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LITTLE FOCKERS – Screening
Live in Phoenix or the nearby environs? Interested in seeing Little Fockers on December 16? Then, pal, I have just the ticket for you. In fact, I have a lot of tickets so by all means shoot me a line at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com and I’ll see about hooking you up with passes to see it.
Need to know more? Here’s some information:
This holiday season come LITTLE FOCKERS the third installment in this blockbuster series (Meet The Parents and Meet the Fockers.) The test of wills between Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) and Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) escalates to new heights as Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) and Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and the family all get together under the same roof. Laura Dern and Jessica Alba join the returning all-star cast for a new chapter of the worldwide hit franchise.
It has taken 10 years, two little Fockers with wife Pam (Polo) and countless hurdles for Greg to finally get “in” with his tightly wound father-in-law, Jack. After the cash-strapped dad takes a job moonlighting for a drug company, however, Jack’s suspicions about his favorite male nurse come roaring back.
When Greg and Pam’s entire clan — including Pam’s lovelorn ex, Kevin (Owen Wilson) — descends for the twins’ birthday party, Greg must prove to the skeptical Jack that he’s fully capable as the man of the house. But with all the misunderstandings, spying and covert missions, will Greg pass Jack’s final test and become the family’s next patriarch…or will the circle of trust be broken for good?
This laugh out loud comedy, LITTLE FOCKERS will be screening on December 16, and opens in theatres on December 22.
And now, on to the recommendations to make this a merry digital Christmas for that special someone, or something, or yourself, this year:
JEDI JUNKIES – DVD
What a pleasure this film was to watch.
If you’ve seen the documentary Trekkies and appreciated what that film did for fans of the Star Trek then you have to get this for any fan, even tangential ones, of the Star Wars franchise.
What I learned by watching Mark Edlitz’ expose on the fans who are, at times, downright obsessed with this film series is that these fans are just passionate about everything having to do with this property. You have people who have been tattooed, people who have devoted entire rooms of their homes in order to contain their habit, and some who are dedicated enough to teach a class on how to properly use a lightsaber. The overriding lesson that’s learned by watching this documentary is that these are people who are really into this thing that just happens to be Star Wars. What Edlitz gets right in a huge way is making these people normal. I know that doesn’t sound like much but, like in Trekkies, these people showcased aren’t made to look foolish or nerdy. They’re genuine fans of these films and through conversations with these individuals you get that we should see them as champions for something many of us have already written off after so many years of naked greed. It’s an exploration of the nature of fandom and I couldn’t have been more entertained by a well-made and expertly executed treatise on what it means to be a supporter of Star Wars.
You can order the film right here through their website and I couldn’t recommend seeking this out high enough. In fact, if you’re in the market for your own lightsaber, Jedi Junkies is looking to give one out in a contest. So, visit the site, check out the movie, enter the contest, be impressed.
Details on the contest to win your own custom, steel lightsaber:
JEDI JUNKIES
Announces release of DVD and a chance to win a CUSTOM LIGHTSABER!
Star Wars feature documentary, JEDI JUNKIES, is giving fans the chance to win their very own custom, steel lightsaber to celebrate the release of the DVD. To be entered to win, fans need only to LIKE the film’s Facebook fan page. A winner will be selected on Monday, December 21st.
The film teamed with Advanced Light Weaponry to offer this very special promotion. As an added bonus, the winner will be able to select which side of the force they are on by choosing the saber’s color (blue for Jedi, red for Sith).

JEDI JUNKIES is a fun, affectionate documentary profiling some of the hardcore and passionate fans inspired by the multi-billion-dollar grossing deep space epic: from the creation of a full-size Millennium Falcon spacecraft in a fan’s backyard, to schools teaching light saber fighting techniques, to women who spend their spare time recreating Princess Leia in her slave bikini, this film tells the stories of Star Wars fans who will shock and delight you with how they redefine Star Wars fandom.
Also featuring the perspectives of celebrity insiders including Olivia Munn (Attack of the Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), Phantom Menace actor Ray Park (Darth Maul), Celebrity Fit Club’s Dr. Linda Papodopolis and Blair Witch Project director Ed Sanchez, JEDI JUNKIES will change the way you look at fandom forever!
 
A film made by Star Wars fans, for Star Wars fans, can now be purchased on DVD, iTunes, Amazon VOD and Playstation 3. The film is also available for rental on iTunes, Amazon VOD and Playstation 3.
For information on JEDI JUNKIES, please visit their website: http://www.jedijunkies.com/
MAD MAX & ROBOCOP – Blu-ray
This one is a no brainier.
For those who are looking to expand their Blu-ray collection with titles that will really take advantage of your surround sound with the sweet sound of explosions and many pounds worth of violence you can’t do better than these two titles.
