stunts wowed American audiences in Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior, returns in an equally eye-popping stunt fest that should thrill all but the most jaded action fans. The very simple plot has the soft-spoken, mild-mannered Jaa as a young man from a rural community dispatched to Australia to recover a pair of sacred elephants. Once there, he discovered that a female crime boss (played by transgendered actor Jing Xing) is behind the missing pachyderms, and Jaa pulls out all the stops to recover the animals for his village. As in Ong-Bak, the appeal of The Protector is watching Jaa unleash his muay thai skills on a host of villainous types, and he gets several astonishing showcases in this film, most notably a nearly-unbroken take in which he dispatches some 50 goons as he makes his way up a four-story structure. Those looking for the depth of story or character found in the best of Hong Kong action cinema won't find it in The Protector, but the rewards for action fans are plentiful and thoroughly entertaining. The two-disc Collector's Edition of The Protector includes a wealth of extras, most notably the original Thai version of the film (titled Tom Yum Goong), which runs approximately 30 minutes longer than the American version. Commentary by martial arts writer and fan Bey Logan is featured on the American edit, along with a deleted scene, a featurette about Jaa with Logan and rapper/producer The RZA (who scored the American version and, for some reason, is described as a major force in bringing Asian entertainment to the States), making-of featurettes on both the English and Thai versions of the film (the latter features a subtitled Thai-language commentary track with Jaa, director Prachya Pinkaew, and stunt coordinator/mentor Panna Rittikrai), and three fair short films that were produced for a promotional tie-in contest. -- Paul Gaita

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Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5

2010-04-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 (2004)
Series: Battlestar Galactica

# Studio: Universal Studios
# DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
# Run Time: 763 minutes

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Looney Tunes - Golden Collection

2010-04-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

Looney Tunes - Golden Collection (2003)
Series: Looney Tunes

For years, animation buffs have waited impatiently for the Warner Bros. cartoons to appear on DVD. The Warner shorts never commanded the budgets and prestige of the Disney and MGM films, and won fewer Oscars than they deserved. But decades after the best ones were created, they remain the quintessential Hollywood cartoons: brash, fast-paced, aggressively funny and uniquely American. Virtually everyone in the U.S. under the age of 60 grew up on these films, in theaters and on TV. The 56 cartoons in the set (out of a studio output of over 1,000) were transferred from good prints--which means the viewer can see dust, scratches, and occasional mistakes by the cel painters. The films are all presented uncut, in defiance of the killjoys who have insisted on censoring alleged "violence" in the versions shown on television. Warner Bros. is obviously testing consumer response with this set. Although the erratic selection includes many classics, purists will argue (correctly) that it offers neither a fair representation of the directors' oeuvres, nor anything approaching a coherent history of the characters or studio style. (Nearly half the films were directed by Chuck Jones; only three are by Bob Clampett, and there's nothing by Tex Avery or Frank Tashlin.) But it seems petty to carp about omissions and biases when the discs offer excellent, uncensored prints of some of the funniest films ever made in the U.S.--or anywhere else. (Rated G, suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

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Legion [Blu-ray]

2010-04-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Legion [Blu-ray] (2010)
Starring: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid

As pure check-your-head-at-the-door popcorn entertainment, the apocalyptic action-horror hybrid Legion delivers in nearly every frame--its story of a band of strangers fighting an army of angels and demons for the fate of mankind is proudly loud, bullet riddled, and knee-deep in gore and CGI. That doesn't mean it's particularly good or even coherent--the story has renegade angel Michael (a glum Paul Bettany) come to the aid of diner owner Dennis Quaid (equally glum) and his patrons (a cross-section of stereotypes embodied by a capable cast, which includes Lucas Black, Charles S. Dutton, Tyrese Gibson, Kate Walsh, and Jon Tenney) as a host of heavenly and diabolical beings, dispatched by an angry God, descend on the diner with the intent of killing waitress Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights), whose unborn child may be the salvation of humanity. The orgy of special effects--endless hails of bullets and a menagerie of unpleasant demonic creatures, the most unsettling of which is the ice cream man (Doug Jones, Hellboy)--is eye popping but ultimately repetitive, and since no character rises above a cipher in director Scott Stewart's script (cowritten with Peter Schink), the whole affair feels unwieldy and eventually tiresome under a barrage of hackneyed dialogue. Naturally, Legion ends with the possibility of a sequel, though one wonders where the story can go after Armageddon. --Paul Gaita

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The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Special Edition)

2010-04-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Special Edition) (1963)
Starring: Norman Alden, Sebastian Cabot Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

Based upon T.H. White's beloved novel, this Disney-fied version chronicles the tutoring of the Once and Future King, Arthur, as handled by the magician Merlin. Sword was a portent of things to come, with slapstick upbraiding storytelling, and cultural in-jokes substituting for wonder. But there's much to enjoy here as Merlin shows Newt, the young Arthur, things that will help him become the ruler of the Britons. The transformation sequences, where the boy is turned into a fish, a bird, and a squirrel are vintage Disney. The oft-repeated scene of Merlin battling it out with the mean old Madame Mim still is worth a few chuckles, but it belies the problem with most of the film--the scenes are only there for the chuckles. References by Merlin to television and other items of modern life also mar the generally innocuous landscape. Children will like it, but they won't cherish it. --Keith Simanton

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The Prince of Egypt

2010-04-04T03:37:00.000-07:00

The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Starring: Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes Director: Brenda Chapman, Simon Wells

Nearly every biblical film is ambitious, creating pictures to go with some of the most famous and sacred stories in the Western world. DreamWorks' first animated film was the vision of executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberg after his ugly split from Disney, where he had been acknowledged as a key architect in that studio's rebirth (The Little Mermaid, etc.). His first film for the company he helped create was a huge, challenging project without a single toy or merchandising tie-in, the backbone du jour of family entertainment in the 1990s.

Three directors and 16 writers succeed in carrying out much of Katzenberg's vision. The linear story of Moses is crisply told, and the look of the film is stunning; indeed, no animated film has looked so ready to be placed in the Louvre since Fantasia. Here is an Egypt alive with energetic bustle and pristine buildings. Born a slave and set adrift in the river, Moses (voiced by Val Kilmer) is raised as the son of Pharaoh Seti (Patrick Stewart) and is a fitting rival for his stepbrother Rameses (Ralph Fiennes). When he learns of his roots--in a knockout sequence in which hieroglyphics come alive--he flees to the desert, where he finds his roots and heeds God's calling to free the slaves from Egypt.

Katzenberg and his artists are careful to tread lightly on religious boundaries. The film stops at the parting of the Red Sea, only showing the Ten Commandments--without commentary--as the film's coda. Music is a big part (there were three CDs released) and Hans Zimmer's score and Stephen Schwartz's songs work well--in fact the pop-ready, Oscar-winning "When You Believe" is one of the weakest songs. Kids ages 5 and up should be able to handle the referenced violence; the film doesn't shy away from what Egyptians did to their slaves. Perhaps Katzenberg could have aimed lower and made a more successful animated film, but then again, what's a heaven for? --Doug Thomas

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The Great Mouse Detective (Mystery in the Mist Edition)

2010-03-30T03:35:00.000-07:00

The Great Mouse Detective (Mystery in the Mist Edition) (1986)
Starring: Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone Director: Ron Clements;Burny Mattinson;John Michener;John Musker

Just because Walt Disney created contemporary and traditional classics of animation doesn't mean the studio is out of ideas--not by a long shot. The Great Mouse Detective is richly animated and offers a clever tale. It may not be as easily recognized a title as Aladdin or The Little Mermaid, but all three share the same director, Ron Clements. Originally released theatrically in 1986, the mystery borrows easily from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and is based on Eve Titus's book Basil of Baker Street.

When a brilliant toymaker is kidnapped by a creepy peg-legged bat, his daughter, Olivia, enlists the aid of the legendary Basil. Basil, Olivia, and Basil's assistant, Dr. Dawson, are part of an intricate city system of Victorian-era London mice. Basil quickly realizes his archenemy, Professor Ratigan (a rat who wants to be a mouse), is behind the abduction. Ratigan (voiced by Vincent Price) fiendishly aspires to take over London rodents--and will stop at nothing to achieve his greatest desire. The unlikely trio of good guys become heroes, of course. The engaging story line is a perfect introduction to Doyle's work and mysteries in general. Look for a very cleverly executed voice-cameo by Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes, natch). Alan Young (Mr. Ed) also provides a voice. Ages 4 and up. --N.F. Mendoza

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The Rescuers (1977)

2010-03-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

The Rescuers (1977)
Starring: Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor Director: Art Stevens, Ben Sharpsteen

What can two little mice possibly do to save an orphan girl who's fallen into evil hands? With a little cooperation and faith in oneself, anything is possible! As members of the mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society, Bernard and Miss Bianca respond to orphan Penny's call for help. The two mice search for clues and, with the help of an old cat named Rufus, track Penny to the clutches of the evil Madame Medusa in a dilapidated ship in Devil's Bayou. It turns out that Medusa is using Penny to locate and retrieve the Devil's Eye Diamond--a stone she'll stop at nothing to possess. With a cunning plan, courageous acts, cooperation from local animal life, and lots of faith, Bernard and Miss Bianca help Penny find the diamond and escape from Medusa. The result of their adventure is that Bernard and Miss Bianca become close friends and Penny gets adopted. This somewhat dark, classic 1977 animated Disney film is based on Margery Sharp's The Rescuers and Miss Bianca, and features the Academy Award-nominated song "Someone's Waiting for You." Voice talents include Eva Gabor as Miss Bianca, Bob Newhart as Bernard, Geraldine Page as Madame Medusa, and Jim Jordan (radio's Fibber McGee) as Orville Albatross. Followed by the sequel The Rescuers Down Under. (Ages 5 to 11) --Tami Horiuchi

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Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

2010-03-16T22:51:00.001-07:00

Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Starring: Seth Rogen, Reese Witherspoon

Monsters don't exist, right? If they did, they'd be locked up in some secret government location so the general population wouldn't know of their existence. But what if monsters do exist... and they aren't evil, or even particularly scary? What if they're funny... and smart... and what if they might just be the key to man's survival? When a meteorite crashes in California on Susan Murphy's (Reese Witherspoon) wedding day, Susan is struck by a dose of otherworldly quantonium, her bridal glow becomes decidedly green, and she suddenly swells to a gargantuan 49 feet-11 inches tall. The Feds swoop in and whisk her away from husband-to-be Derek (Paul Rudd) to a government concealment agency where they dub her Ginormica and leave her to bemoan her losses and spend the rest of her days with strange creatures like B.O.B., the brainless blob (Seth Rogen), mad professor Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), the half-fish and half-ape Missing Link (Will Arnett), and the overly huge and strangely silent grub Insectosaurus. Next, Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson), ruler of an alien civilization, sends a huge robot to attack Modesto, Calif., to recover the quantonium released by the fallen meteorite. Under the ineffective leadership of President Hathaway (Stephen Colbert), the government embraces General W. R. Monger's (Kiefer Sutherland) suggestion to pit the imprisoned monsters against the robot in exchange for their freedom. The monsters are no match for the robot until Susan begins to really believe in her own abilities and embrace the power of her friendship with the other monsters. B.O.B is absolutely hilarious with his consistent propensity for misunderstanding, indiscriminate digestion of anything and everything in his path, and witless adoration of his fellow monsters. The crazy exploits of Dr. Cockroach inspire lots of laughter, Insectosaurus proves his worth in the end, and Ginormica serves as the glue that holds the whole film together. The InTru 3-D format is highly effective and if you like animation; visual, verbal, and action comedy; references to past science-fiction films; and lovable monsters; you'll enjoy Monsters vs. Aliens. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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Walker Texas Ranger: The Seventh Season

2010-03-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

Walker Texas Ranger: The Seventh Season
Series: Walker, Texas Ranger

Texas Ranger Cordell Walker, one of the last old-fashioned heroes in the West, is a protective friend but a relentless foe who will stop at nothing to bring a criminal to justice.

