Children of Men [Blu-ray]

Children of Men [Blu-ray] Review

Children of Men [Blu-ray] Overview

No children. No future. No hope. In the year 2027, eighteen years since the last baby was born, disillusioned Theo (Clive Owen) becomes an unlikely champion of the human race when he is asked by his former lover (Julianne Moore) to escort a young pregnant woman out of the country as quickly as possible. In a thrilling race against time, Theo will risk everything to deliver the miracle the whole world has been waiting for. Co-starring Michael Caine, filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men is the powerful film Pete Hammond of Maxim calls “magnificent … a unique and totally original vision.”

Children of Men [Blu-ray] Specifications

Presenting a bleak, harrowing, and yet ultimately hopeful vision of humankind's not-too-distant future, Children of Men is a riveting cautionary tale of potential things to come. Set in the crisis-ravaged future of 2027, and based on the atypical 1993 novel by British mystery writer P.D. James, the anxiety-inducing, action-packed story is set in a dystopian England where humanity has become infertile (the last baby was born in 2009), immigration is a crime, refugees (or "fugees") are caged like animals, and the world has been torn apart by nuclear fallout, rampant terrorism, and political rebellion. In this seemingly hopeless landscape of hardscrabble survival, a jaded bureaucrat named Theo (Clive Owen) is drawn into a desperate struggle to deliver Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), the world's only pregnant woman, to a secret group called the Human Project that hopes to discover a cure for global infertility. As they carefully navigate between the battling forces of military police and a pro-immigration insurgency, Theo, Kee, and their secretive allies endure a death-defying ordeal of urban warfare, and director Alfonso Cuaron (with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) capture the action with you-are-there intensity. There's just enough humor to balance the film's darker content (much of it coming from Michael Caine, as Theo's aging hippie cohort), and although Children of Men glosses over many of the specifics about its sociopolitical worst-case scenario (which includes Julianne Moore in a brief but pivotal role), it's still an immensely satisfying, pulse-pounding vision of a future that represents a frightening extrapolation of early 21st-century history. --Jeff Shannon

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Upstairs Downstairs

Upstairs Downstairs Review

Upstairs Downstairs Overview

One of the most loved television series of all time is brought back to life with a fresh cast and sumptuous production values. It's 1936, and six years since parlormaid Rose left 165 Eaton Place, fate brings her back, as housekeeper to its new owners: Sir Hallam and his wife Lady Agnes, and Maud, Lady Holland, his mother. Rose soon finds she has her work cut out as she recruits a new 'downstairs' family to help run the elegance and finery of the 'upstairs' world. Both upstairs and downstairs, it soon becomes apparent there lies a labyrinth of secrets, lies and scandal. Set against the historical backdrop of a Britain with a new King, with sexual, social and political tensions, this new series provides an evolving take on the master-servant relationship.

Upstairs Downstairs Specifications

Remade from the hit 1970s serial, this new version of Upstairs, Downstairs, condensed into three hour-long episodes, creates for a modern eye a vision of what 1936 in England must have looked like. That is, if you were royalty, and ran a fantastic mansion at 165 Eaton Place, in one of London's poshest neighborhoods. This show, as indicated in its title, revels in its overall ability to convey life as it unfolds upstairs, among the elite, and downstairs, among those who work tirelessly to keep the palace running. From the first episode, "The Fledgling," the plot is placed politically, socially, and romantically as newlyweds Sir Hallam Holland (Ed Stoppard) and Lady Agnes (Keeley Hawes) decide to sweep the cobwebs out of the old family haunt in favor of modernization. While mundane house dramas unfurl, increasing tenfold once Sir Hallam's nosy, old-fashioned mother, Maud (Eileen Atkins), decides that she and her pet monkey will be moving in, larger political dramas pepper the personal landscape. For example, in "The Fledgling," as well as the next episodes, "The Ladybird" and "The Cuckoo," Agnes's sister, Lady Persephone (Claire Foy), is increasingly misled by the newly formed fascist party, and mounting tensions between Jewish household members and Persie's ilk, including German official Ribbentrop (Edward Baker-Duly), loom large. As would be expected in this royal tale, much of the plot comprises Agnes's ability to bear children and the political expectations Sir Hallam must meet even when morally conflicted.

The most winning aspect of this miniseries is in its display of what the servants attend throughout; their challenges seem equally as difficult as the challenges presented in tandem upstairs. When Agnes promotes ex-housekeeper Rose Buck (Jean Marsh) to hire and manage the house crew, Rose rises to the occasion and commands many interesting scenes in which she hires, fires, and coaches team members like the butler, Pritchard (Adrian Scarborough), head chef Mrs. Thackeray (Anne Reid), young footman Johnny (Nico Mirallegro), and maid Ivy (Ellie Kendrick). Lavish scenes showing preparation for parties, plus those in which the servants simply keep up with daily tasks, may shock those who are not familiar with formal etiquette from the past. Amanjit (Art Malik), Maud's secretary who lives upstairs separate from the rest of the servants, serves as a character who straddles both worlds, offering us glimpses into a man who can relate to both classes. While ultimately modern change is afoot in the Holland household, it is slow moving, and viewers will enjoy watching it come incrementally, through refined displays. --Trinie Dalton

