Library

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: In a time when it seems that every other movie makes some claim to being a film noir, "L.A. Confidential" is the real thing--a gritty, sordid tale of sex, scandal, betrayal, and corruption of all sorts (police, political, press--and, of course, very personal) in 1940s Hollywood. The Oscar-winning screenplay is actually based on several titles in James Ellroy's series of chronological thriller novels (including the title volume, "The Big Nowhere", and "White Jazz")--a compelling blend of L.A. history and pulp fiction that has earned it comparisons to the greatest of all Technicolor noir films, "Chinatown". Kim Basinger richly deserved her Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a conflicted femme fatale; unfortunately, her male costars are so uniformly fine that they may have canceled each other out with the Academy voters: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, and James Cromwell play LAPD officers of varying stripes. Pearce's character is a particularly intriguing study in Hollywood amorality and ambition, a strait-laced "hero" (and son of a departmental legend) whose career goals outweigh all other moral, ethical, and legal considerations. If he's a good guy, it's only because he sees it as the quickest route to a promotion. "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: In a time when it seems that every other movie makes some claim to being a film noir, "L.A. Confidential" is the real thing--a gritty, sordid tale of sex, scandal, betrayal, and corruption of all sorts (police, political, press--and, of course, very personal) in 1940s Hollywood. The Oscar-winning screenplay is actually based on several titles in James Ellroy's series of chronological thriller novels (including the title volume, "The Big Nowhere", and "White Jazz")--a compelling blend of L.A. history and pulp fiction that has earned it comparisons to the greatest of all Technicolor noir films, "Chinatown". Kim Basinger richly deserved her Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a conflicted femme fatale; unfortunately, her male costars are so uniformly fine that they may have canceled each other out with the Academy voters: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, and James Cromwell play LAPD officers of varying stripes. Pearce's character is a particularly intriguing study in Hollywood amorality and ambition, a strait-laced "hero" (and son of a departmental legend) whose career goals outweigh all other moral, ethical, and legal considerations. If he's a good guy, it's only because he sees it as the quickest route to a promotion. "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese

Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Sarah (a teenage Jennifer Connelly) rehearses the role of a fairy-tale queen, performing for her stuffed animals. She is about to discover that the time has come to leave her childhood behind. In real life she has to baby-sit her brother and contend with parents who don't understand her at all. Her petulance leads her to call the goblins to take the baby away, but when they actually do, she realizes her responsibility to rescue him. Sarah negotiates the Labyrinth to reach the City of the Goblins and the castle of their king. The king is the only other human in the film and is played by a glam-rocking David Bowie, who performs five of his songs. The rest of the cast are puppets, a wonderful array of Jim Henson's imaginative masterpieces. Henson gives credit to children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, and the creatures in the movie will remind Sendak fans of his drawings. The castle of the king is a living M.C. Escher set that adults will enjoy. The film combines the highest standards of art, costume, and set decoration. Like executive producer George Lucas's other fantasies, "Labyrinth" mixes adventure with lessons about growing up. "--Lloyd Chesley"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: In paying simple tribute to firefighters, "Ladder 49" gets to the heart of those who risk their lives for a living. Director Jay Russell brought similar sincerity to his memorable family favorite "My Dog Skip", and despite the banalities of an ultra-conventional screenplay by Lewis Colick, "Ladder 49" generates so much goodwill toward its Baltimore firemen that you may find yourself unexpectedly overcome with emotional appreciation for guys like Jack (Joaquin Phoenix), a firefighter whose career, courtship, marriage, and fatherhood are viewed in flashback as he struggles to survive in the present-day framing scenes, cut off from his fellow firemen in the fiery guts of a collapsing 20-floor building. There are no surprises in the familiar scenes of male bonding, dangerous rescues, injury and death, and the supportive concern of Jack's wife (Jacinda Barrett), but by focusing on the simple integrity of Jack's personal and professional commitment, the movie gives Phoenix a showcase for unselfish virtue, while John Travolta provides dignified support as Jack's mentor and devoted firehouse captain. "Ladder 49" is routine in most respects, but it's a much-deserved valentine to working-class heroes. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: It's still one of the sweetest kisses onscreen, up there with Bergman and Grant, Bogey and Bacall: the moment when pampered purebred Lady and streetwise mongrel Tramp, sharing a moonlit plate of spaghetti in an alley behind an Italian café, unknowingly slurp the same strand, and suddenly find their mouths meeting in surprise and tenderness. Ah, puppy love. "Lady and the Tramp" is a delight of animation and surprisingly deep character development, given that the stars are all dogs. Lady, an adorable Cocker Spaniel, feels neglected when her owners become distracted by the pending birth of a baby. But the last straw is clueless Aunt Sarah's appearance with her conniving Siamese cats (among Disney's most creatively evil villains), who wreak havoc on Lady's blissful home life. Soon Lady is off on an adventure in the streets, where the savvy Tramp takes her under his paw. The lessons of friendship and loyalty, of integrity--not to mention trusting in the kindness of strangers--ring true to delighted children and adults alike. And unlike many Disney films, there's no real violence, only challenges that smart dogs (including a tough-talking vamp named Peg, voiced sublimely by Peggy Lee, who also wrote the songs), banding together, can tackle. The animation is terrific; the scene where we first meet Tramp shows him rinsing off under a pipe, and his subsequent shaking-off of the water follows the detailed rippling up and down his back that any dog lover will recognize. And is there any song more romantic than "Bella Notte"? Bellissima! "--A.T. Hurley"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Or, if you prefer, "I See Wet People". M. Night Shyamalan's attempt at a newfangled mythology--about a depressed apartment superintendent (Paul Giamatti) who discovers a sea-nymph (Bryce Dallas Howard) who may hold the key to humanity's hopeful future--is intriguing enough to capture the imaginations of children and adults who haven't lost sight of their innocent sense of wonder. Cynics, on the other hand, will likely scoff at Shyamalan's awkward fantasy, which includes one victim--a film critic--widely interpreted as Shyamalan's revenge against reviewers who panned "The Village". Shyamalan originally improvised this melancholy fantasy as a bedtime story for his children; unfortunately, it still feels mostly half-baked and ultimately ineffective due to a number of plot holes and inconsistencies that a writer as talented as Shyamalan should've been able to avoid. For those wishing to learn more about the film's troubled history, and Shyamalan's petulant split from Disney studios, "The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale" is an interesting read. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: If you've never enjoyed Alec Guinness in the classic 1955 British comedy that inspired it, the Coen brothers' remake of "The Ladykillers" may well prove hilarious. For starters, it's got Tom Hanks in a variation of the Guinness role, eccentrically channeling Colonel Sanders, Tennessee Williams, and Edgar Allan Poe in his southern-fried performance as Prof. Goldthwait Higgins Dorr, Ph.D. (named after an actual arts institute curator from the Coens' native Minnesota), a deliciously verbose con man who needs a secret headquarters for his five-man plot to rob a riverboat casino moored on the Mississippi. In the film's funniest and least-caricatured role (and even she can't elude the Coens' comedic stereotyping), Irma P. Hall plays the churchgoing widow who rents a room to Dorr, whose crew of "musicians" (in keeping with the original's plot) use the lady's root cellar to tunnel to the casino's cash-rich counting room. Rampant mishaps ensue, the body count rises among Dorr's band of idiots (including Marlon Wayans, spouting nonstop profanities), and the Coens put their uniquely stylish stamp on everything. It's a funny movie, allowing for some nagging flatness to the material, but if you've seen the original (and other vintage comedies from the heyday of Britain's low-budget Ealing Studios), you'll eventually wonder, "what were they thinking"? Accounting for all the qualities that grace any Coen movie (this being the first time the brothers have officially shared directorial credit), this revamped "Ladykillers" is a mixed blessing, both entertaining and superfluous. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]

Comments: How do you hold on to someone you've never met?

Summary: A lonely doctor (Bullock) who once occupied an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect (Reeves). They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: Cantonese, English, French, Korean, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: The usually provocative Neil LaBute reigns in his more eccentric tendencies for this straightforward domestic thriller. Then again, LaBute, who divides his time between cinema and theater, didn't write the material. The bad vibes begin when Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington) move in next door to widowed cop Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson, as nasty as Aaron Eckhart in LaBute's In the Company of Men). A strict father of two, Turner works in a diverse unit (Jay Hernandez plays his partner), but takes less kindly to interracial relationships. From the start, he makes the Mattsons uncomfortable with inappropriate remarks and unwarranted intrusions, like the security light trained on their bedroom, under the guise of self-appointed neighborhood guardian. Initially, Turner's actions exacerbate the tensions between the seemingly happy pair--Lisa wants to start a family, Chris wants to wait--until they realize they'll have to work together to protect themselves from their troubled neighbor. And since he's a member of the LAPD, Turner's colleagues have his back, despite the break-ins and flat tires bedeviling the Mattsons. When they make it clear they intend to stay, Turner takes his harassment campaign to the next level. The A-list cast does what they can, but the B-movie script from Howard Korder and Passenger 57's David Loughery, offers few surprises--at least to those who've seen Fatal Attraction and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle--and LaBute's by-the-books direction lacks its usual bite. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Stills from Lakeview Terrace (click for larger image)

Languages: English, French, Italian, Polish, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Bolstered by the success of "28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead", the "Resident Evil" movies and the hit remake of his own "Dawn of the Dead", George A. Romero returns to the horror subgenre he invented with "Land of the Dead". The fourth installment in Romero's zombie cycle (and the first since 1985's "Day of the Dead") presents a logical progression of events since 1968's horror classic "Night of the Living Dead: Zombies" (also known as "stenches" for their rotting odor) are the dominant population, and they've begun to show signs of undead intelligence and gathering power. The wealthiest survivors live comfortably in a luxury high-rise within a barricaded safe zone, ignoring the horrors of the outside world while armed scavengers stage raids in the zombie-zone to gather much-needed food and supplies. Simon Baker and John Leguizamo play mercenaries-for-hire; Dennis Hopper is their nefarious boss; and horror favorite Asia Argento (daughter of "Suspiria director Dario Argento) plays a former hooker recruited into Baker's scavenger squad. While none of this seems particularly fresh or inspired, "Land of the Dead" benefits from hints of the social satire that made Romero's earlier zombie films so memorable. Not so much funny as gruesomely peculiar, Romero's plot isn't as inventive as it could've been, but as a big-scale B-movie, "Land of the Dead" delivers a handful of shocks and horror-celebrity cameos (including gore-masters Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero) that should keep horror buffs happy until the next zombie opus comes along. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: How to make a big-screen version of Sid and Marty Krofft's Seventies TV show? In this case, place the thing in the meaty hands of Will Ferrell and give the special effects a big upgrade. If you grew up with the show, you will recall that Marshall, Will, and Holly fall through a time warp into a land where dinosaurs roam and all kind of weird things grow. In this version, Ferrell plays a disgraced scientist, Anna Friel a brainy postgraduate, and Danny McBride (Pineapple Express) the sleazy owner of a desert tourist trap that happens to be home to the time portal. This begins to suggest how this movie wants to have it both ways: keep some of the original's kid appeal, but raunch it up just enough for fans of Judd Apatow's movies. The result is that nothing really works very well. There's no momentum to the plot, the locations are monotonous, and Ferrell and McBride are desperate in their attempts to generate something out of nothing. Granted, they succeed a few times--these guys are too funny to whiff completely--but the strain is visible. And although the effects, are competent, the movie can't even get its fantasy rules straight (why is the T. Rex sometimes ferocious and sometimes indifferent?). Fans of the show will enjoy hearing the cheesy theme song worked in (Ferrell performs a zonked version) and seeing how the movie updates the menacing Sleestaks. But on a basic level Land of the Lost has no idea what it's doing, or what it means to do. --Robert Horton

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Like the video game series it's based on, "Tomb Raider" is best enjoyed for its physical strategies, since even casual scrutiny of story details will induce a headache. It's more concerned with puzzles than plot, populated with characters that don't have personalities so much as attitudes. It's silly and somber at the same time, but as a franchise vehicle for Angelina Jolie in the title role of relic hunter Lara Croft, this is packaged entertainment at its most agreeable, ambitious in scope and scale, and filled with the kind of globetrotting adventure that could make Jolie the best thing that's happened to action movies since Indiana Jones. "Could" being the operative word here, because "Tomb Raider" can't match any of Steven Spielberg's celebrated joyrides, but the ingredients are there for an exquisitely cinematic meal.
Perhaps to distance himself from Lara Croft's video game origins, director Simon West takes things a bit too seriously; "Tomb Raider" handles its plot (involving a planetary alignment, the nefarious Illuminati, and coveted relics that hold the key to controlling the flow of time) with all the gravity of a championship chess match... minus the tension. If the movie had lightened up and been truly suspenseful (instead of being suffused with been-there, done-that familiarity), it would have been an instant popcorn classic. As it is, however, this is an elegantly mounted adventure featuring exotic locations (in Cambodia and Iceland) and an exotic star born for her role. Even without her padded bra, Jolie would be the living embodiment of Lara Croft, and that's enough to bode well for inevitable sequels. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Cradle of Life" is certainly better than its 2001 predecessor, but its appeal is mostly aimed at fans of the video games that inspired both movies. That pretty much leaves you with some fun but familiar action sequences, and the ever-alluring sight of Angelina Jolie (reprising her title role) as she swims, swings, kicks, shoots, flies, jet-skis, motorcycles, and free-falls her way toward saving the world, this time by making sure that a grimacing villain (Ciarán Hinds) doesn't open Pandora's Box (yes, the actual mythological object) and unleash a deadly plague that will "weed out" the global population. Exotic locations add to Jolie's own coolly erotic appeal, but we're left wondering if this franchise has anywhere else to go. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Summary: "Larry Flynt: The Right To Be Left Alone" is a sensational portrait of America's most famous smut peddler and his many First Amendment court battles over the past 30 years. An often polarizing figure, Larry Flynt has long struggled to expand the parameters of free speech and expose the hypocrisy of this country's elected leaders. He’s spent more time in court than many lawyers and even spent time in jail for his beliefs. When he talks about the meaning of democracy, he’s earned the right to be heard!

