Jazwares Astro Boy The Movie 3 3/4 Inch Action Figure Astro Boy

• Astro Boy shirtless action figure measures ~3.75 inches tall
• Inspired by the Astro Boy movie released in 2009
• Figure has interchangeable feet, rocket feet and regular shoes
• Figure has posable arms, elbows, legs, and knees
• For ages 4 and up

et in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him.Are heroes born or made? How does one go about finding one's true destiny? Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage), a revered scientist on the floating paradise known as Metro City, has recently created a technologically advanced robot in! the image of his late son Toby in an effort to assuage his overwhelming grief. Far from an average robot, his creation (Freddie Highmore) is a thinking, feeling robot endowed with the memories and emotions of the real Toby and powered by a unique blue core energy recently discovered by Dr. Tenma's good friend Dr. Elefun (Bill Nighy). Despite his efforts, Dr. Tenma quickly discovers that his new creation will never replace his human son, and he coldly casts him aside. Being a thinking, feeling robot, the robot boy sets off in search of a place where he might fit in, and his journey lands him below Metro City, on the surface of the wasteland known as Earth, where he is befriended first by a trio of rebellious robots who dub him Astro Boy and later by a group of human orphans led by the robot repairman Dr. Hamegg (Nathan Lane). Although Astro Boy fully intends to confess his robotic origins to the humans, circumstances prevent the disclosure, and his first real friendships ar! e tainted by the underlying deception. Meanwhile, back in Metr! o City, President Stone (Donald Sutherland) launches a campaign to destroy Astro Boy in an effort to steal the blue core energy and use it with its opposing and very unstable red core energy to guarantee his reelection. In the end, Astro Boy's real ancestry comes to light, and his relationships with the humans and his very existence are threatened. It also falls to Astro Boy to save Metro City from certain destruction at the hands of President Stone. Based on the 1950s Japanese manga and the 1960s Astro Boy Japanese animated television series commonly credited as the first anime cartoon, Astro Boy is an engaging, action-packed film about self-discovery and pursuing one's destiny. While there's a healthy amount of violence and peril in the film, it's generally appropriate for ages 7 and older. --Tami HoriuchiSet in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. U! nable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him.Are heroes born or made? How does one go about finding one's true destiny? Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage), a revered scientist on the floating paradise known as Metro City, has recently created a technologically advanced robot in the image of his late son Toby in an effort to assuage his overwhelming grief. Far from an average robot, his creation (Freddie Highmore) is a thinking, feeling robot endowed with the memories and emotions of the real Toby and powered by a unique blue core energy recently discovered by Dr. Tenma's good friend Dr. Elefun (Bill Nighy). Despite his efforts, Dr. Tenma quickly discovers that his new creation will never replace his human son, and he coldly casts him aside. Being a thinking, feeling robot, the r! obot boy sets off in search of a place where he might fit in, ! and his journey lands him below Metro City, on the surface of the wasteland known as Earth, where he is befriended first by a trio of rebellious robots who dub him Astro Boy and later by a group of human orphans led by the robot repairman Dr. Hamegg (Nathan Lane). Although Astro Boy fully intends to confess his robotic origins to the humans, circumstances prevent the disclosure, and his first real friendships are tainted by the underlying deception. Meanwhile, back in Metro City, President Stone (Donald Sutherland) launches a campaign to destroy Astro Boy in an effort to steal the blue core energy and use it with its opposing and very unstable red core energy to guarantee his reelection. In the end, Astro Boy's real ancestry comes to light, and his relationships with the humans and his very existence are threatened. It also falls to Astro Boy to save Metro City from certain destruction at the hands of President Stone. Based on the 1950s Japanese manga and the 1960s Astro Boy ! Japanese animated television series commonly credited as the first anime cartoon, Astro Boy is an engaging, action-packed film about self-discovery and pursuing one's destiny. While there's a healthy amount of violence and peril in the film, it's generally appropriate for ages 7 and older. --Tami HoriuchiComplete episodes of the new 2003 version of the 60s television program about a robot boy who is sent to a robot circus by the man who creates him.
Genre: Children's Video
Rating: NR
Release Date: 4-APR-2006
Media Type: DVDWhen Osamu Tezuka created Tetsuwan Atom (literally Iron-arm Atom) a.k.a. Astro Boy, he set his birthdate as April 7, 2003--51 years after the initial manga and 40 years after the groundbreaking television series debuted. Sony produced this third incarnation in 2003, and a few episodes aired on American TV in 2004. A combination of drawn and computer-generated animation, the new version is! far more lavish than the initial black-and-white series or th! e 1980 c olor remake. The artists strive to preserve Tezuka's drawing style, keeping Astro's outsized eyes and Dr. O'Shay's pickle nose. Spaceships and other robots float effortlessly by, but Astro's legs shoot old-fashioned rocket flairs.

