| Browse by Catagory:
|
| Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season
List price: $59.99
Lowest new price: $35.75
Lowest used price: $31.99
Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
|
It all comes down to this. Television’s most innovative and compelling series comes to a stunning conclusion in ABC’s LOST: The Complete Sixth And Final Season. The critically acclaimed epic drama will finally reveal the fate of the Oceanic 815 survivors and all who have joined their journey, and will uncover even more secrets with never-before-seen content available only on Blu-ray and DVD!
In the aftermath of a monumental explosion, reality shifts for everyone associated with the mystical island. Discover their ultimate destiny on Blu-ray and DVD, complete with exciting bonus features and a fascinating recap to catch you up on everything you need to know about the celebrated series. Complete your LOST collection with this spectacular 5-disc set, and experience the final 16 episodes of a landmark in television history.
Similar Products:
|
|
| NCIS: Season Seven
List price: $55.98
Lowest new price: $37.85
Lowest used price: $29.98
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
|
NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) is more than just an action drama. With liberal doses of humor, it's a show that focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team of special agents forced to work together in high-stress situations. From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, these special agents travel the globe to investigate all crimes with Navy or Marine Corps ties.
"A few months ago, I had not even heard of NCIS," a terrorist remarks in the gripping season opener, "Truth or Consequences," a benchmark episode. Where's he been? NCIS was television's top-rated scripted drama, an impressive achievement for a show in its seventh season. NCIS may not have any Emmys to its credit or generate water cooler buzz, but it's got a devoted fan base who will follow Special Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and the rest of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service wherever their investigations take them. In the brilliantly constructed and executed "Truth or Consequences," it's North Africa, where movie-referencing hunk Special Agent DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and McGee (Sean Murray) have been captured while investigating Ziva's disappearance. For uninitiated "probies," this episode serves as a series primer as DiNozzo, tied to a chair and shot up with sodium pentothal, gives a rundown to his captor about the rest of the team and their standing in the NCIS universe. There is considerable comfort to be taken in the show's format. Episodes usually begin with discovery of a shocking and grisly murder, then office banter and byplay until Gibbs announces said crime ("We got a dead marine, grab your gear") and then the labyrinthine investigation leading to an act 4 twist. This isn't Law and Order, where sometimes the guilty walk. This is NCIS and justice is always served. But it's not the crimes; it's the characters that are at the heart of this series' enduring popularity. This season provides Ziva (Cote de Pablo) with an especially satisfying arc as she quits the Mossad to become an actual NCIS agent and studies for her United States citizenship exam. Her will they-won't they romantic tension with DiNozzo simmers satisfactorily over the course of the season. Season 7 comes full circle with Gibbs's capture by Mexican drug cartel leader Paloma Reynosa, seeking revenge for Gibbs's murder of her father. She offers him a career change. "You might as well put a bullet in my head," Gibbs predictably replies. But she ups the ante in an unspeakably bad way that is the stuff season-ending cliffhangers are made of. This DVD contains interesting special features that immerse viewers in the production of the series, from the sound design to the design of Gibbs's house, which is seen for the first time this season. --Donald Liebenson
Similar Products:
|
|
| The Bourne Trilogy (The Bourne Identity / The Bourne Supremacy / The Bourne Ultimatum) (Slim Packaging) [Blu-ray]
![The Bourne Trilogy (The Bourne Identity / The Bourne Supremacy / The Bourne Ultimatum) (Slim Packaging) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51LCUGd4T-L._SL160_.jpg)
List price: $69.98
Lowest new price: $31.04
Lowest used price: $29.74
Brand: Universal Studios
|
Get ready for non-stop action, edge-of-your-seat suspense and spectacular chase sequences with everyone’s favorite assassin in The Bourne Trilogy! Matt Damon is Jason Bourne, an elite government agent determined to outwit and outmaneuver anyone who stands in the way of his finding out the secrets of his mysterious past. Follow his explosive, action-packed adventures in three blockbuster films from one of the most popular series of all time: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. Loaded with hours of bonus features, The Bourne Trilogy is the complete Bourne experience for movie fans everywhere!