Recently released, Mad Max and Robocop are two titles that fit nicely within any manly man’s collection of films. One, a dystopian vision of a desolate landscape fraught with crazies and psychopaths while the other is a dystopian vision of a desolate urban landscape fraught with crazies and one guy named Clarence. Robocop, for my money, has spawned the most number of callbacks of any destructive action film in recent memory. It was ahead of its time but completely on point when it came to the larger issue that Paul Verhoeven was going for with regard to a film that was essentially about a cop who has come back from the dead to restore justice to a lawless city. While Mad Max, if you think about it, was a revolutionary film in that its success only grew after its release and outrage that followed. Without Max it would be doubtful there would have been a Saw franchise.
Both of these films are true classics and classics that make excellent gifts to those men, or ladies, in your life who can appreciate the larger themes that both of these movies explore.
About the Blu-rays:
The cyborg super-cop Robocop defends citizens of Old Detroit with three times as much action when the ROBOCOP TRILOGY arrives as a Blu-ray collector’s set October 5. Just in time for the holiday season, this three disc set from MGM Home Entertainment contains the original ROBOCOP on Blu-ray, as well as ROBOCOP 2 andROBOCOP 3 on Blu-ray for the first time.
Packed full of memorable moments and Robocop quotes, the ROBOCOP TRILOGY is a fan must-have. Viewers can experience their favorite “human” robot in all three classic films, now on Blu-ray. Directors Paul Verhoeven (Totall Recall, Basic Instinct) of ROBOCOP and ROBOCOP 2 and Fred Dekker (Monster Squad Forever, Nighs of the Creeps) of ROBOCOP 3bring the half robot, half police officer to life with the help of an intensely talented cast, including Peter Weller (The Order; 24), Robert Burke (Good Night, and Good Luck; Tombstone), Kurtwood Smith (Rambo III; That 70’s Show) and Nancy Allen (Law and Order, Carrie).
In ROBOCOP (1987), a terminally wounded cop in crime-ridden Detroit returns to the force as a powerful cyborg with submerged memories haunting him. ROBOCOP 2 (1990) features a corrupt businesswoman seeking to disable Robocop in favor of her own model of cyborg. In ROBOCOP 3 (1993) Robocop saves the day once more. This time the half man/half robot takes on ruthless developers who want to evict some people on “their” land.
Now viewers can experience the thrilling dystopian action film with an all-new Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack. Special features include filmmaker commentary and the documentary “Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon,” featuring interviews with the original crew and film experts. The new release also features the very popular original Australian audio track in addition to the American dubbed track.
Considered one of the best films of 1979, MAD MAX garnered three Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards for editing, sound and musical score. The film was also nominated by the AFI for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Keays-Byrne).
In the ravaged near future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them. But they underestimate one officer: Max Rockatansky (Gibson). And when the bikers brutalize Max’s best friend and family, they send him into a mad frenzy that leaves him seeking revenge, which is the only thing left in the world for Max to live for.
Special Features:
– Filmmaker Commentary by Jon Dowding, David Eggby, Chris Murray & Tim Ridge
– Documentary: “Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon”
– New-To-The-U.S. Original Australian Language Track
– Two theatrical trailers
– TV Spots
I KNEW IT WAS YOU – DVD
It’s simple why you should get this for any fan of film after watching this documentary.
A movie about John Cazale, someone who you really shouldn’t have heard about before seeing this, it charts the tragic story of an actor who acted in but five films but those films (The Deer Hunter, The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon) garnered 40 Academy Award nominations. You couldn’t have charted a more perfect career. That ended, though, when Cazale wrapped The Deer Hunter and died of bone cancer at the age of 42.
This documentary is one that I am not sure would have been made without the horrible circumstances surrounding Cazale’s untimely demise, obviously, but this is a film that goes beyond this man’s life. It is an exploration on the nature of acting and how one man could genuinely tap into that thing that make good actors better, average performers step up their game. The interviews are the real treat, with people like Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, and Meryl Streep providing a glowing context to what this man so special. It’s not something to be missed and should appeal to anyone looking to understand why some just were meant to act.
About the film:
KNEW IT WAS YOU, which explores the life of the exceptional but little-known actor John Cazale. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO June 1, 2010. The film was produced by Brett Ratner and Stacey Reiss. O-Scope will release the DVD in the fall of 2010.
Cazale’s film career consisted of just five movies, but all of them were Academy Award nominees for Best Picture: THE GODFATHER, THE GODFATHER: PART II, THE CONVERSATION, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, and THE DEER HUNTER. He is remembered by his colleagues as one of the brightest talents of his day, but three decades after his promising career ended with his untimely death, Cazale is largely unknown the general public.
Featuring interviews with Hollywood legends such as Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, Robert De Niro, Richard Dreyfuss, Meryl Streep, and Sidney Lumet, as well as actors and filmmakers from a younger generation inspired by Cazale, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, and Brett Ratner, and including clips from Cazale’s movies and rarely seen photos and home video, I KNEW IT WAS YOU seeks to remedy the disparity of Cazale’s success with his relative anonymity.
