National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets (Widescreen)
by Jon Turtletaub
from Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
Join Nicolas Cage on a heart-pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history imbued with myth and mystery Disney's NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns -- all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing centuries of secrets. But there's only one way to find it -- Ben Gates must kidnap the President. Packed with fast-paced action and crackling humor NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS is a movie your entire family will want to rediscover again and again.System Requirements:Running Time: 124 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: PG UPC: 786936735390 Manufacturer No: 05439300
Less engrossing than its 2004 predecessor National Treasure, Jon Turteltaub's busy sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets is nevertheless a colorful and witty adventure, another race against overwhelming odds for the answer to a historical riddle. Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage), the treasure hunter who feverishly sought, in the first film, the whereabouts of a war chest hidden by America's forefathers, is now charged with protecting family honor. When a rival (Ed Harris) offers alleged proof that Gates' ancestor, Thomas Gates, was not a Civil War-era hero but a participant in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Ben and his father (Jon Voight) and crew (Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger) hopscotch through Paris, London, Washington DC, and South Dakota to gather evidence refuting the claim. The film is most fun when the hunt, as in National Treasure, squeezes Ben into such impossible situations as examining twin desks in the queen's chambers in Buckingham Palace and the White House's Oval Office, or kidnapping an American president (Bruce Greenwood) for a few minutes of frank talk. Helen Mirren, the previous year's Oscar winner for Best Actress, wisely joins the cast of a likely hit film as Ben's archaeologist mother, long-estranged from Voight's character but as feisty as the rest of the family. Returning director Turteltaub takes excellent advantage of his colorful backdrops in European capitals and the always-eerie Mount Rushmore, and oversees some wildly imaginative sets for this dramedy's feverish third act in an audacious and completely unexpected, legendary setting. If National Treasure: Book of Secrets doesn't feel quite as crisp and unique as its predecessor, it is still ingenious and wry enough to laugh a bit at itself. --Tom Keogh
Stills from National Treasure: Book of Secrets (click for larger image)
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Jumper (Single-Disc Edition)
from Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
David is a Jumper who can teleport himself anywhere in the world which creates a fun and exciting life. But things turn deadly when David finds himself pursued by a secret organization sworn to kill Jumpers. Forming an uneasy alliance with another Jumper he becomes a player in a war that has been raging for thousands of years.System Requirements:Running Time: 88 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/FUTURISTIC Rating: PG-13 UPC: 024543519652 Manufacturer No: 2251965
As preposterous action movies go, Jumper is pleasantly unpretentious and breezily entertaining. A young man named David (Hayden Christensen) discovers he has the power to teleport (or "jump") anywhere he can visualize. After using this power to steal and make a comfortable life for himself, he pursues the girl he longed for in school (Rachel Bilson, The O. C.). But as he does so, another jumper (Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot) and a pack of fanatical jumper-hunters called paladins (led by a white-haired Samuel L. Jackson) crashes into David's freewheeling life. Jumper wastes no time trying to explain how jumping works or delving into the hows and whys of the paladins; this is an alluring fantasy of power directed at a pell-mell pace by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Go). There's a brief moment when it feels like the movie will bog down in romance and vague gestures towards character development--happily, that's the moment when Bell appears and the whole movie shifts into overdrive. You might wish that Bell and Christensen had swapped roles; Bell has a far more engaging personality, and Christensen's bland good looks might better suit a more aggressive character. Nonetheless, Jumper has oodles of dynamism and nifty visual effects to propel its comic-book storyline forward. A variety of recognizable actors in bit parts (such as Diane Lane and Kristen Stewart, Panic Room) suggest that the filmmakers are laying the groundwork for sequels. Based on a critically-acclaimed science-fiction novel by Steven Gould. --Bret Fetzer
Beyond Jumper
 More from Steven Gould |  The Jumper Soundtrack |  More from Fox |
Stills from Jumper
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The Adventures of Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark/ Temple of Doom/ Last Crusade) - Widescreen Edition
from Paramount Home Video
Indiana Jones, an archaeologist and adventurer, battles Nazis and travels the globe searching for rare and mystical artifacts.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 2-MAY-2006
Media Type: DVD