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In Plain Sight: Season Two

2010-03-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

In Plain Sight: Season Two
Starring: Mary McCormack, Fred Weller Director: Bethany Rooney, Bryan Spicer

For Mary, living a double life is all in day’s work. Mary McCormack (The West Wing) returns as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshal with the highly secretive Federal Witness Protection Program (WITSEC), in Season Two of the suspenseful and quirky hit series In Plain Sight. For Mary, living a double life and getting shot at on a regular basis are all in day’s work. So are teaming up with her trusted partner, Marshall Mann (Frederick Weller), to protect Federal Witnesses who relocate to Albuquerque and juggling a complicated personal life. Gripping and refreshing, In Plain Sight co-stars Lesley Ann Warren (Desperate Housewives), Paul Ben-Victor (The Wire) and Nichole Hiltz (Bones), and features phenomenal guest stars that include Will McCormack (Brothers and Sisters), Martin Landau (Entourage), Laura Prepon (That '70s Show), Joshua Malina (The West Wing), Richard Schiff (The West Wing) and David Denman (The Office). Get lost In Plain Sight!

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Full Metal Jacket (Deluxe Edition) [Blu-ray] (1987)

2010-02-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

Full Metal Jacket (Deluxe Edition) [Blu-ray] (1987)
Starring: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey Director: Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick's 1987, penultimate film seemed to a lot of people to be contrived and out of touch with the '80s vogue for such intensely realistic portrayals of the Vietnam War as Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Certainly, Kubrick gave audiences plenty of reason to wonder why he made the film at all: essentially a two-part drama that begins on a Parris Island boot camp for rookie Marines and abruptly switches to Vietnam (actually shot on sound stages and locations near London), Full Metal Jacket comes across as a series of self-contained chapters in a story whose logical and thematic development is oblique at best. Then again, much the same was said about Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a masterwork both enthralled with and satiric about the future's role in the unfinished business of human evolution. In a way, Full Metal Jacket is the wholly grim counterpart of 2001. While the latter is a truly 1960s film, both wide-eyed and wary, about the intertwining of progress and isolation (ending in our redemption, finally, by death), Full Metal Jacket is a cynical, Reagan-era view of the 1960s' hunger for experience and consciousness that fulfilled itself in violence. Lee Ermey made film history as the Marine drill instructor whose ritualized debasement of men in the name of tribal uniformity creates its darkest angel in a murderous half-wit (Vincent D'Onofrio). Matthew Modine gives a smart and savvy performance as Private Joker, the clowning, military journalist who yearns to get away from the propaganda machine and know firsthand the horrific revelation of the front line. In Full Metal Jacket, depravity and fulfillment go hand in hand, and it's no wonder Kubrick kept his steely distance from the material to make the point. --Tom Keogh

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Spirited Away (2001)

2010-02-22T20:26:00.000-08:00

Spirited Away (2001)
, Hayao Miyazaki (Director)

The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch) plunges into an alternate reality. On the way to their new home, the petulant adolescent and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the greedy witch who rules the spa. As she works, Chihiro's untapped qualities keep her from being corrupted by the greed that pervades Yubaba's mini-empire. In a series of fantastic adventures, she purges a river god suffering from human pollution, rescues the mysterious No-Face, and befriends Yubaba's kindly twin, Zeniba (Pleshette again). The resolve, bravery, and love Chihiro discovers within herself enable her to aid Haku and save her parents. The result is a moving and magical journey, told with consummate skill by one of the masters of contemporary animation. MPAA Rated: PG ("Some scary moments") --Charles Solomon

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Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Skynet Edition) [Blu-ray] (1991)

2010-02-12T16:34:00.000-08:00

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Skynet Edition) [Blu-ray] (1991)
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Actor), Linda Hamilton (Actor), James Cameron (Director)

After he pushed the envelope of computer-generated special effects in The Abyss, director James Cameron turned this hotly anticipated sequel to Terminator into a well-written, action-packed showcase for advanced special effects and for one of the most invincible villains ever imagined. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a legitimate sequel: there's more story to tell about a hulking, leather-clad android (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who arrives from the future to protect a rebellious teenager and future leader (Edward Furlong) from being killed by the tenacious T-1000 robot (Robert Patrick), whose liquid-metal construction makes him seemingly unstoppable. The fate of the future lies in the balance, with Linda Hamilton (who would later marry her director) reprising her role as the rugged woman whose son will change the course of history. The digital video disc of this blockbuster hit is presented with a digitally mastered THX soundtrack. --Jeff Shannon

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Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009)

2010-02-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009)
Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme Director: John Hyams

Universal Soldier: Regeneration is a rare sequel that far outstrips the original. A small terrorist group seizes the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, threatening to release a toxic cloud. A military squad is sent in--and decimated by a new and more lethal "UniSol" (played by former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski). Desperate, the American military forces the decommissioned UniSol Luc Devereaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) to revert back to a killing machine--even though the consequences to his damaged psyche could be severe… and dangerous. But the standard plot isn't what makes Universal Soldier: Regeneration so much better than its predecessors (incidentally, you don't need to see the earlier films to enjoy this one). The movie looks better (thanks in large part to superb cinematography by Peter Hyams, who directed Van Damme in Timecop); the script is skillfully written, with well-drawn characters and dialogue that actually sounds like human beings speaking; and the fighting, rather than being absurdly spectacular, is gritty and brutal--director John Hyams (Peter's son) has made documentaries about mixed martial arts fighters and clearly understands that real combat isn't about backflips and whirling kicks but vicious hitting. Van Damme has always had an odd vulnerability; he's a soulful action hero, and this sense of inner sadness lends a strange gravity to the stakes. Dolph Lundgren, who also repeats his previous role as a malevolent UniSol, gives a brief but unnerving performance. Universal Soldier: Regeneration is a gripping action thriller that sneaks in moral ambiguity and stealthy questions about free will--all in all, an unexpected and welcome pleasure. --Bret Fetzer

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Tarzan (Special Edition) (1999)

2010-02-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Tarzan (Special Edition) (1999)
Starring: Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver Director: Chris Buck, Kevin Lima

After viewing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote to Walt Disney about adapting his novel of an ape-man into a feature animated cartoon. Sixtysome years later, the tale is finally told with brilliant design work that looks unlike any previous animated film. The story is a natural for Disney since the themes of misunderstood central figures have been at the heart of its recent hits. Disney's Tarzan doesn't wander far from the familiar story of a shipwrecked baby who is brought up by apes in Africa. What gives the film its zing is its clever use of music (the songs are sung by Phil Collins himself rather than onscreen characters) and the remarkable animation. Deep Canvas, a 3-D technology, was developed for the film, creating a jungle that comes alive as Tarzan swings through the trees, often looking like a modern skateboarder racing down giant tree limbs. The usual foray of sidekicks, including a rambunctious ape voiced by Rosie O'Donnell, should keep the little ones aptly entertained. The two lead voices, Tony Goldwyn as Tarzan and Minnie Driver as Jane, are inspired choices. Their chemistry helps the story through the weakest points (the last third) and makes Tarzan's initial connection with all things human (including Jane) delicious entertainment. Disney still is not taking risks in its animated films, but as cookie-cutter entertainment, Tarzan makes a pretty good treat. (Ages 5 and up) --Doug Thomas

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Bourne Ultimatum (Single-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

2010-01-27T00:40:00.001-08:00

Bourne Ultimatum (Single-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]
Starring: Matt Damon, David Strathairn

Highly trained assassin Jason Bourne is on the hunt for the agents who stole his memory and true identity. With a new generation of skilled CIA operatives tracking his every move, Bourne is in a non-stop race around the globe as he finally learns the truth behind his mysterious past. Loaded with incredible fight and chase sequences, it’s the exhilarating movie with “mind-blowing action” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) that you can’t afford to miss!

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Angels & Demons (Two-Disc Extended Edition) (2009)

2010-01-19T03:08:00.000-08:00

Angels & Demons (Two-Disc Extended Edition) (2009)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor Director: Ron Howard

The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Widescreen Edition) (2001)

2010-01-16T18:56:00.000-08:00

The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Widescreen Edition) (2001)
Starring: Noel Appleby, Sean Astin

As the triumphant start of a trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring leaves you begging for more. By necessity, Peter Jackson's ambitious epic compresses J.R.R. Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings, but this robust adaptation maintains reverent allegiance to Tolkien's creation, instantly qualifying as one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. At 178 minutes, it's long enough to establish the myriad inhabitants of Middle-earth, the legendary Rings of Power, and the fellowship of hobbits, elves, dwarves, and humans--led by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the brave hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood)--who must battle terrifying forces of evil on their perilous journey to destroy the One Ring in the land of Mordor. Superbly paced, the film is both epic and intimate, offering astonishing special effects and production design while emphasizing the emotional intensity of Frodo's adventure. Ending on a perfect note of heroic loyalty and rich anticipation, this wondrous fantasy continues in The Two Towers (2002). --Jeff Shannon

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Stargate (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray] (1994)

2010-01-13T03:40:00.000-08:00

Stargate (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray] (1994)
Starring: Kurt Russell, James Spader Director: Roland Emmerich

Before they unleashed the idiotic mayhem of Independence Day and Godzilla, the idea-stealing team of director Roland Emmerich and producer-screenwriter Dean Devlin concocted this hokey hit about the discovery of an ancient portal capable of zipping travelers to "the other side of the known universe." James Spader plays the Egyptologist who successfully translates the Stargate's hieroglyphic code, and then joins a hawkish military unit (led by Kurt Russell) on a reconnaissance mission to see what's on the other side. They arrive on a desert world with cultural (and apparently supernatural) ties to Earth's ancient Egypt, where the sun god Ra (played by Jaye Davidson from The Crying Game) rules a population of slaves with armored minions and startlingly advanced technology. After being warmly welcomed into the slave camp, the earthlings encourage and support a rebellion, and while Russell threatens to blow up the Stargate to prevent its use by enemy forces, the movie collapses into a senseless series of action scenes and grandiose explosions. It's all pretty ridiculous, but Stargate found a large and appreciative audience, spawned a cable-TV series, and continues to attract science fiction fans who are more than willing to forgive its considerable faults. --Jeff Shannon

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Harry Potter Years 1-6 Giftset (Full-Screen Edition) (2009)

2010-01-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

Harry Potter Years 1-6 Giftset (Full-Screen Edition) (2009)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint

HARRY POTTER: THE FIRST SIX YEARS

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE - The magical adventure begins when Harry Potter is invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS - Cars fly, trees attack and a mysterious house-elf warns Harry that he is in great danger as he returns for his second year at Hogwarts.

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN - Harry must confront soul-sucking Dementors, outsmart a werewolf and learn the truth about the escaped prisoner of Azkaban – Sirius Black.

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE - Harry must overcome a deadly dragon, fierce water demons and an enchanted maze only to find himself in the cruel grasp of He Who Must Not Be Named.

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX - When few believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, Harry must secretly train his friends for the wizarding war that lies ahead.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE - As Lord Voldemort tightens his grip on both Muggle and wizarding worlds, Harry and Dumbledore work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses.

