A cool cast of young stars is just one of the things you'll love about this hilarious comedy hit! On the first day at his new school, Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt — HALLOWEEN: H2O, TV's "3RD Rock From The Sun") instantly falls for Bianca (Larisa Oleynik — THE BABY SITTERS CLUB), the gorgeous girl of his dreams. The only problem is that Bianca is forbidden to date ... until her ill-tempered, completely un-dateable older sister Kat (Julia Stiles — THE BOURNE IDENTITY, SAVE THE LAST DANCE) goes out too! In an attempt to solve his problem, Cameron singles out the only guy who could possibly be a match for Kat: a mysterious bad-boy (Heath Ledger — A KNIGHT'S TALE, THE PATRIOT) with a nasty reputation of his own! Also featuring a hip soundtrack — this witty comedy is a wildly entertaining look at exactly how far some guys will go to get a date!

Stephen Herek Unleashing every ounce of Disney magic, 101 DALMATIANS thrilled audiences of all ages with fast-paced adventure and comedy — featuring a brilliant performance by five-time Academy Award(R)-nominee Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil. Achieving new heights of hilarity, Disney's all-time classic puppy tale came to life as a worldwide box office sensation. In their small London flat, Dalmatians Pongo and Perdy, and their human "pets" Roger and Anita, are overjoyed by the arrival of 15 puppies. But when the spotted-fur-loving Ms. De Vil and her clumsy cohorts, Jasper and Horace, dognap the litter — along with every other Dalmatian pup in London — Pongo and Perdy must rally the town's animals to their rescue. The plan hurls them toward a thrilling climax filled with uproarious moments as the puppies attempt to outwit their captors and bring on a final showdown with Cruella! Packed with the largest and cutest collection of puppies ever brought to film, 101 DALMATIANS also features a superb cast of talented humans, including Jeff Daniels, Joely Ruchardson, and Joan Plowright. Now you can bring home Disney's live-action comedy hit, praised by critics as nothing short of "phenomenal!"

Zack Snyder Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller's acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.

Chris Columbus Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue, THE KARATE KID, CALL TO GLORY) agrees to babysit after her dream date stands her up. Expecting a dull evening, Chris settles down with three kids for a night of TV ... and boredom. But when her frantic friend Brenda calls and pleads to be rescued from the bus station in downtown Chicago, the evening soon explodes into an endless whirl of hair-raising adventures! Babysitter and kids leave their safe suburban surroundings and head for the heart of the big city, never imagining how terrifyingly funny their expedition will become!

Indiana Jones, an archaeologist and adventurer, battles Nazis and travels the globe searching for rare and mystical artifacts.
Track: 1: Indiana Jones & The Raiders Of The Lost Ark,Track: 2: Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom,Track: 3: Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade,Track: 4: Bonus Disc
Media Type: DVD
Artist: INDIANA JONES COLLECTION
Title: INDIANA JONES COLLECTION
Street Release Date: 10/21/2003
Domestic
Genre: ACTION / ADVENTURE

Masanori Hata Japanese filmmaker Masanori Hata made this above-average family film about a dog and a cat—friends with a tendency to make mischief—who go on an unanticipated adventure when one is rushed downriver and the other follows. Hata, who took four years to complete the work, relies on purely cinematic storytelling techniques (these animals don't have human voices on the soundtrack), making the film an international favorite. Dudley Moore narrates, but the film works because Hata's filmmaking fundamentals are so good. Kids love this, but adults can easily appreciate and enjoy it, too. —Tom Keogh

Wolfgang Petersen You know that old dramatic principle of suspension of disbelief? You'll have to rely on it for this box-office smash, but you won't be disappointed. Harrison Ford plays a U.S. president who single-handedly employs his rigid antiterrorism policy when a band of Russian thugs hatch a mid-flight takeover of Air Force One. Gary Oldman, who chews the scenery as the lead terrorist, will shoot a hostage at the slightest provocation. Glenn Close plays the sternly pragmatic vice president who negotiates with Oldman from her Washington seat of power. If you can believe that the aircraft's pressurized cabin can sustain hundreds of rounds of machine-gun fire, you'll buy anything in this entertaining potboiler, especially thanks to Ford's stalwart heroics and some nifty special effects. Director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot) keeps the action moving so fast you won't be sweating the details. Don't forget your parachute! —Jeff Shannon

Ron Clements John Musker After Aladdin discovers the Genie in the lamp, he uses his wishes to help win the heart of Princess Jasmine, despite the evil tricks of the Grand Vizier Jafar.
Genre: Feature Film Family
Rating: NR
Release Date: 5-OCT-2004
Media Type: DVD

Clyde Geronimi Hamilton Luske Wilfred Jackson Imaginatively rendered but slightly chilly, this 1951 Disney adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic is also appropriately surreal. Alice (voiced by Kathryn Beaumont) has all the anticipated experiences: shrinking and growing, meeting the White Rabbit, having tea with the Mad Hatter, etc. Characterization is very strong, and the Disney team worked hard to bring screen personality to Carroll's eccentric creations. For a Disney film, however, it seems more the self-satisfied sum of its inventiveness than a truly engaging experience. —Tom Keogh

Phil Nibbelink Simon Wells From legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, this delightful full-length animated feature continues the adventures of Fievel, the brave young mouse who captured audiences' hearts in An American Tail. Lured out west by the crafty Cat R. Waul, Fievel joins forces with famed lawdog Wylie Burp to thwart a sinister plot to transform unsuspecting settlers into...mouseburgers! This heartwarming family film features the voices of Dom DeLuise and Amy Irving with an original score, including "Dreams to Dream" sung by Linda Ronstadt.

Gary Goldman Don Bluth Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 03/13/2007 Run time: 94 minutes Rating: G

Will Farrell followed up his star-making vehicle Elf, which matched his fine-tuned comic obliviousness to a sweet sincerity, with a more arrogant variation on the same character: Ron Burgundy, a macho, narcissistic news anchor from the 1970s. Along with his news posse—roving reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd, Clueless), sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner), and dim-bulb weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell, Bruce Almighty)—Burgundy rules the roost in San Diego, fawned upon by groupies and supported by a weary producer (Fred Willard, Best In Show) who tolerates Burgundy's ego because of good ratings. But when Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate, View from the Top) arrives with ambitions to become an anchor herself, she threatens the male-dominated newsroom. Anchorman has plenty of funny material, but it's as if Farrell couldn't decide what he really wanted to mock, and so took smart-ass cracks at everything in sight. Still, there are moments of inspired delirium. —Bret Fetzer

Robert Wise The best-selling novel by Michael Crichton was faithfully adapted for this taut 1971 thriller, about a team of scientists racing against time to destroy a deadly alien virus that threatens to wipe out life on Earth. As usual with any Crichton-based movie, the emphasis is on an exciting clash between nature and science, beginning when virologists discover the outer-space virus in a tiny town full of corpses. Projecting total contamination, the scientists isolate the deadly strain in a massive, high-tech underground lab facility, which is rigged for nuclear destruction if the virus is not successfully controlled. The movie spends a great deal of time covering the scientific procedures of the high-pressure investigation, and the rising tensions between scientists who have been forced to work in claustrophobic conditions. It's all very fascinating if you're interested in scientific method and technological advances, although the film is obviously dated in many of its details. It's more effective as a thriller in which tension is derived not only from the deadly threat of the virus, but from the escalating fear and anxiety among the small group of people who've been assigned to save the human race. The basic premise is still captivating; it's easy to see how this became the foundation of Crichton's science-thriller empire. —Jeff Shannon

Andy Jones, Kôji Morimoto, Mahiro Maeda, Peter Chung, Shinichirô Watanabe From the creators of The Matrix trilogy this groundbreaking collection of nine short films from seven of the world's leading anime directors provides a visionary fusion of CG-Animatrion and Japanese anime.Running Time: 89 min.System Requirements:Running Time 88:57 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating: NR UPC: 085393731625

In this taut sexy thriller a young computer whiz knows he can trust no one when he goes up against a powerful software giant who will stop at nothing to control the worlds information systems. Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 11/16/2004 Starring: Ryan Phillippe Claire Forlani Run time: 98 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Peter Howitt

Kirk Wise Gary Trousdale A young adventurer named milo thatch joins an intrepid group of explorers to find the mysterious lost continent of atlantis. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 01/25/2005 Starring: Michael J. Fox (voice) Run time: 95 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Gary Trousdale

[VHS] Babes In Toyland. Once a bright and cheerful community, Toyland is in great danger from the terible Barnaby (Mulligan) and his scary creatures who live in the forest of the night. They are trying to turn Toyland into a world without toys. The only person who can save Toyland is Lisa (Barrymore), a little girl from Cincinnati who lands in Toyland on Christmas Eve. But since Lisa, a very grown-up little girl, doesnt believe in toys, she needs special help from the wise but impish Toymaster (Morita), the dashing and gallant Jack Nimble (Reeves) and the mother-of-many-children Mrs Hubard (Brennan). Together they muster an army of toy soldiers and teddy bears to drive the villianious Barnaby and his nightmare creatures out of Toyland.

Robert Zemeckis Back to the future i ii & iii trilogy. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/25/2005 Starring: Michael J. Fox Lea Thompson Rating: Pg Director: Robert Zemeckis

Christopher Nolan THIS EXPLORES THE ORIGINS OF THE BATMAN LEGEND & THE DARK KNIGHT'S EMERGENCE AS A FORCE FOR GOOD IN GOTHAM. IN THE WAKE OF HIS PARENTS' MURDER, DISILLUSIONED INDUSTRIAL HEIR BRUCE WAYNE TRAVELS THE WORLD SEEKING THE MEANS TO FIGHT INJUSTICE & TURN FEAR AGAINST THOSE WHO PREY ON THE FEARFUL.

Kirk Wise Gary Trousdale The film that officially signaled Disney's animation renaissance (following The Little Mermaid) and the only animated feature to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination, Beauty and the Beast remains the yardstick by which all other animated films should be measured. It relates the story of Belle, a bookworm with a dotty inventor for a father; when he inadvertently offends the Beast (a prince whose heart is too hard to love anyone besides himself), Belle boldly takes her father's place, imprisoned in the Beast's gloomy mansion. Naturally, Belle teaches the Beast to love. What makes this such a dazzler, besides the amazingly accomplished animation and the winning coterie of supporting characters (the Beast's mansion is overrun by quipping, dancing household items) is the array of beautiful and hilarious songs by composer Alan Menken and the late, lamented lyricist Howard Ashman. (The title song won the 1991 Best Song Oscar, and Menken's score scored a trophy as well.) The downright funniest song is "Gaston," a lout's paean to himself (including the immortal line, "I use antlers in all of my de-co-ra-ting"). "Be Our Guest" is transformed into an inspired Busby Berkeley homage. Since Ashman's passing, animated musicals haven't quite reached the same exhilarating level of wit, sophistication, and pure joy. —David Kronke —This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Nora Ephron ISABEL, A BEAUTIFUL WITCH, DECIDES TO LIVE WITHOUT WITCHCRAFT & GOES TO HOLLYWOOD LOOKING FOR ROMANCE AMONG MORTALS. JACK, AN ACTOR, CONVINCES ISABEL TO CO-STAR IN A REMAKE OF THE ORIGINAL 'BEWITCHED' SERIES IN A MOVE TO RESURRECT HIS CAREER. THEY FALL IN LOVE CAUSING THE WORLDS OF WITCHES & MORTALS TO COLLIDE.

Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 11/04/2008 Rating: Pg13

Saddened by the untimely death of their father and husband, a family moves to a new town and confronts the usual—bullies, demanding new job—and the unusual: an autistic neighbor boy who believes he can fly. Bonnie Bedelia is the stressed-out mom, and Bedelia-look-alike Lucy Deakins plays the perceptive daughter who braves ridicule to reach out to the boy under the tutelage of wise teacher Colleen Dewhurst. This earnest film's melancholy is tempered by its fantastical ending and the fun of seeing a pre-Wonder Years Fred Savage as the soldier-obsessed little brother, not to mention one of the future denizens of Beverly Hills 90210 (Jason Priestley). Parents may wax nostalgic over early '80s fashions and may take delight in appearances by Mr. Munster (Fred Gwynne) as an alcoholic with self-knowledge, Facts of Life gal Mindy Cohn as a chatty neighbor, and Louise Fletcher playing a kindly psychologist. Slow pacing and heavy dollops of tragedy make this most appropriate for ages 8 and up. —Kimberly Heinrichs

A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 09/09/2008 Starring: Joseph Gordon-levigg Emilie De Ravin Run time: 110 minutes Rating: R

Sunny, happy Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) is the new leader of the Toros, the cheerleading squad of Rancho Carne, an affluent San Diego high school that has lousy football players but one hell of a cheerleading team. National champions, they're the ones who bring in the bodies to the football games with their award-winning moves and sassy grace, and they're poised to take their sixth national cheer title. Torrance's new reign as cheer queen, though, is cut short when she discovers that her snotty, duplicitous forerunner was regularly stealing routines from the East Compton Clovers, the hip-hop influenced cheerleaders of a poor inner city school, and passing them off as the original work of the Toros. Scrambling to come up with a new routine for the Toros—and do the right thing by giving the Clovers their due—Torrance butts heads with the proud and understandably wary Isis (Gabrielle Union), the leader of the Clovers, who wants nothing to do with a rich blond white girl, but does want to get her squad to the championships. Problem is, only one team can take home the national title. Who's it gonna be?

An unexpected box-office hit in the late summer of 2000, Bring It On is a smart, snappy teen comedy that bristles with good cheer (literally) and lively, down-to-earth characters. The story may be fairly predictable (who's going to win the big championship?), but director Peyton Reed and screenwriter Jessica Bendinger have fleshed out their characters with formidable strength and provided them with sharp dialogue. Dunst is a radiant comedian, projecting warmth, determination, sincerity, and a sublime airheadedness, and Union is an impressive dancer and counterpart to Dunst, matching her admirably despite her limited onscreen time. An excellent young supporting cast rounds out the film, most notably Eliza Dushku (Faith of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Jesse Bradford (Steven Soderbergh's King of the Hill) as siblings new to Rancho Carne, who become Torrance's best friend and potential new boyfriend, respectively. All in all, a pleasantly surprising and intelligent teen movie. Don't miss the opening sequence, a hilarious send-up of all those high school cheerleading routines you had to sit through at boring pep rallies. —Mark Englehart

Stanton, Andrew There was such a magic on the screen in 1995 when the people at Pixar came up with the first fully computer-animated film, Toy Story. Their second feature film, A Bug's Life, may miss the bull's-eye but Pixar's target is so lofty, it's hard to find the film anything less than irresistible.

Brighter and more colorful than the other animated insect movie of 1998 (Antz), A Bug's Lifeis the sweetly told story of Flik (voiced by David Foley), an ant searching for better ways to be a bug. His colony unfortunately revolves around feeding and fearing the local grasshoppers (lead by Hopper, voiced with gleeful menace by Kevin Spacey). When Flik accidentally destroys the seasonal food supply for the grasshoppers he decides to look for help ("We need bigger bugs!"). The ants, led by Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), are eager to dispose of the troublesome Flik. Yet he finds help—a hearty bunch of bug warriors—and brings them back to the colony. Unfortunately they are just traveling performers afraid of conflict.

As with Toy Story, the ensemble of creatures and voices is remarkable and often inspired. Highlights include wiseacre comedian Denis Leary as an un-ladylike ladybug, Joe Ranft as the German-accented caterpillar, David Hyde Pierce as a stick bug, and Michael McShane as a pair of unintelligible pillbugs. The scene-stealer is Atta's squeaky-voiced sister, baby Dot (Hayden Panettiere), who has a big sweet spot for Flik.

More gentle and kid-friendly than Antz, A Bug Life'sstill has some good suspense and a wonderful demise of the villain. However, the film—a giant worldwide hit—will be remembered for its most creative touch: "outtakes" over the end credits à la many live-action comedy films. These dozen or so scenes (both "editions" of outtakes are contained here) are brilliant and deserve a special place in film history right along with 1998's other most talked-about sequence: the opening Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan.

The video also contains Pixar's delightful Oscar-winning short, Geri's Game. Box art varies. —Doug Thomas

Steve Rash

Robert Zemeckis Cast Away is a good movie that wants to be much better. While director Robert Zemeckis's earlier film Contact achieved a kind of mainstream spiritual significance, Cast Away falls just short of that goal. That may explain why the film's most emotionally powerful scene involves the loss of an inanimate object, even as it presents a heart-rending dilemma in its very human final act.

It's three movies in one, beginning when punctuality-obsessed Federal Express systems engineer Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) departs on Christmas Eve to escort an ill-fated flight of FedEx packages. Following a mid-Pacific plane crash, movie number two chronicles Chuck's four-year survival on a remote island, totally alone save for a Wilson volleyball (aptly named "Wilson") that becomes Chuck's closest "friend." Movie number three leads up to Chuck's rescue and an awkward encounter with his ex-girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt, in a thankless role), for whom Chuck has seemingly risen from the grave.

It's fascinating to witness Chuck's emerging survival skills, and Hanks's remarkable physical transformation is matched by his finely tuned performance. With slow, rhythmic camera moves and brilliant use of sound, Zemeckis wisely avoids the postcard prettiness of The Black Stallion and The Blue Lagoon to emphasize the harshness of Chuck's ascetic solitude, and this stylistic restraint allows Cast Away to resonate more than one might expect. Even the final scene—which feels like a crowd-pleasing compromise—offers hope without shoving it down our throats. You may not feel the emotional rush that you're meant to feel, but Cast Away remains a respectable effort. —Jeff Shannon

The true life story of Frank Abagnale Jr., the youngest man ever to be placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List.

Charles A. Nichols Iwao Takamoto This animated feature based on the popular E.B. White book for children—about the special relationships between Wilbur the pig, Charlotte the spider, and Templeton the rat—is a straight adaptation from the page, with songs added. Endearing, heartbreaking, and ultimately wise, it may not please all of those with a strong attachment to the book, but it works all the same. —Tom Keogh

WHILE THE CHICKENS ON EVIL MRS. TWEEDY'S FARM DREAM OF A BETTER LIFE, A CLEVER HEN NAMED GINGER IS HATCHING PLANS TO FLY THE COOP, FOR GOOD. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS, CHICKENS CAN'T FLY OR CAN THEY? EVERY ESCAPE ATTEMPT GOES FOWL UNTIL ROCKY, A SMOOTH TALKING ALL-AMERICAN ROOSTER, CRASH-LANDS INTO THE COOP.

Ken Hughes Van Dyke's charming as a daydreaming inventor who fixes up an old jalopy and, with the vivid imaginations of his two children and a lady friend, it is transformed into a flying, floating wonder car that carries them to a magical kingdom. Inspired by an Ian Fleming idea.

Andrew Adamson Four young siblings discover a magical wardrobe and are transported to narnia an enchanted world ruled by the glacial powers of an evil white witch. With courage and heart-felt desire to save narnia the children must band together to fight the witch in a spectacular climatic battle. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 04/04/2006 Starring: Tilda Swinton Jim Broadbent Run time: 134 minutes Rating: Pg

Andrew Adamson More exciting than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian continues the movie franchise based on C.S. Lewis' classic fantasy books. The movie picks up where the first left off... sort of. It's been a year since the Pevensie children—Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley)—returned to England from Narnia, and they've just about resigned themselves to living their ordinary lives. But just like that, they're once again transported to a fantastical land, but one with a long-abandoned castle. It turns out that they are in Narnia again—and they themselves lived in that castle, but hundreds of years ago in Narnia time. They've been summoned back to help Prince Caspian (Stardust's Ben Barnes, resembling a young, cultured Keanu Reeves), the rightful heir to the throne who's become the target of his power-hungry uncle, King Mraz (Sergio Castellitto). And he's not the only one threatened: Mraz's people, the Telmarines, have pushed all the Narnians—the talking animals, the centaurs and other beasts, the walking trees—to the brink of extinction. Despite some alpha-male bickering, Peter and Caspian agree to fight Mraz alongside the remaining Narnians, including the dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and the swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard). (Also appearing is Warwick Davis, who was in Willow and the 1989 BBC Prince Caspian.) But of course they most of all miss the noble lion, Aslan, who would have never let this happen to Narnia if he hadn't disappeared. Prince Caspian is epic, evoking memories of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. (Some of the battle elements may seem too familiar, but they were in Lewis's book.) And it's appropriate for kids (Reepicheep could have come out of a Shrek movie), though the tone is dark and there is a lot of death, albeit bloodless. After two successful films, Disney and Walden Media's franchise has proved successful enough that many of the characters are scheduled to return in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. —David Horiuchi

Stills from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Click for larger image)

Jon Turteltaub Based on an improbable but true story, Cool Runnings concerns the Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics. Director Jon Turteltaub (Phenomenon) does a fine job with both the absurdity of the situation (the athletes had never even seen snow) and the passion behind it (their desire to compete and win). John Candy, in one of his last roles, is touching as a disgraced coach who seizes the opportunity to work with the Jamaicans as a chance for redemption. The bobsled scenes look good, and the races are exciting. The climax, which is entirely unexpected, takes the film to a wholly different level, even if events in the story don't quite match the facts. —Tom Keogh

Kevin Reynolds

David McNally (II) An aspiring songwriter goes to New York City and takes a job as a bartender at Coyote Ugly, a tavern staffed by beautiful women.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 13-AUG-2002
Media Type: DVD

Ang Lee TWO WARRIORS IN PURSUIT OF A STOLEN SWORD AND A NOTORIOUS FUGITIVE ARE LEAD TO AN IMPETUOUS, PHYSICALLY-SKILLED, TEENAGE NOBLEMAN'S DAUGHTER, WHO IS AT A CROSSROADS IN HER LIFE. SPECIAL FEATURES: ANG LEE AND JAMES SCHAMUS COMMENTARY: PHOTO MONTAGE: LINK TO WEBSITE: THEATRICAL TRAILERS AND MUCH MORE.

