Batman Gotham Knight (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Yasuhiro Aoki
from Warner Home Video
Acclaimed screenwriters including David Goyer (Batman Begins) Josh Olson (A History of Violence) and Alan Burnett (Batman The Animated Series) join forces with revered animation filmmakers on six spellbinding chapters chronicling Batman?s transition from novice crimefighter to Dark Knight. These globe-spanning adventures pit Batman against the fearsome Scarecrow the freakish Killer Croc and the unerring marksman Deadshot. Using an arsenal of high-tech gadgetry from Wayne Industries Batman?s ethical boundaries exist only where he chooses to place them leaving some fearful of his power. The sharp storytelling complemented by stylish art from some of the world?s most visionary animators masterfully depicts the blurred lines of Batman as man myth and legend.Running Time: 75 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 883929011155 Manufacturer No: 1000037297
The X-Files - The Complete First Season (Slim Set)
from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Two FBI agents investigate cases that seem to have paranormal connections.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 31-JAN-2006
Media Type: DVD
In the first season of The X-Files, creator Chris Carter was uncertain of the series' future, so each of the episodes is a self-contained suspense story; they do not delve deep into the ongoing X-Files mythology or turn to self-parody and humor as do episodes in later seasons. Yet, these episodes display the elements for which the show would become famous: the cinematic production values and top-notch special effects, the stark lighting of the Vancouver sets, the atmospheric halo of Mark Snow's score, and the clever plots dealing with subjects ranging from the occult, religion, and monsters to urban legends, conspiracy theories, and science fiction. Most importantly, season 1 introduces FBI agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox "Spooky" Mulder (David Duchovny), two of the most attractive government officials around. Scully is the serious-minded medical scientist assigned to join Mulder on the X-Files, a division of the FBI dealing with the paranormal. Mulder is the intuitive thinker with a dry wit, a passionate believer in the existence of paranormal phenomena and one of the few characters on television smart enough to figure out who the bad guy is before the audience does. Their muddled relationship, a deep friendship laced with sexual tension, provides the human heart in a world where the bizarre and horrible lurk in everyday society.
Those unfamiliar with The X-Files often view all the fuss with the same skepticism with which Scully first regards her new partner's ideas. But just as she comes to realize the uncanny accuracy of Mulder's outlandish theories, newcomers to The X-Files who sample a few episodes in this boxed set will likely find themselves riveted to their television late into the night. And undoubtedly, the shadows and creaking noises in the house that evening will seem more menacing than usual. --Eugene Wei
The X-Files - The Complete Fourth Season (Slim Set)
by Robert Mandel
from 20th Century Fox
Now you can own the entire fourth season of THE X-FILES?. ALL 24 classic episodes are availale for the first time in this exclusive 7-disc collector's edition. From "Herrenvolk," "Home," "Tunguska," and "Terma" to "Memento Mori," "Max," "Small Potatoes," and "Gethsemane," these Season Four episodes are a must for every X-Files fan.
Finding Nemo (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Stanton, Andrew
from Walt Disney Video
From the Academy Award(R)-winning creators of TOY STORY and MONSTERS INC. (2001 Best Animated Short Film FOR THE BIRDS) it's FINDING NEMO a hilarious adventure where you'll meet colorful characters that take you into the breathtaking underwater world of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Nemo an adventurous young clownfish is unexpectedly taken to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to Marlin (Albert Brooks) his worrisome father and Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) a friendly but forgetful regal blue tang fish to make the epic journey to bring Nemo home. Their adventure brings them face-to-face with vegetarian sharks surfer dude turtles hypnotic jellyfish hungry seagulls and more. Marlin discovers a bravery he never knew but will he be able to find his son? FINDING NEMO's breakthrough computer animation takes you into a whole new world with this undersea adventure about family courage and challenges. Take the plunge into FINDING NEMO a "spectacularly beautiful animated adventure for everyone" -- David Sheehan CBS-TVSystem Requirements:Voices: Albert Brooks; Ellen DeGeneres; Alexander Gould; Willem Dafoe; Brad Garrett; Allison Janney; Austin Pendleton; Stephen Root; Vicki Lewis; Joe Ranft; Geoffrey Rush; Andrew Stanton; Elizabeth Perkins; Nicholas Bird; Bob Peterson; Barry Humphries; and Eric Bana. Directed By: Andrew Stanton. Running Time: 100 Min. Color. Copyright 2003 Buena Vista Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: G UPC: 786936215595 Manufacturer No: 03007800