(c) 2009 Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. Harry Potter Publishing Rights (c) J.K.R

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V - The Original TV Miniseries (1983)

2010-01-03T03:07:00.001-08:00

V - The Original TV Miniseries (1983)
Series: V

In its day, V was a monumental event that for one generation remains a pop-culture touchstone. Close Encounters of the Third Kind may have reassured us that perhaps we have nothing to fear from alien visitors and E.T. introduced us to a benign extraterrestrial who only wanted to go home, but Kenneth Johnson's 1983 television miniseries knew better. Visitors who claim to come in peace are revealed to be nothing but human-looking reptilians on human conversion and conquest. As in the dark days of fascism, some collaborate with the enemy; others form the resistance.

At the time, the epic scale of this production was unprecedented. Those 50 motherships that hover over Earth's major cities anticipate Independence Day by more than a decade. The special effects and makeup are still awesome. Less so is the often-hackneyed dialogue. But thanks to their signature roles, the mostly no-star cast, most of whom would be reunited for a sequel and subsequent television series, have ensured themselves standing invitations to sci-fi conventions. Marc Singer is cameraman-turned-freedom-fighter Mike Donovan. Julie Parrish is a medical student-turned-rebel. Richard Herd is the aliens' supreme commander. Jane Bradler is Diana, the ravishing but ruthlessly ambitious alien science officer. Leonardo Cimino lends dignity to his heavy-handed allegorical role as a Holocaust survivor. Look for a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund as one of the aliens.

The DVD is presented for the first time in widescreen format. Supplemental features include an amiable and enlightening director's commentary and a brief "making of" segment. --Donald Liebenson

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Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

2010-01-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Starring: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Like a dream, Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million, Howl passed Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke to become the #3 film in Japanese history, behind his Spirited Away and James Cameron's Titanic. Based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle marks the first time Miyazaki has adapted another writer's work since Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain, has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop--until the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. In her aged guise, Sophie searches for a way to break the Witch's spell and finds unexpected adventures. Like Chihiro, the heroine of Spirited Away, Sophie discovers her hidden potential in a magical environment--the castle of the title. Using CG, Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's honesty and determination win her some valuable new friends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow; Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious, wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent features--animated or live action--offer as much magic as Howl's Moving Castle. --Charles Solomon

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Léon: The Professional (Theatrical and Extended Edition) [Blu-ray] (1994)

2009-12-29T04:44:00.000-08:00

Léon: The Professional (Theatrical and Extended Edition) [Blu-ray] (1994)
Starring: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman Director: Luc Besson

Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) made his American directorial debut with this stylized thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits La Femme Nikita and Subway to the production, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar. --Tom Keogh

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Avatar The Last Airbender - The Complete Book 2 Collection (2005)

2009-12-26T01:08:00.000-08:00

Avatar The Last Airbender - The Complete Book 2 Collection (2005)
Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book 2: Earth, Vol. 1 Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 2 Earth, Volume 1 finds Aang, the Avatar and potential reconciler of a world divided into air, earth, water, and fire kingdoms, now a master Waterbender. That means he and companions Katara and Sokka can now leave the Northern Water Tribe and concentrate on mastering earth. New adventures and dangers await the heroic trio in the five episodes included on this DVD, which finds Aang experiencing nightmares about the power of the Avatar State. He also meets an earth kingdom general with plans for attacking the warrior tribes of the fire nation, gets trapped with possible love interest Katara in the Cave of Two Lovers, and gets pulled into a supernatural swamp by a tornado. As always, Avatar is above average as an engaging anime tale, with a wonderfully original storyline and striking artistry. --Tom Keogh

Book 2: Earth, Vol. 2 The five chapters in Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 2 Earth, Volume 2 continue the story of young avatar Aang's adventures deep within the Earth Kingdom. As usual, each episode is a seamless blend of grave drama and comic relief, but the stakes seem higher than ever with the addition of a new member to Aang's team. Joining Katara and Sokka is Toph, a blind but powerful earthbending girl trying to obscure her aristocratic origins by defeating large, scary men in the ring. Aang recognizes Toph from his vision of an earthbending teacher, whom he needs to help him master control over the earth element. Toph also adds a kind of sardonic, tart tone to Aang's journey, ultimately leaving her world to join the series’ trio of young heroes. "The Blind Bandit" finds Aang, Katara, and Sokka working hard at convincing Toph to help their mission. "Zuko Alone" carries on the tale of the firebending prince who now travels alone and anonymously, but comes close to befriending a boy in an Earth Kingdom town. (The episode is full of interesting flashbacks from Zuko’s youth.) "The Chase" also concerns Zuko’s past, but is primarily about Aang, Katara, and Sokka adjusting to Toph’s somewhat self-centered presence on the team at the same time Princess Azula is relentlessly hunting them all down in a kind of speeding tank. "Bitter Work" finds Toph having difficulties training Aang, while "The Library" is an exotic episode about a professor who leads the crew to a library containing information useful against the Fire Nation. When they get there, they find the place guarded by the owl-like Wan Shi Tong, who begins sinking the library in defense against the perceived invaders. --Tom Keogh

Book 2: Earth, Vol. 3 Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 2 Earth, Volume 3 covers chapters 11 through 15 in the ongoing saga of Aang, the 12-year-old reincarnation of an avatar destined to reunite the warring nations of fire, earth, water, and air. Still traveling with his friends Katara, Sokka, and newcomer Toph, Aang gets into some of the strangest and most compelling situations yet seen on his journey to master control over all four elements. The first story, "The Desert," finds Aang so upset over the abduction and criminal sale of his flying bison, Appa, that the powerful boy shows a streak of rage, demonstrating to himself that he could easily use his emerging skills to harm enemies if he wished. Still, Appa remains missing through this volume, leading the gang on a mission to survive a desert sojourn and survive during a perilous flight (with a young family in tow) over a pass through mountains and ocean in "The Serpent’s Pass." They also get involved in a bizarre fight (in "The Drill") against the Fire Nation army and its gigantic drill, which is aimed at the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, a city occupied by earth people. Once inside Ba Sing Se, however, things get really weird: smiling officials (in "City of Walls and Secrets") outlaw any discussion of the war outside in order to keep the population placid and the economy rolling. Finally, "Tales of Ba Sing Se" is an original piece made up of individual vignettes focusing on each of the major characters. If there is anything surprising about Book 2 Earth, Volume 3, it’s the amount of romance (kissing, even!) in the air. These Avatar boys and girls are growing up. --Tom Keogh

Book 2: Earth, Vol. 4 The long journey of young Avatar Aang and his friends Katara, Sokka, and Toph continues in this dramatic installment in the Avatar the Last Airbender series. Picking up from Volume 3, the first chapter on this disc, "Appa’s Lost Days," traces the hard times of Aang’s winged bison, Appa, after the latter is stolen in order to blackmail Aang into not going to the Earth King with information about a pending coup. The clever Aang manages to find Appa anyway and complete his crucial mission, though he learns, in "The Earth King," that the sheltered monarch doesn’t buy the notion that his own counsel, the power-grasping Long Feng, could be behind such a conspiracy. Complicating matters is the arrival of Princess Azula to take control over forces loyal to Long Feng, while Zuko, the reformed Fire Nation prince now acting as a humble but happier servant to his wise, tea-drinking uncle, is powerless to stop her. (On the other hand, Zuko forms an unexpected bond with one of Aang’s allies.) Everything comes to a head in "The Crossroads of Destiny," in which Aang, suddenly confused by the sage advice of a guru who tells him he must free himself of a crucial emotional attachment, joins the others in an uphill effort to stop Azula from overtaking the Earth King. As engaging and frequently funny as every other volume in the Avatar series, Volume Four is a great ride through a climactic time in the long-running story. --Tom Keogh

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Pineapple Express (Single-Disc Unrated Edition) (2008)

2009-12-24T00:57:00.000-08:00

Pineapple Express (Single-Disc Unrated Edition) (2008)
Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco Director: David Gordon Green

The latest bro-mance from team Apatow (the guys who brought us Superbad, Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Pineapple Express is the story of Dale Denton (Seth Rogan) and Saul Silver (James Franco), a pothead and his dealer who accidently get caught up in a drug war between two gangs with some corrupt cops, high-school girls and small-time henchmen thrown in for good measure. At its core, Pineapple Express is a stoner comedy--a tale of two semi-slow giggling and loveable idiots in way over their heads--this formula has made for some entertaining comedy over the years, Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke and Dave Chappell's Half Baked being two of the best examples. What sets Pineapple Express apart from these silly classics however, is the consistency of the humor, the perfect chemistry between Rogan and Franco and the giddily ridiculous action sequences (and the fact that even mild intoxication is not required to enjoy the humor). The movie retains the sweetness that is present in most of Apatow's films, making the characters’ poor choices and ultra-violent actions somehow justifiable, or at least relatable. The site gags, pop-culture references and perfectly timed non-sequiturs only enhance the hilarity. Director David Gordon Green, known mostly for the understated and reflective films George Washington and All the Real Girls, seemed like an odd choice for such a raucous and over-the-top comedy, but it turns out Green's stamp is all over this film (as is his long-time cinematographer, Tim Orr) who together manage to turn Pineapple Express into much more than the sum of its parts. --Kira Canny

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Dr. Seuss - How the Grinch Stole Christmas/Horton Hears a Who (1966)

2009-12-23T01:06:00.000-08:00

Dr. Seuss - How the Grinch Stole Christmas/Horton Hears a Who (1966)
Starring: June Foray, Boris Karloff Director: Ben Washam

Every Who down in Who-ville likes Christmas a lot & ; But the Grinch who lived just north of Whoville did NOT! So the cuddly as a cactus Grinch (with termites in his smile and garlic in his soul) tries to wipe out Christmas for the cheerful Who-villians, only to discover: Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more! Magnificently narrated by Boris Karloff and animated by cartoon legend Chuck Jones, it's an award-winning Who-roast-beast-feast of a holiday classic!

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V - The Final Battle (1984)

2009-12-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

V - The Final Battle (1984)
Series: V

Though followers of current science fiction television series may dismiss V: The Final Battle as a quaint relic from the pre-computer animation days, the six-hour miniseries about an alien invasion of Earth was a ratings juggernaut for NBC in 1984 and should still provide some entertainment for hard-bitten devotees and fans of '50s-style sci-fi. The Final Battle picks up four months after the shock conclusion of the 1983 prequel miniseries, with a small group of humans known as the Resistance struggling to convince their fellow humans that a fleet of seemingly friendly visitors from space are in fact bent on world domination.