Matthew O'Callaghan THE MAN IN THE YELLOW HAT IS A GENTLEMAN WHO LOOKS AFTER HIS PET MONKEY - AN INQUISITIVE AND WONDERFUL CREATURE WHOSE ENTHUSIASM OFTEN GETS THE BEST OF HIM.

Paul Michael Glaser Moira Kelly (Dangerous Beauty The West Wing) and D.B. Sweeney (Roommates Memphis Belle) star as polar opposites who unite on the ice for a shot at Olympic gold in this inspirational romantic comedy from acclaimed director Paul M. Glaser (The Running Man). Brimming with wit charm and plenty of breathtaking sports action The Cutting Edge is a real winner!She s a rich and refined pairs figure skater whose prima donna attitude has her skating solo. He s a brash blue-collar hockey champion with a new injury and no future. With nothing in common but their dream of reaching the Olympics Kate and Doug are each other s last resort. Reluctantly they join forces but it s not long before the barbs and sparks start flying as the unlikely pair skate towards the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance at a medal...and a chance at love.System Requirements:Starring: D.B. Sweeney Moira Kelly Roy Dotrice Terry O Quinn Dwier Brown Chris Benson Kevin Peeks and Barry Flatman. Directed By: Paul Michael Glaser. Running Time: 102 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2000 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 027616857743 Manufacturer No: 1001454

Randa Haines A handsome Cuban sweeps a professional dance instructor off her feet with his unschooled footwork and undeniable charm in this story of torrid passion and sizzling hot dancing.

Mark Steven Johnson Story of matthew murdock who is struck blind by a radioactive isotope. He gains a super radar ability & uses his powers to fight crime in new york. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 05/13/2008 Starring: Jennifer Garner Colin Farrell Run time: 103 minutes Rating: R Director: Mark Steven Johnson

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 12/09/2008 Run time: 151 minutes Rating: Pg13

Marcus Viner

Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 04/11/2006

David Frankel AS ASSISTANT TO IMPOSSIBLY DEMANDING NEW YORK FASHIO MAGAZINE EDITOR MIRANDA PRIESTLY, YOUNG ANDY SACHS HAS LANDED A JOB THAT 'A MILLION GIRLS WOULD DIE FOR'. UNFORTUNATELY, HER HEAVEN-SENT APPOINTMENT AS MIRANDA'S PERSONAL WHIPPING GIRL JUST MIGHT BE THE DEATH OF HER!

As with Grease (1978) and Footloose (1984) before it, Dirty Dancing was a cultural phenomenon that now plays more like camp. That very campiness, though, is part of its biggest charm. And if the dancing in the movie doesn't seem particularly "dirty" by today's standards—or 1987's—it does take place in an era (the early '60s) when it would have. Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey, daughter of ageless hoofer Joel Grey) has been vacationing in the Catskills with her family for many years. Uneventfully. One summer, she falls under the sway (as it were) of dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Baby is a pampered pup, but Johnny is a man of the world. Baby's father, Jake (Law and Order's Jerry Orbach), can't see the basic decency in greaser Johnny that she can. It should come as no surprise to find that Baby, who can be as immature as her name, learns more about love and life—and dancing—from free-spirited Johnny than traditionalist Jake.

Dirty Dancing spawned two successful soundtracks, a short-lived TV series, and a stage musical. It may be predictable, but Grey and Swayze have chemistry, charisma, and all the right moves. It's a sometimes silly movie with occasionally mind-boggling dialogue——"No one puts Baby in a corner!"—that nonetheless carries an underlying message about tolerance and is filled with the kind of exuberant spirit that's hard for even the most cynical to resist. Not that they'd ever admit it. —Kathleen C. Fennessy

Peyton Reed STORY OF MATTHEW MURDOCK WHO IS STRUCK BLIND BY A RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPE. HE GAINS A SUPER RADAR ABILITY & USES HIS POWERS TO FIGHT CRIME IN NEW YORK.

Steve Clark (VIII) Fred Wolf Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 11/14/2006

Hugh Wilson Brendan Fraser (George of the Jungle, The Mummy) brings his considerable charm to this awkward live-action version of the classic cartoon Dudley Do-Right. The first half of the movie lays out the basic elements of the cartoon (none-too-bright Canadian Mountie battles melodrama villain Snidely Whiplash with pluck and dumb luck) with little wit or imagination, but lots of pratfalls and broad gags. But about halfway into it, when Whiplash has taken over the town of Semi-Happy Falls and become its leading citizen, the movie takes a curious turn: Since Whiplash has become, to all appearances, a good guy, Dudley decides the only way to fight him is to turn into a bad guy. Next thing you know, Dudley is decked out in black leather and cruising around on a motorbike while Whiplash fumes impotently. Bullwinkle fans may decry this departure, but it gives the movie a much-needed burst of energy and the opportunity for some entertainingly surreal images—like Whiplash up to his neck in a mudbath with cucumber slices on his eyes, consulting with his henchmen about dealing with that unpredictable Do-Right. With Alfred Molina, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Monty Python's Eric Idle. —Bret Fetzer

Ben Sharpsteen A Disney "classic" that actually is a classic, Dumbo should be part of your video collection whether or not you have children. The storytelling was never as lean as in Dumbo, the songs rarely as haunting (or just plain weird), the characters rarely so well defined. The film pits the "cold, cruel, heartless" world that can't accept abnormality against a plucky, and mute, hero. Jumbo Jr. (Dumbo is a mean-spirited nickname) is ostracized from the circus pack shortly after his delivery by the stork because of his big ears. His mother sticks up for him and is shackled. He's jeered by children (an insightful scene has one boy poking fun at Dumbo's ears, even though the youngster's ears are also ungainly), used by the circus folk, and demoted to appearing with the clowns. Only the decent Timothy Q. Mouse looks out for the little guy. Concerns about the un-PC "Jim Crow" crows, who mock Dumbo with the wonderful "When I See an Elephant Fly," should be moderated by remembering that the crows are the only social group in the film who act kindly to the little outcast. If you don't mist up during the "Baby Mine" scene, you may be legally pronounced dead. —Keith Simanton

Steven Speilberg

Newhart, Bob THIS HILARIOUS FILM TELLS THE TALE OF A YOUNG ORPHAN CHILD WHO MISTAKENLY CRAWLS INTO SANTA'S BAG OF GIFTS ON CHRISTMAS EVE & IS TRANSPORTED BACK TO THE NORTH POLE & RAISED AS AN ELF. YEARS LATER BUDDY LEARNS HE'S NOT REALLY AN ELF & GOES ON A JOURNEY TO NEW YORK CITY TO FIND HIS TRUE IDENTITY.

Cameron Crowe JUST AFTER HAVING BEEN FIRED FROM HIS JOB, DREW RECEIVES NEWS THAT HIS FATHER HAS JUST DIED & HE MUST VISIT HIS FAMILY IN HIS HOMETOWN OF ELIZABETHTOWN, KY. ON HIS WAY TO PICK UP HIS FATHERS BODY HE MEETS AN EFFERVESCENT FLIGHT ATTENDANT WHO, ALONG WITH HIS FAMILY, HELPS HIM DISCOVER THE TRUE MEANING OF HAPPINESS.

Mark Dindal GREAT CONDITION, WILL SHIP FAST!

Barry Levinson WHEN ONE OF THEM BECOMES MINDBLOWINGLY, QUITE LITERALLY STINKING RICH BY SELLING AN INVENTION, A PAIR OF LIFE-LONG BEST FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS (THEY EVEN WORK AT THE SAME COMPANY) FINDS THEIR BOND BREAKING AS THE OTHER GUY START TO GO CRAZY ... WITH ENVY.

Andy Tennant Against remarkable odds, wise, beautiful, and independent Danielle stands up to her scheming stepmother and works miracles on the lives of everyone around her, including the crown prince of France, in this revamping of Cinderella.

Douglas McCarthy Ian Harrowell Max is college bound with his friends and finally free of his embarrassing father as he strives to be a top contender for the x-games. Unfortunately goofy loses his job and learns that he cannot get another job without a college degree. To his sons mortification goofy decides to join max at college. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 06/03/2003 Starring: Animated Director: Ian Harrowell/douglas Mccarthy

Tim Story Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 10/03/2006 Rating: Pg13

Ron Howard A poor young Irish man immigrates to the United States along with the daughter of a wealthy land owner.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 27-FEB-2007
Media Type: DVD

Stills from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Click for larger image)

The year is 2065. A meteor has crashed onto earth unleashing millions of alien creatures who roam the earth decimating field and city alike threatening to extinguish life itself. Prepare to be spellbound by an amazing woman the brave individuals at her side and an astonishing mission to save earth Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 06/26/2007 Starring: Voice Of Alec Baldwin Voice Of Ming-na Run time: 106 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi

Stanton, Andrew A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventure Finding Nemo. When his son Nemo is captured by a scuba-diver, a nervous-nellie clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast—and astonishingly detailed—ocean to find him. Along the way he hooks up with a scatterbrained blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who's both helpful and a hindrance, sometimes at the same time. Faced with sharks, deep-sea anglers, fields of poisonous jellyfish, sea turtles, pelicans, and much more, Marlin rises above his neuroses in this wonderfully funny and nonstop thrill ride—rarely does more than 10 minutes pass without a sequence destined to become a theme park attraction. Pixar continues its run of impeccable artistic and economic success (their movies include Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc). Also featuring the voices of Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, and Allison Janney. —Bret Fetzer

Joss Whedon Tim Minear Vern Gillum Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 02/10/2009

Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie â€" a.k.a. Flight of the Conchords â€" may be “New Zealand’s 4th Most Popular Folk Parody Duo,” but in the USA, finding someone who knows their act is about as easy as finding a kiwi nest in Central Park. To rectify this oversight, Jemaine and Bret have moved to New York’s East Village to conquer America, one fan (literally) at a time.

Brian Levant This pleasant, lightweight live-action version of the popular cartoon is about as good as you might expect. The kids should love the broad humor and the Henson Studios creatures, but like The Addams Family movies, the look and the cast are the best things going for it. Considering that the nature of the material is so sparse, the thinly plotted story works better than other TV-to-movie fare. Our fabulous Stone Age man is promoted per a calculated move by a scheming exec (Kyle MacLachlan, whose casting ensured at least one cute guy). As a comedy, the humor is one-note and flat for anyone older than 12. The special-effects creatures look wondrous, though not as seamless as in other movies, such as in Roger Rabbit. The most joyous moments come during the full-scale re-creations of the famous credits. The Flinstones provided a major launching pad for Halle Berry as a vamping secretary. —Doug Thomas

Herbert Ross Footloose jumps with spirit, dazzling dance numbers and an electrifying musical score. It portrays the timeless struggle between innocent pleasure and rigid morality, when city-boy Ren McCormick (Kevin Bacon) finds himself in an uptight Midwestern town where dancing has been banned. Ren revolts with best friend Willard (Chris Penn) and the minister's daughter (Lori Singer). A treasury of Top 10 songs-Kenny Loggins "Footloose," Shalamar "Dancing In The Sheets," Deniece Williams "Let's Hear It For The Boy," Bonnie Tyler "Holding Out for A Hero," and the Footloose love theme, "Almost Paradise

8 YEAR OLD MAC HAS OUTGROWN HIS IMAGINARY FRIEND, SAYS HIS MOTHER, SO HE TAKES HIS BUDDY BLOO TO FOSTER'S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS. HERE ALL SORTS OF ODD CHARACTERS, GIVEN UP BY THEIR CREATORS, ARE WELCOM TO STAY UNTIL NEW KIDS COME TO ADOPT THEM.

Darren Aronofsky Spanning over one thousand years & three parallel stories this is a story of love death spirituality & fragility of our existence in this world. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 01/08/2008 Starring: Hugh Jackman Ellen Burstyn Run time: 96 minutes Rating: Pg13

The fans demanded it and so it has come. Freaks and Geeks the Emmy award-winning series about the trials and tribulations of outsiders 1980 Michigan is finally available on DVDiin its original form with all of its original music. The complete series includes all 18 original episodes; the director's cut of the pilot with never-before-seen footage; deleted scenes; outtakes; behind-the-scenes footage andi29 commentary tracks by the actors writers and directors who made the show. If you wanted it it's in here. Even if you didn't want it it's in here. So rock on and enjoy!System Requirements: Running Time 1080 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 826663482096 Manufacturer No: D6D34820

Andrew Davis Dr. Richard Kimble is a prominent surgeon falsely convicted of killing his wife. When an accident on the way to prison allows him to escape, Kimble begins a desperate search for the one-armed man who is the real killer.

Dean Parisot WHEN THE COMPANY DICK WORKS FOR BECOMES INVOLVED IN AN ENRON-LIKE SCANDAL & HE TAKES THE RAP, DICK & JANE ARE FACED WITH PROSPECT OF LOSING EVERYTHING. AFTER PLAYING BY THE RULES & GETTING BURNED, DICK HAS AN IDEA: IF STEALING WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIS BOSS, THEN IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM.

You don't have to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy Galaxy Quest, but it certainly helps. A knowingly affectionate tribute to Trek and any other science fiction TV series of the 1960s and beyond, this crowd-pleasing comedy offers in-jokes at warp speed, hitting the bull's-eye for anyone who knows that (1) the starship captain always removes his shirt to display his manly physique; (2) any crew member not in the regular cast is dead meat; and (3) the heroes always stop the doomsday clock with one second to spare. So it is with Commander Taggart (Tim Allen) and the stalwart crew of the NSEA Protector, whose intergalactic exploits on TV have now been reduced to a dreary cycle of fan conventions and promotional appearances. That's when the Thermians arrive, begging to be saved from Sarris, the reptilian villain who threatens to destroy their home planet.

Can actors rise to the challenge and play their roles for real? The Thermians are counting on it, having studied the "historical documents" of the Galaxy Quest TV show, and their hero worship (not to mention their taste for Monte Cristo sandwiches) is ultimately proven worthy, with the help of some Galaxy geeks on planet Earth. And while Galaxy Quest serves up great special effects and impressive Stan Winston creatures, director Dean Parisot (Home Fries) is never condescending, lending warm acceptance to this gentle send-up of sci-fi TV and the phenomenon of fandom. Best of all is the splendid cast, including Sigourney Weaver as buxom blonde Gwen DeMarco; Alan Rickman as frustrated thespian Alexander Dane; Tony Shalhoub as dimwit Fred Kwan; Daryl Mitchell as former child-star Tommy Webber; and Enrico Colantoni as Thermian leader Mathesar, whose sing-song voice is a comedic coup de grâce. —Jeff Shannon

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 08/05/2008 Run time: 106 minutes Rating: Pg13

Alan Metter Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt dance their way through Girls Just Want to Have Fun, a glorious example of 1980s kitsch. Janey (Parker), the new girl at a Catholic high school in Chicago, dreams of becoming a dancer on Dance TV. With the help of new wave hipster Lynne (Hunt), Janey enters a dance contest and gets paired with Jeff (Lee Montgomery), a rebel in spandex, and the two are soon smitten with each other. Unfortunately, they've made an enemy of a snooty rich girl, who vows to take them down. Everything about Girls Just Want to Have Fun is cheap and cheesy—it doesn't even have the Cyndi Lauper version of the title song—but that doesn't make it any less goofily entertaining, particularly when a debutante ball is wrecked by a bizarre combination of punk rockers and female bodybuilders. Featuring a very young Shannen Doherty as Jeff's little sister. —Bret Fetzer

Daniel Sackheim WHEN RUBY AND HER YOUNGER BROTHER RHETT'S PARENTS ARE KILLED IN A CAR CRASH, THEIR PARENTS' BEST FRIENDS, ERIN AND TERRY GLASS BECOME THEIR GUARDIANS. SOON, RUBY SUSPECTS THAT ERIN AND TERRY MAY NOT BE THE IDEAL GUARDIANS THEY SEEM TO BE. ARE HER SUSPICIONS JUSTIFIED OR MERELY MISPERCEPTIONS.

Even as Disney has reveled in the success of its high-end animated features, it occasionally sneaks a lesser effort into theaters, based on one of the many TV shows with which it dominates daytime TV. This one is based on perennial Disney favorite Goofy's adventures in domesticated bliss. Goofy is now a single dad; when son Max gets blamed for a prank gone wrong at school, Goofy blames himself and decides that, for his vacation, he's going to get away with Max alone. Of course, this is no treat for Max, who has just met the girl of his dreams and harbors no wish to spend the summer touring America with his square dad. The vacation is one disaster after another, though they aren't particularly funny disasters; the culmination involves Goofy's efforts to get Max backstage at a big rock concert. Strictly for young fans of the TV show. —Marshall Fine

Randal Kleiser

INSIDE A SNOWFLAKE EXISTS THE MAGICAL LAND OF WHOVILLE. IN WHOVILLE, LIVE THE WHO'S AN ALMOST MUTATED SORT OF MUNCHKINLIKE PEOPLE. ALL THE WHO'S LOVE CHRISTMAS, YET JUST OUTSIDE OF THEIR BELOVED WHOVILLE LIVES THE GRINCH. THE GRINCH IS A NASTY CREATURE THAT HATES CHRISTMAS.

Sonny Bono, Ruth Brown, Waters, John Comedy in which two \""girls\"" compete for the star position on Baltimore's Corny Collins dance show.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 7-SEP-2004
Media Type: DVD

This cute movie by William Dear stars John Lithgow as a family man who befriends a Sasquatch (a.k.a. Bigfoot) and brings the friendly monster's oversized, hairy self into his Seattle home. Mayhem and comedy ensue, but things take a heavier turn when a hunter (David Suchet) gets on the creature's trail. Everything hinges on the relationship between Lithgow's character and Harry (the Sasquatch), and that relationship is really quite effective and touching. Don Ameche is a hoot as an old guy who has dreamed of meeting Bigfoot all his life and finally gets the glorious chance. —Tom Keogh

Mark Waters (VIII) A young woman is attracted to a man despite her thinking she's seen him kill someone. Special features: theatrical trailer: production notes: cast and filmmakers biographies and film highlights and spotlight on location. 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Steven Brill

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

Karen Inwood Somers, Tad Stones, Victor Cook Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 06/03/2008 Run time: 75 minutes Rating: Nr

Guillermo del Toro Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 11/11/2008 Run time: 120 minutes Rating: Pg13

Phil Weinstein Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 02/06/2007 Run time: 77 minutes Rating: Nr

Kenny Ortega This big, fat theatrical bomb has a lot going for it. There's the three leads, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, playing three resurrected witches who wreak havoc on Salem, Massachusetts, 300 hundred years after they were hung. There's music, special effects, and magic. There's a surprisingly horror-filled plot. Whoops, hold up on that last one. It's probably the extremes that this film goes to (displaying a Disney label), such as the witches sucking the life out of a little girl in the first five minutes, that put the brakes on any success for Hocus Pocus. Older children, however, in the 8 and up range should get a kick out of all the weird goings-on. It's a good measure of Halloween thrills and chills. —Keith Simanton

Nancy Meyers In Nancy Meyers' The Holiday, a romantic comedy from the director of Something's Gotta Give and What Women Want, two women trade homes only to find that a change of address can change their lives. Iris (Winslet) is in love with a man who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe, Amanda (Diaz), realizes the man she lives with has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6000 miles apart, find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the holiday. Iris moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris' handsome brother Graham (Law) and Iris, with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur (Wallach), mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles (Black).