Languages: English

Subtitles: Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Slick, stylish, and fast-paced, "Las Vegas" is a high-tech hybrid of 1970s' "Vega$" and 1980s' "Hotel". Created by Gary Scott Thompson ("The Fast and the Furious"), season 1 includes all 23 episodes of the NBC dramedy's. Set in the fictional Montecito Resort and Casino, the show revolves around surveillance expert and ex-Marine Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel, "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton"). McCoy reports to the president of operations and ex-CIA operative "Big" Ed Deline (the inimitable James Caan). If Duhamel is the show's charisma, Caan is the "gravitas". The attractive cast is rounded out by Vanessa Marcil as casino host Sam Marquez, Nikki Cox as event coordinator Mary Connell, James Lesure as valet Mike Cannon, Marsha Thomason as pit boss Nessa Holt, Cheryl Ladd as Deline's wife Jillian, and model Molly Sims as Deline's daughter Delinda.
From the start, "Las Vegas" has attracted a diverse array of guest stars, from musicians, like Little Richard ("New Orleans"), to movie stars, like Sean "Samwise" Astin ("You Can't Take It With You"). Even "Mr. Las Vegas" himself, Wayne Newton, puts in an appearance ("Pros and Cons"). Other notable guests include Elliot Gould ("Jokers and Fools"), Jean-Claude Van Damme ("Die Fast, Die Furious"), and Alec Baldwin ("Hellraisers and Heartbreakers"), hot off his Oscar-nominated turn in "The Cooler".
First used in heist hit "Ocean's 11", Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" (JXL remix) is the "Las Vegas" theme song. On the DVD set, however, it's replaced by "Let It Ride" on all episodes except the pilot. Also, the subtitle "Uncut and Uncensored" indicates footage too hot for network TV, but the additions are minor. While a few seconds have been added to the more risqué sex/poolside scenes, any other changes from the original broadcast are difficult to detect. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: In giving 1991's "The Last Boy Scout" a three-star review, critic Roger Ebert was properly performing his duty as an objective reporter, praising the filmmakers' professional skill while observing that "the only consistent theme of the film is its hatred of women." For the purposes of this capsule review, there's no such obligation to level-headed fairness; the simple truth is, this ultraviolent, action-packed vehicle for Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans is disgustingly rotten to the core. Not only is it fueled by a bitter and spiteful attitude toward women, it's also the kind of profanely vulgar movie that doesn't hesitate to put foul-mouthed children in the path of vicious thugs and potentially deadly situations. Willis plays an ex-secret service agent turned private detective who is hired to protect a stripper (Halle Berry) and then teams up with the stripper's boyfriend (Wayans), a disgraced NFL star who was kicked out of football for gambling. They catch on to a criminal plot leading all the way up to a corrupt football team owner who wants to legalize gambling on pro football. Willis and Wayans get in and out of all sorts of trouble along the way, and naturally there are plenty of explosions to go along with the brutal beatings, gunfire, and constant cussing. Shane Black (of "Lethal Weapon" infamy) set a Hollywood record (since broken, several times) for the sale price of his slick but vile screenplay, and "Top Gun" director Tony Scott handles the action with his trademark gloss and high-impact style. But, seriously, is this a movie that anyone could bear to watch twice? "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "The Last Castle" rides high on a wave of American patriotism, respectful of military service and protocol, and primed to ignite anyone's passion for justice against corrupted ideals. This intense prison drama begins when a court-martialed three-star general (Robert Redford) is sentenced to military prison for defying a presidential command. The prison's warden (James Gandolfini) is a jealous martinet who's never seen combat, and when the jailed general seizes command of the prison to protest the warden's abuse of power, "The Last Castle" erupts toward a classic showdown between integrity and cowardice. Former critic and West Point graduate Rod Lurie ("The Contender") directs this intimate battle with manipulative skill, appealing more to emotions than intelligence, but his stellar cast keeps the action on track, and a potent script returns flag-waving to its rightful place of honor. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Sound: DTS Surround Sound

Summary: Bernardo Bertolucci does the nearly impossible with this sweeping, grand epic that tells a very personal tale. The story is a dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the emperors of China. It follows his life from its elite beginnings in the Forbidden City, where he was crowned at age three and worshipped by half a billion people. He was later forced to abdicate and, unable to fend for himself in the outside world, became a dissolute and exploited shell of a man. He died in obscurity, living as a peasant in the People's Republic. We never really warm up to John Lone in the title role, but this movie focuses more on visuals than characterization anyway. Filmed in the Forbidden City, it is spectacularly beautiful, filling the screen with saturated colors and exquisite detail. It won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. "--Rochelle O'Gorman"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Best known for making movies about men and violence, director Walter Hill scored a misfire with this ambitious but ultimately dreary remake of Akira Kurosawa's samurai classic "Yojimbo". The story's essentially the same but the setting has been switched to a dusty, almost ghostly Texas town in the 1930s, where two rival Chicago gangs are locked in an uneasy truce. Bruce Willis plays the lone drifter who allies himself with both gangs to his own advantage, working both sides against each other according to his own hidden agenda. The violence escalates to a bloody climax, of course, with Christopher Walken, David Patrick Kelly, and Michael Imperioli as trigger-happy lieutenants in a lonely, desolate war. Fans of gangster movies will want to see this, and, if nothing else, Hill has brought his polished style to a vaguely mythic story. It's far from being a classic, however, and although its action is at times masterfully choreographed, the movie's humorless attitude is unexpectedly oppressive. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, Spanish

Summary: Comparisons with "E.T." are inevitable, but the more modest "The Last Mimzy" is based on the classic short story "Mimzy Were the Borogoves," by Lewis Padgett (a pseudonym for husband-and-wife writing team Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore), that anticipated Steven Spielberg's extraterrestrial fantasy by nearly four decades. Chris O'Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn give winning, naturalistic performances as siblings Noah and Emma, whose lives are transformed by a box of mysterious objects they find on the beach outside the family's Seattle vacation home. Among its contents is a stuffed rabbit that Emma names Mimzy and becomes quite attached. Noah and Emma are your typical outsiders. He is not good at sports, and she is interested in astronomy and plays the violin. But the objects work wonders on them. Their brainpower increases exponentially, Noah is able to drive a golf ball hundreds of yards, and Emma begins to communicate telepathically with Mimzy, who reveals his true identity and purpose. Rainn Wilson of "The Office" displays an off-center charm as Mr. White, Noah's New Age-y science teacher, who discovers similarities between Noah's intricate notebook doodlings and ancient renderings of the universe ("This is so out of my league," he marvels at one point), and becomes involved in Mimzy's back-to-the-future quest. Timothy Hutton and Joely Richardson are solid as the understandably confounded and increasingly concerned parents. Michael Clarke Duncan is a menacing FBI agent who, invoking the Patriot Act, arrests the family after Noah inadvertently causes a citywide blackout with one of the futuristic objects. "The Last Mimzy" may not reach "E.T."'s spectacular heights, but as thoughtfully adapted for the screen by Bruce Joel Rubin ("Ghost") and Toby Emmerich ("Frequency"), it is a transporting, idea-rich family film that is free of gratuitous coarse language (save for Mr. White's offhand classroom use of the word "screw") or bathroom humor. "--Donald Liebenson"

Languages: English, French

Summary: Wildly romantic, daringly exciting, Michael Mann's film of James Fenimore Cooper's novel created a new babe magnet out of Daniel Day-Lewis, he of the heaving pecs and flowing mane. As Hawkeye, he plays an American settler raised by the Mohicans who is forced to serve as a guide for British adventurism in upstate New York. But the British have been outflanked by the French (and their Indian allies); then British honor is betrayed when a band of renegades assaults them during their retreat. Mann captures the viciousness of this era's hand-to-hand combat in startling battle scenes. But he also invests the film with heartfelt romance, as the feelings swell between Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe. The ending is a stunner, a long, nearly wordless sequence of battle and loss. Strong performances all around, particularly by Russell Means as Chingachgook and Wes Studi as the evil Magua. "--Marshall Fine"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Wildly romantic, daringly exciting, Michael Mann's film of James Fenimore Cooper's novel created a new babe magnet out of Daniel Day-Lewis, he of the heaving pecs and flowing mane. As Hawkeye, he plays an American settler raised by the Mohicans who is forced to serve as a guide for British adventurism in upstate New York. But the British have been outflanked by the French (and their Indian allies); then British honor is betrayed when a band of renegades assaults them during their retreat. Mann captures the viciousness of this era's hand-to-hand combat in startling battle scenes. But he also invests the film with heartfelt romance, as the feelings swell between Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe. The ending is a stunner, a long, nearly wordless sequence of battle and loss. Strong performances all around, particularly by Russell Means as Chingachgook and Wes Studi as the evil Magua. "--Marshall Fine"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: While Japan undergoes tumultuous transition to a more Westernized society in 1876-77, "The Last Samurai" gives epic sweep to an intimate story of cultures at a crossroads. In America, tormented Civil War veteran Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is coerced by a mercenary officer (Tony Goldwyn) to train the Japanese Emperor's troops in the use of modern weaponry. Opposing this "progress" is a rebellion of samurai warriors, holding fast to their traditions of honor despite strategic disadvantage. As a captive of the samurai leader (Ken Watanabe), Algren learns, appreciates, and adopts the samurai code, switching sides for a climactic battle that will put everyone's honor to the ultimate test. All of which makes director Edward Zwick's noble epic eminently worthwhile, even if its Hollywood trappings (including an all-too-conventional ending) prevent it from being the masterpiece that Zwick and screenwriter John Logan clearly wanted it to be. Instead, "The Last Samurai" is an elegant mainstream adventure, impressive in all aspects of its production. It may not engage the emotions as effectively as Logan's script for "Gladiator", but like Cruise's character, it finds its own quality of honor. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: At the time of its original release in 1984, this modestly budgeted sci-fi excursion had the distinction of offering some of the first examples of purely computer-generated animation, an apt (and frugal) special-effects solution for a movie with a plot line rooted in computer games. Both the computer-generated visuals and the arcade game now look quaint, but writer-director Nick Castle's affable, good- hearted adventure holds up nicely, thanks to a clever premise--the title game is actually a test for prospective starship pilots, planted by embattled aliens under siege from an evil invader. When a restless teenager (Lance Guest) racks up an impressive score, he finds himself spirited away to the besieged planet and thrust into the midst of an intergalactic war. Apart from Castle's skill at contrasting his extraterrestrial settings with the mundane details of his hero's earthbound life, the movie gets lift-off from two thorough pros, Robert Preston, who makes the alien recruiter, Centauri, a planet-hopping cousin to "The Music Man"'s Harold Hill, and Dan O'Herlihy, the alien copilot, who suggests a scaly Walter Brennan. Older fans will snicker, but kids and young teens will find this rite of passage absorbing, while their folks will savor Preston's brash charm. "--Sam Sutherland"

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The heroes of 1899 are brought to life with the help of some expensive special effects in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". From the pages of Victorian literature come Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll (and his alter ego Mr. Hyde), Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer, an Invisible Man, Mina Harker (from "Dracula"), and the hunter Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), all brought together to combat an evil megalomaniac out to conquer the world. Hardly an original plot, but perhaps that's fitting for a movie sewn together like Frankenstein's monster. The movie rushes from one frenetic battle to another, replacing sense with spectacle--Nemo's submarine rising from the water, a warehouse full of zeppelins bursting into flame, Venice collapsing into its own canals; flashy, dumb, and completely incoherent. Fans of the original comic book will be disappointed. Also featuring Peta Wilson, Shane West, Stuart Townsend, Richard Roxburgh, and Jason Flemyng. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The heroes of 1899 are brought to life with the help of some expensive special effects in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". From the pages of Victorian literature come Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll (and his alter ego Mr. Hyde), Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer, an Invisible Man, Mina Harker (from "Dracula"), and the hunter Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), all brought together to combat an evil megalomaniac out to conquer the world. Hardly an original plot, but perhaps that's fitting for a movie sewn together like Frankenstein's monster. The movie rushes from one frenetic battle to another, replacing sense with spectacle--Nemo's submarine rising from the water, a warehouse full of zeppelins bursting into flame, Venice collapsing into its own canals; flashy, dumb, and completely incoherent. Fans of the original comic book will be disappointed. Also featuring Peta Wilson, Shane West, Stuart Townsend, Richard Roxburgh, and Jason Flemyng. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, Georgian

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Penny Marshall's popular 1992 comedy sheds light on a little-known chapter of American sports history with its story of a struggling team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league was formed when the recruiting of soldiers during World War II resulted in a shortage of men's baseball teams. The AAGPBL continued after the war (until 1954), and Marshall's movie depicts the league in full swing, beginning when a savvy baseball scout (Jon Lovitz) finds a pair of promising new players in small-town Oregonian sisters (Geena Davis, Lori Petty). The sisters are signed to play for the Rockford Peaches near Chicago, whose new manager (Tom Hanks) is a former home-run king who wrecked his career with alcoholism. They're all a bunch of underdogs, and Marshall (with a witty script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) does a fine job of establishing a colorful team of supporting players including Madonna and (in her movie debut) Rosie O'Donnell. It's a conventional Hollywood sports story (Marshall's never been one to take dramatic risks), but the stellar cast is delightful, and the movie's filled with memorable moments, witty dialogue, and agreeable sentiment. And just remember: there's no crying in baseball! "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: "Leatherheads" is a sort of two-fisted homage, simultaneously celebrating the early, unstructured days of professional football and the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 40s. George Clooney stars as "Dodge" Connelly of the Duluth Bulldogs, a wily (if a bit long in the tooth) player whose team goes bankrupt. His solution is to lure a war hero and star of the college-football circuit, Carter "The Bullet" Rutherford (John Krasinski from the American version of "The Office") to join the team and, through the sheer force of his celebrity, legitimize professional football. Little does Connelly know that Rutherford's war record is being scrutinized by reporter Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger) and what she uncovers may undermine the whole scheme. "Leatherheads" isn't seamless--at times the screwball flavor feels forced and Zellweger's performance is labored--but those few awkward elements only emphasize how zippy and fun the rest of the movie is. Clooney also directed and demonstrates some real flair with editing and letting the fringes of the story be as vital as the main plot. Krasinski, with his goofy handsomeness and a streak of Jimmy Stewart charm, shows real promise as a movie star. Though "Leatherheads" has plenty of broad slapstick (and most of it is pretty funny), the movie's real comic richness comes out in offhand gestures and sly revelations of character. All in all, it isn't Preston Sturges (director of classic comedies like "The Lady Eve" and "The Palm Beach Story"), but it's in his neighborhood, and that's a pretty wonderful neighborhood to be in. --"Bret Fetzer"


Stills from "Leatherheads " (Click for larger image)

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: One of the most critically acclaimed films of 1995, this wrenchingly sad but extraordinarily moving drama provides an authentic, superbly acted portrait of two people whose lives intersect just as they've reached their lowest depths of despair. Ben (Nicolas Cage, in an Oscar-winning performance) is a former movie executive who's lost his wife and family in a sea of alcoholic self-destruction. He's come to Las Vegas literally to drink himself to death, and that's when he meets Sera (Elisabeth Shue), a prostitute who falls in love with him--and he with her--despite their mutual dead-end existence. They accept each other as they are, with no attempts by one to change the other, and this unconditional love turns "Leaving Las Vegas" into a somber yet quietly beautiful love story. Earning Oscar nominations for Best Director (Mike Figgis), Best Adapted Screenplay (Figgis, from John O'Brien's novel) and Best Actress (Shue), the film may strike some as relentlessly bleak and glacially paced, but attentive viewers will readily discover the richness of these tragic characters and the exceptional performances that bring them to life. (In a sad echo of his own fiction, novelist John O'Brien committed suicide while this film was in production.) The DVD features uncut, unrated footage that was not included in the film's theatrical release. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Exclamations of religious awe are in order. Legendary and long sought-after, this live "Led Zeppelin" collection is nothing less than the rock music equivalent of the Holy Grail. Quite simply, this is what all the fuss was about.

