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Archive for July, 2008

Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]
The critically-acclaimed triumph from visionary director Alex Proyas (I Robot The Crow) is back with a brand new directors cut featuring enhanced picture and sound never-before-seen footage and three commentary tracks that take you deeper than ever before into the world of one of sci-fis most exciting and revered tales. When John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes with no memory at the scene of a grisly murder he soon finds himself hunted by the police a woman claiming to be his wife and a mysterious group of pale men who seem to control everything and everyone in the city.Starring Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist) Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) William Hurt (A History of Violence) and Kiefer Sutherland (TVs 24).System Requirements:Running Time: 111 minutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: NR UPC: 794043122927 Manufacturer No: 1000040376

Director: 
Alex Proyas

Blu-ray: 
Color, Director’s Cut, Widescreen

Company: New Line Home Video 

(2008-07-29)

List Price: $28.99
Amazon Price: $18.95

The X-Files - The Complete Second Season (Slim Set)
While the first season of The X-Files introduced us to Scully and Mulder, the second season finds the show confidently hitting its stride. Building on its earlier success, the show evolves, and in these 25 episodes, a glimpse is shown of a longer-running story line (which will continue through subsequent seasons) that is woven into the usual stand-alone episodes of the paranormal. These so-called mythology episodes hint at a global conspiracy involving sinister government agents, UFOs, alien abductions, genetic engineering, the ever-lurking Cigarette Smoking Man, and Fox Mulder’s father. Season 2 fleshes out Mulder’s family history, including the childhood abduction of his sister Samantha, an event that would shape him for life. Actress Gillian Anderson (Scully) became unexpectedly pregnant during season 2, but series creator Chris Carter managed to dance nimbly around her absence and even integrate it into the show. As in season 1, Mulder and Scully are surrounded by a strong supporting cast, which adds a suspicious new agent named Alex Krycek, an informant named X, and a seemingly indestructible alien bounty hunter.

Among the standout episodes are “The Host,” “Duane Barry/Ascension,” “Humbug,” “Dod Kalm,” “Colony/End Game,” and “Anasazi.” These episodes are a powerful reminder that The X-Files, like no other show on television, can span horror, suspense, mystery, romance, drama, and comedy, sometimes all in the same episode, and always with the production values of a major feature film. –Eugene Wei

DVD: 
Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC

Company: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 

(2006-01-31)

List Price: $49.98
Amazon Price: $25.95

Used Price: $23.26

When Worlds Collide

When Worlds Collide
Winner of the 1951 Academy Award for Best Special Effects, this science fiction extravaganza set a new standard for the realistic depiction of cinematic disasters. Of course, it’s a quaint curiosity by today’s technological standards, but as produced by visual effects pioneer George Pal, this story of Earth’s collision with a runaway star is still a dazzling example of screen sci-fi from the ’50s, when special effects were entering a new stage of advancement. Despite scientists’ warnings about the star’s destructive potential, government officials refuse to take action that could cause international panic, but a consortium of private industrialists prepare for the worst by building a gigantic spaceship–an ark for humanity to begin life anew on a distant planet. Who will be chosen to go, and who left behind? As earthquakes roar and massive tidal waves devastate entire cities, the huge rocket prepares for take-off from its miles-long launching ramp–ready to abandon the shattered Earth! Although it’s more enjoyable now as a cinematic museum piece, When Worlds Collide remains a milestone of its kind, leading the way for many more screen disasters that followed this movie’s still-worthy example. –Jeff Shannon

Director: 
Rudolph Maté

DVD: 
Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC

Company: Paramount 

(2001-09-25)

ISBN: 079217304X

List Price: $9.98
Amazon Price: $4.46

Used Price: $4.24

21 (Single-Disc Edition)