Chris Columbus Now and forever a favorite among kids, this 1990 comedy written by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club) and directed by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire) ushered Macaulay Culkin onto the screen as a troubled 8-year-old who doesn't comfortably mesh with his large family. He's forced to grow a little after being accidentally left behind when his folks and siblings fly off to Paris. A good-looking boy, Culkin lights up the screen during several funny sequences, the most famous of which finds him screaming for joy when he realizes he's unsupervised in his own house. A bit wooden with dialogue, the then-little star's voice could grate on the nerves (especially in long, wise-child passages of pure bromide), but he unquestionably carries the film. Billie Bird and John Candy show up as two of the interesting strangers Culkin's character meets. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are entertainingly cartoonish as thieves, but the ensuing violence once the little hero decides to keep them out of his house is over-the-top. —Tom Keogh

This somewhat unpleasant 1992 sequel to the blockbuster Home Alonerevisits the first film's gimmick by stranding Macaulay Culkin's character in New York City while his family ends up somewhere else. Again, the little guy meets up with colorful people on the margins of society (including a pigeon woman played by Brenda Fricker) and again he gets into a prop-heavy battle with Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The latter sequence is even worse than the first film in terms of violence inflicted on the two villains (director Chris Columbus, who also made the first film, can't seem to emphasize the slapstick over the graphic effects of the fight). The best running joke finds a concierge (Tim Curry) at the swank hotel where Culkin is staying trying and failing to prove that the boy is on his own. —Tom Keogh

Duwayne Dunham Walt Disney studios had previously adapted Sheila Burnford's classic animal-adventure novel The Incredible Journeyin 1963, and the story proves just as durable in this popular 1993 version, in which the heroic trio of animals are given voices provided by Don Ameche, Michael J. Fox, and Sally Field. They don't actually speak (like the clever critters in Babe), but we hear their "voices" as the lost household pets—Shadow the golden retriever, Chance the bulldog, and Sassy the cat—survive a harrowing series of adventures as they struggle to find their way home. Perfect entertainment for kids, this frequently clever movie offers an abundance of wildlife and beautiful location scenery, and the vocal performances by Ameche, Fox, and Field are surprisingly effective. A hit with parents and children alike, the film was followed by a sequel in 1996. —Jeff Shannon

Get ready for a gut-busting, outrageous comedy from the guys that created Shaun of the Dead. Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is a big-city cop who can't be stopped - but he's making everyone else on the force look bad. When he is reassigned to a small, quiet town, he struggles with this new, seemingly idyllic world and his bumbling partner (Nick Frost). But their dull existence is interrupted by several grisly and suspicious accidents, and the crime-fighting duo turn up the heat and hand out high-octane, car-chasing, gun-fighting big-city justice in this hilarious hit critics are calling "Outrageous! Uproariously Funny!" (Thelma Adams, US Weekly).

Yimou Zhang MEL IS AN EXOTIC, BEAUTIFUL BLIND DANCER, ASSOCIATED WITH A DANGEROUS REVOLUTIONARY GANG, KNOWN AS THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. CAPTURED BY OFFICERS OF THE DECADENT TANG DYNASTY, MEL FINDS HERSELF BOTH THREATENED - & ATTRACTED - TO THE MOST UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

Gus Jekel

John McTiernan Before Harrison Ford assumed the mantle of playing Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan hero in Patriot Games, Alec Baldwin took a swing at the character in this John McTiernan film and hit one to the fence. If less instantly sympathetic than Ford, Baldwin is in some respects more interesting and nuanced as Ryan, and drawing comparisons between both actors' performances can make for some interesting postmovie discussion. That aside, The Hunt for Red October stands alone as a uniquely exciting adventure with a fantastic costar: Sean Connery as a Russian nuclear submarine captain attempting to defect to the West on his ship. Ryan must figure out his true motives for approaching the U.S. McTiernan (Predator, Die Hard) made an exceptionally handsome movie here with action sequences that really do take one's breath away. —Tom Keogh

Francis Lawrence (II)

Alex Proyas IN THE YEAR 2035, TECHNOLOGY & ROBOTS ARE A TRUSTED PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE. BUT THAT TRUST IS BROKEN WHEN A SCIENTIST IS FOUND DEAD & A SKEPTICAL DETECTIVE BELIEVES THAT A ROBOT IS RESPONSIBLE. WILL TECHNOLOGY LEAD TO MANKIND'S SALVATION ... OR ANNIHILATION?

Rick Shaine, John Wright, Vincent Tabaillon, Louis Leterrier Hailing more from the pulp-melancholic spirit of CBS's 1978-1982 Hulk television series than its 2003 predecessor did, THE INCREDIBLE HULK wordlessly tells the entire gamma ray-afflicted origin story of scientist Bruce Banner's alter-ego within its first two-and-a-half minutes. This credit sequence evokes—albeit with more cinematic weight—the premise-informing quality that might be found before every episode of a cult hit series. This sequence makes at least two things clear. First off, the Edward Norton-starring THE INCREDIBLE HULK is not a sequel to or a remake of the 2003 THE HULK, but a reboot complete with an alternate plot, a new dynamic, and a different set of rules. Second, director Louis Leterrier (UNLEASHED, THE TRANSPORTER) intends to deliver an economically paced, tightly wound thriller in which drama and action scenes are not mutually exclusive. THE INCREDIBLE HULK replaces cerebral family drama with a coping scientist who, at the start of the movie, is in hiding and training his mind-body dichotomy. So much of Banner's plight is effectively conveyed with simple "days without incident": title cards that inevitably reset. The Hulk's previously poetic weightlessness is rejected in favor of gargantuan physicality akin to seeing huge robots face off in TRANSFORMERS, but with more flesh, muscle, and bone. The angst, of course, isn't gone from this incarnation—not if Norton's intelligently passionate Banner and his tender, forbidden relationship with Dr. Elizabeth Ross (Liv Tyler) have anything to say about it—it—it's simply that this Hulk always smashes before he ponders. Rounding out THE INCREDIBLE HULK's main players are William Hurt as General Ross and Tim Roth as marine Emil Blonsky, two antagonists in pursuit of the Hulk who, like Banner, are not so much evil as consumed by tragic character flaws.

Disney The Incredibles (2-Disc Collector's Edition) - Widescreen DVD

From the Academy Award winning creators of Finding Nemo (2003 Best Animated Feature Film) comes the action-packed animated adventure about the mundane and incredible lives of a house full of superheroes. Bob Parr and his wife Helen used to be among the world's greatest crime fighters,saving lives and battling evil on a daily basis. Fifteen years later, they have been forced to adopt civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs where they live "normal" lives with their three kids, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack. Itching to get back into action, Bob gets his chance when a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top secret assignment. But he soon discovers that it will take a super family effort to rescue the world from total destruction. Exploding with fun and featuring an all-new animated short film, this spectacular 2-disc collector's edition DVD is high-flying entertainment for everyone.

Roland Emmerich When massive spaceships begin to destroy major cities across the globe a band of survivors must try to defeat the invaders & save mankind. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 01/22/2008 Starring: Will Smith Bill Pullman Run time: 153 minutes Rating: Pg13

Michael Kahn, Steven Spielberg Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 122 minutes Rating: Pg13

Sidney J. Furie AN EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT ADVENTURE STARRING LOUIS GOSSETT, JR., A TOUGH-AS-NAILS RESERVE OFFICER WHO HELPS A BOY RESCUE HIS IMPRISONED DAD. SPECIAL FEATURES: FULL SCREEN AND WIDESCREEN VERSIONS, SUBTITLES: ENGLISH, SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, CHINES, KOREAN, THAI AND TALENT FILES.

Jon Favreau You know you're going to get a different kind of superhero when you cast Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. And Iron Man is different, in welcome ways. Cleverly updated from Marvel Comics' longstanding series, Iron Man puts billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (that's Downey) in the path of some Middle Eastern terrorists; in a brilliantly paced section, Stark invents an indestructible suit that allows him to escape. If the rest of the movie never quit hits that precise rhythm again, it nevertheless offers plenty of pleasure, as the renewed Stark swears off his past as a weapons manufacturer, develops his new Iron Man suit, and puzzles both his business partner (Jeff Bridges in great form) and executive assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow). Director Jon Favreau geeks out in fun ways with the hardware, but never lets it overpower the movie, and there's always a goofy one-liner or a slapstick pratfall around to break the tension. As for Downey, he doesn't get to jitterbug around too much in his improv way, but he brings enough of his unpredictable personality to keep the thing fresh. And listen up, hardcore Marvel mavens: even if you know the Stan Lee cameo is coming, you won't be able to guess it until it's on the screen. It all builds to a splendid final scene, with a concluding line delivery by Downey that just feels absolutely right. —Robert Horton

On the DVD
A fat collection of Special Features bulks up the Iron Man experience. The heftiest is I Am Iron Man, a feature-length behind-the-scenes doc that exhaustively covers the making of the movie, with full access to director Jon Favreau and the cast and crew. A half-hour look at the visual effects will satisfy gearheads (the legendary Stan Winston weighs in, shortly before he died), and a thorough chronicle of the comic-book Iron Man provides the character's print history, with Stan Lee noting that the comic brought in more fan mail from women than any other Marvel title. Scenes from Robert Downey, Jr.'s screen test are fun, and a rehearsal with Downey, Favreau, and Jeff Bridges working out a tense scene is a tantalizing look at collaboration. A selection of deleted and extended scenes reveals no special gems, but confirms the editorial judgment. The cherry on top is a splendid Onion parody news bulletin, purporting to report that the awesome Iron Man trailer that everybody loved is now about to be expanded into an actual full-length film—but fans are skeptical they'll ruin it. —Robert Horton

Stills from Iron Man (Click for larger image)

Michael Bay When you add up all the best things about The Island, you might just conclude that there's hope yet for Hollywood's most critically reviled hit-maker, Michael Bay. Recruited by Steven Spielberg to direct this lavish and often breathtaking sci-fi action thriller, Bay rises to the occasion with an ambitious production that is, by his standards (and compared to Bay's earlier hits like The Rockand Armageddon), surprisingly intelligent as it explores the repercussions of cloning in a sealed-off society where humans are cultivated for spare parts, surrogate parenthood, and full-body replacements for wealthy clientele. But when two of the clones (Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johanssen) begin to question their fate and the motives of their keepers, they escape into the real world and The Islandbecomes just another Michael Bay action extravaganza, albeit an impressively exciting one. With elaborate chase scenes and a high-tech feast of CGI to dazzle the eye, The Islandrecycles much of the plot from 1979's Clonuswhile borrowing elements from Logan's Run, Gattacaand Minority Report, and while it's not as smartly conceived as those earlier films, there's no denying that, in many ways, it's Bay's best film to date. —Jeff Shannon

F. Gary Gray AFTER A MASTER THIEF LOSES HIS HEIST IN A DOUBLE-CROSS, HE &HIS TEAM SET OUT TO RE-STEAL THE LOOT BY CREATING THE LARGEST TRAFFIC JAM IN LA HISTORY.

John A. Davis A BOY GENIUS IN THE MAKING MUST COME TO THE RESCUE WHEN THE TOWN'S PARENTS ARE KIDNAPPED BY ALIEN INVADERS PLANNING TO TAKE OVER THE PLANET.

John Patrick Shanley Joe Versus the Volcano is a true early-1990s cult film. This fantasy-comedy was the first pairing of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, yet it polarizes viewers like a Blue Velvet or Happiness. As the only directorial effort from John Patrick Shanley (the Oscar-winning writer of Moonstruck), it is something special, and it's hard to resist the film's feather-light heart tugging. Joe Banks is having the life sucked out of him at a dead-end job. Miserable in his gray surroundings with stark fluorescent lighting, Joe dreams of being brave again. A visit to the doctor reveals that he has a "brain cloud." It's fatal, but he'll be fine for a few more months. An eccentric millionaire, Samuel Harvey Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges), hears of Joe's predicament and comes to him with a proposal: The people of the Pacific island of Waponi Woo need a human sacrifice to appease their gods. Why not live like a king for a few weeks, then throw yourself into a volcano? (Graynamore needs a sacrificial victim to offer in exchange for permission to mine the island for a rare mineral.) Joe accepts Graynamore's lavish proposal and on his journey meets three romantic possibilities (all played by Ryan). Joe embraces life; so does the movie. It's packed with smile-inducing supporting performances by Bridges, Ossie Davis, Robert Stack, and Dan Hedaya; playful songs ("Sixteen Tons," "Ol' Man River," Presley's version of "Blue Moon"); and amusing scenes (such as Joe buying luggage). Add the daring, imaginative production design of Bo Welch (Edward Scissorhands), Hanks and Ryan's chemistry, and Georges Delerue's romantic music and you have a film to fall for. —Doug Thomas

Kaplan, Deborah "Oh my God, I'm a trend pimp!" cries rocker Josie McCoy (Rachel Leigh Cook) when she discovers that she and her best friends Melody (Tara Reid) and Val (Rosario Dawson)—collectively known as the Pussycats—have been recruited in a plot to brainwash America's youth into a frenzy of mindless consumerism. Unbeknownst to the Pussycats, subliminal messages in their chart-topping hit "Pretend to Be Nice" are forcing kids to follow the latest prefab trends as if their lives depended on it. Josie's going to be the Next Big Thing, and to her manager (Alan Cumming) and Megarecords mogul Fiona (Parker Posey), the other Pussycats are expendable baggage in their scheme to dictate the cool quotient of teenagers everywhere.

Shrewdly concocted by codirectors Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, this wildly comedic update of the Archie comic book (and early-'70s cartoon show) is a deliriously entertaining assault on pop-cultural flotsam, with a disposable boy-band (aptly named "Du Jour") and cross-product marketing ploys that perpetuate blind conformity among gullible teens. Blatant product placements dominate virtually every colorful scene as Josie gamely embraces the cultural blight it claims to criticize, but this isn't Hollywood hypocrisy. Elfont and Kaplan willfully bite the hand that feeds them, and they're having loads of fun while advocating independent opinion. Cook and her pals are more honestly sexy than Britney Spears, and they make genuinely catchy music (although Cook's vocals were dubbed). It's pure fluff, but Josie and the Pussycats was conceived in such high spirits that it's hard to imagine how it could be improved. Even the obligatory end-credit outtakes are utterly irresistible. —Jeff Shannon

Stephen Sommers Disney scrapped the songs and talking animals for its second version of Rudyard Kipling's classic novel, an old-fashioned boy's adventure that more resembles the classic Korda brothers' lush original than Disney's own animated musical. In this live-action version, Jason Scott Lee (the hunky star of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story) is the grown Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves and taught the ways of the jungle by Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther. Fascinated by Englishwoman Lena Heady, whom he spots marching through the jungle on a safari, he follows her to the city. She teaches him the ways of polite society while a greedy British soldier (a sneering Cary Elwes) plots to discover the fabled lost city, where a fabulous fortune awaits. At this point the film becomes more Tarzan than Kipling. Lee's rippling form, back in the freedom of a loin cloth, is on display running through the jungle, swinging on vines, and going mano a mano with snooty Englisher Elwes. His charm and sex appeal has made this film a favorite of many adult women, but it is a family adventure, after all, with colorful locations, grand sets, and plenty of fun-loving animal moments. Sam Neill is his usual figure of moral strength as Heady's explorer father, and John Cleese imparts a little deadpan humor as the safari's absent-minded professor. Director Stephen Sommers went on to direct the 1999 action fantasy hit The Mummy. Ages 6 and up. —Sean Axmaker

Jason Reitman JUNO stars Ellen Page as the title character, a whip-smart teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Bleeker (Cera). With the help of her hot best friend Leah (Thirlby), Juno finds her unborn child a "perfect" set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa (Bateman and Garner), longing to adopt. Luckily, Juno has the total support of her parents (Simmons and Janney) as she faces some tough decisions, flirts with adulthood and ultimately figures out where she belongs.

Kathryn Bigelow THE TRUE STORY OF RUSSIA'S FIRST NUCLEAR BALLISTIC SUBMARINE, WHICH SUFFERED A MALFUNCTION IN ITS NUCLEAR REACTOR ON ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC IN 1961. THE SUBMARINE'S CREW, LED BY THE UNYIELDING CAPTAIN ZATAYEV, RACES AGAINST TIME TO PREVENT A CHERNOBYL-LIKE NUCLEAR EXPLOSION.

John G. Avildsen A fatherless teenager faces his moment of truth in The Karate Kid. Daniel (Ralph Macchio) arrives in Los Angeles from the east coast and faces the difficult task of making new friends. However, he becomes the object of bullying by the Cobras, a menacing gang of karate students, when he strikes up a relationship with Ali (Elisabeth Shue), the Cobra leader's ex-girlfriend. Eager to fight back and impress his new girlfriend but afraid to confront the dangerous gang, Daniel asks his handyman Miyagi (Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita), whom he learns is a master of the martial arts, to teach him karate. Miyagi teaches Daniel that karate is a mastery over the self, mind, and body and that fighting is always the last answer to a problem. Under Miyagi's guidance, Daniel develops not only physical skills but also the faith and self-confidence to compete despite tremendous odds as he encounters the fight of his life in the exciting finale to this entertaining film.

James Mangold AN ORIGINAL ROMANTIC FABLE ABOUT TWO STRANGERS IN NEW YORK CITY SEPARATED BY A HUNDRED YEARS. KATE MCCAY IS A MODERN-DAY EXECUTIVE, A 21ST CENTURY WOMAN DRIVEN TO SUCCEED IN THE CORPORATE WORLD. LEOPOLD, THE THIRD DUKE OF ALBANY, IS A CHARMING GENT AND BACHELOR OF THE LATE 1800'S.

Wei Lo A 1976 novelty item for Jackie Chan completists only; he plays one of his rare costume roles, and his only bad guy. The star is Jimmy Wang Yu (One Armed Swordsman) as Hero Mei, a freelance warrior whose top-secret weapons are explosive projectiles known as killer meteors. Mei is hired by the so-called "Immortal Meteor," Hua Wa-bin (Chan), to eliminate his pesky wife, who (Hua claims) is plotting to kill him. There are some clever, gimmicky fight sequences and some amusingly far-fetched weaponry. A couple of glamorous sword-fighting women are also involved, as is a potion called the Pulverizing Drug, which melts people into puddles, like vampires exposed to sunlight. But there's so much plot to get through (adapted from a lengthy serial novel by Gu Long), and so many long-winded explanations to plow through that none of the characters have much free time for fighting. The movie plays both as hard-boiled (with everybody betraying everybody else) and as a medieval Chinese conspiracy yarn: kung fu Robert Ludlum. —David Chute

FLAMBOYANT, FOOLHARDY DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER, CARL DENHAM, SAILS OFF TO REMOTE SKULL ISLAND TO KILM HIS LATEST EPIC WITH LEADING LADY ANN DARROW. NATIVE WARRIORS KIDNAP ANN TO USE AS A SACRIFICE AS THEY SUMMON 'KONG'. BUT INSTEAD OF DEVOURING ANN, KONG SAVES HER.

Brian Helgeland A ROUSING STORY OF LOWBORN WILLIAM THATCHER'S QUEST TO CHANGE HIS STARS, WIN THE HEART OF AN EXCEEDINGLY FAIR MAIDEN AND ROCK HIS MEDIEVAL WORLD. FOLLOW THIS FEARLESS SQUIRE AND HIS BAND OF MEDIEVAL MISFITS AS THEY CAREEN THEIR WAY TOWARD IMPOSSIBLE GLORY THAT'S PART ROMANCE, PART ROAD TRIP & PART SWASHBUCKLER.

Jim Henson Journey into the fantastical world of LABYRINTH, starring David Bowie and a cast of incredible creatures created by Jim Henson and produced by the Master of Myth, George Lucas! Frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah, a teenager with an active imagination, summons the Goblins from her favorite book,"LABYRINTH," to take her baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into the world of the fairy tale to rescue him from the wicked Goblin King (Bowie)! Guarding his castle is The Labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populatedwith outrageous characters and unknown dangers. To get through it in time to save Toby, Sarah will have to outwit the King by befriending the very Goblins who protect him, in hopes that their loyaltyisn't just another illusion in a place where nothing is as it seems!