Given that they were the biggest band in the world, Zeppelin were notoriously camera-shy in their heyday. Their official filmic legacy until now has been just the fascinating but flawed "The Song Remains the Same". While this new set presents some previously unseen footage from the same 1973 Madison Square Garden gigs, its real wonders lie in the earlier (1970) Royal Albert Hall footage and the later Earls Court (1975) and Knebworth (1979) concerts. Everything here looks and sounds new-minted, thanks to painstaking restoration and remastering of both audio and visual sources, a Herculean labor of love on the part of co-producer Dick Carruthers working hand-in-glove with Jimmy Page. Trawling through thousands of yards of previously unseen film and unheard tape recordings--some with missing visuals, some with missing audio--Page and Carruthers have chosen only the best possible footage available. They were also at pains to make the segments segue seamlessly so that the viewer is treated to what feels like a continuous concert--just sample the transition from a grainy Super 8 "Immigrant Song" (Sydney, 1972) to "Black Dog" at MSG.

Highlights? It's not hyperbole to say that every powerhouse minute of this collection (some 230 minutes of concert footage plus another hour and a half of extra DVD material) is a rare musical and visual treat. But hearing Page's violin bow work on "Dazed and Confused" in DTS or Dolby 5.1 is an experience not soon forgotten. "--Mark Walker"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: The line forms here for the world’s greatest and possibly most influential band – Led Zeppelin! With Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love and more signature performances, this mesmerizing movie built around Zep’s famed ’73 NYC concerts is convincing proof why. Band members supervised the Re-mastering and Dolby 5.1 Re-mixing of the film’s image and sound. In addition to their performances, fantasy sequences and at-home glimpses of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and the late John Bonham, this 2-disc Special Edition has over 40 minutes of newly-added extra features including: Two (2) never-before-released songs in rare performance footage: Celebration and Over the Hills and Far Away; Vintage TV Footage: Drake Hotel Robbery during the New York Concert Stand; Robert Plant BBC Interview and Tampa Concert Band Arrival. Also available in Hi-Def and Blu Ray!

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: This strange, 1985 experiment by Ridley Scott ("Blade Runner") starred the up-and-coming Tom Cruise in a fairy-tale world of dwarfs and unicorns and demons. After the horn of a unicorn is broken, darkness and winter descend upon the world. Cruise's character, helped along by a magic sprite played by David Bennent ("The Tin Drum"), descends into hell to save paradise. This movie is almost a classic case of art direction gone amok. The somewhat amorphous Cruise doesn't lend much dramatic focus or artistic definition, but the drama between Tim Curry's satanic majesty and Mia Sara's character, who becomes a sort of princess of the netherworld, is pretty captivating. A mixed experience all around that makes one wish it had been more successful. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: Jackie Chan return becomes and is able to fend off numerous attacks and perform incredible stunts. Aided by his hilarious stepmother and friends, Hong faces the challenge of protecting valuable Chinese history and saving his family honor.s to the role that made him a star in 1979's "Drunken Master." Chinese folklore hero Wong Fei Hong discovers a smuggling ring, orchestrated by the British Government, to transport valuable Chinese artifacts out of the country. Hong must use his unique style of martial arts, "Drunken Boxing," to fight the conspirators and salvage the Chinese treasures before it

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: As pure check-your-head-at-the-door popcorn entertainment, the apocalyptic action-horror hybrid "Legion" delivers in nearly every frame--its story of a band of strangers fighting an army of angels and demons for the fate of mankind is proudly loud, bullet riddled, and knee-deep in gore and CGI. That doesn't mean it's particularly good or even coherent--the story has renegade angel Michael (a glum Paul Bettany) come to the aid of diner owner Dennis Quaid (equally glum) and his patrons (a cross-section of stereotypes embodied by a capable cast, which includes Lucas Black, Charles S. Dutton, Tyrese Gibson, Kate Walsh, and Jon Tenney) as a host of heavenly and diabolical beings, dispatched by an angry God, descend on the diner with the intent of killing waitress Adrianne Palicki ("Friday Night Lights"), whose unborn child may be the salvation of humanity. The orgy of special effects--endless hails of bullets and a menagerie of unpleasant demonic creatures, the most unsettling of which is the ice cream man (Doug Jones, "Hellboy")--is eye popping but ultimately repetitive, and since no character rises above a cipher in director Scott Stewart's script (cowritten with Peter Schink), the whole affair feels unwieldy and eventually tiresome under a barrage of hackneyed dialogue. Naturally, "Legion" ends with the possibility of a sequel, though one wonders where the story can go after Armageddon. "--Paul Gaita"


Stills from "Legion" (Click for larger image)

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: If you spliced Charles Addams, Dr. Seuss, Charles Dickens, Edward Gorey, and Roald Dahl into a Tim Burtonesque landscape, you'd surely come up with something like "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events". Many critics (in mostly mixed reviews) wondered why Burton didn't direct this comically morbid adaptation of the first three books in the popular series by Daniel Handler (a.k.a. "Lemony Snicket," played here by Jude Law and seen only in silhouette) instead of TV and "Casper" veteran Brad Silberling, but there's still plenty to recommend the playfully bleak scenario, in which three resourceful orphans thwart their wicked, maliciously greedy relative Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), who subjects them to... well, a series of unfortunate events. Along the way they encounter a herpetologist uncle (Billy Connolly), an anxious aunt (Meryl Streep) who's afraid of "everything", and a variety of fantastical hazards and mysterious clues, some of which remain unresolved. Given endless wonders of art direction, costume design, and cinematography, Silberling's direction is surprisingly uninspired (in other words, the books are better), but when you add a throwaway cameo by Dustin Hoffman, Law's amusing narration, and Carrey's over-the-top antics, the first "Lemony" movie suggests a promising franchise in the making. "--Jeff Shannon"
A Message from Count Olaf

Dear Adoring Fan of Count Olaf,
Perhaps once every thousand years, a talent emerges that completely changes the way movies are made, orphans are orphaned, and heartthrobs throb. Often this talent has only one eyebrow, as is the case with one of the most cherished and admired actors scheming today. Surely you can you guess of whom I think.
No, you fool! I am referring to the One...the Only...the Unbelievably Handsome Count Olaf!
Or, as I like to call him, Me.
If you've already seen my performance in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, you must still be speechless. But if you haven't, you are in serious danger. Just teasing. But you could be after I send one of my gifted henchpersons to your home!
So why not get my movie on DVD? This major motion spectacle has everything. Me, acting! Leeches, attacking! Orphans, almost falling off a cliff! Of course, if you are familiar with books by Lemony Snicket, you know that they include all of these things too, but most of what he says is lies, and the rest is completely boring.
There's never been a film that demands repeated viewing in quite the same way, with a diabolical genius writing you a letter that says, "I DEMAND REPEATED VIEWING!!!" Plus with DVD extras, you'll get at least 20% more Olaf for your money. And... just for you, for an unlimited time only, I'll throw in Aunt Josephine free with purchase.*
So, noble Amazonians, put down your hunting spears and exotic headdresses, and prepare to bask in True Greatness. Or, as I like to call it, Me.

Of course you may have my autograph!

Count Olaf
*Count Olaf will not be held liable or accept blame in any way for any and all liability, loss, damage, or personal injury (including death), without limit and without regard once Aunt Josephine is thrown in, due to the unpredictable behavior of hungry leeches.
Stills from "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (Click to Enlarge)


Violet, Count Olaf, and Klaus


Aunt Josephine


Count Olaf and Aunt Josephine


Directing Jim Carrey


Klaus, Mr. Poe, Sunny, and Violet


Count Olaf


Olaf Ascending


The Baudelaire Orphans



All Things Snicket
See a complete list of all Lemony Snicket's creations, including books from the "Series of Unfortunate Events", calendars, and more.






The Essential Lemony Snicket Books

"A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ominous Omnibus, Books 1-3"

"The Situation Worsens: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 4-6"

"The Dilemma Deepens: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 7-9"

"The Slippery Slope: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10"

"The Grim Grotto: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 11"

"A Library of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-10"

"Behind the Scenes with Count Olaf: A Series of Unfortunate Events Movie Book"

"Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography"

"The Puzzling Puzzles" Activity Book
More from the Movie

Original Movie Poster

Soundtrack

Wall Poster
"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" Computer & Video Games

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Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Luc Besson ("The Fifth Element") made his American directorial debut with this stylized thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits "La Femme Nikita" and "Subway" to the production, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Luc Besson ("The Fifth Element") made his American directorial debut with this stylized thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits "La Femme Nikita" and "Subway" to the production, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Jay Trotter has waited a lifetime for this day. He's got a hot tip on a horse everyone thinks is ready for the glue factory. But, as track aficionados say, "Even when you know, you never know." One thing you can be certain be sure of is that with Richard Dreyfuss, David Johansen, Teri Garr and more, this is a winning comedy. So put it in your VCR and Let It Ride. Its characters give new meaning to "the odds." And its heart will touch everyone who's wondered: "If every dog has his day, why can't every person have one?"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: Mel Gibson set aside his art-house credentials to star as a crazy cop paired with a stable one (Danny Glover) in this full-blown 1987 Richard Donner action picture. The most violent film in the series (which includes three sequels), it is also the edgiest and most interesting. After Gibson's character jumps off a building handcuffed to a man, and Gary Busey (as a cold, efficient enforcer) lets his hand get burned without flinching, there is a sense that anything can happen, and it usually does. Donner's strangely messy visual and audio style doesn't make a lot of aesthetic sense, but it stuck with all four movies. The DVD release includes production notes, Dolby sound, theatrical trailer, optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, optional French soundtrack, and optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The series formula started to kick in with this immediate sequel to "Lethal Weapon", but that doesn't necessarily make it a weak movie. Joe Pesci joins the fold, Richard Donner directs again, and Mel Gibson and Danny Glover return as LAPD partners, their relationship smoother now that Gibson's character has recovered from his maddening grief over his wife's death. But the reckless Mel and cautious Danny equation, good for a million laughs, settles into place in this story involving a South African smuggler and a new girlfriend (Patsy Kensit) for Gibson. The movie is hardly comfy, though. The last act gets nasty, and a climactic fight between Gibson (who gets the worst of it) and some high-kicking villain is ugly. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The lightest of the first three films, "Lethal Weapon 3" finds everyone occupying comfortable positions like students who always choose to sit in the same classroom seats. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover return as LAPD partners whose working method consists of the former diving into danger and the latter holding back. (The sequence set in the parking garage of a building, in which Gibson inadvertently trips a switch that makes a timed explosive device speed up, is priceless.) Joe Pesci once again plays a motor-mouth pest, and while the story is pretty much forgettable, it does introduce the best new dynamic in the series, a romance between Gibson and Rene Russo's equally tough but attractive cop. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: In the fourth and reportedly final film of the "Lethal Weapon" series, director Richard Donner reunites with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, who reprise their roles as Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh for one last hurrah in a film that is decidedly better than the third and first chapters. This time the pair are pitted against Jet Li, who plays the leader of a Chinese organized crime unit. Li, a veteran of hundreds of Hong Kong action films, more than holds his own against the more established team of Gibson, Glover, Renee Russo, and Joe Pesci with his subtle yet strong portrayal of the quietly irrepressible Wah Sing Ku. As always with the "Lethal" series, the plot is incredibly simple to follow: someone steals something, someone gets killed, and Murtaugh is reluctantly thrown into the mix while Riggs dives into the case with gleeful aplomb. As with the previous movies, we watch for the sheer action and chemistry alone. The action sequences throughout the fourth installment are exquisite, from the opening scene involving a flamethrower, a burning building, and a half-naked Murtaugh strutting like a chicken (don't ask, just watch), to the climactic showdown that pays genuine tribute to Jet Li's masterful martial art skills. As for chemistry, the bond between these characters is so strong by now that you sometimes feel like you're watching a TV series in its sixth season, such is the warm familiarity between the audience and the personalities on the screen. The humor is more fluid than ever, aided immeasurably by the casting of comedian Chris Rock, who like Li does a great job of making his presence known in some memorable verbal tirades that would bring a smile out of the Farrelly brothers. But it's the verbal and emotional jousting between Glover and Gibson that makes this fourth episode especially appealing; both are in peak form with great physical and verbal timing. One can only hope that if this is indeed the last of the "Lethal" films, that it won't be the last time we see Glover and Gibson together on screen. "--Jeremy Storey"

Languages: English

Summary: Critically hailed as an instant classic, Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima" is a masterwork of uncommon humanity and a harrowing, unforgettable indictment of the horrors of war. In an unprecedented demonstration of worldly citizenship, Eastwood (from a spare, tightly focused screenplay by first-time screenwriter Iris Yamashita) has crafted a truly Japanese film, with Japanese dialogue (with subtitles) and filmed in a contemplative Japanese style, serving as both complement and counterpoint to Eastwood's previously released companion film "Flags of Our Fathers". Where the earlier film employed a complex non-linear structure and epic-scale production values to dramatize one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and its traumatic impact on American soldiers, "Letters" reveals the battle of Iwo Jima from the tunnel- and cave-dwelling perspective of the Japanese, hopelessly outnumbered, deprived of reinforcements, and doomed to die in inevitable defeat. While maintaining many of the traditions of the conventional war drama, Eastwood extends his sympathetic touch to humanize "the enemy," revealing the internal and external conflicts of soldiers and officers alike, forced by circumstance to sacrifice themselves or defend their honor against insurmountable odds. From the weary reluctance of a young recruit named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) to the dignified yet desperately anguished strategy of Japanese commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi (played by Oscar-nominated "The Last Samurai" costar Ken Watanabe), whose letters home inspired the film's title and present-day framing device, "Letters from Iwo Jima" (which conveys the bleakness of battle through a near-total absence of color) steadfastly avoids the glorification of war while paying honorable tribute to ill-fated men who can only dream of the comforts of home. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Liberty wallace heiress to and co-president of americas largest gun manufacturing corporation is on her way to the theater when her cell phone rings. As she stands in the street the red site-laser hitting her chest is proof the mysterious call is dead serious in his threats. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 03/22/2005 Starring: Wesley Snipes Oliver Platt Run time: 96 minutes Rating: R Director: Kari Skogland

