Sales Rank:649 List Price: $39.98 Lowest New Price: $11.99 Lowest Used Price: $8.99 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
Box set
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Subtitled
NTSC
Director(s):
Kevin Hooks
Gilbert M. Shilton
Cliff Bole
Actor(s):
Marc Singer
Jane Badler
They came for water. And for food. And as it turned out, we were the food. But humanity bravely resisted - a struggle seen in the hit miniseries V and V: The Final Battle. Yet the war continues. The heroic conflict comes to a surprising outcome in V: The Series, presented complete and uncut in this 3-disc, 19-episode set. Once again, Earth is the main battleground. But now the aliens whose human guise hides their true reptilian natures are wiser. They believe the secret to their survival on Earth lies in the DNA of the newly born half-human, half-spaceling Starchild. They intend to capture her. But that's something the world's Resistance Fighters cannot allow.
Sales Rank:660 List Price: $59.98 Lowest New Price: $12.99 Lowest Used Price: $11.00 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
AC-3
Box set
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Subtitled
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Gary Cole
Peter Woodward
The first and only spin-off of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski's short-lived sci-fi series Crusade had its roots in the B5 television movie A Call to Arms, in which Earth was battling a Drakh invasion at the end of the Shadow Wars. When Crusade begins, the Drakh have released a deadly virus that threatens to wipe out all 10 billion humans living on Earth unless a cure can be found in five years. To take on this monumental task, Captain Matthew Gideon (Gary Cole) is assigned command of the state-of-the-art Destroyer-class ship Excalibur. His crew includes telepath John Matheson (Daniel Dae Kim); pompous but brilliant archaeologist-linguist Max Eilerson (David Allen Brooks); Dureena, a member of the Thieves' Guild and the last surviving member of her species (Carrie Dobro); medical officer Sarah Chambers (Marjean Holden); and technomage Galen (Peter Woodward).
While Babylon 5 had five years to develop into a powerful saga, Crusade had its plug pulled after a mere 13 episodes (which were reordered for TNT's broadcast), and the series never really got its footing. Galen often took center stage, then disappeared for several episodes. Matheson was underutilized (other than to provide fans with clues about what happened in the Psi-Wars after B5 ended), and tough-guy Gideon bounced back and forth between his desire to save the human race and his own moral code. There were some good action scenes and intriguing concepts (developed in conjunction with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Special effects sometimes were impressive and sometimes showed budget constraints, and we never really saw the power and scope of the mile-and-a-half-long ship, other than the cool bullet cars used to traverse its length. But it did have its moments. If B5 was the spiritual companion to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine with its space-station setting and long story arc, Crusade was more like a traditional Star Trek setting, with mostly stand-alone episodes involving first contact with various species (even if, due to the nature of the Excalibur's quest, such species were usually extinct). And there were occasional tantalizing hints of a broader conspiracy that might have allowed the series to soar. Regardless, B5 fans will welcome even a brief opportunity to revisit this universe, especially when the Excalibur visits the station in "The Rules of the Game." John Sheridan's ex-wife Captain Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins) even earned a spot in the opening credits for her appearance in a few episodes. --David Horiuchi
Sales Rank:328 List Price: $60.98 Lowest New Price: $22.98 Lowest Used Price: $19.00 MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Format:
Anamorphic
Box set
Color
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
In the trinity of modern horror films, there's the father (Michael Myers of Halloween), the son (Jason of Friday the 13th fame, a knockoff), and the unholy spirit, Freddy Krueger of the Nightmare on Elm Street films. The spectral man who haunted the nightmares of unsuspecting teenagers with deadly consequences, Freddy (as played by Robert Englund) was a truly frightening bogeyman and icon for the '80s. Unlike the hockey-masked Jason, who dispatched horny teenagers with mechanical and monotonous ease (he never talked, never took off his mask), Freddy was a truly creative and diabolical villain, with a sadistic and blackly funny personality. The hallmarks of the Nightmare on Elm Street series were imaginatively gruesome suspense pieces, set in the overactive imaginations of the teen victims. The first film of the series, Wes Craven's truly intelligent and scary film, was so hugely successful it begat not one, not two, but six more sequels, each pretty much diluting the originality and horror of its predecesor. (Horror fans will fondly remember Drew Barrymore's assertion in Scream that the first Nightmare film was great but all the rest sucked.) Still, there's fun to be had in the remaining films in the series, seeing as a number of aspiring filmmakers cut their teeth on the continuing saga of Freddy. Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) and Chuck Russell (The Mask) worked on the third installment, Dream Warriors (starring a young Patricia Arquette), and Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) came to prominence with the ingeniously macabre fourth film, The Dream Master, coscripted by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential). Craven and original star Heather Langenkamp did return for the last film, New Nightmare, which presaged the tongue-in-cheek postmodernism of the Scream films and resharpened Freddy's ability to scare. --Mark Englehart
Sales Rank:299 List Price: $19.98 Lowest New Price: $5.87 Lowest Used Price: $2.87 MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format:
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Daniel Radcliffe
Emma Watson (II)
Rupert Grint
Harry Melling
Richard Macklin
Alas! The fifth Harry Potter film has arrived. The time is long past that this can be considered a simple "children's" series--though children and adults alike will enjoy it immensely. Starting off from the dark and tragic ending of the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix begins in a somber and angst-filled tone that carries through the entire 138 minutes (the shortest of any HP movie despite being adapted from the longest book). Hopes of winning the Quidditch Cup have been replaced by woes like government corruption, distorted media spin, and the casualties of war. As the themes have matured, so have the primary characters' acting abilities. Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson), and especially Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) are more convincing than ever--in roles that are more demanding.