Wilfred Jackson Clyde Geronimi Hamilton Luske Disney's first animated feature in CinemaScope is now available in widescreen presentations on video, and it is definitely good to get the whole picture. One of the studio's most original and charming movies, the 1955 film tells the story of a rakish, street-smart dog named Tramp, who helps an aristocratic pooch named Lady out of some trouble and then commences a romance with her. Sweet, funny scenes abound, and the combination of innocence and sophistication would have done well in a live-action picture. Peggy Lee cowrote the songs and provides the voice of the Siamese cats in one of the film's best-known musical sequences. This newly restored version spruces up both sonics and visuals, and a letterbox version is available. —Tom Keogh

A MEMBER OF A RICH BRITISH ARISTOCRATIC FAMILY, LARA CROFT IS A TOMB RAIDER WHO ENJOYS COLLECTING ANCIENT ARTIFACTS FROM RUINS OF TEMPLES, CITIES, ETC. WORLDWIDE, AND DOESN'T MIND GOING THROUGH DEATH-DEFYING DANGERS TO GET THEM. SHE IS SKILLED IN HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT, WEAPONS TRAINING, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES.

Edward Zwick 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

Robert Luketic If you've ever doubted how much a star can carry a movie, look no further than Legally Blonde, Robert Luketic's pop fluff about a sorority girl who becomes the reigning brain at Harvard Law School. The film tries way too hard to bepop fluff, but thankfully it also understands the comic glories of Reese Witherspoon. As Elle Woods, the supposedly dimwitted heroine, Witherspoon gives a high-wattage performance that somehow comes across as both lusciously cartoonish and warmly human. It's a radiant comic turn worthy of Marilyn Monroe, and Luketic throws the whole movie at her, even though its intentional kitsch and sledgehammer contrivances don't trust you enough to figure out on your own what might be guilty fun about it. It's a lame movie, essentially, that redeems itself by knowing just enough to keep things sunny and moving right along. The film is content to follow several steps behind the regal Witherspoon, carrying her train. You probably will be, too. —Steve Wiecking

International action star Jet Li stars in THE LEGEND 2, the action-packed sequel to THE LEGEND. The Cantonese hero Fong Sai Yuk becomes involved in the secret brotherhood "The Red Flower," who are trying to overthrow the Manchurian emperor and re-establish the Ming dynasty. The social upheaval is combined with Sai Yuk's personal moral conflict about how to conform to the rigid regime of the brotherhood and on top of that, sort out his difficult love life.

Brad Silberling AFTER VIOLET, KLAUS & SUNNY BAUDELAIRE'S PARENTS PERISH IN A TERRIBLE FIRE, THEY ARE PLACED IN THE CARE OF THEIR UNCLE, COUNT OLAF, AN EVIL FIEND WHO IS PLOTTING TO KILL THEM & SEIZE THEIR FORTUNE.

Paul Weiland

Tom Shadyac This Collector's Edition includes:, , Audio commentary by the director, Tom Shadyac, , A Making of... documentary, Bridging The Comedy Chasm, , Outtakes and deleted scenes, , Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) is a fast-talking attorney and habitual liar. When his son Max blows out the candles on his fifth birthday cake, he has just one wish - that his dad will stop lying for 24 hours. When Max's wish miraculously comes true, Fletcher discovers that his biggest asset - his mouth - has suddenly become his biggest liability! Hilarious havoc ensues as Fletcher tries to keep his practice afloat and his ex-wife Audrey from taking their son and moving to Boston., , Co-stars Justin Cooper, Maura Tierney, Jennifer Tilly, Swoosie Kurtz, Amanda Donahoe and Cary Elwes.

Chris Sanders (III) DeBlois, Dean Out-of-this-world storytelling stunning animation and wild and irresistible characters are at the heart of Disney's hilarious new animated adventure. This worldwide box office sensation is a bright and edgy comedy about friendship and finding your place- even if you come from two different worlds. "A magical marvel of animated adventure... the perfect mix of action and heart" says David Sheehan. There's something for everyone in this action-packed DVD loaded with exclusive bonus material. It's a new wave of classic entertainment you'll enjoy over and over again.Features: Deleted Scenes Inter-Stitch-als: Stitch Wreaks Havoc in An Array of Disney Classics "Burning Love": Behind the Scenes with Wynonna A*Teens Music Video "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You" A Stitch in Time DisneyPedia: Hawaii Build an Alien Experiment Game And Much More!System Requirements:Running Time: 85 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2002 Buena Vista Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: PG UPC: 786936165142 Manufacturer No: 2398903

Ron Clements John Musker A headstrong mermaid falls in love with a human prince and makes a faustian bargain with an unscrupulous sea witch to become human.
Genre: Feature Film Family
Rating: NR
Release Date: 3-OCT-2006
Media Type: DVD

In the land of Middle Earth, young Hobbit Frodo Baggins is entrusted with the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron and with a fellowship of eight others, embarks on a quest to destroy it.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 17-JAN-2006
Media Type: DVD

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

The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ringwas 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 Towersadds 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 Ringfelt just right in enriching the film, the extra footage in The Two Towersat times seems a bit extraneous—we seemoments 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 Towersremain 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

John Frankenheimer A Korean war hero is brainwashed and used as a tool in a political assassination plot to be triggered by his domineering mother.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 13-JUL-2004
Media Type: DVD

Martin Campbell A lusty and rousing adventure, this calls to mind those glorious costume dramas produced so capably by the old Hollywood studio system—hardly surprising, in that its title character, a de facto Robin Hood in Old California, provided starring vehicles for Douglas Fairbanks and Tyrone Power, the '50s TV hit, and dozens of serials and features. Zorro, a pop-fiction creation invented by Johnston McCulley in 1918, is given new blood in this fast-moving and engaging version, which actually works as a sequel to the story line in the Fairbanks-Power saga, The Mark of Zorro. A self-assured Anthony Hopkins is Don Diego de la Vega, a Mexican freedom fighter captured and imprisoned just as Spain concedes California to Santa Ana. Twenty years later, he escapes from prison to face down his mortal enemy, a land grabbing governor played with slimy spitefulness by Stuart Wilson. Too old to save the local peasants on his own, he trains bandito Antonio Banderas to take his place. Much swashbuckling ensues as Banderas woos Catherine Zeta-Jones, becomes a better human being, and saves the disenfranchised rabble. Director Martin Campbell wisely instills a measure of frivolity into the deftly choreographed action sequences, while letting a serious tone creep in when appropriate. This covers much ground under the banner of romantic-action-adventure, and it does so most excellently. —Rochelle O'Gorman

Charles Russell

NEO AND THE REBEL LEADERS ESTIMATE THAT THEY HAVE 72 HOURS UNTIL 250,000 PROBES DISCOVER ZION AND DESTROY IT AND ITS INHABITANTS. DURING THIS, NEO MUST DECIDE HOW HE CAN SAVE TRINITY FROM A DARK FATE IN HIS DREAMS.

Larry Wachowski Andy Wachowski Despite the inevitable law of diminishing returns, The Matrix Revolutionsis quite satisfying as an adrenalized action epic, marking yet another milestone in the exponential evolution of computer-generated special effects. That may not be enough to satisfy hardcore Matrixfans who turned the Wachowski Brothers' hacker mythology into a quasi-religious pop-cultural phenomenon, but there's no denying that the trilogy goes out with a cosmic bang instead of the whimper that many expected. Picking up precisely where The Matrix Reloadedleft off, this 130-minute finale finds Neo (Keanu Reeves) at a virtual junction, defending the besieged human enclave of Zion by confronting the attacking machines on their home turf, while humans combat swarms of tentacled mechanical sentinels as Zion's fate lies in the balance. It all amounts to a blaze of CGI glory, devoid of all but the shallowest emotions, and so full of metaphysical hokum that the trilogy's detractors can gloat with I-told-you-so sarcasm. And yet, Revolutionsstill succeeds as a slick, exciting hybrid of cinema and video game, operating by its own internal logic with enough forward momentum to make the whole trilogy seem like a thrilling, magnificent dream. — Jeff Shannon

Larry Wachowski Andy Wachowski By following up their debut thriller Boundwith the 1999 box-office smash The Matrix, the codirecting Wachowski brothers—Andy and Larry—annihilated any suggestion of a sophomore jinx, crafting one of the most exhilarating sci-fi/action movies of the 1990s. Set in the not too distant future in an insipid, characterless city, we find a young man named Neo (Keanu Reeves). A software techie by day and a computer hacker by night, he sits alone at home by his monitor, waiting for a sign, a signal—from what or whom he doesn't know—until one night, a mysterious woman named Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) seeks him out and introduces him to that faceless character he has been waiting for: Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). A messiah of sorts, Morpheus presents Neo with the truth about his world by shedding light on the dark secrets that have troubled him for so long: "You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad." Ultimately, Morpheus illustrates to Neo what the Matrix is—a reality beyond reality that controls all of their lives, in a way that Neo can barely comprehend.

Neo thus embarks on an adventure that is both terrifying and enthralling. Pitted against an enemy that transcends human concepts of evil, Morpheus and his team must train Neo to believe that he is the chosen champion of their fight. With mind-boggling, technically innovative special effects and a thought-provoking script that owes a debt of inspiration to the legacy of cyberpunk fiction, this is much more than an out-and-out action yarn; it's a thinking man's journey into the realm of futuristic fantasy, a dreamscape full of eye candy that will satisfy sci-fi, kung fu, action, and adventure fans alike. Although the film is headlined by Reeves and Fishburne—who both turn in fine performances—much of the fun and excitement should be attributed to Moss, who flawlessly mixes vulnerability with immense strength, making other contemporary female heroines look timid by comparison. And if we were going to cast a vote for most dastardly movie villain of 1999, it would have to go to Hugo Weaving, who plays the feckless, semipsychotic Agent Smith with panache and edginess. As the film's box-office profits soared, the Wachowski brothers announced that The Matrixis merely the first chapter in a cinematically dazzling franchise—a chapter that is arguably superior to the other sci-fi smash of 1999 (you know... the one starring Jar Jar Binks). —Jeremy Storey

Rob Marshall IN THE YEARS BEFORE WWII, A JAPANESE CHILD IS TORN FROM HER POOR FAMILY TO WORK AT A GEISHA HOUSE. DESPITE A TREACHEROUS RIVAL WHO NEARLY BREAKS HER SPIRIT, THE GIRL BLOSSOMS INTO THE LEGENDARY GEISHA SAYURI. BEAUTIFUL & ACCOMPLISHED, SAYURI CAPTIVATES THE MOST POWERFUL MEN OF HER DAY, BUT LOVE ELUDES HER

More remake than sequel, Men in Black II safely repeats everything that made Men in Black the blockbuster hit of 1997. That's fine if you loved the original's fresh humor, weird aliens, and loopy ingenuity, but as sequels go, it's pure déjà vu. Makeup wizard Rick Baker is the only MIB alumnus who's trying anything new, while director Barry Sonnenfeld and costars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (as alien-fighting agents Jay and Kay, respectively) are on autopilot with an uninspired screenplay. The quest of a multitentacled alien—on Earth in the form of Lara Flynn Boyle—for the light of Zartha requires Jay to deneuralize Kay, whose restored memory contains the key to saving the planet. The tissue-thin premise allows all varieties of special effects—mostly familiar, with some oddly hilarious new stuff tossed in for good measure. Certainly enjoyable as a popcorn distraction, but the MIB magic has worn a bit thin. —Jeff Shannon

Disney's classic Christmas tale plus the behind the scenes feature The Making of Mickey's Christmas Carol

Stephanie Leonidas This visually stunning film is the product of a collaboration of award-winning graphic novelist Neil Gaiman (creator of the much-lauded Sandman series), his frequent collaborator Dave McKean (Cages), and The Jim Henson Company, themselves no strangers to elaborate fantasies such as The Dark Crystal. and Labyrinth. As with the latter film, MirrorMask focuses on a young woman unhappy with her daily existence; here, the artistically inclined Helena (Stephanie Leonides), is at odds with her circus performer parents. When a careless insult appears to send her mother (Gina McKee) into a coma, Helena withdraws into the dark and elaborate world of her drawings, in which a scenario very similar to her predicament in the real world is unfolding. Gaiman and director McKean create arresting images to populate Helena's world, and the Henson Company brings them vividly to life with CGI; though the story is occasionally murky, the fantasy elements are imaginative enough to enthrall what will undoubtedly be the film's toughest customers—younger viewers. —Paul Gaita

John Woo

Brian De Palma A flashy, splashy summer-movie blockbuster that's fun and exciting without being mindless? That's the impossible mission accomplished by director Brian De Palma, star-coproducer Tom Cruise, and the crack team of Mission: Impossible. Based on the '60s TV show and an almost impenetrably complex (but nonetheless thrilling) original story by David Koepp (Jurassic Park) and Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List), with a screenplay by Koepp and Robert Towne (Chinatown, Shampoo), Mission: Impossible begins with veteran agent Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) and his expert crew embarking on a mission that goes horribly, horribly wrong. But nothing is what it seems. The nail-biting set piece—always a signature of director De Palma (Carrie, The Untouchables)—in which Cruise is lowered from the ceiling to retrieve information from a computer in a high-security vault—is an instant classic. But perhaps even more impressive, at least in retrospect, is a flashback sequence in which two characters attempt to reconstruct a series of events from multiple points of view. It's pretty daring and sophisticated stuff for a big-budget spy movie, but brains were always what put the Mission: Impossible team ahead of the competition, anyway, no? —Jim Emerson

J.J. Abrams SPECIAL AGENT ETHAN HUNT FACES THE MISSION OF HIS LIFE.

Gil Kenan EVEN FOR A 12 YEAR-OLD, DJ WALKER HAS AN OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION. HE IS CONVINCED THAT ANY TOY THAT TOUCHES HIS CRABBY NEIGHBOR'S PROPERTY PROMPTLY DISAPPEARS. DJ HAS SEEN IT WITH HIS OWN EYE! WHAT EVERYONE DOESN'T KNOW IS THAT DJ ISN'T IMAGINING THINGS. IT'S ALL TRUE & IT'S ABOUT TO GET WORSE THAN DJ IMAGINED.

Peter Docter David Silverman Unkrich, Lee From the Academy Award®-winning creators of TOY STORY comes the computer-animated film that captured the hearts of fans and critics everywhere. MONSTERS, INC., is "visually dazzling, action-packed, and hilarious" (Boston Herald), featuring groundbreaking animation, imaginative storytelling, and unforgettable voice talent. John Goodman stars as the lovable James P. Sullivan (Sulley) and Billy Crystal as his wisecracking best friend, Mike Wazowski. Top scarer Sulley and his enthusiastic Scare Assistant Mike work at Monsters, Inc., the largest scream-processing factory in Monstropolis. The main power source of the monster world is the collected screams of human children. Monsters believe children are dangerous and toxic, however, and they are scared silly when a little girl wanders into their world. Sulley and Mike do their best to return the girl home, but they face monstrous intrigue and some hilarious misadventures along the way. MONSTERS, INC., is "supremely clever — fun for kids and adults alike" (CBS-TV). Treat yourself to the most entertaining movie of the year with all-new exclusive bonus features and animation for monster laughs and monster fun.

Terry Jones Monty Python And The Holy Grail is a hilarious send-up of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a modern-day murder investigation.This two-disc special edition includes a widescreen presentation of the film along with commentaries by directors Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones behind-the-scenes photos you've never seen before and much more!Bonus Features:Disc One: On-Screen Screenplay: Read The Screenplay While You Watch The Film Enlightening Commentaries by Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones Plus General Complaints and Back-Biting by John Cleese Eric Idle & Michael Palin Extraordinary Animated Menus Scene Selection Exciting "Follow The Killer Rabbit" FeatureDisc Two: Three Mindless Sing-Alongs Join Michael Palin and Terry Jones in their Special Documentary: The Quest For The Holy Grail Locations How To Use Your Coconuts (An Educational Film) Monty Python And The Holy Grail In Lego! "On Location with The Pythons" (18 min.) An Interactive Cast Directory Tons of Terry Gilliam's Original Sketches Plus Posters Behind-The-Scenes Photos A Load Of Rubbish - A Surprise Package of Mystery Items Specially Included for the Mentally Challenged. Unused Locations! How The Directors' Recce Used Up The Budget! Theatrical Trailers WeblinksSystem Requirements:Starring: Graham Chapman John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Directed By: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. Running Time: 89 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2001 Columbia TriStar.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 043396052765 Manufacturer No: 05276

Baz Luhrmann A spectacle beyond anything youve ever witnessed. An experience beyond everything youve ever imagined. Behind the red velvet curtain the ultimate seduction of your senses is about to begin. Nicole kidman and ewan mcgregor sing dance and scale the heights of passionate abandon. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 05/24/2005 Starring: Nicole Kidman Ewan Mcgregor Run time: 97 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Baz Lurhmann

Gore Verbinski They've tried Catzilla, a feline so ferocious it can't be euthanized. They've tried booby traps that Rube Goldberg would marvel at. They've even tried Caesar (hilariously played by Christopher Walken), a demented exterminator whose "Squeak Seeker 2000" mouse-cam will infiltrate even the cleverest rodent's secret lair. But the Smuntz brothers Ernie (Nathan Lane) and Lars (British comedian Lee Evans) just can't win against the tenacious mouse that wreaks havoc in the vintage home they've inherited from their father. That's the one-note premise of this chaotic, lavishly produced comedy that starts on a high note and never lets up, eventually leaving the viewer exhausted. The special mouse effects (live-action, animatronic, and computer-generated) are delightful, and the slapstick is frequently ingenious, but the title says it all in a movie that is little more than an elaborate variation of Home Alone. A prime choice for family fun, but it's really just a live-action cartoon that overstays its welcome. It's harmless fun if all you're looking for is a marathon of slapstick gags and pratfalls, and it's notable as the final film appearance of veteran character actor William Hickey, who died in June of 1997, shortly after filming of Mouse Huntwas completed. —Jeff Shannon

Barry Cook Tony Bancroft The retelling of the chinese folklore tale of mulan a young maiden and the only daughter of a lame former soldier who secretly takes her fathers place to save him from the ravages of war and becomes one of chinas most celebrated heroes. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 06/21/2005 Run time: 88 minutes Rating: G

RICK AND EVELYN ARE MARRIED WITH A CHILD AND LIVING IN LONDON. THE MUMMY OF IMHOTEP IS ON DISPLAY AT A MUSEUM IN THE ENGLISH CITY WHERE HE IS RESURRECTED.

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

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

Brian Henson This movie is the "Christmas Carol" story played The Muppets!

This simply irresistible first feature from the Muppets has Kermit the frog going from the swamps to Hollywood to be a star. As he travels and picks up his usual friends (Miss Piggy, Fozzie the Bear), Doc Hopper (Charles Durning) is in pursuit, looking for Kermit to be the spokesman for his frog-leg cuisine. A loose rendition of The Wizard of Oz, the film incorporates the same cagey humor as their breakout syndicated TV series The Muppet Show. This is one of the few times that a human cast (notably Steve Martin, Orson Welles, and Carol Kane) are integrated seamlessly with nonhumans. Worth noting is Paul Williams's score, which includes the Oscar-nominated "The Rainbow Connection." Williams's music, much like Howard Ashman's work on The Little Mermaid and other Disney films, provides more than atmosphere; there's a degree of magic here. Williams did not work on the future Muppet films until A Muppet Christmas Carol. His contributions made these films the best of the Muppet series. —Doug Thomas

Tim Hill (III) THE MUPPETS ARE BACK IN A ZANY COMEDY ABOUT THE SEARCH FOR GONZO'S PAST. THE WHOLE MUPPET CAST EMBARKS ON A HILARIOUS EXTRATERRESTRIAL ADVENTURE IN HOPES OF FINDING GONZO'S FAMILY ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT THEY ARE ALIENS FROM A DISTANT PLANET. SPECIAL FEATURES: TALENT FILES, THEATRICAL TRAILER AND MORE.

Marc Lawrence (II) Alex Fletcher is a washed-up '80s pop star who's been reduced to working the nostalgia circuit at county fairs and amusement parks. The charismatic and talented musician gets a chance at a comeback when reigning diva Cora Corman invites him to write and record a duet with her, but there's a problem - Alex hasn't written a song in years, he's never written lyrics, and he has to come up with a hit in a matter of days. Enter Sophie Fisher, Alex's beguilingly quirky plant lady, whose flair for words strikes a chord with the struggling songwriter. On the rebound from a bad relationship, Sophie is reluctant to collaborate with anyone, especially commitment-phobe Alex. As their chemistry heats up at the piano and under it, Alex and Sophie will have to face their fears - and the music - if they want to find the love and success they both deserve.

Joel Zwick When Toul Portokalos decides to change her life for the better, she starts by getting a new wardrobe, and ends up getting married! but can the quiet daughter in a loud Greek family meet and marry the all-American man of her dream without breaking a few plates?

