Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Arctic Tale
- Awe-inspiring adventure
The Hurt Locker
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- AC-3; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; DVD; NTSC; Subtitled; Widescreen
The setting may be Iraq in 2004, but it could just as well be Thermopylae; The Hurt Locker is no "Iraq War movie." Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal--who did time as a journalist embed with an EOD unit--align themselves with neither supporters nor opponents of the U.S. involvement. There's no politics here. War is just the job the characters in the movie do. One in particular, the supremely resourceful staff sergeant played by Jeremy Renner, is addicted to the almost nonstop adrenaline rush and the opportunity to express his esoteric, life-on-the-edge genius. The hurt locker of the title is a box he keeps under his bunk, filled with bomb parts and other signatory memorabilia of "things that could have killed me." That none of it has killed him so far is no real consolation. In this movie, you never know who'! s going to go and when; even high-profile talent (we won't name names here) is no guarantee. But one thing can be guaranteed, and that is that almost every sequence in the movie becomes a riveting, often fiercely enigmatic set piece. This is Kathryn Bigelow's best film since 1987's Near Dark. It could also be the best film of 2009. --Richard T. Jameson
Eight Below (Full Screen Edition)
- Inspired by a true story and the hit Japanese film NANKYOKU MONOGATARI, Frank Marshall s (ALIVE, CONGO) EIGHT BELOW captures a rugged world of ice, snow, and threatening weather that few will ever experience in person. As a guide for a National Science Foundation Research Base in Antarctica, Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) is perfectly content to spend his time exploring the wilderness with his sled d
The Romance Studio
Reviewed by Sara Sawyer
Overall Rating: 5 Hearts!
Ms. O'Connor weaves a marvelous futuristic and thrilling book. This novel captures your attention from the first page as each character imbeds themselves into your psyche. Raphael is a genetic experiment that understands that most of the "pure" humans rank him somewhere below themselves, yet above fish. While he does understand this, he does not accept it. Raphael is a strong, beautiful and supremely complex man and a perfect counterpart to Victoria's rule-abiding, open minded self. Together the main characters make the story come alive. The threats, the insecurities, the mystery that surrounds Kay and its blood-colored water is enthralling and well worth the journey.
Three quarters of her crew are deep sea miners, geneoids, humans designed with aquatic traits that have created creatures of such beauty that Victoria canât help but be drawn to them, particularly the merman, Raphael. When he claims her as his companion, he places her in an untenable posi! tion, but Victoria quickly discovers that the rules set down b! y the co mpany that has betrayed them all are of no concern to her when it comes to Raphael, and that she is just as determined to have him as the company is to part them forever.
The Romance Studio
Reviewed by Sara Sawyer
Overall Rating: 5 Hearts!
Ms. O'Connor weaves a marvelous futuristic and thrilling book. This novel captures your attention from the first page as each character imbeds themselves into your psyche. Raphael is a genetic experiment that understands that most of the "pure" humans rank him somewhere below themselves, yet above fish. While he does understand this, he does not accept it. Raphael is a strong, beautiful and supremely complex man and a perfect counterpart to Victoria's rule-abiding, open minded self. Together the main characters make the story come alive. The threats, the insecurities, the mystery that surrounds Kay and its blood-colored water is enthralling and well worth the journey.
Walt Disney Pictures presents EIGHT! BELOW, the thrilling tale of incredible friendship between eight amazing sled dogs and their guide Jerry (Paul Walker). Stranded in Antarctica during the most unforgiving winter on the planet, Jerry's beloved sled dogs must learn to survive together until Jerry â" who will stop at nothing -- rescues them. Driven by unwavering bonds of friendship, enormous belief in one another, and tremendous courage, Jerry and the dogs make an incredible journey to reunite in this triumphant and inspiring action-adventure the whole family will treasure.Despite a likable cast of humans, it's the canine stars who steal the show in Eight Below, a terrific live-action adventure in the time-honored Disney tradition. Based on a true story that was previously filmed (much differently) as the 1983 Japanese hit Antarctica, this above-average family film takes place in 1993 and focuses on a dog-sled guide at an Antarctic research station (Paul Walker) who is forced by a severe storm ! to abandon eight beloved sled dogs for the duration of a harsh! Antarct ic winter. Left to fend for themselves, the rugged and resourceful dogs encounter danger at every turn, surviving for nearly six months while Walker and his closest colleagues (engagingly played by Bruce Greenwood, Moon Bloodgood, and American Pie's Jason Biggs) join forces to mount a daring rescue mission. Having endured similarly extreme conditions on his 1993 film Alive, director Frank Marshall brings an abundance of natural splendor (and minimum use of digital wizardry) to spectacularly arctic locations in Norway, Greenland and Canada, and Walker (star of The Fast and the Furious) lends an amiable sincerity to his compassionate role. For most viewers, however, it's the remarkable dogs (six Siberian huskies and two malamutes) who make Eight Below so thoroughly entertaining. It's not quite an instant family classic, but it comes pretty doggone close. --Jeff Shannon
Enemy of the State
- TESTED
Teaming up once again with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Top Gun director Tony Scott demonstrates his gl! ossy style with clever cinematography and breakneck pacing. Wi! ll Smith proves that there's more to his success than a brash sense of humor, giving a versatile performance that plausibly illustrates a man cracking under the strain of paranoid turmoil. Hackman steals the show by essentially reprising his role from The Conversation--just imagine his memorable character Harry Caul some 20 years later. Most of all, the film's depiction of high-tech surveillance is highly convincing and dramatically compelling, making this a cautionary tale with more substance than you'd normally expect from a Scott-Bruckheimer action extravaganza. --Jeremy StoreyRobert Clayton Dean (Will Smith) is a lawyer with a wife and family whose happily normal life is turned upside down after a chance meeting with a college buddy (Jason Lee) at a lingerie shop. Unbeknownst to the lawyer, he's just been burdened with a videotape of a congressman's assassination. Hot on the tail of this tape is a ruthless group of National Security Agents commanded by a belligeren! tly ambitious fed named Reynolds (Jon Voight). Using surveillance from satellites, bugs, and other sophisticated snooping devices, the NSA infiltrates every facet of Dean's existence, tracing each physical and digital footprint he leaves. Driven by acute paranoia, Dean enlists the help of a clandestine former NSA operative named Brill (Gene Hackman), and Enemy of the State kicks into high-intensity hyperdrive.
Teaming up once again with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Top Gun director Tony Scott demonstrates his glossy style with clever cinematography and breakneck pacing. Will Smith proves that there's more to his success than a brash sense of humor, giving a versatile performance that plausibly illustrates a man cracking under the strain of paranoid turmoil. Hackman steals the show by essentially reprising his role from The Conversation--just imagine his memorable character Harry Caul some 20 years later. Most of all, the film's depiction of hi! gh-tech surveillance is highly convincing and dramatically com! pelling, making this a cautionary tale with more substance than you'd normally expect from a Scott-Bruckheimer action extravaganza. --Jeremy Storey