Sales Rank:324 List Price: $29.99 Lowest New Price: $15.99 Lowest Used Price: $8.88 MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
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Director(s):
Actor(s):
Eric Bana
Nicholas Bird (II)
Albert Brooks
Willem Dafoe
Ellen DeGeneres
A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventure Finding Nemo. When his son Nemo is captured by a scuba-diver, a nervous-nellie clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast--and astonishingly detailed--ocean to find him. Along the way he hooks up with a scatterbrained blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who's both helpful and a hindrance, sometimes at the same time. Faced with sharks, deep-sea anglers, fields of poisonous jellyfish, sea turtles, pelicans, and much more, Marlin rises above his neuroses in this wonderfully funny and nonstop thrill ride--rarely does more than 10 minutes pass without a sequence destined to become a theme park attraction. Pixar continues its run of impeccable artistic and economic success (their movies include Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc). Also featuring the voices of Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, and Allison Janney. --Bret Fetzer
Sales Rank:470 List Price: $29.99 Lowest New Price: $13.25 Lowest Used Price: $6.96 MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
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Owen Wilson
Paul Newman
Bonnie Hunt
Rodger Bumpass
George Carlin
There's an extra coat of hot wax on Pixar's vibrant, NASCAR-influenced comedy about a world populated entirely by cars. Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is the slick rookie taking the Piston Cup series by storm when the last race of the season (the film's high-octane opening) ends in a three-way tie. On the way to the tie-breaker race in California, Lightning loses his way off Route 66 in the Southwest desert and is taught to stop and smell the roses by the forgotten citizens of Radiator Springs. It's odd to have such a slim story from the whizzes of Pixar, and the film pales a bit from their other films (though can that be a fair comparison?). Nonetheless, Cars is another gleaming ride with Pixar founder John Lasseter, who's directing for the first time since Toy Story 2. There's the usual spectrum of excellent characters teamed with appropriate voice talent, loads of smooth humor for kids and parents alike, knockout visuals, and a colorful array of sidekicks, including a scene-stealing baby blue forklift named Guido. Lightning's plight is changed with the help of former big-city lawyer Sally Carrera (Pixar veteran Bonnie Hunt), the town's patriarch Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), and kooky tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). The Incredibles was the first Pixar film to break the 100-minute barrier, but had enough story not to suffer; Cars, at 116 minutes (including some must-see end credit footage), is not as fortunate, plus it never pierces the heart. Trivia fans should have bonanza with the frame-by-frame DVD function; the movie is stuffed with in-jokes, some appearing only for an instant. Ages 5 and up. --Doug Thomas
Sales Rank:423 List Price: $79.99 Lowest New Price: $44.45 Lowest Used Price: $42.77 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
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Book 3: Fire, Vol. 1Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 3, Volume 1 is a slightly unusual suite of episodes in the Avatar canon, as the majority of programs are even more comical than usual. Not that the five shows included on this disc lack seriousness: the long-running series now finds young Aang (the once and future avatar destined to reunite the world’s four estranged nations) and his traveling companions behind enemy lines in the Fire Nation, disguised as colonists. In "Awakening," Aang arises--with a surprising headful of dark hair--from several weeks of unconsciousness (due to the injuries he sustained during a battle for Ba Sing Se) aboard a captured Fire Nation warship. Though he finds old friends Sokka, Toph, and Katara nearby, all urging him not to take matters in his own hands, Aang ultimately feels compelled to go head-to-head with the Fire Lord before he is ready. The result forces Aang and the others to remain incognito, setting up subsequent episodes in which the heroes are forced to lay low and find something else to do with their time besides fight adversaries. In "The Headband," Aang enrolls in a Fire Nation school, where his eyes are opened to such ordinary experiences as dealing with a campus bully and getting a hard time from strict teachers. In "The Painted Lady," Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph visit an impoverished fishing village and have to repress their typical instinct to help lest they be recognized as outsiders. (An alternative is found.) "Sokka’s Master," in some ways the most enjoyable episode here, finds Sokka feeling useless because he doesn’t possess powers similar to his mates. His solution: talk a master swordsman into taking him on as an apprentice. Finally, the most unexpected story in this collection is "The Beach," in which Prince Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee--all of whom are back in the Fire Nation, too--take an awkward holiday but end up learning a lot about one another.