Richard Shepard said, “It’s a thrill to have Oscilloscope release the DVD of I KNEW IT WAS YOU. Their passion and commitment to quality projects is evident in the care and creativity they put into each of their releases. This documentary was a labor of love for everyone involved, and it’s really nice that it continues with the DVD release. I’m very excited that movie fans everywhere will have a chance to learn about John Cazale, and his incredible craft of acting.”
Adam Yauch, head of Oscilloscope, said, “Oscilloscope is the Fredo of independent film, so it’s an honor to put this film out.”
VENGEANCE – DVD
If you’re looking to get something that is hard boiled, smart, taut, and pretty damn satisfying this is the movie to get this season.
In the grand tradition of great Hong Kong crime films where the classical themes of revenge are still mined for great subject matter this is a movie that moves quick and is wholly satisfying. It should be enough to say that this is a movie that deals with one man’s quest to deal with a bunch of professionals who were on a mission to take out his family for reasons that are all too clear and are all too blatantly easy to understand but who cares, right? This movie is all about the copious use of squibs and pistols and gunfire and, believe me, you get a lot of that here. In spades. Sometimes you just want a movie that doesn’t spend too much time navel gazing about the nature of man. Sometimes you just want a movie where a man needs to kill another man just because. And that’s what you get. Loved it.
About the film:
Legendary director Johnnie To (The Election Trilogy, Triangle PTU) the greatest master of Hong Kong action films since John Woo returns with an instant modern classic compared by Roger Ebert to Clint Eastwood s Unforgiven, VENGEANCE is a visually stunning and gripping gangster tale about honor among thieves and a father determined to avenge his daughter.
Pop legend Johnny Hallyday (often called the French Elvis) gives the performance of his life as Costello, a world-weary but dapper gourmet chef who clearly has violence in his past (and future) when he enlists the help of hired assassins to enact his bloody revenge on the Chinese gangsters who nearly killed his little girl. Two brilliantly staged shoot outs by To one in the moonlight, the other at an abandoned dump are merely the highlights of a movie that crosses Memento with a spaghetti western and comes up with this international smash hit.
THE WORLD AT WAR – Blu-ray
How many of you, like myself, are obsessed with the History Channel and cannot stop watching footage from Word War II?
I know I’m not the only one who feels that way and, I am willing to bet, you know someone in your life who can’t stop watching either. What’s remarkable about this collection of 26 hours of documentary footage that was originally broadcast over 35 years ago is that not only is it narrated by Sir Lawrence Oliver but that the content is still just as fascinating as it was when it originally aired. The dirtiness of war and all that it brought into the world so many decades ago still is a thrill to watch because of how resonant the themes are even today.
Especially today.
For some mini series that have found their way onto Blu-ray nothing compares to the high level of quality that you’ve come to expect from History in bringing a high-def experience to your living room. I know it’s schmaltzy to say that this process brings history to life but in my Blu-ray player, with my kid looking on, it’s hard not to feel willingly trapped in a classroom where, even now, you learn something new about what this war cost both sides.
For what you get, and it’s a megaton of additional features, this simply cannot be a better value for what you get and that, in addition to the 26 hours of the actual programming, you get an additional 10+ hours of extras.
About the DVD:
Unsurpassed as the definitive visual history of World War II, THE WORLD AT WAR is a powerful and devastating historical chronicle of battle, comprised of penetrating interviews with world and military leaders, and the ordinary men and women who endured the war from the home fronts, that give viewers a chilling, first-hand experience of the Second World War.
Narrated by Academy Award winner Laurence Olivier, THE WORLD AT WAR is epic history at its absolute best.
Special Features:
Secretary to Hitler (Traudl Junge), The Two Deaths of Adolph Hitler, Warrior (archival interviews about combat), Hitler’s Germany: The People’s Community 1933-1939, Hitler’s Germany: Total War 1939-1945, The Final Solution Part One, The Final Solution Part 2, From War to Peace. Plus new shows Making the Series and Experiences of War (unseen interviews from the archives of the Imperial War Museum). Bios, photo galleries.
VALHALLA RISING – DVD
I ought to only have to mention the Pusher Trilogy and Bronson. This thing should sell itself without me getting in the way.
One was a crime thriller that was gritter than beach sand in your shoe and Bronson gave the world Tom Hardy.
Filmmaker Nicholas Winding Refn has brought his unique vision of violence out of the streets and into the hills, and waiting arms, of the legendary Vikings. The movie’s plot is easy enough to understand: Mads Mikkelsen plays One Eye, a prisoner of some dirty Vikings who would like to use him for sport and leisure. What they weren’t counting on is this prisoner rising up and violently gaining his freedom where his quest enters a new phase when he incorporates himself into a band of soldiers looking to battle in the Crusades.
What’s especially fun and unique about this film is that it is, without question, dark. It’s dank, gray, wet, and depressing but it adds to the overall appeal of the film which is that this is a movie that really brings back a certain violence that is reflective of the time. Like Deadwood, this film tries to at least, in a general way, get the period right. Never mind the finer details, what Refn gets kudos for is how visceral the punishments are in this movie. People are picked off and battled with in the most gory ways but there’s a little bit of poetry in the way Refn shoots it.
