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The Terminal (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Asin: B00005JMYC
Label: Dreamworks Video
UserComment: Like an airport running at peak efficiency, The Terminal glides on the consummate skills of its director and star. Having refined their collaborative chemistry on Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me if You Can, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks mesh like the precision gears of a Rolex, turning a delicate, not-very-plausible scenario into a lovely modern-age fable (partly based on fact) that’s both technically impressive and subtly moving. It’s Spielberg in Capra mode, spinning the featherweight tale of Victor Navorski (Hanks, giving a finely tuned performance), an Eastern European who arrives at New York’s Kennedy Airport just as his (fictional) homeland has fallen to a coup, forcing him, with no valid citizenship, to take indefinite residence in the airport’s expansive International Arrivals Terminal (an astonishing full-scale set that inspires Spielberg’s most elegant visual strategies). Spielberg said he made this film in part to alleviate the anguish of wartime America, and his master’s touch works wonders on the occasionally mushy material; even Stanley Tucci’s officious terminal director and Catherine Zeta-Jones’s mixed-up flight attendant come off (respectively) as forgivable and effortlessly charming. With this much talent involved, The Terminal transcends its minor shortcomings to achieve a rare degree of cinematic grace. –Jeff Shannon

Undercover Blues

Director: Herbert Ross
Asin: B000089736
Label:
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Lady in the Water (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Warner Home Video
Asin: B000JLTR8Q
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: Apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep (Giamatti) rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the journey back to her home, he works with his tenants to protect his new friend from the creatures that are determined to keep her in our world.

Mortal Kombat

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Asin: 0790729997
Label: New Line Home Video
UserComment: based on the best-selling home video game, this action adventuretells of a group of expert fighters who compete in a dangerous tournament for the fate of mankind on a mysterious island.

Hero

Director: Yimou Zhang
Asin: B00030590I
Label: Miramax
UserComment: Master filmmaker Quentin Tarantino presents HERO — starring martial arts legend Jet Li in a visually stunning martial arts epic where a fearless warrior rises up to defy an empire and unite a nation! With supernatural skill … and no fear … a nameless soldier (Jet Li) embarks on a mission of revenge against the fearsome army that massacred his people. Now, to achieve the justice he seeks, he must take on the empire’s most ruthless assassins and reach the enemy he has sworn to defeat! Acclaimed by critics and honored with numerous awards, HERO was nominated for both an Oscar® (2002 Best Foreign Language Film)and Golden Globe!

Anywhere But Here

Director: Wayne Wang
Asin: B000067J20
Label:
UserComment: In Wayne Wang’s star-driven adaptation of Mona Simpson’s tragicomic bestseller about a mismatched mother and daughter, fortysomething Adele August (Susan Sarandon) is every adolescent’s nightmare: over- (or under-) dressed, always and loudly “on,” forgetful of mundane matters such as bills, more colorful kid than reliable mum. In contrast, 14-year-old Ann (Natalie Portman) yearns for stability, roots, understated hues. Transplanted from Wisconsin small town and extended family to a Beverly Hills, California, address of choice for American Dreamers like Adele, Ann comes painfully of age–sometimes blighted but also enriched by the fictions of a charismatic parent afraid to be alone in the dark.

Wang has always shown a sure, caring hand when it comes to cross-generational angst (see Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, The Joy Luck Club, Smoke). Here, he encourages Sarandon in a remarkably brave, exposed performance as an aging adventuress whose imagination continually outstrips her ability to make dreams come true, whose charm is both her ticket to ride and a dead end. Portman’s pout of strained adolescent distaste soon wears thin, but when The Phantom Menace’s kabuki princess momentarily thaws, she projects a lost child’s terrible shock and confusion. Hollywood-sized and scripted by the numbers, Anywhere but Here lost ground to Tumbleweeds, a similarly themed but more nuanced indie (with Oscar-nominated Janet McTeer), and it can’t hold a candle to Barbara Stanwyck’s Stella Dallas (1937), top of the line in this particular genre. But for any daughter who’s looked into her mother’s face and–yikes!–seen a possible future, this trip’s definitely worth taking. –Kathleen Murphy

Incredibles (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)

Director: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Asin: B00005JN4W
Label: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
UserComment: After creating the last great traditionally animated film of the 20th century, The Iron Giant, filmmaker Brad Bird joined top-drawer studio Pixar to create this exciting, completely entertaining computer-animated film. Bird gives us a family of “supers,” a brood of five with special powers desperately trying to fit in with the 9-to-5 suburban lifestyle. Of course, in a more innocent world, Bob and Helen Parr were superheroes, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. But blasted lawsuits and public disapproval forced them and other supers to go incognito, making it even tougher for their school-age kids, the shy Violet and the aptly named Dash. When a stranger named Mirage (voiced by Elizabeth Pena) secretly recruits Bob for a potential mission, the old glory days spin in his head, even if his body is a bit too plump for his old super suit.

Bird has his cake and eats it, too. He and the Pixar wizards send up superhero and James Bond movies while delivering a thrilling, supercool action movie that rivals Spider-Man 2 for 2004’s best onscreen thrills. While it’s just as funny as the previous Pixar films, The Incredibles has a far wider-ranging emotional palette (it’s Pixar’s first PG film). Bird takes several jabs, including some juicy commentary on domestic life (”It’s not graduation, he’s moving from the fourth to fifth grade!”).

The animated Parrs look and act a bit like the actors portraying them, Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter. Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Lee also have a grand old time as, respectively, superhero Frozone and bad guy Syndrome. Nearly stealing the show is Bird himself, voicing the eccentric designer of superhero outfits (”No capes!”), Edna Mode.

Nominated for four Oscars, The Incredibles won for Best Animated Film and, in an unprecedented win for non-live-action films, Sound Editing.

The Presentation
This two-disc set is (shall we say it?), incredible. The digital-to-digital transfer pops off the screen and the 5.1 Dolby sound will knock the socks off most systems. But like any superhero, it has an Achilles heel. This marks the first Pixar release that doesn’t include both the widescreen and full-screen versions in the same DVD set, which was a great bargaining chip for those cinephiles who still want a full-frame presentation for other family members. With a 2.39:1 widescreen ratio (that’s big black bars, folks, à la Dr. Zhivago), a few more viewers may decide to go with the full-frame presentation. Fortunately, Pixar reformats their full-frame presentation so the action remains in frame.

The Extras
The most-repeated segments will be the two animated shorts. Newly created for this DVD is the hilarious “Jack-Jack Attack,” filling the gap in the film during which the Parr baby is left with the talkative babysitter, Kari. “Boundin’,” which played in front of the film theatrically, was created by Pixar character designer Bud Luckey. This easygoing take on a dancing sheep gets better with multiple viewings (be sure to watch the featurette on the short).