The Bourne Identity
Freely adapted from Robert Ludlum's 1980 bestseller, The Bourne Identity starts fast and never slows down. The twisting plot revs up in Zurich, where amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), with no memory of his name, profession, or recent activities, recruits a penniless German traveler (Run Lola Run's Franka Potente) to assist in solving the puzzle of his missing identity. While his CIA superior (Chris Cooper) dispatches assassins to kill Bourne and thus cover up his failed mission, Bourne exercises his lethal training to leave a trail of bodies from Switzerland to Paris. Director Doug Liman (Go) infuses Ludlum's intricate plotting with a maverick's eye for character detail, matching breathtaking action with the humorous, thrill-seeking chemistry of Damon and Potente. Previously made as a 1988 TV movie starring Richard Chamberlain, The Bourne Identity benefits from the sharp talent of rising stars, offering intelligent, crowd-pleasing excitement from start to finish. --Jeff Shannon
The Bourne Supremacy
Good enough to suggest long-term franchise potential, The Bourne Supremacy is a thriller fans will appreciate for its well-crafted suspense, and for its triumph of competence over logic (or lack thereof). Picking up where The Bourne Identity left off, the action begins when CIA assassin and partial amnesiac Jason Bourne (a role reprised with efficient intensity by Matt Damon) is framed for a murder in Berlin, setting off a chain reaction of pursuits involving CIA handlers (led by Joan Allen and the duplicitous Brian Cox, with Julia Stiles returning from the previous film) and a shadowy Russian oil magnate. The fast-paced action hurtles from India to Berlin, Moscow, and Italy, and as he did with the critically acclaimed Bloody Sunday, director Paul Greengrass puts you right in the thick of it with split-second editing (too much of it, actually) and a knack for well-sustained tension. It doesn't all make sense, and bears little resemblance to Robert Ludlum's novel, but with Damon proving to be an appealingly unconventional action hero, there's plenty to look forward to. --Jeff Shannon
The Bourne Ultimatum
The often breathtaking, final installment in the Bourne trilogy finds the titular assassin with no memory closing in on his past, finally answering his own questions about his real identity and how he came to be a seemingly unstoppable killing machine. Matt Damon returns for another intensely physical performance as Jason Bourne, the rogue operative at war with the CIA, which made him who and what he is and managed to kill his girlfriend in the series' second film, The Bourne Supremacy. Now looking for payback, Bourne goes in search for the renegade chief of CIA operations in Europe and North Africa, partnering for a time with a mysterious woman from his past (Julia Stiles) and constantly--constantly--on the run from assassins, intelligence foot soldiers, and cops. Directed by Paul Greengrass (United 93) with the director’s thrilling, trademark textures and shaky, documentary style, The Bourne Ultimatum is largely a succession of action scenes that reveal a lot about the story’s characters while they’re under duress. Joan Allen, Albert Finney, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, and Paddy Considine comprise the film’s terrific supporting cast, and the well-traveled movie leads viewers through Turin, Madrid, Tangiers, Paris, London, and New York. Overall, this is a satisfying conclusion to Bourne’s exciting and protracted mystery. --Tom Keogh Click to learn more about the BD-Live Experience
Similar Products:
|
|
| Lost: The Complete Collection [Blu-ray]
![Lost: The Complete Collection [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YBEEb%2BLvL._SL160_.jpg)
List price: $279.99
Lowest new price: $194.99
Lowest used price: $193.00
|
Watch the entire epic story of Lost – the series that redefined television – from its phenomenal opening scene to its magnificent final moment. Uncover the secrets of what caused Oceanic 815 to crash, what ultimately drew the passengers together, and relive their incredible journey as they battle to rewrite their own fate. Experience a landmark in the history of entertainment with Lost: The Complete Collection, featuring every episode of all six seasons and includes one full disc of never-before-seen bonus with over two hours of content exclusive to the complete collection. Television doesn’t get any better than this.
Lost: Season One
Along with Desperate Housewives, Lost was one of the two breakout shows in the fall of 2004. Mixing suspense and action with a sci-fi twist, it began with a thrilling pilot episode in which a jetliner traveling from Australia to Los Angeles crashes, leaving 48 survivors on an unidentified island with no sign of civilization or hope of imminent rescue. That may sound like Gilligan's Island meets Survivor, but Lost kept viewers tuning in every Wednesday night--and spending the rest of the week speculating on Web sites--with some irresistible hooks (not to mention the beautiful women). First, there's a huge ensemble cast of no fewer than 14 regular characters, and each episode fills in some of the back story on one of them. There's a doctor; an Iraqi soldier; a has-been rock star; a fugitive from justice; a self-absorbed young woman and her brother; a lottery winner; a father and son; a Korean couple; a pregnant woman; and others. Second, there's a host of unanswered questions: What is the mysterious beast that lurks in the jungle? Why do polar bears and wild boars live there? Why has a woman been transmitting an SOS message in French from somewhere on the island for the last 16 years? Why do impossible wishes seem to come true? Are they really on a physical island, or somewhere else? What is the significance of the recurring set of numbers? And will Kate ever give up her bad-boy fixation and hook up with Jack? Lost did have some hiccups during the first season. Some plot threads were left dangling for weeks, and the "oh, it didn't really happen" card was played too often. But the strong writing and topnotch cast kept the show a cut above most network TV. The best-known actor at the time of the show's debut was Dominic Monaghan, fresh off his stint as Merry the Hobbit in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. The rest of the cast is either unknowns or "where I have I seen that face before" supporting players, including Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, who are the closest thing to leads. Other standouts include Naveen Andrews, Terry O'Quinn (who's made a nice career out of conspiracy-themed TV shows), Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Maggie Grace, and Emilie de Ravin, but there's really not a weak link in the cast. Co-created by J.J. Abrams (Alias), Lost left enough unanswered questions after its first season to keep viewers riveted for a second season. --David Horiuchi
Lost: Season Two