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Supernatural: The Complete Second Season

Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Review

Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Feature

• Twenty-two years ago, Sam (series star JARED PADALECKI) and Dean (series star JENSEN ACKLES) Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. As a result, their father, John (recurring guest star JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN - "Grey's Anatomy"), raised the brothers to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of Am

Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Overview

Twenty-two years ago, Sam (series star JARED PADALECKI) and Dean (series star JENSEN ACKLES) Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. As a result, their father, John (recurring guest star JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN - "Grey's Anatomy"), raised the brothers to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America...and he taught them how to kill it. Sam, however, wanted nothing to do with this violent and dangerous life, and he left it behind, until the day Dean appeared on his doorstep with troubling news. Their father had gone missing on a "hunting trip." Sam and Dean have spent the last year cruising the highwaysof the United States in their 1967 Chevy Impala, searching for their lost father and encountering creatures that most people believe exist only in folklore, superstition and nightmares. Along the way, they have battled the various supernatural threats--and each other as well, for their sibling rivalries and conflicts were never far from the surface. Finally, they found their father, just as he was closing in on the Demon who claimed their mother.

Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Specifications

As programs ranging from Kolchak: The Night Stalker to, well, Night Stalker have proven, it's difficult to scare TV audiences on a weekly basis, but Supernatural seems to broken the trend. Not only has its blend of Route 66 and The X-Files provided some of the more chilling TV moments in recent history, but its core story--two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki) battle the forces of evil to avenge their late mother--has been compelling enough to warrant a second season, which is compiled in its entirety on this six-disc set. Season Two maintains the show's "Monster of the Week" approach while adding compelling layers to the main characters and their history; in "What Is And What Should Never Be," a djinn offers the boys a glimpse of how their lives might've played out had their mother not succumbed to demonic forces, while the two-part "All Hell Breaks Loose" brings the season to a close with not only a rift between Sam and Dean, but the gates of Hell swinging open to unleash monstrous spirits. And if that's not enough of a creepshow for you, the boys also encounter a cannibal clown ("Everybody Loves a Clown"), seductive demons ("Crossroad Blues"), a town gripped by mass psychosis ("Croatoan"), as well as a barrage of ghosts, vampires and werewolves. If it's chills you want, the second season of Supernatural has them by the score. There's also a wealth of extras on the Complete Second Season set that should please longtime fans and help newcomers catch up with developments since the show's debut. Informative and entertaining commentaries are featured on three episodes: "In My Time of Dying" (by Ackles and Padalecki), "What Is And What Never Should Be" (by series creator Eric Kripke), and "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 1" (by Kripke, writer Sera Gambles, and director Robert Singer). There's also a featurette on "All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2" that offers observations by the cast and crew on the season as a whole; viewers should note that the 11-minute short is difficult to find and is accessible only after accessing "The Devil's Road Map," a virtual tour of the places (and monsters) visited throughout the show's history. Padalecki's screen test for the role of Sam is also included, as well as three webisodes about the writers, visual effects and props for the show, and an amusing gag reel. -- Paul Gaita

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Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut

Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut Review

Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut Feature

• Multi-disc set. Real-world super heroes must emerge from retirement to solve a murder of one of their own, in the shadow of nuclear armageddon. Directed by Zack Snyder (300). Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut is the version never seen in theaters, integrating the animated Tales from the Black Freighter into the Director s Cut of the film for a more in-depth experience, with 2 all-new commentaries by Zack

Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut Overview

The Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut is a new and final version of the blockbuster film from Zack Snyder. This version weaves Tales of the Black Freighter into the Watchmen Director’s Cut film that makes this the perfect gift for every die hard fan of the graphic novel.

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Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season

Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season Review

Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season Feature

• Dallas fans just can?t get enough of the Ewings. So Season 8 brings a new one ? cousin Jamie Ewing, a blonde, blue-eyed little ol? cupcake with a big, fat claim on the oil empire. And it brings a new face: Oscar? Academy Award winner* Donna Reed stepping gracefully into Miss Ellie?s high heels while an ailing Barbara Bel Geddes recovers. And, of course, it brings a gusher of high-tension, high-fin

Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season Overview

Dallas fans just can’t get enough of the Ewings. So Season 8 brings a new one – cousin Jamie Ewing, a blonde, blue-eyed little ol’ cupcake with a big, fat claim on the oil empire. And it brings a new face: Oscar® Academy Award winner* Donna Reed stepping gracefully into Miss Ellie’s high heels while an ailing Barbara Bel Geddes recovers. And, of course, it brings a gusher of high-tension, high-finance drama: three corpses, one murder trial, weddings, breakups, adultery, medical traumas, kidnapping, lies, long-forgotten secrets and sudden wealth. That’s not all, not by a Texas Longhorn shot. The season ends with that dynamic Dallas classic, a wow-did-you-see-that cliffhanger.