Brad Bird still sounds like a bit of an outsider in his commentary track, recorded before the movie opened. Pixar captain John Lasseter brought him in to shake things up, to make sure the wildly successful studio would not get complacent. And while Bird is certainly likable, he does not exude Lasseter’s teddy-bear persona. As one animator states, “He’s like strong coffee; I happen to like strong coffee.” Besides a resilient stance to be the best, Bird threw in an amazing number of challenges, most of which go unnoticed unless you delve into the 70 minutes of making-of features plus two commentary tracks (Bird with producer John Walker, the other from a dozen animators). We hear about the numerous sets, why you go to “the Spaniards” if you’re dealing with animation physics, costume problems (there’s a reason why previous Pixar films dealt with single- or uncostumed characters), and horror stories about all that animated hair. Bird’s commentary throws out too many names of the animators even after he warns himself not to do so, but it’s a lively enough time. The animator commentary is of greatest interest to those interested in the occupation.

There is a 30-minute segment on deleted scenes with temporary vocals and crude drawings, including a new opening (thankfully dropped). The “secret files” contain a “lost” animated short from the superheroes’ glory days. This fake cartoon (Frozone and Mr. Incredible are teamed with a pink bunny) wears thin, but play it with the commentary track by the two superheroes and it’s another sharp comedy sketch. There are also NSA “files” on the other superheroes alluded to in the film with dossiers and curiously fun sound bits. “Vowellet” is the only footage about the well-known cast (there aren’t even any obligatory shots of the cast recording their lines). Author/cast member Sarah Vowell (NPR’s This American Life) talks about her first foray into movie voice-overs–daughter Violet–and the unlikelihood of her being a superhero. The feature is unlike anything we’ve seen on a Disney or Pixar DVD extra, but who else would consider Abe Lincoln an action figure? –Doug Thomas

More Incredibles at Amazon.com

The Incredibles Toy Store	CD Soundtrack	The Art of The Incredibles Book
Game Boy Advance	On VHS	The Essential Guide Book

The Pixar Feature Films

Toy Story, 1995 A Bug’s Life, 1998 Toy Story 2, 1999

Monsters, Inc., 2001 Finding Nemo, 2003 The Incredibles, 2004

More Animation DVDs

Favorite Animated Performances	Previous Animated Oscar Nominees	If You Like The Incredibles…
Our Disney DVD Store	Looney Tunes Golden Collection	Walt Disney Treasures

More Superheroes on DVD

Batman Blade The Hulk

Justice League Robocop Space Ghost

Spider-Man Superman Teen Titans

Wonder Woman X-Men Also see our Comics & Graphic Novels Store

Also from Filmmaker Brad Bird

The Iron Giant (Writer/Director)	“Family Dog” on Amazing Stories (Writer/Director)	Batteries Not Included (Cowriter)
The Simpsons (Director/Consultant)	King of the Hill (Consultant)	The Critic (Consultant)

Amelie

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Asin: B0000640VO
Label:
UserComment:

Jonah - A VeggieTales Movie

Director: Phil Vischer
Asin: B00007M5J1
Label: Lions Gate
UserComment: Parents seeking kid-friendly, Christian entertainment can be comfortable letting their kids watch Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, which turns the characters from the biblical story of Jonah into a bunch of talking cucumbers, asparagus, peas, and other vegetables. When God instructs the prophet Jonah to go to the wicked city of Ninevah to spread His word, Jonah balks and tries to flee by ship–only to end up in the belly of a whale. When he finally consents to go to Ninevah, things don’t turn out quite the way he expects. The VeggieTales team uses computer animation and upbeat musical numbers to express Christian themes, but they do so without being painfully didactic. The animation (and the humor) isn’t as sophisticated as that in Toy Story or Shrek, and kids may find some elements of the story confusing, but this may provide an opportunity for parents and kids to discuss values. –Bret Fetzer

Grosse Pointe Blank

Director: George Armitage
Asin: 1558908382
Label:
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Mean Girls (Special Collector’s Edition)

Director: Mark Waters (VIII)
Asin: B0002IQJ8W
Label: Paramount
UserComment: Raised in the African bush country by her zoologist parents Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) thinks she knows about “survival of the fittest.” But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 15-year-old enters public high school for the first time and falls prey to the psychological warfare and unwritten social rules that teenage girls face today.DVD Features:Commentary: by director Mark Waters Screenplay Writer & Actress Tina Fey and Producer Lorne MichaelsFeaturette: 3 FeaturettesAdditional Scenes: 9 Deleted ScenesBloopers: Blooper ReelSystem Requirements:Runnign Time 96 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 097363416043 Manufacturer No: 341604

Shawshank Redemption

Director: Frank Darabont
Asin: B0000399WI
Label: Castle Rock
UserComment: A prominent banker unjustly convicted of murder spends many years in the Shawshank prison. He is befriended by a convict who knows the ropes and helps him to cope with the frightning realities of prison life.

Funny Farm

Director: George Roy Hill
Asin: 0790740044
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) directed this 1988 comedy that gives star Chevy Chase one of his better-quality vehicles. Chase plays a New York sportswriter who turns to the country for a simpler, happier way of living. He discovers, of course, that things don’t work out that way. Hill’s usual touch with comic timing, tone, and dialogue give Chase a rare career opportunity to be part of something a little classier than most of his other movies; but Funny Farm nevertheless has its share of so-what gags. Still, the film’s overall tone is winning and laid-back, and it makes for nice escapist fare. –Tom Keogh

10 Things I Hate About You

Director: Touchstone Pictures
Asin: B00000K31Q
Label: Touchstone Pictures
UserComment: 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!

Pulp Fiction (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)

Director: Miramax Entertainment
Asin: B000068DBC
Label: Miramax Entertainment
UserComment: Critics and audiences worldwide hailed PULP FICTION as the star-studded picture that redefined cinema in the 20th Century! Writer/director Quentin Tarantino (Academy Award(R) Winner — Best Original Screenplay, 1994) delivers an unforgettable cast of characters — including a pair of low-rent hit men (John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson), their boss’s sexy wife (Uma Thurman), and a desperate prizefighter (Bruce Willis) — in a wildly entertaining and exhilarating motion picture adventure that both thrills and amuses!

Dazed and Confused

Director: Richard Linklater
Asin: 0783227361
Label:
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Corpse Bride (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Warner Home Video
Asin: B000C3L27U
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: Who else but Tim Burton could make Corpse Bride, a necrophiliac’s delight that’s fun for the whole family? Returning to the richly imaginative realm of stop-motion animation (after previous successes with The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach), Burton, with codirector Mike Johnson, invites us to visit the dour, ashen, and drearily Victorian mansions of the living, where young Victor Van Dort (voiced by Johnny Depp) is bequeathed to wed the lovely Victoria (Emily Watson). But the wedding rehearsal goes sour and, in the kind of Goth-eerie forest that only exists in Burton-land, Victor suddenly finds himself accidentally married to the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter), a blue-tinted, half-skeletal beauty (how pleasantly full-bosomed she remains!) with a loquacious maggot installed behind one prone-to-popping eyeball. This being a Burton creation, the underworld of the dead is a lively and colorful place indeed, and Danny Elfman’s songs and score make it even livelier, presenting Victor with quite a dilemma: Should he return above-ground to Victoria, or remain devoted to his corpse bride? At a brisk 76 minutes, Burton’s graveyard whimsy (loosely based on a 19th century Russian folktale) never wears out its welcome, and the voice casting (which includes Tracey Ullman and Albert Finney) is superbly matched the film’s gloriously amusing character design, guaranteed to yield a wealth of gruesome toys and action figures for many Halloweens to come. –Jeff Shannon

