Library

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Comments: You don't stay at the top forever

Summary: Director Martin Scorsese reunites with members of his "GoodFellas" gang (writer Nicholas Pileggi; actors Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Frank Vincent) for a three-hour epic about the rise and fall of mobster Sam "Ace" Rothstein (De Niro), a character based on real-life gangster Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. (It's modeled after on "Wiseguy" and "GoodFellas" and Pileggi's true crime book "Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas".) Through Rothstein, the picture tells the story of how the Mafia seized, and finally lost control of, Las Vegas gambling. The first hour plays like a fascinating documentary, intricately detailing the inner workings of Vegas casinos. Sharon Stone is the stand out among the actors; she nabbed an Oscar nomination for her role as the voracious Ginger, the glitzy call girl who becomes Rothstein's wife. The film is not as fast paced or gripping as Scorsese's earlier gangster pictures ("Mean Streets" and "GoodFellas"), but it's still absorbing. And, hey--it's Scorsese! "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The most successful invigoration of a cinematic franchise since "Batman Begins, Casino Royale" offers a new Bond identity. Based on the Ian Fleming novel that introduced Agent 007 into a Cold War world, "Casino Royale" is the most brutal and viscerally exciting James Bond film since Sean Connery left Her Majesty's Secret Service. Meet the new Bond; not the same as the old Bond. Daniel Craig gives a galvanizing performance as the freshly minted double-0 agent. Suave, yes, but also a "blunt instrument," reckless, and possessed with an ego that compromises his judgment during his first mission to root out the mastermind behind an operation that funds international terrorists. In classic Bond film tradition, his global itinerary takes him to far-flung locales, including Uganda, Madagascar, the Bahamas (that's more like it), and Montenegro, where he is pitted against his nemesis in a poker game, with hundreds of millions in the pot. The stakes get even higher when Bond lets down his "armor" and falls in love with Vesper (Eva Green), the ravishing banker's representative fronting him the money.






























For longtime fans of the franchise, "Casino Royale" offers some retro kicks. Bond wins his iconic Astin-Martin at the gaming table, and when a bartender asks if he wants his martini "shaken or stirred," he disdainfully replies, "Do I look like I give a damn?" There's no Moneypenny or "Q," but Dame Judi Dench is back as the exasperated M, who one senses, admires Bond's "bloody cheek." A Bond film is only as good as its villain, and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, who weeps blood, is a sinister dandy. From its punishing violence and virtuoso action sequences to its romance, "Casino Royale" is a Bond film that, in the words of one character, makes you feel it, particularly during an excruciating torture sequence. Double-0s, Bond observes early on, "have a short life expectancy." But with Craig, there is new life in the old franchise yet, as well as genuine anticipation for the next one when, at last, the signature James Bond theme kicks in following the best last line ever in any Bond film. To quote Goldie Hawn in "Private Benjamin", now I know what I've been faking all these years. "--Donald Liebenson "













Stills from " Casino Royale" (click for larger image)




























































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"Bond on Set: Filming Casino Royale " Book

Languages: English

Sound: DTS-ES

Comments: At the edge of the world, his journey begins.

Summary: After FedEx systems engineer Chuck Noland is ripped out of his hasty life by the clock in a plane crash, he finds himself alone on the shores of a tropical island. First, frustration gets to him and then he realizes how little his chances are to ever get back to civilisation. Four years later, Chuck has learned very well how to survive on his own: mending his dental health, catching fish with a spear, predicting the weather with a selfmade calendar. A photograph of his girlfriend Kelly has kept his hopes alive all these years. Finally, Chuck takes the opportunity to take off for home: He sets off on a wooden raft with a sail that has washed ashore.

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Reaction Time 8-4-96

Summary: Eddie Kasalivich, an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, works as a technician for a scientific team that discovers an alternative, low-cost, pollution-free fuel source. When one of the chief scientists is murdered and the invention stolen, Eddie and physicist Lily Sinclair are framed for it and have to flee for their lives, with the FBI, CIA and other involved parties in close pursuit. Paul Shannon, Eddies mentor, is the director of a scientific company which - unknown to Eddie - has commercial interests in the invention. Eddie and Lily set out to find the stolen invention and hopefully clear themselves of the false charges.