Executive producer Kenneth Johnson (who oversaw most aspects of the first series) only supervised the sequel's script (which underwent several changes before its airing), and the writing occasionally suffers due to the lack of his attention. But the series still delivers its share of action and intrigue, as well as one showstopping gruesome moment involving the birth of interspecies twins. Acting is again a stumbling block, with leads Marc Singer and Faye Grant as bland as any performers from the American International Pictures stable; character actor Michael Ironside makes the strongest impression as a tough Resistance member, and a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund is amusing as a kind-hearted alien. The miniseries was followed by an inevitable weekly series featuring most of the same cast, which was demolished in the ratings by Dallas, but a faithful Resistance-like following remains to this day. --Paul Gaita

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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

2009-12-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley Director: Andrew Adamson

More exciting than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian continues the movie franchise based on C.S. Lewis' classic fantasy books. The movie picks up where the first left off... sort of. It's been a year since the Pevensie children--Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley)--returned to England from Narnia, and they've just about resigned themselves to living their ordinary lives. But just like that, they're once again transported to a fantastical land, but one with a long-abandoned castle. It turns out that they are in Narnia again--and they themselves lived in that castle, but hundreds of years ago in Narnia time. They've been summoned back to help Prince Caspian (Stardust's Ben Barnes, resembling a young, cultured Keanu Reeves), the rightful heir to the throne who's become the target of his power-hungry uncle, King Mraz (Sergio Castellitto). And he's not the only one threatened: Mraz's people, the Telmarines, have pushed all the Narnians--the talking animals, the centaurs and other beasts, the walking trees--to the brink of extinction. Despite some alpha-male bickering, Peter and Caspian agree to fight Mraz alongside the remaining Narnians, including the dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and the swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard). (Also appearing is Warwick Davis, who was in Willow and the 1989 BBC Prince Caspian.) But of course they most of all miss the noble lion, Aslan, who would have never let this happen to Narnia if he hadn't disappeared. Prince Caspian is epic, evoking memories of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. (Some of the battle elements may seem too familiar, but they were in Lewis's book.) And it's appropriate for kids (Reepicheep could have come out of a Shrek movie), though the tone is dark and there is a lot of death, albeit bloodless. After two successful films, Disney and Walden Media's franchise has proved successful enough that many of the characters are scheduled to return in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. --David Horiuchi

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Stargate SG-1: The Complete Series Collection (2007)

2009-12-17T06:48:00.000-08:00

Stargate SG-1: The Complete Series Collection (2007)
Series: Stargate SG-1

Episode Description:
Discs 1- 5: Stargate SG-1 Season 1
Discs 6-10: Starage SG-1 Season 2
Discs 11-15: Stargate SG-1 Season 3
Discs 16-20: Stargate SG-1 Season 4
Discs 21-25: Stargate SG-1 Season 5
Discs 26-30: Stargate SG-1 Season 6
Discs 31-35: Stargate SG-1 Season 7
Discs 36-40: Stargate SG-1 Season 8
Discs 41-45: Stargate SG-1 Season 9
Discs 46-50: Stargate SG-1 Season 10

Disc 51: Bonus Disc 1 includes:

* Ark of Truth Promo
* Continuum Promo
* "Stargate SG-1: The Lowdown (SG-1 Season 7)"
* From Stargate to Atlantis: The Lowdown (SG-1 Season 8 & Atlantis Season 1)
* Behind the Stargate: Secrets Revealed (SG-1 Season 8 & Atlantis Season 1)

Disc 52: Bonus Disc 2 includes:

* "Sci Fi Inside: Stargate SG-1's 200th Episode (SG-1 Season 10)"
* "Behind the Mythology of Stargate SG-1 (SG-1 Seasons 1-10)"
* Stargate SG-1: True Science

Disc 53: Bonus Disc 3 includes:
**Season Three

* Timeline to the Future
* Part 1: Legacy of the Gate
* Part II: Secrets of the Gate
* Part III: Beyond the Gate

**Season Four

* SG-1 Video Diary: Teryl Rothery
* "Stargate SG-1 Season 5: Gateway to Adventure "
* Stargate SG-1: The 100th Episode

**Season Five:

* SG-1 Video Diary: Don S. Davis

**Season Six:

* SG-1 Directors Series: Smoke and Mirrors"
* SG-1 Directors Series: The Changeling
* SG-1 Directors Series: Memento
* SG-1 Directors Series: Prophecy
* SG-1 Video Diary: Richard Dean Anderson Paradise Lost"

Disc 54: Bonus Disc 4 includes:
**Season Seven:

* SG-1 Directors Series: Revisions
* SG-1 Directors Series: Heroes
* SG-1 Directors Series: Resurrection
* "Behind the Scenes: Journey Inside Lost City"
* The Storyboard Process
* "Bra'tac vs. Ronan: Designing the Fight"
* Stargate Magic: Inside the Lab
* Richard Dean Anderson: "My Life as a Mime"

**Season Eight:

* Beyond the Gate: A Convention Experience with Amanda Tapping" "Beyond the Gate: A Convention Experience with Michael Shanks" SG-1 Directors Series: Threads
* Profile On: Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
* The Last Day of Teal'C
* SG-1 Directors Series: Moebius
* "Stargate SG-1 Alliance: The Making of The Video Game"

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Fast & Furious (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray] (2009)

2009-12-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

Fast & Furious (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray] (2009)
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker Director: Justin Lin

Fast & Furious is high octane torque-er porn that puts the franchise back on course after drifting in Tokyo. With the original cast once again in the driver's seat, we are good to go with a this-time-it's-personal plot and spectacular race and chase set-pieces that exceed the promise of the stripped-down title, beginning with an awesome highway hijacking of an oil truck led by former street racer Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel, at his glowering and gravel-voiced best). Dom is a fugitive in the Dominican Republic, but after a devastating personal loss, he is driven by revenge to return to Los Angeles to bring down an elusive drug smuggler. He is reunited with Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker), the undercover FBI agent who let him go eight years earlier. Brian, also on the case, must come to terms with Dom and make amends with Dom's sister (Jordana Brewster), whom he betrayed in his original pursuit of Dom. Fast & Furious is just the ticket for putting your mind on cruise control. From a see-what-you've-got racing challenge through the streets of L.A. to the illicit kicks of the street-racing subculture (this is extreme PG-13), there is nothing cheap about these thrills. A record-shattering opening weekend at the box office could mean faster and more furious action to come, but if this is the franchise's last time around the block, it goes out a winner. --Donald Liebenson

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Prison Break: Season Four

2009-12-13T07:24:00.001-08:00

Prison Break: Season Four
Series: Prison Break

Revenge, deceit and edge of your seat action lead to the most breathtaking, suspenseful series finale. Own the DVD that takes you behind the scenes with scenes too explosive for TV.

* Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby Surround
* Aspect Ratio: Widescreen: 1.78:1

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James Bond 10-Pack [Blu-ray]

2009-12-10T09:07:00.000-08:00

James Bond 10-Pack [Blu-ray]

This exclusive Bond giftset contains 10 of 007's finest missions, including his latest, Quantum of Solace!

* Dr. No
* From Russia with Love
* Goldfinger
* Thunderball
* Live and Let Die
* Moonraker
* For Your Eyes Only
* The World is Enough
* Die Another Day
* Quantum of Solace

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The Raymond Briggs' The Snowman (1982)

2009-12-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

The Raymond Briggs' The Snowman (1982)
Starring: Peter Auty, Raymond Briggs Director: Dianne Jackson

This charming British animated short film (it's just 23 minutes long) is a 1982 production of London's Channel 4, based on the classic children's book by Raymond Briggs and crafted with a colored-pencils-on-paper look, like fluffy, hand-drawn illustrations. Small children should be entranced by the story of a small boy in rural England whose lovingly constructed snowman comes to life and takes him flying over the white-blanketed landscapes, in a beautiful rotoscoped (traced) sequence based on live-action flying footage. Part of the charm of the film is the gentle, everyday quality of its fantasy adventures: the snowman is invited in to try on clothes and play with the Christmas decorations, then plays host to the boy at a party in the woods, at which his snowy relatives do English country dances. This is one of the very few Christmas tapes on the market that really deserves to be a holiday perennial, a gentle fable of friendship and the power of imagination. --David Chute

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North by Northwest (50th Anniversary Edition) (1959)

2009-12-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

North by Northwest (50th Anniversary Edition) (1959)
Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint Director: Alfred Hitchcock

A strong candidate for the most sheerly entertaining and enjoyable movie ever made by a Hollywood studio (with Citizen Kane, Only Angels Have Wings and Trouble in Paradise running neck and neck). Positioned between the much heavier and more profoundly disturbing Vertigo (1958) and the stark horror of Psycho (1960), North by Northwest (1959) is Alfred Hitchcock at his most effervescent in a romantic comedy-thriller that also features one of the definitive Cary Grant performances. Which is not to say that this is just "Hitchcock Lite"; seminal Hitchcock critic Robin Wood (in his book Hitchcock's Films Revisited) makes an airtight case for this glossy MGM production as one of The Master's "unbroken series of masterpieces from Vertigo to Marnie." It's a classic Hitchcock Wrong Man scenario: Grant is Roger O. Thornhill (initials ROT), an advertising executive who is mistaken by enemy spies for a U.S. undercover agent named George Kaplan. Convinced these sinister fellows (James Mason as the boss, and Martin Landau as his henchman) are trying to kill him, Roger flees and meets a sexy Stranger on a Train (Eva Marie Saint), with whom he engages in one of the longest, most convolutedly choreographed kisses in screen history. And, of course, there are the famous set pieces: the stabbing at the United Nations, the crop-duster plane attack in the cornfield (where a pedestrian has no place to hide), and the cliffhanger finale atop the stone faces of Mount Rushmore. Plus a sparkling Ernest Lehman script and that pulse-quickening Bernard Herrmann score. What more could a moviegoer possibly desire?--Jim Emerson

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Star Trek VIII: First Contact (Remastered) [Blu-ray]

2009-12-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

Star Trek VIII: First Contact (Remastered) [Blu-ray]
Series: Star Trek

Item Type: BLU-RAY DVD Movie
Item Rating: PG13
Street Date: 09/22/09
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve

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Pocahontas (10th Anniversary Edition) (1995)

2009-12-09T01:26:00.001-08:00

Pocahontas (10th Anniversary Edition) (1995)
Starring: Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt Director: Eric Goldberg, Mike Gabriel

All the music, adventure, and colorful fun of Disney's POCAHONTAS come to life like never before in the 10th Anniversary Edition 2-Disc Set. Bursting with all the "Colors Of The Wind," POCAHONTAS tells the story of a free-spirited girl who wonders what adventures await "Just Around The Riverbend." Pocahontas -- along with her playful pals Meeko and Flit -- relies on the guidance of her loving and wise Grandmother Willow when English settlers arrive on the shores of their village. Her chance meeting with the courageous Captain John Smith leads to a beautiful friendship that bridges the gap between two cultures, and changes history. Now fully restored, POCAHONTAS includes the song "If I Never Knew You," and never-before-seen animation seamlessly integrated into the original film. This 2-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition is loaded with spectacular bonus features, all-new games, and soaring Academy Award(R)-winning music (1995 Best Original Musical Score, Best Original Song, "Colors Of The Wind"). Disney's POCAHONTAS is a fun-filled adventure your whole family will enjoy.

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1965)

2009-12-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1965)
Starring: Boris Karloff, Thurl Ravenscroft Director: Ben Washam, Chuck Jones

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 08/18/2009

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Fast & Furious (2009)

2009-12-05T05:05:00.000-08:00

Fast & Furious (2009)
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker Director: Justin Lin

Inglourious Basterds (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2009)

2009-12-03T22:08:00.000-08:00

Inglourious Basterds (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2009)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mike Myers Director: Quentin Tarantino

Although Quentin Tarantino has cherished Enzo G. Castellari's 1978 "macaroni" war flick The Inglorious Bastards for most of his film-geek life, his own Inglourious Basterds is no remake. Instead, as hinted by the Tarantino-esque misspelling, this is a lunatic fantasia of WWII, a brazen re-imagining of both history and the behind-enemy-lines war film subgenre. There's a Dirty Not-Quite-Dozen of mostly Jewish commandos, led by a Tennessee good ol' boy named Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) who reckons each warrior owes him one hundred Nazi scalps--and he means that literally. Even as Raine's band strikes terror into the Nazi occupiers of France, a diabolically smart and self-assured German officer named Landa (Christoph Waltz) is busy validating his own legend as "The Jew Hunter." Along the way, he wipes out the rural family of a grave young girl (Melanie Laurent) who will reappear years later in Paris, dreaming of vengeance on an epic scale.