Harry is deeply traumatized from having witnessed Cedric Diggory's murder, but he will soon find that this was just another chapter in the continuing loss he will endure. Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has returned and, in an attempt to conceal this catastrophe from the wizarding public, the Ministry of Magic has teamed up with the wizard newspaper The Daily Prophet to smear young Potter and wise Dumbledore (Michael Gambon)--seemingly the only two people in the public eye who believe the Dark Lord has returned. With no one else to stand against the wicked Death Eaters, the Hogwarts headmaster is forced to revive his secret anti-Voldemort society, the Order of the Phoenix. This welcomes back characters like Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson), kind Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), fatherly Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), and insidious Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), and introduces a short list of intriguing new faces. In the meantime, a semi-psychotic bureaucrat from the Ministry (brilliantly portrayed by Imelda Staunton) has seized power at Hogwarts, and Harry is forced to form a secret society of his own--lest the other young wizards at his school be left ill-equipped to defend themselves in the looming war between good and evil. In addition, Harry is filled with an inexplicable rage that only his Godfather Sirius seems to be able to understand.
This film, though not as frightening as its predecessor, earns its PG-13 rating mostly because of the ever-darkening tone. As always, the loyal fans of J.K. Rowling's books will suffer huge cuts from the original plot and character developments, but make no mistake: this is a good movie. --Jordan Thompson
Sales Rank:699 List Price: $14.98 Lowest New Price: $2.55 Lowest Used Price: $1.00 MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format:
AC-3
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Johnny Depp
Freddie Highmore
David Kelly
Helena Bonham Carter
Noah Taylor
Mixed reviews and creepy comparisons to Michael Jackson notwithstanding, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would almost surely meet with Roald Dahl's approval. The celebrated author of darkly offbeat children's books vehemently disapproved of 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (hence the change in title), so it's only fitting that Burton and his frequent star/collaborator, Johnny Depp, should have another go, infusing the enigmatic candyman's tale with their own unique brand of imaginative oddity. Depp's pale, androgynous Wonka led some to suspect a partial riff on that most controversial of eternal children, Michael Jackson, but Burton's film is too expansively magnificent to be so narrowly defined. While preserving Dahl's morality tale on the hazards of indulgent excess, Burton's riotous explosion of color provides a wondrous setting for the lessons learned by Charlie Bucket (played by Freddie Highmore, Depp's delightful costar in Finding Neverland), as he and other, less admirable children enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Wonka's confectionary wonderland. Elaborate visual effects make this an eye-candy overdose (including digitally multiplied Oompa-Loompas, all played by diminutive actor Deep Roy), and the film's underlying weirdness is exaggerated by Depp's admirably risky but ultimately off-putting performance. Of course, none of this stops Burton's Charlie from being the must-own family DVD of 2005's holiday season, perhaps even for those who staunchly defend Gene Wilder's portrayal of Wonka from 34 years earlier. --Jeff Shannon
Sales Rank:708 List Price: $19.95 Lowest New Price: $12.34 Lowest Used Price: $12.35 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
Collector's Edition
Color
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Zooey Deschanel
Neal McDonough
Alan Cumming
Richard Dreyfuss
Raoul Trujillo
A tent-pole miniseries release from RHI Entertainment and SCI FI Channel, Tin Man is a modern science fiction update of L. Frank Baum’s timeless "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." When a sorceress named Azkadellia scorches the once-beautiful land of OZ into a desolate wasteland, the only hope lies in an "outsider" named DG, a young Midwestern woman, whose troubling dreams have summoned her to the doomed paradise. D.G. embarks on a journey to find the great mystic man to save the O.Z. and on her way she befriends a scarecrow named Glitch, a tin cop named Cain, and gentle manimal named Raw. Journey beyond the yellow brick road withTin Man, now on DVD for the first time in this 2-Disc Collector's Edition with amazing bonus features and collectible packaging.