21 (Single-Disc Edition)
Inspired by the true story of MIT students who mastered the art of card counting and took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. Looking for a way to pay for tuition Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) finds himself quietly recruited by MIT’s most gifted students in a daring plot to break Vegas. With the help of a brilliant statistics professor (Kevin Spacey) and armed with fake IDs intelligence and a complicated system of counting cards Ben and his friends succeed in breaking the impenetrable casinos. Now his challenge is keeping the numbers straight and staying one step ahead of the casinos before it all spirals out of control.System Requirements:Running Time: 123 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/BUDDIES Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396267183 Manufacturer No: 26718

DVD: 
AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Company: Sony Pictures 

(2008-07-22)

List Price: $28.96
Amazon Price: $9.79

Used Price: $9.80

The X-Files - The Complete First Season (Slim Set)
Two FBI agents investigate cases that seem to have paranormal connections.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 31-JAN-2006
Media Type: DVD

DVD: 
Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen

Company: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 

(2006-01-31)

List Price: $49.98
Amazon Price: $26.28

Used Price: $24.70

Earth: The Biography [Blu-ray]

The Biography [Blu-ray]
This landmark series uses specialist imaging and compelling narrative to tell the life story of our planet how it works and what makes it so special. Examining the great forces that shape the Earth - volcanoes the ocean the atmosphere and ice - the programme explores their central roles in our planet’s story. How do these forces affect the Earth’s landscape its climate and its history? CGI gives the audience a ringside seat at these great events while the final episode brings together all the themes of the series and argues that Earth is an exceptionally rare kind of planet - giving us a special responsibility to look after our unique world. This is a series that shows the Earth in new and surprising ways. Extensive use of satellite imagery reveals new views of our planet while timelapse filmed over many months brings the planet to life. Offering a balance between dramatic visuals and illuminating facts this ground-breaking series makes global science truly compelling.Episodes:DISC 1 - 1: Volcano 2: Atmosphere 3: IceDISC 2 - 4: Oceans 5: Rare EarthSystem Requirements:Running Time: 230 minutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: TELEVISION/BBC UPC: 883929026050 Manufacturer No: 1000039820

Blu-ray: 
Color, Subtitled, Widescreen

Company: BBC Warner 

(2008-07-22)

List Price: $39.99
Amazon Price: $27.95

Used Price: $31.99

The Office: Season Four

Season Four
Steve Carell (Get Smart) returns in his Golden Globe®-winning role of “The World’s Greatest Boss,” Michael Scott, in Season Four of the hit comedy series The Office! This must-own four-disc set includes every irreverent episode from Season Four, including the five extended full TV-hour specials, plus hours of hilarious deleted scenes and bonus features! Rejoin Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) as they bring romance to the workplace, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) as he continues his quest to be Michael’s right-hand man, and newly deemed “Wunderkind” Ryan (B.J. Novak), who’s working to drag Dunder Mifflin into the digital age. Developed for American TV by Primetime Emmy® Award winner Greg Daniels (King of the Hill, The Simpsons), The Office is the intelligent and edgy Primetime Emmy® Award-winning series that critics are hailing as “the funniest show on TV” (Gavin Edwards, Rolling Stone). You’ll enjoy the inappropriate remarks, uncomfortable silences and petty behavior again and again!

DVD: 
AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Company: National Broadcasting Company (NBC) 

(2008-09-02)

List Price: $49.98
Amazon Price: $31.99

Robot Chicken: Star Wars

Star Wars
System Requirements:Running Time: 23 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 883929012466 Manufacturer No: 1000037448

Director: 
Seth Green

DVD: 
Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC

Company: Turner Home Ent 

(2008-07-22)

List Price: $14.98
Amazon Price: $8.43

Used Price: $8.92

The Mummy Returns [Blu-ray]

The Mummy Returns [Blu-ray]
One of the greatest action-adventure movies of all time is back with a vengeance in The Mummy Returns 2-Disc Deluxe Edition! Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz reunite with director Stephen Sommers (producer of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) in this thrilling sequel. Now the fate of mankind is at stake: the mummy has been resurrected with an even more powerful force The Scorpion King (The Rock). Bursting with exciting bonus features and a digitally restored picture this bold-epic is breathlessly action-packed (New York Daily News).System Requirements:Running Time: 130 minutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/HEROES Rating: PG-13 UPC: 025195039987 Manufacturer No: 61104868

