Fantasy

Smallville - The Complete Seventh Season

Supernatural - The Complete Third Season

Hellboy (Two-Disc Special Edition)

From visionary writer/director Guillermo del Toro (director of Blade II The Devil's Backbone) comes Hellboy a supernatural action adventure based on Mike Mignola's popular Dark Horse Comics series of the same name. Born in the flames of hell and brought to Earth as an infant to perpetrate evil Hellboy (Ron Perlman) was rescued from sinister forces by the benevolent Dr. Broom (John Hurt) who raised him to be a hero. In Dr. Broom's secret Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense Hellboy creates an unlikely family consisting of the telepathic "Mer-Man" Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) the woman he loves who can control fire. Hidden from the very society that they protect they stand as the key line of defense against an evil madman who seeks to reclaim Hellboy to the dark side and use his powers to destroy mankind.System Requirements:Running Time: 121 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396013179 Manufacturer No: 01317

In the ongoing deluge of comic-book adaptations, Hellboy ranks well above average. Having turned down an offer to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in favor of bringing Hellboy's origin story to the big screen, the gifted Mexican director Guillermo del Toro compensates for the excesses of Blade II with a moodily effective, consistently entertaining action-packed fantasy, beginning in 1944 when the mad monk Rasputin--in cahoots with occult-buff Hitler and his Nazi thugs--opens a transdimensional portal through which a baby demon emerges, capable of destroying the world with his powers. Instead, the aptly named Hellboy is raised by the benevolent Prof. Bloom, founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, whose allied forces enlist the adult Hellboy (Ron Perlman, perfectly cast) to battle evil at every turn. While nursing a melancholy love for the comely firestarter Liz (Selma Blair), Hellboy files his demonic horns ("to fit in," says Bloom) and wreaks havoc on the bad guys. The action is occasionally routine (the movie suffers when compared to the similar X-Men blockbusters), but del Toro and Perlman have honored Mike Mignola's original Dark Horse comics with a lavish and loyal interpretation, retaining the amusing and sympathetic quirks of character that made the comic-book Hellboy a pop-culture original. He's red as a lobster, puffs stogies like Groucho Marx, and fights the good fight with a kind but troubled heart. What's not to like? --Jeff Shannon

Batman Begins (Widescreen Edition)

In an effort to deal with the death of his parents years before, a young Bruce Wayne travels the world in search of answers and comes back to Gotham City with the skills necessary to fight the injustices around him.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 14-FEB-2006
Media Type: DVD

Batman Begins discards the previous four films in the series and recasts the Caped Crusader as a fearsome avenging angel. That's good news, because the series, which had gotten off to a rousing start under Tim Burton, had gradually dissolved into self-parody by 1997's Batman & Robin. As the title implies, Batman Begins tells the story anew, when Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) flees Western civilization following the murder of his parents. He is taken in by a mysterious instructor named Ducard (Liam Neeson in another mentor role) and urged to become a ninja in the League of Shadows, but he instead returns to his native Gotham City resolved to end the mob rule that is strangling it. But are there forces even more sinister at hand?

Cowritten by the team of David S. Goyer (a veteran comic book writer) and director Christopher Nolan (Memento), Batman Begins is a welcome return to the grim and gritty version of the Dark Knight, owing a great debt to the graphic novels that preceded it. It doesn't have the razzle dazzle, or the mass appeal, of Spider-Man 2 (though the Batmobile is cool), and retelling the origin means it starts slowly, like most "first" superhero movies. But it's certainly the best Bat-film since Burton's original, and one of the best superhero movies of its time. Bale cuts a good figure as Batman, intense and dangerous but with some of the lightheartedness Michael Keaton brought to the character. Michael Caine provides much of the film's humor as the family butler, Alfred, and as the love interest, Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek) is surprisingly believable in her first adult role. Also featuring Gary Oldman as the young police officer Jim Gordon, Morgan Freeman as a Q-like gadgets expert, and Cillian Murphy as the vile Jonathan Crane. --David Horiuchi

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Stills from Batman Begins (click for larger images)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Widescreen Edition)