Now, this isn't one more big-screen comic book. As the masterly opening sequence reaffirms, Tarantino is a true filmmaker, with a deep respect for the integrity of screen space and the tension that can accumulate in contemplating two men seated at a table having a polite conversation. IB reunites QT with cinematographer Robert Richardson (who shot Kill Bill), and the colors and textures they serve up can be riveting, from the eerie red-hot glow of a tabletop in Adolf Hitler's den, to the creamy swirl of a Parisian pastry in which Landa parks his cigarette. The action has been divided, Pulp Fiction-like, into five chapters, each featuring at least one spellbinding set-piece. It's testimony to the integrity we mentioned that Tarantino can lock in the ferocious suspense of a scene for minutes on end, then explode the situation almost faster than the eye and ear can register, and then take the rest of the sequence to a new, wholly unanticipated level within seconds.

Again, be warned: This is not your "Greatest Generation," Saving Private Ryan WWII. The sadism of Raine and his boys can be as unsavory as the Nazi variety; Tarantino's latest cinematic protégé, Eli (director of Hostel) Roth, is aptly cast as a self-styled "golem" fond of pulping Nazis with a baseball bat. But get past that, and the sometimes disconcerting shifts to another location and another set of characters, and the movie should gather you up like a growing floodtide. Tarantino told the Cannes Film Festival audience that he wanted to show "Adolf Hitler defeated by cinema." Cinema wins. --Richard T. Jameson

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The Goonies (1985)

2009-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

The Goonies (1985)
Starring: Jeb Stuart Adams, Steve Antin

Following a mysterious treasure map into a spectacular underground realm of twisting passages, outrageous booby-traps and a long-lost pirate ship full of golden dubloons, the kids race to stay one step ahead of a family of bumbling bad guys... and a mild-mannered monster with a face only a mother could love.

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Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

2009-11-29T02:27:00.001-08:00

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci Director: Chris Columbus R

This somewhat unpleasant 1992 sequel to the blockbuster Home Alone revisits the first film's gimmick by stranding Macaulay Culkin's character in New York City while his family ends up somewhere else. Again, the little guy meets up with colorful people on the margins of society (including a pigeon woman played by Brenda Fricker) and again he gets into a prop-heavy battle with Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The latter sequence is even worse than the first film in terms of violence inflicted on the two villains (director Chris Columbus, who also made the first film, can't seem to emphasize the slapstick over the graphic effects of the fight). The best running joke finds a concierge (Tim Curry) at the swank hotel where Culkin is staying trying and failing to prove that the boy is on his own. --Tom Keogh

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Back to the Future - The Complete Trilogy (Widescreen Edition) (1985)

2009-11-27T15:15:00.001-08:00

Back to the Future - The Complete Trilogy (Widescreen Edition) (1985)
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd Director: Robert Zemeckis, Laurent Bouzereau

Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis topped his breakaway hit Romancing the Stone with Back to the Future, a joyous comedy with a dazzling hook: what would it be like to meet your parents in their youth? Billed as a special-effects comedy, the imaginative film (the top box-office smash of 1985) has staying power because of the heart behind Zemeckis and Bob Gale's script. High schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox, during the height of his TV success) is catapulted back to the '50s where he sees his parents in their teens, and accidentally changes the history of how Mom and Dad met. Filled with the humorous ideology of the '50s, filtered through the knowledge of the '80s (actor Ronald Reagan is president, ha!), the film comes off as a Twilight Zone episode written by Preston Sturges. Filled with memorable effects and two wonderfully off-key, perfectly cast performances: Christopher Lloyd as the crazy scientist who builds the time machine (a DeLorean luxury car) and Crispin Glover as Marty's geeky dad. --Doug Thomas

Critics and audiences didn't seem too happy with Back to the Future, Part II, the inventive, perhaps too clever sequel. Director Zemeckis and cast bent over backwards to add layers of time-travel complication, and while it surely exercises the brain it isn't necessarily funny in the same way that its predecessor was. It's well worth a visit, though, just to appreciate the imagination that went into it, particularly in a finale that has Marty watching his own actions from the first film. --Tom Keogh

Shot back-to-back with the second chapter in the trilogy, Back to the Future, Part III is less hectic than that film and has the same sweet spirit of the first, albeit in a whole new setting. This time, Marty ends up in the Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd at the hands of gunman Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson, who had a recurring role as the bully Biff). Director Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western and comes up with something original and fun. --Tom Keogh

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Clash of the Titans (1981)

2009-11-18T15:12:00.000-08:00

Clash of the Titans (1981)
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin Director: Desmond Davis

24 - Season Two (2003)

2009-11-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

24 - Season Two (2003)
Series: 24

Jack Bauer is having another one of his "very bad days" in the second season of the groundbreaking real-time thriller 24. Once again the hours are ticking by with more guaranteed cliffhangers than a convention of mountain climbers. Holed up in a Los Angeles condo and estranged from his daughter, Jack is no longer on the government payroll; unfortunately for him, this small fact doesn't seem to matter to President David Palmer and the NSA, who call him back in to the CTU and give him 24 hours to infiltrate a terrorist organization that is planning to detonate a dirty bomb in the city of angels. All Jack wants is to get his daughter out of the city, unfortunately Kim's new employer, the abusive father of the child she is nannying, has other ideas.

Fans of the original won't be disappointed, as there are more than enough shock moments in the first few hours to hint at the climactic build-up to come, while newcomers can quickly get involved in the lives of Jack and his family. There are some new characters to bolster the veteran cast and, interestingly (although not surprisingly), Jack's character has taken an altogether darker, more psychopathic turn. The danger the characters find themselves in also has a much more global, not to mention topical, impetus, grounded as it is in the war against terrorism. Although the territory is more familiar this time around, this second season is just as much a high-tension, taut, adrenalin-fuelled ride as the first, and one that will have you glued to your TV for the next 24 hours. --Kristen Bowditch

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Blood: The Last Vampire [Blu-ray] (2009)

2009-11-11T17:06:00.001-08:00

Blood: The Last Vampire [Blu-ray] (2009)
Starring: Gianna Jun, Allison Miller Director: Chris Nahon

The deadliest assassin to stand the test of time. From a Producer of Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon comes Blood: The Last Vampire, based on the cult hit anime series. Demons have infested Earth. And only one warrior stands between the dark and the light: Saya, a half-human, half-vampire samurai who preys on those who feast on human blood. Joining forces with the shadowy society known as the Council, Saya is dispatched to an American military base, where an intense series of swordfights leads her to the deadliest vampire of all. And now after 400 years, Saya's greatest hunt is about to begin.

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Race to Witch Mountain (Single-Disc Edition) (2009)

2009-11-08T00:53:00.000-08:00

Race to Witch Mountain (Single-Disc Edition) (2009)
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino Director: Andy Fickman

Loosely based on Alexander Key's novel Escape to Witch Mountain, Race to Witch Mountain is not so much a remake of the 1975 film Escape to Witch Mountain as an entirely new film based on some key plot points from the former film. When two innocent-looking teens appear in Jack Bruno's (Dwayne Johnson) cab and tell him that "we must travel in that direction," Jack thinks it's a bit strange, but shrugs it off and starts driving. Soon they're being followed and chased off the road, but is it Jack's past catching up with him or something much larger? Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) reluctantly confess that they are aliens from another planet, but Jack refuses to accept their statement until Sara starts moving things with her mind and Seth slips through the body of the car and deflects the SUV that's pursuing them. Sara and Seth tell Jack that they must recover their crashed spaceship in order to save earth from being taken over by aliens, so Jack takes them to see Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino); a scientist who he met by chance and who believes in the possible existence of extra-terrestrials. While the four are initially wary of one another, Dr. Friedman provides some valuable contacts and they begin trusting one another out of sheer necessity. Soon they're battling secret government agencies, heavily armed personnel, and even a cybernetic Siphon (that looks a lot like a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica) in a desperate attempt to gain access to the heavily fortified Witch Mountain and the crashed spacecraft. Action-packed car chases dominate the film (a bit excessively, in this reviewer's opinion), but the acting and chemistry between actors is good as is the suspense and intrigue. Rated PG due to sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements. (Ages 9 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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The Aristocats (Special Edition) (1970)

2009-11-05T17:16:00.000-08:00

The Aristocats (Special Edition) (1970)
Starring: Roddy Maude-Roxby, Gary Dubin Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

Duchess and her three kittens are enjoying the high life with their devoted human mistress until the wicked butler Edgar, with his eyes on a big inheritance, decides to dope them and get them out of the picture. How can these fragile creatures cope in the unfamiliar countryside and the meaner streets of Paris? Only by meeting the irrepressible alley cat O'Malley, a rough diamond with romance in his heart. After they get a taste of the wide dangerous world, he guides them home, and Edgar gets his just desserts at the wrong end of a horse. As always, it's really the voices rather than the animation that are the heart of the Disney magic: Phil Harris is brilliant as O'Malley, Eva Gabor as Duchess is... well... Eva Gabor; but perhaps the most memorable turns are by Pat Buttram and George Lindsay, who turn the old hounds Napoleon and Lafayette into a couple of bumbling Southern-fried rednecks. Their scenes with Edgar, and the musical numbers with Scat Cat and his cool-dude band, are classic. Most striking about seeing The Aristocats now is how deeply Disney's style of animation has changed since this was at the cutting edge in 1970. Perhaps the nostalgic, dated feel are just a result of being plonked down in Belle Epoque Paris, but the illustrations are fussier (a pity) and the animation and overall pace much less frenetic (sometimes a relief) than in more recent efforts such as Aladdin. --Richard Farr

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The Crucible (1996)

2009-11-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

The Crucible (1996)
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder Director: Nicholas Hytner

The Salem witch hunts are given a new and nasty perspective when a vengeful teenage girl uses superstition and repression to her advantage, creating a killing machine that becomes a force unto itself. Pulsating with seductive energy, this provocative drama is as visually arresting as it is intellectually engrossing. Arthur Miller based his classic 1953 play on the actual Salem witch trials of 1692, creating what has since become a durable fixture of school drama courses. It may look like a historical drama, but Miller also meant the work as a parable for the misery created by the McCarthy anti-Communist hearings of the 1950s. This searing version of his drama delves into matters of conscience with concise accuracy and emotional honesty. Three passionate cheers for Miller, director Nicholas Hytner, and costars Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. --Rochelle O'Gorman

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The Polar Express (Full Screen Edition) (2004)

2009-10-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

The Polar Express (Full Screen Edition) (2004)
Director: alan silvestri

Destined to become a holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, and those who felt that the innovative use of "performance capture"--to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters--was an eerie and not-quite-lifelike distraction from the story's epic-scale North Pole adventure. In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the nominal "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation. No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. --Jeff Shannon

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V - The Complete Series (1984)

2009-10-17T20:39:00.001-07:00

V - The Complete Series (1984)
Series: V

They came for water. And for food. And as it turned out, we were the food. But humanity bravely resisted - a struggle seen in the hit miniseries V and V: The Final Battle. Yet the war continues. The heroic conflict comes to a surprising outcome in V: The Series, presented complete and uncut in this 3-disc, 19-episode set. Once again, Earth is the main battleground. But now the aliens whose human guise hides their true reptilian natures are wiser. They believe the secret to their survival on Earth lies in the DNA of the newly born half-human, half-spaceling Starchild. They intend to capture her. But that's something the world's Resistance Fighters cannot allow.