Meanwhile, Zuko--following his extended banishment from the Fire Nation--discovers that his father welcoming again, but only because his manipulative sister, Princess Azula, has falsely told everyone that Zuko killed Aang. Fearing that his father will disown him again, Zuko chooses not to tell the truth and works on having Aang quietly assassinated. Where Zuko had been more of a complete human being during his exile, he’s back to being a monster again, going so far as to keep his dutiful uncle, Iroh, in a dark, dank prison. --Tom Keogh
Book 3: Fire, Vol. 2Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 3--Fire, Volume 2 finds the series closing in on a long-awaited day of reckoning with the fire nation. The five episodes on this disc continue those chapters on Volume 1 in which Aang--the young avatar--and his companions Katara, Toph, and Sokka live undercover in the fire nation, awaiting the moment when an alliance of warriors from the air, water, and earth nations converge to overtake the conquering firebenders once and for all. On Volume 2, the path to the day of battle, in typical Avatar fashion, is full of misadventures and intrigue, but also sundry revelations that make the pending series climax that much more interesting. "The Avatar and the Firelord" is the backstory of how the fire nation leader came to be a brutal tyrant in the world. Turns out he was the best friend of none other than the previous avatar; the souring of their relationship led to the troubles young Aang is trying to resolve. (While Aang is finding all this out, the fire nation’s Prince Zuko discovers his ancestry is more complicated than he’d imagined, and that he has more of a role to play in ending the war waged by his people.) "The Runaway" is a comedy about mischievous Toph getting into trouble for using her earthbending powers to win bets and make a lot of money. "The Puppetmaster" is a scary story featuring a waterbending old woman who initially enchants Katara, but then later is revealed to be a vengeful monster with terrifying abilities to control people’s bodies. "Nightmares and Daydreams" concerns an anxious Aang unable to sleep and stop hallucinating prior to the coming battle, while part one of "The Day of Black Sun" sees the beginning of the allies’ invasion of the fire nation. Lots of surprises in this last episode, with a cliffhanger ending that makes the next volume of Avatar most desirable. --Tom Keogh
Book 3: Fire, Vol. 3 At the beginning of Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 3 Fire, Vol. 3, things don't go quite the way one would have hoped at the end of Vol. 2. Aang--the young avatar--and his companions Katara, Toph, and Sokka were part of a major assault on the tyrannical fire nation, and hopes of victory were high. In "The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse," however, circumstances reverse the heroes' fortunes, forcing Aang, his friends and the very youngest warriors to flee the battle. As they regroup at the Western Air Temple, mourning the expected imprisonment of the adults left behind, Aang comes face to face with an unexpected, would-be ally: Zuko, prince of the fire nation. Sokka and Katara refuse to accept Zuko's guarantee that he is truly on their side (they've been through this before), but Toph and Aang are a little more receptive to the idea. Good thing. In "The Firebending Masters," Aang accepts that Zuko could be the firebending mentor he needs to show him how to conquer the most elusive of the four elements. But it isn't easy: Zuko loses his power and must retreat to a fire nation temple, where he can learn the origins of his native gift. The set of five stories on this disc concludes with the two-part "The Boiling Rock," in which Sokka and Zuko infiltrate a fire nation maximum security prison in hopes of freeing Sokka's father. Trying hard to stay clandestine, Zuko's identity is revealed anyway, jeopardizing not only the mission but Zuko and Sokka's very freedom. The excitement is endless in the long-running Avatar series, and developments (especially Zuko's acceptance by Aang and the others) are as heartening as they are surprising. --Tom Keogh
Book 3: Fire, Vol. 4 The long-running series Avatar the Last Airbender comes to a dazzling conclusion in Book 3 Fire, Volume 4. Poised for quite a number of episodes (seen in previous volumes) to go to war against the tyrannical Fire Nation, Aang the young Avatar and his cohorts must now bring down the Fire Lord and his army, or watch them ramp up their destructive powers during an imminent solar eclipse. But there's a lingering question only Aang can answer: can the Avatar, who has never killed anyone, bring himself to take the Fire Lord's life? That is what he must do, according to Zuko, the Fire Prince who has thrown in his lot with Aang and the latter's friends.