Dragonslayer

Director: Matthew Robbins
Asin: B0000AUHOM
Label: Paramount
UserComment: Despite its box-office failure in 1981, Dragonslayer was gradually recognized as one of the finest fantasies to emerge from the post-Star Wars boom in special effects. It’s still one of the best adventures of its kind, featuring one of the most fearsome fire-breathing serpents in movie history. Ominously named Vermithrax Pejorative, this ill-tempered monster terrorizes the peasantry of sixth-century England, feeding on maidens sacrificed by a duplicitous king until a sorcerer’s apprentice named Galen (Peter MacNicol, long before Ally McBeal) is recruited as a reluctant hero. Aided by a tenacious beauty (Caitlin Clarke) and his resurrected mentor (Ralph Richardson), Galen confronts the soaring beast in a breathtaking climax. Employing a then-innovative technique called Go-Motion to animate the dragon, the special effects are still dazzling, and stunning locations in Scotland and Wales allow director Matthew Robbins (cowriter of Steven Spielberg’s feature debut, The Sugarland Express) to maintain a vivid atmosphere for the wealth of movie magic. –Jeff Shannon

Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)

Director: 20th Century Fox
Asin: B00003CX5P
Label: 20th Century Fox
UserComment: Feature-Length Audio Commentary
The creators of Episode I give you insight into the film like no one else can. Hear from: writer/director George Lucas, Producer Rick McCallum, sound designer and film co-editor Ben Burtt, ILM animation director Rob Coleman and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires.

“The Beginning”
Making Episode I Documentary Film
Culled from over 600 hours of behind-the-scenes footage, this all-new hour-long documentary film takes you inside Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic during the making of The Phantom Menace. Sit in on the film’s production process including: pre-production, casting, principal photography, editing, rough-cut reviews, visual effects meetings and other events that few people have had access to before.

Exclusive Deleted Scenes and Documentary
All-new documentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum and guests discussing the painstaking process every director must go through in determining what scenes make the final cut. View seven exclusive deleted sequences that were created specifically for this DVD and learn why they were eliminated from the final version of the film.

Multi-Angle Animatics
Discover the amazing techniques used to create two memorable sequences (Submarine and Podrace Lap 1) from storyboards to animatics to final composites.

Featurettes
Five mini-documentaries give you an insider’s look at The Phantom Menace’s Storyline, Design, Costumes, Visual Effects and Fight sequences through behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and filmmakers.

Web Documentaries
Originally released on starwars.com during the production of Episode I, this award-winning twelve-part web documentary series gives you a fly-on-the-wall perspective into the making of the film as it was happening.

Exclusive Production Photo Gallery
Scroll through a never-before-seen gallery of candid cast and crew shots, each with captions.

“Duel of the Fates” Music Video
One of the most popular music videos during its release in May 1999, the “Duel of the Fates” video intertwines live footage of John Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra with behind-the-scenes clips and dramatic footage featured in Episode I.

Posters and Print Campaign
Examine the Episode I theatrical posters (Teaser and Launch) and the International Outdoor advertising used to support the release of Episode I around the world.

Trailers and TV Spots
Watch the theatrical teaser and launch trailers, plus seven TV spots (including the five original “Tone Poems” along with “The Saga Begins” and “All Over Again”).

“Star Wars: Starfighter-The Making of a Game” from LucasArts
This featurette offers insight into the making of the popular flight action combat game along with information on other Star Wars games from LucasArts.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Content
Your Episode I DVD is a key that unlocks exclusive Star Wars content only available through a special DVD-ROM website.

Starsky & Hutch (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Todd Phillips
Asin: B00024JC4E
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: In Starsky & Hutch, the origins of the charismatic crime-fighting duo David Starsky and Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson are explored when these undercover Bay City detectives are partnered for their very first assignment. Ben Stiller plays the tightly wound Detective David Starsky who is thrown together with Owen Wilson’s easygoing Detective Ken Hutchinson on a high-stakes case. Platinum-selling rapper and actor Snoop Dogg plays their savvy street informant Huggy Bear. Vince Vaughn also joins the cast as Reese Feldman, a smooth-talking entrepreneur with an eye towards the future.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary with Director Todd Phillips
Deleted Scenes
Easter Eggs:Vince’s Bit for the Kids — Easter Egg (Vince discusses his thoughts on DVD special features)
Featurette:Last Look Special - Documentary Spoof (A spoof on behind-the-scenes documentaries)
Other:Fashion Fa Shizzle Wit Huggy Bizzle (Fashion insights with Snoop Dogg)
Outtakes
Theatrical Trailer

Ocean’s Eleven (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Warner Home Video
Asin: B000062XHI
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: Danny Ocean likes his chances. All he asks is that his handpicked squad of 10 grifters and cons play the game like they have nothing to lose. If all goes right the payoff will be a fat $150 million. Divided by 11. You do the math.Running Time: 110 min.System Requirements:Starring: George Clooney Julia Roberts Andy Garcia Brad Pitt Matt Damon Don Cheadle Bernie Mac and Elliott Gould. Directed By: Steven Soderbergh. Running Time: 116 Min. Color. This film is presented in “Standard” format. Copyright 2002 Warner Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085392263424 Manufacturer No: 22634

Devil Wears Prada (Widescreen Edition)

Director: David Frankel
Asin: B000J103PC
Label: 20th Century Fox
UserComment: Based on the hilarious best-selling novel, this sinfully funny movie starring Academy Award(r) winner Meryl Streep* and Anne Hathaway is “sensationally entertaining in every way” (maxim). As assistant to impossibly demanding New York fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly (Streep), young Andy Sachs (Hathaway) 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!

Italian Job (Special Collector’s Edition)

Director: F. Gary Gray
Asin: B0000B1OFL
Label: Paramount
UserComment: Though it bears little resemblance to the original 1969 thriller starring Michael Caine, the 2003 remake of The Italian Job stands on its own as a caper comedy that’s well above average. The title’s a misnomer–this time it’s actually a Los Angeles job–but the action’s just as exciting as it propels a breezy tale of honor and dishonor among competing thieves. Inheriting Caine’s role as ace heist-planner Charlie Croker, Mark Wahlberg plays straight-man to a well-cast team of accomplices, including Mos Def, Jason Statham, and scene-stealer Seth Green in a variation of the role originally played by Noel Coward. As the daughter of Croker’s ill-fated mentor (Donald Sutherland), Charlize Theron is recruited to double-cross a double-crosser (Edward Norton in oily villain mode), and once again, speedily versatile Mini Coopers play a pivotal role in director F. Gary Gray’s exhilarating car-chase climax. It’s perhaps the greatest product placement in movie history, and just as fun the second time around. –Jeff Shannon

League of Their Own

Director: Penny Marshall
Asin: 0800177258
Label: Sony Pictures
UserComment: Penny Marshall’s popular 1992 comedy sheds light on a little-known chapter of American sports history with its story of a struggling team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league was formed when the recruiting of soldiers during World War II resulted in a shortage of men’s baseball teams. The AAGPBL continued after the war (until 1954), and Marshall’s movie depicts the league in full swing, beginning when a savvy baseball scout (Jon Lovitz) finds a pair of promising new players in small-town Oregonian sisters (Geena Davis, Lori Petty). The sisters are signed to play for the Rockford Peaches near Chicago, whose new manager (Tom Hanks) is a former home-run king who wrecked his career with alcoholism. They’re all a bunch of underdogs, and Marshall (with a witty script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) does a fine job of establishing a colorful team of supporting players including Madonna and (in her movie debut) Rosie O’Donnell. It’s a conventional Hollywood sports story (Marshall’s never been one to take dramatic risks), but the stellar cast is delightful, and the movie’s filled with memorable moments, witty dialogue, and agreeable sentiment. And just remember: there’s no crying in baseball! –Jeff Shannon

Memoirs of a Geisha (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

Director: Rob Marshall
Asin: B000EHRVMY
Label: Sony Pictures
UserComment: A Cinderella story set in a mysterious and exotic world, this stunning romantic epic shows how a house servant blossoms, against all odds, to become the most captivating geisha of her day.

