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The Office - Season One

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Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 16-AUG-2005
Media Type: DVD

The British sitcom The Office has the most devoted following this side of Monty Python, so an American remake seemed doomed. Amazingly, the remake actually finds its own enjoyable version of the original's uncanny comedy of embarrassment. Office manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell, The Daily Show, The 40 Year-Old Virgin) believes he's the beloved leader of the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of a paper products company--but his relentless and painfully forced efforts at comedy creep out everyone around him, including paranoid Dwight (Rainn Wilson, who had a memorable recurring role on Six Feet Under), nervous receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer, LolliLove), and aimless salesman Jim (John Krasinski, A New Wave), who's smitten with the already engaged Pam. The pilot episode suffers from closely replicating the British pilot, but after that The Office finds its own footing, turning diversity training, an office birthday party, and a basketball game into excruciating yet hypnotically funny rituals of humiliation. Carell, though clearly talented, can't match Ricky Gervais' unique performance as the aggressively needy British manager (it's hard to imagine that anyone could); as a result, the supporting roles become more prominent, and Wilson, Fischer, and Krasinski quickly create a rapport that matches and may even exceed that of their British counterparts. Be sure to watch the deleted scenes; remarkably, they're as good as the material that made it on the air in this six-episode season. --Bret Fetzer

The Office - Season Two

It s time to clock in for Season Two of The Office the hilarious and witty TV-mockumentary starring Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) in his Golden Globe Award-winning role. From sexual politics to performance reviews to email espionage the employees at Dunder-Mifflin are there to get the job done or not. Join earnest but clueless boss Michael Scott (Carell) Assistant to the Regional Manager Dwight (Rainn Wilson) receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer) sales rep Jim (John Krasinski) and the office temp Ryan (B.J. Novak) as they make the daily grind a lot more laughable. Fully staffed with 22 outrageous episodes and hours of side-splitting bonus features it s the must-own collection that caused Time magazine to declare "Never has a lousy job been so much fun!"System Requirements:Running Time: 127 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025193037824 Manufacturer No: 30378

Thank goodness for second seasons. While the first season of The Office started dubiously with a pilot that was just a poor copy of the original British version, it did manage to provide enough good material to stay on the air and hint that better was yet to come. And here it is. The second season of The Office finds its own footing and manages to do the near-impossible by not only breaking free of the gravity of that excellent BBC version to stand solidly on its own, but establishing it as one of the best comedies on TV. Season 2 starts out strong with "The Dundies," where Regional Manager, Michael Scott (Steve Carell, The 40 Year Old Virgin) hosts the company's annual office-awards event with his signature less-than-perfect grace. Things seem to only get worse for him this season as he bumbles a potential affair with his boss, Jan (Melora Harding), angers his employees by reading their emails ("Email Surveillance"), cooks his foot ("The Injury"), and accidentally destroys the warehouse with a forklift in "Boys and Girls," one of the season's highlight episodes. Always at his side is the clueless paranoid Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), the Assistant Regional Manager ("Assistant to the Regional Manager," Michael always reminds him in one of the show's running jokes).

One of the reasons for the show's improvement in the second season is increased focus on Dwight's character, who's becoming something of a pop-culture icon right down to having his own bobblehead. He in turn provides so much good material for Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinsky) to play off of, to their own amusement. But of course, Pam and Jim's simmering relationship is the real meat of the show, as their compatibility becomes more obvious, Jim's feelings for her continue to grow, and Pam struggles with the impending marriage to her less-than-caring boyfriend, Roy (David Denman). Things have to come to a head, and they do nicely in the final episode, "Casino Night." As strong as the leading characters are in The Office, it's the excellent peripheral characters that really make the show hilarious, especially dimwitted office-slug Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), long-suffering intern Ryan (B.J. Novak), office-ditz Kelly (Mindy Kaling), and ultra-conservative Angela (Angela Kinsey). As with season 1, this season contains excellent bonus features to give you an excuse to spend more time at The Office, including the fake PSAs, commentaries, Michael's The Faces of Scranton movie, the ten stand-alone webisodes, and deleted scenes. --Daniel Vancini