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Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (Sci-Fi TV Miniseries) (Two-Disc DVD Set)

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (Sci-Fi TV Miniseries) (Two-Disc DVD Set) Review

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (Sci-Fi TV Miniseries) (Two-Disc DVD Set) Overview

The spectacular epic that began in the Emmy Award-winning Frank Herbert’s Dune mini-series continues in this dazzling new journey into sweeping interstellar intrigue and visionary sci-fi adventure! On the desert planet of Dune, the ancient prophecy has been fulfilled: the rule of the legendary Muad’dib has triggered a miraculous transformation of the arid wastelands. But as always, the Great Houses of the Empire are alive with rumors of conspiracy, plotting and betrayal. And when Muad’dib no longer wields absolute power as the Emperor, his young son Leto Atreides and daughter Ghanima face the prospect of a disastrous civil war on Arrakis - and chaos on a galactic scale. Now, with the future of the vital Spice trade in the balance, the destiny of humanity itself will depend on the courage, strength and otherworldly wisdom of The Children of Dune!

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (Sci-Fi TV Miniseries) (Two-Disc DVD Set) Specifications

Conspiracies abound in Children of Dune, Sci-Fi Channel's praiseworthy miniseries sequel to Frank Herbert's Dune, loyally adapted from the Herbert novels Dune Messiah and Children of Dune by John Harrison, who passed directorial duties (due to a scheduling conflict) to Greg Yaitanes, a 31-year-old TV director and Dune neophyte tackling his biggest assignment to date. Uninitiated viewers face a disadvantage; it's best to read Herbert's books and/or see the first miniseries before plunging into this remarkably coherent tangle of political intrigue, unfolding 12 years after the events of Dune.

To his horror, Maud'Dib--Arrakis emperor Paul Atreides (Alec Newman, reprising his Dune role)--has become the unintended figurehead of a violent dictatorship, and his enemies are multiplying. Vanishing into the desert, he waits as destiny shapes his twin heirs Leto II (James McAvoy) and Ghanima (Jessica Brooks), who must contend with their scheming aunt Alia (Daniela Amavia) while Princess Wensicia (Susan Sarandon), of the enemy House Corrino, plots her own attack on Maud'Dib's familial empire. Exiled Atreides matriarch Lady Jessica (Alice Krige, giving the film's finest performance) returns to Arrakis, where the enormous, desert-dwelling sandworms face an uncertain future. As always, the spice must flow, and the universe's most coveted commodity remains at the center of this richly detailed and physically impressive production. Special effects range from awesome (fly-over shots of the capital city, Arakeen) to awful (the saber-tooth tigers look like Jumanji rejects), and Dune devotees will endlessly debate the miniseries' strengths and weaknesses. Some may desire more action to punctuate the film's inherent verbosity, but consensus will surely conclude that this is Dune done right, with monumental effort and obvious devotion from everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon

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Doubt

Doubt Review

Doubt Overview

From Miramax Films comes one of the most honored and acclaimed motion pictures of the year, Doubt. Based on the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, Doubt is a mesmerizing, suspense-filled drama with four riveting performances from Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis that will have you pinned to the edge of your seat. Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Streep), the rigid and fear-inspiring principal of the Saint Nicholas Church School, suffers an extreme dislike for the progressive and popular parish priest Father Flynn (Hoffman). Looking for wrongdoing in every corner, Sister Aloysius believes she's uncovered the ultimate sin when she hears Father Flynn has taken a special interest in a troubled boy. But without proof, the only thing certain is doubt.

"One of the best pictures of the year," (USA Today, Rolling Stone, New York Post, San Francisco Examiner, Roger Ebert).

Bonus Features include From Stage To Screen, Scoring Doubt, The Sisters Of Charity

Doubt Specifications

It's always a risk when writers direct their own work, since some playwrights don't travel well from stage to screen. Aided by Roger Deakins, of No Country for Old Men fame, who vividly captures the look of a blustery Bronx winter, Moonstruck's John Patrick Shanley pulls it off. If Doubt makes for a dialogue-heavy experience, like The Crucible and 12 Angry Men, the words and ideas are never dull, and a consummate cast makes each one count. Set in 1964 and loosely inspired by actual events, Shanley focuses on St. Nicholas, a Catholic primary school that has accepted its first African-American student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), who serves as altar boy to the warm-hearted Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Donald may not have any friends, but that doesn't worry his mother, Mrs. Miller (Viola Davis in a scene-stealing performance), since her sole concern is that her son gets a good education. When Sister James (Amy Adams) notices Flynn concentrating more of his attentions on Miller than the other boys, she mentions the matter to Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), the school's hard-nosed principal. Looking for any excuse to push the progressive priest out of her tradition-minded institution, Sister Aloysius sets out to destroy him, and if that means ruining Donald's future in the process--so be it. Naturally, she's the least sympathetic combatant in this battle, but Streep invests her disciplinarian with wit and unexpected flashes of empathy. Of all the characters she's played, Sister Aloysius comes closest to caricature, but she never feels like a cartoon; just a sad woman willing to do anything to hold onto what little she has before the forces of change render her--and everything she represents--redundant. --Kathleen C. Fennessy


Stills from Doubt (Click for larger image)

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