“… a visually stunning adaptation of Arthur Golden’s best-selling novel.” (Barry Caine, OAKLAND TRIBUNE) The director of Chicago, Rob Marshall, transports us into a mysterious and exotic world that casts a potent spell. A Cinderella story like no other, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA stars Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li. “Gorgeously photographed, meticulously directed and hypnotically acted. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA is luxurious, ethereal and intoxicating. It will leave you breathless.” (Rex Reed, NEW YORK OBSERVER)

Matrix

Director: Andy Wachowski
Asin: B00000K19E
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells of a computer hacker (Reeves) who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth. The computers are powered by human beings…

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary by C. Moss, J. Gaeta, & Z. Staenberg
Featurette:“Bullet Time” Featurette (6:01) “What is the Concept” Featurette (10:50)
Music Clips:2.0 Music only with commentary
Other:HBO 1st Look Special: Making the Matrix (25:48) “White Rabbit” Clips (22:22) [4x3]

Goonies

Director: Warner Home Video
Asin: B000P0J09W
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: Following a mysterious treasure map into a spectacular underground realm of twisting passages, outrageous booby-traps and a long-lost pirate ship full of golden dubloons, the kids race to stay one step ahead of a family of bumbling bad guys… and a mild-mannered monster with a face only a mother could love.

Notebook (New Line Platinum Series)

Director: Nick Cassavetes
Asin: B000683VI4
Label: New Line Home Video
UserComment: Behind every great love is a great story. Two teenagers from opposite sides of the tracks fall in love during one summer together, but are tragically forced apart. When they reunite 7 years later, their passionate romance is rekindled, forcing one of them to choose between true love and class order.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:2 Commentaries –Director Nick Cassavettes –Novelist Nicholas Sparks
DVD ROM Features
Deleted Scenes:12 Deleted Scenes
Documentaries:Nick Cassavetes Profile Featurette Author Nicholas Sparks Featurette Locating “The Notebook” Featurette Casting Noah and Allie featurette
Other:Widescreen & Fullscreen versions on one disc Rachel McAdams Screen Test
Theatrical Trailer

Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)

Director: Gore Verbinski
Asin: B00005JM5E
Label: Walt Disney Video
UserComment: You won’t need a bottle of rum to enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, especially if you’ve experienced the Disneyland theme-park ride that inspired it. There’s a galleon’s worth of fun in watching Johnny Depp’s androgynous performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, a roguish pirate who could pass for the illegitimate spawn of rockers Keith Richards and Chrissie Hynde. Depp gets all the good lines and steals the show, recruiting Orlando Bloom (a blacksmith and expert swordsman) and Keira Knightley (a lovely governor’s daughter) on an adventurous quest to recapture the notorious Black Pearl, a ghost ship commandeered by Jack’s nemesis Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), a mutineer desperate to reverse the curse that left him and his (literally) skeleton crew in a state of eternal, undead damnation. Director Gore Verbinski (The Ring) repeats the redundant mayhem that marred his debut film Mouse Hunt, but with the writers of Shrek he’s made Pirates into a special-effects thrill-ride that plays like a Halloween party on the open seas. Aye, matey, we’ve come a long way since Jason and the Argonauts! –Jeff Shannon

Joe Versus the Volcano

Director: John Patrick Shanley
Asin: B00005Y71F
Label:
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Doc Hollywood

Director: Warner Home Video
Asin: 6305133468
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: A brash young medical resident is driving across the country to begin a career in Beverly Hills as a cosmetic surgeon to the stars. But an accident of fate strands him in a small southern town. There, his outlook on life - and love - gets a down-home twist that changes him forever.

Music and Lyrics (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Marc Lawrence (II)
Asin: B00005JPE3
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: First you’re hot, then you’re not…and then you’re Alex Fletcher (HUGH GRANT). So when the sizzlingest tween-queen on the charts asks the has-been ’80s pop sensation to write her a song, he grabs for another chance at stardom. Problem: Alex can say it with music, but he sure can’t say it with words. Enter Sophie Fisher (DREW BARRYMORE), his beguiling if quirky plant lady, who has a green thumb for lyrics. Together, they go after songwriting success — and discover that if you want to write the perfect love song, it helps to fall in love. With Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore at the keyboard and Marc Lawrence (Two Weeks Notice) directing, Music and Lyrics is a witty, wacky romantic comedy that faces the music…and laughs!

Spaceballs

Director: MGM (Video & DVD)
Asin: 0792844890
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
UserComment: The farce is with you in this “uproarious salute to science fiction” (The Hollywood Reporter) that teams comedy legend Mel Brooks with an all-star cast of cutups including John Candy (Splash), Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters) and Bill Pullman (Ruthless People)! When the evil Dark Helmet (Moranis) attempts to steal all the air from planet Druidia, a determined Druish Princess (Daphne Zuniga), a clueless rogue (Pullman) and a half-man/half-dog creature who’s his own best friend (Candy) set out to stop him! But with the forces of darkness closing in on them at ludicrous speed, they’ll need the help of a wise imp named Yogurt (Brooks) and the mystical power of “The Schwartz” to bring peaceand merchandising rightsto the entire galaxy!

Almost Famous Untitled - The Bootleg Cut (Director’s Edition)

Director: Cameron Crowe
Asin: B00005OM4Q
Label:
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Butterfly Effect (Infinifilm Edition)

Director: J. Mackye Gruber
Asin: B0001Z52RU
Label:
UserComment: A young man struggling to access sublimated childhood memories finds a technique that allows him to travel back to the past. Occupying his childhood body, he is able to change history. But every change he makes has unexpected consequences.