George Cukor Suzie Galler Lerner and Loewe's musical version of 'Pygmalion' about a Covent Garden flower girl who becomes a lady.
Genre: Musicals
Rating: NR
Release Date: 3-FEB-2004
Media Type: DVD

Trace Beaulieu Joel Hodgson Jim Mallon Kevin Murphy (II) Vince Rodriguez

Trace Beaulieu Joel Hodgson Jim Mallon Kevin Murphy (II) Vince Rodriguez Mystery Science Theater 3000 experienced a changing of the guard with this fifth-season episode. Departed series creator and lead Joel Hodgson was replaced by head writer Mike Nelson, playing a hapless temp named... Mike Nelson, who was sent into space to cover for Hodgson's escape. The opening credit sequence and title theme (warbled by Nelson) were also new, but the show's basic premise—poking fun at atrocious B movies—remained the same.

Nelson's debut "experiment" is the delirious 1960 head-transplant horror The Brain That Wouldn't Die. And while Nelson is occasionally stiff, particularly during the invention exchange (a longtime Hodgson staple, and soon to be excised), he and robot pals Crow and Tom Servo rise to the occasion during the film, which is filled with memorable zingers (Crow: "He's keeping her alive with Grey Poupon!"). Rhino's DVD presents the uncut, slightly gory version of Brain with and without the MST3K treatment. —Paul Gaita

Jared Hess This Jack Black vehicle seems, on the surface, like a perfect fit for the actor: an opportunity to showcase Black's unique style with the extreme facial gestures and exuberant physicality that have become his forte. Black plays Ignacio, a lowly cook in a monastery in central Mexico who feeds orphans by day, and wrestles in the town square at night. Ignacio teams up with Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez), a street urchin who tormented him, to form a tag-team duo that goes up against the strangest wrestlers Mexico has to offer. Besides doing it for money to feed the orphans, Ignacio is also fighting to win the forbidden affections of Sister Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera) with predictable difficulty. While the movie has likeable characters and the plot is enjoyable enough, it can't overcome its plodding pace and formulaic structure enough to keep the movie interesting throughout. Jack Black is a very strong comedic actor, and the wrestling scenes offer plenty of chances for slapstick, physical comedy, but watching him run around in red briefs and blue tights amounts to half the laughs in the movie, and there's just not enough here for him to really work with. When he plays a more well-formed character, as in School of Rock and High Fidelity, his strengths really show. But in Nacho Librehe's saddled with a caricature. Weighed down by too much low-brow humor and a script that goes nowhere, Nacho Librejust can't make full enough use of Black's talents to overcome the obstacles. —Daniel Vancini

Jared Hess NAPOLEON DYNAMITE IS A NEW KIND OF HERO, COMPLETE WITH TIGHT 'FRO SWEET MOON BOOTS AND SKILLS THAT CANT BE TOPPED. NAPOLEON SPENDS HIS DAYS DRAWING MYTHICAL BEASTS, WHEN 2 NEW FRIENDS ENTER HIS LIFE THE TRIO LAUNCHES A CAMPAIGN TO ELECT ONE OF THEM CLASS PRESIDENT.

Jeremiah S. Chechik You know exactly what you're getting in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: another goofball, slapstick comedy of chaos and catastrophe with Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and family. This time, there's no traveling involved: Clark and Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) prepare for a nice Christmas with the kids (played by none other than Juliette Lewis and Roseanne star Johnny Galecki), when their home is invaded by backwoods cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his brood, along with assorted other crazy and/or stuffy relatives. Complications, of course, are inevitable. The film is preceded by National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) and National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) and followed by National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation (1997). Directed by Jeremiah Chechik, who went on to do Benny & Joon and the Sharon Stone remake of Diabolique. —Jim Emerson

Ethan Coen Joel Coen WHEN A MAN STUMBLES ON A BLOODY CRIME SCENE, A PICKUP TRUCK LOADED WITH HEROIN & 2 MILLION DOLLARS IN IRRESISTIBLE CASH, HIS DECISION TO TAKE THE MONEY SETS OFF AN UNSTOPPABLE CHAIN OF VIOLENCE.

Roger Michell They don't really make many romantic comedies like Notting Hill anymore—blissfully romantic, sincerely sweet, and not grounded in any reality whatsoever. Pure fairy tale, and with a huge debt to Roman Holiday, Notting Hill ponders what would happen if a beautiful, world-famous person were to suddenly drop into your life unannounced and promptly fall in love with you. That's the crux of the situation for William Thacker (Hugh Grant), who owns a travel bookshop in London's fashionable Notting Hill district. Hopelessly ordinary (well, as ordinary as you can be when you're Hugh Grant), William is going about his life when renowned movie star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) walks into his bookstore and into his heart. After another contrived meet-cute involving spilled orange juice, William and Anna share a spontaneous kiss (big suspension of disbelief required here), and soon both are smitten. The question is, of course, can William and Anna reconcile his decidedly commonplace bookseller existence and her lifestyle as a jet-setting, paparazzi-stalked celebrity? (Take a wild guess at the answer.) Smartly scripted by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and directed by Roger Michell (Persuasion), Notting Hill is hardly realistic, but as wish fulfillment and a romantic comedy, it's irresistible. True, Roberts doesn't really have to stretch very far to play a big-time actress who makes $15 million per movie, but she's more winning and relaxed than she's been in years, and Grant is sweetly understated as a man blindsided by love. Together, in moments of quiet, they're a charming couple, and you can feel her craving for real love and his awe and amazement at the wonderful person for whom he has fallen. The only blight on the film is its overbearing pop soundtrack, though Elvis Costello's heart-wrenching version of "She" gets poignant exposure. With Rhys Ifans as Grant's scene-stealing, slovenly housemate and Alec Baldwin in a sly, perfectly cast cameo. —Mark Englehart

James Wong (IV) In a stunning dual role international action star Jet Li portrays Gabriel Yulaw a police officer confronted with a sinister duplicate of himself. This evil double is an escapee from an advanced parallel universe with a mission to kill Gabriel. His alter ego's hunt culminates in a fateful battle between good and evil that changes Gabriel's perception of reality and forces him to examine the evil hidden within him.System Requirements:Starring: Jet Li Carla Gugino Delroy Lindo and Jason Statham. Directed By: James Wong. Running Time: 87 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2002 Columbia TriStar.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396063921 Manufacturer No: 06392

Prachya Pinkaew When the head of his villages sacred buddha statue is stolen simple country boy ting is sent to bangkok to retrieve it. Once ting arrives in the big city hes forced to use his lethal martial arts skills. Its non-stop action as ting takes on a series of lowlifes & criminals in his quest to get the buddha. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 02/06/2007 Run time: 101 minutes Rating: R

David Swift (II) The daughter of legendary British actor John Mills and novelist Mary Hayley Bell (as well as the sister of actress Juliet Mills), young Hayley Mills broke the surface of fame at the tender age of 12, starring opposite her father in the thriller Tiger Bay. That film, along with a Berlin Film Festival award, was enough to attract the attention of Walt Disney, who promptly signed her to a five-year contract and put her in the starring role of Pollyanna. After wringing hearts and nabbing a special Oscar, Mills segued into the comedy thing—for double the fun—in The Parent Trap, the 1961 farce in which she played twins, separated at birth, who scheme to reunite their biological parents (Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith, both surprisingly sexy for a Disney movie). On the brink of adolescence, Mills was a saucy role model for children of the Kennedy era: cute, endearing and, above all, wholesome despite her sneaky ways—everyone—everyone's meddlesome sister. Easily stepping into the Disney child-star gap as the original Mouseketeers were (literally) outgrowing their uniforms, Mills was the studio's live-action bread and butter for a brief moment in time, and The Parent Trap still remains her best vehicle, a classic now to adults who came of age during the early '60s. It also pioneered the processed split-screen technique, which while not seamless was revolutionary and exciting enough that, upon seeing the initial results, Uncle Walt asked the filmmakers to shoot more scenes in which Mills played opposite herself. —Mark Englehart

Nancy Meyers If you were a kid in the early 1960s, then you saw The Parent Trapwith Hayley Mills—it—it's as simple as that. Now Disney has pulled the beloved comedy—about a pair of twins who meet for the first time at summer camp and vow to reunite their long-divorced parents—out of the mothballs and remade it with a decidedly '90s feel. This time, the twins act is performed by newcomer Lindsay Lohan, who plays both Hallie and Annie, who each live with one of their parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson). Adversaries when they first meet at camp, Hallie and Annie become, well, sisters when they figure out that they are siblings. The comedy springs from their efforts to sabotage Dad's impending marriage to the gold-digging Elaine Hendrix, while reintroducing Dad to Mom. Quaid has a nice, loosey-goosey way with slapstick, as does Richardson, who plays a very funny drunk scene. —Marshall Fine

John Woo WHAT SEEMED LIKE A BREEZY IDEA FOR AN ENGINEER TO NET HIM MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, LEAVES HIM ON THE RUN FOR HIS LIFE AND PIECING TOGETHER WHY HE'S BEING CHASED.

Joel Schumacher A mysterious masked figure roams around the underground chambers of the Opera Populaire, a 19th century Parisian opera house. He tutors a young singer who rises quickly to stardom. The masked figure begins to harbor romantic feelings for his pupil, but his hopes are dashed when the singer's childhood boyfriend arrives in Paris.

John Wahba, Mike Nawrocki

Hamilton Luske Gore Verbinski Pirate jack sparrow sets out to save a governors daughter from fellow pirates with the hopes that it will give him the opportunity to regain the ship that was stolen from him. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 05/11/2007 Starring: Johnny Depp Orlando Bloom Run time: 143 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Gore Verbinski

Christopher Nolan Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are rival magicians whose epic obsessive battle to out-do one another's illusions conjures danger and destruction. Filled with unpredictable twists and turns, The Prestige is the riveting and uniquely twisted film that you can't watch just once. The exceptional cast also includes Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie.

Joe Wright (IV) Literary adaptations just don't get any better than director Joe Wright's 2005 version of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. The key word here is adaptation, because Wright and gifted screenwriter Deborah Moggach have taken liberties with Austen's classic novel that purists may find objectionable, but in this exquisite film their artistic decisions are entirely justified and exceptionally well executed. It's a more rural England that we see here, circa 1790 (as opposed to Austen's early 19th century), in which Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) is one of several sisters primed for marriage, with an anxious mother (Brenda Blethyn) only too desperate to see her daughters paired off with the finest, richest husbands available. Elizabeth is strong-willed and opinionated, but her head (not to mention her pride and prejudice) lead her heart astray when she meets the wealthy Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), whose own sense of decency and discretion (not to mention his pride and prejudice) prevent him from expressing his mutual affection. They're clearly meant for each other, and as Knightley's performance lights up the screen (still young enough to be girlishly impertinent, yet wise beyond her 20 years), Austen's timeless romance yields yet another timeless adaptation, easily on par with the beloved BBC miniseries that has been embraced by millions since originally broadcast in 1995. Individual tastes will vary as to which version should be considered "definitive," but with a stellar supporting cast including Judi Dench and Donald Sutherland, this impeccable production achieves its own kind of perfection. —Jeff Shannon

Brenda Chapman Steve Hickner Simon Wells

Rob Reiner Screenwriter William Goldman's novel The Princess Brideearned its own loyal audience on the strength of its narrative voice and its gently satirical, hyperbolic spin on swashbuckled adventure that seemed almost purely literary. For all its derring-do and vivid over-the-top characters, the book's joy was dictated as much by the deadpan tone of its narrator and a winking acknowledgement of the clichés being sent up. Miraculously, director Rob Reiner and Goldman himself managed to visualize this romantic fable while keeping that external voice largely intact: using a storytelling framework, avuncular Grandpa (Peter Falk) gradually seduces his skeptical grandson (Fred Savage) into the absurd, irresistible melodrama of the title story.

And what a story: a lowly stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), pledges his love to the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright), only to be abducted and reportedly killed by pirates while Buttercup is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck. Even as Buttercup herself is kidnapped by a giant, a scheming criminal mastermind, and a master Spanish swordsman, a mysterious masked pirate (could it be Westley?) follows in pursuit. As they sail toward the Cliffs of Insanity...

The wild and woolly arcs of the story, the sudden twists of fate, and, above all, the cartoon-scaled characters all work because of Goldman's very funny script, Reiner's confident direction, and a terrific cast. Elwes and Wright, both sporting their best English accents, juggle romantic fervor and physical slapstick effortlessly, while supporting roles boast Mandy Patinkin (the swordsman Inigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (the incredulous schemer Vizzini), and Christopher Guest (evil Count Rugen) with brief but funny cameos from Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, and Peter Cook. —Sam Sutherland

Rob Reiner Screenwriter William Goldman's novel The Princess Bride earned its own loyal audience on the strength of its narrative voice and its gently satirical, hyperbolic spin on swashbuckled adventure that seemed almost purely literary. For all its derring-do and vivid over-the-top characters, the book's joy was dictated as much by the deadpan tone of its narrator and a winking acknowledgement of the clichés being sent up. Miraculously, director Rob Reiner and Goldman himself managed to visualize this romantic fable while keeping that external voice largely intact: using a storytelling framework, avuncular Grandpa (Peter Falk) gradually seduces his skeptical grandson (Fred Savage) into the absurd, irresistible melodrama of the title story.

And what a story: a lowly stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), pledges his love to the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright), only to be abducted and reportedly killed by pirates while Buttercup is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck. Even as Buttercup herself is kidnapped by a giant, a scheming criminal mastermind, and a master Spanish swordsman, a mysterious masked pirate (could it be Westley?) follows in pursuit. As they sail toward the Cliffs of Insanity...

The wild and woolly arcs of the story, the sudden twists of fate, and, above all, the cartoon-scaled characters all work because of Goldman's very funny script, Reiner's confident direction, and a terrific cast. Elwes and Wright, both sporting their best English accents, juggle romantic fervor and physical slapstick effortlessly, while supporting roles boast Mandy Patinkin (the swordsman Inigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (the incredulous schemer Vizzini), and Christopher Guest (evil Count Rugen) with brief but funny cameos from Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, and Peter Cook. —Sam Sutherland

REMY IS A YOUNG RAT IN THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE WHO ARRIVES IN PARIS, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT HIS COOKING IDOL IS DEAD. WHEN HE MAKES AN UNUSUAL ALLIANCE WITH A RESTAURANTS NEW GARBAGE BOY, THE CULINARY AND PERSONAL ADVENTURES BEGIN.

Rebecca is an ageless, timeless adult movie about a woman who marries a widower but fears she lives in the shadow of her predecessor. This was Hitchcock's first American feature, and it garnered the Best Picture statue at the 1941 Academy Awards. In today's films, most twists and surprises are ridiculous or just gratuitous, so it's sobering to look back on this film where every revelation not only shocks, but makes organic sense with the story line. Laurence Olivier is dashing and weak, fierce and cowed. Joan Fontaine is strong yet submissive, defiant yet accommodating. There isn't a false moment or misstep, but the film must have killed the employment outlook of any women named Danvers for about 20 years. Brilliant stuff. —Keith Simanton

Boaz Yakin THE TRUE STORY OF A NEWLY APPOINTED AFRICAN-AMERICAN COACH AND HIS HIGH SCHOOL TEAM ON THEIR FIRST SEASON AS A RACIALLY INTEGRATED UNIT.

John Lounsbery Wolfgang Reitherman Art Stevens What can two little mice possibly do to save an orphan girl who's fallen into evil hands? With a little cooperation and faith in oneself, anything is possible! As members of the mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society, Bernard and Miss Bianca respond to orphan Penny's call for help. The two mice search for clues and, with the help of an old cat named Rufus, track Penny to the clutches of the evil Madame Medusa in a dilapidated ship in Devil's Bayou. It turns out that Medusa is using Penny to locate and retrieve the Devil's Eye Diamond—a stone she'll stop at nothing to possess. With a cunning plan, courageous acts, cooperation from local animal life, and lots of faith, Bernard and Miss Bianca help Penny find the diamond and escape from Medusa. The result of their adventure is that Bernard and Miss Bianca become close friends and Penny gets adopted. This somewhat dark, classic 1977 animated Disney film is based on Margery Sharp's The Rescuers and Miss Bianca, and features the Academy Award-nominated song "Someone's Waiting for You." Voice talents include Eva Gabor as Miss Bianca, Bob Newhart as Bernard, Geraldine Page as Madame Medusa, and Jim Jordan (radio's Fibber McGee) as Orville Albatross. Followed by the sequel The Rescuers Down Under. (Ages 5 to 11) —Tami Horiuchi

David Twohy Peter Chung PITCH BLACK CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK:DARK FURY

In its third foray into animated features, DreamWorks came up with something unfortunate: the routine animated picture. Plagued with production problems (it was originally conceived as a mold-breaking PG-13 adventure), the likable film is a Hope/Crosby-style road picture about two scalawags who stumble upon the Latin American paradise of El Dorado, the mythical city with riches of gold. Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline are quite fun as Miguel and Tuilo, two Spanish con artists who are shipwrecked in the New World with a scene-stealing horse. The pair follow a map to the secret city where their loyalty will be tested: do they return home rich men or continue to live in this paradise? Of course there are some obstacles: a high priest (Armand Assante) is locked in a power struggle with the benevolent chief (Edward James Olmos) and the perfunctory girlfriend (Rosie Perez) puts the two friends at odds. Like too many of the animated features of its time, The Road to El Dorado impresses only on a visual level (it's drenched in gorgeous greens and golds). The story and Elton John's songs are quite forgettable; only Branagh and Kline's playful banter keeps the film alive. The PG rating is for some bare backsides and a suggestion of off-screen sex that should soar right over the little ones' heads. Slick and light, it's a fine 83-minute entertainment for ages 5 and up, including the nondiscriminating adult. —Doug Thomas

Blast off for outrageously funny space travel in this screwball comedy that spins wildly out of control all the way to Mars! Though he's a wiz with computers, accident-prone astro-nut Fred Randall (comedian Harland Williams, DUMB AND DUMBER) is the last guy on Earth you'd want on the first manned mission to Mars. But as bad luck and poor timing would have it, that's exactly what happens, and Fred undergoes rigorous, if not hilarious, training at NASA. After that it's t-minus a reality check as Fred blasts off with the rest of the space shuttle crew: a cocky, no-nonsense commander, a sexy mission specialist, and a mischievous space chimp named Ulysses. From the dizzying preflight foolishness to the even loonier landing, ROCKETMAN is the out-of-this-world hit comedy that's more than go for launch ... it's go for laughs!

Baz Luhrmann Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom) takes a shot at reinventing Shakespeare's story of star-crossed lovers as a visual pastiche inspired by MTV imagery, Hong Kong action-picture clichés, and Luhrmann's own taste for deliberate, gaudy excess. The result is explosive chaos, both in terms of bullets and visual sensibility, which some may find impossible to stick with for more than a few minutes. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes play the leads, though not with much distinction, while Pete Postlethwaite makes a huge impression as this movie's version of Friar Laurence. The film is successful in spots, but overall its fever-dream game plan is difficult to ride out. —Tom Keogh

Alfred Hitchcock

JULIA ROBERTS PLAYS A SMALL-TOWN GIRL MAGGIE CARPENTER, WHOSE MARCHES DOWN THE AISLE BECOME A SERIES OF NEAR MRS. WHEN SHE BOLTS BEFORE SAYING I DO. GERE IS IKE GRAHAM, A CYNICAL BIG-CITY NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST EAGER TO WRITE A TELL-ALL STORY. THE MORE HE FINDS OUT, THE MORE IRRESISTIBLE SHE BECOMES.

Sydney Pollack AN UGLY DUCKLING HAVING UNDERGONE A REMARKABLE CHANGE, STILL HARBORS FEELINGS FOR HER CRUSH: A CAREFREE PLAYBOY, BUT NOT BEFORE HIS BUSINESS-FOCUSED BROTHER HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT IT.