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Timothy Dalton's second and last shot at playing James Bond isn't nearly as much fun as his debut, two years earlier, in the 1987 "The Living Daylights". This time Bond gets mad after a close friend (David Hedison) from the intelligence sector is assassinated on his wedding day, and 007 goes undercover to link the murder to an international drug cartel. Robert Davi makes an interesting adversary, but as with most of the Bond films in the '70s, '80s, and '90s--and especially since the end of the cold war--one has to wonder why we should still care about these lesser villains and their unimaginative crimes. Still, Dalton did manage in his short time with the character to make 007 his own, which neither Roger Moore did nor Pierce Brosnan did. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Summary: Marriage is a huge step in any relationship and, with the divorce rate skyrocketing, some clergymen find it advisable to council prospective couples prior to the marriage ceremony. Reverend Frank (Robin Williams) takes his marriage preparation course to a whole new level, putting couples through a very unusual and grueling set of classes that cover everything from trust and communication to experiencing childbirth, meeting each other's needs in and out of bed, and group sessions on how to fight fairly. Happy couple Sadie Jones's (Mandy Moore) and Ben Murphy's (John Krasinski) perfect compatibility is tested to the limits with extraordinary (and hysterical) assignments like caring for twin baby robots that cry and poop without restraint while baby-sitting a friend's two young children and shopping for wedding china. Driving a car blindfolded while one's intended gives directions is no simple task either, but abstinence from sex and writing their own marriage vows may be the couple's most difficult homework assignments. Comedy reigns throughout the entire movie thanks to Robin Williams, his choir-boy assistant Josh Flitter (Nancy Drew) and the rest of the cast and laughing out loud is definitely a course requirement for viewers, but underneath the hilarity is a serious message about making marriage work. "--Tami Horiuchi"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Kevin Spacey ("American Beauty") plays David Gale, a brilliant but hard-drinking anti-death penalty crusader on death row for a rape and murder that he claims he didn't commit. The victim of the crime is Gale's close friend and anti-death penalty colleague (Laura Linney, "You Can Count On Me"), so Gale argues that he's been set up to discredit the cause. Committed journalist Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet, "Titanic") takes it upon herself to figure the whole thing out--and so we follow her through a ridiculous plot full of supposedly shocking twists that are telegraphed far in advance and make very little sense when they arrive. The overwritten script tries to cover too many hot-button issues and gives Spacey way too many showy scenes where he gets to be passionate and caring, which is creepier than his psychopath roles in "The Usual Suspects" and "Seven". "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Warm, funny, and imaginative, "Lilo & Stitch" is the best animated feature the Walt Disney Studios have produced in years. On the planet Turo, mad scientist Jumba Jookiba (voice by David Ogden Stiers) has created a miniature monster programmed for destruction. When the monster escapes to Earth, it's adopted as a pet and named "Stitch" by Lilo (Daveigh Chase), a lonely little Hawaiian girl. Lilo and her older sister Nani (Tia Carrere) have been struggling to stay together since their parents died. Stitch and Lilo share some hilarious adventures, evading welfare officer Cobra Bubbles (Ving Rhames) and galactic police agents. They learn the timely lesson that a family can be something you're born into--or something you assemble. A warmth and sincerity that recall "The Iron Giant" and the films of Hiyao Miyazaki make "Lilo" a delightful fantasy adults and children can truly enjoy together. "--Charles Solomon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Stills from Lilo & Stitch: Big Wave Edition (Click for larger image)

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Steven Soderbergh's follow-up to his sexy thriller "Out of Sight" is an equally stylish but far more austere crime drama, a work of memory that mixes flashbacks, flashforwards, and ruminations on the present into an invigorating cinematic quilt. Terence Stamp is Wilson, an aging cockney criminal fresh out of prison who flies to Los Angeles to search for his daughter's killer. She died in a car wreck, but he suspects that her lover, a music industry mogul named Valentine (Peter Fonda), knows more than he's telling. Wilson is a fish out of water indeed, a cool, cruel London thug on the airy, sun-bright street of L.A., a silver-haired criminal taking on street punks and hit men with the relentless drive of a man possessed. It's like "Get Carter" channeled through "Point Blank", a hard-edged revenge thriller steeped in sorrow and regret, trading the warmth of "Out of Sight"'s romantic heat for a more contemplative remove. Fonda beautifully plays off his cinematic history of 1960s hippies and rebels as a nervous, cowardly millionaire sellout in white cotton peasant shirts and a deep California tan. Luiz Guzman and Lesley Ann Warren costar as Wilson's "adopted" guides through modern L.A., and Barry Newman is excellent as Valentine's tough, terse head of security, another aging pro blindsided by Wilson's relentless single-mindedness. Soderbergh quotes from Ken Loach's 1967 film "Poor Cow" (sadly not available on video in the U.S.) for Wilson's flashbacks as a fresh-faced teenage thug. "--Sean Axmaker"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: 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"

Languages: English, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "The Lion King 1½" is an ingenious sequel that retells the original film's story from the perspective of best pals Timon the meerkat (voiced by Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa the warthog (Ernie Sabella). Anyone who has wondered how this odd couple met will find out here, beginning with Timon's flight from home following disgrace and his chance encounter with the sweet but lonely Pumbaa. With the arrival of young Simba (Shaun Flemming), "The Lion King"'s familiar tale is reborn via a fresh angle, fleshed out by returning characters Rafiki the wise monkey (Robert Guillaume), Shenzi (Whoopi Goldberg), and Simba's love interest, Nala (Moira Kelly). While the retooled narrative proves a novel experience, "The Lion King 1½" is really a vehicle for voice actors Lane and Sabella, whose comic performances are shamelessly, broadly funny. Matthew Broderick, Julie Kavner, and Jerry Stiller are also in the vocal cast. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: This two-disc presentation of the popular sequel delivers a better sounding DVD and looks a bit better than the initial release (although the original was pretty sharp). There are no changes in the film except a pop-up viewing mode with facts--fun and otherwise--about the film. The second disc is for the kids, including games, a cute documentary on African animals, and another installment of the Virtual Safari. This "ride" puts you in a jeep with Timon and Pumbaa as they race the jungle and pride lands bumping into various obstacles, all in booming Dolby 5.1 sound. The best extra is the new short "One by One" a modern day tale of Africa and the finest short from the studio since 2000's "John Henry." "--Doug Thomas"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: The considerable authority of Robert Redford pulls some heavyweight talent into "Lions for Lambs", a rare Hollywood foray into flat-out political filmmaking. Three dramas, all connected, play out simultaneously during the same hour: On a mountainside in Afghanistan, two U.S. soldiers (Michael Pena and Derek Luke) find themselves stranded during a new military surge; on Capitol Hill, a Republican senator (Tom Cruise) tries to sell the new strategy to a seasoned reporter (Meryl Streep); and in California, a professor (Redford) tries to light the fire of commitment in an increasingly apathetic college student (Andrew Garfield). Director Redford cuts back and forth amongst these arenas, a gambit which thankfully obscures how weak the one non-talkfest (the Afghanistan segment) really is. You can tell Redford and screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan put their juice in the debate between Cruise and Streep, which summarizes Right and Left views on the Middle Eastern wars, and does so reasonably lucidly--although there is little here that would surprise anyone who has looked into the subject. The college section suggests Redford's belief that there are lots of people, distracted by tabloid culture and self-centeredness, who haven't looked into the subject. So he lectures us about it, sounding suspiciously like an old geezer remembering the good old days. If this film had been released in 2004, it might at least have bucked majority opinion, but coming out in fall of 2007, it already felt like old news. "--Robert Horton"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro return as the comic duo of a hapless, eager-to-please son-in-law and an overbearing father-in-law in "Little Fockers". Despite the title, there's not much of the kids in this sequel; like "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers", "Little Fockers" is all about the tension-fraught relationship between crusty ex-CIA agent Jack Byrnes (De Niro) and male nurse Greg Focker (Stiller). This time, Jack has decided that Greg just might have what it takes to replace him as the protector and guide to the family, if he can provide for and properly educate the children. From there it's a series of scenes in which Greg tries to meet Jack's expectations and fails spectacularly, this time complicated by the presence of sexy pharmaceuticals rep Andi (Jessica Alba), who hires Greg to represent an erectile dysfunction drug and gives him a bag of samples… which leads pretty much where you think it might lead. This time around, the jokes are broader (the movie starts with projectile vomiting and ends with a fistfight in a bouncy castle) and the plot is even less important, but the cast (including Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Owen Wilson, and Teri Polo) executes everything with professional skill. Fans of the previous movies will enjoy this latest installment. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: From the moment that Prince Eric's ship emerged from the fog in the opening credits it was apparent that Disney had somehow, suddenly recaptured that "magic" that had been dormant for thirty years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to "spend a day, warm on the sand," Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel can only succeed if she receives true love's kiss in a few day's time and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull, and a flounder. The lyrics and music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of "Under the Sea"). "Mermaid" put animation back on the studio's "to do" list and was responsible for ushering "Beauty and the Beast" to theaters. A modern Disney classic. "--Keith Simanton"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: From the moment that Prince Eric's ship emerged from the fog in the opening credits it was apparent that Disney had somehow, suddenly recaptured that "magic" that had been dormant for thirty years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to "spend a day, warm on the sand," Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel can only succeed if she receives true love's kiss in a few day's time and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull, and a flounder. The lyrics and music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of "Under the Sea"). "Mermaid" put animation back on the studio's "to do" list and was responsible for ushering "Beauty and the Beast" to theaters. A modern Disney classic. "--Keith Simanton"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: In "Little Nicky", Adam Sandler plays the sweetest of three sons of Satan (Harvey Keitel), who's got to go to Earth and retrieve his nasty, power-hungry brothers lest they take over Hell and make it a thoroughly evil place. As with Sandler's other films, this weird premise (based oh-so-loosely on "King Lear") is just an excuse to trot out a hodgepodge of comic bits and cameo performances. Admittedly, a lot of the jokes don't work (there was no need to repeat the one about shoving a pineapple up Hitler's ass), but the ones that do tend to be more memorable than the ones that don't, making for a pretty funny movie, when all is said and done. Sure, it's hard to overcome Sandler's speech impediment du jour, not to mention that romantic subplot with Patricia Arquette, but it can be done by focusing on the brilliant cameos by Regis Philbin, Reese Witherspoon, Ozzy Osbourne, and Henry Winkler (especially when he's covered with bees), as well as one of the funniest uses of a scene from De Palma's "Scarface" in years. Supporting Sandler throughout are two very funny heavy metal disciples and a bulldog named Beefy (voiced by Robert Smigel, the man behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog). And, in an almost unrecognizable cameo, that's Clint Howard as the cross-dressing fetishist named "Nipples." "--Andy Spletzer"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]

Comments: Don't feed the plants.

Summary: <i>It's The Most Outrageous Musical Comedy In Years.</i><br /><br /> Business blooms at Mushnik's Flower Shop when an exotic potted plant called Audrey II arrives. It turns out to be a carnivorous "mean, green mother from outer space," filling that little shop with lotsa horrors.<br><br> <I>Little Shop Of Horrors</I> first flowered in a low-budget 1960 Roger Corman movie, resprouted as a smash 1980 off-Broadway musical and now comes full circle in this 1986 movie musical adaptation of the stage hit with a score by multiple Academy Award winners Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.<br><br> An all-star cast of comedy pros spreads tentacles of pleasure. And this DVD is packed with new and never-before-seen extras.

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono

Summary: Roger Moore was introduced as James Bond in this 1973 action movie featuring secret agent 007. More self-consciously suave and formal than predecessor Sean Connery, he immediately reestablished Bond as an uncomplicated and wooden fellow for the feel-good '70s. This film also marks a deviation from the more character-driven stories of the Connery years, a deliberate shift to plastic action (multiple chases, bravura stunts) that made the franchise more of a comic book or machine. If that's not depressing enough, there's even a good British director on board, Guy Hamilton ("Force 10 from Navarone"). The story finds Bond taking on an international drug dealer (Yaphet Kotto), and while that may be superficially relevant, it isn't exactly the same as fighting supervillains on the order of "Goldfinger". "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: Timothy Dalton made his 007 debut in the lean, mean mode of Sean Connery, doing away with the pun-filled camp of Roger Moore's final outings. He establishes his persona right from the gritty pre-credits sequence, in which he hangs from a speeding truck as it barrels down narrow cobblestone streets, battles an assassin mano a mano, and lands in the arms of a bikinied babe. This James Bond is ruthless, tough, and romantic. "The Living Daylights", set during the thaw of the cold war, begins with the defection of Russian KGB General Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) and his revelation of a Soviet plot to eliminate Britain's secret agent force. Assigned to eliminate Koskov's Soviet boss (John Rhys-Davies, cutting a memorable figure in his brief appearance), Bond uncovers a conspiracy involving Koskov and an American arms dealer (Joe Don Baker). Maryam d'Abo makes a fine Bond girl as Koskov's beautiful cellist girlfriend, a classy innocent who soon loses her naive blush and shows her pluck. The villains are lackluster--Krabbé is a clown and Baker a blowhard--and Dalton hadn't yet mastered the delivery of the trademark quips, but it's a sleek script with a no-nonsense attitude. Veteran series director John Glen's action scenes have never been better--especially the show-stopping mid-air battle on the net of a speeding cargo plane--and he returns the series to the smart, rough, high-energy adventures that made the Bond reputation. "--Sean Axmaker"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: I throughly enjoyed this movie. Plenty of action with Stallone and Keiffer Sutherland doing a good job. Not their best performances but definitely not their worst. I recommend this movie.