Catch Me If You Can (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Asin: B00005JLSB
Label:
UserComment: An enormously entertaining (if somewhat shallow) affair from blockbuster director Steven Spielberg. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Frank Abagnale, Jr., a dazzling young con man who spent four years impersonating an airline pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer–all before he turned 21. All the while he’s pursued by a dedicated FBI agent named Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), whose dogged determination stays one step behind Abagnale’s spontaneous wits. Both DiCaprio and Hanks turn in enjoyable performances and the movie has a bouncy rhythm that keeps it zipping along. However, it never gets under the surface of Frank’s drive to lose himself in other identities, other than a simplistic desire to please his father (Christopher Walken, excellent as always), nor does it explore the complex mechanics of fraud with any depth. By the movie’s end, it feels like one of Frank’s pilot uniforms–appearance without substance. –Bret Fetzer

Just Like Heaven (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Mark Waters (VIII)
Asin: B000CQM4Y2
Label: Dreamworks Video
UserComment: Bad romantic comedies make you scoff at their absurdity; good ones make you wish your life was that absurd. Just Like Heaven is just smart and likable enough to trigger that wishing. David (Mark Ruffalo, Collateral, You Can Count On Me) finds an amazing apartment in San Francisco–only to discover it’s haunted by the spirit of the previous tenant, an overachieving doctor named Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon, Legally Blonde, Election). There’s something not quite right about Elizabeth’s afterlife; against his better judgement, David agrees to help her investigate her life…but finds himself digging into his own as well. The plot takes a twist that some viewers will see coming, but Just Like Heaven doesn’t rely on the surprise alone; the revelation takes the story in a new and just as entertaining direction. Witherspoon and Ruffalo are two of the best romantic leads around, but the surprise is how well their contrasting flavors (perky and moody, respectively) mesh, creating a sparky, engaging chemistry. Also featuring Dina Waters (Freaky Friday), Donal Logue (The Tao of Steve), Ben Shenkman (Angels in America), and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite). Crisply directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls), who carefully keeps the supernatural from getting silly and the romance from getting gooey. –Bret Fetzer

Shakespeare in Love

Director: John Madden
Asin: B00000JGOH
Label: Walt Disney Video
UserComment: 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’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’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

Mallrats (Collector’s Edition)

Director: Universal Studios
Asin: B00000IQW4
Label: Universal Studios
UserComment: Sophomore jinx hit hard in this second film by Kevin Smith, whose debut Clerks transcended the limits of its setting and budget to become something memorably funny. (Smith followed Mallrats with the wonderful Chasing Amy, so Mallrats definitely had the old curse.) A ramshackle comedy set in a mall, the film follows several story lines involving lovers, enemies, friends, goofballs, and Smith’s own “silent” character, who also appeared in Clerks and Chasing Amy. A heavy self-consciousness weighs on everything, as if Smith forgot how to make obscenity funny instead of tedious. Still, it’s nice to see some of the director’s film family on screen, among them Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams. –Tom Keogh

Fifth Element (Ultimate Edition)

Director: Luc Besson
Asin: B0006GVJE4
Label:
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Napoleon Dynamite

Director: Jared Hess
Asin: B00005JNBQ
Label:
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Snatch (Special Edition)

Director: Sony Pictures
Asin: B00003CXS4
Label: Sony Pictures
UserComment: Usually it might seem a tad unfair to begin a review by referring to the director’s missis. But then the missis in question wouldn’t usually be Madonna–a woman whose ability to reinvent herself several times before breakfast seems in marked contrast to that of hubby Guy Ritchie. Certainly, this follow-up to the filmmaker’s breakthrough film–the high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels–hardly breaks new ground being, well, another high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie. OK, so there are some differences. This time around our low-rent hoodlums are battling over dodgy fights and stolen diamonds rather than dodgy card games and stolen drugs. There has been some minor reshuffling of the cast too, with Sting and Dexter Fletcher making way for the more bankable Benicio Del Toro and Brad Pitt, the latter pretty much stealing the whole shebang as an incomprehensible Irish gypsy. And, sure, people who really, really liked Lock, Stock–or have the memory of a goldfish–will really, really like this. The suspicion lingers, however, that if the director doesn’t do something very different next time around then his career may prove to be considerably shorter than that of his missis. –Clark Collis

Clerks (Collector’s Series)

Director: Miramax
Asin: B00000IQC8
Label: Miramax
UserComment: If you’re in the market for wildly funny entertainment, CLERKS delivers with wholesale hilarity! It’s one wacky day in the life of a pair of overworked counter jockeys whose razor-sharp wit and on-the-job antics give a whole new meaning to customer service! Even while bracing a nonstop parade of unpredictable shoppers, the clerks manage to play hockey on the roof, visit a funeral home, and straighten out their offbeat love lives! The boss is nowhere in sight, so you can bet anything can — and will — happen when these guys are left to run the store.

End of the Spear

Director: Jim Hanon
Asin: B000EXDS4I
Label: 20th Century Fox
UserComment: “End of the Spear” is the remarkable journey of a savage Amazon tribesman who becomes family to the son of a North American man he kills. Mincayani (Louie Leonardo) is a Waodani warrior who leads the raid that kills Steve Saint’s father and four other missionaries. Through a suspenseful series of events Steve Saint (Chase Ellison) is able to visit Mincayani’s tribe. Steve tries to learn which warriors killed his father, but has to leave with his question unanswered. Steve returns to the Waodani as an adult (Chad Allen). Together Mincayani and Steve confront the true meaning of the life and death of Steve’s father, and the other men who were killed.

Labyrinth

Director: Jim Henson
Asin: B00000K3D4
Label: Sony Pictures
UserComment: Sarah (a teenage Jennifer Connelly) rehearses the role of a fairy-tale queen, performing for her stuffed animals. She is about to discover that the time has come to leave her childhood behind. In real life she has to baby-sit her brother and contend with parents who don’t understand her at all. Her petulance leads her to call the goblins to take the baby away, but when they actually do, she realizes her responsibility to rescue him. Sarah negotiates the Labyrinth to reach the City of the Goblins and the castle of their king. The king is the only other human in the film and is played by a glam-rocking David Bowie, who performs five of his songs. The rest of the cast are puppets, a wonderful array of Jim Henson’s imaginative masterpieces. Henson gives credit to children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, and the creatures in the movie will remind Sendak fans of his drawings. The castle of the king is a living M.C. Escher set that adults will enjoy. The film combines the highest standards of art, costume, and set decoration. Like executive producer George Lucas’s other fantasies, Labyrinth mixes adventure with lessons about growing up. –Lloyd Chesley

City of Angels

Director: Brad Silberling
Asin: 0790737345
Label:
UserComment: Some critics complained that City of Angels could never compare to Wim Wenders’s exquisite German film Wings of Desire, which served as the later film’s primary inspiration. The better argument to make is that any such comparisons are beside the point, because Wings of Desire was a much more deeply poetic, artfully contemplative film, whereas City of Angels is an enchanting product of mainstream Hollywood. Meg Ryan stars as Dr. Maggie Rice, a heart surgeon who is grieving over a lost patient when an angel named Seth (Nicolas Cage) appears to comfort her. She can see him despite the “rule” that angels are invisible, and Seth’s love for Maggie forces him to choose between angelic immortality and a normal human existence on earth with her. Featuring heavenly roles for TV veterans Andre Braugher and Dennis Franz, the film liberally borrows imagery from Wings of Desire, but it also creates its own charming identity. Cage and Ryan give fine performances as lovers convinced they are soul mates, and although the plot relies on a last-minute twist that doesn’t quite work, this earnest love story struck a chord with audiences and proved to be one of the surprise hits of 1998. The Special Edition widescreen DVD includes audio commentary by Nicolas Cage, producer Charles Roven, and director Brad Silberling in addition to deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes documentary, a featurette about the film’s special effects, and the theatrical trailer. –Jeff Shannon