Out of Africa

Sydney Pollack's 1985 multiple-Oscar winner is a sumptuous and emotionally satisfying film about the life of Danish writer Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep), better known as Isak Dinesen, who travels to Kenya to be with her German husband (Klaus Maria Brandauer) but falls for an English adventurer (Robert Redford). The film is slow in developing the relationship, but it is rich in beautiful images of Africa and in the romantic tone surrounding Blixen's gradual discovery of her life and voice. One downside: while we may all love Redford, he is as convincingly British as Kevin Costner is in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. --Tom Keogh

The most acclaimed motion picture of 1985 stars Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in one of the screen's great epic romances. Directed by Oscar winner Sydney Pollack, Out of Africa is the fascinating true story of Karen Blixen, a strong-willed woman who, with her philandering husband (Klaus Maria Brandauer), runs a coffee plantation in Kenya, circa 1914. To her astonishment, she soon discovers herself falling in love with the land, its people and a mysterious white hunter (Redford). The masterfully crafted, breathtakingly produced story of love and loss earned Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (based on material from another medium), Cinematography, Original Score, Art Direction (Set Decoration) and Sound.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Three convicts escape the chain gang to find a stolen treasure, but end up having a series of strange adventures.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 2-SEP-2003
Media Type: DVD

Only Joel and Ethan Coen, the fraternal director and producer team behind art-house hits such as The Big Lebowski and Fargo and masters of quirky and ultra-stylish genre subversion, would dare nick the plot line of Homer's Odyssey for a comic picaresque saga about three cons on the run in 1930s Mississippi. Our wandering hero in this case is one Ulysses Everett McGill, a slick-tongued wise guy with a thing about hair pomade (George Clooney, blithely sending up his own dapper image) who talks his chain-gang buddies (Coen-movie regular John Turturro and newcomer Tim Blake Nelson) into lighting out after some buried loot he claims to know of. En route they come up against a prophetic blind man on a railroad truck, a burly, one-eyed baddie (the ever-magnificent John Goodman), a trio of sexy singing ladies, a blues guitarist who's sold his soul to the devil, a brace of crooked politicos on the stump, a manic-depressive bank robber, and--well, you get the idea. Into this, their most relaxed film yet, the Coens have tossed a beguiling ragbag of inconsequential situations, a wealth of looping, left-field dialogue, and a whole stash of gags both verbal and visual. O Brother (the title's lifted from Preston Sturges's classic 1941 comedy Sullivan's Travels) is furthermore graced with glowing, burnished photography from Roger Deakins and a masterly soundtrack from T-Bone Burnett that pays loving homage to American '30s folk styles--blues, gospel, bluegrass, jazz, and more. And just to prove that the brothers haven't lost their knack for bad-taste humor, we get a Ku Klux Klan rally choreographed like a cross between a Nuremberg rally and a Busby Berkeley musical. --Philip Kemp

One Tree Hill - The Complete Third Season

Senior year. A time to grow up to forget to forgive to dream to learn to love all over again. People come together -- except Dan consumed by anger as he tracks down whoever started the fire that almost took his life. Tree Hill is rocked by powerful new events -- the good the bad and the catastrophic. The good: Haley fights to save her marriage Peyton comes to terms with her birth mother Brooke creates a hot clothing line and Keith comes home. The bad: Dan gets a rival for worst person in Tree Hill -- a conniving redhead named Rachel the new girl at school. The catastrophic: Tragedy strikes Tree Hill High and suddenly who wins the cheerleading tournament or basketball championship seems insignificantcompared to who lives. And who doesn't.Running Time: 968 min.System Requirements:Run Time: 937 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 012569762626 Manufacturer No: 76262

