Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]


Excellent Dark Sci-Fi Question-Reality Film,
The trailers for Dark City suggested a film so complex and impeneterable to leave the viewer rather confused at its conclusion, yet in execution the film makes far more sense than the intriguing montage in the trailer.

Set in a dark world--literally dark, as no one seems to remember being out during the day--the film focuses on John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), a man who awakens amnesiac to find a murdered woman nearby. Soon thereafter pursued by the police (led by William Hurt), he must solve the mystery of his missing memories and eerie pursuers.

Helped along the way by a woman claiming to be his wife (Jennifer Connelley) and a pendactic psychiatrist (Kiefer Sutherland), Murdoch learns that his pursuers are a race of aliens with the power to warp reality with their minds who continually change the city and the memories and even lives of the people inhabiting it in an experiment designed to save their lives. Murdoch has developed their same power to "tune" and save humanity from the aliens' machinations.

The film's theme of questionable reality--carried across on two levels as both human memories are manipulated and the physical world itself changed on a nightly basis--is done fairly well if somewhat less successfully than the in the Matrix.

Replete with dark imagery suiting the film noir genre and quite at home in Blade Runner, the movie makes for a stunning visual performance. The aliens are masterfully done as frightening and eerie outsiders. My only complaint is that I was able to grasp the film's actions and meanings on a first viewing with little difficulty; I had expected to come out with the sense of, "What the heck?!" that would require two or three viewings to fully digest the film's depth. Yet that aside, the film is still a definite watch for any fans of film noir or reality-questioning sci-fi.

The DVD includes a number of special features to sweeten the deal, including two commentary tracks, the theatrical trailer (whose music unfortunately didn't make it into the film), an isolated score track, and more. The video and audio transfers are crisp and clean. read more....

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Skynet Edition) [Blu-ray] (1991)

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After he pushed the envelope of computer-generated special effects in The Abyss, director James Cameron turned this hotly anticipated sequel to Terminator into a well-written, action-packed showcase for advanced special effects and for one of the most invincible villains ever imagined. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a legitimate sequel: there's more story to tell about a hulking, leather-clad android (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who arrivTerminater 2 Blu-Rayses from the future to protect a rebellious teenager and future leader (Edward Furlong) from being killed by the tenacious T-1000 robot (Robert Patrick), whose liquid-metal construction makes him seemingly unstoppable. The fate of the future lies in the balance, with Linda Hamilton (who would later marry her director) reprising her role as the rugged woman whose son will change the course of history. --Jeff Shannon

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True Blood: The Complete Second Season (HBO Series)

True Blood: The Complete Second Season (HBO Series)

True Blood's second season, with episodes involving a new cast of monsters invading Louisiana swamp town Bon Temps, is notably gorier and more camp than the first season. While thematically the central focus in these 12 exciting episodes still revolves around faith and loyalty, these questions are complicated by displays of pagan ritual and obsession. Though the vampire/human relationship dilemma continues, spearheaded by lovers Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), there is less emphasis on addiction to V, or vampire blood, and more time dedicated to outsiders whose supernatural talents make some episodes feel like superhero battles.Episode 1, "Nothing but the Blood," sets the gory example with a brutal opening scene in which the local shaman has been eviscerated. While gruesome murders continue throughout the season, we become familiar with a new femme fatale, Maryann Forrester (Michelle Forbes), who hosts bacchanalia, such as the one in episode 4 ("Shake and Fingerpop") that gives Bon Temps a collective hangover. Also developing in this season are relationships between Sookie and Bill's vampire colleagues Eric (Alexander Skarsgård), Eric's master Godric, and a vampire queen who plays Yahtzee throughout episode 11 ("Frenzy"). The ever-increasing vampire interest in Sookie leads to her questioning her own supernatural psychic identity, especially in the final episode ("Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"), a semi-ridiculous, over-the-top segment that is more humorous than scary. Also corny but funny are the episodes featuring Fellowship of the Sun zealots Steve and Sarah Newlin (Michael McMillian and Anna Camp), and Jason Stackhouse's evangelical dedication to them (with Ryan Kwanten as Stackhouse). Perhaps the best episodes are those dedicated to the endangered plights of Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), and Tara (Rutina Wesley). New characters, like Tara's lover, Eggs (Mehcad Brooks), and the young, tempestuous vampire Jessica Hamby (Deborah Ann Woll), also add greatly to an already fabulous cast. Though the extras in this DVD set, "The Vampire Report (Special Edition)" and "Fellowship of the Sun: Reflections of Light," offer lighthearted, pseudo-documentary fun, they feel quaint next to the many wonderful episodes of this horror serial. --Trinie Dalton