A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventure Finding Nemo. When his son Nemo is captured by a scuba-diver, a nervous-nellie clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast--and astonishingly detailed--ocean to find him. Along the way he hooks up with a scatterbrained blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who's both helpful and a hindrance, sometimes at the same time. Faced with sharks, deep-sea anglers, fields of poisonous jellyfish, sea turtles, pelicans, and much more, Marlin rises above his neuroses in this wonderfully funny and nonstop thrill ride--rarely does more than 10 minutes pass without a sequence destined to become a theme park attraction. Pixar continues its run of impeccable artistic and economic success (their movies include Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc). Also featuring the voices of Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, and Allison Janney. --Bret Fetzer
The X-Files - The Complete Fifth Season (Slim Set)
from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
The midpoint of what would be a nine-season show, the fifth season of The X-Files (the first to be put on DVD in anamorphic widescreen format) gives fans a heavy heaping of what they love. For the mythology buffs, riveting episodes from the season bookends "Redux" and "The End" to several episodes in between tease with new revelations about the vast government conspiracies and alien invasion plot lines sketched in earlier seasons. But enough questions are left unanswered for the theatrical X-Files movie, which was released the subsequent summer, and the seasons that followed. Supporting characters like the Lone Gunmen, Agent Krycek, the Pusher Robert Modell, and Fox's father and sister Bill and Samantha Mulder are flushed out in more detail in several episodes that occasionally jump back in time to cover the prehistory of the X-files. New chess pieces are introduced, each raising new questions: the clairvoyant child Gibson Praise, Agent Spender, faceless alien resistance fighters with pyromaniacal tendencies, a child who may be Scully's, and Mulder's old flame, agent Diana Fowley (Mimi Rogers). All the time, no one knows who will be assassinated next, who is or isn't dead, just who isn't potentially a child of the Cigarette Smoking Man, and why the base of the neck is everyone's vulnerable spot. The creature feature stand-alone episodes vary in quality, but all are redeemed by the outrageously funny self-parody episode "Bad Blood," a fan favorite that guest stars Luke Wilson as a small-town sheriff who catches Scully's eye.
Finally, "shippers" (fans who would love nothing better than to see Mulder and Scully act upon their feelings for each other) get a heavy dose of the usual sexual innuendo and lingering, tender glances between the attractive costars. Mimi Rogers and Luke Wilson incite palpable jealousy between the leads; the appearance of a wedding band on Mulder's hand in a back story hints at stories not told; and the usual extreme and dimly lit crises illustrate just how far Mulder and Scully will go for each other. In the end, the complexities of their relationship may be the most tense and intriguing of all the mysteries explored by this epic television series. --Eugene Wei
Pride & Prejudice
by Joe Wright (IV)
from Universal Studios
Literary adaptations just don't get any better than director Joe Wright's 2005 version of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. The key word here is adaptation, because Wright and gifted screenwriter Deborah Moggach have taken liberties with Austen's classic novel that purists may find objectionable, but in this exquisite film their artistic decisions are entirely justified and exceptionally well executed. It's a more rural England that we see here, circa 1790 (as opposed to Austen's early 19th century), in which Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) is one of several sisters primed for marriage, with an anxious mother (Brenda Blethyn) only too desperate to see her daughters paired off with the finest, richest husbands available. Elizabeth is strong-willed and opinionated, but her head (not to mention her pride and prejudice) lead her heart astray when she meets the wealthy Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), whose own sense of decency and discretion (not to mention his pride and prejudice) prevent him from expressing his mutual affection. They're clearly meant for each other, and as Knightley's performance lights up the screen (still young enough to be girlishly impertinent, yet wise beyond her 20 years), Austen's timeless romance yields yet another timeless adaptation, easily on par with the beloved BBC miniseries that has been embraced by millions since originally broadcast in 1995. Individual tastes will vary as to which version should be considered "definitive," but with a stellar supporting cast including Judi Dench and Donald Sutherland, this impeccable production achieves its own kind of perfection. --Jeff Shannon
One of the greatest love stories of all time, Pride & Prejudice, comes to the screen in a glorious new adaptation starring Keira Knightley. When Elizabeth Bennett (Knightley) meets the handsome Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), she believes he is the last man on earth she could ever marry. But as their lives become intertwined in an unexpected adventure, she finds herself captivated by the very person she swore to loathe for all eternity. Based on the beloved masterpiece by Jane Austen, it is the classic tale of love and misunderstanding that sparkles with romance, wit and emotional force. Critics are calling it "Exhilarating. A joy from start to finish" (Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times).