While Aang is sorting that out--receiving various wisdoms from past Avatars and advice from a giant turtle-lion creature--Zuko and Katara take another leg of the battle by confronting Zuko's crazed sister. Meanwhile, Sokka re-asserts his latent talent for commanding dangerous missions as he and earth-bender Toph attempt to sabotage Fire Nation airships. The final episodes on this disc are thrilling, in no small part because they have been so long in arriving. Before those, however, there are a couple of interesting chapters to get through, including "The Southern Raiders," in which Katara attempts to exact revenge for the disappearance of her mother. As always, there's some comic relief, in this case "The Ember Island Players," in which our heroes experience the ignominy of watching some of their previous adventures become a ridiculous, staged play. --Tom Keogh
Sales Rank:316 List Price: $34.99 Lowest New Price: $14.00 Lowest Used Price: $17.12 MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
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Director(s):
Actor(s):
Mario Andretti
Jack Angel
Paul Newman
Michael Patrick Bell
Rodger Bumpass
There's an extra coat of hot wax on Pixar's vibrant, NASCAR-influenced comedy about a world populated entirely by cars. Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is the slick rookie taking the Piston Cup series by storm when the last race of the season (the film's high-octane opening) ends in a three-way tie. On the way to the tie-breaker race in California, Lightning loses his way off Route 66 in the Southwest desert and is taught to stop and smell the roses by the forgotten citizens of Radiator Springs. It's odd to have such a slim story from the whizzes of Pixar, and the film pales a bit from their other films (though can that be a fair comparison?). Nonetheless, Cars is another gleaming ride with Pixar founder John Lasseter, who's directing for the first time since Toy Story 2. There's the usual spectrum of excellent characters teamed with appropriate voice talent, loads of smooth humor for kids and parents alike, knockout visuals, and a colorful array of sidekicks, including a scene-stealing baby blue forklift named Guido. Lightning's plight is changed with the help of former big-city lawyer Sally Carrera (Pixar veteran Bonnie Hunt), the town's patriarch Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), and kooky tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). The Incredibles was the first Pixar film to break the 100-minute barrier, but had enough story not to suffer; Cars, at 116 minutes (including some must-see end credit footage), is not as fortunate, plus it never pierces the heart. Trivia fans should have bonanza with the frame-by-frame DVD function; the movie is stuffed with in-jokes, some appearing only for an instant. Ages 5 and up. --Doug Thomas
Sales Rank:257 List Price: $27.96 Lowest New Price: $12.25 Lowest Used Price: $10.54 MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
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AC-3
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Director(s):
Actor(s):
Alyson Court
Paul Mercier
Laura Bailey
Roger Craig Smith
Crispin Freeman
Resident Evil: Degeneration, the first fully CGI animated feature in the dystopian horror series, presents fans of the game and its subsequent movies with all the things they crave the most: loads of gunplay orchestrated by an attractive heroine, a labyrinthine plot honeycombed with conspiracy theories and government double-dealings, and most importantly, an army of plague victims hungering for human flesh. The CGI animation certainly allows for richer, bloodier and more explosive scenarios than in the live-action features, and if the story itself--RE heroes Clare Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy must fight their way from a zombie-infested airport to the pharmaceutical company that hides a key to the virus, as well as a monstrous new enemy--is so densely plotted as to warrant multiple rewinds, the picture knows it can be simply enjoyed as a player-free version of the game that inspired it. Vocal talent is probably Degeneration's weakest link (the already purple dialogue sounds extra cringe worthy in the mouths of the cast (which includes several voice actors from the games)) with a subplot involving Leon and fellow agent Angela Miller running a close second. However, neither is so detrimental to fans' enjoyment that it might prevent them from checking out the latest--and, it should be noted, not the final--chapter in Resident Evil's complex and gruesome mythology. --Paul Gaita
Sales Rank:1920 List Price: $19.98 Lowest New Price: $9.50 Lowest Used Price: $9.38 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
Black & White
Closed-captioned
DVD-Video
Subtitled
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Director(s):
Hugh Harman
Edwin L. Marin
Actor(s):
Reginald Owen
Gene Lockhart
Kathleen Lockhart
Terry Kilburn
Barry MacKay
This 1938 MGM version of the Dickens classic is not the most rewarding of the various adaptations (that honor goes to Biran Desmond Hurst's 1951 film, starring Alistair Sim), but it has a strong if narrow performance by Reginald Owen as the miser Ebenezer Scrooge. Directed by Edward L. Marin, the movie is stiffer and less imaginative than it ought to be, but there are some compensations in the supporting cast, including Leo G. Carroll, and the film debut of little June Lockhart. --Tom Keogh
Sales Rank:608 List Price: $29.99 Lowest New Price: $14.78 Lowest Used Price: $13.58 MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
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Tom Hanks
Tim Allen
Don Rickles
Jim Varney
Wallace Shawn
There is greatness in film that can be discussed, dissected, and talked about late into the night. Then there is genius that is right in front of our faces--we smile at the spell it puts us into and are refreshed, and nary a word needs to be spoken. This kind of entertainment is what they used to call "movie magic," and there is loads of it in this irresistible computer animation feature. Just a picture of these bright toys reawaken the kid in us. Filmmaker John Lasseter thinks of himself as a storyteller first and an animator second, much like another film innovator, Walt Disney.