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The Wild Bunch [Blu-ray] (1969)

2009-10-09T00:50:00.000-07:00

The Wild Bunch [Blu-ray] (1969)
Starring: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine Director: Sam Peckinpah

One of the best action movies ever made, in a cleaned-up print restoring crucial parts of the story. No cavalry ever rode in with more epochal impact than the Wild Bunch in the legendary opening scene. Their steel-eyed leader, Pike (William Holden), and his robbers in stolen army uniforms help an old lady across the street, and then spark a massacre led by Pike's old crony Thornton (Robert Ryan), sprung from jail to hunt down his old gang. In just a few minutes, Sam Peckinpah sets the scene--a dusty Texas town in 1913--sketches a dozen vividly individualized characters, and choreographs one of the most realistic, influential, brilliantly photographed shootouts under the pitiless sun. The cast is superb (even Ernest Borgnine!), the dialog crackling, the bitterly ambiguous moral of the story hard-earned. It's the deeper, dark flip side to 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Consider buying the letterbox Wild Bunch, the review collection Doing It Right, and the Peckinpah bio "If They Move... Kill 'Em!" --Tim Appelo

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Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition (Dirty Harry / Magnum Force / The Enforcer / Sudden Impact / The Dead Pool) (2008)

2009-09-10T01:41:00.000-07:00

Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition (Dirty Harry / Magnum Force / The Enforcer / Sudden Impact / The Dead Pool) (2008)
Starring: Clint Eastwood

Includes all five Dirty Harry films: all special features on the Dirty Harry Special Edition and Deluxe Editions, plus additional special features and contents specific to the Ultimate Collector's Edition. Bonus Feature-Length documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows; a 40+ page hardcover book; Wallet w/metal badge and removable laminated I.D. card; Five 5"x 7" Reproduction Lobby Poster Cards plus an exclusive UCE card; Scorpio Portrait of a Killer Poster-Sized (19" x 27") map of San Francisco detailing Harry’s hunt for the killer; Never-Before-Seen Production Correspondence

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The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

2009-09-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George Director: Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood fired the original director, Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff), and took over the reins of this project himself. He may have had a point: this brutal, thoughtful western, a near-tragedy about a Civil War veteran whose past comes looking for him, is probably Eastwood's most mature frontier drama prior to the Oscar winning Unforgiven. Hoping to build a quiet life in a cooperative community of settlers, Eastwood's Wales blames himself when his enemies attack the homestead, and he has to revert to his warrior instincts to help fend off the threat. The jittery intensity of Sondra Locke (who would be Mrs. Eastwood, at least for a while), and the screen-filling charisma of the late Chief Dan George harmonize beautifully with Eastwood, who had finally figured out how to add depth and texture to his stock-in-trade Man of Steel persona. This one may be too short on action to satisfy fans of Eastwood's Dirty Harry films, or of the Italian westerns he made with Sergio Leone, but it's an honorable effort. --David Chute

As The Outlaw Josey Wales, four-time Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood is ideally cast as a hard-hitting, fast-drawing loner, recalling his ?Man with No Name? from his European Westerns. But unlike that other mythic outlaw, Josey Wales has a name ? and a heart.After avenging his family?s brutal murder, Wales is on the lam, pursued by a pack of killers. He travels alone, but a ragtag group of outcasts (including Sondra Locke and Chief Dan George) is drawn to him ? and Wales can?t leave his motley surrogate family unprotected. Eastwood?s skills before and behind the camera connected with audiences for its humor and tenderness as well as its hair-trigger action.
Running Time: 135 min.

Format: DVD MOVIE
Genre: WESTERN
Rating: PG
Age: 883929033010
UPC: 883929033010
Manufacturer No: 1000041097

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No Country for Old Men (2007)

2009-09-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

No Country for Old Men (2007)
Starring: Javier Bardem, Rodger Boyce Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

The Coen brothers make their finest thriller since Fargo with a restrained adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel. Not that there aren't moments of intense violence, but No Country for Old Men is their quietest, most existential film yet. In this modern-day Western, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a Vietnam vet who could use a break. One morning while hunting antelope, he spies several trucks surrounded by dead bodies (both human and canine). In examining the site, he finds a case filled with $2 million. Moss takes it with him, tells his wife (Kelly Macdonald) he's going away for awhile, and hits the road until he can determine his next move. On the way from El Paso to Mexico, he discovers he's being followed by ex-special ops agent Chigurh (an eerily calm Javier Bardem). Chigurh's weapon of choice is a cattle gun, and he uses it on everyone who gets in his way--or loses a coin toss (as far as he's concerned, bad luck is grounds for death). Just as Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a World War II vet, is on Moss's trail, Chigurh's former colleague, Wells (Woody Harrelson), is on his. For most of the movie, Moss remains one step ahead of his nemesis. Both men are clever and resourceful--except Moss has a conscience, Chigurh does not (he is, as McCarthy puts it, "a prophet of destruction"). At times, the film plays like an old horror movie, with Chigurh as its lumbering Frankenstein monster. Like the taciturn terminator, No Country for Old Men doesn't move quickly, but the tension never dissipates. This minimalist masterwork represents Joel and Ethan Coen and their entire cast, particularly Brolin and Jones, at the peak of their powers. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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The Iron Giant (Special Edition) (1999)

2009-09-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

The Iron Giant (Special Edition) (1999)
Starring: Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr. Director: Brad Bird

This gentle reworking of Ted Hughes's 1968 novella was the unseen gem of 1999. Hogarth, a young boy who lives in the Maine woods during the cold war, befriends a giant robot. As with E.T., the iron giant is a misunderstood outsider who becomes a child's best friend, and Hogarth does his best to hide the massive figure from his mom (voiced by Jennifer Aniston) and the local scrap-yard beatnik (Harry Connick Jr.). Soon the suspicions of neighbors and a government agent (Christopher McDonald) spell trouble.

With no songs, no sidekicks, and no cheap ending, The Iron Giant is a refreshing change-- like an off-Broadway production compared to the glitz of Disney's annual animated extravaganzas. Director Brad Bird may have Family Dog and The Simpsons to his credit, but this film doesn't have that brand of scatological humor. As with the best family entertainments, there are gags that adults will howl at while the kids are watching something else (see Bird's interpretation of cold war propaganda). And the star is one cool piece of animated magic. Voiced by Vin Diesel (Saving Private Ryan's hulking Private Caparzo) and filled with more gadgets than a Swiss army knife, the giant is a grand thing to behold. And like another famous cinema tin man, our hero--and the movie--has heart. Superb entertainment for ages 5 and up. --Doug Thomas

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Swiss Family Robinson (Vault Disney Collection) (1960)

2009-09-01T05:09:00.000-07:00

Swiss Family Robinson (Vault Disney Collection) (1960)
Starring: John Mills, Dorothy McGuire Director: Ken Annakin

The Disney touch is all over this grand, colorful version of the Johann Wyss adventure of a European family set off for the new world of New Guinea. The film opens on a ship jostled and torn by a raging storm while a family struggles to make it through alive. Tossed into a reef near a deserted tropical island, father John Mills takes charge and the family soon turns their island prison into a veritable paradise. Their multilevel tree house, built in record time, is complete with running water and a working pipe organ scavenged from the ship, while their grand yard is abloom in English roses. As a tale of hardship and pioneer pluck, the tale is pure fantasy, but as entertainment it's energetic and appealing. The island is impossibly populated by ostriches, zebras, lions, and elephants, a private zoo that delights the youngest boy and offers plenty of comic relief. The two older brothers discover even wilder life when they rescue the prisoner of oriental pirates (led by hard-bitten Sessue Hayakawa). There's little real danger anywhere in the film--even the climactic battle with the pirates is a cartoonish affair, with coconut bombs and nonlethal booby traps, until the final desperate, deadly moments. Hardly a faithful adaptation of the novel, but a lush, beautifully photographed film and an entertaining adventure safe for all ages. Dorothy McGuire costars as the proper, worry-prone mother. (Ages 5 and older) --Sean Axmaker

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Cutthroat Island [Blu-ray] (1995)

2009-08-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Cutthroat Island [Blu-ray] (1995)
Starring: Geena Davis, Frank Langella

Director Renny Harlin's high-seas adventure has some good things going for it: Geena Davis makes a swashbucklingly alluring pirate, and the megabudget provides huge explosions. But this plot-heavy rollick is as badly constructed and overwhelmingly inflated as Spielberg's "Hook." Harlin's earlier films, "Die Hard 2" and "Cliffhanger," had their fair share of muscular action, and he doesn't disappoint here: his winds blow and his seas roil. Matthew Modine, though-with whom Davis is teamed in a race for hidden treasure-is less than inspired. The movie gamely attempts to capture the fire of the old Errol Flynn pictures, but it's harsh and imposing, and there's no romance to it. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

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The Searchers [Blu-ray] (1956)

2009-08-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Searchers [Blu-ray] (1956)
Starring: John Wayne, Ward Bond

A favorite film of some of the world's greatest filmmakers, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, John Ford's The Searchers has earned its place in the legacy of great American films for a variety of reasons. Perhaps most notably, it's the definitive role for John Wayne as an icon of the classic Western--the hero (or antihero) who must stand alone according to the unwritten code of the West. The story takes place in Texas in 1868; Wayne plays Ethan Edwards, a Confederate veteran who visits his brother and sister-in-law at their ranch and is horrified when they are killed by marauding Comanches. Ethan's search for a surviving niece (played by young Natalie Wood) becomes an all-consuming obsession. With the help of a family friend (Jeffrey Hunter) who is himself part Cherokee, Ethan hits the trail on a five-year quest for revenge. At the peak of his masterful talent, director Ford crafts this classic tale as an embittered examination of racism and blind hatred, provoking Wayne to give one of the best performances of his career. As with many of Ford's classic Westerns, The Searchers must contend with revisionism in its stereotypical treatment of "savage" Native Americans, and the film's visual beauty (the final shot is one of the great images in all of Western culture) is compromised by some uneven performances and stilted dialogue. Still, this is undeniably one of the greatest Westerns ever made. --Jeff Shannon

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Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (2009)

2009-08-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (2009)
Starring: Mae Whitman, Angelica Huston Director: Klay Hall

Character Descriptions

Tinker Bell: Tink is feisty, rebellious, impatient, impulsive, determined, persistent, and temperamental... yet still charming and lovable. Her talent for tinkering has earned her the coveted duty of creating a new autumn scepter to hold a beautiful moonstone, the key to renewing the Pixie Dust tree. But when the scepter accidentally breaks, she embarks on a perilous adventure to a lost island far north of Never Land, in search of a spooky shipwreck that may hold the key to fixing the scepter.

The Four Gals: (Silvermist, Fawn, Rosetta, Iridessa): Big Sisters to Tink, they are fairies who travel to the mainland for the change of seasons, to nurture nature.

Rosetta a garden fairy: Brimming with confidence, grace and charm, Ro wants every friend, flower, and fairy to look their best. She will patiently spend hours turning a pumpkin the perfect shade of orange or mixing up a brilliant blend of flower petals for fairy fireworks. Both sweet and sassy, Ro watches over her friends like an older sister.

Silvermist a water fairy: With her calm demeanor and sympathetic ear, Sil is always eager to lend a friend a helping hand or give some timely advice. Her go-with-the-flow attitude can make her wishy-washy, and sometimes she takes things way too literally, but her heart is always in the right place. Whether she s placing delicate dewdrops on a spider web or training tadpoles to blow bubbles for the Autumn Revelry, Sil approaches everything with an offbeat, cheerful manner.

Iridessa a light fairy: Dess is a brilliant, detail-oriented perfectionist. When she hangs firefly lanterns for a celebration, you can be sure that every lantern will be placed just right and every firefly properly lit. She tries to look on the bright side of things, but is often the first to smell disaster brewing and certainly the first to worry about it.

Fawn an animal fairy: A pony-tailed tomboy full of mirth and mischief, the only thing Fawn loves more than playing with her fairy friends is playing with her animal friends. And the more rough-and-tumble the game, the better. Always encouraging and supportive, Fawn is an excellent teacher. If the goose she s teaching to land mows her down, she ll pop right back up, pat his beak, and give it another go.