The newly born Astro is a complete innocent, but as he explores various aspects of the world, he develops a strong sense of purpose, aiding those in need. His state-of-the-art brain includes kokoro, which can be translated as "heart," "spirit," or "will," which makes him more human. The conflict between humans and robots--which some critics have interpreted as a metaphor for racism distinguishes--escalates into a battle at the city of Robotonia in Antarctica. Astro strives to make peace between the hostile factions, although many of the conflicts were sparked by Dr. Tenma, who originally created him. Although visually appealing, this lush reinterpretation lacks the gritty charm of Tezuka's low-budget original. The only extra is a ! short "remaking of"; the dialogue is dubbed in English, Spanish, and Portuguese--but not Japanese. (Unrated, suitable for ages 8 and older: cartoon violence) --Charles SolomonASTRO BOY:COLLECTION BOX SET - DVD MovieAlthough Osamu Tezuka's Complete Manga runs to 300 volumes and his filmography as a writer, producer, and/or director includes more than 70 shorts, features, and TV series, Astro Boy--including this 1980 remake--remains his iconic creation. Tezuka wrote many of the scripts for the second version, and he and Noboru Ishiguro are listed as co-directors. Created by Dr. Boynton to replace his dead son, Astro is a 100,000-horsepower super-robot with jets in his legs, lasers in his fingers, and a gun in his derrière. His round head and goo-goo eyes reflect Tezuka's affection for the old Fleischers cartoons. Astro overcomes criminals, people who use robots for evil purposes or who harbor anti-robot prejudice, and Atlas, a robot who wants to rule the! world. In these struggles, Astro never loses his temper, hold! s a grud ge, or feels temptation. Tezuka wanted him to embody the virtues of selflessness and compassion, but his naive, unflagging goodness makes him a rather dull character.

The color version of Astro Boy is better animated than the 1963 original, which relied heavily on cycles and reused footage. But the stolid timing robs the action scenes of the punch they should pack. The English dub is equally flat, with little inflection or acting to communicate the characters' emotions. The faded prints have been restored to their original colors. Characters are called by their English names in the dialogue but by their Japanese names in subtitles (e.g., Dr. Boynton becomes Dr. Tenma). Among the extras are several deleted scenes, including one of Tezuka introducing "Astro's First Love." Tezuka devotees and fans who grew up watching the color version on TV will want this set, but the original, black-and-white series remains the definitive Astro Boy. (Unrated, suitable for ag! es 7 and older: violence, alcohol use) --Charles SolomonAstro Boy shirtless action figure measures approx. 3.75 inches tall. Figure has interchangeable feet, rocket feet and regular shoes. Figure has posable arms, elbows, legs, and knees. Inspired by the Astro Boy movie released in 2009. Age 4+

Chasing Liberty

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Closed-captioned; Color; DVD; Widescreen; NTSC

