John Adams (HBO Miniseries)
from HBO
John Adams is a sprawling HBO miniseries event that depicts the extraordinary life and times of one of Americas least understood and most underestimated founding fathers: the second President of the United States John Adams. Starring Paul Giamatti (Sideways Cinderella Man HBOs American Spendor) in the title role and Laura Linney (You Can Count on Me Kinsey) as Adams devoted wife Abigail John Adams chronicles the extraordinary life journey of one of the primary shapers of our independence and government whose legacy has often been eclipsed by more flamboyant contemporaries like George Washington Thomas Jefferson Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin. Set against the backdrop of a nations stormy birth this sweeping miniseries is a moving love story a gripping narrative and a fascinating study of human nature. Above all at a time when the nation is increasingly polarized politically this story celebrates the shared values of liberty and freedom upon which this country was built.Running Time: 501 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 883929020065 Manufacturer No: 1000038820
Based on David McCullough's bestselling biography, the HBO miniseries John Adams is the furthest thing from a starry-eyed look at America's founding fathers and the brutal path to independence. Adams (Paul Giamatti), second president of the United States, is portrayed as a skilled orator and principled attorney whose preference for justice over anti-English passions earns enemies. But he also gains the esteem of the first national government of the United States, i.e., the Continental Congress, which seeks non-firebrands capable of making a reasoned if powerful case for America's break from England's monarchy. The first thing one notices about John Adams' dramatizations of congress' proceedings, and the fervent pro-independence violence in the streets of Boston and elsewhere, is that America's roots don't look pretty or idealized here. Some horrendous things happen in the name of protest, driving Adams to push the cause of independence in a legitimate effort to get on with a revolutionary war under the command of George Washington. But the process isn't easy: not every one of the 13 colonies-turned-states is ready to incur the wrath of England, and behind-the-scenes negotiations prove as much a part of 18th century congressional sessions as they do today.
Besides this peek into a less-romanticized version of the past, John Adams is also a story of the man himself. Adams' frustration at being forgotten or overlooked at critical junctures of America's early development--sent abroad for years instead of helping to draft the U.S. constitution--is detailed. So is his dismay that the truth of what actually transpired leading to the signing of the Declaration of Independence has been slowly forgotten and replaced by a rosier myth. But above all, John Adams is the story of two key ties: Adams' 54-year marriage to Abigail Adams (Laura Linney), every bit her husband's intellectual equal and anchor, and his difficult, almost symbiotic relationship with Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane) over decades. Giamatti, of course, has to carry much of the drama, and if he doesn't always seem quite believable in the series' first half, he becomes increasingly excellent at the point where an aging Adams becomes bitter over his place in history. Linney is marvelous, as is Dillane, Sarah Polley as daughter Nabby, Danny Huston as cousin Samuel Adams, and above all Tom Wilkinson as a complex but indispensable Ben Franklin. --Tom Keogh
The Bucket List
by Rob Reiner
from Warner Home Video
"You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you," says the quietly wise Carter Chambers, played with gravitas and grace by a Morgan Freeman. In Rob Reiner's moving, often hilarious film The Bucket List, all sorts of people measure themselves against the two heroes, Chambers and his hospital suitemate, Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson). But as Cole finds, having spent his entire life building a Fortune 500 company, none of that much matters when cancer, the great equalizer, pays a visit. The film traces the adventures of the two unlikely friends, who meet in a hospital cancer ward, each given six months to live. The "bucket list" of the title refers to a lifelong list of goals that a teacher of Chambers once advised him to compile--and achieve--"before you kick the bucket." Soon the two are off on what may be the last grand adventure of their life, vowing to tick off as many goals (skydiving, race-car driving, seeing the wonders of the world) as they can in the time they have left. What starts as a medical melodrama becomes a road trip, yet the men's mortality realities are never far from thought. The two leads give impressive performances, and remind the viewer of just how few American films focus on the lives and loves of senior citizens. Nicholson even manages to lose his persona in his character, much as he did in About Schmidt. There's a lovely John Mayer tune, "Say (What You Need to Say)," that's perfectly matched to the film's clear-eyed view of life: What does one person leave behind as his true legacy? --A.T. Hurley
Monk - Season Six
from Universal Studios
Get even more obsessed with TV's funniest and quirkiest detective series, Monk, as every episode from the smash-hit sixth season comes to DVD on 4 discs! Tony Shalhoub reprises his 3-time Primetime Emmy® Award and Golden Globe-winning role as the brilliant but phobia-laden detective Adrian Monk, who never lets his obsessive-compulsive disorder stop him from solving a crime in the most ingenious way imaginable! Dropping the clues this season are a roster of red-hot guest stars including Alfred Molina, David Koechner, Sarah Silverman, Snoop Dogg, Angela Kinsey and Vincent Ventresca. Take a tip from an insider: you'll be "committed" to the best detective series now on TV!