Hopefully you pick this one up for someone itching for a satisfying gore-fest follow up to 300.
About the DVD:
Unsurpassed as the definitive visual history of World War II, THE WORLD AT WAR is a powerful and devastating historical chronicle of battle, comprised of penetrating interviews with world and military leaders, and the ordinary men and women who endured the war from the home fronts, that give viewers a chilling, first-hand experience of the Second World War.
Narrated by Academy Award winner Laurence Olivier, THE WORLD AT WAR is epic history at its absolute best.
Special Features:
Secretary to Hitler (Traudl Junge), The Two Deaths of Adolph Hitler, Warrior (archival interviews about combat), Hitler’s Germany: The People’s Community 1933-1939, Hitler’s Germany: Total War 1939-1945, The Final Solution Part One, The Final Solution Part 2, From War to Peace. Plus new shows Making the Series and Experiences of War (unseen interviews from the archives of the Imperial War Museum). Bios, photo galleries.
DOLLHOUSE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON – Blu-ray
I didn’t know the first thing about this series before putting it into my player but man did I rush out and get season one as soon as I was halfway through this.
I can understand why this show did get canceled based on how unique and high concept the show was but it shouldn’t take away from the fact that it was a very smart show. If anyone needs any indication of where smart gets you on Fox you need only look at where Arrested Development went and have all your questions answered. Dollhouse is that unique property where brains meet ambition and you can see how lush this environment is when you see it as the flower of Joss Whedon’s imagination. The mix of sci-fi and quick action in this season make this a curious question mark about where else smart television needs to go if this is the result.
If this season was any indication of how well future seasons were going to go then it’s a shame I am reviewing this set as the final entry for it had great promise of being a program that could have had staying power if it just could have found the right people to support it.
If you’re going to get this season, and you should, do yourself a favor and throw in season one just to complete the series.
About the release:
From creative mastermind Joss Whedon comes the second and final season of the sexy, suspenseful thriller Dollhouse on Blu-ray and DVD October 12 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. The collectible set includes all 13 episodes of Dollhouse, a limited edition exclusive comic book, and bonus audio commentary by Joss Whedon and series writers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen.
Joss Whedon’s take on the ultimate identity theft follows a cast of Actives, or Dolls, who serve as agents of Dollhouse, an illegal underground organization providing elite clientele with programmable human beings. Personality imprints allow Actives to temporarily become anyone or anything—the perfect burglar, lover, spy or assassin. When the mission is completed, memories are wiped clean. The all-star Dollhouse cast is led by Eliza Dushku as Echo (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tru Calling, Angel) and Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard (Battlestar Galactica).
Disc Features
The Dollhouse Season Two four-disc DVD or three-disc Blu-ray collection includes a retrospective with Joss Whedon and cast roundtable about the series. A gag reel and deleted scenes from top episodes are also included. Disc contents include episodes 1-13: “Vows,” “Instinct,” “Belle Chose,” “Belonging” and “The Public Eye,” “The Left Hand,” “Meet Jane Doe,” “A Love Supreme,” “Stop-Loss” and “The Attic,” “Getting Closer,” The Hollow Men,” and “Epitaph 2: The Return.”
The complete 13 episodes of the final season are presented in wide screen format with English, 5.1 DTS sound and English, Spanish, French and Portuguese subtitles.
Dollhouse Comic Book
Each Blu-ray and DVD comes with a 28 page exclusive limited edition comic book by Dark Horse Comics. Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, joined by longtimeBuffy the Vampire Slayer artist Cliff Richards, take us on an intricate trip through the precise moment when the Active technology went global, and how the protagonists from Epitaph One and Two narrowly avoided death, and worse. Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen wrote the Epitaph episodes of Dollhouse Seasons One and Two, and currently write for the Starz series Spartacus. This is their first work in comics. Artist Cliff Richards has drawn more Joss Whedon-related comics than any other artist, including issues of Buffy Season Eight.”
SKELETONS – DVD
This movie is a riot so go forth and buy a copy of this. Literally, the answer to any anglophile in your life who thinks they know it all when it comes to the most brilliant comedy to come out this year.
Something of a mix between a flat out comedy by way of dry humor and a science fiction yarn, Skeletons is a movie that you never knew you wanted to see until it was right in front of your eyes. If you were to ask for a modern day Laurel and Hardy and give them British accents, this would be the result.
Ed Gaughan and Andrew Buckley are our mismatched pair and who have the kind of chemistry usually reserved for lusty actresses and their handsome beaus. These two are neither yet this story about a couple of schmoes who go into people’s homes in order to literally exercise the skeletons in their closet. They do so with the kind of aplomb usually reserved for those getting their oil changed but I found myself laughing consistently at this Ricky Gervais/Carl Pilkington match-up between the guy who thinks he knows it all and the guy who can’t wait to mess things up.