While on a diplomatic trip to Europe with her parents, first daughter Anna (Mandy Moore) escapes the secret service and meets mysterious stranger Ben Calder, who also happens to be an undercover agent.Even when she's playing a girl with a head full of air in a plot full of holes, Mandy Moore manages to make Chasing Liberty wholesomely appealing. It's too bad that "wholesome," in this case, means frolicking around Prague, Venice, and Berlin as the U.S. President's daughter, eluding Secret Service agents, defying her second-term President father (Mark Harmon, totally miscast), and trusting complete strangers in a world where potential terrorism seems like nothing more than a pesky distraction. In other words, first daughter Anna Foster (Moore) is a complete idiot, oblivious to danger in a fluffy rom! antic fantasy that's part Roman Holiday (the good part) and part bubble-gum star vehicle. Don't blame Mandy for daring to shed her good-girl image; even her innocent skinnydipping scene was handled by a "butt double," and she's irresistible as she falls for the mutually smitten Secret Service agent (promising newcomer Matthew Goode) assigned to keep her out of harm's way. Another budding romance involving two bickering agents (Annabella Sciorra, Jeremy Piven) is perfunctory at best, but if you're looking for a picturesque, sweet-natured tour of Europe with a pair of likeable lovebirds, Chasing Liberty makes for a pleasantly brief vacation. --Jeff Shannon

Cloud b Mimicking Monkey

• Plays three unique sounds for fun and sleep: Monkey fun, Angel falls, Lullaby
• Records voices over all sound options
• Illustrated storybook and adoption certificate

Hot leading man Rupert Everett (AN IDEAL HUSBAND, MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING) stars in a sexy thriller that's all about jealousy, passion, revenge ... and a woman compelled to live her life on the edge! Tired of criminal activity, a wild and beautiful thief named B. (Asia Argento -- QUEEN MARGOT) begins to seek a way out of her dangerous profession. While trying to kick her addiction to crime, she finds love and a stable relationship with a naive schoolteacher (Jared Harris -- I SHOT ANDY WARHOL) ... until the dark secrets from B.'s past begin to creep into her new life! As ex-partners Paul (Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers -- MICHAEL COLLINS) get back in the picture, B.'s harrowing balancing act threatens to c! ome crashing down!Director Michael Radford made a surprising about-face from his international hit Il Postino to this grungy British romantic crime thriller. Asia Argento (Dario's daughter and costar of Abel Ferrara's New Rose Hotel) is the title character, a street criminal whose specialty is breaking and entering: "I can get into anywhere." Jared Harris (Richard's son and Andy Warhol in I Shot Andy Warhol) is a bookish, shy schoolteacher with a yen for jazz who becomes smitten with Argento's sexy wildcat. Argento brings a vitality to the supercharged street thief trying to break with her past, but stick-in-the-mud Harris is restrained to a fault and Radford never quite finds the right chemistry to make their union any more than curious. Rupert Everett costars as a smart-mouthed, sleepy-eyed ne'er-do-well whose drug habit puts him deep in debt, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is Argento's volatile partner, a jittery young punk on a hair trigger. Radford has m! ore fun with the villains than his ostensible hero; the film b! ubbles w hen they're on screen and the movie's single heist scene is a short, sharp, energized shot in the arm to a slowing story. Only Harris sticks out as an impossibly resolute saint who's dedicated his life to a passionate sinner. The conclusion reverberates with echoes of Straw Dogs, as remade by a kinder, gentler filmmaker. --Sean Axmaker Rupert Everett stars in this sexy thriller that's all about jealousy, passion, revenge and a woman compelled to live her life on the edge.
Tired of criminal activity, a wild and beautiful thief named B. (Asia Argento) begins to look for a way out of her dangerous profession. While trying to kick her addiction to crime, she finds love with a naive schoolteacher (Jared Harris)â€"until the dark secrets from B.'s past begin to creep into her new life. As ex-partners Paul (Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) get back in the picture, you'll feel the intensity build as B.'s harrowing balan! cing act threatens to come crashing down.Knowing lying is wrong, Howard chose to do it anyways. Why not? It was easy and he got away with it most of the time. This book explains reasons people lie, why they shouldn't, and how to go about making the right choices. Tips and lessons are included. The sixth book in the award winning Howard B. Wigglebottom series. Teacher and counselor endorsed. For reviews and free, fun resources that support the book, visit wedolisten.com.Director Michael Radford made a surprising about-face from his international hit Il Postino to this grungy British romantic crime thriller. Asia Argento (Dario's daughter and costar of Abel Ferrara's New Rose Hotel) is the title character, a street criminal whose specialty is breaking and entering: "I can get into anywhere." Jared Harris (Richard's son and Andy Warhol in I Shot Andy Warhol) is a bookish, shy schoolteacher with a yen for jazz who becomes smitten with Argento's sexy wildcat! . Argento brings a vitality to the supercharged street thief t! rying to break with her past, but stick-in-the-mud Harris is restrained to a fault and Radford never quite finds the right chemistry to make their union any more than curious. Rupert Everett costars as a smart-mouthed, sleepy-eyed ne'er-do-well whose drug habit puts him deep in debt, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is Argento's volatile partner, a jittery young punk on a hair trigger. Radford has more fun with the villains than his ostensible hero; the film bubbles when they're on screen and the movie's single heist scene is a short, sharp, energized shot in the arm to a slowing story. Only Harris sticks out as an impossibly resolute saint who's dedicated his life to a passionate sinner. The conclusion reverberates with echoes of Straw Dogs, as remade by a kinder, gentler filmmaker. --Sean Axmaker Mimicking Monkey's unique dual track voiceover option allows you to record personal messages along with each sound to perfectly transform your child's play, relax or bedtime environ! ment. Familiar voices and soothing sounds are proven to calm the mind in order to help children achieve a more peaceful, deeper sleep. Record a soothing message to your child and help ease separation anxiety. Read Mimicking Monkey's storybook and listen to beautiful sounds as your child slowly drifts away into a peaceful slumber.