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Geena Davis and her former husband, director Renny Harlin, attempted to pick up the pieces after the debacle of their box-office disaster, "Cutthroat Island". What they came up with was this repulsive ode to American film noir, based on a script by Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon") about an amnesiac schoolteacher (Davis) who searches for her true identity and finds she is actually a secret agent immersed in a deadly plot to topple the government. Mechanistic in its violence, obnoxious in its attitude, the film makes Davis, a once-promising actress, nothing more than a special effect. She tosses one to sadists in the audience by allowing her character to be beaten, punched unconscious, and tortured. The DVD release has optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, plus Dolby surround sound, theatrical trailer, cast information, optional French-language soundtrack and optional Spanish subtitles. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: "The Longest Day" is Hollywood's definitive D-day movie. More modern accounts such as "Saving Private Ryan" are more vividly realistic, but producer Darryl F. Zanuck's epic 1962 account is the only one to attempt the daunting task of covering that fateful day from all perspectives. From the German high command and front-line officers to the French Resistance and all the key Allied participants, the screenplay by Cornelius Ryan, based on his own authoritative book, is as factually accurate as possible. The endless parade of stars (John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery, and Richard Burton, to name a few) makes for an uneasy mix of verisimilitude and Hollywood star-power, however, and the film falls a little flat for too much of its three-hour running time. But the set-piece battles are still spectacular, and if the landings on Omaha Beach lack the graphic gore of "Private Ryan" they nonetheless show the sheer scale and audacity of the invasion. "--Mark Walker"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: After seeing "Saving Private Ryan", this epic tale about the Normandy invasion will look sanitized. But in its re-creation of events leading to the epochal battle, the film is captivating and grand, and the parade of famous actors who cross the screen naturally give the already charged action even more of a boost. Three directors worked on it: Ken Annakin ("Battle of the Bulge"), Andrew Marton ("Crack in the World"), and Bernhard Wicki (this film being his only credit). "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: Adam Sandler is no Burt Reynolds, but his remake of "The Longest Yard" is amusing enough to stand on its own. Inheriting the role played by Reynolds played in the 1974 original, Sandler plays Paul Crewe, a scandalized former football star who violates his parole and winds up back in the slammer, where an ambitious, corrupt warden (James Cromwell) manipulates him into forming a convict football squad to compete with a team of bullying prison guards. But where the original (directed with characteristic ruggedness by Robert Aldrich) was a semi-comic study of inmate resistance against powerful oppressors, Sandler's version is a formulaic comedy about winning against the bad guys. That makes it a softer, less meaningful film, and Sandler (reuniting here with Peter Segal after "Anger Management" and "50 First Dates") lacks the depth to convey anything more than amiable redemption, resulting in a movie that's easily enjoyed and easily forgotten. A co-starring role for Chris Rock could have been electrifying; instead it's just OK, as is Reynolds as the prison team's old-pro coach. That leaves us with a few good laughs on the football field and from Cloris Leachman as the warden's elderly, oversexed secretary, good work from rapper Nelly in a supporting role, and the lovely sight of Courteney Cox (as Crewe's nagging girlfriend) in a dazzling low-cut dress. In unnecessary remakes like this, fringe benefits count for a lot. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: This cute, 1989 comedy directed by Amy Heckerling ("Fast Times at Ridgemont High") helped keep John Travolta busy during some fallow years and extended America's then-love affair with Bruce Willis, whose voice is the only part of him that appears. Kirstie Alley costars as an unwed mother in search of a suitable man to become her baby's father. Travolta is a cab driver who doesn't match her ideal, but he gets involved anyway. Half the fun comes from Willis's risible reading of the newborn's thoughts. The film was followed by two lesser sequels, "Look Who's Talking Too" and "Look Who's Talking Now". "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: English Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Real life has never been so animated

Summary: At the peak of <I>Looney Tunes: Back in Action</I>, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck lead Elmer Fudd on a wild pursuit through famous paintings hanging in the Louvre, their animated selves absorbing the painting styles of Salvador Dali, Georges Seurat, Toulouse Lautrec, and others. That sequence manages to recapture the anarchic spirit of Warner Bros.' classic cartoons; unfortunately, not much else in this labored movie does. Technically, the merging of live actors and cartoon characters is impressive, as Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman team up with Bugs and Daffy to save the world by keeping a magical diamond out of the hands of the evil Acme Corporation, headed by a nerdy, prancing Steve Martin. Just about every Warner Bros. character makes an appearance, as do Timothy Dalton, Heather Locklear, and the ever-dependable comic delight of Joan Cusack (<I>In and Out</I>, <I>School of Rock</I>). <I>--Bret Fetzer</I>

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono

Summary: For years, animation buffs have waited impatiently for the Warner Bros. cartoons to appear on DVD. The Warner shorts never commanded the budgets and prestige of the Disney and MGM films, and won fewer Oscars than they deserved. But decades after the best ones were created, they remain the quintessential Hollywood cartoons: brash, fast-paced, aggressively funny and uniquely American. Virtually everyone in the U.S. under the age of 60 grew up on these films, in theaters and on TV. The 56 cartoons in the set (out of a studio output of over 1,000) were transferred from good prints--which means the viewer can see dust, scratches, and occasional mistakes by the cel painters. The films are all presented uncut, in defiance of the killjoys who have insisted on censoring alleged "violence" in the versions shown on television. Warner Bros. is obviously testing consumer response with this set. Although the erratic selection includes many classics, purists will argue (correctly) that it offers neither a fair representation of the directors' "oeuvres", nor anything approaching a coherent history of the characters or studio style. (Nearly half the films were directed by Chuck Jones; only three are by Bob Clampett, and there's nothing by Tex Avery or Frank Tashlin.) But it seems petty to carp about omissions and biases when the discs offer excellent, uncensored prints of some of the funniest films ever made in the U.S.--or anywhere else. (Rated G, suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) "--Charles Solomon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono

Summary: Brash, fast-paced, and hysterically funny, the Warner Brothers cartoons rank among the undisputed treasures of American animation and American comedy. This second collection, a follow-up to "Looney Tunes: Golden Collection", includes such gems as "Porky in Wackyland," "A Bear for Punishment," "Gee Whiz-z-z," The Great Piggy Bank Robbery," and "I Love to Singa." A short documentary about director Bob Clampett features several cartoon historians, animator Eric Goldberg, "Shawshank Redemption" director Frank Darabont, and "Ren and Stimpy" creator John Kricfalusi (enthusiastic but over the top). But Warners continues its scattergun approach to selecting films. There are only eight cartoons by Clampett in the set, plus three by Tex Avery and one by Frank Tashlin. "Rabbit Fire" and "Rabbit Seasoning" appear on the first set, but the third cartoon in Jones's trilogy, "Duck! Rabbit! Duck!" isn't on either. More than two-thirds of the films are by Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones. That's not necessarily a bad thing. "Show Biz Bugs," "Bugs Bunny Rides Again," and the Oscar-winning "Tweety Pie" showcase Freleng's razor-sharp timing. "What's Opera, Doc," "The Dover Boys," and the justly celebrated "One Froggy Evening" rank among Jones's boldest experiments and most brilliant successes.
"Volume Two" includes some genuine rarities, among them, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub" (1930), the first Looney Tune, and the Oscar-winning documentary "So Much for So Little." With 60-plus cartoons, transferred from good prints "Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, Volume 2" is a collection to treasure. (Rated G, suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) "--Charles Solomon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono

Summary: Like the previous entries in the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" series, volume 3 confirms how brilliant the Warner Bros. artists were and how durable their creations have proven. The set includes classics that every cartoon buff will recognize: "Duck! Rabbit! Duck!," "Robin Hood Daffy," "Birds Anonymous." Other selections are less familiar but significant in the development of the studio: "Sinkin' in the Bathtub," the first Looney Tune; "I Haven't Got a Hat," the earliest Warners cartoon viewers can watch for fun, rather than as an historic curiosity; "Porky's Romance," in which director Frank Tashlin introduced rapid cutting to cartoons. Some of the caricature films have aged less gracefully. Younger audiences will recognize the drawn versions of W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, Katharine Hepburn, and Charlie Chaplin. But will anyone under the age of 60 remember Edna Mae Oliver, George Arliss, or Ned Sparks?
The producers have once again loaded the discs with supplemental material, including "Point Food Rationing," a unseen short explaining wartime ration books; a BBC documentary on Chuck Jones; and interstitial animated sequences for "The Bugs Bunny Show". "Philbert" ranks as the oddest of the extras: an unsold (and leaden) pilot from 1963, featuring live actors and an animated title character. Whoopi Goldberg introduces the set, explaining that some of the ethnic gags would no longer be considered appropriate. But she correctly adds that to remove them would falsify both the history of animation and American popular culture. It all adds up to a set every cartoon fan will want. (Unrated, suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) "--Charles Solomon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 1.0

Summary: Like previous installments, the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 4" mixes favorites from the Warner Bros. archives with relatively obscure older works. Chuck Jones' "Mississippi Hare" and Friz Freleng's "Sahara Hare" and "Knighty-Knight Bugs" (which won an Oscar) offer hilarious performances by Bugs. Two of Jones' earliest films, "The Night Watchman" and "Conrad the Sailor" prefigure his use of subtle expressions in his later cartoons. The disc of shorts by Frank Tashlin includes "Plane Daffy": pigeon see-duck-tress Hatta Mari anticipates Jayne Mansfield in such later Tashlin live-action comedies as "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?"
Not all of these films have aged as gracefully. Younger viewers will probably not catch the references to Charlie McCarthy, Bill Robinson, and other old film and radio stars. The Speedy Gonzalez cartoons feature ethnic humor that seems embarrassing today; it's also crashingly unfunny. Each disc offers a disclaimer about stereotypes, noting, "they were wrong then and are wrong today."
The discs are loaded with extras that range from a partial set of storyboards for "Sahara Hare" to three of the "Private Snafu" shorts, which were made for the "Army-Navy Screen Magazine" during WW II. The oddest extra is the documentary "Bugs Bunny Superstar", which infuriated many of the Warner Bros. artists when it was released in 1977. Much of its information should be taken with a grain of salt. (Unrated, suitable for ages 6 and older: cartoon violence, some ethnic stereotypes, mild risqué humor, alcohol & tobacco use) "--Charles Solomon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 1.0

Summary: The fifth collection of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies continues Warner Bros.' scattershot approach, mixing classics and obscurities. Among the best-known and funniest cartoons are "Ali Baba Bunny" (Daffy yelling, "I'm rich! I'm socially secure!"), "Bewitched Bunny" (Witch Hazel galloping off in a cloud of hair pins), and "Buccaneer Bunny" (a sterling example of one of director Friz Freleng's favorite gags: having the characters run up and down stairs and in and out of various doors). "Gold Diggers of '49" and "Little Red Walking Hood" show Tex Avery beginning to explore the self-reflexive gags that would be become one of the hallmarks of his mature style. In "Walking Hood," Grandma stops the action to answer the phone and place her order with the grocer--including a case of gin. "The Daffy Doc" is Bob Clampett at his most surreal, with Daffy and Porky getting sucked into an iron lung, bulging and shrinking like balloon animals. Some of the earliest cartoons predate the adoption of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" as the theme song for the Warner Bros. cartoons. Many shorts from the early '30s were built around songs from Warner's musicals: "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" (written for "Gold Diggers of 1933") features caricatures of Mae West, George Bernard Shaw, Benito Mussolini, and Bing Crosby frolicking to the title tune. Greta Garbo delivers the closing, "That's All, Folks!" Like the previous four sets, "Golden Collection Volume 5" comes loaded with extras that range from three WWII films in which Mr. Hook urges sailors to buy war bonds to "Extremes and In-Betweens: A Life in Animation" (2000), a documentary about Oscar-winning director Chuck Jones. Many of these cartoons will have viewers of all ages in stitches. (Unrated, suitable for ages 6 and older: cartoon violence, ethnic stereotypes, mild risqué humor, alcohol and tobacco use) "--Charles Solomon"

Languages: English

Summary: Fifteen cartoons dating from World War II give "Volume 6" of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" more focus than previous sets. Many of the 1940's cartoons remain very funny. Bugs Bunny dresses up as Brunnhilda and rides in to the strains of "Tannhauser" in "Herr Meets Hare" (1945), a gag Chuck Jones re-used to greater effect in "What's Opera, Doc" a dozen years later. In "Russian Rhapsody" (1940) some of the gremlins who sabotage Hitler's bomber are caricatures of the Warner Bros. artists. Chuck Jones appears as a chunky, pinkish-tan homunculus swinging a mallet; Friz Freleng is a little green man with a saw-like nose. Younger viewers may find the references to wartime shortages puzzling--or fail to recognize the caricatures of Hermann Goering, Hideki Tojo and Joseph Stalin. Some of the other cartoons can still bring down the house, including "Satan's Waitin'" (1954), in which Sylvester manages to lose all nine of his lives in pursuit of Tweety, and "Bear Feat" (1949), another exercise in futility for Jones' Three Bears. The early musicals featuring Bosko, Foxy (or Freddy Fox) and Buddy have not aged well. Created by Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising, these characters were modeled on Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse, but lack charm and personality. Some more recent films reveal how social attitudes have changed. "Wild Wife," a spoof of a suburban housewife's tribulations, may have seemed hilarious in 1954; today, it's just a laundry list of sexist gags. Like the previous installments, "Volume 6" comes loaded with extras. The rarest are five shorts Friz Freleng directed at MGM in 1938. Producer Fred Quimby lured Freleng away from Warner Bros.--only to insist he adapt the comic strip "The Captain and the Kids," Rudolph Dirks' version of "The Katzenjammer Kids." Freleng correctly predicted the films would flop as the characters were "the meanest little bastards in the world," and soon returned to Warners. (Unrated, suitable for ages 6 and older: cartoon violence, ethnic stereotypes, mild risqué humor, alcohol & tobacco use) "--Charles Solomon"
(1. Hare Trigger, 2. To Duck or Not to Duck, 3. Birth of a Notion, 4. My Little Duckaroo, 5. Crowing Pains, 6. Raw! Raw! Rooster! 7. Heaven Scent, 8. My Favorite Duck, 9. Jumpin' Jupiter, 10. Satan's Waitin', 11. Hook Line and Stinker, 12. Bear Feat, 13. Dog Gone South, 14. A Ham in a Role, 15. Often an Orphan, 16. Herr Meets Hare, 17. Russian Rhapsody, 18. Daffy the Commando, 19. Bosko the Doughboy, 20. Rookie Revue, 21. The Draft Horse, 22. Wacky Blackout, 23. The Ducktators, 24. The Weakly Reporter, 25. Fifth Column Mouse, 26. Meet John Doughboy, 27. Hollywood Canine Canteen, 28. By Word of Mouse, 29. Heir Conditioned, 30. Yankee Dood It, 31. Congo Jazz, 32. Smile Dam Ya, Smile! 33. The Booze Hangs High, 34. One More Time, 35. Bosko's Picture Show, 36. You Don't Know What You're Doin'! 37. We're in the Money! 38. Ride 'em Bosko, 39. Shuffle Off to Buffalo, 40. Bosko in Person, 41. The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon, 42. Buddie's Day Out, 43. Buddie's Beer Garden. 44. Buddie's Circus, 45. A Cartoonist's Nightmare, 46. Horton Hatches the Egg, 47. Lights Fantastic, 48. Fresh Airedale, 49. Chow Hound, 50. The Oily American, 51. It's Hummer Time, 52. Rocket Bye Baby, 53. Goo Goo Goliath, 54. Wild Wife, 55. Much Ado About Nutting, 56. The Hole idea, 57. Now Hear This, 58. Martian Through Georgia, 59. Page Miss Glory. 60. Norman Normal)