Sales Rank:1013 List Price: $29.99 Lowest New Price: $6.50 Lowest Used Price: $1.99 MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format:
AC-3
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Odette Yustman
Lizzy Caplan
Mike Vogel
Jessica Lucas
Michael Stahl-David
One of the first things a viewer notices about Cloverfield is that it doesn't play by ordinary storytelling rules, making this intriguing horror film as much a novelty as an event. Told from the vertiginous point-of-view of a camcorder-wielding group of friends, Cloverfield begins like a primetime television soap opera about young Manhattanites coping with changes in their personal lives. Rob (Michael Stahl-David) is leaving New York to take an executive job at a company in Japan. At his goodbye party in a crowded loft, Rob’s brother Jason (Mike Vogel) hands a camcorder to best friend Hud (T.J. Miller), who proceeds to tape the proceedings over old footage of Rob’s ex-girlfriend, Beth (Odette Yustman)--images shot during happy times in that now-defunct relationship. Naturally, Beth shows up at the party with a new beau, bumming Rob out completely. Just before one's eyes glaze over from all this heartbreaking stuff (captured by Hud, who's something of a doofus, in laughably shaky camerawork), the unexpected happens: New York is suddenly under attack from a Godzilla-like monster stomping through midtown and destroying everything and everybody in sight. Rob and company hit the streets, but rather than run with other evacuees, they head toward the center of the storm so that Rob can rescue an injured Beth. There are casualties along the way, but the journey into fear is fascinating and immediate if emotionally remote--a consequence of seeing these proceedings through the singular, subjective perspective of a camcorder and of a story that intentionally leaves major questions unanswered: Who or what is this monster? Where did it come from? The lack of a backstory, and spare views of the marauding creature, are clever ways by producer J.J. Abrams and director Matt Reeves to keep an audience focused exclusively on what’s on the screen. But it also makes Cloverfield curiously uninvolving. Ultimately, Cloverfield, with its spectacular effects brilliantly woven into a home-video look, is a celebration of infinite possibilities in this age of accessible, digital media. --Tom Keogh
Sales Rank:304 List Price: $26.98 Lowest New Price: $12.87 Lowest Used Price: $8.44 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
AC-3
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Ben Browder
Michael Shanks
Amanda Tapping
Christopher Judge
Claudia Black
If Continuum, the second feature length, made-for-DVD film spun off from the long-running Stargate SG-1 television series, marks the end of this wing of the franchise--and it is hardly a certainty, given the show’s Lazarus-like history--then all involved, including the viewer, should be well satisfied. Continuum commingles all the elements that have made Stargate so eminently watchable over the years, including engaging characters and storyline, plenty of action, impressive sets, and first-rate special effects. This time the whole gang is on hand, as the most recent SG-1 contigent (Ben Browder as fearless leader Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, Amanda Tapping as the brainy Lt. Col. Samantha Carter, Christopher Judge as the implacable alien Teal’c, Michael Shanks as the ever-resourceful Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Claudia Black as the irreverent, motor-mouthed Vala) is joined by characters whose roles had been reduced or eliminated along the way; principal among the latter is Richard Dean Anderson, whose Major General Jack O’Neill makes a welcome return after sitting out The Ark of Truth, the first post-series film (both of Stargate Command’s head honchos, played by Beau Bridges and the late Don S. Davis, are also back). The villain is familiar as well: Ba’al (Cliff Simon), the last of the "Goa’uld system lords," who’s scheduled to be executed--or, more specifically, "extracted," whereby the bad mojo inside him will be exorcised. Things don’t quite go as planned, of course. Ba’al has managed to manipulate time, creating a situation where Mitchell, Jackson, and Carter find themselves caught in a paradox, an alternate timeline in which the Stargate program never even existed, making it easy for the bad guy and his gigantic space brigade to launch an all-out attack on Earth (though long-threatened throughout the series, such an invasion never actually happened until now). Our heroes’ intrepid efforts to thwart Ba’al’s dastardly scheme take them from the Arctic (for real) to the cockpits of F-15 jets and even the hold of a 1930s cargo ship (built specially for the occasion). All this, and Browder portraying his own grandfather too? Yo, Stargate: Continuum rocks! --Sam Graham
Sales Rank:460 List Price: $14.98 Lowest New Price: $7.64 Lowest Used Price: $7.63 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
Animated
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Mark Hamill
George Lucas
Robot Chicken's finest half hour is more savvy than Spaceballs, more inside than Family Guy: Blue Harvest, and funnier, even, than The Star Wars Holiday Special. This Very Special Episode of Comedy Central's stop-motion animated series parodies and goofs on all things Star Wars, from a disgruntled Empire janitor to an ad for Admiral Ackbar Cereal ("Your tongues can't repel flavor of that magnitude"). Twenty three minutes goes by like the jump to hyperspace with such priceless bits as the collect phone call to Emperor Palpatine from Darth Vadar to inform him of the Death Star's destruction, awkward morning-after pillow talk between Luke and Leia ("That was so wrong"), and George Bush's newfound Jedi powers. Co-creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and company immerse viewers in the Robot Chicken universe with generous bonus features, including storyboarded deleted scenes (with self-deprecating commentary), behind the scenes footage of animation meetings, and alternate audio takes. Good sport George Lucas, who gave his blessing to this episode, boldly goes where William Shatner went before by voicing himself in a Star Wars convention sketch that concludes with a Lucas-worshiping geek telling his son that meeting his idol was the best day of his life. What about his son's birth? "Not even close," dad replies. But you don't have to have that kind of devotion to Star Wars to be amused by this weather forecast for Cloud City: "Cloudy, followed by clouds." --Donald Liebenson.