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: C.S. Lewis's classic novel "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It's a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids' movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).
Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the "Shrek" franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences aren’t knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the "Harry Potter" franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: "Narnia" does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. "--Dan Vancini"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: The third installment in the cinematic incarnation of Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan and the second starring Harrison Ford, this follow-up to "Patriot Games" is a more complex, rewarding, and bolder film than its predecessor. Ford returns as Ryan, this time embroiled in a failed White House bid to wipe out a Colombian drug cartel and cover up the mess. The script, by Clancy and John Milius ("Red Dawn"), has an air of true adventure about it as Ryan places himself in harm's way to extract covert soldiers abandoned in a Latin American jungle. There are a couple of remarkable set pieces expertly handled by "Patriot Games" director Phillip Noyce, especially a shocking scene involving an ambush on Ryan's car in an alley. The supporting cast is superb, including Willem Dafoe as the soldiers' leader, Henry Czerny as Ryan's enemy at the CIA, Joaquim de Almeida as a smooth-talking villain, Ann Magnuson as an unwitting confederate in international crime, and James Earl Jones as Ryan's dying boss. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, theatrical trailer, closed captioning, optional French soundtrack, and optional Spanish subtitles. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, Korean, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Comments: What If You Had A Universal Remote... That Controlled Your Universe?

Summary: "Click" is a high-concept, low-brow variation on "It's a Wonderful Life" that will have Adam Sandler fans laughing even as it leaves Frank Capra spinning in his grave. In their third collaboration (after "The Wedding Singer" and "The Waterboy", Sandler and director Frank Coraci aim at the lowest common denominator and consistently hit their target, from scary casting (David Hasselhoff as Sandler's shallow, sexist boss; Sean Astin in a tight red Speedo) to a rancid menu of fart jokes, fat jokes, oversexed dogs, and other attempts at humor that rarely rise above the level of grade-school pranks. Sandler's "family comes first" sentiment somehow manages to survive the onslaught of rude, crude attitude that Sandler brings to his role as Michael Newman, a workaholic architect who learns the hard way that, well, family comes first. This happens after Newman gets a magical remote control from Morty (Christopher Walken, the film's one and only highlight), an eccentric oddball in the "Beyond" section of a Bed, Bath & Beyond store who's a devilish version of "Wonderful Life's" benevolent guardian angel. But Sandler's no James Stewart as he uses his techno-marvel (complete with a DVD-like "life menu") to fast-forward through his life's most unpleasant moments, only to realize that he's been missing lots of good stuff, too. With Kate Beckinsale as Newman's neglected wife, impressive older-age make-ups by Rick Baker and a lot of digital wizardry to beef up the humor, "Click" won't disappoint Sandler's established fan base, and its $40 million opening weekend offered ample proof that Sandler's box-office clout remains remarkably consistent. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Stanley Kubrick's striking visual interpretation of Anthony Burgess's famous novel is a masterpiece. Malcolm McDowell delivers a clever, tongue-in-cheek performance as Alex, the leader of a quartet of droogs, a vicious group of young hoodlums who spend their nights stealing cars, fighting rival gangs, breaking into people's homes, and raping women. While other directors would simply exploit the violent elements of such a film without subtext, Kubrick maintains Burgess's dark, satirical social commentary. We watch Alex transform from a free-roaming miscreant into a convict used in a government experiment that attempts to reform criminals through an unorthodox new medical treatment. The catch, of course, is that this therapy may be nothing better than a quick cure-all for a society plagued by rampant crime. "A Clockwork Orange" works on many levels--visual, social, political, and sexual--and is one of the few films that hold up under repeated viewings. Kubrick not only presents colorfully arresting images, he also stylizes the film by utilizing classical music (and Wendy Carlos's electronic classical work) to underscore the violent scenes, which even today are disturbing in their display of sheer nihilism. Ironically, many fans of the film have missed that point, sadly being entertained by its brutality rather than being repulsed by it. "--Bryan Reesman"