What was in the Hatch? The cliffhanger from season one of Lost was answered in its opening sequences, only to launch into more questions as the season progressed. That's right: Just when you say "Ohhhhh," there comes another "What?" Thankfully, the show's producers sprinkle answers like tasty morsels throughout the season, ending with a whopper: What caused Oceanic Air Flight 815 to crash in the first place? As the show digs into more revelations about its inhabitant's pasts, it also devotes a good chunk to new characters (Hey, it's an island; you never know who you're going to run into.) First, there are the "Tailies," passengers from the back end of the plane who crashed on the other side of the island. Among them are the wise, God-fearing ex-drug lord Mr. Eko (standout Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje); devoted husband Bernard (Sam Anderson); psychiatrist Libby (Cynthia Watros, whose character has more than one hidden link to the other islanders); and ex-cop Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), by far the most infuriating character on the show, despite how much the writers tried to incur sympathy with her flashback. Then there are the Others, first introduced when they kidnapped Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) at the end of season one. Brutal and calculating, their agenda only became more complex when one of them (played creepily by Michael Emerson) was held hostage in the hatch and, quite handily, plays mind games on everyone's already frayed nerves. The original cast continues to battle their own skeletons, most notably Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Michael (Harold Perrineau), whose obsession with finding Walt takes a dangerous turn. The love triangle between Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway), which had stalled with Sawyer's departure, heats up again in the second half. Despite the bloating cast size (knocked down by a few by season's end) Lost still does what it does best: explores the psyche of people, about whom "my life is an open book" never applies, and cracks into the social dynamics of strangers thrust into Lord of the Flies-esque situations. Is it all a science experiment? A dream? A supernatural pocket in the universe? Likely, any theory will wind up on shaky ground by the season's conclusion. But hey, that's the fun of it. This show was made for DVD, and you can pause and slow-frame to your heart's content. Just try and keep that head-spinning to a minimum.--Ellen Kim
Lost: Season Three
When it aired in 2006-07, Lost's third season was split into two, with a hefty break in between. This did nothing to help the already weirdly disparate direction the show was taking (Kate and Sawyer in zoo cages! Locke eating goop in a mud hut!), but when it finally righted its course halfway through--in particular that whopper of a finale--the drama series had left its irked fan base thrilled once again. This doesn't mean, however, that you should skip through the first half of the season to get there, because quite a few questions find answers: what the Others are up to, the impact of turning that fail-safe key, the identity of the eye-patched man from the hatch's video monitor. One of the series' biggest curiosities from the past--how Locke ended up in that wheelchair in the first place--also gets its satisfying due. (The episode, "The Man from Tallahassee," likely was a big contributor to Terry O'Quinn's surprising--but long-deserved--Emmy win that year.) Unfortunately, you do have to sit through a lot of aforementioned nuisances to get there. Season 3 kicks off with Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) held captive by the Others; Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) on a mission to rescue them; and Locke, Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) in the aftermath of the electromagnetic pulse that blew up the hatch. Spinning the storylines away from base camp alone wouldn't have felt so disjointed were it not for the new characters simultaneously being introduced. First there's Juliet, a mysterious member of the Others whose loyalty constantly comes into question as the season goes on. Played delicately by Elizabeth Mitchell (Gia, ER, Frequency), Juliet is in one turn a cold-blooded killer, by another turn a sympathetic friend; possibly both at once, possibly neither at all. (She's also a terrific, albeit unwitting, threat to the Kate-Sawyer-Jack love triangle, which plays out more definitively this season.) On the other hand, there's the now-infamous Nikki and Paulo (Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro), a tagalong couple who were cleverly woven into the previous seasons' key moments but came to bear the brunt of fans' ire toward the show (Sawyer humorously echoed the sentiments by remarking, "Who the hell are you?"). By the end of the season, at least two major characters die, another is told he/she will die within months, major new threats are unveiled, and--as mentioned before--the two-part season finale restores your faith in the series. The extras are as well-stocked as a Dharma Initiative food pantry on this seven-disc set. Commentaries by producer Damon Lindelof, show writers, and numerous cast members reveal a whole lot of juicy trivia; plus, the DVDs even provide a subtitle track for the commentary (rarely seen other than on foreign-language director's commentaries) so you won't miss a thing. "Lost Book Club" goes through the parallels between what characters are reading and the show's storylines (The Wizard of Oz and Stephen King are heavily referenced). "Lost: On Location" gives a lot of insight to some of the biggest episodes, and "Lost in a Day" gives a 24-hour glimpse at the drama's arduous production. If you're a Lost fan who gave up during this season, the bonus features alone might lure you back for the next round. --Ellen A. Kim
Lost: Season Four
Season four of Lost was a fine return to form for the series, which polarized its audience the year before with its focus on The Others and not enough on our original crash victims. That season's finale introduced a new storytelling device--the flash-forward--that's employed to great effect this time around; by showing who actually got off the island (known as the Oceanic Six), the viewer is able to put to bed some longstanding loose ends. As the finale attests, we see that in the future Jack (Matthew Fox) is broken, bearded, and not sober, while Kate (Evangeline Lilly) is estranged from Jack and with another guy (the identity may surprise you). Four others do make it back to their homes, but as the flash-forwards show, it's definitely not the end of their connection to the island. Back in present day, however, the islanders are visited by the denizens of a so-called rescue ship, who have agendas of their own. While Jack works with the newcomers to try to get off the island, Locke (Terry O'Quinn), with a few followers of his own, forms an uneasy alliance with Ben (Michael Emerson) against the suspicious gang. Some episodes featuring the new characters feel like filler, but the evolution of such characters as Sun and Jin (Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim) is this season's strength; plus, the love story of Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) and Penny (Sonya Walger) provides some of the show's emotional highlights. As is the custom with Lost, bullets fly and characters die (while others may or may not