Christopher Guest Robert Smigel Robert Altman Paul Thomas Anderson Albert Brooks Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 05/25/2004 Run time: 83 minutes

Cameron Crowe Seven years after he earned his first screen credit as the writer of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, former Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe made his directorial debut with this acclaimed romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Ione Skye as unlikely lovers on the cusp of adulthood. The casting is perfect, and Crowe's rookie direction is appropriately unobtrusive, no doubt influenced by his actor-loving, Oscar®-winning mentor, James L. Brooks. But the real strength of Crowe's work is his exceptional writing, his timely grasp of contemporary rhythms and language (he's frequently called "the voice of a generation"), and the rich humor and depth of his fully developed characters. In Say Anything... Cusack and Skye play recent high school graduates enjoying one final summer before leaping into a lifetime of adult responsibilities. Lloyd (Cusack) is an aspiring kickboxer with no definite plans; Diane (Skye) is a valedictorian with intentions to further her education in Europe. Together they find unlikely bliss, but there's also turbulence when Diane's father (John Mahoney)—who only wants what's best for his daughter—is charged with fraud and tax evasion. Favoring strong performances over obtrusive visual style, Crowe focuses on his unique characters and the ambitions and fears that define them; the movie's a treasure trove of quiet, often humorous revelations of personality. Lili Taylor and Eric Stoltz score high marks for memorable supporting roles, and Cusack's own sister Joan is perfect in scenes with her onscreen and offscreen brother. A rare romantic comedy that's as funny as it is dramatically honest, Say Anything... marked the arrival of a gifted writer-director who followed up with the underrated Singles before scoring his first box-office smash with Jerry Maguire. —Jeff Shannon

Richard Linklater JACK BLACK STARS AS A DIEHARD ROCK GUITARIST-TURNED-SUBSTITUTE TEACHER WHO TRANSFORMS A CLASS OF FIFTH GRADERS INTO A HIGH-VOLTAGE ROCK GROUP. HIS LESSON: TO LEAD THEIDS ON TO VICTORY IN THE LOCAL BATTLE OF THE BANDS COMPETITION.

In an ancient time predating the pyramids the evil king memnon is using the psychic powers of his sorceress cassandra to fortell his great victories. In a last ditch effort to stop memnon from taking over the world the leaders of the remaining free tribes hire the assassin mathayus to kill the soceress. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 06/21/2002 Starring: The Rock Michael Clarke Duncan Run time: 92 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Chuck Russell

Ang Lee Emma Thompson scores a double bull's-eye with this marvelous adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. Not only does Thompson turn in a strong (and gently humorous) performance as one of the Dashwood sisters—the one with "sense"—she also wrote the witty, wise screenplay. Austen's tale of 19th-century manners and morals provides a large cast with a feast of possibilities, notably Kate Winslet, in her pre-Titanic flowering, as Thompson's deeply romantic sister. Winslet attracts the wooing of shy Alan Rickman (a nice change of pace from his bad-guy roles) and dashing Greg Wise, while Thompson must endure an incredibly roundabout courtship with Hugh Grant, here in fine and funny form. All of this is doled out with the usual eye-filling English countryside and handsome costumes, yet the film always seems to be about the careful interior lives of its characters. The director, an inspired choice, is Taiwan-born Ang Lee, who brings the same exquisite taste and discreet touch he displayed in his previous Asian films (such as Eat Drink Man Woman). Thompson's script won an Oscar, and 1995 was a fine year for Jane Austen all around: Persuasion was made into an excellent picture, and Emma became the spritzy high school comedy Clueless. —Robert Horton

A PASSENGER WITH A DEADLY SECRET. SIX REBELS ON THE RUN. AN ASSASSIN IN PURSUIT. WHEN THE CREW OF SERENITY AGREES TO HIDE A FUGITIVE ON THEIR SHIP, THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN A BATTLE BETWEEN THE MILITARY MIGHT OF A TOTALITARIAN REGIME & THE BLOODTHIRSTY CREATURES WHO ROAM THE UNCHARTERED AREAS OF SPACE.

John Madden One of the most winning and intelligent romantic comedies of the '90s, Shakespeare in Love is filled with such good will, sunny romance, snappy one-liners, and devilish cleverness that it's absolutely irresistible. At the 1999 Academy Awards, this dark-horse costume comedy sneaked off with seven Oscars, besting the highly favored Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. With tongue placed firmly in cheek, at its outset the film tracks young Will Shakespeare's overwrought battle with writer's block and the efforts of theater owner Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush, in rare form) to stage Will's latest comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Most of the jokes in the first one-third of the film are along these lines: Will's anachronistic therapist session, a mug inscribed "A Souvenir from Stratford-Upon-Avon," Henslowe's battles to pay off his debts, and the backstage high jinks of pre-production. However, once Will sets his eyes on the beautiful Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), joking takes a backseat to ravishing romance. Well, almost—turns out Viola wants to break into the world of male-only theater, and disguises herself as a young man to wangle herself an audition. She wins the part of Romeo and, after much misunderstanding, the playwright's heart. Soon enough, Will's pirate comedy becomes a beautiful, tragic romance, and Ethel is shoved aside for a woman named Juliet. Will and Viola's romance, however, is equal parts comedy and tragedy—he—he's married, and she's betrothed to the slimy Lord Wessex (Colin Firth), and it doesn't take an English major to figure out that it's not all's well that ends well.

Like Shakespeare's work itself, the film is instantly accessible to everyone, from the raucous groundlings looking for low comedy to the aesthetes hankering for some intellectual bite behind their entertainment. The way that Oscar-winning screenwriters Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard enfold their story within the parameters of Romeo and Juliet (and even Twelfth Night) is nothing short of brilliant—it would take a Shakespearean scholar to dissect the innumerable parallels, oft-quoted lines, plot developments, and thematic borrowings. And most amazingly, Norman and Stoppard haven't forgotten to entertain their audience in addition to riding a Shakespearean roller coaster. Director John Madden (Mrs. Brown) reigns in his huge ensemble with a rollicking energy that keeps the film's momentum going at top speed for its entire two hours. Along the way there are small gems to be found: Ben Affleck's riotous egotistical actor, Imelda Staunton's nimble nurse, and of course Judi Dench's eight-minute, Oscar-winning turn as a truly regal Queen Elizabeth. However, the key element of Shakespeare in Love's success rests on the milky-white shoulders of its two stars. Fiennes, inexplicably overlooked at Oscar time, is a dashing Will as we might expect him at the early stage of his career, bundled full of comedy and tragedy but unsure of how to harness his talent. And as for Best Actress winner Paltrow... well, nothing she'd done before could have prepared viewers for how amazing she is here. Breathtakingly beautiful, fiercely intelligent, strong-willed, and lovestruck—it—it's a performance worthy of Shakespeare in more ways than one. By the film's end, you'll be thoroughly won over—and brushing up your Shakespeare with newfound ardor. —Mark Englehart

Bobby Farrelly Peter Farrelly Following the advice of his dying father Hal dates only women who are physically beautiful. One day however he runs into self-help guru Tony Robbins who hypnotizes him into recognizing only the inner beauty of women. Hal thereafter meets Rosemary a grossly obese woman whom only he can see as a vision of loveliness. But will their relationship survive when Hal's equally shallow friend undoes the hypnosis?Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG - 13 UPC: 024543040057 Manufacturer No: 2004005

A ROMANTIC ZOMBIE COMEDY, THIS FILM CENTERS AROUND A YOUNG MAN WHOSE ONLY GOAL IN LIFE IS TO HANG OUT IN HIS LOCAL PUB. THAT CHANGES WHEN HE IS CHALLENGED TO WIN BACK HIS GIRLFRIEND'S HEART - AS WELL AS FIGHT THE HORDES OF ZOMBIES WHO MYSTERIOUSLY START TAKING OVER HIS BELOVED NORTH LONDON NEIGHBORHOOD.

Robert Iscove The most popular hunk in high school bets his buddies he can turn their geeky classmate into the next prom queen. But, this guy gets more than he bargained for when he finds himself starting to fall for his newly transformed protege.

Simpsons Season 7 will be offered in 2 collectible packages. The first is a limited edition molded pack in the shape of Marge Simpson's head, and is the next in a line of collectible molded character packages that began with Homer Simpson in Season 6. The second package will be available at street date and on an on-going basis, and is in the same format as the Simpsons Season 1-5 digipacks. Package selection and mix is at the discretion of each account.

The madcap antics of SpringfieldÂ's first family continue when the EmmyÂ(r) award-winning series created by Matt Groening returns to DVD. Arriving on August 15th from Fox Home Entertainment, Â"The SimpsonsÂ" The Complete Eighth Season showcases all 25 episodes from the critically-acclaimed eighth season, as well as a host of bonus materials including audio commentaries from Groening and Â"The SimpsonsÂ" Executive Producers, Writers and Directors, as well as animatics and storyboards with optional audio commentary, a special featurette, deleted scenes, a sketch gallery and much more. As a special bonus for fans and collectors, Fox Home Entertainment will release the Â"The SimpsonsÂ" The Complete Eighth Season in two unique packaging options - a special Limited Edition Maggie Simpson box, as well as a collectible, illustrated gatefold digipak.

Bob Anderson, Dominic Polcino, Jim Reardon, Klay Hall, Mark Ervin Season 9 is an important one in The Simpsons' run because, to many fans, it represents the top of the rainbow. At this point, the show is still at the top of its game, flinging clever jokes and social satire with such ease, especially compared to later seasons, that it's hard not to see this as the peak of its run, leaving open the question of whether or not subsequent seasons measure up. Be that as it may, there's hardly any question that the writing this season is among the series' best. This is the season that brought us "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson," where Homer illegally parks his car in front of the World Trade Center, and heralds the introduction of Duff Man ("Oh Yeah!), "The Treehouse of Horror VIII," where Bart's body gets switched with that of a fly and Marge turns into a witch, and "The Trouble with Trillions," which finds Mr. Burns hiding a trillion dollar bill from the federal government. Apu gets plenty of face time in an excellent episode where he meets his bride ("The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons"), and the town's kids get their chance at some screen time when they all get stranded on an island together a la Lord of the Fliesin "Das Bus" ("We'll be like Swiss Family Robinson, only with more cursing," proclaims Bart). Definitely the show is still going strong by this point, and the 25 episodes of this season should still delight fans who've stayed with it through the years, in addition to the hours of commentaries and special features that come standard with every season of The Simpsons. —Daniel Vancini

Bob Anderson, David Silverman, Jeffrey Lynch, Jim Reardon, Mark Kirkland Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 08/15/2006 Run time: 575 minutes

Matt Groening Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 10/07/2008 Rating: Nr

David Silverman The Simpsonshad already ruled TV land for many years by the time they finally attempted to conquer the movie world as well. It was never any big secret that a Simpsonsmovie was in the works: Fox registered the domain name "Simpsonsmovie.com" in 1997, a full nine years before the film was finally greenlighted. When creator/producer Matt Groening's creation finally made it to the big screen in 2007, it only turned out to be the biggest hit of the summer, raking in over $100 million gross in box-office receipts in its first week, before heading on to do over $500 million worldwide, proving that the best joke in the movie was actually played on the audience: "Why pay for something when you can see it for free?" asks Homer at the movie's start. Naturally, all the trouble starts with him. When he adopts a pig ("Sir Oinks-A-Lot") destined for Krusty's slaughterhouse, it triggers an environmental catastrophe, forcing the government to seal Springfield into a dome and destroy the city. While the family manages to escape and flee to Alaska, they eventually decide to return and help save the city in more-or-less classic Simpson fashion. As Homer's joke about the audience shows, Groening and producer Al Jean are keenly aware that their franchise is first and foremost a TV show. Maybe a little too aware, as the movie fails to ever rise above anything more than an extended episode, and not even one of its best episodes at that. True, there are plenty of good jokes; the animation has been kicked up a notch to be particularly sharp and detailed; and there are some truly memorable moments such as Bart's nude skateboard ride and the "Spider-Pig" song. But when the film finally materialized, the payoff for long years of anticipation turned out to be small as the movie failed to live up to its potential; it's amusing but not truly funny. The Simpsons Movieleaves the impression that maybe the show's writers and producers had already spent their best ideas on the best years of the TV show. Had it been made years earlier… well, we can only wonder what could have been. —Daniel Vancini

Get to Know The Simpsons

"Oh, so they have internet on computers now!" — Homer Simpson

"I'd like to visit that Long Island Place, if only it were real." — Marge Simpson (drinking a Long Island Iced Tea)

"Aren't we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa." — Bart Simpson

"If cartoons were meant for adults, they'd put them on in prime time." — Lisa Simpson

"Daddy" — Maggie Simpson

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Clyde Geronimi Disney's 1959 animated effort was the studio's most ambitious to date, a widescreen spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapting Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked Queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her 16th birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Things almost but not quite turn out that way, thanks to the assistance of some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It's not really all that much about the title character—how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here. And Malificent's castle, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. —David Kronke

Nora Ephron Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) is a good father and a successful architect. But he's also a lonely widower. One night his precocious 8-year-old son Jonah calls a late-night radio talk show seeking a cure for his father's despondency. When Sam hesitantly takes the phone and discloses the story of his magic-filled marriage, he proves to be a deeply feeling and gentle man. His plight profoundly moves the program's sympathetic female listeners, and thousands of women write in offering to help him `recover' from his mournful insomnia. Recently betrothed Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) is one of the many listeners touched by Sam's story. To complicate matters, she's afraid her upcoming marriage promises stability and security but no excitement. Although Annie's supposed to be driving to her future in-laws' house for the holidays, she knows that she's already fallen in love with Sam and is on the road to destiny. Academy Award Nominations: Best (Original) Screenplay, Best Song ("A Wink and a Smile").

Nice concept, shaky execution—that about sums up the mixed blessings of British actor Peter Howitt's intelligent but forgivably flawed debut as a writer-director. It's got more emotional depth than most frothy romantic comedies, and its central idea—the parallel tracking of two possible destinies for a young London professional played by Gwyneth Paltrow—is full of involving possibilities. It's essentially a what-if scenario with Helen (Paltrow) at the center of two slightly but significantly different romantic trajectories, one involving her two-timing boyfriend (John Lynch) and the other with an amiable chap (John Hannah) who represents a happier outcome. That's the film's basic problem, however: The two scenarios are so romantically imbalanced (one guy's a total cad, the other charmingly sincere) that Helen inadvertently comes off looking foolish and needlessly confused. Still, this remains a pleasant experiment, and Howitt's dialogue is witty enough to keep things entertaining. It's also a treat for Paltrow fans; not only does the svelte actress handle a British accent without embarrassing herself, but she gets to play two subtle variations of the same character, sporting different wardrobes and hairstyles in a role that plays into her glamorous off-screen persona. —Jeff Shannon

Chris Koch WHEN AN UNEXPECTED SNOWFALL CLOSES DOWN SCHOOL, IT'S A ONCE IN A WINTER CHANCE TO FIND NEW LOVE, SETTLE OLD SCORES, PROVE YOURSELF A HERO, AND REDISCOVER FUN, A DAY WHEN ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. SPECIAL FEATURES: SNOW DAY SCOOP FEATURETTE, 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

David Hand One of the brightest nuggets from Disney's golden age, this 1937 film is almost dizzying in its meticulous construction of an enchanted world, with scores of major and minor characters (including fauna and fowl), each with a distinct identity. When you watch Snow White's intricate, graceful movements of fingers, arms, and head all in one shot, it is not the technical brilliance of Disney's artists that leaps out at you, but the very spirit of her engaging, girl-woman character. When the wicked queen's poisoned apple turns from killer green to rose red, the effect of knowing something so beautiful can be so terrible is absolutely elemental, so pure it forces one to surrender to the horror of it. Based on the Grimm fairy tale, Snow White is probably the best family film ever to deal, in mythic terms, with the psychological foundation for growing up. It's a crowning achievement and should not be missed. —Tom Keogh

Thomas Schlamme Mike Myers's first feature role without his Wayne's World wig is a performance at odds with the best interests of the movie. Myers plays a single guy who always manages to find something seriously wrong with each of his girlfriends. His new love (Nancy Travis), a butcher, may be the perfect woman, except for one thing: she might be a "black-widow" killer who prefers dispatching husbands with a sharp instrument. Robbie Fox's original script has a fine shape and strong, black-comedy material within it. But Myers creates unnecessary dissonance by playing a variety of characters (including an irascible Scotsman like the one he often played on Saturday Night Live) and accenting his skills as an improvisational comic (such as impersonating the soothing cadences of a massage therapist). It's not that Myers isn't funny doing all that, but it has nothing to do with the movie. Directed by Thomas Schlamme (Miss Firecracker). —Tom Keogh

Robert Wise When Julie Andrews sang "The hills are alive with the sound of music" from an Austrian mountaintop in 1965, the most beloved movie musical was born. To be sure, the adaptation of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's Broadway hit has never been as universally acclaimed as, say, Singin' in the Rain. Critics argue that the songs are saccharine (even the songwriters regretted the line "To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray") and that the characters and plot lack the complexity that could make them more interesting. It's not hard to know whom to root for when your choice is between cute kids and Nazis.

Read our interview with
Charmian Carr, who played
Liesl von Trapp in The
Sound of Music. It doesn't matter. Audiences fell in love with the struggling novice Maria (Andrews), the dashing Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), and, yes, the cute kids, all based on a real-life World War II Austrian family. Such songs as "My Favorite Things," "Do Re Mi," "Climb Every Mountain," and the title tune became part of the 20th century Zeitgeist. In addition, The Sound of Music officially became a cult hit when audiences in London began giving it the Rocky Horror Picture Show treatment, attending showings dressed as their favorite characters and delivering choreographed comments and gestures along with the movie. So why resist, especially when the 40th Anniversary Edition is the best DVD yet.

The DVDs
As if the direct involvement of Julie Andrews weren't enough, the 40th Anniversary Edition of The Sound of Music is a must-have for fans because of the fond sense of nostalgia that will touch all but the worst cynic's heart. Andrews introduces both discs and contributes a commentary track on the film. It's a joy to hear her speak about the film (for example, she explains how she solved her dislike for the lyrics of "I Have Confidence"), and also heard are remarks by Christopher Plummer (who at one point refers to his being 48, which if true would mean his comments were made in about 1975), Charmian Carr (Liesl), choreographer Dee Dee Wood, and Johannes Von Trapp (the real-life Maria Von Trapp's youngest son, who admits that his father did have a whistle but claims that he was not as stern as portrayed in the film). Even with all those people involved, there are still significant gaps of silence, however. Retained from the previous two-disc editions is the commentary track by director Robert Wise, which during the musical numbers becomes an isolated score with no vocals. Also new are sing-along subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, which allow you to have your own sing-along at home. In addition, the film's remastering shows off a truer and much warmer sense of color.

On the second disc, Andrews participates in a new 63-minute documentary "My Favorite Things: Julie Andrews Remembers." But it's really a general making-of documentary with contributions from a number of principals, including director Robert Wise, who died in mid-2005 (not surprisingly, some stories are repeated from the commentary track and from the 87-minute documentary on the previous DVD). Andrews also shares a warm 19-minute sit-down with Christopher Plummer. Carr, who over the years has become the film's biggest advocate, narrates a new 22-minute documentary, "On Location with The Sound of Music," in which she revisits the places in Salzburg where the movie was filmed, and even joins one of the "Sound of Music tours" that have become a booming industry. And acknowledging another big industry, there's a 12-minute featurette on the sing-along phenomenon, focusing specifically on the audience, costumed and otherwise, that attended a sold-out Hollywood Bowl sing-along in 2005. Making special appearances at the event are four von Trapp great-grandchildren and all seven of the actors who played the children. Thankfully, those actors also appear in a 33-minute documentary "From Liesl to Gretl: A 40th Anniversary Reunion," in which they explain what they do now (many are still in show business) and share stories about the film, who was afraid of Christopher Plummer, and what they feel is their responsibility to the film's passionate fans. What's touching is how the group still considers themselves a family so many years later. Other material includes an A&E documentary on the von Trapps, Mia Farrow's screen test for the Liesl role, and a restoration comparison.

What's Missing?
If you already own the previous two-disc editions, you'll want this 40th Anniversary Edition as well, but you might not want to toss those versions. Probably the most significant omission from this edition is the original 14-minute documentary Charmian Carr made in 1967, "Salzburg Sight and Sound." Carr's new documentary includes only a couple clips from the vintage piece. It's not a great work of art, but it's a notable loss and would have made a good contrast with the new documentary. In addition, the new making-of documentary is about 24 minutes shorter than the old one. Also missing are the audio-only features—the interviews, the radio programs, the Ernest Lehman spotlight—and the historical still gallery examining the history of Salzburg and the film. Granted, this material probably got the least play of any of the old features, but completists might want to hold onto their old discs for it. It would have also been nice to have screen tests other than Farrow's. Tests for all the children and for Christopher Plummer (including singing in his own voice before he was dubbed for the film) were included on Hollywood Screen Tests and Rodgers and Hammerstein: The Sound of Movies. Again, they're not critical but it would have been nice to have them all in one place. So maybe the 40th Anniversary Edition isn't the complete package on The Sound of Music, but it's the most satisfying edition yet, with enough new material to please even the veteran SoM DVD watcher. —David Horiuchi

Stills from The Sound of Music (Click for larger image)

John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman and Dom DeLuise rocket into orbit in this side-splitting Mel Brooks excursion where good and evil forces grapple in an out-of-this-world galaxy.