The plot, at its essence, is basically that these two fellows are great at finding these skeletons and revealing the information of what was found to the people who have let them in their homes but there is one case where things don’t go well and proves to be a challenge to these guys. Now, that’s very reductive, I know, but please watch this short video which gives you a 50,000 view of the plot. I don’t want to spoil anything about a movie I am sure will be someone else’s discovered treasure. I don’t want to give anything else anyway.
So, if you’re looking for something else besides the buddy films of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, this could be the one you haven’t been looking for.
About the release:
SKELETONS, Edinburgh International Film Festival’s Best British Film of 2010, and written and directed by Derbyshire based Nick Whitfield and shot entirely on location in the county,
tells the story of Davis and Bennett, a mismatched pair of travelling salesman in the business of cleaning skeletons from closets. Together they travel across Britain, wandering in and out of other people’s lives, performing the ‘Procedure’ whereby hidden secrets and lies are exposed. They literally bring the skeletons out of the closet.
In June SKELETONS was awarded the Edinburgh International Film Festival’s prestigious Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film. The Edinburgh International Film Festival’s jury, headed by veteran actor Sir Patrick Stewart, was unanimous in its decision, commenting: “Nick Whitfield’s debut feature SKELETONS best exemplifies the spirit of Michael Powell in its original vision and dark humour”
KISSES – DVD
You simply could not do better when it comes to finding a movie about two kids who find each other.
What is so brilliant about filmmaker Lance Daly’s take on a tale about two kids who run away with one another is how the film feels more like a love letter to the city of Dublin, that it shows how perilous it can be while also showcasing its dazzling attractiveness. These two kids who find themselves caught in a world after dark, far away from the soft comforts of home, are a real charm as well. One wants to be hardcore while the other is looking for someone to lean on but what ends up happening is that they both find something in each other that they need: comfort.
It’s by no means a movie without some tough love but what you have here is simply a mesmerizing portrayal of what happens when you just can’t face what life hands you anymore and you don’t have anything else to hang onto. There is someone waiting to help but it never is quite as easy as asking, as Daly shows us.
I could not recommend this movie enough to buy for someone needing a reason to believe in the power of hope.
About the film:
On the fringes of Dublin two kids, Kylie and Dylan, live in a suburban housing estate devoid of life, colour and the prospect of escape. Kylie lives with five other siblings and her overworked mother. Next door, Dylan lives in the shadow of an alcoholic father and the memory of an elder brother who ran away from home two years earlier.
After a violent altercation with his father, Dylan runs away from home and Kylie decides to run away with him. Together they make their way to the magical night time lights of inner city Dublin, to search for Dylan’s brother, and in the hope of finding, through him, the possibility of a new life.
Lance Daly’s vision of Dublin, as seen through the innocent eyes of our protagonists, is a kaleidoscope of magic, wonder and mystery. But as the night wears on, and Dublin takes on a darker character, the two kids have to rely on the kindness of strangers, the advice of Bob Dylan and their trust in each other to survive the night.
AVATAR: EXTENDED COLLECTORS EDITION – DVD
James Cameron is, if nothing else, thorough.
What I learned while going through this re-release on DVD was how wide he cast the net for what was, by all accounts, one of the biggest films ever made. While I can’t say that watching it for a third time did anything for me I was remarkably impressed by how much back story he put into this film. One thing you cannot knock the guy for is his endless passion to get it right and when I delved into all the special features of this DVD set it was clear that his vision was executed the exact way he wanted. You cannot be anything but amazed at the efforts he took to not only technically get it right but in thinking about the small things that surrounded the creation of this story.
Even though this was a DVD release that I saw the visuals are really something to behold and take in. I can only imagine what it looks like in Blu-ray in how he captured lights and darks and colors of all kinds. I recommend this one solely for those who not only liked the film but those who want hours of additional footage showing you why he is indeed king of the world.
About the re-release:
Director James Cameron is unlocking the secrets of Pandora and taking fans on a guided tour of his vision with the highly anticipated release of AVATAR Extended Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray and DVD releasing November 16th in North America and rolling out internationally from November 15th. These exclusive Extended Collector’s Editions come with iconic, collectible packaging to get fans to experience Pandora like never before. With three versions of the film, AVATAR fans will get an all-new extended cut of the film and hours of never-before seen material including over 45 minutes of amazing deleted scenes!
“I told our team — let’s do the ultimate box set of Avatar, with everything in it the fans could possibly want. There’s an extended length cut that’s sixteen minutes longer, plus documentaries, behind the scenes featurettes, artwork and over 45 minutes of deleted scenes. Everything worth putting into a special edition is in this set,” said James Cameron.
