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Mystery/Suspense DVDs

Turistas (Unrated Edition)

Sales Rank:7003
List Price: $14.98
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

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Director(s):

Actor(s):

Miguel Lunardi
Melissa George
Desmond Askew
Josh Duhamel
Olivia Wilde

If not for Hostel, we'd never have been treated to the gory, horrific delights so lovingly captured with sadistic detail in Turistas. Together, these movies could be spawning a radical new Hollywood-pedigreed sub-genre of extreme horror. Like Hostel, Turistas concerns a group of American hardbodied kids on an exotic foreign vacation--this time in Brazil. After a suspense-filled opening sequence of a speeding bus careening off a dangerous mountain (it's also tinged with just the right kind of humor), the kids wander into the seeming paradise of a secluded beachfront resort where they think nothing of locals who lure them one by one to their gruesome and shocking deaths. Hey, they're here to party! These excruciatingly graphic scenes unfold in the lair of a madman doctor named Zamora, who harvests organs of the still-living as a way of exacting revenge on American turistas to "give back" to the locals they exploit with their capitalist dollars. One such scene has the donor undergoing surgery without the help of anesthesia wherein the lovely young "patient" has the chance to see her still thriving innards pulsing warmly on her well-formed chest to the tune of her own screams. This stuff is not for the faint of heart (or liver, or kidney, or lungs, for that matter). But there is a fair amount of nicely staged tension, especially a "foot" chase scene in a water-filled cave that will give claustrophobics a whole new way to experience nightmares. The two most familiar faces are Melissa George and Josh Duhamel, from TV's Alias and Vegas respectively. Fans of this new world of extreme gross-out horror should be thankful that TV has plenty of cute young bodies waiting for their big screen break, no matter how many organs they have to donate to get there. --Ted Fry

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Boston Legal - Season 2

Sales Rank:1344
List Price: $59.98
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MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)

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Impressive in quality and quantity, the 27 episodes of Boston Legal's second season (2005-06) are a dazzling showcase for one of TV's greatest ensembles. Everything that made season 1 so entertaining is refined here, often to the point of perfection: As the resident bad boys of the prestigious Boston legal firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt, senior partner Denny Crane (William Shatner) and maverick attorney Alan Shore (James Spader) continue their campaign of rampant indiscretion, combining unabashed sexism and political incorrectness with Denny's egotistical fat-cat sense of entitlement (and a touch of "Mad Cow") and Alan's passion for justice and courtroom theatrics. The departure of his girlfriend Tara (season 1's Rhona Mitra) has left Alan pensively lonely, so his male-bonding with Denny becomes the series' emotional core, even as it reaches new heights of hilarity in episodes like "Finding Nimmo," an instant classic in which Denny introduces Alan to the pleasures of fly-fishing. Back at the office, semi-regular cast member Betty White turns from murder to robbery, only to find herself redeemed as the new "sandwich lady" at C, P & S. And while senior partner Paul Lewiston (Rene Auberjonois) juggles the firm's ethical dilemmas and a rocky reunion with his drug-addicted daughter (superbly played by Jayne Brook), founding partner Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen) dodges advances from her soon-to-be-remarried ex-husband (Tom Selleck) while suspecting Denny's soon-to-be-sixth-wife (Joanna Cassidy) of high-stakes gold-digging. In the midst of it all, Denise (Julie Bowen) faces threatening competition from a new attorney (Parker Posey) and elusive love with a dying billionaire (Michael J. Fox) while playing "friends with benefits" with colleague Brad (Mark Valley), who's only too willing to indulge their arrangement.

Expanded roles for Bowen and Valley are just two of this season's welcome improvements; along with Bergen and Auberjonois, they add engaging counterbalance to the Spader/Shatner juggernaut, while newcomers Justin Mentell and Ryan Michelle Bathe (as legal assistants) add youthful appeal in roles that necessarily remained marginal for most of the season. As always, series creator David E. Kelley (aided by a new writing staff) maintains a constant flow of outrageous behavior (most of it Denny's) and compelling courtroom trials based on hot-button issues including assisted suicide, the war in Iraq, private school discrimination, medical malpractice, tax evasion and a variety of other cases in which belligerent judges (played by Henry Gibson, Anthony Heald, Howard Hesseman, Shelley Berman, and others) play antagonistic foils to Alan Shore's impassioned defense. (It's here where Spader excels; Shore may be a lascivious lothario, but you offend his moral conscience at your peril.) A stellar array of guest stars, impeccable editing and cinematography, and glossy office production design make Boston Legal a constant feast for the eyes and ears, with breezy emphasis on the farcical goings-on at Crane, Poole & Schmidt. (The series' writing and production values are explored in brief but enjoyable bonus featurettes included on the final DVD in this seven-disc set.)