As with Star Wars, the George Lucas-produced Indiana Jones trilogy was not just a plaything for kids but an act of nostalgic affection toward a lost phenomenon: the cliffhanging movie serials of the past. Episodic in structure and with fate hanging in the balance about every 10 minutes, the Jones features tapped into Lucas's extremely profitable Star Wars formula of modernizing the look and feel of an old, but popular, story model. Steven Spielberg directed all three films, which are set in the late 1930s and early '40s: the comic book-like Raiders of the Lost Ark, the spooky, Gunga Din-inspired Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the cautious but entertaining Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Fans and critics disagree over the order of preference, some even finding the middle movie nearly repugnant in its violence. (Pro-Temple of Doom people, on the other hand, believe that film to be the most disarmingly creative and emotionally effective of the trio.) One thing's for sure: Harrison Ford's swaggering, two-fisted, self-effacing performance worked like a charm, and the art of cracking bullwhips was probably never quite the iconic activity it soon became after Raiders. Supporting players and costars were very much a part of the series, too--Karen Allen, Sean Connery (as Indy's dad), Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Denholm Elliot, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies among them. Years have passed since the last film (another is supposedly in the works), but emerging film buffs can have the same fun their predecessors did picking out numerous references to Hollywood classics and B-movies of the past. --Tom Keogh
National Treasure (Widescreen Edition)
by Jon Turteltaub
from Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Coming from a long line of treasure hunters, Benjamin Franklin Gates is given clues by his ancestors leading to a valuable and mysterious treasure hidden during America's revolution and sought after by both his enemies and the FBI.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Release Date: 22-AUG-2006
Media Type: DVD
Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, National Treasure offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man's rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, it's entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor's infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage's present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add "caper comedy" to this Jerry Bruckheimer production's multi-genre appeal. Nobody will ever accuse director Jon Turtletaub of artistic ambition, but you've got to admit he serves up an enjoyable dose of PG-rated entertainment, full of musty clues, skeletons, deep tunnels, and harmless adventure in the old-school tradition. It's a load of hokum, but it's fun hokum, and that makes all the difference. --Jeff Shannon
Be Kind Rewind
by Michel Gondry
from New Line Cinema
Music-video-director-turned-auteur Michel Gondry continues to charm with his low-tech offering BE KIND REWIND. Set in dreary Passaic New Jersey the comedy centers on two of the town's residents: trouble-making Jerry (Jack Black) and well-meaning Mike (Mos Def). Mike works in a video store in an age where the VHS is long dead but the store's owner Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) doesn't seem to be in any hurry to change. When Mr. Fletcher leaves town for a trip he entrusts his store to Mike with one piece of advice: don't let Jerry in the store. But after some mischief Jerry returns to the store in a strange state. Not only is he weirder than usual but he's also magnetized which causes the entire store's stock to be erased. In order to keep the struggling business afloat Mike and Jerry begin remaking the films in the store one by one. Their hilariously low-budget versions of films such as GHOSTBUSTERS and RUSH HOUR 2 soon begin to draw attention and business to the store but that creates a whole new set of problems for the pair. Though Gondry's three previous fiction films--HUMAN NATURE ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP--were all essentially love stories BE KIND REWIND captures another kind of romance. Both the writer-director and his characters are in love with the cinematic medium itself and their devotion shows. BE KIND REWIND doesn't reach the heights of ETERNAL SUNSHINE but it doesn't seem to be aiming for that genius. This is simply a hilarious comedy fun for film fans of all stripes which celebrates the sheer joy of watching and making films.System Requirements:Running Time: 101 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/BUDDY FILMS Rating: PG-13 UPC: 794043121470 Manufacturer No: 1000038873
A daffy, adorable, and very funny celebration of DIY spirit, Be Kind Rewind stars Mos Def (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) as Mike, a clerk at a failing video store in a rundown New Jersey neighborhood. When his friend Jerry (Jack Black), who's been magnetized in a power station accident, wipes all of the videotapes blank, the two of them decide to recreate the movies themselves rather than face the store's owner (Danny Glover). The pure charm of Be Kind Rewind can't be captured in that spare plot synopsis. The blend of the movie's great cast (which also includes Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz of American Son, and Sigourney Weaver) and pitch-perfect writing and direction from writer-director Michel Gondry (director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, writer-director of The Science of Sleep) culminates in a truly delightful movie--sweet without being saccharine, richly comic without irony or sarcasm (which, given the presence of Black, is surprising), sentimental without losing sight of the hard edges of life. Mos Def turns in a standout performance, deeply sympathetic without a moment of grandstanding. An absolutely winning film. --Bret Fetzer
National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Jon Turteltaub
from Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
Join Nicolas Cage on a heart-pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history imbued with myth and mystery Disney's NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns -- all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing centuries of secrets. But there's only one way to find it -- Ben Gates must kidnap the President. Packed with fast-paced action and crackling humor NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS is a movie your entire family will want to rediscover again and again.System Requirements:Running Time: 125 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: PG UPC: 786936763331 Manufacturer No: 05724900