The three-disc AVATAR Extended Collector’s Edition Blu-ray and Theatrical Special Edition Re-Release DVD will both feature the original theatrical release, a special edition re-release, family audio track with all objectionable language removed and new collector’s extended cut with sixteen more minutes including an exclusive alternate opening Earth scene. Viewers will journey to the depths of Pandora with filmmakers during “Capturing Avatar” an in-depth feature length documentary covering the 16 year filmmaker journey including all new interviews with James Cameron, Jon Landau and cast and crew exploring James Cameron’s unique vision for the film seen by more than 310 million people worldwide. The Oscar and Golden Globe winning epic is the highest grossing film of all time, taking in over $2.7 billion in worldwide box office. It is also the top-selling Blu-ray disc of all time.
The AVATAR Extended Collector’s Edition Blu-ray will also have even more bonus material and interactive viewing. Through the unparalleled, interactive technology of Blu-ray, fans can dive further into the world of the Na’vi and experience the #1 international sensation from behind the scenes, with a “master class” on the production of the film. Leveraging the interactivity of Blu-ray, viewers can experience the full film in three stages of production: Performance Capture, Template (1990’s video game version) and Final as well as a composite of all stages in “Pandora’s Box”. This will be supported with interviews by Jim Cameron and the filmmakers and serve as a “master class” on the making of AVATAR.
Contents:
Disc One
Original Theatrical Version
Special Edition Re-Release
Collector’s Extended Cut
16 more minutes and exclusive alternate opening
Family Audio Track (All Objectionable Language Removed)
Original Theatrical Release
Special Edition Re-release
Disc Two
“Capturing Avatar” An in-depth feature length documentary with James Cameron, Jon Landau and cast and crew
Deleted Scenes – including over 45 minutes of new never-before-seen deleted scenes
Production Materials
Disc Three
Open “Pandora’s Box” and go deeper into the filmmaker process
Interactive Scene Deconstruction: Explore the various stages of production through 3 different viewing modes
Production Shorts: 17 featurettes covering performance capture, scoring the film, 3D fusion camera, stunts and much more
Avatar Archives including original scriptment, 300 page screenplay and the extensive Pandorapedia
BD-live Portal with additional bonus materials
AVATAR Collector’s Edition: 3-Disc Special Edition DVD:
Disc One
Original Theatrical Version
Special Edition Re-release
Collector’s Extended Cut
16 more minutes and exclusive alternate opening
Disc Two
Original Theatrical Version
Special Edition Re-release
Collector’s Extended Cut
Disc Three
“Capturing Avatar” An in-depth feature length documentary with James Cameron, Jon Landau and cast and crew
Deleted Scenes – including over 45 minutes of new never-before-seen deleted scenes
LENNONYC – DVD
I’m not a big Beatles fan but I appreciated this film.
Understanding why Lennon called New York City home is an interesting angle to take as we unceremoniously celebrate the 30th year of this man’s brutal death by a deranged fan. While I’m an even bigger non fan of Double Fantasy this is nonetheless a gripping expose on the life of a guy who wanted to make his home in the middle of a place where raising a family wasn’t the most healthy of endeavors. Still crawling with the more seedier elements Lennon was nonetheless a polarizing figure in the fight against an unjust war, his vocal opposition most likely the reason Nixon wanted him deported, and his notion that there was still great beauty in this world makes this not so much a portrait of a Beatle who was starting a new life in America but of a man who was looking to make his life in America, a place he held so dearly. Moving and poignant, the documentary is a true examination of what it meant to be an artist in New York.
About the film:
This fall, as the world remembers John Lennon on what would have been his 70th birthday, and the 30th anniversary of his death, LENNONYC takes an intimate look at the time Lennon, Yoko Ono and their son, Sean, spent living in New York City during the 1970s.
“New York became a part of who John and I were,” said Ms. Ono. “We couldn’t have existed the same way anywhere else. We had a very special relationship with the city, which is why I continue to make this my home, and I think this film captures what that time was like for us very movingly.”
“The period that Lennon lived with his family in New York is perhaps the most tender and affecting phase of his life as a public figure,” said Susan Lacy, series creator and executive producer of American Masters as well as a producer of the Lennon film. “Just as the generation that had grown up with the Beatles was getting a little older and approaching a transitional time in their lives as they started families, they saw this reflected in Lennon as he grew from being a rock star icon into a real flesh and blood person.”
“I have long been moved by the honesty and directness of John’s music,” said Michael Epstein, LENNONYC director, producer and writer. “And, by using never-before heard studio talkback of John from this period, I think I was able to give the viewer a window into John Lennon that had not been put to film before.”
Following the breakup of the Beatles, Lennon and Ono moved to New York City in 1971, where Lennon sought to escape the mayhem of the Beatles era and focus on his family and private life. At the same time, he created some of the most acclaimed songs and albums of his career, most of them written at his apartment at The Dakota on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, including Mind Games, Whatever Gets You Thru the Night, I’m Losing You, and Woman. He also remained highly active in the anti-war movement as well as numerous other progressive political causes.