Specialist, The

Director: Luis Llosa
Asin: 6304779631
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: Just awful enough to qualify as someone’s guilty pleasure, this convoluted thriller was supposed to cash in on the supposedly sexy teaming of Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone (then hot from her ample exposure in Basic Instinct), but their naked groping in a shower provides one of the film’s unintentionally funny highlights. Ray Quick (Stallone) is a former CIA bomb expert whose former colleague (James Woods) is now in cahoots with a Miami drug cartel led by kingpin Joe Leon (Rod Steiger), who chews the scenery while his son Tomas (Eric Roberts) proceeds with a greedy hidden agenda. May Munro (Stone) hires Quick to kill off Roberts. The Specialist, featuring lots of explosions and redeemed by a dandy role for James Woods, is best suited for ardent Stallone and Stone fans. –Jeff Shannon

Kill Bill, Volume 2

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Asin: B00005JMUA
Label:
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Bruce Almighty (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Tom Shadyac
Asin: B0000AKCKI
Label:
UserComment: Bestowing Jim Carrey with godlike powers is a ripe recipe for comedy, and Bruce Almighty delivers the laughs that Carrey’s mainstream fans prefer. The high-concept premise finds Carrey playing Bruce Nolan, a frustrated Buffalo TV reporter, stuck doing puff-pieces while a lesser colleague (the hilarious Steven Carell) gets the anchor job he covets. Bruce demands an explanation from God, who pays him a visit (in the serene form of Morgan Freeman) and lets Bruce take over while he takes a brief vacation. What does a petty, angry guy do when he’s God? That’s where Carrey has a field day, reuniting with his Ace Ventura and Liar, Liar director, Tom Shadyac, while Jennifer Aniston gamely keeps pace as Bruce’s put-upon fiancée. Carrey’s actually funnier before he becomes Him, and the movie delivers a sappy, safely diluted notion of faith that lacks the sincerity of the 1977 hit Oh, God! Still, we can be thankful that Carrey took the high road and left Little Nicky to Adam Sandler. –Jeff Shannon

Always

Director: Steven Spielberg
Asin: B00000IQW5
Label:
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Never Been Kissed

Director: Raja Gosnell
Asin: B00006ZXSL
Label: 20th Century Fox
UserComment: In this hilarious, heartwarming comedy, Drew Barrymore shines as a budding journalist who’s determined to go from ‘geek’ to ‘chic’ when she is sent back to high school on her first undercover assignment to lern about today’s teens. At first, Josie is thrilled with the opportunity until she remembers her nickname from years ago: “Josie Grossie!” Can a former clueless nerd navigate the hallways of high school without trippin over her own feet?

Man with Two Brains

Director: Carl Reiner
Asin: 6305308802
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: Widowed, world-famous neurosurgeon Michael Hfuhruhurr (Steve Martin) is trapped in a loveless marriage with Dolores Benedict (Kathleen Turner), who is only interested in Hfuhruhurr’s money. On a trip to Vienna to attend a medical conference, Hfuhruhurr falls in love with a bottled brain (voiced by Sissy Spacek), and finds himself in the middle of murders committed by the elevator killer. Year: 1983 Director: Carl Reiner Starring: Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner, David Warner, Paul Benedict, Richard Brestoff, James Cromwell

X-Men (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Bryan Singer
Asin: B000AYELVA
Label: 20th Century Fox
UserComment: Born into a world filled with prejudice are children who possess extraordinary and dangerous powers - the result of unique genetic mutations. Cyclops unleashes bolts of energy from his eyes. Storm can manipulate the weather at will. Rogue absorbs the life force of anyone she touches. But under the tutelage of Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), these and other outcasts learn to harness their powers for the good of mankind. Now they must protect those who fear them as the nefarious Magneto (Ian McKellen), who believes humans and mutants can never co-exist, unveils his sinsiter plan for the future!

Groundhog Day (Special Edition)

Director: Sony Pictures
Asin: B00005U8EM
Label: Sony Pictures
UserComment: Bill Murray at his wry, wisecracking best in this riotous romantic comedy about a weatherman caught in a personal time warp on the worst day of his life.

Teamed with a relentlessly cheerful producer (Andie MacDowell) and a smart-aleck cameraman (Chris Elliott), TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities. After a surprise blizzard traps him in small-town hell, things get even worse; Phil wakes the next morning to find it’s Groundhog Day all over again… and again… and again.

System Requirements:
Starring: Bill Murray, Chris Elliott, and Andie MacDowell.
Directed By: Harold Ramis.
Running Time: 101 Min., Color.
This film is presented in “Widescreen” format.
Copyright 2002 Columbia TriStar.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Serenity (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Asin: B000BW7QWW
Label: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
UserComment: A passenger with a deadly secret. Six rebels on the run. An assassin in pursuit. When the renegade crew of Serenity agrees to hide a fugitive on their ship, they find themselves in an action-packed battle between the relentless military might of a totalitarian regime who will destroy anything - or anyone - to get the girl back and the bloodthirsty creatures who roam the uncharted areas of space. But, the greatest danger of all may be on their ship. From the mind of Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) comes a new edge-of-your-seat adventure loaded with explosive battles, gripping special effects and fantastic new worlds.

National Treasure (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Asin: B00005JN5E
Label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
UserComment: From Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, and Jon Turteltaub, director of PHENOMENON, comes NATIONAL TREASURE. It’s the thrilling, edge-of-your-seat adventure starring Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage (1995 Best Actor, LEAVING LAS VEGAS) as Benjamin Franklin Gates. Ever since he was a boy, Gates has been obsessed with finding the legendary Knights Templar Treasure, the greatest fortune known to man. As Gates tries to find and decipher ancient riddles that will lead him to it, he’s dogged by a ruthless enemy (Sean Bean, THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy) who wants the riches for himself. Now in a race against time, Gates must steal one of America’s most sacred and guarded documents — the Declaration of Independence — or let it, and a key clue to the mystery, fall into dangerous hands. Heart-pounding chases, close calls, and the FBI turn Gates’s quest into a high-stakes crime caper and the most exciting treasure hunt you’ve ever experienced.