Goody Simple Styles Modern Updo Maker

• Simple styles modern updo help helps create a 1/2 for full frech twist
• No need for additional pins or clips
• For all hair types
• Assorted colors, dark and light
• 1 Piece count

Goody Simple Styles is a line of easy to use hair accessories that allow women to create trend-right looks at home, on their own.

Arctic Tale

• Awe-inspiring adventure

This heartbreaking documentary puts a face on the sad statistics of global warming--and though it's not a human face, it's the perhaps even more effective face of an adorable polar bear cub, Nanu, along with her mother, her brother, and her natural enemy, the equally heart-melting Seela the walrus. With breathtaking footage of life on the arctic tundra, the directors spin a highly emotional tale of the melting ice caps and the effect of their disappearance on every species in the ecosystem. Since the film is essentially aimed at children, the cuteness factor is off the charts, aided by the slightly grating use of sound effects, a slangy voiceover by Queen Latifah, and a kid-friendly pop/folk soundtrack. And, as in a National Geographic special, viewers learn some interesting and neutral facts about polar bears, walruses, narwhals, foxes, and other northern creatures. T! he narrative, however, returns repeatedly to the grim conditions that are killing off our planet's wildlife, one family at a time. The directors take pains to create a hopeful ending, with a sweet pair of life-goes-on epilogues and a closing credit sequence featuring conservation tips, but the message of the film is sobering and hits its mark with kids and adults alike.The frozen Arctic is home to polar bears and walruses, two very different types of animals whose struggle to survive against the elements is only being made more difficult by a changing climate. Directors Adam Ravetech and Sarah Robertson filmed walruses and polar bears in the Arctic for 15 years in order to create this amazing story about the lives of Nanu the baby polar bear and a newborn walrus dubbed Seelah. Striking footage from land and sea is combined with effective narration by Queen Latifa and pop music by Joby Talbot to chronicle these creatures' lives from the babies' first days of existence, thr! ough two years of training in hunting and fighting by their re! spective mothers and the changes in the icy world that are necessitating new adaptations by these animals, and a contemplation of the chances of both species' continued survival. Like March of the Penguins, the footage of the animals of the Arctic and the formation and breaking up of the ice is exquisite, but perhaps even more striking is the clear evidence of climate change in the delayed formation of the ice in the autumn and its progressively earlier thawing and breaking up each spring. The polar bears' and walruses' resilience and instinctual ability to adapt and change in the face of the negative effects of global warming in order to survive is stressed, and viewers are left pondering why man cannot similarly adapt and change his ways in order to positively affect the world. Bonus features include an interesting "making of" featurette with Adam Ravetech and Sarah Robertson that describes their travels, trials, and enormous gratitude for the assistance of the Intuit pe! ople and a fun Are We There Yet? World Adventure: Polar Bear Spotting mini-adventure for kids in which Molly and Sam go looking for polar bears in a tundra buggy. (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