Director: 
Stephen Sommers

Blu-ray: 
AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Company: Universal Pictures 

(2008-07-22)

List Price: $29.98
Amazon Price: $16.74

Used Price: $29.90

Batman - The Animated Series, Volume Four (From the New Batman Adventures) (DC Comics Classic Collection)
In the hit show that continues the Batman storyline from the EmmyO-winning Batman: The Animated Series two years have passed and Batman still protects the streets of Gotham City from the demented criminals that inhabit its dark alleys. But irreconcilable differences with Dick Grayson lead to the collapse of the Batman/Robin crimefighting duo and to the birth of Gotham’s new hero Nightwing. Batgirl fights at Batman’s side and a new Robin takes flight after Batman’s chance encounter with young Tim Drake. In these 24 thrilling episodes the Gotham Knights face their worst enemies - Joker Penguin Mr. Freeze and many more - in a comprehensive 4-disc set that completes the Batman animated saga!Running Time: 521 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 012569688018

Director: 
Bruce Timm

DVD: 
Animated, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC

Company: Warner Home Video 

(2005-12-06)

ISBN: 1419805584

List Price: $44.98
Amazon Price: $17.99

Used Price: $24.49

The Mummy [Blu-ray]

The Mummy [Blu-ray]
If you’re expecting bandaged-wrapped corpses and a lurching Boris Karloff-type villain, then you’ve come to the wrong movie. But if outrageous effects, a hunky hero, and some hearty laughs are what you’re looking for, the 1999 version of The Mummy is spectacularly good fun. Yes, the critics called it “hokey,” “cheesy,” and “pallid.” Well, the critics are unjust. Granted, the plot tends to stray, the acting is a bit of a stretch, and the characters occasionally slip into cliché, but who cares? When that action gets going, hold tight–those two hours just fly by.

The premise of the movie isn’t that far off from the original. Egyptologist and general mess Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) discovers a map to the lost city of Hamunaptra, and so she hires rogue Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) to lead her there. Once there, Evelyn accidentally unlocks the tomb of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), a man who had been buried alive a couple of millennia ago with flesh-eating bugs as punishment for sleeping with the pharaoh’s girlfriend. The ancient mummy is revived, and he is determined to bring his old love back to life, which of course means much mayhem (including the unleashing of the 10 plagues) and human sacrifice. Despite the rather gory premise, this movie is fairly tame in terms of violence; most of the magic and surprise come from the special effects, which are glorious to watch, although Imhotep, before being fully reconstituted, is, as one explorer puts it, rather “juicy.” Keep in mind this film is as much comedy as it is adventure–those looking for a straightforward horror pic will be disappointed. But for those who want good old-fashioned eye-candy kind of fun, The Mummy ranks as one of choicest flicks of 1999. –Jenny Brown

Director: 
Stephen Sommers

Blu-ray: 
AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Company: Universal Pictures 

(2008-07-22)

List Price: $29.98
Amazon Price: $17.99

Used Price: $29.96

Earth - The Biography

Earth - The Biography
This landmark series uses specialist imaging and compelling narrative to tell the life story of our planet, how it works, and what makes it so special. Examining the great forces that shape the Earth - volcanoes, the ocean, the atmosphere and ice - the programme explores their central roles in our planet’s story. How do these forces affect the Earth’s landscape, its climate, and its history? CGI gives the audience a ringside seat at these great events, while the final episode brings together all the themes of the series and argues that Earth is an exceptionally rare kind of planet - giving us a special responsibility to look after our unique world. This is a series that shows the Earth in new and surprising ways. Extensive use of satellite imagery reveals new views of our planet, while timelapse filmed over many months brings the planet to life. Offering a balance between dramatic visuals and illuminating facts, this ground-breaking series makes global science truly compelling.