The third season of the WB's small town soap begins with the blaze that ended the second ("Like You like an Arsonist"). Dan (Paul Johannson) makes it out alive, but vows to seek vengeance on the perpetrator--even if that person happens to be estranged son Lucas (Chad Michael Murray). In the following episode ("From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea"), Dan's preferred offspring returns to Tree Hill. Will Nathan (James Lafferty) reconcile with wife Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti)? It's her deepest desire, but Nathan has his doubts. Further changes are afoot. Haley and Brooke (Sophia Bush), for instance, move in together...which wouldn't seem so strange if they were in college rather than high school. Brooke and Lucas also try a "non-exclusive" arrangement (her idea, not his). When sexy schemer Rachel (Danneel Harris) joins the cheerleading squad, Brooke starts to regret her decision. Meanwhile, the delightfully odious Dan runs for mayor. Just when he thinks he's got it locked, Lucas's mom, Karen (Moira Kelly), throws her hat in the ring. But those developments are minor compared to the school shooting in episode 16 ("With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept").

Guest stars include Nada Surf ("Return of the Future") and season two favorites Fall Out Boy ("An Attempt to Tip the Scales"), while recurring characters include Peyton's birth mother Ellie (Sheryl Lee, Twin Peaks), and smug singer/songwriter Chris (Tyler Hilton, Walk the Line), with whom Haley collaborates again. As in the previous year, the finale ("The Show Must Go On") is a cliffhanger. Fortunately for fans, One Tree Hill was picked up by the CW, so resolution awaits in season four. Special features include commentary, deleted scenes, and a featurette about the making of "With Tired Eyes." --Kathleen C. Fennessy

One Tree Hill - The Complete Fourth Season

One Tree Hill: The Complete Fourth Season finds the dramatic final year of high school for the series' major characters full of grudges, pregnancies, partner-switching, big mistakes, and dashed hopes. But there are also renewals of friendship and new possibilities in love and independence. The season is overshadowed by the murder of Keith Scott (Craig Sheffer), uncle to brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott, neither of whom realizes that the killer was their own father, Dan (Paul Johansson), Keith's brother. While Dan is haunted by his conscience over his misdeed, Nathan himself feels Keith's ghostly presence during a season-opening crisis in which he dives into a lake to rescue Rachel (Danneel Harris) and Cooper (Michael Trucco). Nathan, struggling to understand the meaning of his experience, puts a strain on his new marriage to Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) and becomes the target of Rachel's predatory sexual advances. Rachel's friend Brooke (Sophia Bush) breaks up with Lucas after the latter's close friend Peyton (Hilarie Burton) confesses she has feelings for him. (Brooke also turns her back on her old friendship with Peyton, making for several episodes of nasty, verbal volleys between the girls.) Lucas' sudden availability puts the possibility of romance with Peyton in play, but she's also busy dealing with the discovery of a brother she didn't know she had--a guy who isn't quite what he appears to be.

As if that's not enough, there are pregnancies and presumed pregnancies galore in season four: Haley and Nathan, for sure, plus Lucas' mom Karen (Moira Kelly), who is carrying Keith's child. Two other characters either believe or maintain they are pregnant. Meanwhile, Nathan's mom, Deb (Barbara Alyn Woods), develops a personality-altering drug addiction and carries around a loaded pistol; Lucas' pal Skills (Antwon Tanner) gets a shot at playing basketball for the Ravens; and Mouth (Lee Norris) gets drunk and complains that girls only want to be his friend. Everything heads, inexorably, toward graduation day, which finds several crises simultaneously overlapping with the joy of moving on. As with every One Tree Hill season, The Complete Season Four is easy to get hooked on, with a very good cast and audacious storylines.--Tom Keogh

