Max & Ruby - Springtime for Max & Ruby

Starring:Billy Rosemberg, Julie Lemieux, Samantha Morton, Cameron Ansell
Director: Jamie Whitney
Studio: Nickelodeon
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The classic Impossible Missions Force lineup made its debut in Mission: Impossible's sophomore season (1967-1968), which is preserved in this essential set for classic TV fans. Gone was Steven Hill as Dan Briggs, and in his place the supremely confident and smooth Peter Graves as new team leader Jim Phelps, whom most viewers identify with the series. Carrying out the missions assigned from a pre-recorded voice on the self-destroying tape recorder was magician and master of disguise Rollin Hand (Martin Landau, who moved up from guest star to regular cast member with this season), top model Cinnamon Carter (Landau's real-life spouse Barbara Bain, who won three Emmys for her work on the show), electronics genius Barney Collier (Greg Morris), and all-purpose strong man Willie Armitage (body builder-turned-actor Peter Lupus). Among the 25 adventures carried out in this seven-disc set: "The Seal," in which the IMF uses a trained cat to assist in the recovery from an important statue from thief Darren McGavin; "The Town," with Phelps discovering that Communists have overrun an entire hamlet; and "The Slave," in which the team tangle with a Middle Eastern slavery ring. Guest stars include Anthony Zerbe, Paul Winfield, Fritz Weaver, and Sid Haig, but it's the team itself that shines the brightest, especially Landau and Bain, who exude the breezy charm of the series itself (though both would depart the show by the following season). Sadly, the second season set includes no extras. -- Paul Gaita

Product Description

The head of the "Impossible Missions Force", a top-secret government group of operatives, starts a tape recorder and finds out about his latest assignment. Throughout most of the series, they would have to stop some petty dictator or powerful bad guy from whatever evil plot they had against the U.S. or Democracy in general. The elaborate use of electronic gadgetry, masters of disguise and detailed plans that require split-second timing made this tv show an "on the edge of your seater"!

Customer Reviews:

Smart TV.......2007-07-09

Long before Tom Cruise ruined Mission Impossible, making it just a special effects vehicle so he could jump around on camera without being criticized for being nuts, Mission Impossible was a great series. Each week, the thinking man could watch a story unfold. Like a murder mystery, you never quite knew how it was going to unfold in the end, except that the MI Force would win. Great casting, and a beautiful Barbara Bain helped to make this a great TV series. I remember quite a few of the best episodes, but won't go into them now. Because this message may self-destruct in 5 seconds, and Amazon will have to disavow my actions.

Filled with surprises!.......2007-07-08

I thought I knew most of the Mission Impossible episodes, but this collection contained a number of surprises for me. Episodes I'd never seen before, even though I'd grown up watching them when they came out originally.

Quality is superb. Nice to have them presented in the order that they appeared.

I highly recommend this product to anyone who'd like to go back to the good old days of great television! Keep them coming!

Mission Impossible-second tv season.......2007-07-04

Again...if you remember this when you were a child then this is perfect for you! Wonderful can't wait to get the 2nd season. Just what I remember as a child. My kids are interested as well...they are teenager's and I didn't think they would like it but they can't wait to see the 2nd season either!

2nd Great Series.......2007-07-04

Very happy that they finally put this series on DVD. It was great watching it way- back- when as it is now.

Mission: ...... ah, skip it. It's GOLD!!!!.......2007-06-26

Can't think of a clever enough title for my review, but I can say that I'm pleased as punch to get my paws on this set.

I have been bitching for YEARS about this program's absence from the DVD racks, and I was nearly hysterical when I found out that Paramount got their stuff together. I have a sneaking suspicion that Tom Cruise's departure from Paramount (after he exposed himself as a hysterical fanatic on the public airwaves) led to the flexibility for Paramount to finally release the DVD's of the original series. Cruise was probably concerned that the obviously superior writing and performances found on the original show would put a crimp in his rep as Mr. M:I. He would be right!

Anyway, after a nostalgic headlong-leap into the original series DVD's, I can honestly say that I wear the wet-lipped grin of a toddler at the circus, with every sharp-witted episode I re-watch. In retrospect, I'm starting to think that I dig Briggs more than Phelps, but the complexity of the plots definitely grew in season 2. I'm sure Graves needed a few episodes to break himself into the role. By disc 3, his magic is beginning to surface.

The transfer looks good, and the colors look surprisingly crisp for a show that's nearly 40 years old. One star has to come off for the packaging. Nice box w/ slim cases (I like this trend), but absolutely NO extras. No booklet, no featurette.... nothing. Back to the days when "chapter selection" was touted as a "special feature". Regardless, nothing can take the shine off this, the most cherished of all my classic TV memories. (Odd Couple, too).