Lord Voldemort has returned but few want to believe it. In fact the Ministry of Magic is doing everything it can to keep the wizarding world from knowing the truth - including appointing Ministry official Dolores Umbridge as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. When Professor Umbridge refuses to train her students in practical defensive magic a select group of students decides to learn on their own. With Harry Potter as their leader these students (who call themselves "Dumbledore's Army") meet secretly in a hidden room at Hogwarts to hone their wizarding skills in preparation for battle with the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. . New adventure - more dangerous more thrilling than ever - is yours in this enthralling film version of the fifth novel in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. A terrifying showdown between good and evil awaits. Prepare for battle!Running Time: 138 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY UPC: 012569593268 Manufacturer No: 1000014849

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

Smallville - The Complete Sixth Season

They tried to be friends. But their chosen paths set them on a collision course. The Clark Kent-Lex Luthor rivalry explodes into the fierce good- versus-evil battle fans have long expected in Season 6 of the spectacular series that reinterprets the characters and events of Superman mythology from its roots. Adding to the rivalry: Lana Lang becomes Mrs. Luthor. Clark/Superman would be stunned to find out why she says yes. But that?s not all that?s stunning. Green Arrow forms a Super Hero league. Will Clark join? Phantom Zone escapees menace Earth. Can Clark stop them? LuthorCorp expands its dark experiments. Will an awesome kryptonite-powered army be the result? The answers ? and thrills ? are here!Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 085391125860 Manufacturer No: 112586

Picking up where its fifth season left off, Smallville's sixth season begins with Metropolis in ruins, Clark (Tom Welling) trapped in the Phantom Zone, and General Zod inhabiting the body of Lex (Michael Rosenbaum). Even when that situation, dubbed "Black Thursday," is over, Clark still has to capture the criminals who escaped from the Phantom Zone. Meanwhile, having driven away Lana (Kristin Kreuk), she finds comfort in the home and arms of Lex, driving further anxiety into that romantic triangle that has expanded to include Chloe (Allison Mack, still with a smile that lights up the orb on top of the Daily Planet) and her new beau, photographer Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore). And Lois (Erica Durance)? We see hints of her inevitable future in her becoming a reporter for the tabloid rag The Inquisitor ("The thrill of discovery, the clack of the keys, the scent of fresh ink… I think I've finally found my calling!") and flashing some sparks with Clark especially in a Valentine's Day episode called "Crimson."

She also finds a new boyfriend in Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley), a tycoon who moves from Star City to Metropolis and revives a boarding-school rivalry with Lex. But Queen is also a superhero, the Green Arrow, and he's out to thwart Lex's project called 33.1, which runs tests on meteor-powered humans. And in an awesome episode called "Justice," the Green Arrow gathers his team--Bart Allen (Kyle Gallner), a.k.a. Impulse (a change after he was first called the Flash); Arthur "AC" Curry (Alan Ritchson), a.k.a. Aquaman; and Victor Stone (Lee Thompson Young), a.k.a. Cyborg (who had all appeared in the series before)--with Clark to shut down Lex. Yet another hero from the comic books--an interplanetary detective (Phil Morris)--helps Clark fight rogue Kryptonians. It all ends in a slam-bang finale with a number of surprises. Even though the Lana drama went on too long, Green Arrow and some choice episodes stuff made this one of Smallville's best seasons. Guest stars include Tori Spelling as a nosy gossip reporter and Lynda "Wonder Woman" Carter as Chloe's mom. --David Horiuchi

The Golden Compass (New Line Platinum Series Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)

In a parallel universe where witches rule the skies and armoured bears are the bravest warriors young Lyra Belacqua journeys from her home among the scholars at Oxford to the far North to save her best friend. Based on the first book in the Carnegie Medal-winning series His Dark Materials.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY UPC: 794043120435 Manufacturer No: 1000038167