Fairy Mary a tinker fairy: Big, bold, brash and bossy. A mentor to Tink. Fairy Mary has grown to respect and admire Tink s tinker talent... to the point where she recommends Tink for the most prestigious assignment of creating the autumn scepter. Fairy Mary lives by the motto: Tinker fairies never fail. If Tink messes up, it will reflect badly on Fairy Mary

Clank and Bobble tinker fairies: Boy tinkers and best pals who love their jobs. Clank is a big lug who always has his ears plugged with fluff (for banging on stuff), so he s always shouting. Bobble is a little guy with dewdrop goggles (for detail work) whose myopia often gets him in others personal space he s a close talker . They re good-natured geeks who are always talking shop.

Queen Clarion: An ethereal being, she is practically Mother Nature and is like a Mother to all the fairies. Kind and loving, but also serious and firm when necessary.

Vidia a fast-flying fairy: Vidia is a classic loner; she is one of the most special of special talent fairies and makes sure everyone knows it. Works with all the talents, creating breezes to blow down leaves in the autumn and spread pollen in the spring. She and Tink started off on the wrong foot. Vidia is the first to criticize Tink and expect the worst... but she is capable of acknowledging when Tink succeeds. --Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

The tale of Disney s favorite fairy, Tinker Bell, continues in an all-new magical adventure beyond Pixie Hollow! Discover how the Pixies make their magic dust! Let your imagination soar as Autumn comes to Pixie Hollow. Take off in a hot air balloon with Tinker Bell and her new friend Blaze, a lightning bug who lights her way, on an enchanting secret journey to find a new moonstone, the source of the Pixies mystical dust. But hold on tight! There ll be amazing encounters, some close calls, and a daring rescue by her old friend Terence! In her biggest adventure yet, Tinker Bell not only learns a lesson in responsibility, she discovers the true meaning of friendship. From the creators of Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell And The Lost Treasure is a captivating journey of self-discovery everyone will want to take

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Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

2009-08-23T07:59:00.002-07:00

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama Director: Hayao Miyazaki

In Hayao Miyazaki's magical Kiki's Delivery Service, a 13-year-old girl meets the world head on as she spends her first year soloing as an apprentice witch. Kiki (Kirsten Dunst) is still a little green and plenty headstrong, but also resourceful, imaginative, and determined. With her trusty wisp of a cat Jiji (a gently subdued Phil Hartman) by her side she's ready to take on the world, or at least the quaintly European seaside village she's chosen as her new home. Miyazaki's gentle rhythm and meandering narrative capture the easy pulse of real life (even if his subject is a girl flying high upon a broomstick) and charts the everyday struggles and growing pains of his plucky heroine with sensitivity and understanding. Beautifully detailed animation and the rich designs of the picture-postcard seaside town of red-tiled roofs and cobblestone streets only add to the sense of wonder. This charming animated fantasy is a wholesome, life-affirming picture that doesn't speak down to kids or up to adults. --Sean Axmaker

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Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

2009-08-23T07:59:00.001-07:00

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
Starring: Robert Redford, Will Geer Director: Sydney Pollack

After they first worked together on the 1966 film This Property Is Condemned, director Sydney Pollack and Robert Redford continued their long-lasting collaboration with this 1972 drama set during the mid-1800s, about one man's rugged effort to shed the burden of civilization and learn to survive in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. Will Geer is perfectly cast as the seasoned trapper who teaches Jeremiah Johnson (Redford) how to survive against harsh winters, close encounters with grizzly bears, and hostile Crow Indians. In the course of his adventure, Johnson marries the daughter of a Flathead Indian chief, forms a makeshift family, and ultimately assumes a mythic place in Rocky Mountain folklore. Shot entirely on location in Utah, the film boasts an abundance of breathtaking widescreen scenery, and the story (despite a PG rating) doesn't flinch from the brutality of the wilderness. --Jeff Shannon

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Full-Screen Edition) (2007)

2009-08-19T03:01:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Full-Screen Edition) (2007)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson Director: David Yates

Alas! The fifth Harry Potter film has arrived. The time is long past that this can be considered a simple "children's" series--though children and adults alike will enjoy it immensely. Starting off from the dark and tragic ending of the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix begins in a somber and angst-filled tone that carries through the entire 138 minutes (the shortest of any HP movie despite being adapted from the longest book). Hopes of winning the Quidditch Cup have been replaced by woes like government corruption, distorted media spin, and the casualties of war. As the themes have matured, so have the primary characters' acting abilities. Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson), and especially Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) are more convincing than ever--in roles that are more demanding.

Harry is deeply traumatized from having witnessed Cedric Diggory's murder, but he will soon find that this was just another chapter in the continuing loss he will endure. Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has returned and, in an attempt to conceal this catastrophe from the wizarding public, the Ministry of Magic has teamed up with the wizard newspaper The Daily Prophet to smear young Potter and wise Dumbledore (Michael Gambon)--seemingly the only two people in the public eye who believe the Dark Lord has returned. With no one else to stand against the wicked Death Eaters, the Hogwarts headmaster is forced to revive his secret anti-Voldemort society, the Order of the Phoenix. This welcomes back characters like Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson), kind Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), fatherly Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), and insidious Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), and introduces a short list of intriguing new faces. In the meantime, a semi-psychotic bureaucrat from the Ministry (brilliantly portrayed by Imelda Staunton) has seized power at Hogwarts, and Harry is forced to form a secret society of his own--lest the other young wizards at his school be left ill-equipped to defend themselves in the looming war between good and evil. In addition, Harry is filled with an inexplicable rage that only his Godfather Sirius seems to be able to understand.

This film, though not as frightening as its predecessor, earns its PG-13 rating mostly because of the ever-darkening tone. As always, the loyal fans of J.K. Rowling's books will suffer huge cuts from the original plot and character developments, but make no mistake: this is a good movie. --Jordan Thompson

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300: The Complete Experience (Blu-ray Book + Digital Copy and BD-Live) [Blu-ray] (2007)

2009-08-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

300: The Complete Experience (Blu-ray Book + Digital Copy and BD-Live) [Blu-ray] (2007)
Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey Director: Zack Snyder

2 HOURS OF EXCLUSIVE EXTRA CONTENT - Prepare for Blu-ray glory and immerse yourself in the 300 experience as never before possible. THE COMPLETE 300: A COMPREHENSIVE IMMERSION - This NEW interactive picture-in-picture experience provides 3 unique perspectives to explore while you watch the film: * CREATING A LEGEND: Frank Miller and Zack Snyder Interpret a Classic Tale - Holding true to Frank Miller’s love of history and the importance of bringing a pure adaptation to screen in this tale-based account. * BRINGING THE LEGEND TO LIFE: Building a World From a Comic - Blending the most talented and creative minds together to bring Frank Miller’s art to life in cinematic form. * THE HISTORY BEHIND THE MYTH: The Real Story of The Hot Gates - A rich and historical perspective on the Spartans and this legendary landmark. PLUS A SPECIAL FEATURES ARMY: * WARNER BROS. BD-LIVE - Media Center; Live Community Screening; My WB Commentary. * Bluescreen Picture-In-Picture - Join Director Zack Snyder on a personal and fascinating commentary as he compares the Bluescreen composite to the feature. * Audio Commentary by Director Zack Snyder, Writer Kurt Johnstad and Director of Photography Larry Fong. * The 300- Fact or Fiction? - Historians, authors and filmmakers reveal how much of the movie is based on fact. (RT: 24:12) {HD} * Who Were The Spartans: The Warriors of 300 - The customs and ways of life of the Spartan used by the actors and filmmakers to build their characters. (RT: 6:00) {HD} * Preparing for Battle: The Original Test Footage - See how Frank Miller’s images were used in an video montage that evolved into the fight scene test and ultimately convinced the studio to make the movie. (RT: 6:10) {HD} * Frank Miller Tapes - We'll show how the outspoken Miller continued to push his limits to realize his epic graphic novel, 300, in the world of theatrical film. (RT: 13:00) {HD} * Making of 300 - A look at how the movie was made. (RT: 5:40) * Making 300 in Images - Rapid fire stills from the first day of production to the last. (RT 3:00) * Webisodes - Behind the scenes peeks on the set of 300. (RT: 20:00) - Production Design; Wardrobe; Stunt Work; Lena Headey; Adapting The Graphic Novel; Gerard Butler; Rodrigo Santoro; Training The Actors; Culture of The Sparta City/State; A Glimpse from the Set - Making 300 the Movie; Scene Studies from 300; Fantastic Characters of 300. * Additional Footage - Deleted Scenes with Introduction by Zack Snyder (RT: 5:31) {HD} 40-Page collectible book packaging includes a comprehensive walk-through of the new cutting-edge Blu-ray features, behind the scenes and production photos AND never-before-seen sketches from creator Frank Miller.

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X-Men, Volume Three (Marvel Collection)

2009-08-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

X-Men, Volume Three (Marvel Collection)
Starring: Iona Morris, Lenore Zann

The X-Men are back for more nonstop thrills and excitement in Volume 3 of the definitive animated series. Faithfully created from the pages of the original Marvel comic books, these classic stories are a must have for any X-Men fan.

When the all powerful Dark Phoenix inhabits the body of Jean Grey, the X-Men go to battle in order to save one of their own. Get into the action with 15 spine-tingling episodes, including the 4-part Dark Phoenix saga in this collectible 2-disc set.

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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney Special Platinum Edition) (1937)

2009-08-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney Special Platinum Edition) (1937)
Starring: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell Director: David Hand, Wilfred Jackson

One of the brightest nuggets from Disney's golden age, this 1937 film is almost dizzying in its meticulous construction of an enchanted world, with scores of major and minor characters (including fauna and fowl), each with a distinct identity. When you watch Snow White's intricate, graceful movements of fingers, arms, and head all in one shot, it is not the technical brilliance of Disney's artists that leaps out at you, but the very spirit of her engaging, girl-woman character. When the wicked queen's poisoned apple turns from killer green to rose red, the effect of knowing something so beautiful can be so terrible is absolutely elemental, so pure it forces one to surrender to the horror of it. Based on the Grimm fairy tale, Snow White is probably the best family film ever to deal, in mythic terms, with the psychological foundation for growing up. It's a crowning achievement and should not be missed. --Tom Keogh

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Edition) (2002)

2009-08-12T19:37:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Edition) (2002)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint Director: Chris Columbus

First sequels are the true test of an enduring movie franchise, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets passes with flying colors. Expanding upon the lavish sets, special effects, and grand adventure of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry involves a darker, more malevolent tale (parents with younger children beware), beginning with the petrified bodies of several Hogwarts students and magical clues leading Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) to a 50-year-old mystery in the monster-laden Chamber of Secrets. House elves, squealing mandrakes, giant spiders, and venomous serpents populate this loyal adaptation (by Sorcerer's Stone director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves), and Kenneth Branagh delightfully tops the supreme supporting cast as the vainglorious charlatan Gilderoy Lockhart (be sure to view past the credits for a visual punchline at Lockhart's expense). At 161 minutes, the film suffers from lack of depth and uneven pacing, and John Williams' score mostly reprises established themes. The young, fast-growing cast offers ample compensation, however, as does the late Richard Harris in his final screen appearance as Professor Albus Dumbledore. Brimming with cleverness, wonderment, and big-budget splendor, Chamber honors the legacy of J.K. Rowling's novels. --Jeff Shannon

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Pale Rider [Blu-ray] (1985)

2009-08-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

Pale Rider [Blu-ray] (1985)
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Richard Dysart Director: Clint Eastwood

After a nine-year break from the genre that made him an international star (the Western just before this one was The Outlaw Josey Wales, from 1976), Clint Eastwood returned in this gritty Western, crafted in the tradition of Shane and High Noon. Eastwood directed and stars as the nameless stranger known only as "Preacher," because he rides into a beleaguered mining town wearing a clerical collar. He's either an agent of death or an angel of mercy, and the echoes of Shane ring loud and clear when he comes to the aid of independent miners who are being terrorized by a local tycoon (Richard Dysart) and his ruthless band of hired guns. Befriended by a miner (Michael Moriarty) and idolized by the miner's wife and daughter (played by Carrie Snodgress and Sydney Penny, respectively), the "Pale Rider" sparks the defiant spirit of the underdog miners and takes after the bad guys with single-minded purpose. --Jeff Shannon

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X-Men, Volume Four (Marvel Collection)

2009-08-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

X-Men, Volume Four (Marvel Collection)
Starring: Iona Morris, Lenore Zann

The action reaches all new heights in Volume 4 of the landmark X-Men animated series. With adventures adapted directly from the original marvel comic books, this colletion is a rich piece of the X-Men legacy and a must have for every X-Man fan.

