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Synopsis

The world greatest rock band’s story about the rise to power, born from Satan, and ready to rock the world, may not be as accurate as one would perceive. As Jack Black and Kyle Gass (Jables and KG to those in the know), Tenacious D received a small run of episodes during the HBO series Mr. Show in 1999 that resulted in good word of mouth for the pair. It was only until last year, when the long-awaited first album finally dropped, that the world discovered just how good they were. And the alb…

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M. Night Shyamalan has a knack for channeling the spirit of Rod Serling each time he sits down to write and ultimately direct and produce a new film. When Serling’s spirit is unavailable, then it seems that Hitchcock will do. The Village, like each of his previous films, is carried off in rather subtle tones both in visual textures and storytelling.

The Village again begins with little or no action but somehow compels us to begin to ask questions about the deceptively simple story unfolding b…

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Synopsis

Texas is in the middle of its revolution, beginning the break with Mexico. Santa Anna hasjust declared himself emperor, and is set on crushing the resulting rebellion. The crucialbattlefield is the Alamo, a former monastery, a hardly suitable for defense. Nevertheless, thatis where our band of heroes gather, including Davey Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton), JamesBowie (Jason Patric) and Lt. Col. William Travis (Patrick Wilson). Personal animosities are setaside in the ensuing …

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Synopsis

The “Patch of Heaven” farm is about to be seized by the bank, unless $750.00 can be raised,and raised quickly. By lucky coincidence, that is precisely the reward being offered for thecapture of cattle rustler Alameda Slim. Three plucky cows (voiced by Roseanne Barr, Judi Denchand Jennifer Tilly) decide to capture Slim and win the reward, thus saving their home.

The opening moments, with a series of Tex Avery-style catastrophes befalling an unfortunaterabbit, are ver…

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In 1980, the United States was in need of something to give hope to its citizens. What it got was a miracle.

Now, hockey has never really been a major sport in the United States. While it is played feverishly in many of the Northern states, those in the rest of the country are just not as passionate about it. Basketball, baseball and football are the big three in this country. This fact just goes one step further to show just how unbelievable the Miracle on Ice really was. I am sure that most people already…

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Synopsis

Jamie Lee Curtis is the harried big-name therapist with the bestselling book. Lindsay Lohanis her teenage daughter going through the meat-grinder of high school. They are at each otherhammer and tongs, neither understanding the stresses of the other’s life. Then, of course, theywake up one Friday in each other’s bodies, and the fun begins. Not only must each survive inthe other’s environment, but two major events loom: Curtis’ marriage and Lohan’s band’saudition. Pos…

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Tim Allan is back as Santa Clause, and this time he is on a mission… to find a wife. The Santa Clause 2 is a good family Christmas tale, and though it is not as effective as its predecessor, it still has Christmas charm and a number of cute scenes. The story is a little flawed, and many scenes rely on childish antics to survive, but those elements add to the family-friendly nature of the film.

” Scott Calvin (Allen) has been Santa Claus for the past eight years, and his loyal elves consider him the best …

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Disney has done a very good job bringing the children’s novel Hoels to the big screen (or little screen for this DVD release). This film contains a good story with some solid moral values being taught to the young viewers. The story and acting are both quite good, creating a film that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.

“Dogged by bad luck stemming from an ancient family curse, young Stanley Yelnats (LaBeouf) is sent to Camp Green Lake, a very weird place that’s not green and doesn’t hav…

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In the tradition of DVD releases of other classic Disney films, Sleeping Beauty as been given an all-star DVD treatment. Everyone has grown up watching Disney animated classic films, and everyone knows the story. No matter how many time you see these films, they never go out of style… and so is the case with Sleeping Beauty.

”Walt Disney’s SLEEPING BEAUTY is a magical and timeless story combining some of Disney’s most enchanting characters with one of the screen’s most infamous villains, Maleficent. Th…

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Synopsis

Tony and Tia Malone are different from the other kids at the orphanage. They can makethings move just by thinking about it. Tony can levitate. Tia can talk to animals. They come tothe attention of evil millionaire Aristotle Bolt (Ray Milland, doing his patented Mean Rich Guyroutine), who dispatches Donald Pleasance to bring the children to his isolated mansion.Realizing what Bolt wants to exploit them, Tony and Tia escape, and, with the help of crusty-but-good-hearte…

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Synopsis

In 1868, ships are being sunk by what appears to be a monster. Investigating scientists PaulLukas and Peter Lorre discover that it is, in fact, a submarine, when their ship is struck. They arepicked up, along with sailor Kirk Douglas, by Captain Nemo (James Mason) of the Nautilus. IsNemo a genius or megalomaniac? Villain or hero? Both? Our heroes wrestle with these questionsover the course of their adventures. The special effects, almost 50 years old, still stand up well(wi…

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Inspector Gadget returns to take on the nefarious Dr. Claw who has just escaped from prison in small town Riverton. Throw into the mix an all new and improved G2…all-robot, all-tech and all-female gadget and we have the potential for a ton of fun. Inspector Gadget (this time around played by French Stewart and G2 (Elaine Hendrix) are set to save the world with help from Penny, her dog Brain and the tricked-out Gadgetmobile.