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films gave "double-dipping"--releasing a DVD then releasing an improved version shortly afterward--a good name by offering both a better film and stupendous extras in the Extended Editions. This "triple-dip" 2006 Limited Edition falls far short of that standard but is still of interest to devoted and casual fans.
What do you get?
Both the theatrical and extended versions of "The Fellowship of the Ring" are on one double-sided disc. The versions use seamless branching, meaning that the scenes that are common to both versions are stored on the disc only once. If you choose to watch the extended version, the disc "branches" out to the added or extended scenes. What does this mean to the viewer? Not much. The viewing experience is the same because the branching is imperceptible. But because both versions of the film don't have to be stored on the disc in their entirety (which would be six and half hours total), both versions together fit on two sides of one disc. The downside is that whichever version you watch, you have to flip over the disc halfway through; the film breaks at the same spot it did on the Extended Edition, right after the council at Rivendell. Also lost are the meager features included on the theatrical edition, plus the four commentary tracks, two discs of bonus features, and DTS 6.1 ES sound from the four-disc Extended Edition.
What's new?
The second disc has an 85-minute documentary directed by Costa Botes, who was personally selected by Peter Jackson. Rather than the formal documentary structure of other editions, it consists of off-the-cuff interviews with Peter Jackson, Alan Lee, and others, and random bits of behind-the-scenes action and special-effects work. Those who have worked their way through the many hours of bonus content on the other editions might recognize some of this footage, such as the Hobbit actors mocking whichever of them is not around, then greeting him warmly when he shows up. Other things--Liv Tyler riding a fake horse, a snowfall during shooting, interviewing the rank-and-file cast members, touring Peter Jackson's trailer--seem new. And some bits seem geared to those who've watched the other material--for example, some of the visual tricks explained there are only glimpsed without explanation here. It's entertaining, but because there's no structure (there are chapters, but no menu or chapter listing), it's not as convenient to watch, and go back to, as a documentary broken up into bite-size pieces. Oddly, the documentary is in widescreen, but not anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs. Note: New Line Home Entertainment couldn't release this material on its own a là the "King Kong Production Diaries" due to contractual restrictions.
Bottom line: Do you need this edition?
This Limited Edition combination of theatrical and extended versions plus new documentary seems likely to appeal to two camps. One is the devoted fan, who already owns both editions but "has" to have everything "LOTR". The other is the casual fan who liked the movie in theaters, heard good things about the Extended Edition, and doesn't need a ton of bonus material. This edition is attractively priced for that buyer, and the packaging is quite handsome. In between is the devoted fan who already owns both editions but doesn't feel the need to watch more bonus material. When watching the whole movie, that fan will always choose the Extended Edition, but keeps the theatrical edition for (1) watching with guests, (2) the music video, or (3) the convenience of skimming through favorite scenes without having to change discs. That fan can safely skip this edition, as can home-theater fans who love DTS. "--David Horiuchi"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: As the triumphant start of a trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" leaves you begging for more. By necessity, Peter Jackson's ambitious epic compresses J.R.R. Tolkien's classic "The Lord of the Rings", but this robust adaptation maintains reverent allegiance to Tolkien's creation, instantly qualifying as one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. At 178 minutes, it's long enough to establish the myriad inhabitants of Middle-earth, the legendary Rings of Power, and the fellowship of hobbits, elves, dwarves, and humans--led by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the brave hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood)--who must battle terrifying forces of evil on their perilous journey to destroy the One Ring in the land of Mordor. Superbly paced, the film is both epic and intimate, offering astonishing special effects and production design while emphasizing the emotional intensity of Frodo's adventure. Ending on a perfect note of heroic loyalty and rich anticipation, this wondrous fantasy continues in "The Two Towers" (2002). "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: In every aspect, the extended-edition DVD of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" blows away the theatrical-version DVD. No one who cares at all about the film should ever need to watch the original version again. Well, maybe the impatient and the squeamish will still prefer the theatrical version, because the extended edition makes a long film 30 minutes longer and there's a bit more violence (though both versions are rated PG-13). But the changes--sometimes whole scenes, sometimes merely a few seconds--make for a richer film. There's more of the spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien, embodied in more songs and a longer opening focusing on Hobbiton. There's more character development, and more background into what is to come in the two subsequent films, such as Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship and Aragorn's burden of lineage. And some additions make more sense to the plot, or are merely worth seeing, such as the wood elves leaving Middle-earth or the view of Caras Galadhon (but sorry, there's still no Tom Bombadil). Extremely useful are the chapter menus that indicate which scenes are new or extended.
Of the "four" commentary tracks, the ones with the greatest general appeal are the one by Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and the one by 10 cast members, but the more technically oriented commentaries by the creative and production staff are also worth hearing. The bonus features (encompassing two complete DVDs) are far superior to the largely promotional materials included on the theatrical release, delving into such matters as script development, casting, and visual effects. The only drawback is that the film is now spread over two discs, with a somewhat abrupt break following the council at Rivendell, due to the storage capacity required for the longer running time, the added DTS ES 6.1 audio, and the commentary tracks. But that's a minor inconvenience. Whether in this four-disc set or in the collector's gift set (which adds Argonath bookends and a DVD of "National Geographic Beyond the Movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"), the extended-edition DVD is the "Fellowship" DVD to rule them all. "--David Horiuchi"

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The greatest trilogy in film history, presented in the most ambitious sets in DVD history, comes to a grand conclusion with the extended edition of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". Not only is the third and final installment of Peter Jackson's adaptation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien the longest of the three, but a full 50 minutes of new material pushes the running time to a whopping 4 hours and 10 minutes. The new scenes are welcome, and the bonus features maintain the high bar set by the first two films, "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers".
What's New?
One of the scenes cut from the theatrical release but included here, the resolution of the Saruman storyline, generated a lot of publicity when the movie opened, as actor Christopher Lee complained in the press about losing his only appearance. It's an excellent scene, one Jackson calls "pure Tolkien," and provides better context for Pippin to find the wizard's palantir in the water, but it's not critical to the film. In fact, "valuable but not critical" might sum up the "ROTK" extended edition. It's evident that Jackson made the right cuts for the theatrical run, but the extra material provides depth and ties up a number of loose ends, and for those sorry to see the trilogy end (and who isn't?) it's a welcome chance to spend another hour in Middle-earth. Some choice moments are Gandalf's (Ian McKellen) confrontation with the Witch King (we find out what happened to the wizard's staff), the chilling Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor, and Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) being mistaken for Orc soldiers. We get to see more of Éowyn (Miranda Otto), both with Aragorn and on the battlefield, even fighting the hideously deformed Orc lieutenant, Gothmog. We also see her in one of the most anticipated new scenes, the Houses of Healing after the battle of the Pelennor Fields. It doesn't present Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) as a savior as the book did, but it shows the initial meeting between Éowyn and Faramir (David Wenham), a relationship that received only a meaningful glance in the theatrical cut.
If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson's marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do.
And for those who complained, no, there are no new endings, not even the scouring of the Shire, which many fans were hoping to see. Nor is there a scene of Denethor (John Noble) with the palantir, which would have better explained both his foresight and his madness. As Jackson notes, when cuts are made, the secondary characters are the first to go, so there is a new scene of Aragorn finding the palantir in Denethor's robes. Another big difference is Aragorn's confrontation with the King of the Dead. In the theatrical version, we didn't know whether the King had accepted Aragorn's offer when the pirate ships pulled into the harbor; here Jackson assumes that viewers have already experienced that tension, and instead has the army of the dead join the battle in an earlier scene (an extended cameo for Jackson). One can debate which is more effective, but that's why the film is available in both versions. If you feel like watching the relatively shorter version you saw in the theaters, you can. If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson's marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do.
How Are the Bonus Features?
To complete the experience, "The Return of the King" provides the same sprawling set of features as the previous extended editions: four commentary tracks, sharp picture and thrilling sound, and two discs of excellent documentary material far superior to the recycled material in the theatrical edition. Those who have listened to the seven hours of commentary for the first two extended editions may wonder if they need to hear more, but there was no commentary for the earlier "ROTK" DVD, so it's still entertaining to hear Jackson break down the film (he says the beacon scene is one of his favorites), discuss differences from the book, point out cameos, and poke fun at himself and the extended-edition concept ("So this is the complete full strangulation, never seen before, here exclusively on DVD!"). The documentaries (some lasting 30 minutes or longer) are of their usual outstanding quality, and there's a riveting storyboard/animatic sequence of the climactic scene, which includes a one-on-one battle between Aragorn and Sauron.
One DVD Set to Rule Them All
Peter Jackson's trilogy has set the standard for fantasy films by adapting the Holy Grail of fantasy stories with a combination of fidelity to the original source and his own vision, supplemented by outstanding writing, near-perfect casting, glorious special effects, and evocative New Zealand locales. The extended editions without exception have set the standard for the DVD medium by providing a richer film experience that pulls the three films together and further embraces Tolkien's world, a reference-quality home theater experience, and generous, intelligent, and engrossing bonus features. "--David Horiuchi"

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: With "The Return of the King", the greatest fantasy epic in film history draws to a grand and glorious conclusion. Director Peter Jackson's awe-inspiring adaptation of the Tolkien classic "The Lord of the Rings" could never fully satisfy those who remain exclusively loyal to Tolkien's expansive literature, but as a showcase for physical and technical craftsmanship it is unsurpassed in pure scale and ambition, setting milestone after cinematic milestone as the brave yet charmingly innocent Hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood) continues his mission to Mordor, where he is destined to destroy the soul-corrupting One Ring of Power in the molten lava of Mount Doom. While the heir to the kingdom of Men, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), endures the massive battle at Minas Tirith with the allegiance of the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom), dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and the great wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Frodo and stalwart companion Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) must survive the schizoid deceptions of Gollum, who remains utterly convincing as a hybrid of performance (by Andy Serkis) and subtly nuanced computer animation.

Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have much ground to cover; that they do so with intense pacing and epic sweep is impressive enough, but by investing greater depth and consequence in the actions of fellow Hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), they ensure that "Return of the King" maintains the trilogy's emphasis on intimate fellowship. While several major characters appear only briefly, and one (Christopher Lee's evil wizard, Saruman) relegated entirely to the extended version on DVD, Jackson is to be commended for his editorial acumen; like Legolas the archer, his aim as a filmmaker is consistently true, and he remains faithful to Tolkien's overall vision. If "Return" suffers from too many endings, as some critic suggested, it's only because the epic's conclusion is so loyally inclusive of the actors--most notably Astin--who gave it such strength to begin with. By ending the "LOTR" trilogy with noble integrity and faith in the power of imaginative storytelling, "The Return of the King", like its predecessors, will stand as an adventure for the ages. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films gave "double-dipping"--releasing a DVD then releasing an improved version shortly afterward--a good name by offering both a better film and stupendous extras in the Extended Editions. This "triple-dip" 2006 Limited Edition falls far short of that standard but is still of interest to devoted and casual fans.
What do you get?
Both the theatrical and extended versions of "The Return of the King" are on one double-sided disc. The versions use seamless branching, meaning that the scenes that are common to both versions are stored on the disc only once. If you choose to watch the extended version, the disc "branches" out to the added or extended scenes. What does this mean to the viewer? Not much. The viewing experience is the same because the branching is imperceptible. But because both versions of the film don't have to be stored on the disc in their entirety (which would be seven and half hours total), both versions together fit on two sides of one disc. The downside is that whichever version you watch, you have to flip over the disc halfway through; the film breaks at the same spot it did on the Extended Edition, right after the entrance of the wolf-head battering ram. Also lost are the meager features included on the theatrical edition, plus the four commentary tracks, two discs of bonus features, and DTS 6.1 ES sound from the four-disc Extended Edition.
What's new?
The second disc has an 112-minute documentary directed by Costa Botes, who was personally selected by Peter Jackson. Rather than the formal documentary structure of other editions, it consists of off-the-cuff interviews and random bits of behind-the-scenes action and special-effects work: The charge of the Rohan, the horses, the Mumakils, the lava of Mount Doom, and the burning of the ring. You'll also see Ian McKellen flubbing his lines and conducting the crowning ceremony in a flowery wig. It's entertaining, but because there's no structure (there are chapters, but no menu or chapter listing), it's not as convenient to watch, and go back to, as a documentary broken up into bite-size pieces. Note: New Line Home Entertainment couldn't release this material on its own à la the "King Kong Production Diaries" due to contractual restrictions.
Bottom line: Do I need this edition?
This Limited Edition combination of theatrical and extended versions plus new documentary seems likely to appeal to two camps. One is the devoted fan, who already owns both editions but "has" to have everything LOTR. The other is the casual fan who liked the movie in theaters, heard good things about the Extended Edition, and doesn't need a ton of bonus material. This edition is attractively priced for that buyer, and the packaging is quite handsome. In between is the devoted fan who already owns both editions but doesn't feel the need to watch more bonus material. When watching the whole movie, that fan will always choose the Extended Edition, but keeps the theatrical edition for (1) watching with guests, (2) the music video, or (3) the convenience of skimming through favorite scenes without having to change discs. That fan can safely skip this edition, as can home-theater fans who love DTS. "--David Horiuchi"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The extended edition of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" was perhaps the most comprehensive DVD release to date, and its follow-up proves a similarly colossal achievement, with significant extra footage and a multitude of worthwhile bonus features. The extended version of "The Two Towers" adds 43 minutes to the theatrical version's 179-minute running time, and there are valuable additions to the film. Two new scenes might appease those who feel that the characterization of Faramir was the film's most egregious departure from the book, and fans will appreciate an appearance of the Huorns at Helm's Deep plus a nod to the absence of Tom Bombadil. Seeing a little more interplay between the gorgeous Eowyn and Aragorn is welcome, as is a grim introduction to Eomer and Theoden's son. And among the many other additions, there's an extended epilogue that might not have worked in the theater, but is more effective here in setting up "The Return of the King". While the 30 minutes added to "The Fellowship of the Ring" felt just right in enriching the film, the extra footage in "The Two Towers" at times seems a bit extraneous--we "see" moments that in the theatrical version we had been told about, and some fleshed-out conversations and incidents are rather minor. But director Peter Jackson's vision of J.R.R. Tolkien's world is so marvelous that it's hard to complain about any extra time we can spend there.
While it may seem that there would be nothing left to say after the bevy of features on the extended "Fellowship", the four commentary tracks and two discs of supplements on "The Two Towers" remain informative, fascinating, and funny, far surpassing the recycled materials on the two-disc theatrical version. Highlights of the 6.5 hours' worth of documentaries offer insight on the stunts, the design work, the locations, and the creation of Gollum, and--most intriguing for rabid fans--the film's writers (including Jackson) discuss why they created events that weren't in the book. Providing variety are animatics, rough footage, countless sketches, and a sound-mixing demonstration. Again, the most interesting commentary tracks are by Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and by 16 members of the cast (eight of whom didn't appear in the first film, and even including John Noble, whose Denethor character only appears in this extended cut). The first two installments of Peter Jackson's trilogy have established themselves as the best fantasy films of all time, and among the best film trilogies of all time, and their extended-edition DVD sets have set a new standard for expanding on the already-epic films and providing comprehensive bonus features. "--David Horiuchi"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films gave "double-dipping"--releasing a DVD then releasing an improved version shortly afterward--a good name by offering both a better film and stupendous extras in the Extended Editions. This "triple-dip" 2006 Limited Edition falls far short of that standard but is still of interest to devoted and casual fans.
What do you get?
Both the theatrical and extended versions of "The Two Towers" are on one double-sided disc. The versions use seamless branching, meaning that the scenes that are common to both versions are stored on the disc only once. If you choose to watch the extended version, the disc "branches" out to the added or extended scenes. What does this mean to the viewer? Not much. The viewing experience is the same because the branching is imperceptible. But because both versions of the film don't have to be stored on the disc in their entirety (which would be almost seven hours total), both versions together fit on two sides of one disc. The downside is that whichever version you watch, you have to flip over the disc halfway through; the film breaks at the same spot it did on the Extended Edition, right after Faramir finds Frodo and Sam. Also lost are the meager features included on the theatrical edition, plus the four commentary tracks, two discs of bonus features, and DTS 6.1 ES sound from the four-disc Extended Edition.
What's new?
Costa Botes' 105-minute documentary reminds us just how rich "The Two Towers" is. It covers the mechanics of Treebeard, Gollum, Rohan, and other elements, and all that is before we get to the half-hour segment on Helm's Deep. What's interesting is how Peter Jackson and others appear in the documentary, but even more time is spent interviewing the extra actors and the lesser-known technicians who get into the nuts and bolts of how the film was made. Most of the cast members aren't interviewed at all, though Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd's clowning serves as a framing device. Some of the shots are quite funny, including the anachronistic glimpse of someone vacuuming the Great Hall of Rohan. It's entertaining, but because there's no structure (there are chapters, but no menu or chapter listing), it's not as convenient to watch, and go back to, as a documentary broken up into bite-size pieces. Oddly, the documentary is in widescreen, but not anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs. Note: New Line Home Entertainment couldn't release this material on its own a la the "King Kong Production Diaries" due to contractual restrictions.
Bottom line: Do I need this edition?
This Limited Edition combination of theatrical and extended versions plus new documentary seems likely to appeal to two camps. One is the devoted fan, who already owns both editions but "has" to have everything LOTR. The other is the casual fan who liked the movie in theaters, heard good things about the Extended Edition, and doesn't need a ton of bonus material. This edition is attractively priced for that buyer, and the packaging is quite handsome. In between is the devoted fan who already owns both editions but doesn't feel the need to watch more bonus material. When watching the whole movie, that fan will always choose the Extended Edition, but keeps the theatrical edition for (1) watching with guests, (2) Sean Astin's short film, or (3) the convenience of skimming through favorite scenes without having to change discs. That fan can safely skip this edition, as can home-theater fans who love DTS. "--David Horiuchi"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Czech, Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Polish, Russian, Hungarian, Latvian

Sound: DTS-HD High Res Audio

Summary: Stills from The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy (click for larger image)

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is a seamless continuation of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. After the breaking of the Fellowship, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring of Power with the creature Gollum as their guide. Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) join in the defense of the people of Rohan, who are the first target in the eradication of the race of Men by the renegade wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) and the dark lord Sauron. Fantastic creatures, astounding visual effects, and a climactic battle at the fortress of Helm's Deep make "The Two Towers" a worthy successor to "The Fellowship of the Ring", grander in scale but retaining the story's emotional intimacy. These two films are perhaps the greatest fantasy films ever made, but they're merely a prelude to the cataclysmic events of "The Return of the King". "--David Horiuchi"

Languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The lethal business of arms dealers provides an electrifying context for the black-as-coal humor of Andrew Niccol's "Lord of War". Having proven his ingenuity as the writer of "The Truman Show", and writer-director of "Gattaca" and the under-appreciated "Simone", Niccol is clearly striving for Strangelovian relevance here as he chronicles the rise and inevitable fall of Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), a Ukrainian immigrant to America who makes his fortune selling every kind of ordnance he can get his amoral hands on. With a trophy wife (Bridget Moynahan) who's initially clueless about his hidden career, and a younger brother (Jared Leto) whose drug-addled sense of decency makes him an ill-chosen accomplice, Yuri traffics in death the way other salesman might push vacuum cleaners (he likes to say that alcohol and tobacco are deadlier products than his), but even he can't deny the sheer ruthlessness of the Liberian dictator (a scene-stealing Eamonn Walker) who purchases Orlov's "products" to expand his oppressive regime. Niccol's themes are even bigger than Yuri's arms deals, and he drives them home with a blunt-force lack of subtlety, but Cage gives the film the kind of insanely dark humor it needs to have. To understand this monster named Yuri, we have to see at least a glimpse of his humanity, which Cage provides as only he can. Otherwise, this epic tale of gunrunnng would be as morally unbearable as the black market trade it illuminates. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

Subtitles: English

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Along with "Desperate Housewives", "Lost" was one of the two breakout shows in the fall of 2004. Mixing suspense and action with a sci-fi twist, it began with a thrilling pilot episode in which a jetliner traveling from Australia to Los Angeles crashes, leaving 48 survivors on an unidentified island with no sign of civilization or hope of imminent rescue. That may sound like "Gilligan's Island" meets "Survivor", but "Lost" kept viewers tuning in every Wednesday night--and spending the rest of the week speculating on Web sites--with some irresistible hooks (not to mention the beautiful women). First, there's a huge ensemble cast of no fewer than 14 regular characters, and each episode fills in some of the back story on one of them. There's a doctor; an Iraqi soldier; a has-been rock star; a fugitive from justice; a self-absorbed young woman and her brother; a lottery winner; a father and son; a Korean couple; a pregnant woman; and others. Second, there's a host of unanswered questions: What is the mysterious beast that lurks in the jungle? Why do polar bears and wild boars live there? Why has a woman been transmitting an SOS message in French from somewhere on the island for the last 16 years? Why do impossible wishes seem to come true? Are they really on a physical island, or somewhere else? What is the significance of the recurring set of numbers? And will Kate ever give up her bad-boy fixation and hook up with Jack?
"Lost" did have some hiccups during the first season. Some plot threads were left dangling for weeks, and the "oh, it didn't really happen" card was played too often. But the strong writing and topnotch cast kept the show a cut above most network TV. The best-known actor at the time of the show's debut was Dominic Monaghan, fresh off his stint as Merry the Hobbit in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films. The rest of the cast is either unknowns or "where I have I seen that face before" supporting players, including Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, who are the closest thing to leads. Other standouts include Naveen Andrews, Terry O'Quinn (who's made a nice career out of conspiracy-themed TV shows), Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Maggie Grace, and Emilie de Ravin, but there's really not a weak link in the cast. Co-created by J.J. Abrams ("Alias"), "Lost" left enough unanswered questions after its first season to keep viewers riveted for a second season. "--David Horiuchi"
Where Have I Seen These Castaways? (click images to find out)


Locke
(Terry O'Quinn)


Sawyer
(Josh Holloway)

Charlie
(Dominic Monaghan)


Boone
(Ian Somerhalder)

Jin
(Daniel Dae Kim)

Michael
(Harold Perrineau)


Sayid
(Naveen Andrews)

Jack
(Matthew Fox)


Hurley
(Jorge Garcia)

Kate
(Evangeline Lilly)

Claire
(Emilie de Ravin)

Sun
(Yunjin Kim)


Shannon
(Maggie Grace)

Walt
(Malcolm David Kelley)

Stills from "Lost" (click for larger image)


Sawyer in action


Claire and Charlie

Jin and Michael


Brawl


Shannon


Claire and Hurley


DVD features
Even if you saw every episode of "Lost" on TV--or perhaps "especially" if you saw every episode--the DVD set is a must-own. The episodes are presented in widescreen format, just as they were broadcast on high-definition channels. (Conventional ABC-TV broadcasts were reduced to 1.33 full-screen format.) Four of the episodes have commentary tracks by the producing team and the actors who were featured on certain episodes (Terry O'Quinn, Dominic Monaghan, and Maggie Grace and Ian Sommerhalder). The last disc has over three hours of bonus material sensibly broken into three categories. "Departure" discusses the initial creation of the series, the making of the pilot, and the cast (some characters were created to fit the actors, and Evangeline Lilly's Kate was the hardest to cast). It also includes the cast's audition tapes and photographs by Matthew Fox. "Tales from the Island" provides background material on seven of the episodes plus the boars used in filming, Jimmy Kimmel's appearance on the set, and the genesis of the Driveshaft song ("You all everybody..."). Finally, "Lost Revealed" includes two scenes cut from the season finale, 13 other deleted scenes (not identified by episode, unfortunately), a blooper reel, and the cast and crew's giddy appearance at the Museum of Television & Radio. "--David Horiuchi"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: What was in the Hatch? The cliffhanger from season one of Lost was answered in its opening sequences, only to launch into more questions as the season progressed. That's right: Just when you say "Ohhhhh," there comes another "What?" Thankfully, the show's producers sprinkle answers like tasty morsels throughout the season, ending with a whopper: What caused Oceanic Air Flight 815 to crash in the first place? As the show digs into more revelations about its inhabitant's pasts, it also devotes a good chunk to new characters (Hey, it's an island; you never know who you're going to run into.) First, there are the "Tailies," passengers from the back end of the plane who crashed on the other side of the island. Among them are the wise, God-fearing ex-drug lord Mr. Eko (standout Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje); devoted husband Bernard (Sam Anderson); psychiatrist Libby (Cynthia Watros, whose character has more than one hidden link to the other islanders); and ex-cop Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), by far the most infuriating character on the show, despite how much the writers tried to incur sympathy with her flashback. Then there are the Others, first introduced when they kidnapped Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) at the end of season one. Brutal and calculating, their agenda only became more complex when one of them (played creepily by Michael Emerson) was held hostage in the hatch and, quite handily, plays mind games on everyone's already frayed nerves. The original cast continues to battle their own skeletons, most notably Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Michael (Harold Perrineau), whose obsession with finding Walt takes a dangerous turn. The love triangle between Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway), which had stalled with Sawyer's departure, heats up again in the second half. Despite the bloating cast size (knocked down by a few by season's end) Lost still does what it does best: explores the psyche of people, about whom "my life is an open book" never applies, and cracks into the social dynamics of strangers thrust into Lord of the Flies-esque situations. Is it all a science experiment? A dream? A supernatural pocket in the universe? Likely, any theory will wind up on shaky ground by the season's conclusion. But hey, that's the fun of it. This show was made for DVD, and you can pause and slow-frame to your heart's content. Just try and keep that head-spinning to a minimum.
On the DVD
Commentaries by various cast members and producers reveal little other than the occasional easter egg (the Dharma logo on the shark fin, Walt's mumbling translating to "Don't push the button; the button is bad" backwards). But disc seven opens with an eerie Hanso Foundation instructional video, leading you to eight hours of bonus features, including cast members' own theories, deleted scenes, and featurettes on specific episodes. It's all well and good for Lost fanatics, but if you want the cream of the crop, check out: "Lost Connections," an interactive feature that reveals how all the islanders are actually linked (for instance, one of the officers who captured Sayid during the Gulf War is Kate's father); a Channel UK promo for the show directed by David LaChappelle in which cast members suck in their cheeks and, dressed in evening wear, tango in slow motion as if in a Calvin Klein ad (it has to be a joke, right?); and "The World According to Sawyer," which strings together each of the un-PC nicknames and pop culture references spewed by Holloway's character. Favorites include "Chewie" for Jin and "Ponce de Leon" for Ana Lucia. It's by far the cherry on top of a sweet dessert. --"Ellen A. Kim "