As much as New York made an impact on Lennon and Ono by offering them an oasis of personal and creative freedom, so too did they shape the city. At a time when New York faced record high crime, economic fallout and seemed to be on the verge of collapse, Lennon and Ono became a beloved fixture in neighborhood restaurants, at Central Park, at sports events and at political demonstrations.
Lennon and Ono also bonded with millions of their fellow New Yorkers in their experience as immigrants. The film traces their struggle to remain in the U.S. when the Nixon administration sought to deport them, supposedly based on a narcotics violation, but which Lennon insisted was in response to his anti-war activities.
LENNONYC features never-before heard studio recordings from the Double Fantasy sessions and never-before-seen outtakes from Lennon in concert and home movies that have only recently been transferred to video. It also features exclusive interviews with Ms. Ono, who cooperated extensively with the production and offers an unprecedented level of access, as well as with artists who worked closely with Lennon during this period, including Elton John and photographer Bob Gruen (who took the iconic photograph of Lennon in front of the skyline wearing a “New York City” t-shirt).
SPACE 1999 – Blu-ray
This was one amazing television series.
I’m not recommending this to anyone who doesn’t already appreciate the finer qualities of mid seventies conceptions of what space was as it was seen through the eyes of television producers. Now, apart from the models that look extremely suspect, background equipment that seems like it was crafted with a bunch of bright light bulbs and decoupage, and outfits that border on laughable this was nonetheless a brilliant watch. The examination of the nature of man and the oddities that these space explorers encounter on their quest to explore the universe is the real attraction here. This television show was ahead of its time as episodes take a more frank and serious approach to space exploration that doesn’t once involve hi-jinks of any kind. A must for any fan of the series, knows of the series, or has an affection for a television show that supposes that if there really were space explorers they would probably be just as serious as these individuals were.
About the Blu-ray:
In the year 1999, a spectacular explosion at a lunar nuclear waste dump sends the moon out of Earth’s orbit. In this seminal sci-fi series from producer Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds, UFO), the men and women of Moonbase Alpha are suddenly propelled on a treacherous journey across the universe in search of extraordinary new worlds. Left with no way home, the Earthling citizens are forced to embark upon the greatest adventure of their lives, encountering bizarre life forms and strange phenomena as they struggle to survive among the awe-inspiring wonders of outer space.
All 24 first season episodes of this acclaimed space adventure have been restored in stunning high definition and presented with newly-created 5.1 surround soundtracks, and hours of brand-new bonus features.
With its progressive plotlines, an outstanding cast, and astonishing special effects from Oscar® winner Brian Johnson (Alien, The Empire Strikes Back), SPACE: 1999 has secured its place as one of the most thought-provoking series of the 20th century—and beyond.
DISC 1: Breakaway / Matter of Life and Death / Black Sun / Ring Around the Moon / Earthbound
DISC 2: Another Time, Another Place / Missing Link / Guardian of Piri / Force of Life / Alpha Child
DISC 3: The Last Sunset / Voyager’s Return / Collision Course / Death’s Other Dominion / The Full Circle
DISC 4: End Of Eternity / War Games / The Last Enemy / The Troubled Spirit / Space Brain
DISC 5: The Infernal Machine / Mission Of The Darians / Dragon’s Domain / Testament Of Arkadia
DISC 6: Bonus Features
5.1 surround sound audio for each episode, along with the original mono
Audio commentaries
Music-only tracks
Behind-the-scenes featurettes
Episodic image galleries for all episodes
Trailers
Textless titles
Barry Gray’s theme music demo
Alternate opening/closing titles
Martin Landau and Barbara Bain US premier intro and outro
SFX plates and deleted SFX scenes with music track
Amazon.com
When it was first broadcast in 1975, there had never been a more lavishly produced science fiction TV series than Thunderbirds creators Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Space: 1999, a British production whose budget for the first of its two seasons ran an astounding 3.25 million pounds. What keeps us fans enthralled after all these years has only partly to due with the first-rate production values, the plausibly constructed spaceship models, and expert special effects. The tone of the show is one of scientific dispassion, setting it apart from its TV sci-fi predecessors such as Star Trek, whose mood was more convivial. Our heroes here are in dire circumstances that require cool heads as a survival trait. Those circumstances: the 311 crew members of Moonbase Alpha–including Commander John Koenig (Martin Landau), Chief Medical Officer Dr. Helena Russell (Landau’s Mission: Impossible costar and then-wife Barbara Bain), and Professor Victor Bergman (Barry Morse, who relentlessly pursued David Janssen on The Fugitive)–experience a cataclysm that causes the moon to break away from Earth’s orbit and travel endlessly through space, turning our heroes into unintentional explorers. No TV series has created a more palpable feel of hard science fiction than this.