The Hurt Locker

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• AC-3; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; DVD; NTSC; Subtitled; Widescreen

War is a drug. Nobody knows that better than Staff Sergeant James, head of an elite squad of soldiers tasked with disarming bombs in the heat of combat. To do this nerve-shredding job, it’s not enough to be the best: you have to thrive in a zone where the margin of error is zero, think as diabolically as a bomb-maker, and somehow survive with your body and soul intact. Powerfully realistic, action-packed, unrelenting and intense, The Hurt Locker has been hailed by critics as “an adrenaline-soaked tour de force” (A.O. Scott, The New York Times) and “one of the great war movies.” (Richard Corliss, Time)The making of honest action movies has become so rare that Kathryn Bigelow's magnificent The Hurt Locker was shown mostly in ! art cinemas rather than multiplexes. That's fine; the picture is a work of art. But it also delivers more kinetic excitement, more breath-bating suspense, more putting-you-right-there in the danger zone than all the brain-dead, visually incoherent wrecking derbies hogging mall screens. Partly it's a matter of subject. The movie focuses on an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, the guys whose more or less daily job is to disarm the homemade bombs that have accounted for most U.S. casualties in Iraq. But even more, the film's extraordinary tension derives from the precision and intelligence of Bigelow's direction. She gets every sweaty detail and tactical nuance in the close-up confrontation of man and bomb, while keeping us alert to the volatile wraparound reality of an ineluctably foreign environment--hot streets and blank-walled buildings full of onlookers, some merely curious and some hostile, perhaps thumbing a cellphone that could become a trigger. This is exemplary movie! making. You don't need CGI, just a human eye, and the imaginat! ion to r ealize that, say, the sight of dust and scale popped off a derelict car by an explosion half a block away delivers more shock value than a pixelated fireball.