have). Moreover, the fate of Michael (Harold Perrineau), last seen traitorously sailing off to civilization in season two, as well as the flash-forwards of the Oceanic Six, shows you never quite leave the island once you've left. There's a force that pulls them in, and it's a hook that keeps you watching. Season four was a shorter 13 episodes instead of the usual 22 due to the 2008 writers' strike; nonetheless, the set comes with two discs of extras. One of the best features is "LOST in 8:15," which is a rapid-fire summation of the series thus far in eight minutes, 15 seconds. Narrated by a hilariously droll female, it includes lines such as "Jack meets Kate. Kate stitches up Jack. They bond." and "They see Jack play football with Mr. Friendly. Mr. Friendly throws like a girl." The featurette "The Right to Bear Arms" takes a fun look at the prop masters responsible for supplying the castaways with guns--and keeping track of who has one and who doesn't (best here is Sawyer's (Josh Holloway) assertion that characters often cock their guns just to look cool). Cast members Lilly, Garcia, Yunjin Kim, and Daniel Dae Kim provide a few of the commentaries, and the set even comes with an amusing safety guide for Oceanic Airlines. (Example: "if you notice black smoke emanating from the plane, please alert the captain. It is either a problem with the engines or a mysterious creature.") Finally, for those who bought the standard-def DVD, take a closer look at the front cover after you've removed the O-sleeve; you'll notice the entire cast has been blacked out save for a few: the Oceanic Six. --Ellen A. Kim
Lost: Season Five
Since Lost made its debut as a cult phenomenon in 2004, certain things seemed inconceivable. In its fourth year, some of those things, like a rescue, came to pass. The season ended with Locke (Terry O'Quinn) attempting to persuade the Oceanic Six to return, but he dies before that can happen--or so it appears--and where Jack (Matthew Fox) used to lead, Ben (Emmy nominee Michael Emerson) now takes the reins and convinces the survivors to fulfill Locke's wish. As producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse state in their commentary on the fifth-season premiere, "We're doing time travel this year," and the pile-up of flashbacks and flash-forwards will make even the most dedicated fan dizzy. Ben, Jack, Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) arrive to find that Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) have been part of the Dharma Initiative for three years. The writers also clarify the roles that Richard (Nestor Carbonell) and Daniel (Jeremy Davies) play in the island's master plan, setting the stage for the prophecies of Daniel's mother, Eloise Hawking (Fionnula Flanagan), to play a bigger part in the sixth and final season. Dozens of other players flit in and out, some never to return. A few, such as Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), live again in the past. Lost could've wrapped things up in five years, as The Wire did, but the show continues to excite and surprise. As Lindelof and Cuse admit in the commentary, there's a "fine line between confusion and mystery," adding, "it makes more sense if you're drunk." Other extras include deleted scenes, featurettes, a "lost" episode of Mysteries of the Universe, and commentary from writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz on "He's Our You," a reference to Sayid, who tries to change the future by changing the past. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Lost: Season Six:
Editorial reviews coming soon.
Similar Products:
|
|
| Kick-Ass (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
List price: $39.99
Lowest new price: $19.85
Lowest used price: $15.42
Brand: Lions Gate
|
“How come nobody’s ever tried to be a superhero?” When Dave Lizewski – ordinary New York teenager and rabid comic-book geek – dons a green-and-yellow Internet-bought wetsuit to become the no-nonsense vigilante Kick-Ass, he soon finds an answer to his own question: because it hurts. But, over coming all the odds, the eager yet inexperienced Dave quickly becomes a phenomenon, capturing the imagination of the public. However, he’s not the only superhero out there – the fearless and highly trained father-daughter crime-fighting duo, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, have been slowly but surely taking down the criminal empire of local mafioso Frank D’Amico. And, as Kick-Ass gets drawn into their no-holds-barred world of bullets and bloodletting with Frank’s son Chris, now reborn as Kick-Ass’s arch-nemesis Red Mist, the stage is set for a final showdown between the forces of good and evil, in which the DIY hero will have to live up to his name. Or die trying…
The cinematic equivalent of a half case of Red Bull chased with donuts, Kick-Ass is a giddy, violent experience--and not your average superhero movie. Based on the comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., it offers a set of heroes who are decidedly without superpowers: Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) decides he'll be just like a comic-book character, and puts on a ridiculous green suit to fight crime as the mysterious Kick-Ass. Luckily, somebody else had the same idea and comes along to rescue the incompetent crusader: Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and his daughter Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz), who also happen to be running around town wearing masks and vanquishing evil. And here we have the movie's masterstroke: Hit Girl, a pint-sized preteen who slaughters bad guys and swears like a sailor on leave (and was the focus of a measure of controversy when the movie was released). The main target of our heroes is a gangster (Mark Strong, Sherlock Holmes), whose neglected son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, McLovin from Superbad) figures he might just pull on a costume himself and become… Red Mist! (One of the many funny things about Kick-Ass is that the superhero names are hopelessly lame.) Director Matthew Vaughn is operating at the same glib level as his Layer Cake, with cutesy song cues galore and a freewheeling appetite for cartoon violence. This means the movie's high wears off quickly, but it does get high--a crazy, hilarious (and by the way: decidedly R-rated) kick. All that, plus Nicolas Cage executes a deadly Adam West imitation when he pulls on his cape and cowl. That's entertainment. --Robert Horton
Stills from Kick-Ass (Click for larger image)
Similar Products:
|
|
| Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season [Blu-ray]
![Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51OfO6I-qsL._SL160_.jpg)
List price: $79.99
Lowest new price: $39.00
Lowest used price: $33.99
Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
|
It all comes down to this. Television’s most innovative and compelling series comes to a stunning conclusion in ABC’s LOST: The Complete Sixth And Final Season. The critically acclaimed epic drama will finally reveal the fate of the Oceanic 815 survivors and all who have joined their journey, and will uncover even more secrets with never-before-seen content available only on Blu-ray and DVD!