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Summary: When it aired in 2006-07, "Lost"'s third season was split into two, with a hefty break in between. This did nothing to help the already weirdly disparate direction the show was taking (Kate and Sawyer in zoo cages! Locke eating goop in a mud hut!), but when it finally righted its course halfway through--in particular that whopper of a finale--the drama series had left its irked fan base thrilled once again. This doesn't mean, however, that you should skip through the first half of the season to get there, because quite a few questions find answers: what the Others are up to, the impact of turning that fail-safe key, the identity of the eye-patched man from the hatch's video monitor. One of the series' biggest curiosities from the past--how Locke ended up in that wheelchair in the first place--also gets its satisfying due. (The episode, "The Man from Tallahassee," likely was a big contributor to Terry O'Quinn's surprising--but long-deserved--Emmy win that year.)
Unfortunately, you do have to sit through a lot of aforementioned nuisances to get there. Season 3 kicks off with Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) held captive by the Others; Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) on a mission to rescue them; and Locke, Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) in the aftermath of the electromagnetic pulse that blew up the hatch. Spinning the storylines away from base camp alone wouldn't have felt so disjointed were it not for the new characters simultaneously being introduced. First there's Juliet, a mysterious member of the Others whose loyalty constantly comes into question as the season goes on. Played delicately by Elizabeth Mitchell ("Gia, ER, Frequency"), Juliet is in one turn a cold-blooded killer, by another turn a sympathetic friend; possibly both at once, possibly neither at all. (She's also a terrific, albeit unwitting, threat to the Kate-Sawyer-Jack love triangle, which plays out more definitively this season.) On the other hand, there's the now-infamous Nikki and Paulo (Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro), a tagalong couple who were cleverly woven into the previous seasons' key moments but came to bear the brunt of fans' ire toward the show (Sawyer humorously echoed the sentiments by remarking, "Who the hell are you?"). By the end of the season, at least two major characters die, another is told he/she will die within months, major new threats are unveiled, and--as mentioned before--the two-part season finale restores your faith in the series.
The extras are as well-stocked as a Dharma Initiative food pantry on this seven-disc set. Commentaries by producer Damon Lindelof, show writers, and numerous cast members reveal a whole lot of juicy trivia; plus, the DVDs even provide a subtitle track for the commentary (rarely seen other than on foreign-language director's commentaries) so you won't miss a thing. "Lost Book Club" goes through the parallels between what characters are reading and the show's storylines ("The Wizard of Oz" and Stephen King are heavily referenced). "Lost: On Location" gives a lot of insight to some of the biggest episodes, and "Lost in a Day" gives a 24-hour glimpse at the drama's arduous production. If you're a "Lost" fan who gave up during this season, the bonus features alone might lure you back for the next round. "--Ellen A. Kim"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Season four of "Lost" was a fine return to form for the series, which polarized its audience the year before with its focus on The Others and not enough on our original crash victims. That season's finale introduced a new storytelling device--the flash-forward--that's employed to great effect this time around; by showing who actually got off the island (known as the Oceanic Six), the viewer is able to put to bed some longstanding loose ends. As the finale attests, we see that in the future Jack (Matthew Fox) is broken, bearded, and not sober, while Kate (Evangeline Lilly) is estranged from Jack and with another guy (the identity may surprise you). Four others do make it back to their homes, but as the flash-forwards show, it's definitely not the end of their connection to the island. Back in present day, however, the islanders are visited by the denizens of a so-called rescue ship, who have agendas of their own. While Jack works with the newcomers to try to get off the island, Locke (Terry O'Quinn), with a few followers of his own, forms an uneasy alliance with Ben (Michael Emerson) against the suspicious gang. Some episodes featuring the new characters feel like filler, but the evolution of such characters as Sun and Jin (Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim) is this season's strength; plus, the love story of Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) and Penny (Sonya Walger) provides some of the show's emotional highlights. As is the custom with "Lost", bullets fly and characters die (while others may or may not have). Moreover, the fate of Michael (Harold Perrineau), last seen traitorously sailing off to civilization in season two, as well as the flash-forwards of the Oceanic Six, shows you never quite "leave" the island once you've left. There's a force that pulls them in, and it's a hook that keeps you watching.
Season four was a shorter 13 episodes instead of the usual 22 due to the 2008 writers' strike; nonetheless, the set comes with two discs of extras. One of the best features is "LOST in 8:15," which is a rapid-fire summation of the series thus far in eight minutes, 15 seconds. Narrated by a hilariously droll female, it includes lines such as "Jack meets Kate. Kate stitches up Jack. They bond." and "They see Jack play football with Mr. Friendly. Mr. Friendly throws like a girl." The featurette "The Right to Bear Arms" takes a fun look at the prop masters responsible for supplying the castaways with guns--and keeping track of who has one and who doesn't (best here is Sawyer's (Josh Holloway) assertion that characters often cock their guns just to look cool). Cast members Lilly, Garcia, Yunjin Kim, and Daniel Dae Kim provide a few of the commentaries, and the set even comes with an amusing safety guide for Oceanic Airlines. (Example: "if you notice black smoke emanating from the plane, please alert the captain. It is either a problem with the engines or a mysterious creature.") Finally, for those who bought the standard-def DVD, take a closer look at the front cover after you've removed the O-sleeve; you'll notice the entire cast has been blacked out save for a few: the Oceanic Six. --"Ellen A. Kim"

Stills from "Lost : The Complete Fourth Season" (Click for larger image)

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: This 1987 thriller was a predictable hit with the teen audience it worked overtime to attract. Like most of director Joel Schumacher's films, it's conspicuously designed to push the right marketing and demographic buttons, and granted, there's some pretty cool stuff going on here and there. Take Kiefer Sutherland, for instance. In "Stand by Me" he played a memorable bully, but here he goes one step further as a memorable bully "vampire" who leads a tribe of teenage vampires on their nocturnal spree of bloodsucking havoc. Jason Patric plays the new guy in town, who quickly attracts a lovely girlfriend (Jami Gertz), only to find that she might be recruiting him into the vampire fold. The movie gets sillier as it goes along, and resorts to a routine action-movie showdown, but it's a visual knockout (featuring great cinematography by Michael Chapman) and boasts a cast that's eminently able (pardon the pun) to sink their teeth into the best parts of an uneven screenplay. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Like a good dream, Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" envelops you with an aura of fantastic light, moody sound, head-turning love, and a feeling of déjà vu, even though you've probably never been to this neon-fused version of Tokyo. Certainly Bob Harris has not. The 50-ish actor has signed on for big money shooting whiskey ads instead of doing something good for his career or his long-distance family. Jetlagged, helplessly lost with his Japanese-speaking director, and out of sync with the metropolis, Harris (Bill Murray, never better) befriends the married but lovelorn 25-year-old Charlotte (played with heaps of poise by 18-year-old Scarlett Johansson). Even before her photographer husband all but abandons her, she is adrift like Harris but in a total entrapment of youth. How Charlotte and Bill discover they are soul mates will be cherished for years to come. Written and directed by Coppola ("The Virgin Suicides"), the film is far more atmospheric than plot-driven: we whiz through Tokyo parties, karaoke bars, and odd nightlife, always ending up in the impossibly posh hotel where the two are staying. The wisps of bittersweet loneliness of Bill and Charlotte are handled smartly and romantically, but unlike modern studio films, this isn't a May-November fling film. Surely and steadily, the film ends on a much-talked-about grace note, which may burn some, yet awards film lovers who "always had Paris" with another cinematic destination of the heart. "--Doug Thomas"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: This savvy Disney hit from 1969 made a star of a Volkswagen precisely when the car was becoming more popular than ever. Dean Jones and Michele Lee head the cast in a story about a VW bug with a mind of its own. Disney point man Robert Stevenson, director of "The Absent-Minded Professor", "Mary Poppins", and lots of other Disney live-action hits, makes the slapstick work perfectly and keeps the laughs coming. Buddy Hackett is very funny in a supporting role. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Director Peter Jackson takes a personal, risky leap in his direction of the film version of Alice Sebold's bestselling novel "The Lovely Bones". Yet the leap pays off, in emotional depth and riveting visuals that transport the viewer to other worlds--even ones the viewer may not want to visit. "The Lovely Bones" is lofted by its star-making performance by the young Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement"), who plays Susie Salmon, the 14-year-old girl who is murdered early in the film, and who narrates the action from her "in-between place" after dying but before going to heaven. Ronan makes Susie as earthy and awkward as any young teen, yet her presence, and her gorgeous pale eyes, remind viewers that she's otherworldly too. "The Lovely Bones" takes some big departures from the book, as many critics have pointed out, but it works well on its own merits. The drama involves how (even whether) Susie's family will recover after her ghastly murder, and what happens to her killer and the futile-seeming search for justice and closure. The entire cast is stellar, including Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as Susie's nearly destroyed parents; the composed young New Zealand actress Rose McIver, who plays Susie's younger sister, whom Susie watches grow up to be the young woman that Susie will never get to be; and Susan Sarandon, the boozy, wisecracking grandmother who may or may not be able to help keep the family from splintering into a million pieces. The other true standout is Stanley Tucci, almost unrecognizable as the quiet, creepy neighbor who kills Susie, obsessing over every detail and perhaps having left a whole trail of gruesome murders in his shambling wake. Jackson's deft direction keeps the mourning humans moving along believably, numbly, and gives breathtaking life to the afterlife, in scenes of fantasy and dread that recall his "Heavenly Creatures". The film is rated PG-13 but is not recommended for younger teenagers because of its intense subject matter, though handled delicately. --"A.T. Hurley"

Stills from The Lovely Bones (Click for larger image)

Languages: English, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: How boring it is to label a movie Tarantino-esque anymore. The thing is, when it comes to an offering like "Lucky Number Slevin", the shoe fits, and the result is anything but boring. Gruesome killings, arid wit, self-reflexive pop culture references, an A-list cast, and style-heavy production values abound, which gives the proceedings an epoxy bond that seals the Q.T. homage factor. Josh Hartnett--who spends a lot of buffed-up time with his shirt off--is Slevin Kelevra, a hapless fellow visiting his New York friend Nick. But Nick has disappeared, which sets off a mistaken-identity thrill ride when two goons grab Slevin (he's in Nick's apartment so he must be Nick) and take him to their crime lord boss, the Boss (Morgan Freeman). The Boss doesn't care about Slevin's wrong-man protests; he just wants the $96,000 Nick owes him. In one of many offers he can't refuse, Slevin has to agree to murder the son of the Boss's felonious arch rival, the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley) or take the bullet himself. But Slevin turns out to be no ordinary patsy. Thrown into the ingeniously designed production, clever plot twists, and academic nods to Bond, Hitchcock, and obscure old cartoons are Lucy Liu as a sexy coroner, Stanley Tucci as an obsessed cop, and Bruce Willis as a wily hit man with his finger in many pots. With so much visual and narrative trickery, there's almost too much to absorb in one viewing of this convoluted jigsaw puzzle of revenge and entertaining mayhem. "Lucky Number Slevin" isn't quite up to par with similarly brainy thrillers like "Memento" and "The Usual Suspects", but the prospect of seeing it again in order to get your bearings is just as appealing. "--Ted Fry"

Languages: English

Subtitles: Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: How boring it is to label a movie Tarantino-esque anymore. The thing is, when it comes to an offering like "Lucky Number Slevin", the shoe fits, and the result is anything but boring. Gruesome killings, arid wit, self-reflexive pop culture references, an A-list cast, and style-heavy production values abound, which gives the proceedings an epoxy bond that seals the Q.T. homage factor. Josh Hartnett--who spends a lot of buffed-up time with his shirt off--is Slevin Kelevra, a hapless fellow visiting his New York friend Nick. But Nick has disappeared, which sets off a mistaken-identity thrill ride when two goons grab Slevin (he's in Nick's apartment so he must be Nick) and take him to their crime lord boss, the Boss (Morgan Freeman). The Boss doesn't care about Slevin's wrong-man protests; he just wants the $96,000 Nick owes him. In one of many offers he can't refuse, Slevin has to agree to murder the son of the Boss's felonious arch rival, the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley) or take the bullet himself. But Slevin turns out to be no ordinary patsy. Thrown into the ingeniously designed production, clever plot twists, and academic nods to Bond, Hitchcock, and obscure old cartoons are Lucy Liu as a sexy coroner, Stanley Tucci as an obsessed cop, and Bruce Willis as a wily hit man with his finger in many pots. With so much visual and narrative trickery, there's almost too much to absorb in one viewing of this convoluted jigsaw puzzle of revenge and entertaining mayhem. "Lucky Number Slevin" isn't quite up to par with similarly brainy thrillers like "Memento" and "The Usual Suspects", but the prospect of seeing it again in order to get your bearings is just as appealing."--Ted Fry"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: "Lucky You" may be playing a weak hand, but that doesn't mean it's playing a losing game. Plagued by numerous release delays and finally dumped into theaters (against "Spider-Man 3") nearly two years after it was completed, Curtis Hanson's low-key and likable poker drama definitely has some problems, like a tepid romantic subplot between costars Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana, but there are some genuine pleasures to be found in this old-school character study. Best known for his Oscar-nominated direction of "L.A. Confidential", Hanson is a staunch defender of Hollywood tradition, and he handles "Lucky You" with a delicate, John Huston-like touch, trusting the strengths of a character-driven screenplay (by Eric Roth) and the established appeal of a generally well-chosen cast. Bana plays Huck Cheever, the gambling son of a gambler, who's itching to earn a seat in the World Series of Poker, where he'll play high-stakes Texas Hold-'Em against the world's finest, including his semi-estranged father L.C. (Robert Duvall), with whom Huck has had a turbulent past relationship. They're both compulsive and highly skilled competitors, but their gambling habits don't impress Billie Offer (Barrymore), a decent, good-natured chanteuse who's just arrived in Las Vegas for her first professional nightclub gig. She'll watch with interest as Huck wins his way to the big game, but she's cautious about Huck's smooth-talking, untrustworthy, and ethically dubious lifestyle. That makes "Lucky You" a disappointment for anyone expecting romantic sparks to fly, and the poker angle rides a trend that was more or less over by the time this movie was finally released. Still, there's enough going on here to hold anyone's interest, and "Lucky You" is a welcome reminder that movies don't always require fast-cutting action and elaborate special effects. It's got an unhurried quality that's quietly refreshing, even if it qualifies as an anomaly in an industry obsessed with blockbuster potential. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Summary: Well, it had to happen--Archibald Asparagus is hosting his own "VeggieTales" show. The 15th video from this groundbreaking Christian-lite company gives us plenty of what makes the series so much fun: leader Bob the Tomato, daffy Larry the Cucumber, catchy songs, and scattershot humor. Tired of the wacky ways of the normal "VeggieTales" shows, Archibald wants to inject an element of class. First up: an all-vegetable staging of "Hamlet". Unfortunately, the only script that can be found is a "slightly" different version called "Omelet." The Bard's famous lines take a beating with the usual Monty Python-esque humor of the "Veggie" crew. Next, after an Archibald-influenced "Silly Songs with Larry" segment, the featured event of the evening proves to be the lost Gilbert & Sullivan musical "Lyle the Kindly Viking". This brawny band of Vikings love their job (and have an affinity for big-screen TVs) but cannot understand why the meek Lyle (Junior Asparagus, natch) wants to share his meager belongings with their victims. Certainly, the sharing ways of Lyle will win the day. After such experiments as the "Larry-Boy" shows, which dropped the series' familiar opening and even Bob himself, this familiarly structured "VeggieTales" video is a joy to watch and illustrates how far the creators have come while sticking to their roots. For ages 4 and up. "--Doug Thomas"