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Anybody who has written him off because of his string of stinkers--or anybody who's too young to remember "The Goodbye Girl"--may be shocked at the accomplishment and nuance of Richard Dreyfuss's performance in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Here, he plays a man possessed; contacted by aliens, he (along with other members of the "chosen") is drawn toward the site of the incipient landing: Devil's Tower, in rural Wyoming. As in many Spielberg films, there are no personalized enemies; the struggle is between those who have been called and a scientific establishment that seeks to protect them by keeping them away from the arriving spacecraft. The ship, and the special effects in general, are every bit as jaw-dropping on the small screen as they were in the theater (well, almost). Released in 1977 as a cerebral alternative to the swashbuckling science fiction epics then in vogue, "Close Encounters" now seems almost wholesome in its representation of alien contact and interested less in philosophizing about extraterrestrials than it is in examining the nature of the inner "call." Ultimately a motion picture about the obsession of the driven artist or determined visionary, "Close Encounters" comes complete with the stock Spielberg wives and girlfriends who seek to tether the dreamy, possessed protagonists to the more mundane concerns of the everyday. So a spectacular, seminal motion picture indeed, but one with gender politics that are all too terrestrial. "--Miles Bethany"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Half of the characters in this 1988 John Landis potboiler seem to be played either by Eddie Murphy or costar Arsenio Hall, swaddled in elaborate Rick Baker makeup appliances that render them unrecognizable but also weirdly immobile. As a pampered African prince who journeys incognito to Queens, New York, to find a bride who will love him just for himself, Murphy manages to look smug and naive at the same time. There are enjoyable sequences of Murphy's Prince Akeem applying his lordly manner to his new job in a fast-food emporium, and falling for the boss's spirited daughter (Shari Headley), who teaches him how to party down, American style. But the fish-out-water premise is never fully exploited. Star spotters will have a field day locating Cuba Gooding Jr., Donna Summer, Louie Anderson, Vondie Curtis Hall, "E.R."'s Eriq La Salle, and Samuel L. Jackson in their minuscule supporting roles. "--David Chute"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Somewhere... somehow... someone's going to pay!

Summary: A retired special agent named John Matrix led an elite unit and has left the armed forces to live in a secluded mountain home with his daughter Jenny. But now he is forced out of retirement when his daughter is kidnapped by a band of thugs intent on revenge! Unbeknownst to Matrix, the members of his former unit are being killed one by one. Even though Matrix' friend General Franklin Kirby gives Matrix armed guards, attackers manage to kidnap Matrix and Jenny. Matrix learns that Bennett, a former member of his Matrix' unit who was presumed dead has kidnapped him to try to force Matrix to do a political assassination for a man called Arius (who calls himself El Presidente), a warlord formerly bested by Matrix who wishes to lead a military coup in his home country. Since Arius will have Jenny killed if Matrix refuses, Matrix reluctantly accepts the demand.

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "Con Air" is proof that the slick, absurdly overblown action formula of Hollywood mega-producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer ("Top Gun, Days of Thunder, The Rock, Crimson Tide") lives on, even after Simpson's druggy death. (Read Charles Fleming's exposé, "High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess", for more about that.) Nicolas Cage, sporting a disconcerting mane of hair, is a wrongly convicted prisoner on a transport plane with a bunch of infamously psychopathic criminals, including head creep Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich), black militant Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames), and serial killer Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi, making the most of his pallid, rodent-like qualities). Naturally, the convicts take over the plane; meanwhile, on the ground, a US marshal (John Cusack) and a DEA agent (Colm Meaney) try to figure out what to do. As is the postmodern way, the movie displays a self-consciously ironic awareness that its story and characters are really just excuses for a high-tech cinematic thrill ride. Best idea: the filmmakers persuaded the owners of the legendary Sands Hotel in Las Vegas to let them help out with the structure's demolition by crashing their plane into it. "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English

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

Sound: AC-3

Comments: Hell wants him. Heaven won't take him. Earth needs him.