Californication - Season One
from PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Sophisticated and unique this comedy centers on novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny) who struggles to raise his 13-year-old daughter while still carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend. His obsession with truth-telling and self destructive behavior -- drinks drugs and relationships -- are both destroying and enriching to his career.System Requirements:Running Time: 340 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368920941 Manufacturer No: 892094
"You can't always get what you want." The Rolling Stones may have said it best, and it seems to be writer Hank Moody's theme song. David Duchovny (X Files) was born to play this sly, sarcastic, self-loathing, and--despite all the meaningless sex, booze, and fist fights--kind character. Writer Moody hates the Los Angeles world he lives in; a world that turned his sharp best-seller into a cheesy date movie, where his young daughter and should-have-been wife (Natascha McElhone) are slipping away into the hands of a rich play-it-safe guy, and where everything he truly wants seems just out of his reach. But the man hasn't lost all hope. "Happy endings may get a bad rap, but they do happen," he assures his daughter. "And when they do, they're just as true as the unhappy ones." One can't help but hope Hank finds his happy ending, because it's with his family that his soft side surfaces. Hank takes no shame in trying to woo back his "wife" Karen, even if it is in front of her new fiancé. He knows he's meant to be with her--plain and simple--and there's a glint in her eye that always makes you wonder if she's really thinking the same thing. And his daughter Becca? Well, any guy would melt against this guitar-wielding cutie (played by the adorable Madeleine Martin), but Hank really captures the "I'll kick a lot of ass for my daughter" mentality that so many dads harbor. He's also fully prepared to drop a gorgeous woman at a moment's notice to heed his daughter's call.
The rest of the cast, including Evan Handler (Sex and the City) and Pamela Adlon (Lucky Louie), provide some surprisingly interesting and hilarious side stories. Just when it seems situations in this show can't get any more ludicrous or disgusting, they most certainly do. That's the beauty of it. Californication is a dark, coarse, edgy adult comedy. It's also very real, and quite intelligent. --Jordan Thompson
American Psycho (Uncut Killer Collector's Edition)
by Mary Harron
from Lions Gate
The Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, a dark, violent satire of the "me" culture of Ronald Reagan's 1980s, is certainly one of the most controversial books of the '90s, and that notoriety fueled its bestseller status. This smart, savvy adaptation by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) may be able to ride the crest of the notoriety; prior to the film's release, Harron fought a ratings battle (ironically, for depictions of sex rather than violence), but at the time the director stated, "We're rescuing [the book] from its own bad reputation." Harron and co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner (Go Fish) overcome many of the objections of Ellis's novel by keeping the most extreme violence offscreen (sometimes just barely), suggesting the reign of terror of yuppie killer Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) with splashes of blood and personal souvenirs. Bale is razor sharp as the blank corporate drone, a preening tiger in designer suits whose speaking voice is part salesman, part self-help guru, and completely artificial. Carrying himself with the poised confidence of a male model, he spends his days in a numbing world of status-symbol one-upmanship and soul-sapping small talk, but breaks out at night with smirking explosions of homicide, accomplished with the fastidious care of a hopeless obsessive. The film's approach to this mayhem is simultaneously shocking and discreet; even Bateman's outrageous naked charge with a chainsaw is most notable for the impossibly polished and gleaming instrument of death. Harron's film is a hilarious, cheerfully insidious hall of mirrors all pointed inward, slowly cracking as the portrait becomes increasingly grotesque and insane. --Sean Axmaker
The Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, a dark, violent satire of the "me" culture of Ronald Reagan's 1980s, is certainly one of the most controversial books of the '90s, and that notoriety fueled its bestseller status. This smart, savvy adaptation by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) may be able to ride the crest of the notoriety; prior to the film's release, Harron fought a ratings battle (ironically, for depictions of sex rather than violence), but at the time the director stated, "We're rescuing [the book] from its own bad reputation." Harron and co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner (Go Fish) overcome many of the objections of Ellis's novel by keeping the most extreme violence offscreen (sometimes just barely), suggesting the reign of terror of yuppie killer Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) with splashes of blood and personal souvenirs. Bale is razor sharp as the blank corporate drone, a preening tiger in designer suits whose speaking voice is part salesman, part self-help guru, and completely artificial. Carrying himself with the poised confidence of a male model, he spends his days in a numbing world of status-symbol one-upmanship and soul-sapping small talk, but breaks out at night with smirking explosions of homicide, accomplished with the fastidious care of a hopeless obsessive. The film's approach to this mayhem is simultaneously shocking and discreet; even Bateman's outrageous naked charge with a chainsaw is most notable for the impossibly polished and gleaming instrument of death. Harron's film is a hilarious, cheerfully insidious hall of mirrors all pointed inward, slowly cracking as the portrait becomes increasingly grotesque and insane. --Sean Axmaker
Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is a Wall Street yuppie obsessed with success, status and style, with a stunning fiancé (Reese Witherspoon). He is also a psychotic killer who rapes, murders and dismembers both strangers and acquaintances without provocation or purpose. Based on the controversial novel by Bret Easton Ellis, the film offers a sharp satire to the dark side of yuppie culture in the `80s, while setting forth a vision that is both terrifying and chilling.