Sam Raimi For devoted fans and nonfans alike, Spider-Manoffers nothing less—and nothing more—than what you'd expect from a superhero blockbuster. Having proven his comic-book savvy with the original Darkman, director Sam Raimi brings ample energy and enthusiasm to Spidey's origin story, nicely establishing high-school nebbish Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as a brainy outcast who reacts with appropriate euphoria—and well-tempered maturity—when a "super-spider" bite transforms him into the amazingly agile, web-shooting Spider-Man. That's all well and good, and so is Kirsten Dunst as Parker's girl-next-door sweetheart. Where Spider-Manfalls short is in its hyperactive CGI action sequences, which play like a video game instead of the gravity-defying exploits of a flesh-and-blood superhero. Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as Spidey's schizoid nemesis, the Green Goblin, and the movie's a lot of fun overall. It's no match for Supermanand Batmanin bringing a beloved character to the screen, but it places a respectable third. —Jeff Shannon

Sam Raimi More than a few critics hailed Spider-Man 2as "the best superhero movie ever," and there's no compelling reason to argue—thanks to a bigger budget, better special effects, and a dynamic, character-driven plot, it's a notch above Spider-Manin terms of emotional depth and rich comic-book sensibility. Ordinary PeopleOscar®-winner Alvin Sargent received screenplay credit, and celebrated author and comic-book expert Michael Chabon worked on the story, but it's director Sam Raimi's affinity for the material that brings Spidey 2to vivid life. When a fusion experiment goes terribly wrong, a brilliant physicist (Alfred Molina) is turned into Spidey's newest nemesis, the deranged, mechanically tentacled "Doctor Octopus," obsessed with completing his experiment and killing Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) in the process. Even more compelling is Peter Parker's urgent dilemma: continue his burdensome, lonely life of crime-fighting as Spider-Man, or pursue love and happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)? Molina's outstanding as a tragic villain controlled by his own invention, and the action sequences are nothing less than breathtaking, but the real success of Spider-Man 2is its sense of priorities. With all of Hollywood's biggest and best toys at his disposal, Raimi and his writers stay true to the Marvel mythology, honoring Spider-Mancreators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. —Jeff Shannon

This is the 2-disc widescreen edition of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

George Lucas Anakin has grown into an accomplished jedi apprentice yet he must choose between jedi duty & forbidden love. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 09/12/2006 Starring: Ewan Mcgregor Samuel L Jackson Run time: 142 minutes Rating: Pg Director: George Lucas

Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sithis an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clonesas well as the animated Clone Warsseries, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).

The Star WarsFamily Tree (click for larger image)

It's just the latest maneuver in the ongoing Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist forces led by former Jedi turned Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). On another front, Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) leads the Republic's clone troops against a droid attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. All this is in the first half of Episode III, which feels a lot like Episodes Iand II. That means spectacular scenery, dazzling dogfights in space, a new fearsome villain (the CGI-created Grievous can't match up to either Darth Maul or the original Darth Vader, though), lightsaber duels, groan-worthy romantic dialogue, goofy humor (but at least it's left to the droids instead of Jar-Jar Binks), and hordes of faceless clone troopers fighting hordes of faceless battle droids.

But then it all changes.

Star WarsTime Line (click for larger image)

After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies, Episode IIIfinally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you've been living under a rock the last 10 years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn't matter. In fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they'll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because Episode IIIis a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.

Episode IIIis easily the best of the new trilogy—OK, so that's not saying much, but it might even jockey for third place among the six Star Warsfilms. It's also the first one to be rated PG-13 for the intense battles and darker plot. It was probably impossible to live up to the decades' worth of pent-up hype George Lucas faced for the Star Warsprequel trilogy (and he tried to lower it with the first two movies), but Episode IIImakes us once again glad to be "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."—David Horiuchi

DVD features
Say what you will about the new Star Warsfilms—and plenty has been said already—but the DVDs continue to set the standard for technical excellence. From the opening of the first scene, the Dolby 5.1 EX sound is thrilling, and the picture, transferred directly from the digital source, is fantastic. A commentary track is again provided by a combination of people, including George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett. Lucas admits that the film is political and that he was influenced by Vietnam, but makes no mention of the Bush administration, as is widely speculated.

The main documentary on the second disc is probably the most granular DVD feature ever. "Within a Minute: The Making of Episode III" takes 67 minutes to deconstruct one minute of the film, an excerpt of the duel on Mustafar. The idea is to cover all the aspects that go into creating that minute, from writing to set construction to accounting. Fortunately, many of the concepts such as costumes apply to the movie as a whole, but having producer Rick McCallum tell us the importance of food seems a bit overkill. Two other featurettes are "It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III," an 11-minute discussion focusing mainly on the lightsaber duels, and "The Chosen One," a 14-minute examination of Darth Vader's evolution over the six films.

The six deleted scenes were no great loss from the film but are all worth watching. Natalie Portman in particular gets some much-needed screen time as one of the co-plotters of an anti-Palpatine movement, and an early action scene ties in to the Clone Wars animated series. There's also a 15-part series of 5 to 7 minute Web documentaries on topics such as the creation of General Grievous and Ewan McGregor, and an Xbox sampler of Battlefront II(if you're lucky, you can play as Obi-Wan Kenobi cutting through an army of droids) among other supplements. —David Horiuchi

The Complete Star WarsSaga

Episodes 4-6 Trilogy (widescreen)

Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Episde II: Attack of the Clones

Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 1

Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 2

The Star WarsStore

Stills from Episode III: Revenge of the Sith(click for larger images)

Anakin turning to the dark side

When Wookiees attack

Yoda, Jedi master

Mr. and Mrs. Vader

Saber training with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen

The cast

This box set contains the 2 disc special editions of: episode 4 - a new hope episode 5 - empire strikes back episode 6 - return of the jedi Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 11/04/2008 Starring: Harrison Ford Mark Hammill Rating: Pg Director: George Lucas

Roland Emmerich Before they unleashed the idiotic mayhem of Independence Dayand Godzilla, the idea-stealing team of director Roland Emmerich and producer-screenwriter Dean Devlin concocted this hokey hit about the discovery of an ancient portal capable of zipping travelers to "the other side of the known universe." James Spader plays the Egyptologist who successfully translates the Stargate's hieroglyphic code, and then joins a hawkish military unit (led by Kurt Russell) on a reconnaissance mission to see what's on the other side. They arrive on a desert world with cultural (and apparently supernatural) ties to Earth's ancient Egypt, where the sun god Ra (played by Jaye Davidson from The Crying Game) rules a population of slaves with armored minions and startlingly advanced technology. After being warmly welcomed into the slave camp, the earthlings encourage and support a rebellion, and while Russell threatens to blow up the Stargate to prevent its use by enemy forces, the movie collapses into a senseless series of action scenes and grandiose explosions. It's all pretty ridiculous, but Stargatefound a large and appreciative audience, spawned a cable-TV series, and continues to attract science fiction fans who are more than willing to forgive its considerable faults. —Jeff Shannon

Martin Wood When SG-1 discovers what it believes to be the remnants of the Lost City of the Ancients ? the originators of the Stargates ? Stargate Command launches an investigation. A new team of explorers, headed by civilian Dr. Elizabeth Weir, travels to the distant Pegasus Galaxy, where it discovers an advanced but deserted city on the ocean floor, a group of nomadic humans and a deadly enemy that feeds on humans as an energy source!

Jessica Bendinger Defy And Conquer.When a rebellious ex-gymnast is forced back into the rigid world of rules conformity and spandex she brings her in-your-face attitude along. As the battle of wills between coach and athlete evolves into mutual respect her teammates learn that some rules are meant to be broken.System Requirements:Running Time: 103 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 786936700596 Manufacturer No: 5019603

Bryan Singer If Richard Donner's 1978 feature film Superman: The Moviemade us believe a man could fly, Bryan Singer's 2006 follow-up, Superman Returns, lets us remember that a superhero movie can make our spirits soar. Superman (played by newcomer Brandon Routh) comes back to Earth after a futile five-year search for his destroyed home planet of Krypton. As alter ego Clark Kent, he's eager to return to his job at the Daily Planet and to see Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth). Lois, however, has moved on: she now has a fiancé (James Marsden), a son (Tristan Leabu), and a Pulitzer Prize for her article entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." On top of this emotional curveball, his old archrival Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is plotting the biggest land grab in history.

Singer, who made a strong impression among comic-book fans for his work on the X-Men franchise and directed Spacey in The Usual Suspects, brings both a fresh eye and a sense of respect to the world's oldest superhero. He borrows John Williams's great theme music and Marlon Brando's voice as Jor-El, and the story (penned by Singer's X-Mencollaborators Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris) is a sort-of-sequel to the first two films in the franchise (choosing to ignore that the third and fourth movies ever happened). The humorous and romantic elements give the movie a heart, Singer's art-deco Metropolis is often breathtaking, and the special effects are elegant and spectacular, particularly an early airplane-disaster set-piece. Of the cast, Routh is excellent as the dual Superman/Clark, Spacey is both droll and vicious as Luthor, and Parker Posey gets the best lines as Luthor's moll Kitty. But at 23, Bosworth seems too young for the five-years-past-grizzled Lois. It's nice to see Noel Neill, Jack Larson (both from the classic Adventures of SupermanTV series), and Eva Marie-Saint on the screen as well. Superman Returns is one of those projects that was in development for seemingly forever, but it was worth the wait — it's the most enjoyable superhero movie since Spider-Man 2and The Incredibles. —David Horiuchi

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Adventures of Superman

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Bruce McCulloch FOLLOWS THE HILARIOUS ADVENTURES OF KLUTZY SCHOOLGIRL MARY KATHERINE GALLAGHER AS SHE PURSUES HER DREAM OF THE PERFECT KISS AND SUPERSTARDOM.

Ken Annakin The Disney touch is all over this grand, colorful version of the Johann Wyss adventure of a European family set off for the new world of New Guinea. The film opens on a ship jostled and torn by a raging storm while a family struggles to make it through alive. Tossed into a reef near a deserted tropical island, father John Mills takes charge and the family soon turns their island prison into a veritable paradise. Their multilevel tree house, built in record time, is complete with running water and a working pipe organ scavenged from the ship, while their grand yard is abloom in English roses. As a tale of hardship and pioneer pluck, the tale is pure fantasy, but as entertainment it's energetic and appealing. The island is impossibly populated by ostriches, zebras, lions, and elephants, a private zoo that delights the youngest boy and offers plenty of comic relief. The two older brothers discover even wilder life when they rescue the prisoner of oriental pirates (led by hard-bitten Sessue Hayakawa). There's little real danger anywhere in the film—even the climactic battle with the pirates is a cartoonish affair, with coconut bombs and nonlethal booby traps, until the final desperate, deadly moments. Hardly a faithful adaptation of the novel, but a lush, beautifully photographed film and an entertaining adventure safe for all ages. Dorothy McGuire costars as the proper, worry-prone mother. (Ages 5 and older) —Sean Axmaker

Wolfgang Reitherman Based upon T.H. White's beloved novel, this Disney-fied version chronicles the tutoring of the Once and Future King, Arthur, as handled by the magician Merlin. Sword was a portent of things to come, with slapstick upbraiding storytelling, and cultural in-jokes substituting for wonder. But there's much to enjoy here as Merlin shows Newt, the young Arthur, things that will help him become the ruler of the Britons. The transformation sequences, where the boy is turned into a fish, a bird, and a squirrel are vintage Disney. The oft-repeated scene of Merlin battling it out with the mean old Madame Mim still is worth a few chuckles, but it belies the problem with most of the film—the scenes are only there for the chuckles. References by Merlin to television and other items of modern life also mar the generally innocuous landscape. Children will like it, but they won't cherish it. —Keith Simanton

Kevin Lima Chris Buck (II) After viewing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote to Walt Disney about adapting his novel of an ape-man into a feature animated cartoon. Sixtysome years later, the tale is finally told with brilliant design work that looks unlike any previous animated film. The story is a natural for Disney since the themes of misunderstood central figures have been at the heart of its recent hits. Disney's Tarzandoesn't wander far from the familiar story of a shipwrecked baby who is brought up by apes in Africa. What gives the film its zing is its clever use of music (the songs are sung by Phil Collins himself rather than onscreen characters) and the remarkable animation. Deep Canvas, a 3-D technology, was developed for the film, creating a jungle that comes alive as Tarzan swings through the trees, often looking like a modern skateboarder racing down giant tree limbs. The usual foray of sidekicks, including a rambunctious ape voiced by Rosie O'Donnell, should keep the little ones aptly entertained. The two lead voices, Tony Goldwyn as Tarzan and Minnie Driver as Jane, are inspired choices. Their chemistry helps the story through the weakest points (the last third) and makes Tarzan's initial connection with all things human (including Jane) delicious entertainment. Disney still is not taking risks in its animated films, but as cookie-cutter entertainment, Tarzanmakes a pretty good treat. (Ages 5 and up) —Doug Thomas

You can chalk it up to good timing and a heavy dose of video-game synergy, but this 1990 hit remains the box-office champ of independent films, with a total gross of $135 million. Of course the Turtles began as a phenomenally successful Nintendo video game, so it was a given that the movie would be a hit with its target audience of rabid young video addicts. This is what comic books fans call "the origin story," in which we learn how a foursome of small turtles were mutated by a green radioactive goo and turned into human-sized turtle crime fighters. Their large rodent mentor, Splinter, teaches them to master the martial arts. They're also gifted pop musicians, by the way (think of them as amphibious Spice Guys), so they can rock the house while they're cracking a crime wave with the help of their cute friend and television reporter April O'Neil (Judith Hoag). The script is terrible, of course, but countless millions of children don't seem to care, as long as the Turtles keep ordering pizza and dispensing their wisecracking brand of justice. —Jeff Shannon

John Landis When the three amigos find themselves in a small mexican hamlet terrorized by bandits the time has come for the three amigos to play their roles for real in this hilarious comedy. Special features: scene access filmographies and original theatrical trailer. Subtitles in english french and spanish. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 12/12/2006 Starring: Steve Martin Martin Short Run time: 105 minutes Rating: Pg

Norman Ferguson As a Disney oddity, they don't get much odder than Three Caballeros. Donald Duck receives a birthday package from South America, and the film proceeds to unravel like some peyote-induced hallucination. It starts out reminiscent of other Disney films, where shorts are cobbled together, such as "Make Mine Music" or "Fun and Fancy Free." The film has vignettes such as "The Cold-Blooded Penguin" and "The Flying Guachito." After them it careens straight into part-travelogue, part-stream-of-consciousness animation. Not helping out much are Donald's "friends," Joe Carioca (a parrot) and Panchito (a rooster). They spend most of the rest of the film watching Donald chase skirt. That's right, Donald Duck is a wolf in this movie, and he chases every live-action señorita who bustles across the screen. Although some will say otherwise, Caballeros is for die-hard Disney, Donald, or psychedelia fans only. —Keith Simanton

Stephen Herek Nab the star-studded comedy-adventure that dazzled moviegoers everywhere! It's the action-packed tale of three loyal swordsmen (Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Oliver Platt) who are joined by an eager recruit (Chris O'Donnell) to protect the King of France. Together, the foursome battle enormous odds in their attempt to defeat an evil royal advisor (Tim Curry) and a seductive envoy (Rebecca De Mornay) plotting to overthrow France's crown — fighting against both time and scores of enemies! You'll cheer out loud when these exciting muskeeteers face danger, fun, and adventure at every turn — proving they are the greatest swashbucklers who ever lived!

Barry Caldwell Art Leonardi Byron Vaughns Ken Boyer Alfred Gimeno

Don Bluth A visual knockout, Titan A.E. is an ambitious animated feature that combines traditional animations, computer-generated imagery, and special effects in the service of a science fiction adventure plotted with narrative conventions familiar from Star Wars and Star Trek. Credit directors Don Bluth (An American Tail, The Secret of NIMH, Anastasia) and Gary Goldman with crafting a vivid, convincing look to this deep space saga, which conjures some stunning images. A tense opening sequence climaxing in the destruction of Earth, a watery planet where delicate but deadly hydrogen trees float, joyriding in a starship while pursued by playful "space angels," and a nerve-wracking journey through a lethal maze of massive ice crystals each qualify as mesmerizing sequences in any film context.

What's visually stunning proves intermittently stunted on the narrative front, however. Orphaned when the evil Drej atomize Earth, protagonist Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) must journey across space to unlock the mystery of his late father's final project, the Titan spacecraft, in a test of faith and filial identity that echoes Star Wars. The Titan itself ultimately poses a cosmic potential familiar to admirers of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Comical sidekicks (Nathan Lane, Janeane Garofalo, John Leguizamo), a sultry love interest (Drew Barrymore), and a roguish mentor (Bill Pullman) all verge on the generic, narrowly redeemed by dialogue from a writing team including Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon.

It's likely that Titan's target audience of young males prompted the filmmakers to walk a tightrope between softer family features and more violent, hard-edged anime. Titan's brief bloodshed and coy nudity stop short of PG-13 terrain, though younger viewers might be unsettled by the violence. Young teens will find the proceedings tamer than the video games and anime fantasies that have influenced it. —Sam Sutherland

Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio play ill-fated lovers in this epic romance set against the backdrop of an unforgettable disaster. Their budding romance is scuttled when the luxury liner on which they are traveling strikes an iceberg and plummets to the ocean floor on april 15, 1912.

Toy Story
There is greatness in film that can be discussed, dissected, and talked about late into the night. Then there is genius that is right in front of our faces—we smile at the spell it puts us into and are refreshed, and nary a word needs to be spoken. This kind of entertainment is what they used to call "movie magic," and there is loads of it in this irresistible computer animation feature. Just a picture of these bright toys on the cover of Toy Story looks intriguing, reawakening the kid in us. Filmmaker John Lasseter's shorts (namely Knickknack and Tin Toy, which can be found on the Pixar video Tiny Toy Stories) illustrate not only a technical brilliance but also a great sense of humor—one in which the pun is always intended. Lasseter thinks of himself as a storyteller first and an animator second, much like another film innovator, Walt Disney.

Lasseter's story is universal and magical: what do toys do when they're not played with? Cowboy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Andy's favorite bedroom toy, tries to calm the other toys (some original, some classic) during a wrenching time of year—the birthday party, when newer toys may replace them. Sure enough, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is the new toy that takes over the throne. Buzz has a crucial flaw, though—he believes he's the real Buzz Lightyear, not a toy. Bright and cheerful, Toy Story is much more than a 90-minute commercial for the inevitable bonanza of Woody and Buzz toys. Lasseter further scores with perfect voice casting, including Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Wallace Shawn as a meek dinosaur. The director-animator won a special Oscar for "the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film." In other words, the movie is great. —Doug Thomas

Toy Story 2
John Lasseter and his gang of high-tech creators at Pixar create another entertainment for the ages. Like the few great movie sequels, Toy Story 2 comments on why the first one was so wonderful while finding a fresh angle worthy of a new film. The craze of toy collecting becomes the focus here, as we find out Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) is not only a beloved toy to Andy but also a rare doll from a popular '60s children's show. When a greedy collector takes Woody, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) launches a rescue mission with Andy's other toys. To say more would be a crime because this is one of the most creative and smile-inducing films since, well, the first Toy Story.

Although the toys look the same as in the 1994 feature, Pixar shows how much technology has advanced: the human characters look more human, backgrounds are superior, and two action sequences that book-end the film are dazzling. And it's a hoot for kids and adults. The film is packed with spoofs, easily accessible in-jokes, and inspired voice casting (with newcomer Joan Cusack especially a delight as Cowgirl Jessie). But as the Pixar canon of films illustrates, the filmmakers are storytellers first. Woody's heart-tugging predicament can easily be translated into the eternal debate of living a good life versus living forever. Toy Story 2 also achieved something in the U.S. two other outstanding 1999 animated features (The Iron Giant, Princess Mononoke) could not: it became a huge box-office hit. —Doug Thomas

Actors: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Hugo WeavingDirectors: Michael BayFormat: NTSC, Subtitled, WidescreenLanguage: English, SpanishRegion: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)Number of discs: 2RatingStudio: Dreamworks VideoDVD Release Date: October 16, 2007Run Time: 143 minutes

Wolfgang Petersen Brad Pitt picks up a sword and brings a muscular brooding presence to the role of Greek warrior Achilles in this spectacular retelling of The Iliad. Orlando Bloom and Diane Kruger play the legendary lovers who plunge the world into war Eric Bana portrays the prince who dares to confront Achilles and Peter O'Toole rules Troy as King Priam. Director Wolfgang Petersen recreates a long-ago world of bireme warships clashing armies the massive fortress city and the towering Trojan Horse.Running Time: 196 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 085391154501 Manufacturer No: 115450

No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 13-DEC-2005
Media Type: DVD

James McTeigue "Remember, remember the fifth of November," for on this day, in 2020, the minds of the masses shall be set free. So says code-name V (Hugo Weaving), a man on a mission to shake society out of its blank complacent stares in the film V for Vendetta. His tactics, however, are a bit revolutionary, to say the least. The world in which V lives is very similar to Orwell's totalitarian dystopia in 1984: after years of various wars, England is now under "big brother" Chancellor Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt, who played Winston Smith in the movie 1984), whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After they gained power, minorities and political dissenters were rounded up and removed; artistic and unacceptable religious works were confiscated. Cameras and microphones are littered throughout the land, and the people are perpetually sedated through the governmentally controlled media. Taking inspiration from Guy Fawkes, the 17th century co-conspirator of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605, V dons a Fawkes mask and costume and sets off to wake the masses by destroying the symbols of their oppressors, literally and figuratively. At the beginning of his vendetta, V rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) from a group of police officers and has her live with him in his underworld lair. It is through their relationship where we learn how V became V, the extremities of the party's corruption, the problems of an oppressive government, V's revenge plot, and his philosophy on how to induce change.