A fantasy epic with more than a passing resemblance to the Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia film franchises, The Golden Compass takes place in an alternate universe where each human's soul is embodied in a companion animal called a daemon. Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), an orphan who's lived most of her life among the scholars at Oxford, is intrigued when her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), announces his plans to travel north to investigate the source of some mysterious particles called Dust. Lyra has little hope of following her uncle until a mysterious woman named Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman, at her most icily beautiful) asks Lyra to travel north as her personal assistant. All is not as it seems, however, and the disappearance of Lyra's friend Roger (Ben Walker) sets her on a dizzying adventure. She does have an alethiometer, or golden compass, that can help her see the truth, and a number of companions, including her shape-shifting daemon, Pantalaimion (voiced by Freddie Highmore of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), polar-bear warrior Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen), Texas aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), and witch queen Serafina Pekkala (Craig's Casino Royale co-star, Eva Green). Even before its release, The Golden Compass was the subject of controversy over its perceived anti-religious themes. While it does involve an oppressive institution called the Magisterium, it's not overtly religious, particularly to a young viewer. The movie's PG-13 rating should be taken seriously, however. Suitable for an older audience than Narnia (though younger than The Lord of the Rings), it deals with complex concepts, violence (though largely bloodless) and implied death, children and animals in peril, and an unrelentingly ominous and unsettling mood.

Despite a few changes and rearrangements, the overall plot of the movie is remarkably faithful to its source material, the first installment of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It doesn't finish the book, however, and--much like The Fellowship of the Ring did--leaves the viewer hanging in anticipation of the next film, The Subtle Knife, due in 2009. So even though The Golden Compass is impressive--especially with its spot-on cast and terrific visual effects--we probably won't know its full emotional impact until the story is complete. --David Horiuchi

Spider-Man 3 (Widescreen Edition)

New York City is in the throes of Spider-mania and Peter Parker finally has the girl of his dreams. But just when it seems like things can t get any better Spider-Man must fight the most terrifying trio of villains he s ever encountered the deadly Sandman the New Goblin and Venom plus the enemy he discovers within himself.System Requirements:Running Time: 139 minutes Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396159280 Manufacturer No: 15928

How does Spider-Man 3 follow on the heels of its predecessor, which was widely considered the best superhero movie ever? For starters, you pick up the loose threads from that movie, then add some key elements of the Spidey comic-book mythos (including fan-favorite villain Venom), the black costume, and the characters of Gwen Stacy and her police-captain father. In the beginning, things have never looked better for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire): He's doing well in school; his alter ego, Spider-Man, is loved and respected around New York City. And his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), has just taken a starring role in a Broadway musical. But nothing good can last for Spidey. Mary Jane's career quickly goes downhill; she's bothered by Peter's attractive new classmate, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard); and the new Daily Bugle photographer, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), is trying to steal his thunder. Enter a new villain, the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), who can transform his body into various forms and shapes of sand and who may be connected to Peter's past in an unexpected way. There's also the son of an old villain, Harry Osborne (James Franco), who unmasked Spidey in the previous movie and still has revenge on his mind. And a new black costume seems to boost Spidey's powers, but transforms mild-mannered Peter into a mean and obnoxious boor (Maguire has some fun here).

If that sounds like a lot to pack into one 140-minute movie, it is. While director Sam Raimi keeps things flowing, assisted on the screenplay by his brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent, there's a little too much going on, and it's inevitable that one of the villains (there are three or four, depending on how you count) gets significantly short-changed. Still, the cast is excellent, the effects are fantastic, and the action is fast and furious. Even if Spider-Man 3 isn't the match of Spider-Man 2, it's a worthy addition to the megamillion-dollar franchise. --David Horiuchi

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Stills from Spider-Man 3 (click for larger image)

Stardust (Widescreen Edition)