Cranford
by Simon Curtis
from BBC Warner
The BBC drama series adapted from Mary Gaskells classic novels of small town gossip secrets and romance. 1842. Cranford a market town in the North West of England is a place governed by etiquette custom and above all an intricate network of ladies. It seems that life has always been conducted according to their social rules but Cranford is on the cusp of change? For spinsters Deborah Jenkyns the arbiter of correctness in Cranford and Matty her demurring sister the town is a hub of intrigue - a handsome new doctor Frank Harrison from London has arrived; a retired Captain and his daughters have moved in to a house opposite and the preparations for Lady Ludlows garden party are underway. Everyone - from charming rogue Dr Marshland to mean Mrs Jamieson and her lap dog talks and is talked about behind closed doors. The town also has its secrets which it slowly reveals: Mattys encounter with an old flame at the garden party; Lady Ludlows gardener Mr Carter teaching a gypsy lad to read and write; the wild expectations of the May Day celebrations and - news that shakes the town when it is revealed - a railway line from Manchester is coming to Cranford.Running Time: 295 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/BBC UPC: 883929012404 Manufacturer No: 1000037442
Adapted from Elizabeth Gaskells' novels, the five-episode miniseries Cranford focuses on female characters in the 19th-century British town to thematically contemplate encroaching modernity in rural England. With the camera roving house to house, each drama within the grander story is constructed of scenes featuring dialogue between several gossipy ladies obsessed with moral code, romantic ideas about courtship, and social occasions. Three main characters, the ever-appropriate Deborah Jenkyns (Eileen Atkins), her sweet sister, Matilda (Judi Dench), and their younger, more savvy relative, Miss Smith, continuously weigh in on situations, providing a dependable view when other ladies, like the nosey Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton) are too judgmental. In fine period dress, the women of Cranford remind the viewer of how little action was needed in their small-town lives to provide unceasing entertainment. The series' most intriguing aspect lies not in the ample female conversation but rather in its display of earlier technologies and ways of life. Part One, for example, quickly launches a main narrative thread that runs throughout the series, namely the arrival and assimilation of London doctor, Frank Harrison (Simon Woods), into village society. Dr. Harrison's medical practices, such as his refusal to amputate a man's arm because it's broken, are all the more radical because they are so fundamental by today's standards. In subsequent episodes, he recommends Miss Smith get spectacles to cure her headaches, and saves his love's life by cooling her fever after conservative doctor, Dr. Morgan (John Bowe), recommends the old school practice of burying her in blankets in front of a raging fire. In Part Two, Lady Ludlow (Francesca Annis) throws a garden party at her estate, treating all the women in their fancy hats to a new novelty: ice cream. This scene foreshadows Ludlow's future concern at a railroad plan involving her land that would connect Cranford to Manchester, symbolizing the ruin of this idyllic setting.
In fact, fluffy and clever as some scenes are, death and rebirth assert themselves in each showing, both physically and idealistically. Part Four shows an auctioning off of a deceased man's antiques, and focuses on issues of class and women's education, as Mr. Carter teaches a peasant boy to read while his assistant fumes at her trappings as a seamstress. Part Five ushers in a new period of medical emergencies, securing Dr. Harrison's shaky position in town. In total, Cranford offers a powerful, if sentimental, look at how death begets life, love, and passion. Trinie Dalton
Toy Story (10th Anniversary Edition)
by John Lasseter
from Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Woody, the cowboy, & Buzz, a space ranger, are rival toys until they must work together to escape the toy-torturing boy next door.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: DISNEY
Title: TOY STORY
Street Release Date: 05/22/2007
Genre: COMEDY VIDEO
There is greatness in film that can be discussed, dissected, and talked about late into the night. Then there is genius that is right in front of our faces--we smile at the spell it puts us into and are refreshed, and nary a word needs to be spoken. This kind of entertainment is what they used to call "movie