X-Men must join forces with the heroes of the future whan Apocalypse, a mighty mutant, is driven completely mad by his powers. Discuver the stunning conclusion to the 4-part epic Beyond Good and Evil in this sensational 14-episode set.

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Excalibur (1981)

2009-08-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

Excalibur (1981)
Starring: Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren Director: John Boorman

Director John Boorman's passionate adaptation of Sir Thomas Malory's LE MORTE D'ARTHUR stars Nigel Terry as the faithful King Arthur. Necromancer Merlin (Nicol Williamson) offers the magic sword Excalibur to the warlike Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne) in exchange for a promise that he'll make peace with his enemy, the duke of Cornwall (Corin Redgrave). He agrees but breaks his word after catching sight of Cornwall's wife, Igraine (Katrine Boorman). With the magician's help he makes love to the woman in the guise of her husband. She bears a child, Arthur, who is taken by Merlin as payment for his assistance and left in the care of Ector (Clive Swift). Years pass, and the boy, now a humble squire, pulls Excalibur from the stone in which Uther had sunk it--a task no other could accomplish. With Merlin's counsel, he marries the stunning Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi), finds a champion in Sir Lancelot (Nicholas Clay), subdues the skirmishing knights, and builds the Round Table to unite them. Yet his half-sister, Morgana (Helen Mirren), lurks in the shadows, preparing to poison her brother's reign. Perhaps the best film made in this genre, EXCALIBUR benefits from an extraordinary cast, including appearances by Byrne, Patrick Stewart, and Liam Neeson early in their celluloid careers. Counterpointing ethereally filtered sex scenes against scenes of graphic blood-and-guts swordplay, Boorman's sumptuous production galvanizes the familiar mythology, as he charts the transition from an age of magic to one of reason.

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NCIS Naval Criminal Investigative Service - The Fifth Season

2009-08-08T05:24:00.000-07:00

NCIS Naval Criminal Investigative Service - The Fifth Season
Series: NCIS

Describing season four of NCIS as "the season of secrets," executive producer Shane Brennan suggests that season five (offered here with 18 episodes, including a two-part finale, on five discs) is "the season of answers." For the most part, that’s true--but at season’s end, loyal viewers are likely to be thrown for a loop by the death of a major character and a startling set of changes bound to have a profound effect on the show’s future. Picking up where the previous year left off, this new batch jumps right in with a continuation of Special Agent Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and company’s pursuit of notorious international arms dealer La Grenouille ("The Frog," played by Armand Assante), whom NCIS director Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly) is particularly keen on taking down--a quest that’s complicated by the fact that the bad guy is a CIA asset, and by Agent Anthony DiNozzo’s (Michael Weatherly) love affair with La Grenouille’s daughter. That storyline, barely touched on thereafter, is resolved in the 14th episode, "Internal Affairs." Meanwhile, the NCIS crew is distracted by an array of other cases, most of them involving murder. Of particular interest are several episodes related to Iraq and the War on Terror: a Naval officer of Syrian descent who’s suspected of being an Al Qaeda mole is murdered seconds after Gibbs talks him out of jumping off a building ledge; a Marine who’s having a violent bout of post-traumatic stress after returning from the Mideast turns out to be far worse off than that; Medical Examiner Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum) refuses to conduct an autopsy because of the deceased’s Muslim beliefs.

There’s no doubt that NCIS is slick, entertaining prime-time television in every respect: writing, acting, production values, music, and so on. Still, one’s appreciation of the show largely depends on the characters’ likeability, and that’s very much a matter of taste. Gibbs may be a chick magnet, with four former wives and a past relationship with Shepard to prove it, but he’s also a taciturn fellow with horrible social skills. DiNozzo’s funny and insouciant, but his smugness and incessant razzing of computer nerd Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) soon becomes tiresome, while Shepard is steely and simply unlikeable (the most appealing characters are arguably McCallum’s Mallard and Pauley Perrette’s mouthy Abby Sciuto, the goth-like forensic expert). Bonus material includes cast and crew commentary on various episodes and a typical assortment of featurettes. --Sam Graham

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North by Northwest (50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Book) [Blu-ray] (1959)

2009-08-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

North by Northwest (50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Book) [Blu-ray] (1959)
Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint Director: Alfred Hitchcock

A strong candidate for the most sheerly entertaining and enjoyable movie ever made by a Hollywood studio (with Citizen Kane, Only Angels Have Wings and Trouble in Paradise running neck and neck). Positioned between the much heavier and more profoundly disturbing Vertigo (1958) and the stark horror of Psycho (1960), North by Northwest (1959) is Alfred Hitchcock at his most effervescent in a romantic comedy-thriller that also features one of the definitive Cary Grant performances. Which is not to say that this is just "Hitchcock Lite"; seminal Hitchcock critic Robin Wood (in his book Hitchcock's Films Revisited) makes an airtight case for this glossy MGM production as one of The Master's "unbroken series of masterpieces from Vertigo to Marnie." It's a classic Hitchcock Wrong Man scenario: Grant is Roger O. Thornhill (initials ROT), an advertising executive who is mistaken by enemy spies for a U.S. undercover agent named George Kaplan. Convinced these sinister fellows (James Mason as the boss, and Martin Landau as his henchman) are trying to kill him, Roger flees and meets a sexy Stranger on a Train (Eva Marie Saint), with whom he engages in one of the longest, most convolutedly choreographed kisses in screen history. And, of course, there are the famous set pieces: the stabbing at the United Nations, the crop-duster plane attack in the cornfield (where a pedestrian has no place to hide), and the cliffhanger finale atop the stone faces of Mount Rushmore. Plus a sparkling Ernest Lehman script and that pulse-quickening Bernard Herrmann score. What more could a moviegoer possibly desire? --Jim Emerson

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Dragonball: Evolution (2009)

2009-08-06T03:11:00.000-07:00

Dragonball: Evolution (2009)
Starring: Justin Chatwin, James Marsters Director: James Wong

Co-produced by Hong Kong legend Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle), Dragonball Evolution is an agreeable if low-wattage live action adaptation of the iconic manga and anime series Dragon Ball. Director James Wong fuses the series’ fantasy-based characters and devices with a somewhat lackluster storyline involving average teen Goku (Justin Chatwin), who breaks from his wholesale pining for classmate Chi-Chi (Jamie Chung) to that he’s at the center of an intergalactic search for the all-powerful Dragonballs by evil warlord Piccolo (Buffy’s James Marsters). With the help of master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat, who backburners his stoic screen image in favor of some God of Gamblers/Once a Thief-level hamminess), Goku develops his fighting skills to take on Piccolo and save the Earth. The film’s abundance of martial arts should please younger and less discerning viewers, but its hackneyed dialogue and sluggish pace (especially in the fight scenes, which stutter where they should flow) may disappoint longtime fans of the book and television adaptations. The CGI effects, which labor mightily to reproduce the source material’s eye-popping look, also fall short, though the cast is game, especially Marsters and Chow. -- Paul Gaita

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Charlie's Angels - The Complete First Season (1976)

2009-08-06T03:10:00.000-07:00

Charlie's Angels - The Complete First Season (1976)
Starring: Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett Director: Allen Baron, Bernard McEveety

America's guiltiest pleasure of 1976--the inaugural season of Charlie's Angels--has returned in all its jiggly, jolly glory in this tidy boxed set. It's hard to describe just how captivated the nation's media and viewing public were with cheesemeister Aaron Spelling's ABC-TV hit, but for awhile Charlie's Angels was wildly popular appointment television at its most self-consciously banal. The first season's three (and best-remembered) belles--lioness Farrah Fawcett (then Farrah Fawcett-Majors), pin-up babe Jaclyn Smith, and Thinking Man's beauty Kate Jackson--were something like primetime Spice Girls, gracing countless magazine covers and bestselling posters. The idea (even if a fan of the show didn't happen to be a straight male) was that one was compelled to choose a favorite angel as a kind of ink-blot window onto one's subconscious life.

While the 2000 Angels feature film (starring Cameron Diaz, etc.) kept faith with the original show's self-mockingly sloppy storytelling, there's nothing like seeing the old episodes for a lesson in narrative hubris. Basically, the three leading characters were bored policewomen wooed away to a private firm owned and operated by the unseen sybarite, Charlie (voiced--over speakerphone--by an uncredited John Forsythe). After a long set-up each week, the girls' investigations typically saw them going undercover: as fashion models--no great stretch--in "Night of the Strangler"; nurses in "Terror on Ward One"; roller-derby stars in "Angels on Wheels"; and vulnerable convicts (of course) in "Angels In Chains." The exploitation factor is not as bad as it might have been. The cast was so glamorous, their chemistry so perfect, Charlie's Angels never became a mere meat market. Despite such nods to modernity as Fawcett's no-bra look, the episodes were old-fashioned in their heroine-in-peril appeal, yet there was a difference: The Angels looked out for themselves and each other. --Tom Keogh

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Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Special Edition) (1971)

2009-08-04T03:17:00.000-07:00

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Special Edition) (1971)
Starring: Gene Wilder, Michael Bollner Director: Mel Stuart, J.M. Kenny

Having proven itself as a favorite film of children around the world, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is every bit as entertaining now as it was when originally released in 1971. There's a timeless appeal to Roald Dahl's classic children's novel, which was playfully preserved in this charming musical, from the colorful carnival-like splendor of its production design to the infectious melody of the "Oompah-Loompah" songs that punctuate the story. Who can forget those diminutive Oompah-Loompah workers who recite rhyming parental warnings ("Oompah-Loompah, doopity do...") whenever some mischievous child has disobeyed Willy Wonka's orders to remain orderly? Oh, but we're getting ahead of ourselves ... it's really the story of the impoverished Charlie Bucket, who, along with four other kids and their parental guests, wins a coveted golden ticket to enter the fantastic realm of Wonka's mysterious confectionery. After the other kids have proven themselves to be irresponsible brats, it's Charlie who impresses Wonka and wins a reward beyond his wildest dreams. But before that, the tour of Wonka's factory provides a dazzling parade of delights, and with Gene Wilder giving a brilliant performance as the eccentric candyman, Wonka gains an edge of menace and madness that nicely counterbalances the movie's sentimental sweetness. It's that willingness to risk a darker tone--to show that even a wonderland like Wonka's can be a weird and dangerous place if you're a bad kid--that makes this an enduring family classic. --Jeff Shannon

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Big Trouble in Little China [Blu-ray] (1986)

2009-08-04T03:16:00.000-07:00

Big Trouble in Little China [Blu-ray] (1986)
Starring: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall Director: John Carpenter

# Actors: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong
# Directors: John Carpenter
# Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
# Language: English
# Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
# Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
# Number of discs: 1

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