Of course the show is not without its detractors; it has been soundly lambasted for its many scientific errors. No less august a figure than Isaac Asimov criticized the show for its premise in the opening episode, “Breakaway,” which had nuclear explosions on the “dark side of the moon” somehow propelling it out of Earth’s orbit and flying through space without regard to any physical laws. In “Earthbound,” aliens traveling to Earth state it will take them 75 years to reach their destination, making one wonder why it didn’t take the moon that long to encounter the aliens. While these are serious complaints, fans tend to remember the scientific seriousness of the series and the sense of awe created by the many strange creatures and phenomena that the crew members encounter on their journey through the galaxy. –Jim Gay
Billy The Exterminator: Season 1 and 2 – DVD
I won’t explain myself any further than to say I dig this show when it’s on my DVR and managed to get me through many a sleepless night with my newborn. Sometimes a reality show doesn’t have to be angry or controversial, sometimes all it needs to do is be entertaining and Billy The Exterminator certainly is.
Yes, the series formula is basically Billy going out and saving someone from any number of creature invasions. That’s it. But I dug it and I dug watching these DVDs. I probably should be embarrassed but at 2 in the morning there isn’t anything I’m embarrassed of.
About the DVD:
Follow the fearless and funny Billy Bretherton as he attempts to balance life at home with the drama of running one of the busiest pest removal companies in Louisiana.
In the pest management industry for over 15 years, Billy runs Vexcon the only pest removal team in the state that handles all types of animal removal with support from his wacky but lovable family: kid brother, Ricky; tough-as-nails father, Bill Sr.; sassy office manager and mom Donnie; and beloved wife, Mary. Whether it s a giant 8-foot alligator walking down an affluent street, baby raccoons inside the wall of an office, 70,000 bats who call a stadium home, or a wild pet-eating bobcat, Billy and his family get the job done with enough skill, energy and wit to keep even the most squeamish viewers wanting more. A former U.S. Air Force Sergeant, Billy has taken a militaristic approach to pest control and is emerging a winner.
BILLY THE EXTERMINATOR: SEASON ONE contains all 13 episodes from the debut season on 2 DVDs.
DISC 1 (7 episodes): Goth Bees & Killer Coons / Snake in the Closet / There’s A Gator in My Boat / Kitty Corpse Cleanup / Gator Park Swarm / Possums in the Wall / Llama-Eating Gators
DISC 2 (6 episodes): Psycho Raccoon/Killer Spiders / Raccoon Haunting / Tattoo Rattlesnake / Bobcat Invasion / Extreme Roaches/Busy Beaver / Skunks and Mice and Snakes Oh My / Bonus
BONUS FEATURES: Featurettes: About Billy, Billy s Words of Wisdom, Billy the Storyteller, Meet the Family, Donnie
Season 2 of BILLY THE EXTERMINATOR reunites viewers with the one and only Billy Bretherton as he tackles some of Louisiana’s creepiest, craziest pest problems.
BILLY THE EXTERMINATOR: SEASON TWO contains all 21 episodes from the second season on 3 DVDs.
DISC 1 (8 episodes): Funeral Home Snake / Attack of the Trash Can Raccoon / Snake Invader / Backyard Gator / Nursery Room Raccoon / Extreme Gator / Snakes in the Swamp / Bee Relocation
DISC 2 (8 episodes): Raccoon Rescue / Bobcat & Yellow Jacket / Spider Invasion / Attack of the 15 Foot Snake / Squirrels in the Attic / Rattlesnake Combat / Bat Attack / Deadly Snake on the Loose
DISC 3 (5 episodes): 9 Foot Gator! / When Squirrels Attack! / Sprayed by a Skunk! / Python on the Prowl / Billy Goes to the Gulf (one-hour) / Bonus
BONUS FEATURES: Featurettes: About Billy, Billy’s Tips; Behind-the-Scenes
RoboGeisha – DVD
Have a friend who won’t shut up about the superiority of Asian cinema or that special someone in your life who just doesn’t get what is up with those wacky kids in the Far East? This film will please both of these people while making them wonder what in the world is wrong with you for buying such a thing.
I can’t really put into words how awesome this movie is when you consider that all you need to know about what exactly makes this movie great is that it’s an exploitation film of an exploitation film. It’s about an army of Geisha assassins and school girls and projectiles that hurl out of the backsides of young women and it’s really wonky special effects with it all coalescing into a narrative that defies logic and propriety.
I loved it.
It defies gravity at times, it absolutely defies logic, but it’s a movie where if you’re into sword play, ass play, sexually suggestive violence then this is for you. Here is the trailer
About the DVD:
Yoshie, the younger and ill-treated sister of a renowned Geisha, is discovered to have natural strength and fighting ability. She’s recruited into an army of Geisha assassins by the rich and powerful owner of a steel-works, Kageno. During training large (and interesting) parts of their bodies are altered into weaponry directly linked to their brains. Yoshie soon realizes that Kagenos real plan is to have his robotic castle throw a new and very powerful nuclear bomb into the centre of Fuji-san, effectively destroying Japan entirely. With the help of other ‘Kageno defectors’, she sets out to stop him and his Tengu warriors.
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