In the aftermath of a monumental explosion, reality shifts for everyone associated with the mystical island. Discover their ultimate destiny on Blu-ray and DVD, complete with exciting bonus features and a fascinating recap to catch you up on everything you need to know about the celebrated series. Complete your LOST collection with this spectacular 5-disc set, and experience the final 16 episodes of a landmark in television history.
Similar Products:
|
|
| The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
List price: $29.95
Lowest new price: $10.90
Lowest used price: $9.74
Brand: SOUTHPORT MUSIC BOX CORPO
|
Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her beloved uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and the tattooed and troubled but resourceful computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair link Harriet s disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vanger s are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.
Fans of Stieg Larsson's Men Who Hate Women may have been concerned about how the Swedish author's novel would translate to the screen, but they needn't have worried. Significant changes to the source material have been made, but director Niels Arden Opley's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as it's now called, is mostly riveting. As the story begins, middle-aged investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) has just been convicted of a bogus charge of libel against a rich and corrupt corporate hotshot when he's unexpectedly offered a most unusual gig. An aging captain of industry named Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube) wants Blomkvist to figure out what happened to Vanger's niece, who disappeared more than 40 years earlier; not only is the old man convinced that she was murdered, but he suspects that another member of his large and rather disagreeable family (which includes several former Nazis) is the culprit. Blomkvist takes the job, which includes spending at least six months on Vanger's isolated island in the middle of winter. But what he doesn't know is that he's being spied on by twentysomething Lisbeth Salander (brilliantly played by Noomi Rapace in a career-making performance), the titular Girl and the possessor of remarkable skills as a sleuth and computer hacker. With her gothlike piercings and all-black clothes, Lisbeth is a vivid character, to say the least. While we don't exactly know the details of her dark past, it's obviously still with her; indeed, she's just been assigned a new "guardian" (like a parole officer) to look after her finances and other matters. We also know that she is not someone to mess with; when the guardian turns out to be a thoroughly vile monster, Lisbeth gets back at him in one of the more satisfying revenge sequences in recent memory. That Lisbeth and Mikael should end up working together, and more, isn't especially surprising. But the horrifying details and depths of depravity they uncover while working on the case (parallels to The Silence of the Lambs are facile but appropriate) definitely are, and Opley does a nice job of keeping it all straight. At more than two and a half hours, the film is long, with its share of grim, graphic, and scary moments, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a winner. --Sam Graham
Similar Products:
|
|
| Lost: The Complete Collection
List price: $229.99
Lowest new price: $148.99
Lowest used price: $140.00
|
Watch the entire epic story of Lost – the series that redefined television – from its phenomenal opening scene to its magnificent final moment. Uncover the secrets of what caused Oceanic 815 to crash, what ultimately drew the passengers together, and relive their incredible journey as they battle to rewrite their own fate. Experience a landmark in the history of entertainment with Lost: The Complete Collection, featuring every episode of all six seasons and includes one full disc of never-before-seen bonus with over two hours of content exclusive to the complete collection. Television doesn’t get any better than this.