Video

Full bright and colorful scenes and characters the quality o…

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Synopsis

A flying saucer lands in Washington, causing widespread paranoia. Emerging from thesaucer are the ominous robot Gort, and the human-looking Klaatu (Michael Rennie). Klaatucomes with a warning for Earth (get your act together or be wiped out), but he will speak only torepresentatives from all nations. This turns out to be a difficult proposition. Klaatu escapes fromthe authorities and blends in with the population as he learns about humans. The questionbecomes whether he wil…

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Film

M. Night Shyamalan, the brilliant director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, comes through again with his latest film Signs. Buena Vista has given Shyamalan his due respect by adding Signs to their Vista Series of DVD’s.

Synopsis

One morning on their farm in Buck’s County, Pennsylvania the Hess family wake up to find a 500 foot crop circle in the corn fields in their back yard. Watching the news brings them reports of similar circles showing up …

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Synopsis

Jennifer (Camille Keaton) leaves New York for a summer in the country. Four low-lifes rapeher, beat her, and leave her for dead. She strikes back most violently. This is the nec plus ultraof rape-revenge films, the yardstick against which all others are measured. The gang rape isharrowingly brutal, and goes on for almost half an hour. The film is cheap and raw, and has itsflaws, but is also searingly powerful in the unflinching realism of its violence. For this, and forits …

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Synopsis

Beary Barrington (voice of Haley Joel Osment) runs away from his (human) adoptive familyto seek out Country Bear Hall. When it turns out that the evil Christopher Walken hasdevelopment plans that include the Hall’s demolition, Beary is determined to re-unite theCountry Bears for a benefit concert that will save the Hall.

Audio

The big star of the soundtrack is the music — arena-style country rock that will either haveyou stomping your feet or slitt…

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Synopsis

It is World War II, and Wendy’s daughter Jane, living in a constantly bombed London, has given up on childhood dreams. Her disillusion ends when she is kidnapped by Captain Hook and brought to Never Land. The animation is in no way up to Disney’s current theatrical standard, but is leaps and bounds beyond other direct-to-video fare. The problem is, this WAS released theatrically. Anyway, the London sequences are nicely atmospheric, but things go rather flat and ordinary once we reach Never L…

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Aliens was one of those rare sequels that must include T2 where everything gets taken up a notch without spoiling the elements that made the first successful. This is not to say Aliens is better than the original, but very different yet somehow very much the same. Sigourney Weaver acts with a confidence made possible by the first film. It’s hard to believe but Ripley just gets stronger. The story is much more complex but still retains the chilling simplicity of a horrible creature stalking its prey. There are more cr…

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“In space no one can hear you scream” was the slogan that drew a conglomerate of horror and science fiction fans to theatres in 1979. Was it horror or sci-fi? Alien turned out to be a rare cross-genre film that managed to satisfy both audiences. Ridley Scott started out by bringing the “space ship” film away from the glamorous bright future and depicted a world startlingly very much like our own. In Scott’s gritty future companies are quasi-government agencies and these astronauts are not explorers out for glory and…

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Synopsis

Paul Newman is Fast Eddie Felson, pool hustler. He’s very good, but he’s also very arrogant, and he gets in over his head when he challenges Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). Eddie loses, and his confidence is shaken to the core. Two things then happen as he licks his wounds and plots a comeback. One is that the falls in love with Piper Laurie, suicidal alcoholic. The other is that he gets caught in the web of the dangerous George C. Scott.

Audio

The soundtrack opti…

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This film has been met with mixed but mostly rave reviews (Maltin only gives it 2.5 stars) since it was released. I loved it. It wasn’t just the spaceships and groundbreaking effects but the well-rounded cast that makes this film a future classic for me. Goldblume’s quirky nerd works perfectly here (more than it did in Jurassic Park), Quaid is a simple joy, Will Smith showed that he has grown out of the “Fresh Prince” stereotype, and anyone who thought Judd Hirsh wasn’t anything more than Taxi’s Alex must have been awed by his performance.

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Intro

There have been numerous DVD releases of this classic, ranging from the bottom of the bargain basement to versions with newly shot footage (a mistake). This is likely to be the definitive edition for the foreseeable future.

Synopsis

The premise is beautiful in its simplicity: trap a group of people in a farm house and surround them with flesh-eating zombies. The siege concept is no doubt influenced by the climax to Hitchcock’s The Birds, but here is expanded to take up the entire…

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Intro

Another Disney Classic gets a Special Edition Release. Everyone knows the story of Peter Pan, but for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past 100 years, here is a synopsis…

Synopsis

“Now fully restored and remastered in a glorious Special Edition — this timeless tale will live in your heart forever. Let your dreams take flight with this original Disney classic that never grows old! Bursting with fantasy, adventure, and pixie dust, Walt Disney’s 14th animated…

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