Galaxy Quest

Director: Dean Parisot
Asin: 0783244320
Label:
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Better Off Dead

Director: Savage Steve Holland
Asin: B00005JKFA
Label:
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Special Edition)

Director: Terry Jones
Asin: B00005O3VC
Label: Sony Pictures
UserComment: Could this be the funniest movie ever made? By any rational measure of comedy, this medieval romp from the Monty Python troupe certainly belongs on the short list of candidates. According to Leonard Maltin’s Movie & Video Guide, it’s “recommended for fans only,” but we say hogwash to that–you could be a complete newcomer to the Python phenomenon and still find this send-up of the Arthurian legend to be wet-your-pants hilarious. It’s basically a series of sketches woven together as King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail, with Graham Chapman as the King, Terry Gilliam as his simpleton sidekick Patsy, and the rest of the Python gang filling out a variety of outrageous roles. The comedy highlights are too numerous to mention, but once you’ve seen Arthur’s outrageously bloody encounter with the ominous Black Knight (John Cleese), you’ll know that nothing’s sacred in the Python school of comedy. From holy hand grenades to killer bunnies to the absurdity of the three-headed knights who say “Ni–!,” this is the kind of movie that will strike you as fantastically funny or just plain silly, but why stop there? It’s all over the map, and the pace lags a bit here and there, but for every throwaway gag the Pythons have invented, there’s a bit of subtle business or grand-scale insanity that’s utterly inspired. The sum of this madness is a movie that’s beloved by anyone with a pulse and an irreverent sense of humor. If this movie doesn’t make you laugh, you’re almost certainly dead. –Jeff Shannon

Raising Arizona/Fargo

Director: Joel Coen
Asin: B000M7XRAG
Label: 20th Century Fox
UserComment: Disc 1: Raising Arizona WS Disc 2: Fargo WP

Grumpier Old Men

Director: Howard Deutch
Asin: 6304698607
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: The more things change, the more they stay the same in Wabasha, Minnesota. The uncatchable fish named Catfish Hunter grows fatter. The wisecracks, zingers and put downs pile up like freshly raked leaves. And Grumpy Old Men become grumpier in the sequel that’s “pure delight, a wonderfully warmhearted comedy” (David Sheehan, CBS-TV). Grabbing fishing rods and picking up where they left off, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau reel in another comedy winner as Grumpier Old Men. Ann-Margret, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollack and Burgess Meredith also return to the Land of 10,000 Lakes to reprise their roles. And Sophia Loren is the newcomer whose plan to turn the town’s beloved bait shop into a ristorante sends the old boys into a tizzy. Be advised: a tizzy is very contagious. Get ready to laugh. And stay tuned for the outtakes, including “man-sized manicotti!”

Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980 & 2004 versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition)

Director: Irvin Kershner
Asin: B000FQJAJG
Label: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
UserComment: For the first time ever and for a limited time only, the enhanced versions of the Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi will be available individually on DVD. Plus, these 2-Disc DVD’s will feature a bonus disc that includes, for the first time ever on DVD, the original films as seen in theaters in 1977, 1980 and 1983.

Kill Bill, Volume 1

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Asin: B00005JMEW
Label:
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Monty Python’s Life of Brian (Criterion Collection Spine #61)

Director: Criterion
Asin: 1559409010
Label: Criterion
UserComment: After slaying the Arthurian legend in their now classic Holy Grail, the Pythons set their sights on the Greatest Story Ever Told. Blind faith, virgin birth, crucifixion-nothing is sacred in this epic send-up of ancient times, which draws on the cornball biblical blockbusters of the 1950s to lampoon celebrity culture in any era. Criterion has gathered the guilty parties-including John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin-for two commentary tracks as provocative and hilarious as the film itself. Available for the first time in a 16:9 enhanced transfer, Monty Python’s Life of Brian can finally be viewed in all its - ahem - glory.

Batman Begins (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Asin: B00005JNJV
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight’s emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents’ murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.

Sliding Doors

Director: Peter Howitt (II)
Asin: 6305210411
Label:
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Where the Heart Is

Director: Matt Williams (II)
Asin: B00004WI5F
Label: 20th Century Fox
UserComment: Ashley Judd and Natalie Portman shine in this offbeat, delicious slice of life about a down-on-her-luck Southern teen. After gaining 15 minutes of fame for giving birth to “The Wal-Mart Baby”, Novalee Nation (Portman) begins to put her life together with the help of the kind, quirky strangers who become her surrogate family. It’s an inspiring celebration of love, friendship and self-worth that delivers “quality, emotionally satisfying entertainment” (ReelViews).

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Donald Petrie
Asin: B000094J7Z
Label: Paramount
UserComment: Kate Hudson twinkles as the heroine of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, a magazine writer assigned to date a guy, make all the mistakes girls make that drive guys away (being clingy, talking in baby-talk, etc.), and record the process like a sociological experiment. However, the guy she picks–rangy Matthew McConaughey–is an advertising executive who’s just bet that he can make a woman fall in love with him in ten days; if he succeeds, he’ll win a huge account that will make his career. The set-up is completely absurd, but the collision of their efforts to woo and repel creates some pretty funny scenes. McConaughey’s easy charm and Hudson’s lightweight impishness play well together and the plot, though strictly Hollywood formula, chugs along efficiently. At moments Hudson seems to channel her mother, Goldie Hawn, to slightly unnerving effect. –Bret Fetzer

Run Lola Run

Director: Tom Tykwer
Asin: B000021Y77
Label: Sony Pictures
UserComment: It’s difficult to create a film that’s fast paced, exciting, and aesthetically appealing without diluting its dialogue. Run Lola Run, directed and written by Tom Tykwer, is an enchanting balance of pace and narrative, creating a universal parable that leaps over cultural barriers. This is the story of young Lola (Franka Potente) and her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). In the space of 20 minutes, they must come up with 100,000 deutsche marks to pay back a seedy gangster, who will be less than forgiving when he finds out that Manni incompetently lost his cash to an opportunistic vagrant. Lola, confronted with one obstacle after another, rides an emotional roller coaster in her high-speed efforts to help the hapless Manni–attempting to extract the cash first from her double-dealing father (appropriately a bank manager), and then by any means necessary. From this point nothing goes right for either protagonist, but just when you think you’ve figured out the movie, the director introduces a series of brilliant existential twists that boggle the mind. Tykwer uses rapid camera movements and innovative pauses to explore the theme of cause and effect. Accompanied by a pulse-pounding soundtrack, we follow Lola through every turn and every heartbreak as she and Manni rush forward on a collision course with fate. There were a variety of original and intelligent films released in 1999, but perhaps none were as witty and clever as this little gem–one of the best foreign films of the year. –Jeremy Storey

Blast From the Past

Director: New Line Home Video
Asin: 0780626494
Label:
UserComment: Coasting on the successes of Gods and Monsters and George of the Jungle, Brendan Fraser turns in yet another winning performance in this fish-out-of-water comedy in which Pleasantville meets modern-day Los Angeles, with predictably funny results. Fraser stars as Adam, who was born in the bomb shelter of his paranoid inventor dad (a less-manic-than-usual Christopher Walken), who spirited his pregnant wife (Sissy Spacek, in fine comic form) underground when he thought the Communists dropped the bomb (actually, it was a plane crash). Armed with enough supplies to last 35 years, the parents bring up Adam in Leave It to Beaver style with nary any exposure to the outside world. When the supplies run out, and dad suffers a heart attack, Fraser goes up to modern-day L.A. for some shopping and long-awaited culture shock. More of a cute premise with lots of clever ideas attached than a fully fleshed out story, Blast from the Past is also supposed to be part romantic comedy, as the hunky Adam hooks up with his jaded Eve (Alicia Silverstone) and tries to convince her to marry him and go underground. The sparks don’t fly, though, because Silverstone is saddled with the triple whammy of being miscast, playing an underwritten character, and suffering a very bad hairdo. Fraser, however, carries the film lightly and easily on his broad, goofy shoulders, mixing Adam’s gee-whiz innocence with genuine emotion and curiosity; only Fraser could pull off Adam’s first glimpse of a sunrise or the ocean with both humor and pathos. Also winning is Dave Foley as Silverstone’s gay best friend, who manages to make the most innocuous statements sound like comic gems. –Mark Englehart