With Denny and Alan's season-ending visit to Los Angeles (where they defend a sexy celebrity played by Star Trek: Voyager's Jeri Ryan), it's delightfully obvious that Shatner and Spader are the heart and soul of Boston Legal, which is ultimately about the mutual affection of two men whose viewpoints are often as polarized as their friendship is compassionately co-dependent. Bolstered by clever allusions to Shatner's Star Trek legacy and throwaway references to their own status as characters in a TV show (as Kelley and his writers deliberately demolish the "fourth wall" of TV for comedic effect), Spader and Shatner quickly turned their episode-closing balcony scenes into an honorable tradition, where differences dissolve in the taste of fine scotch and slowly-savored cigars. They're bringing us the finest "dramedy" that primetime network television has to offer, and we'll gladly follow them as their crazy lives continue. --Jeff Shannon

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The Shield - The Complete Fifth Season

Sales Rank:818
List Price: $49.95
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

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Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 03/25/2008 Run time: 546 minutes

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Persuasion

Sales Rank:1031
List Price: $19.98
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

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Director(s):

Actor(s):

Anthony Head
Alice Krige
Marion Bailey
Peter Wight
Rupert Penry-Jones

Jane Austen fans will delight in the sumptuous production design and first-rate acting in the 2007 Masterpiece Theatre version of Persuasion. Sally Hawkins is controlled and moving as Anne Elliot, the quietly heartbroken but sensible heroine who was "persuaded" (read: forced) to turn away her true love but still carries an unseen torch for him. Hawkins's performance is genteel yet steely, and the quiet strength of the entire production. Hawkins looks alternately quietly lovely and sadly pinched--as one might expect the long frustrated Anne to look.

Other highlights include a post-Buffy Anthony Head, as Anne's clueless, blustery father, Sir Walter. Head gets to turn on his deft comic talent here in ways most American audiences have not yet seen him; he's clearly enjoying himself immensely, blustering about "my shrubberies" and other trivial affairs. The cinematography is lush (several breathtaking tracking shots are used, especially early on), as are the period costumes. The production was filmed exclusively on location, and the reality of the sets enforces the story.

Some fans may prefer the 1995 Amanda Root version, for the casting of Ciaran Hinds as Capt. Wentworth, but this later effort is a worthy entry in the Austen film oeuvre--and Rupert Penry-Jones is a dreamboat in his own right. As the wistful Anne says, on behalf of all women, "We do not forget you, so soon as you forget us." --A.T. Hurley

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The Wire - The Complete Second Season

Sales Rank:1450
List Price: $59.98
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

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Director(s):

Actor(s):

Dominic West
Chris Bauer
Paul Ben-Victor
Idris Elba
Amy Ryan

It hardly seems possible, but The Wire's second season is even better than the first. The "visual novel" concept of this masterful HBO series is taken even further in a rich, labyrinthine plot revolving around the longshoremen of Baltimore's struggling cargo docks, where corruption, smuggling, and murder draw the attention of detective McNulty (Dominic West). What follows is a series of events which at first seem unrelated (including 13 bodies found in a cargo container), and then the ongoing effort to topple the drug empire of "Stringer" Bell (Idris Elba) and the imprisoned Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris), whose business is suffering from short supply, high demand, and disruption of distribution. The dutiful diligence of a Marine Police Patrol Officer and the moral outrage of the longshoremen's union leader are also factored into the suspicious goings-on at the loading docks, and what unfolds in these 12 episodes is an American crime epic easily on par with the Godfather saga. Yes, it's that good.

Detailed synopsis is pointless; The Wire must be seen, heard, and absorbed to fully appreciate the way in which over 40 characters are flawlessly incorporated into a sprawling but tightly disciplined plot that deals, in the larger sense, with the deindustrialization of America and the struggle of longshoremen in a changing economical climate. Offering a privileged and occasionally frightening glimpse of the inner workings of shipping ports and cargo transports, The Wire is also a detailed exposé of organized crime and blue-collar corruption, and an authentic, well-informed study of political maneuvering among police and city officials. There's not a single false note to be found in the cast, direction, or writing of this phenomenal series, hailed by many critics as "the best show on television." With all due respect to HBO's other excellent series, The Wire tops them all. --Jeff Shannon

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Foyle's War: Set 5

Sales Rank:2171
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

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Actor(s):