DVD: 
Anamorphic, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Company: BBC Warner 

(2008-07-22)

List Price: $29.98
Amazon Price: $18.97

Used Price: $18.99

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast
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.

Director: 
Gary Trousdale

DVD: 
Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC

Company: Walt Disney Video 

(2002-10-08)

List Price: $29.99
Amazon Price: $38.75

Used Price: $24.99

Spaced: The Complete Series

The Complete Series
It only takes one episode to become very protective of this 1999 British Comedy Award-winning series that put comedy soul mates Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson (now Hynes), as well as Nick Frost, and director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) on the map. One can only hope a threatened American version is never produced. This is one of those brilliant, off-center, lightning-in-a-bottle creations that gets you so jazzed, you want to turn all your friends on to it. Spaced (actually, Friends might have been a better title; too bad it was taken) stars Pegg and Stevenson as strangers Tim and Daisy, “amiable 20-somethings” who pose as a “professional couple” to rent an apartment. He is a recently-dumped aspiring comic book artist. She is an easily distracted writer. As the series unfolds, their apartment becomes an “island of calm in the ocean of life” as Tim and Daisy form a kind of 21st century family with their similarly misfit friends, including soused landlord Marsha (Julia Deakin), who lives with her teenager daughter (aka “the devil in a A cup,” who is heard, but never quite seen), Brian (Mark Heap), an artist who deals in anger, fear, and aggression, Simon’s best friend Mark (Frost), a militaristic gun nut, and Daisy’s best friend, Twist (Katy Carmichael), a fashion poseur (in the series’ penultimate episode, look for a pre-Office Ricky Gervais). Spaced is not so much interested in Tim and Daisy’s charade as it is in cramming each episode with pop culture references and obscure in-jokes, and brilliantly realized film and TV homages, ranging from Woody Allen’s Manhattan to Pulp Fiction and The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars, especially, looms large in Tim’s slacker universe). As with Arrested Development, Spaced benefits from repeat viewings to catch missed bits of business and gags that fly by at a Simpsons-esque rate. This Complete Series set is everything Spaced’s fervent following would demand. Each episode is complemented by the original commentaries as well as newly-recorded gabfests that also feature American friends of the show, including Kevin Smith, Patton Oswalt, Quentin Taratinto, Matt Stone, Diablo Cody, and Bill Hader. There are deleted scenes and outtakes, and, best of all, an hour-long 2007 Q&A with Wright and the cast, in which Pegg allows that, had there been a third series (and we can still dream), it would have provided viewers hoping that Tim and Daisy would ultimately get together with “a moment to make every hair of your body stand on end.” You will see such a moment if you “skip to the end” of the essential near two-hour series retrospective. –Donald Liebenson

DVD: 
Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Company: BBC Warner 

(2008-07-22)

List Price: $59.98
Amazon Price: $33.99

Used Price: $31.99

Batman - The Animated Series, Volume Three (DC Comics Classic Collection)
Gotham City crime czars Scarface and Rupert Thorne battle evil masterminds like the Joker and the Penguin for money power and respect. Kidnappings rise as foe-versus-foe attacks become more vindictive. And just when you thought you knew the good guys from the bad the craziest villains try to go straight triggering one dangerous blowout after another. Amidst all the terror one man walks the fine line between vengeance and justice as often as he balances his crimefighting persona and his billionaire playboy public life. This is the Batman series that introduced a new kind of super hero: cool composed uncompromising. Your Batman collection won’t be complete without this compilation!Running Time: 609 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 012569688001

Director: 
Bruce Timm

DVD: 
Animated, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC

Company: Warner Home Video 

(2005-05-24)

ISBN: 1419805541

List Price: $44.98
Amazon Price: $17.99

Used Price: $25.49

 

Blu-ray Conners!