Summary: In the grand scheme of theological thrillers, "Constantine" aspires for the greatness of "The Exorcist" but ranks more closely with "The Order". Based on the popular "Hellblazer" comic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran Francis Lawrence, it's basically "The Matrix" with swarming demons instead of swarming machines. Keanu Reeves slightly modifies his "Matrix" persona as John Constantine, who roams the dark-spots of Los Angeles looking for good-evil, angel-devil half-breeds to ensure that "the balance" between God and Satan is properly maintained. An ancient artifact and the detective twin of a woman who committed evil-induced suicide (Rachel Weisz) factor into the plot, which is taken so seriously that you'll want to stand up and cheer when Tilda Swinton swoops down as the cross-dressing angel Gabriel and turns this silliness into the camp-fest it really is. The digital effects are way cool (dig those hellspawn with the tops of their heads lopped off!), so if you don't mind a juvenile lesson in pseudo-Catholic salvation, "Constantine" is just the movie for you! "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: All they wanted was their chance to be men...and he gave it to them.

Summary: Notorious as the first John Wayne film that does the unthinkable--subject Wayne's character to a nasty fate after only a short time--the 1972 "Cowboys" isn't much more interesting beyond that. The story finds Wayne playing a rancher who takes 11 boys on a cattle drive. They run into a nut case (Bruce Dern) who deprives the kids of their leader, and the rest of the film is a tale of revenge. Mark Rydell ("Cinderella Liberty") directs an unexciting production, although performances by some of the younger actors such as A. Martinez and Robert Carradine are memorable. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Summary: As a producer, Jerry Bruckheimer makes movies for guys, mostly action films like "Top Gun" and "Gone in 60 Seconds". The ones he makes that feature women, such as "Flashdance" and now "Coyote Ugly", broaden their appeal with a fondness for "strong women." For Bruckheimer, that means self-determined, attractive women who don't need men to get what they want. Is there anything sexier than that? In "Coyote Ugly", the charming young waif Piper Perabo stars as Violet, a New Jersey waitress who moves to New York to make it big as a songwriter. She has absolutely no idea how the music business works, relying instead on her faith in her own abilities. In order to make ends meet, she gets a job in a bar called Coyote Ugly, where the bartenders are scantily clad women who dance on the bar and order around their mostly male clientele. Really, they are strippers who don't have to take off their clothes. In fact, the owner (Maria Bello) orders them to enact the first rule of strip clubs: "Appear available but never be available." Bruckheimer is smart enough to focus on the naive girl instead of the seamier side of the story, following her as she realizes her dream and picks up a disposable but nice man along the way. Further "empowering" the female figures in the film, Zoe (Tyra Banks), the bartender whom Violet is replacing, leaves in order to go to law school. See? They're as smart as they are sexy! Then there's John Goodman, who turns in an absolutely charming performance as Violet's concerned father. This is a sweet and inoffensive film as long as you don't think too much about it. "--Andy Spletzer"