Goodbye Tree Hill High. Graduation nears. And with its approach comes the realization that for students and parents alike life is changing forever. There are new loves to nurture old scores still to settle. The longtime triangle of Lucas Peyton and Brooke finally comes down to two. The memory of Keith - or is it his spirit? - inspires Lucas and Nathan and haunts Dan. Peyton is terrorized by a stalker. Two expectant mothers are about to raise Tree Hill's population stats. Lucas begins to wonder what really happened the terrifying day Keith died. And the Ravens - led by Coach Whitey Durham - have one last chance for hoops glory and the state championship. Live for now. Make way for what's to come. Hello future...Running Time: 880 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 085391161820 Manufacturer No: 1000025359

Overboard

A bored super-rich woman falls off her yacht and into the life of a carpenter with four children in need of attention.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 30-JUL-2002
Media Type: DVD

Real-life couple Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn star in this enjoyable 1987 comedy by Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman) about an imperious heiress (Hawn) who loses her memory after a boating accident and is identified as the wife of a handyman (Russell). Russell's character brings her "home" to his messy house and unruly kids, and the laughs follow as the aristocratic Hawn tries fitting in. Marshall delivers the comic goods, the leads are entertaining (Russell needs to do more comedy), and the supporting cast is made up of happily familiar faces, including Roddy McDowall, Edward Herrmann, and Marshall favorite Hector Elizondo in an unbilled bit. --Tom Keogh

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Story of a free-spirit and his adventures in a mental ward. Nicholson stars as the rebellious McMurphy who battles Nurse Ratched (Fletcher) and the institution.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 16-MAY-2006
Media Type: DVD

One of the key movies of the 1970s, when exciting, groundbreaking, personal films were still being made in Hollywood, Milos Forman's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest emphasized the humanistic story at the heart of Ken Kesey's more hallucinogenic novel. Jack Nicholson was born to play the part of Randle Patrick McMurphy, the rebellious inmate of a psychiatric hospital who fights back against the authorities' cold attitudes of institutional superiority, as personified by Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). It's the classic antiestablishment tale of one man asserting his individuality in the face of a repressive, conformist system--and it works on every level. Forman populates his film with memorably eccentric faces, and gets such freshly detailed and spontaneous work from his ensemble that the picture sometimes feels like a documentary. Unlike a lot of films pitched at the "youth culture" of the 1970s, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest really hasn't dated a bit, because the qualities of human nature that Forman captures--playfulness, courage, inspiration, pride, stubbornness--are universal and timeless. The film swept the Academy Awards for 1976, winning in all the major categories (picture, director, actor, actress, screenplay) for the first time since Frank Capra's It Happened One Night in 1931. --Jim Emerson

One Tree Hill - The Complete Second Season

One Tree Hill: The Complete Second Season finds life in an uproar for virtually every major and minor character in the WB series set in One Tree, North Carolina. Basketball sensation Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray), illegitimate son of One Tree Hill's resident J.R.-like figure, car dealer, and all-around monster Dan Scott (Paul Johansson), has left town with his Uncle Keith (Craig Sheffer) to start a new life. (Keith himself has split One Tree to nurse a broken heart after his marriage proposal to Lucas's mom, Karen, played by Moira Kelly, was rejected.) It's not long, however, before Lucas has second thoughts, prompted in part by Dan's recent heart attack and the mess he (Lucas) left behind with two girls, Peyton (Hilarie Burton) and Brooke (Sophia Bush). Meanwhile, Lucas's half-brother, Nathan (James Lafferty), has married the former's lifelong best friend, Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz), a union approved by the bride's parents but not by Nathan's mother, Deb (Barbara Alyn Woods). (It should be mentioned that Nathan and Haley, as with nearly every other young person on this show, are not yet high school seniors. They only look much older.)

