DVD

[Rasputin]

Good Night and Good Luck

We must always remember that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.” – Edward R. Murrow Communism: a theory that advocates elimination of private property and/or a doctrine based upon revolutionary Marxian socialism where a totalitarian system of government provides a single authoritarian party that controls state-owned means of production with the aim of establishing a stateless society (thanks, Webster’s New...

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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The comparison is inevitable. J.R.R. Tolkien was a Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. C.S. Lewis taught as a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. Tolkien spent well over a decade writing and perfecting an epic tale of the struggle of good versus evil and the ascent of man. Lewis wrote the first three books of the Narnia series, an epic tale of the struggle of good versus evil with undisguised Christian themes, in a rapid, almost stream of consciousness method that took far...

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Bee Season

Like many families, the ecosystem that keeps the Naumann clan together is more delicate than any one member realizes. And in the wonderful, if overreaching Bee Season, this house of cards completely collapses and only a sacrifice by its youngest member can put it back together. Saul Naumann (Richard Gere) is a professor of religious studies. He is Jewish and his lectures include insights into a particular concept of Jewish mysticism whereby the world is a shattered vessel and that bringing its...

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Dawson’s Creek: The Complete Sixth Season

I know it shouldn’t make a difference that the perception of an actress’ work shouldn’t hinge on her public persona, but with the media saturation at its (hopefully) frenzied acme, it has become virtually impossible to watch Katie Holmes on screen.That’s a shame because Katie has an adorable quality that made her the aw-shucks girl-next-door pin-up during her tenure on Dawson’s Creek (and made her the it-girl for a generation of college bachelors).

[Rasputin]

The Mel Brooks Collection

Why is it that goofy comedic films today are only able to be stupid, and not silly? It's not as if there isn't inspiration out there. In the '90s, the Farrelly brothers had a run of hits by combining a modern gross-out sensibility with goofball antics. In the '80s, the films of the Zucker brothers raised parody to a new level with their "wall of gags" style that didn't let a frame pass without putting a joke into it. Those movies will never be forgotten because of the level of quality comedy. But before they hit the scene (and after the Marx Brothers (natch)), Mel Brooks was making audiences smile with his own good-natured sense of humor and willingness to do anything for a laugh. Working with his stable of actors and writers, he created some of the most memorable and acclaimed comedies of all time.

Fox has pulled together eight Mel Brooks films (including one from the Warner Brothers library) for this, "The Mel Brooks Collection." (Why they couldn't get their hands on a few important titles from MGM to make this truly complete, is a question worth asking.) The previously released discs have been given new printings, and clear ThinPak cases to match the packaging for the new discs, while the set is housed in a relatively sturdy cardboard slipcase with spot-UV coating. There are no bonuses for the overall set.

[Rasputin]

. The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Collector's Edition)
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. King Kong (2005) 2-disc Special Edition
4. King Kong : Two Disc Special Edition
5. The Ten Commandments - 50th Anniversary Collection
6. Memoirs of a Geisha
7. Breasts: A Documentary
8. The Mel Brooks Collection
9. Breakfast on Pluto
10. Six Feet Under: The Complete Fifth Season

[Rasputin]

Just Like Heaven

San Francisco Doctor Elizabeth Masterson (Reese Witherspoon) is a compassionate workaholic, but she has no life. She’s driven by ambition and has sacrificed any semblance of romance or leisure. Who was it that first said that death is fate’s way of telling you that you need a vacation? A tragic head-on collision puts a screeching halt to her career. Flash forward and Elizabeth returns to her apartment, only to find that it’s occupied by a new tenant, landscape architect David...

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Top Selling DVDs

1. Basic Instinct
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. King Kong
4. Walk the Line
5. Pride and Prejudice
6. Remember the Titans
7. Chicken Little
8. The Parent Trap
9. Beautiful Girls
10. Naked Weapon

[Rasputin]

Planet of the Apes: The Ultimate DVD Collection

“Doctor, I’d like to kiss you goodbye.”“All right, but you’re so damned ugly.”Holy moly, Planet of the Apes lovers! Rarely in the history of the DVD format has there come a box set as definitive and as panoramic as this Planet of the Apes: Ultimate DVD Edition, a sprawling 14-disc collection that includes each and every POTA film (including the Tim Burton remake) and every episode of both the live-action and animated television series the films inspired.

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A Sound of Thunder

I cannot recall clearly when I first read Ray Bradbury’s short story A Sound of Thunder. I can’t even remember in what publication I found it. Originally published in 1952, it’s possible that I read it in a 1983 anthology of short stories called Dinosaur Tales. I simply can’t be sure. But of all of Bradbury’s stories, that one has always stayed with me. It’s a sly tale that would have made Rod Serling proud.

[Rasputin]

Justice League: The Complete First Season

Prepare your hate mail, comic book fans. This writer found Justice League to be an overcooked albatross of an animated series, a collection of hero-laden actioners that make the Godzilla series look like the WWF in comparison.The premise of the series is interesting: the likes of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman fighting crime not as singular entities, but as part of one giant super-squad. But the aspects that make those characters so fascinating - their backstories - are compromised, neglected...

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New Releases
This Week
In Stores 04/04/2006

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
• Brokeback Mountain
• Crash
• Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)
• 9 to 5

[Rasputin]

Deep Blue

The cover of Deep Blue’s DVD keepcase features an adult and baby penguin, evoking another documentary, the uber-popular March of the Penguins. It’s a fairly obvious connection and it’s no accident; this movie really, really wants to follow in its footsteps. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Even though March of the Penguins might be considered a little cookie-cutter as far as documentaries go (despite the Best Documentary Oscar), that non-fiction movie about...

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Brokeback Mountain

All the conspiracy theories are true.Mark my words. In five, ten, or twenty years, the histrionic whining of Academy-Award-winner Crash will have become a thing of distant, cloudy memory (call it the racial-tension equivalent of fellow Best Picture-winner Marty), but Brokeback Mountain will only increase in reputation and importance. It’s not a film for everyone’s taste. As much as tree-hugging weirdoes like myself may wish to deny it, the vast majority of Americans still simply don...

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Full House: The Complete Third Season

What began as a relatively harmless exercise in revisiting my taste-challenged childhood has become a full-bore terror. Full House on DVD is a danger to humanity.All right, all right, it’s not that bad. But sitting through a handful of episodes from this third season on DVD nevertheless tests the boundaries of the sane, and that’s what makes it so difficult to swallow. I specifically remember making time in my schedule (as did my cousins and friends) to have butt on floor in front of...