Less engrossing than its 2004 predecessor National Treasure, Jon Turteltaub's busy sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets is nevertheless a colorful and witty adventure, another race against overwhelming odds for the answer to a historical riddle. Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage), the treasure hunter who feverishly sought, in the first film, the whereabouts of a war chest hidden by America's forefathers, is now charged with protecting family honor. When a rival (Ed Harris) offers alleged proof that Gates' ancestor, Thomas Gates, was not a Civil War-era hero but a participant in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Ben and his father (Jon Voight) and crew (Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger) hopscotch through Paris, London, Washington DC, and South Dakota to gather evidence refuting the claim. The film is most fun when the hunt, as in National Treasure, squeezes Ben into such impossible situations as examining twin desks in the queen's chambers in Buckingham Palace and the White House's Oval Office, or kidnapping an American president (Bruce Greenwood) for a few minutes of frank talk. Helen Mirren, the previous year's Oscar winner for Best Actress, wisely joins the cast of a likely hit film as Ben's archaeologist mother, long-estranged from Voight's character but as feisty as the rest of the family. Returning director Turteltaub takes excellent advantage of his colorful backdrops in European capitals and the always-eerie Mount Rushmore, and oversees some wildly imaginative sets for this dramedy's feverish third act in an audacious and completely unexpected, legendary setting. If National Treasure: Book of Secrets doesn't feel quite as crisp and unique as its predecessor, it is still ingenious and wry enough to laugh a bit at itself. --Tom Keogh
Stills from National Treasure: Book of Secrets (click for larger image)
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Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)
from 20th Century Fox
Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his young apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi aid the Queen of Naboo in an attempt to thwart the invasion of her home planet; meanwhile, they come across Anakin Skywalker, a young boy with strong Jedi powers.
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: PG
Release Date: 22-MAR-2005
Media Type: DVD
"I have a bad feeling about this," says the young Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace as he steps off a spaceship and into the most anticipated cinematic event... well, ever. He might as well be speaking for the legions of fans of the original episodes in the Star Wars saga who can't help but secretly ask themselves: Sure, this is Star Wars, but is it my Star Wars? The original elevated moviegoers' expectations so high that it would have been impossible for any subsequent film to meet them. And as with all the Star Wars movies, The Phantom Menace features inexplicable plot twists, a fistful of loose threads, and some cheek-chewing dialogue. Han Solo's swagger is sorely missed, as is the pervading menace of heavy-breather Darth Vader. There is still way too much quasi-mystical mumbo jumbo, and some of what was fresh about Star Wars 22 years earlier feels formulaic. Yet there's much to admire. The special effects are stupendous; three worlds are populated with a mélange of creatures, flora, and horizons rendered in absolute detail. The action and battle scenes are breathtaking in their complexity. And one particular sequence of the film--the adrenaline-infused pod race through the Tatooine desert--makes the chariot race in Ben-Hur look like a Sunday stroll through the park.
Among the host of new characters, there are a few familiar walk-ons. We witness the first meeting between R2-D2 and C-3PO, Jabba the Hutt looks younger and slimmer (but not young and slim), and Yoda is as crabby as ever. Natalie Portman's stately Queen Amidala sports hairdos that make Princess Leia look dowdy and wields a mean laser. We never bond with Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), and Obi-Wan's day is yet to come. Jar Jar Binks, a cross between a Muppet, a frog, and a hippie, provides many of the movie's lighter moments, while Sith Lord Darth Maul is a formidable force. Baby-faced Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) looks too young and innocent to command the powers of the Force or wield a lightsaber (much less transmute into the future Darth Vader), but his boyish exuberance wins over skeptics.
Near the end of the movie, Palpatine, the new leader of the Republic, may be speaking for fans eagerly awaiting Episode II when he pats young Anakin on the head and says, "We will watch your career with great interest." Indeed! --Tod Nelson
Star Wars - Episode III, Revenge of the Sith (Widescreen Edition)
by George Lucas
from 20th Century Fox
The Star Wars saga is now complete on DVD with Episode III REVENGE OF THE SITH. Torn between loyalty to his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi and the seductive powers of the Sith Anakin Skywalker ultimately turns his back on the Jedi thus completing his journey to the dark side and his transformation into Darth Vader. Experience the breathtaking scope of the final chapter in spectacular clarity and relive all the epic battles including the final climactic lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan.System Requirements:Starring: Ewan McGregor Natalie Portman Hayden Christensen Ian McDiarmid Samuel L. Jackson Christopher Lee Directed By: George Lucas Running Time: 140 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 024543203094 Manufacturer No: 2230309
Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
 The Star Wars Family Tree (click for larger image) |
But then it all changes.