Based on the popular graphic novel by Alan Moore, V for Vendetta's screenplay was written by the Wachowski brothers (of The Matrix fame) and directed by their protégé, James McTeigue. Controversy and criticism followed the film since its inception, from the hyper-stylized use of anarchistic terrorism to overthrow a corrupt government and the blatant jabs at the current U.S. political arena, to graphic novel fans complaining about the reconstruction of Alan Moore's original vision (Moore himself has dismissed the film). Many are valid critiques and opinions, but there's no hiding the message the film is trying to express: Radical and drastic events often need to occur in order to shake people out of their state of indifference in order to bring about real change. Unfortunately, the movie only offers a means with no ends, and those looking for answers may find the film stylish, but a bit empty. —Rob Bracco

Beyond Vendetta
The graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
More by Alan Moore
From Graphic Novel to Big Screen
More by Natalie Portman
More by Hugo Weaving
More by the Wachowski Brothers

Mira Nair Unsatisfied with her lower-class birthright beautiful calculating becky sharp is resolved to conquer high society by any means necessary employing all of her wit guile and sexuality to move her way up. Adapted from the classic novel. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 08/22/2006 Starring: Reese Witherspoon Jonathan Rhys-meyers Run time: 141 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Mira Nair

Tale of Two Cities

Big Idea's critically acclaimed writing and animation bring the story of the Good Samaritan to life in this delightful adaptation of the parable. Through rhyme and song, children learn that loving your neighbor means helping those in need — even if they don't live next door!

The Gourds Must Be Crazy
Join Junior Asparagus and the crew of the USS Applepies as they boldly go where no veggies have gone before! Can Junior and the ship's engineer (Scooter) repair the Applepies before a giant meteor smashes it to bits?!? And what about "oddball" crew members, Jimmy and Jerry Gourd? Could they possibly help? This sci-fi spoof shows kids that "loving your neighbor" means appreciating those who are different, instead of making fun of them!

Are You My Neighbor? helps children learn how to love others even if they look or act different.

Special Bonus Feature!
The Hairbrush Song

VeggieTales double feature limited edition DVD's. See the other 3 VeggieTales double features available!

Another winning video from the VeggieTales folk. To teach Larry the Cucumber about self-esteem, Bob the Tomato tells the story, slightly renamed, of David and Goliath. Jr. Asparagus plays the young man who wants to prove himself and will face the towering pickle. These adorable tales, brightly animated and containing bouncy songs, teach Christian-lite values in an entertaining way. Telling a single story (instead of the normal two), this 30-minute video goes on a bit too long, but it does contain the funniest entry in the "Silly Songs with Larry" series: Love My Lips. —Doug Thomas

Weeds are taking over Bumblyburg—flowery, talkative, sunglasses-wearing weeds that bear a striking resemblance to the clichéd blathering old ladies who enjoy nothing more than yakking about the neighbors over a game of mahjong. No, these aren't ordinary weeds; these weeds are interconnected, and they are multiplying at an alarming rate. What could cause these wild plants to bloom at such a rapid pace? Why, they're just keeping pace with the rumors that are flying around town. Only Larry-Boy can save the city. Or can he?

Larry-Boy doesn't have the powers of most superheroes; in fact, his main sources of might are his suction-cup ears and an overeducated butler. Yet in this installment of VeggieTales, Larry-Boy's real skill is in teaching us that "God doesn't want us to tell stories that can hurt." In the lively series that has "Sunday morning values, and Saturday morning fun," a group of vegetables provides moral lessons for everyday life. Strong on Christian themes and light on seriousness, VeggieTaleshas enough humor for adults to appreciate and enough fun for the kids. While this episode may have us longing for the not-present Bob the Tomato and Silly Songs, there's still enough of the impressive computer animation and appealing story lines to make this a valuable resource for teaching kids right from wrong. —Jenny Brown

The second season of Veronica Mars showcases the series' crackling-sharp writing and topnotch acting of star Kristen Bell and the rest of the cast. Veronica still struggles with the class wars in sunny Neptune, Calif., trying to find a balance between high school, love, helping her dad as a private eye, and doing the right thing. The ongoing thread of season 2 is the aftermath of a horrifying tragedy, and as Veronica and dad Keith try to find out what caused it, mysteries only compound. Shifty Sheriff Lamb, town powerbrokers, and various high-school cliques seem to undermine Veronica at every turn. Thankfully, Veronica has more chutzpah than Phillip Marlowe, and the side-of-the-mouth one-liners to match: "Well, actually," Veronica says dryly to a bad guy, "despite popular opinion, you really can't beat the truth out of someone." Some of the show's broad strokes echo the stellar Buffy the Vampire Slayer, yet Bell's Veronica doesn't need the supernatural to tackle a challenge. She's a real girl, conflicted, prickly, lovesick, yearning, sometimes even scared. As Veronica tries to solve the mystery, she must also handle her own heartbreaks, and the moral stumbles of those closest to her. Happily, she's got a great best pal, Wallace (the effervescent Percy Daggs III), and possibly the coolest, most understanding TV dad ever (Enrico Colantoni). The boxed set includes 22 episodes (many with deleted scenes), a behind-the-scenes mini-doc, a cute gag reel, and a short profile film, Veronica Mars: Not Your Average Teen Detective. You can say that again. —A.T. Hurley

Equal parts Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Nancy Drew, Veronica Mars is smartly written and well-acted. This third and final season of the critically acclaimed (but viewer-challenged) series ends as all good shows should—by leaving viewers wanting more and wondering how their favorite characters will fare in the future. By now, our spunky heroine Veronica (played by the effervescent Kristen Bell) is a college student working on a degree in criminology. Though blond, pretty, and uber-smart, Veronica doesn't have an easy time fitting in to her new setting. The series focuses as much on her personal life this season as it does on the cases she is hired (and paid) to solve. Besides dealing with rapes, robbery, and other sordid crimes, Veronica has to clear her own name when she is accused of plagiarizing. She also gets involved in helping figure out who may have given a pregnant friend a pill that caused her to lose the baby. This year's guest stars include some stunt casting with Patty Hearst, who plays a wealthy woman who disappears during an event held in her honor. Unlike the first two years where Veronica focused on solving one major crime, this season features several story arcs. Perhaps it was the producer's way of trying to attract more viewers, but diehard fans may be turned off by the change, which provides a less cohesive storyline than in the past. All 20 episodes—which aired originally during the 2006-2007 television season—are included in this six-disc set. The collection also includes a cute gag reel and an informative bonus feature that includes insightful commentary from show creator Rob Thomas. —Jae-Ha Kim

Even when his trademark twist-ending formula wears worrisomely thin as it does in The Village, M. Night Shyamalan is a true showman who knows how to serve up a spookfest. He's derailed this time by a howler of a "surprise" lifted almost directly from "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim," an episode of The Twilight Zonestarring Cliff Robertson that originally aired in 1961. Even if you're unfamiliar with that Rod Serling scenario, you'll have a good chance of guessing the surprise, which ranks well below The Sixth Senseand Signson Shyamalan's shock-o-meter. That leaves you to appreciate Shyamalan's proven strengths, including a sharp eye for fear-laden compositions, a general sense of unease, delicate handling of fine actors (alas, most of them wasted here, save for Bryce Dallas Howard in a promising debut), and the cautious concealment of his ruse, which in this case involves a 19th-century village that maintains an anxious truce with dreadful creatures that live in the forbidden woods nearby. Will any of this take anyone by genuine surprise? That seems unlikely, since Emperor Shyamalan has clearly lost his clothes in The Village, but it's nice to have him around to scare us, even if he doesn't always succeed. —Jeff Shannon

James Mangold A solid and entertaining biopic, Walk the Lineworks less as a movie than an actors' showcase for its stars. Joaquin Phoenix's total immersion into the skin of singer Johnny Cash is startling—watching it, you can't believe this is the same guy who whined about being "vexed" in Gladiator. As he evolves from a farm boy to gospel croonin' plunker to the Man in Black, Phoenix disappears into Cash's deep baritone, his way of slinging the guitar onto his back, and his hunched-up style of strumming. But it's more than just picking up mannerisms: Phoenix also sings as Johnny Cash, and it's quite impressive.

The story of how Johnny Cash became Johnny Cash traces from his childhood under a distant father (Robert Patrick) to his early attempts at a music career, during which he married his girlfriend Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin). During a tour with the likes of Elvis (Tyler Hilton) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Malloy Payne), he encounters singer June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), and his love for her—and her rejection of him through the years—spurs him into drugs, drinking, and depression. As with most movies based on real-life singers, as his popularity grows, the women come a-flockin', and the childhood demons surface. Witherspoon, who matches Phoenix drawl for drawl, plays June both as a sassy spitfire whose charm breaks your heart, and as a sympathetic friend who tries to help Cash get over—well, her. The love story is what endures, but the movie comes most alive during its musical numbers, and even if you're not a country fan, it may just get you to run out and buy a Johnny Cash album.—Ellen A. Kim

Andrew Stanton As the last robot left on earth wall-e is one small robot who holds the future of earth and mankind squarely in the palm of hismetal hand. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 11/18/2008 Starring: Ben Burtt Run time: 98 minutes Rating: G Director: Andrew Stanton

Steve Box Nick Park When their town's prized produce stars disappearing, our cheese-loving inventor and his savvy canine companion must use all their wildly imaginative inventions to try to capture a mysterious beast of epic and fluffy proportions!

Clare Kilner If you're a fan of the frazzled comic rhythms Debra Messing plies on Will & Grace, or if you're pre-sold on the concept of Dermot Mulroney as the world's most dashing heartthrob—an idea given ample evidence here—this escapist romance may provide just enough distraction. The Wedding Date's Pretty Woman-in-reverse plot finds Kat Kat Ellis (Messing) hiring expensive male escort Nick Mercer (Mulroney) to fly to London and pose as her dashing new boyfriend at her sister's wedding so she can face the best man, an ex-fiancé who broke her heart. Non-fans of the stars or romantic comedies in general beware: there's no real chemistry or conflict, and you should alert the media if you can determine exactly when and why Kat and Nick fall in love. Mulroney has nothing to do but be sensitively suave—the film's entire running time is spent waiting for Kat to realize that Nick, hooker or no, is the best thing that ever happened to her (her father may be cinema's first dad to ever encourage his daughter to snare a gigolo while she still can). This is a relatively painless but forgettable first Date; you probably won't need a second assignation. —Steve Wiecking

Frank Coraci A young man who makes his living as a wedding singer looses his faith in love until he falls in love with a young woman on the eve of her wedding.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 14-FEB-2006
Media Type: DVD

Nancy Meyers It must've made for a great pitch meeting: Male chauvinist advertising executive gains the ability to hear the thoughts of any woman around him. Add Mel Gibson—as Nick, the divorced "man's man" who can charm almost any woman into bed—and you've got high-concept comedy made in Hollywood heaven, right? Not necessarily. The smartest thing director Nancy Meyers did with What Women Want is dispose of this ludicrous plot contrivance before it wears out its welcome. It's fun to see Mel react to a deafening chorus of female thoughts, but his dubious "gift"—courtesy of an accidental electro-shock in his bathtub—is a mixed blessing for the audience. The women in Nick's life conveniently think in complete sitcom-friendly sentences, and the novelty quickly wears thin.

The movie improves by focusing on the fallout of Nick's predicament. Exploiting his unfair advantage, he sabotages the career of his new boss (Helen Hunt) even as he's falling in love with her; says all the right things to the aspiring actress (Marisa Tomei) who previously spurned his advances; and uses mind reading to curry favor with his 15-year-old daughter (Ashley Johnson). This two-faced scheming isn't malicious, however, and What Women Want is blessed by Gibson's amiably nuanced performance. His graceful riff on Fred Astaire is a dazzling surprise, and as Nick reforms, Gibson takes major credit for whatever depth this movie achieves. After a bit of nonsense, What Women Want has a lot to say about male and female behavior, be it noble or unappealing. It's both amusing and truthful, and that's almost as fun as a glimpse into someone else's brain. —Jeff Shannon

Matt Williams (II) After gaining 15 minustes of fame for giving birth to the wal-mart baby novalee nation begins to put her life together with the help of the kind quirky strangers who become her surrogate family. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 01/09/2007 Starring: Ashley Judd Natalie Portman Run time: 120 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Matt Williams

Jon Turteltaub If you don't mind a heavy dose of schmaltz and sentiment, this romantic comedy has a gentle way of seducing you with its charms. While You Were Sleeping was the first starring role for Sandra Bullock after her blockbuster success in Speed. In a role that nicely emphasizes her easygoing appeal, Bullock is the reason the movie works at all. She plays Lucy Eleanor Moderatz, a Chicago Transit tollbooth clerk who's hopelessly smitten with a daily commuter, Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher). She saves the object of her affection from certain death after he's mugged and falls onto the train tracks. While Peter is in a coma, she lets his family believe that she is his fiancée, and surprisingly finds herself drawn to his brother (Bill Pullman), for whom the attraction is definitely mutual. How Lucy gets out of this amorous predicament is what makes this pleasant movie less predictable than its familiar ingredients would initially indicate. It's feel-good fluff, with characters and performances that keep you smiling through the drippy plot mechanics. —Jeff Shannon

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/16/2007 Run time: 120 minutes Rating: Nr

Randal Kleiser Jack londons classic adventure story about the friendship developed between a yukon gold hunter and the mixed dog-wolf he rescues from the hands of a man who mistreats him. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 11/11/2003 Starring: Ethan Hawke Run time: 107 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Randal Kleiser

William Dear You wouldn't know it by watching the mostly ridiculous escapades on display in Wild America, but this comedy/adventure for young boys is marginally based on the true story of Marshall, Mark, and Marty Stouffer, three young brothers who successfully pursued their dream of becoming wildlife filmmakers. From their home in the South, the Stouffer boys embark on a cross-country trek to the West, where they hope to get rare footage from inside the dreaded Cave of the Sleeping Bears. Along the way they encounter cute British tourist girls, deadly alligators, a rampaging moose, and an Air Force fighter on a bombing range. In other words, Wild America is about as contrived as it could possibly be and still claim to be based on reality, but it is harmless enough for young viewers with its wholesome message about bravery, hard work, and family togetherness. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (from television's Home Improvement) leads the young cast of adventurers. —Jeff Shannon

Mel Stuart

Robert Luketic

Bryan Singer

Brett Ratner Experience the awesome power of The X-Men's epic, final battle. Join well-known mutant heroes and villains, and meet a cadre of all-new warriors — including Angel, Beast, Juggernaut and Colossus — in this thrilling, explosive adventure!

After a controversial "cure" is discovered, mutants can choose to retain their superhuman abilities or give up their unique gifts and become "normal." When peaceful mutant leader Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) clashes with his militant counterpart, Magneto (Ian McKellen), the battle lines are drawn for the war to end all wars.

Bursting with nonstop action, spectacular special effects and exclusive extras, X-MEN THE LAST STAND is a force of nature that "will blow you away!"

Brett Ratner X-Men: The Last Standis the third installment in the popular superhero franchise, and it's an exciting one with a splash of fresh new characters. When a scientist named Warren Worthington II announces a "cure" for mutant powers, it raises an interesting philosophical question: is mutant power a disease that needs a cure, or is it a benefit that homo superiorenjoys over "normal" human beings? No surprise that Magneto (Ian McKellen) and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants resist the idea that they need to be cured, and declare war on the human race. But it's a little tougher for the X-Men, led by Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Cyclops (James Marsden), and Storm (Halle Berry). If you're Rogue (Anna Paquin), for example, your power means you can't even touch your boyfriend, Iceman (Shawn Ashmore). To compound matters, someone previously thought dead has returned, and might be either friend or foe.

With director Bryan Singer having moved on to Superman Returns, the franchise passes to the hands of Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), whose best work is done in the big action sequences such as a showdown between mutant armies. But it's difficult to manage the sheer volume of characters when adding longtime comic-book stalwarts such as Beast (Kelsey Grammer) and Angel (Ben Foster), and one character in particular deserved better than an off-screen dismissal. And fans of the original Dark Phoenix comic book story might be underwhelmed by the movie's resolution. X-Men: The Last Standis presumably the last film in the series, but the ambiguous ending leaves possibilities open. Look for the two writers most responsible for making the X-Men who they were, Stan Lee and Chris Claremont, in early cameos. —David Horiuchi

Beyond the Film

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Magneto's the most popular villain because he's so fascinating. He is a guy who doesn't believe he is evil. (Bob Harris X-Men editor)

In an attempt to find himself, Wolverine travels to Alaska and finds nothing but trouble. Working alongside some Eskimo fisherman was fine, but when Sabretooth bites, Wolverine's new-found home and friends are in danger. To save their lives, Wolverine will need to draw upon all his Mutant powers and training. But will it be enough?

In Part 2, a psychic probe of staggering power is sweeping through the universe in a desperate, unfaltering attempt to contact the mind of Professor Charles Xavier. Is this the mysterious force that has transformed Jean Grey into the enigmatic Phoenix? Is it repsonsible for an attack upon the X-Men by an evil "Dark Xavier"? Facing an entity that they cannot understand, the X-Men must prevail against the Dark Shroud - for the sake of all humanity!

X2does a fine job of picking up where X-Menleft off, giving fans more of what they liked the first time around. Under the serious-minded custody of returning director Bryan Singer, the second film of this Marvel comics franchise ups the ante on Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and the superhero mutants from the first film, pitting them against a mutant-hating scientist (Brian Cox) who's determined to wipe out the mutant race by tricking Xavier into abusing his telepathic powers. More a series of spectacles than a truly satisfying thriller, X2introduces new mutant allies while giving each of the X-Menalumni—notably the temporarily helpful Magneto (Ian McKellen)—their own time in the spotlight. Well aware of the parallels between "mutantism" and virulent intolerance in the real world, Singer lends real gravity to the proceedings, injecting dramatic urgency into a continuing franchise that, in lesser hands, might've grown patently absurd. —Jeff Shannon

Nora Ephron Neigborhood bookstore rivals unwittingly become e-mail pen pals in this charming remake of The Shop Around the CornerRunning Time: 119 min.System Requirements:ACTORS Jane Adams Reiko Aylesworth Michael Badalucco Heather Burns David Chappelle Dabney Coleman Elwood Edwards Kate Finneran Tom Hanks Hallie Hirsh Greg Kinnear Parker Posey John Randolph Meg Ryan Katie Sogona Howard Spiegel Jean Stapleton Steve Zahn LENGTH 2 hrs RATING PG ComedyFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating:  UPC: 085391695424 Manufacturer No: 16954

Charge your micro-mini cell phones and whip up some orange mocha Frappuccino, 'cuz Zoolanderis on the runway, and you're gonna laugh your booty off! Based on a sketch created by writer-director Ben Stiller and cowriter Drake Sather for the 1996 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, Zoolanderis a delirious send-up of New York's fashion scene as epitomized by male model Derek Zoolander (Stiller), a dimwitted preener who's oblivious to a Manchurian Candidate-like plot to turn him into a brainwashed assassin. Tipped off by a reporter (Christina Taylor), Zoolander teams with rival model Hansel (Owen Wilson) to foil the poodle-haired fashion designer (Will Ferrell) who's behind the nefarious scheme. The goofy plot's only half the fun; with roles for Stiller's parents (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara), dozens of celebrity cameos, endlessly quotable dialogue, and improvisational energy to spare, Zoolanderis very smart about being very stupid, easily matching the Austin Powersfranchise for inspired comedic lunacy. —Jeff Shannon