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
 |  |  |
 |  | 
|
Beauty and the Beast
by Gary Trousdale
from Walt Disney Video
The film that officially signaled Disney's animation renaissance (following The Little Mermaid) and the only animated feature to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination, Beauty and the Beast remains the yardstick by which all other animated films should be measured. It relates the story of Belle, a bookworm with a dotty inventor for a father; when he inadvertently offends the Beast (a prince whose heart is too hard to love anyone besides himself), Belle boldly takes her father's place, imprisoned in the Beast's gloomy mansion. Naturally, Belle teaches the Beast to love. What makes this such a dazzler, besides the amazingly accomplished animation and the winning coterie of supporting characters (the Beast's mansion is overrun by quipping, dancing household items) is the array of beautiful and hilarious songs by composer Alan Menken and the late, lamented lyricist Howard Ashman. (The title song won the 1991 Best Song Oscar, and Menken's score scored a trophy as well.) The downright funniest song is "Gaston," a lout's paean to himself (including the immortal line, "I use antlers in all of my de-co-ra-ting"). "Be Our Guest" is transformed into an inspired Busby Berkeley homage. Since Ashman's passing, animated musicals haven't quite reached the same exhilarating level of wit, sophistication, and pure joy. --David Kronke --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
College Road Trip
by Roger Kumble
from Walt Disney Video
Choosing a college and striking out on one's own is an exciting time that requires a big adjustment by both child and parent, but few parents will have as much difficulty relinquishing control over their daughter's life as Chicago police chief James Porter (Martin Lawrence). The ultimate in loving but overprotective fathers, James wants his daughter Melanie (Raven-Symoné) to attend nearby Northwestern College, so when she's waitlisted and called for an interview at Georgetown in Washington, D.C., James gets more than a little nervous. Squashing her plans for a road trip to D.C. with her girlfriends, James insists on a father-daughter expedition which he envisions being full of reminiscing, heart-to-heart conversations, and a healthy dose of persuasive promotion of Northwestern. The car trip definitely doesn't turn out as planned--instead it's a trip rife with strained silences and festering conflict in which the police vehicle rolls down a wooded embankment, Melanie's little brother (Eshaya Draper) and pet pig stow away in the back of the truck, and the Porters inexplicably keep running into a syrupy sweet father (Donny Osmond) and college-bound-daughter (Molly Ephraim) whose close relationship, clean-cut enthusiasm, and willingness to befriend and help the Porters is downright unsettling. Absurdly funny scenes include the family pig crashing and demolishing a fancy outdoor wedding; James' party-loving mother (Arnetia Walker) scrambling to live up to her son's uptight image of her as a fragile, elderly woman; James breaking into a local sorority house and hiding under a bed in hopes of protecting Melanie's innocence, and James' and Melanie's unexpected skydive into Washington, D.C., in order to keep Melanie's interview appointment at Georgetown. In the end, James and Melanie both mature as a result of their road trip and are finally able to forge an emotionally healthy relationship with one another. (Ages 8 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
The Lion King (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
by Roger Allers
from Walt Disney Video
Not an ideal choice for younger kids, this hip and violent animated feature from Disney was nevertheless a huge smash in theaters and on video, and it continues to enjoy life in an acclaimed Broadway production. The story finds a lion cub, son of a king, sent into exile after his father is sabotaged by a rivalrous uncle. The little hero finds his way into the "circle of life" with some new friends and eventually comes back to reclaim his proper place. Characters are very strong, vocal performances by the likes of Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, and Whoopi Goldberg are terrific, the jokes are aimed as much (if not more) at adults than kids, the animation is sometimes breathtaking, and the music is more palatable than in many Disney features. But be cautious: this is too intense for the Rugrat crowd. --Tom Keogh
How good-looking is the DVD restoration of Disney's popular animated film? Take a look at the serviceable but dull film clips incorporated in the plethora of extras and compare them to the vivid gorgeousness of the film presentation. This "special edition" also adds a 90-second song ("Morning Report") that originated in the lavish stage musical. To Disney's credit, the original theatrical version is also included, both restored and featuring two 5.1 soundtracks: Dolby Digital and a new Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix, which does sound brighter. As with the Disney Platinum line, everything is thrown into the discs, except an outsider's voice (the rah-rahs of Disney grow tiresome at times). The excellent commentary from the directors and producer, originally on the laser disc, is hidden under the audio set-up menu.
The second disc is organized by 20-minute-ish "journeys" tackling the elements of story, music, et cetera, including good background on the awkward Shakespearean origins at Disney where it was referred as "Bamlet." The most interesting journey follows the landmark stage production, and the kids should be transfixed by shots of the real African wildlife in the animal journey. Three deleted segments are real curios, including an opening lyric for "Hakuna Matata." Most set-top DVD games are usually pretty thin (DVD-ROM is where it's at), but the Safari game is an exception--the kids should love the roaring animals (in 5.1 Surround, no less). One serious demerit goes to the needless and complicated second navigation system that is listed by continent, but just shows the same features reordered. --Doug Thomas
Disney's THE LION KING SPECIAL EDITION features an all-new song, "Morning Report," and never-before-seen animation, giving you even more of this award-winning masterpiece -- the greatest animated adventure of all time. An unforgettable story, breathtaking animation, beloved characters, and Academy Award(R)-winning music (Best Original Score, 1994; Best Song, "Can You Feel The Love Tonight") set the stage for the adventures of Simba, the feisty lion cub who "just can't wait to be king." But his envious Uncle Scar has plans for his own ascent to the throne, and he forces Simba's exile from the kingdom. Alone and adrift, Simba soon joins the escapades of a hilarious meerkat named Timon and his warmhearted warthog pal, Pumbaa. Adopting their carefree lifestyle of "Hakuna Matata," Simba ignores his real responsibilities until he realizes his destiny and returns to the Pride Lands to claim his place in the "Circle of Life." Now extensively restored and remastered -- experience THE LION KING like never before, from its magnificent musical opening over breathtaking African vistas to its emotional climax. The all-star vocal talents -- including Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, and Ernie Sabella -- rip-roaring comedy, and uplifting messages of courage, loyalty, and hope make this timeless tale entertainment for all ages.
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