 Star Wars Time Line (click for larger image) |
After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies, Episode III finally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you've been living under a rock the last 10 years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn't matter. In fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they'll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because Episode III is a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.
Episode III is easily the best of the new trilogy--OK, so that's not saying much, but it might even jockey for third place among the six Star Wars films. It's also the first one to be rated PG-13 for the intense battles and darker plot. It was probably impossible to live up to the decades' worth of pent-up hype George Lucas faced for the Star Wars prequel trilogy (and he tried to lower it with the first two movies), but Episode III makes us once again glad to be "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." --David Horiuchi
The Complete Star Wars Saga
 Episodes 4-6 Trilogy (widescreen) |  Episode I: The Phantom Menace |  Episde II: Attack of the Clones |
 Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 1 |  Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 2 |  The Star Wars Store |
Stills from Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (click for larger images)
 Anakin turning to the dark side |  When Wookiees attack |
 Yoda, Jedi master |  Mr. and Mrs. Vader |
 Saber training with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen |  The cast |
Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)
by George Lucas
from 20th Century Fox
When political seperatists attempt to assasinate Senator Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi tries to find out why while Anakin acts as protector to Amidala and begins a forbidden affair with her.
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: PG
Release Date: 22-MAR-2005
Media Type: DVD
If The Phantom Menace was the setup, then Attack of the Clones is the plot-progressing payoff, and devoted Star Wars fans are sure to be enthralled. Ten years after Episode I, Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), now a senator, resists the creation of a Republic Army to combat an evil separatist movement. The brooding Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is resentful of his stern Jedi mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), tormented by personal loss, and showing his emerging "dark side" while protecting his new love, Amidala, from would-be assassins. Youthful romance and solemn portent foreshadow the events of the original Star Wars as Count Dooku (a.k.a. Darth Tyranus, played by Christopher Lee) forges an alliance with the Dark Lord of the Sith, while lavish set pieces showcase George Lucas's supreme command of all-digital filmmaking. All of this makes Episode II a technological milestone, savaged by some critics as a bloated, storyless spectacle, but still qualifying as a fan-approved precursor to the pivotal events of Episode III. --Jeff Shannon
Rambo (Widescreen Edition)
by Sylvester Stallone
from Lionsgate
The next chapter finds Rambo recruited by missionaries to protect them during a humanitarian aid effort on behalf of the persecuted Karen people of Burma. After the missionaries are taken prisoner by Burmese soldiers Rambo gets a second impossible job: rescue the missionaries in the midst of a civil war.System Requirements:Running Time: 93 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/HEROES Rating: R UPC: 031398232957 Manufacturer No: 23295
If you've been wondering what ever happened to ex-Green Beret superwarrior John Rambo since he singlehandedly shot up a Pacific Northwest town (First Blood, 1982), returned to the jungles of 'Nam to free U.S. POWs held long after war's end (Rambo: First Blood Part II, 1985), and interrupted the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan long enough to blow lots of stuff up and rescue his old commandant from the Reds (Rambo III, 1988), then Rambo (2008) is for you. Without so much as a IV to dilute the brand name, Rambo--which is what most of us called the second, most iconic film in the series--may aspire to open a new era for a pop legend. But it's a thoroughly mechanical attempt to reanimate a franchise that, absent the anger, frustration, and self-loathing of the post-Vietnam years, has no meaning or purpose. For some time now Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has been putt-putting along the Thai-Burmese border in a longboat, catching exotic snakes to sell. As for the 60-year civil war in Burma between the brutal government and the Karen independence movement, he ignores it. Enter a party of American missionaries whose dewy blond spokeswoman (Dexter's Julie Benz) asks Rambo to haul them upriver so that they can bring medical aid to the insurgents. After the requisite number of monosyllabic refusals, he does. Soon afterward the do-gooders are in a world of hurt, and he's summoned to lead a squad of mercenaries on a rescue mission.
As storytelling, the latest Rambo is the most bare-bones of the bunch. Rambo has little to say, so it's especially galling that Stallone, as director and co-writer, obliges him to have essentially the same conversation at three different points (the final distillation: "Live for nothing or die for something"). The Burmese army goons seem in competition to commit the most hideous atrocity (e.g., child skull-crushing underfoot), the better to justify the eventual, lovingly protracted spectacle of them being eviscerated by high-powered weaponry. Although shot in Thailand, the movie has mostly been photographed in brown, reducing any particular sense of place but, perhaps, perversely increasing our gratitude for the splashes of purple whenever hot metal tatters flesh. --Richard T. Jameson
Beyond Rambo
 Complete list of Rambo movies on DVD and Blu-ray |  Soundtrack |  Rambo: The Complete Collector's Set |
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