Escape into the enchanted world of chivalry and romance in Stardust an epic tale starring Claire Danes with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro. In hopes of wooing a beautiful girl (Sienna Miller) Tristan (Charlie Cox) promises to bring her a falling star. But he s in for the adventure of his life when he discovers the star is actually a celestial beauty named Yvaine (Danes) When an old witch Lamia (Pfeiffer) attempts to steal Yvaine s youth Tristan must protect her at all costs in this magical family adventure that will make you fall in love over and over again.DVD Features: Other: Good Omens: The Making of Stardust Additional Scenes: Deleted Scenes: Additional Scenes: 1.Candlight Small Talk Additional Scenes: 2. Lift the Stone Additional Scenes: 3. Carriage Game Additional Scenes: 4. Goat Man Additional Scenes: 5. The Next Ruler of Stormhold Bloopers: Blooper Reel Trailers: Theatrical TrailerSystem Requirements:Running Time: 127 MinsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 097363475644 Manufacturer No: 347564

Stardust settles over the viewer like a twinkly cloak. The film, which captures the magic and vision of author Neil Gaiman's fantasy graphic fable, is a transportive journey into a world of true enchantment, which fans of the Harry Potter books will enjoy as well as will adults looking for the perfect date movie. The tale is a not-so-simple love story and adventure, set in 19th century England--and an alternate universe of witches, spells and stars that turn human--and hold the key to eternal life.

Young Tristan (played with wide-eyed vigor by Charlie Cox) vows to retrieve a fallen star for the most beautiful girl in the village, the shallow Victoria (Sienna Miller), and in his quest, finds his true love--in a true "meet-cute" moment (by Babylon-candle-speeding into the just-crashed human incarnation of the star, Claire Danes). Much of the film involves the duo's journey back home--though home for Tristan is his village, and home for the celestial Yvaine is, of course, in the heavens. There are villains, notably Michelle Pfeiffer as the vain witch who seeks the fountain of youth a fallen star can give, and the seven venal sons of the dying king of the mythical realm, backstabbing, grasping, and hilarious--even in death as a ghostly Greek chorus.

While the sparks of love between Tristan and Yvaine are resonant and touching, Stardust truly succeeds as a brilliant fantasy yarn--and as a comedy with more than its share of belly laughs. Much of the humor belongs to Robert De Niro, who plays a notoriously wicked air pirate, who is secretly a bit light in his swashbucklers. Ricky Gervais has a small but memorable role essentially channeling his character from Extras, including his catchphrase, "Are you having a laugh?!" The special effects are all that any fan of Gaiman would wish for. Catch a bit of Stardust and you'll feel enchanted for a good long while. --A.T. Hurley

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Third Season (Slim Set)

No Description Available.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 30-MAY-2006
Media Type: DVD

The third season of Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer was marked by the arrival in Sunnydale of renegade slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), a moody loner who seemed to like her demon-staking calling just a little too much. While Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was always wary of Faith, the two developed a deep friendship and appreciative rapport--that is, until the evil mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener) tapped into Faith's dark side and lured her into his plot to take over the world, first as a double agent spying on Buffy, then as out-and-out nemesis. And as the mayor's ascension approached--which happened to fall on Sunnydale High's graduation day--Buffy and Faith's battles got nastier and nastier, as Buffy attempted to wrestle with her dark side (literally and figuratively), save the world and her friends, and keep her lover Angel (David Boreanaz) out of Faith's evil clutches.

Chock-full of exceptional episodes, this third season started out with a bang (the superb season opener "Anne," in which a runaway Buffy finally returns to her Slayer calling) and never let up. Among other highlights, the season introduced former vengeance demon and soon-to-be regular Anya (Emma Caulfield), fleshed out Angel's tortured character (and readied him for his own series), and featured a hilarious doppelganger Willow (Alyson Hannigan), a vampire from a parallel universe, who in Willow's own words was "evil and... skanky... and kinda gay!" (Total foreshadowing there, folks.) The season's pièce de résistance, though, was the two-parter "Graduation Day," wherein Faith tries to kill Angel, and the students of Sunnydale High prepare to do battle with a mutated mayor and his army of demons. Aside from the series' exceptional writing and acting, this compelling year of Buffy was anchored by the consistently excellent Gellar, as well as Dushku's complicated Faith, a girl you truly love to hate. By the time you finish these episodes, Faith will have cast a spell on you that you'll find very hard to shake. --Mark Englehart