Lost: Season One
Along with Desperate Housewives, Lost was one of the two breakout shows in the fall of 2004. Mixing suspense and action with a sci-fi twist, it began with a thrilling pilot episode in which a jetliner traveling from Australia to Los Angeles crashes, leaving 48 survivors on an unidentified island with no sign of civilization or hope of imminent rescue. That may sound like Gilligan's Island meets Survivor, but Lost kept viewers tuning in every Wednesday night--and spending the rest of the week speculating on Web sites--with some irresistible hooks (not to mention the beautiful women). First, there's a huge ensemble cast of no fewer than 14 regular characters, and each episode fills in some of the back story on one of them. There's a doctor; an Iraqi soldier; a has-been rock star; a fugitive from justice; a self-absorbed young woman and her brother; a lottery winner; a father and son; a Korean couple; a pregnant woman; and others. Second, there's a host of unanswered questions: What is the mysterious beast that lurks in the jungle? Why do polar bears and wild boars live there? Why has a woman been transmitting an SOS message in French from somewhere on the island for the last 16 years? Why do impossible wishes seem to come true? Are they really on a physical island, or somewhere else? What is the significance of the recurring set of numbers? And will Kate ever give up her bad-boy fixation and hook up with Jack? Lost did have some hiccups during the first season. Some plot threads were left dangling for weeks, and the "oh, it didn't really happen" card was played too often. But the strong writing and topnotch cast kept the show a cut above most network TV. The best-known actor at the time of the show's debut was Dominic Monaghan, fresh off his stint as Merry the Hobbit in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. The rest of the cast is either unknowns or "where I have I seen that face before" supporting players, including Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, who are the closest thing to leads. Other standouts include Naveen Andrews, Terry O'Quinn (who's made a nice career out of conspiracy-themed TV shows), Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Maggie Grace, and Emilie de Ravin, but there's really not a weak link in the cast. Co-created by J.J. Abrams (Alias), Lost left enough unanswered questions after its first season to keep viewers riveted for a second season. --David Horiuchi
Lost: Season Two
What was in the Hatch? The cliffhanger from season one of Lost was answered in its opening sequences, only to launch into more questions as the season progressed. That's right: Just when you say "Ohhhhh," there comes another "What?" Thankfully, the show's producers sprinkle answers like tasty morsels throughout the season, ending with a whopper: What caused Oceanic Air Flight 815 to crash in the first place? As the show digs into more revelations about its inhabitant's pasts, it also devotes a good chunk to new characters (Hey, it's an island; you never know who you're going to run into.) First, there are the "Tailies," passengers from the back end of the plane who crashed on the other side of the island. Among them are the wise, God-fearing ex-drug lord Mr. Eko (standout Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje); devoted husband Bernard (Sam Anderson); psychiatrist Libby (Cynthia Watros, whose character has more than one hidden link to the other islanders); and ex-cop Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), by far the most infuriating character on the show, despite how much the writers tried to incur sympathy with her flashback. Then there are the Others, first introduced when they kidnapped Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) at the end of season one. Brutal and calculating, their agenda only became more complex when one of them (played creepily by Michael Emerson) was held hostage in the hatch and, quite handily, plays mind games on everyone's already frayed nerves. The original cast continues to battle their own skeletons, most notably Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Michael (Harold Perrineau), whose obsession with finding Walt takes a dangerous turn. The love triangle between Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway), which had stalled with Sawyer's departure, heats up again in the second half. Despite the bloating cast size (knocked down by a few by season's end) Lost still does what it does best: explores the psyche of people, about whom "my life is an open book" never applies, and cracks into the social dynamics of strangers thrust into Lord of the Flies-esque situations. Is it all a science experiment? A dream? A supernatural pocket in the universe? Likely, any theory will wind up on shaky ground by the season's conclusion. But hey, that's the fun of it. This show was made for DVD, and you can pause and slow-frame to your heart's content. Just try and keep that head-spinning to a minimum.---Ellen Kim
Lost: Season Three
When it aired in 2006-07, Lost's third season was split into two, with a hefty break in between. This did nothing to help the already weirdly disparate direction the show was taking (Kate and Sawyer in zoo cages! Locke eating goop in a mud hut!), but when it finally righted its course halfway through--in particular that whopper of a finale--the drama series had left its irked fan base thrilled once again. This doesn't mean, however, that you should skip through the first half of the season to get there, because quite a few questions find answers: what the Others are up to, the impact of turning that fail-safe key, the identity of the eye-patched man from the hatch's video monitor. One of the series' biggest curiosities from the past--how Locke ended up in that wheelchair in the first place--also gets its satisfying due. (The episode, "The Man from Tallahassee," likely was a big contributor to Terry O'Quinn's surprising--but long-deserved--Emmy win that year.) Unfortunately, you do have to sit through a lot of aforementioned nuisances to get there. Season 3 kicks off with Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) held captive by the Others; Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) on a mission to rescue them; and Locke, Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) in the aftermath of the electromagnetic pulse that blew up the hatch. Spinning the storylines away from base camp alone wouldn't have felt so disjointed were it not for the new characters simultaneously being introduced. First there's Juliet, a mysterious member of the Others whose loyalty constantly comes into question as the season goes on. Played delicately by Elizabeth Mitchell (Gia, ER, Frequency), Juliet is in one turn a cold-blooded