All that's just the first couple of episodes of season 2. In the remaining 21, Dan temporarily fools everyone into believing he's a changed man following his cardiac crisis. In fact, he's worse than ever, trying to wreck Nathan and Haley's marriage, attempting to buy Lucas's loyalties, driving Deb into a drug-addicted stupor, pulling the rug out from beneath Keith (who took over Dan's dealership during the latter's illness), and waging a war, of sorts, with basketball coach Whitey (Barry Corbin) for influence over Nathan's destiny. While all this is going on, Haley leaves Nathan to join a music group, Peyton finds success running an all-ages night at a new club opened by Karen, Lucas finds evidence that Dan is cheating the IRS, Brooke's once-wealthy parents go broke, and actress Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks) turns up toward season's end playing a mysterious visitor with a surprising connection to a major character's past. Whew. If One Tree Hill's first season succeeded in part because series creator Mark Schwahn kept, for a while, a tight focus on the early, rocky relationship between Nathan and Lucas, the second season works as a frenetic, ensemble drama with elements of camp and absurdity. The above-mentioned reference to Dallas villain J.R. Ewing proves apt in more ways than one. The final episode of One Tree Hill's sophomore season ends with its own, not-so-subtle variation on the classic who-shot-J.R. cliffhanger, leaving open to debate which of many possible One Tree candidates might have committed a foul (if understandable) bit of vengeance against a certain bad dude one loves to hate. --Tom Keogh

What a difference 12 months make. In high school sophomore year half-brothers Nathan and Lucas Scott were bitter rivals on and off the basketball court. In junior year they bond as brothers. But there's drama trauma devotion betrayal twists and turns to come. This DVD set containing all 22 Season Two Episodes plus Insightful Extras continues the powerful saga of secrets kept and secrets revealed. To protect those he loves Lucas moves in with Dan. Brooke and Peyton mend their friendship - and begin a year of romantic turmoil for both. Nathan and Haley's marriage frays. Newcomers to Tree Hill High push emotions into high gear. And in the background is vindictive Dan Scott controlling others like an evil puppet master. But there are some things even he can't control.System Requirements:Running Time 993 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 012569715899

October Sky (Special Edition)

Based on the memoir Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam Jr., October Sky emerged as one of the most delightful sleepers of 1999--a small miracle of good ol' fashioned movie-making in the cynical, often numbingly trendy Hollywood of the late 20th century. Hickam's true story begins in 1957 with Russia's historic launch of the Sputnik satellite, and while Homer (played with smart idealism by Jake Gyllenhaal) sees Sputnik as his cue to pursue a fascination with rocketry, his father (Chris Cooper) epitomizes the admirable yet sternly stubborn working-man's ethic of the West Virginia coal miner, casting fear and disdain on Homer's pursuit of science while urging his "errant" son to carry on the family business--a spirit-killing profession that Homer has no intention of joining.

As directed by Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer), this wonderful movie is occasionally guilty of overstating its case and sacrificing subtlety for predictable melodrama. But more often the film's tone is just right, and the spirit of adventure and invention is infectiously conveyed through Gyllenhaal and his well-cast fellow rocketeers, whose many failures gradually lead to triumph on their makeshift backwoods launching pad. Capturing time and place with impeccable detail and superbly developed characters (including Laura Dern as an inspiring schoolteacher), October Sky is a family film for the ages, encouraging the highest potential of the human spirit while giving viewers a clear view of a bygone era when "the final frontier" beckoned to the explorer in all of us. --Jeff Shannon

Coalwood, West Virginia, 1957. Working in the coal mines is an inescapable way of life in this small town. When high schooler Homer Hickam, Jr. (Jake Gyllenhaal) sees the Sputnik satellite in the night sky, he dares to break free of the mines and reach for the stars. With the support of his teacher (Laura Dern) and three friends, Homer sets out on an inspiring quest to build his own rocket. Overcoming a poor education, a tough father (Chris Cooper) and a series of misfires, Homer turns his dreams into reality in this incredible true story of hope, determination and triumph. "You'll laugh with it, cry with it, and go away absolutely loving it," says Robert Butler (Knight Ridder News Service) of the critically acclaimed October Sky.

This special edition dvd includes:

*Aiming High: The Story of the Rocket Boys, starring the real Rocket Boys.
*Feature Commentary with Homer Hickam
*Spotlight on Location
*Production Notes
*Theatrical Trailer