Stills from True Blood: The Complete Second Season (click for larger image)

Product Description

When we last checked in with Sookie Stackhouse, the mystery surrounding a Bon Temps serial killer had finally been solved, to the town’sinfinite relief. Sookie is thrilled that her vampire soulmate, Bill Compton, has escaped with his life (or is it death?) after coming to her daylight defense. On other fronts, Sookie’s pal Tara Thornton sets downnew roots with an affluent benefactor, Maryann Forrester; Sam Merlotte resolves to get in shape-shift shape after a forest foray; roguish brother Jason finds new purpose with an anti-vampire sect; and detectiveAndy Bellefleur licks his wounds after being proven wrong about Jason’s guilt. But just as things are settling down, some deadly new twists threaten to ratchet up the saga of Sookie Stackhouse to bloody new heights!

James Bond (11-Movie Collection) [Blu-ray]

James Bond (11-Movie Collection) [Blu-ray]

In Stock.This collection includes 11 of the 14 James Bond Movies released to date on blu-ray. The first four and most highly rated of Sean Connery' films as JB, The only films not previously released on blu-ray are 'Never Say Never Again', which MGM does not own and consequently is not available in this collection and Casino Royale. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace are available now in blu-ray from MGM and are not included. These movies are both selling very well and can be expected to do extremely well with Father's Day coming up. MGM is not required to sell these movies as a part of a $99 bundle. Their shareholders would be entitled to kick out management if they did that.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
 




I cannot say that I have seen the entire collection. I have seen several of them on blu-ray (thank you Netflix) and find the video and audio Incredibly good for their age- Dr. No was released nearly 50 years ago and the transfer to blu-ray in 2008 won a 4.5 stars out of a 5.0 possible from High Def Digest - to quote the introductory sentence "Wow. Just wow". HDD has the toughest and most knowledgeable critics on blu-ray transfers. See [..] I have ordered this collection from Amazon and look forward to many hours of enjoyment. For those of you who complain that it does not contain all 22 movies - grow up! This is a tremendous collection at a great price. Those who pass it up are the same people who would not purchase The Lord of the Rings trilogy because it did not include the extended edition as well as the theatrical edition. Pleasure delayed may be pleasure thrown away.


I recommend this collection to any James Bond fan. These are 'fun-to-watch' films that requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief. If you are hunting for a great classic such as Citizen Kane or Schlinder's List, these are not your movies. These are popcorn movies that let you take a break from the grind of everyday life.

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Avatar (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]
After 12 years of thinking about it (and waiting for movie technology to catch up with his visions), James Cameron followed up his unsinkable Titanic with Avatar, a sci-fi epic meant to trump all previous sci-fi epics. Set in the future on a distant planet, Avatar spins a simple little parable about greedy colonizers (that would be mankind) messing up the lush tribal world of Pandora. A paraplegic Marine named Jake (Sam Worthington) acts through a 9-foot-tall avatar that allows him to roam the planet and pass as one of the Na'vi, the blue-skinned, large-eyed native people who would very much like to live their peaceful lives without the interference of the visitors. Although he's supposed to be gathering intel for the badass general (Stephen Lang) who'd like to lay waste to the planet and its inhabitants, Jake naturally begins to take a liking to the Na'vi, especially the feisty Neytiri (Zoë Saldana, whose entire performance, recorded by Cameron's complicated motion-capture system, exists as a digitally rendered Na'vi). The movie uses state-of-the-art 3D technology to plunge the viewer deep into Cameron's crazy toy box of planetary ecosystems and high-tech machinery. Maybe it's the fact that Cameron seems torn between his two loves--awesome destructive gizmos and flower-power message mongering--that makes Avatar's pursuit of its point ultimately uncertain. That, and the fact that Cameron's dialogue continues to clunk badly. If you're won over by the movie's trippy new world, the characters will be forgivable as broad, useful archetypes rather than standard-issue stereotypes, and you might be able to overlook the unsurprising central plot. (The overextended "take that, Michael Bay" final battle sequences could tax even Cameron enthusiasts, however.) It doesn't measure up to the hype (what could?) yet Avatar frequently hits a giddy delirium all its own. The film itself is our Pandora, a sensation-saturated universe only the movies could create. --Robert Horton