killer, by another turn a sympathetic friend; possibly both at once, possibly neither at all. (She's also a terrific, albeit unwitting, threat to the Kate-Sawyer-Jack love triangle, which plays out more definitively this season.) On the other hand, there's the now-infamous Nikki and Paulo (Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro), a tagalong couple who were cleverly woven into the previous seasons' key moments but came to bear the brunt of fans' ire toward the show (Sawyer humorously echoed the sentiments by remarking, "Who the hell are you?"). By the end of the season, at least two major characters die, another is told he/she will die within months, major new threats are unveiled, and--as mentioned before--the two-part season finale restores your faith in the series. The extras are as well-stocked as a Dharma Initiative food pantry on this seven-disc set. Commentaries by producer Damon Lindelof, show writers, and numerous cast members reveal a whole lot of juicy trivia; plus, the DVDs even provide a subtitle track for the commentary (rarely seen other than on foreign-language director's commentaries) so you won't miss a thing. "Lost Book Club" goes through the parallels between what characters are reading and the show's storylines (The Wizard of Oz and Stephen King are heavily referenced). "Lost: On Location" gives a lot of insight to some of the biggest episodes, and "Lost in a Day" gives a 24-hour glimpse at the drama's arduous production. If you're a Lost fan who gave up during this season, the bonus features alone might lure you back for the next round. --Ellen A. Kim
Lost: Season Four
Season four of Lost was a fine return to form for the series, which polarized its audience the year before with its focus on The Others and not enough on our original crash victims. That season's finale introduced a new storytelling device--the flash-forward--that's employed to great effect this time around; by showing who actually got off the island (known as the Oceanic Six), the viewer is able to put to bed some longstanding loose ends. As the finale attests, we see that in the future Jack (Matthew Fox) is broken, bearded, and not sober, while Kate (Evangeline Lilly) is estranged from Jack and with another guy (the identity may surprise you). Four others do make it back to their homes, but as the flash-forwards show, it's definitely not the end of their connection to the island. Back in present day, however, the islanders are visited by the denizens of a so-called rescue ship, who have agendas of their own. While Jack works with the newcomers to try to get off the island, Locke (Terry O'Quinn), with a few followers of his own, forms an uneasy alliance with Ben (Michael Emerson) against the suspicious gang. Some episodes featuring the new characters feel like filler, but the evolution of such characters as Sun and Jin (Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim) is this season's strength; plus, the love story of Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) and Penny (Sonya Walger) provides some of the show's emotional highlights. As is the custom with Lost, bullets fly and characters die (while others may or may not have). Moreover, the fate of Michael (Harold Perrineau), last seen traitorously sailing off to civilization in season two, as well as the flash-forwards of the Oceanic Six, shows you never quite leave the island once you've left. There's a force that pulls them in, and it's a hook that keeps you watching. Season four was a shorter 13 episodes instead of the usual 22 due to the 2008 writers' strike; nonetheless, the set comes with two discs of extras. One of the best features is "LOST in 8:15," which is a rapid-fire summation of the series thus far in eight minutes, 15 seconds. Narrated by a hilariously droll female, it includes lines such as "Jack meets Kate. Kate stitches up Jack. They bond." and "They see Jack play football with Mr. Friendly. Mr. Friendly throws like a girl." The featurette "The Right to Bear Arms" takes a fun look at the prop masters responsible for supplying the castaways with guns--and keeping track of who has one and who doesn't (best here is Sawyer's (Josh Holloway) assertion that characters often cock their guns just to look cool). Cast members Lilly, Garcia, Yunjin Kim, and Daniel Dae Kim provide a few of the commentaries, and the set even comes with an amusing safety guide for Oceanic Airlines. (Example: "if you notice black smoke emanating from the plane, please alert the captain. It is either a problem with the engines or a mysterious creature.") Finally, for those who bought the standard-def DVD, take a closer look at the front cover after you've removed the O-sleeve; you'll notice the entire cast has been blacked out save for a few: the Oceanic Six. --Ellen A. Kim
Lost: Season Five
Since Lost made its debut as a cult phenomenon in 2004, certain things seemed inconceivable. In its fourth year, some of those things, like a rescue, came to pass. The season ended with Locke (Terry O'Quinn) attempting to persuade the Oceanic Six to return, but he dies before that can happen--or so it appears--and where Jack (Matthew Fox) used to lead, Ben (Emmy nominee Michael Emerson) now takes the reins and convinces the survivors to fulfill Locke's wish. As producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse state in their commentary on the fifth-season premiere, "We're doing time travel this year," and the pile-up of flashbacks and flash-forwards will make even the most dedicated fan dizzy. Ben, Jack, Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) arrive to find that Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) have been part of the Dharma Initiative for three years. The writers also clarify the roles that Richard (Nestor Carbonell) and Daniel (Jeremy Davies) play in the island's master plan, setting the stage for the prophecies of Daniel's mother, Eloise Hawking (Fionnula Flanagan), to play a bigger part in the sixth and final season. Dozens of other players flit in and out, some never to return. A few, such as Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), live again in the past. Lost could've wrapped things up in five years, as The Wire did, but the show continues to excite and surprise. As Lindelof and Cuse admit in the commentary, there's a "fine line between confusion and mystery," adding, "it makes more sense if you're drunk." Other extras include deleted scenes, featurettes, a "lost" episode of Mysteries of the Universe, and commentary from writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz on "He's Our You," a reference to Sayid, who tries to change the future by changing the past. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Lost: Season Six:
Editorial reviews coming soon.