Kung Fu Hustle (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Sony Pictures
Asin: B0009S4IHY
Label: Sony Pictures
UserComment: Stephen Chow (director and star of Shaolin Soccer) is at it again with his newest action-packed and comedic martial-arts adventure, KUNG FU HUSTLE. From wildly imaginative kung fu showdowns to dance sequences featuring tuxedoed mobsters, you’ve never seen action this outrageous and characters this zany! With jaw-dropping fight sequences by Yuen Wo Ping (famed action choreographer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix), KUNG FU HUSTLE will blow you away! In a town ruled by the Axe Gang, Sing (Stephen Chow) desperately wants to become a member. He stumbles into a slum ruled by eccentric landlords who turn out to be kung fu masters in disguise. Sing’s actions eventually cause the Axe Gang and the slumlords to engage in an explosive kung fu battle. Only one side will win and only one hero will emerge as the greatest kung fu master of all.

Sweet Home Alabama

Director: Andy Tennant
Asin: B00007E2F5
Label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
UserComment: This delightfully entertaining romantic comedy stars Reese Witherspoon (LEGALLY BLONDE) as sophisticated Melanie Carmichael, a rising New York clothing designer who suddenly finds herself engaged to the city’s most eligible bachelor. But this is no fairy tale romance for Melanie. She has skeletons in her fashion-filled closet that include Jake — the backwoods husband she married in high school who refuses to divorce her. Determined to end their marriage and sever all ties with her past once and for all, Melanie returns to Alabama. But home starts to tug at her heartstrings, and what she thought she wanted may not be what she wants at all.

Excalibur

Director: John Boorman
Asin: 6305558167
Label: Warner Home Video
UserComment: This lush retelling of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is a dark and engrossing tale. Director John Boorman (Deliverance) masterfully handles the tale of the mythical sword Excalibur, and its passing from the wizard Merlin to the future king of England. Arthur pulls the famed sword from a stone and is destined to be crowned king. As the king embarks on a passionate love affair with Guenevere, an illegitimate son, and Merlin’s designs on power, threaten Arthur’s reign. The film is visually stunning and unflinching in its scenes of combat and black magic. Featuring an impressive supporting cast, including early work from the likes of Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne, Excalibur is an adaptation of the legend both faithful and bold. –Robert Lane

Over the Hedge (Widescreen Edition)

Director: Tim Johnson
Asin: B000H7JCK0
Label: Dreamworks
UserComment: The pack strikes back! In DreamWorks’ smash hit comedy, a band of hungry forest critters goes “over the hedge” to take a bite out of Suburbia. Plus, check out the All-New Mini-Movie, Hammy’s Boomerang Adventure only on the Over the Hedge DVD… It’s the funniest, furriest, four minutes you’ll see this year!

Dark Crystal (25th Anniversary Edition)

Director: Sony Pictures
Asin: B000R8YC1I
Label: Sony Pictures
UserComment: Enjoy incredible footage from the Henson archives in this 2-disc 25th Anniversary Edition of The Dark Crystal. Travel back in time to the faraway planet of Thra. Cheer on the Mystics as they fight to overthrow the evil Skeksis and take back control of their planet! When Jen, a member of the Gelfling tribe, sets out to find the crystal’s missing shard, his dangerous journey brings him face to face with monsters at every turn. Determined to restore peace to their planet, Jen will not back down! From the brilliant imagination of Jim Henson, this masterpiece of animation recounts the timeless tale of good vs. evil and has become a cult favorite of children and grown-ups alike!

Chicken Run

Director: Nick Park
Asin: B00003CXJ4
Label:
UserComment: There were a lot of disappointments in the 2000 summer movie season, but Chicken Run wasn’t one of them. Made by Aardman Animations, which produced the Oscar-winning Wallace & Gromit shorts, this is a dazzling stop-motion animation film that is both deftly funny and surprisingly touching. The concept is simple: The Great Escape–with chickens. But directors Peter Lord and Nick Park take it much further than that (and remember: there’s a whole generation out there that has no idea who Steve McQueen is). Julia Sawalha voices Ginger, a plucky English hen who has been trying to escape from Tweedy’s chicken farm, where the vicious Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) fries up any chicken who doesn’t produce enough eggs. When egg profits slump, Mrs. Tweedy decides to turn her farm into a chicken-pie factory, giving new urgency to Ginger’s plan. Enter Rocky the Flying Rooster (Mel Gibson), a brash American who has escaped from a circus and promises to teach the chickens to fly to safety. The film is filled with innumerable visual touches and the animation has a tactile quality that makes you want to reach out and touch these funny fowl. Above all, it’s played with intelligence, wit, and heart–a rare combination in any film. While Chicken Run is being marketed to a youth audience, it truly is a family film that operates on both a child and an adult level. It would be a shame if grownups skipped it because they thought it was strictly for kids. –Marshall Fine

Sylvia

Director: Christine Jeffs
Asin: B00005JMJD
Label: Universal Studios
UserComment: The biting poetry and sad life of poet Sylvia Plath form the story of Sylvia, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. This subtle but fascinating movie centers around Plath’s relationship with poet Ted Hughes (Daniel Craig, Love Is the Devil), with whom she fell aggressively in love while a student at Cambridge. Their relationship proved passionate but rocky; many of Plath’s fans blame the depression that eventually led her to suicide on Hughes’s infidelity. Sylvia doesn’t let Hughes off the hook, but it doesn’t paint Plath as a helpless victim either. Paltrow’s superb performance captures the poet’s fierce jealousy and artistic ambition as much as her debilitating sorrow. The movie makes no big statements about Plath’s poetry, letting the troubling details of her life tell their own compelling story. Also featuring Jared Harris, Blythe Danner, and Michael Gambon; the acting is outstanding all around. –Bret Fetzer

Elf (Infinifilm Edition)

Director: New Line Home Entertainment
Asin: B0002F6BRE
Label: New Line Home Entertainment
UserComment: This hilarious Christmas film tells the tale of a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts on Christmas Eve and is transported back to the North Pole and raised as an elf. Years later Buddy learns he is not really an elf and goes on a journey to New York City to find his true identity.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:2 commentaries with Will Ferrell & Director
DVD ROM Features
Deleted Scenes
Featurette:Film school for kids Tag along with Will Ferrell How they made the North Pole Kids on Christmas and more!
Other:2-Disc Infinifilm DVD Widescreen version on Disc 1 and Fullscreen version on Disc 2 Spanish Language Track Elf Karaoke Read-Along Infinifilm Fact Tack Buddy’s Adventure Game Elf Decoder Card and more!

My Cousin Vinny

Director: Jonathan Lynn
Asin: 630592970X
Label: 20th Century Fox
UserComment: Two carefree pals (Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield) traveling through Alabama are mistakenly arrested, and charged with murder. Fortunately, one of them has a cousin who’s a lawyer - Vincent Gam