Languages: English, Korean, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Action anti-hero Jason Statham is competing with himself to make the most relentless, non-stop action flick imaginable. In "Crank", Statham stars as a hit man named Chev Chelios who's been poisoned by some Chinese toxin; the only way to stave it off is to keep his adrenalin flowing, which requires him to drive at top speeds through crowded traffic, start fights in bars, and run pell-mell down hospital corridors while wearing one of those humiliating smocks that tie in the back. In other words, Crank is high-end pop-trash, filled with many preposterous/ingenious stunts and over-the-top performances (Dwight Yoakam, "Sling Blade", is downright droll as a doctor offering Chev assistance), marred by an unpleasant attitude towards women (Amy Smart, "Outside Providence", will not look back on this as one of her signature roles). This is a movie for the audience who enjoyed "Transporter" and "Transporter 2" but wanted Statham's perpetual scowl to become a kind of theatrical mask, a perpetual signifier of intensity that begs--nay, demands--that everything around it rise to a mutual level of absurdity. Fans of Luc Besson ("Leon/The Professional, District 13") will find "Crank" to be simpatico. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English, Korean, Persian, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Movie studios, by and large, avoid controversial subjects like race the way you might avoid a hive of angry bees. So it's remarkable that "Crash" even got made; that it's a rich, intelligent, and moving exploration of the interlocking lives of a dozen Los Angeles residents--black, white, latino, Asian, and Persian--is downright amazing. A politically nervous district attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his high-strung wife (Sandra Bullock, biting into a welcome change of pace from "Miss Congeniality") get car-jacked by an oddly sociological pair of young black men (Larenz Tate and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges); a rich black T.V. director (Terrence Howard) and his wife (Thandie Newton) get pulled over by a white racist cop (Matt Dillon) and his reluctant partner (Ryan Phillipe); a detective (Don Cheadle) and his Latina partner and lover (Jennifer Esposito) investigate a white cop who shot a black cop--these are only three of the interlocking stories that reach up and down class lines. Writer/director Paul Haggis (who wrote the screenplay for "Million Dollar Baby") spins every character in unpredictable directions, refusing to let anyone sink into a stereotype. The cast--ranging from the famous names above to lesser-known but just as capable actors like Michael Pena ("Buffalo Soldiers") and Loretta Devine ("Woman Thou Art Loosed")--meets the strong script head-on, delivering galvanizing performances in short vignettes, brief glimpses that build with gut-wrenching force. This sort of multi-character mosaic is hard to pull off; "Crash" rivals such classics as "Nashville" and "Short Cuts". A knockout. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: You can almost hear the studio pitch meeting echoing throughout "Crimson Tide" like the sonar on the soundtrack: "It's "The Cain Mutiny" on a nuclear submarine!" When radio communications problems aboard the USS "Alabama" prevent the sub from receiving its orders clearly during a tense confrontation with Russian warships, Navy officer Denzel Washington faces a huge ethical dilemma: countermand the orders of legendary Captain Ramsey (Gene Hackman) to fire nuclear missiles, or follow his command and risk launching an unprovoked nuclear war. It's really an actors' picture, and the fun is in the fireworks between Washington and Hackman, each of whose characters articulates solid reasoning behind his decision. There are no easy villains, and there's no easy way to tell right from wrong--that's what makes the nuclear stakes so terrifying. Director Tony Scott (who directed Quentin Tarantino's "True Romance" script) called in Tarantino to punch up the dialogue, which is why, for example, the sailors talk about Silver Surfer comic books. The digital video disc is in anamorphic widescreen; the sonorous underwater rumblings on the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack will provide you with a good opportunity to show off your system's bass response. "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English

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Summary: I don't get CSI here in the single-TV-channel boondocks, so I rely on "complete package" DVD's to keep up with my favourite cop dramas like CSI & L&O. Hitherto I have been a loyal fan of CSI Miami. My neighbour told me he had given up watching CSI Miami (though he still enjoys Las Vegas & NY versions) because it was getting more like a soap opera than a cop show. I ignored him and bought the set anyway. After viewing 16 of the episodes on this set, I have to agree. I find myself so annoyed by the sulky petulence of Delko & the discarded women in his wake; & the beauteous yet utterly unrealistic Marisol whom Horatio marries that I can hardly concentrate on the crime being investigated. Marisol looks like she had weathered all the ravages of a hang-nail, rather than cancer & chemotherapy. (As a cancer survivor, I ought to know).

The two leading women, Emily Proctor & Khandi Alexander, could have phoned in their parts; they seem barely noticeable amid the bickering of the other characters. And someone ought to tell David Caruso that black is not his colour.

My advice to the producers; if you want to stay in business, fire last season's writers, cut the maudlin crap and get back to the high standards of season 1 & 2.