Michael Kitchen
Anthony Howell
Honeysuckle Weeks

No one was unhappy when World War II ended, but the demise of Foyle’s War is something else entirely. For fans of this first-rate British murder mystery series, set against the backdrop of that epic conflict, Set 5 represents something of a reprieve; although Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen) retired at the end of Set 4, circumstances force him to return to action in "Plan of Attack," the first of three 90-minute episodes (each on its own disc) offered here. But by the end of this set, the war is over and Foyle has eased back into retirement. That’s lamentable. Smartly conceived and often quite masterfully executed, this show will certainly be missed. "History meets mystery" has been the concept from the beginning, as the low-key (like Peter Falk’s Columbo, he knows much more than he lets on), unfailingly decent Foyle and his assistants, Sgt. Paul Milner (Anthony Howell) and driver Samantha "Sam" Stewart (Honeysuckle Weeks), solve murders and various other crimes in and around bucolic Hastings, England, while WWII rages on at home and abroad. But this time out, the war provides much more than context, as the murders tend to be directly related to it. What’s more, Set 5 affectingly deals with combat’s heavy emotional psychological toll. It’s a burden we see carried by the cartographer who can’t bear knowing that his work is helping to kill innocent German civilians (in "Plan of Attack"); by the maimed former POW struggling to readjust to life at home, the teenager whose job it is to deliver bad news telegrams to soldiers’ families, and the Jewish doctor, a refugee from Poland, whose survivor’s guilt leads him down a very dark path (all three in "Broken Souls"); and even by Foyle’s own son (Julian Ovenden, in "All Clear"). OK, so the mysteries may not be all that mysterious--perceptive viewers will have little difficulty identifying the culprits. But with its multi-layered storytelling (the scripts were written by creator Anthony Horowitz) and fine production values (the cinematography, editing, and music are all excellent), Foyle’s War is a whodunit that’s both a prime example of its genre and thoroughly successful on its own unique terms. Bonus features include a brief "making of" featurette and cast filmographies. --Sam Graham

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Clue

Sales Rank:1177
List Price: $9.98
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

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Director(s):

Actor(s):

Eileen Brennan
Tim Curry
Madeline Kahn
Christopher Lloyd
Michael McKean

Undoubtedly the first movie in history to have played in theaters with three different endings (depending on which theater you attended), Clue is a silly whodunit based on the familiar board game featuring Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, and all the other usual suspects. A broadly comic cast play the sundry suspects gathered in a mansion to solve a murder, knowing that one of their numbers is the culprit. Michael McKean, Eileen Brennan, and Tim Curry are the best of the bunch, and the film is as lightweight an experience as a round of the game itself. Directed by Jonathan Lynn (My Cousin Vinny). The video release contains all three endings. --Tom Keogh

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Bogie and Bacall - The Signature Collection (The Big Sleep / Dark Passage / Key Largo / To Have and Have Not)

Sales Rank:2990
List Price: $39.98
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

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Actor(s):

Humphrey Bogart
Lauren Bacall

Yes, it's true: you can virtually see Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall falling for each other in To Have and Have Not (1945), Howard Hawks's variation on Casablanca but adapted from--as legend has it--Ernest Hemingway's self-declared "worst novel." (The story goes that Hawks told Hemingway he could make a movie of the author's least work, and Hemingway gave him the rights to this story.) The script by William Faulkner and Jules Furthman actually makes this one of Hawks's and Bogart's most interesting and often exciting films. Bogart plays a boat captain who reluctantly agrees to help the French Resistance while wooing chanteuse Bacall. Hoagy Carmichael, wry at the piano, adds a delicious accent to an already wonderful mood.

Bogart and Bacall were never more popular than in The Big Sleep, the 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, directed by Howard Hawks. Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay.

Dark Passage (1947) is a gimmicky film noir starring Bogart as an escaped criminal who undergoes plastic surgery and holes up at the home of Bacall's character while healing and preparing to prove his innocence. If you can last through the first half-hour of this thing--which is shot entirely from the subjective view of Bogart's bandaged face, which we don't see until later--you might find ample reason in the stars' performances to stick around for the conclusion. But director Delmer Daves (A Summer Place) tests a viewer's endurance with such an obvious, attention-getting ploy.

John Huston (The Maltese Falcon) directed Key Largo (1948), a smart thriller about a gangster (Edward G. Robinson) who holds a number of people hostage in a hotel in the Florida Keys during a tropical storm. Bogart is the returning war veteran who takes on the villains, and Bacall is on hand as one of the people on the wrong end of Robinson's gun. Somewhat similar in tone to To Have and Have Not this moody movie captures a certain despair offset by the bond between individuals united by common purpose. Claire Trevor won an Academy Award for her part as Robinson's alcoholic girlfriend. --Tom Keogh

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The Coen Brothers Movie Collection (Fargo / Miller's Crossing / Barton Fink / Raising Arizona / Blood Simple)

Sales Rank:1629
List Price: $49.98
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

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Director(s):

Ethan Coen
Joel Coen

Actor(s):

William H. Macy
Frances McDormand
Steve Buscemi
Gabriel Byrne
Albert Finney

Disc 1: Barton Fink WS Disc 2: Blood Simple WS Disc 3: Fargo WS Disc 4: Miller's Crossing WS Disc 5: Raising Arizona WS

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Cowboy Bebop Remix: Anime Legends

Sales Rank:1480
List Price: $49.98
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

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The crew of the Bebop is once again ready to take control of space, bringing bad guys to justice and trying to make some cash while doing it. Join the always cool Spike, investigative genius Jet, the fabulous Faye, the amazing (but weird) Ed and the super-smart Welsh Corgi named Ein as they try to make a buck in the year 2071. How do they do it? They re bounty hunters. But then again, you probably wouldn t be reading this if you didn t already know that...Now, for the first time in North America the entire Cowboy Bebop Remix series in one package!!!

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