The 10th anniversary edition of the landmark film repackages most of the extras found in the original Ultimate Toy Box set plus a few more. Two keen retrospectives are new, one with an assortment of talents including Roy Disney and Peter Jackson chiming in on the film's impact. The other is a roundtable with Lasseter and three of the creators simply talking about the experiences without--thankfully--any cutaways to noisy film clips. There's a load of other extras since the Ultimate Toy Box was one of the first and best DVD sets. Missing (besides the second film, which will be released separately) is the effects- and music-only tracks. Added is a whopping DTS soundtrack along with a remixed Dolby 5.1 track. The DVD has a higher transfer bit rate for a better picture, but only high-end enthusiasts will notice it. Since the film is a digital-to-digital transfer, both versions are eye-popping. A must-have set unless you have the Ultimate Toy Box.
Lasseter's story is universal and magical: what do toys do when they're not played with? Cowboy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Andy's favorite bedroom toy, tries to calm the other toys (some original, some classic) during a wrenching time of year--the birthday party, when newer toys may replace them. Sure enough, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is the new toy that takes over the throne. Buzz has a crucial flaw, though--he believes he's the real Buzz Lightyear, not a toy. Lasseter further scores with perfect voice casting, including Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Wallace Shawn as a meek dinosaur. The director-animator won a special Oscar for "the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film." In other words, the movie is great. --Doug Thomas
Sales Rank:305 List Price: $29.99 Lowest New Price: $25.00 Lowest Used Price: $14.89 MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
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Actor(s):
Roy Atwell
Stuart Buchanan
Adriana Caselotti
Marge Champion
Eddie Collins
One of the brightest nuggets from Disney's golden age, this 1937 film is almost dizzying in its meticulous construction of an enchanted world, with scores of major and minor characters (including fauna and fowl), each with a distinct identity. When you watch Snow White's intricate, graceful movements of fingers, arms, and head all in one shot, it is not the technical brilliance of Disney's artists that leaps out at you, but the very spirit of her engaging, girl-woman character. When the wicked queen's poisoned apple turns from killer green to rose red, the effect of knowing something so beautiful can be so terrible is absolutely elemental, so pure it forces one to surrender to the horror of it. Based on the Grimm fairy tale, Snow White is probably the best family film ever to deal, in mythic terms, with the psychological foundation for growing up. It's a crowning achievement and should not be missed. --Tom Keogh
Sales Rank:1163 List Price: $39.98 Lowest New Price: $19.78 Lowest Used Price: $14.48 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
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Director(s):
Bob Anderson
Dominic Polcino
Jim Reardon
Klay Hall
Mark Ervin
Actor(s):
Dan Castellaneta
Nancy Cartwright
Doris Grau
Julie Kavner
Yeardley Smith
Season 9 is an important one in The Simpsons' run because, to many fans, it represents the top of the rainbow. At this point, the show is still at the top of its game, flinging clever jokes and social satire with such ease, especially compared to later seasons, that it's hard not to see this as the peak of its run, leaving open the question of whether or not subsequent seasons measure up. Be that as it may, there's hardly any question that the writing this season is among the series' best. This is the season that brought us "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson," where Homer illegally parks his car in front of the World Trade Center, and heralds the introduction of Duff Man ("Oh Yeah!), "The Treehouse of Horror VIII," where Bart's body gets switched with that of a fly and Marge turns into a witch, and "The Trouble with Trillions," which finds Mr. Burns hiding a trillion dollar bill from the federal government. Apu gets plenty of face time in an excellent episode where he meets his bride ("The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons"), and the town's kids get their chance at some screen time when they all get stranded on an island together a la Lord of the Flies in "Das Bus" ("We'll be like Swiss Family Robinson, only with more cursing," proclaims Bart). Definitely the show is still going strong by this point, and the 25 episodes of this season should still delight fans who've stayed with it through the years, in addition to the hours of commentaries and special features that come standard with every season of The Simpsons. --Daniel Vancini