Languages: English, French

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Languages: English

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Languages: English, French

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Languages: English

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Languages: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: Murder, and its tale-telling aftermath, is the compelling subject of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation". Since it premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000, "CSI" was a ratings triumph, spawning a spinoff ("CSI: Miami") and positioning itself for long-term success. As the first season demonstrates, creator Anthony Zuiker's foolproof formula was established early on, bolstered by a fine ensemble cast and requiring minimal tweaking as the season progressed; its Las Vegas-based "criminalists" eventually became "CSI" steeped in the scientific minutiae of forensic investigation, but the series arrived essentially intact, with an irresistible (and seemingly inexhaustible) supply of corpses and the mysteries that surround them. Influenced by the graphic precedent of movies like "Seven" and "Kiss the Girls", "CSI" matches morbidity with dispassionate methodology; viewers are so fascinated by the investigative process that they're unfazed by intimate autopsies and internal (i.e., digitally animated) views of traumatized flesh, bone, and sinew.
While keeping abreast of cutting-edge technologies, "CSI" combines the ingenuity (and fallibility) of villains with the appealing humanity of its heroes. CSI director and entomologist Gil Grissom (played by series coproducer William Petersen) is introverted but ethically intense; he's both mentor and moral compass for his night-shift team, including a former stripper-turned-CSI (Marg Helgenberger); a recovering gambler (Gary Dourdan); an eager ace (George Eads) with room for improvement; a workaholic (Jorja Fox) who can't always remain emotionally detached from her cases; and a chief detective (Paul Guilfoyle) who's a necessary link to police procedure. Like "The X-Files", "CSI" supports its characters with feature-film production values, employing a "Rashomon" structure that turns murder into a progressively accurate study of cause and effect. Script quality is consistently high ("Blood Drops" and "Unfriendly Skies" are exceptional), direction is slick and sophisticated, and the mysteries are complex enough to invite multiple viewings. Despite a regrettable shortage of DVD features, "CSI"'s inaugural season remains addictively worthy of its lofty reputation. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The second season of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" consolidates the show's well-deserved popular appeal, while beginning to explore (gently at first) beneath the slickly professional surface of the investigators themselves. Gradually we learn more about what makes Grissom and his astonishingly gifted forensics team tick, beyond merely that they are workaholics who seem to require no sleep at all. The show's trademark reveals of vital evidence--be it on the autopsy slab or under the microscope--add a fresh spin to what is, at heart, a good old-fashioned whodunit series. William Petersen brings the requisite air of antiquarianism to a character whose meticulous demeanor and love of order consciously inherits the mantle of Sherlock Holmes (whose vast collection of tobacco samples and bottles of chemicals are the ancestors of "CSI"'s high-tech crime lab). This is a series in which scientific evidence-gathering is elevated to the status of a religion. "When a tree falls in the forest, even if no one is around to hear, it "does" make a sound," affirms Grissom with the calm assurance of a yogi on the path to Enlightenment.
And just when "CSI" starts to seem a little "too" pat, just when the trail of clues seems a little "too" neat, the show always seems able to throw a surprise or two at us: perhaps there has been no crime after all; perhaps the evidence concerns a completely different crime altogether; or perhaps, as in one brave episode concerning brothers implicated in multiple murders, the evidence simply isn't good enough to convict the right man, even when Grissom knows which one really is guilty. As a result, every episode is simply compulsive viewing. "--Mark Walker"

Languages: English

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Summary: this review refers to the first six seasons of the show,since i have

not seen the seventh.CSI:Las Vegas has consistently,since season 1

episode 1,remained of high quality.each season has been as good as

or(usually)better than the previous.with the introduction of CSI:Miami

and then CSI:New York,it was thought by many that the original would

lose quality as stories has to be found for all 3 shows.However,that

has not happened as of yet.the original CSI could theoretically go on

for years to come,since they are certainly enough stories to tell,as

long as the quality writing keeps up.the same cannot be said of "Miami"

and Especially "New York" as both shows seem less compelling than their

parent.One almost negative thing i will say about Vegas is that it i

think they may be treading dangerous ground,with how the last episode

of season 6 ended.whether they follow the same path in season 7,i'm not

sure.however,if they are not careful,the show could deteriorate story

wise and possibly in the ratings.up to this point(season six)

however,CSI:Las Vegas is one of the best shows(if not the best)on

television. 5/5

Languages: English

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Languages: English

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