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

On what should be a routine rescue mission during World War II, the submarine USS Tiger Shark picks up three survivors of a U-boat attack. But for the crew -- trapped together in the sub's narrow corridors and constricted spaces -- the unexpected visitors seem to spark a series of chilling, otherworldly occurrences! Starring Hollywood favorites Olivia Williams (THE SIXTH SENSE, THE POSTMAN), Bruce Greenwood (THIRTEEN DAYS, DOUBLE JEAPOARD), and Matt Davis (LEGALLY BLONDE, BLUE CRUSH).Inspired by the! vintage thrillers of Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur, Below is a superbly crafted spookfest primed for cult-favorite status. As he did with The Arrival and Pitch Black, director David Twohy revitalizes a B-movie staple--in this case, the World War II submarine thriller--by turning it into a nerve-wracking funhouse of smoke and mirrors, where chilling visions tease the brain and stir paranoia among a close-knit group of terrified characters. When a U.S. sub takes on three survivors from a sinking British ship, its captain (Bruce Greenwood) uncovers secrets while concealing his own. As the sub's recent history unfolds, its crew is increasingly haunted by ghostly images, fleeting and subliminal, while the threat of German attack looms ominously overhead. More of a mood piece than a truly satisfying thriller, Below favors tense atmosphere over cohesive plotting, but it's so visually captivating, and so tautly acted by a fine ensemble cast, that its ! narrative flaws are easily forgiven. --Jeff ShannonOn w! hat was supposed to be a routine rescue mission during World War II, the submarine USS Tiger Shark picks up three survivors of a U-boat attack. But the crew begins to noticeâ€"while trapped together in the sub's narrow corridors and constricted spacesâ€"that the visitors seem to spark a series of chilling, otherworldly occurrences. Starring Hollywood favorites Olivia Williams (TV's Dollhouse), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover Part II), Jason Flemyng (Clash of the Titans), Bruce Greenwood (Barney's Version) and Matthew Davis (TV's The Vampire Diaries).Inspired by the vintage thrillers of Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur, Below is a superbly crafted spookfest primed for cult-favorite status. As he did with The Arrival and Pitch Black, director David Twohy revitalizes a B-movie staple--in this case, the World War II submarine thriller--by turning it into a nerve-wracking funhouse of smoke and mirro! rs, where chilling visions tease the brain and stir paranoia among a close-knit group of terrified characters. When a U.S. sub takes on three survivors from a sinking British ship, its captain (Bruce Greenwood) uncovers secrets while concealing his own. As the sub's recent history unfolds, its crew is increasingly haunted by ghostly images, fleeting and subliminal, while the threat of German attack looms ominously overhead. More of a mood piece than a truly satisfying thriller, Below favors tense atmosphere over cohesive plotting, but it's so visually captivating, and so tautly acted by a fine ensemble cast, that its narrative flaws are easily forgiven. --Jeff ShannonIt's Mitchum vs. Jurgens as the commanders of an American destroyer and a German U-boat play a deadly game of cat and mouse.In The Enemy Below Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens are respectively captains of a U.S. destroyer and a German U-boat whose vessels come into conflict in the South Atla! ntic. Both are good men with a job to do, the script noting Ju! rgens' d istaste for Hitler and the Nazis and engaging our sympathy with the German sailors almost as much as the Americans. Made at the height of the cold war of the 1950s, the film delivers a liberal message of co-operation wrapped inside some spectacular action scenes and a story which builds to a tense and exciting, moving finale. --Gary S. DalkinThree quarters of her crew are deep sea miners, geneoids, humans designed with aquatic traits that have created creatures of such beauty that Victoria can’t help but be drawn to them, particularly the merman, Raphael. When he claims her as his companion, he places her in an untenable position, but Victoria quickly discovers that the rules set down by the company 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.


Three quarters of her crew are deep sea miners, geneoids, humans designed with aquatic traits that have created creatures of such beauty that Victoria can’t 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

Hot Hollywood favorite Will Smith (MEN IN BLACK, INDEPENDENCE DAY) stars with Academy Award(R)-winner Gene Hackman (Best Actor, 1971, THE FRENCH CONNECTION) in a high-powered suspense thriller where nonstop action meets cutting-edge technology! Robert Clayton Dean (Smith) is a successful Washington, D.C., attorney who -- without his knowledge -- is given a video that ties a top official of the National Security Agency (Oscar(R)-winner Jon Voight, Best Actor, 1978, COMING HOME) to a political murder! Instantly, every aspect of Dean's once-normal life is targeted by a lethal team of skilled NSA surveillance operatives who wage a relentless, ultra-high-tech campaign to discredit him and retrieve the incriminating evidence! Also featuring Regina King (JERRY MAGUIRE, BOYZ N THE HOOD) in an impressive, star-studded cast -- get ready for the action to explode as Dean desperately races to recl! aim his life and prove his innocence before it's too late!Robert 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 belligerently 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 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