Similar Products:
|
|
| Date Night
List price: $29.98
Lowest new price: $10.32
Lowest used price: $8.36
Brand: TCFHE
|
Steve Carell and Tina Fey are “a match made in comedy heaven” (Ben Lyons, E!) in this uproarious adventure about an ordinary couple in the right place...on the wrong night. Phil and Claire Foster are a sensible, suburban husband and wife slogging through their daily lives and marriage. But a case of mistaken identity sets off a n outrageous chain of events involving small-time thieves, big-city mobsters, corrupt cops and a crazed cabbie, as the Fosters’ “date night” turns into a wild ride they’ll never forget!
Tina Fey and Steve Carell are two of the most charming performers in entertainment today. Their goofy attractiveness makes them a perfect couple in Date Night: an unremarkable husband and wife from New Jersey, they get mistaken for crooks in Manhattan, sending them on a wild night replete with snooty wait staff, crooked cops, glitter-specked strippers, a shirtless superspy (Mark Wahlberg, as buff as ever), and a preposterous car chase. The movie makes no effort to be remotely plausible and the last third really goes off the rails, and it would probably be better served by less familiar faces in minor roles (bit parts are played by Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig, Common, James Franco, Mila Kunis, William Fichtner, and Ray Liotta). It's disappointing that the dialogue doesn't crackle the way it does on 30 Rock or The Office. But Fey and Carell carry the movie along through sheer nerdy pluck. Rarely does a couple in a movie seem genuinely devoted to each other, not out of wild passion, but for all the things that a real marriage is built on: patience, shared humor, a willingness to deal with day-to-day annoyances, and simple affection. Fey and Carell seem like a couple you'd actually enjoy going out to dinner with. In today's world, that's more romantic than sunsets and bouquets of roses. --Bret Fetzer
Similar Products:
|
|
| True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series)
List price: $59.99
Lowest new price: $21.49
Lowest used price: $24.23
|
TRUE BLOOD chronicles the backwoods Louisiana town of Bon Temps... where vampires have emerged from the coffin, and no longer need humans for their fix. Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin, Golden Globe(R)-winner for "True Blood", Academy Award®-winner for “The Piano”) works as a waitress at the rural bar Merlotte's. Though outwardly a typical young woman, she keeps a dangerous secret: she has the ability to hear the thoughts of others. Her situation is further complicated when the bar gets its first vampire patron - 173-year old Bill Compton (Steven Moyer, "Quills") - and the two outsiders are immediately drawn to each other. Delivering the best of what audiences have come to expect from Creator and Executive Producer Alan Ball (writer of Oscar®-winning Best Picture “American Beauty”, creator of the Emmy® Award-winning HBO® series “Six Feet Under”), TRUE BLOOD is a dark and sexy tale that boldly delves into the heart - and the neck - of the Deep South. DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Documentary
Other
Alan Ball’s True Blood series works well for television, as it has enough sensationalism to tantalize and enough story girth to make the viewer care about the characters. That one can finally invest emotion into monsters, including an undead Civil War victim, a transformer who can shapeshift into various animals, and a female mind reader, speaks volumes about America’s willingness to accept fantasy. Of course, television has always produced good fantasy shows (I Dream of Jeannie), but True Blood’s Southern Goth brand of fun horror is more macabre and more perverse, not to mention gorier, than most shows of its kind to date. Adapted from Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, True Blood thrills because of its equal blend in each episode of erotica, humor, tragedy, mystery, and fantasy. Set in a rural, swampy Louisiana parrish, the show centers around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and her clan, sweet grandmother Adele (Lois Smith) and air-headed brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten). Illicit love is spawned early on, when Sookie saves vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) from having his blood stolen in the parking lot of Merlotte’s diner, owned by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) who completes what will form a complex love triangle. As tensions between Sookie’s suitors loosen or tighten, many side plots, such as her African American best friend Tara’s (Rutina Wesley) struggle with an alcoholic, Bible-thumping mother and her brother’s dangerous crush on drug addicted hippie, Amy Burley (Lizzy Caplan), keep one wondering who will succeed in this podunk place. The main tension throughout, however, is a race war waged between vampires and humans. As murders of “fang bangers” occur (human girls who let vampires bite them) and dumb policeman Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) fails to find clues, one sees the metaphorical implications of vampirism and feels deeper resonance with what can be a downright trashy show. Gossip galore, especially about what kinds of babies interbreeding will produce, is rampant. One of the funniest characters is Tara’s flamboyant cousin, Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), who deals drugs, works as a fry cook, and services the local white politicians, while making sure he’s always up in everyone’s business. What makes True Blood smarter than pure soap opera is the parallels it draws between its monster mash and actual, familiar societal problems. Sookie and her friends watch the news, where Evangelicals bash vampires and prohibit mixed marriage, and everyone is addicted to V, a.k.a vampire blood, that effects like psychedelic heroin. Even its gore reflects a mix of serious and silly, as vampires explode into red, sticky goop. Though it may not be attempting to qualify for the best vampire footage ever shot, True Blood is as addictive as that substance the town’s youth obsesses over, which is a metaphor in itself. --Trinie Dalton
Stills from True Blood (Click for larger image)
Features:
- True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series)
Similar Products:
|
|
Next >>
Page 1 of 2806
[Kindle]
|