EDIT: Oh, I noticed that, in Season 2, Episode 7: Operation 'Heart', there is a Georges Rouault painting hanging in Pernell Roberts' office.... The very same one that hung in Brigg's apartment for the entirety of season #1!....

I know re-using props is common, I just like Rouault.

Average customer rating:

Don't waste your time!
Not Billy Bob's best
Real? Or Not?
A movie for dreamers
Reach the stars and your dreams

The Astronaut Farmer
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton , Virginia Madsen , Max Thieriot , Jasper Polish , and Logan Polish
Director: Michael Polish
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005JPLE
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Amazon.com

If you can give The Astronaut Farmer the big, bounding leap of faith it requires, you'll probably enjoy this good-natured film about the importance of holding on to your dreams. The title character (and the dreamer in question) is Charlie Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton), a Texas ranch owner and former aeronautics engineer who's got a homemade rocket in his barn and a dream to blast into space. Even though Charlie's deeply in debt and threatened with foreclosure, his wife (Virginia Madsen) and kids are deeply supportive of Charlie's Earth-orbit mission, even when he attracts the glaring attention of a seasoned Air Force colonel (played by Bruce Willis, in an uncredited role), the FAA, the FBI, and the national media. "If we don't have our dreams, we have nothing," says Charlie at a particularly desperate impasse, and this loopy, offbeat, and unabashedly sentimental drama embraces that message with disarming sincerity.

Suspension of disbelief is a challenge when the movie glosses over so many of its logistical details (like, where does one buy an old NASA space capsule?), and in trying for a kind of Capra-esque, eccentrically Western spin on the American dream, the Polish twins--director Michael and cowriter/actor Mark (making their mainstream debut after such indie hits as Twin Falls, Idaho and Northfork)--are only marginally successful in making Charlie's ambition genuinely believable. The film works much better as a kind of post space-age fable for families, and it's just involving enough to make its climax emotionally rewarding, mostly because Thornton, Madsen, and their costars (including Bruce Dern and Tim Blake Nelson) handle the delicate material with the earnestness it needs to be marginally convincing. Elton John's "Rocket Man" is predictably heard over the closing credits (accordingly, Charlie's launch-time is "zero hours, nine a.m."), and at a time when several adventurous entrepreneurs (including Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos) are gradually developing a civilian space-flight industry, The Astronaut Farmer is an admirable yet forgivably flawed reminder that we should never stop reaching for the stars. --Jeff Shannon

Description

All systems are "Go" for Charles Farmer. He's faced bank foreclosure, neighborhood naysayers and a government alarmed by his huge purchase of high-grade fuel, but now he's ready to blast into space inside the homemade rocket he built in his barn. Just be home in time for dinner, Charlie. Billy Bob Thornton portrays Charlie in this charmer about chasing dreams...and about what it means to be a family. 10,000 pounds of rocket fuel alone can't lift Charlie into the heavens. He needs a launch/recovery crew, and he has one of the best: his wife (Virginia Madsen) and children, dreamers all. They have liftoff. Our spirits have uplift. Gravity cannot hold down our dreams. The Astronaut Farmer is that kind of movie.

DVD Features:
Featurette:Includes two featurettes: How to Build a Rocket: The Making of The Astronaut Farmer and A Conversation with NASA Astronaut David Scott
Outtakes

Customer Reviews:

Don't waste your time! .......2007-07-07

Don't waste your time or money! Too bad I can't give this movie the big fat zero rating it deserves!

Not Billy Bob's best.......2007-06-30

If you are looking for a good Billy Bob Thornton movie then this is not it. If you are looking for a piece of entertainment that is just that, this is the Billy Bob movie to watch. Not bad but not great either. Don't buy it but rent it as I doubt it could be watched 2x.

Real? Or Not?.......2007-06-19

Stewardess told me this was a true story and it's only now, several days later, that I begin to think she might have been pulling my leg. I guess that's a tribute to the way the movie sort of makes you believe. Charles Farmer might be a real guy, but if so, he had the kind of dream you just don't find anywhere else but in Hollywood movies. This is a quasi-"indie" sort of mood picture from the Polish brothers (who show up as government agents halfway through the film), and it uses mostly actors you recall from various indie pictures over the years. For me, the highlight was seeing yet another grand old "old man" performance by the underrated Bruce Dern, whose new memoir I reviewed recently. Dern doesn't have to say a word (in fact most of the time he just shows his face, with Einstein hair exploding from his skull, so at first he looks like Christopher Lloyd from the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies). Indeed BACK TO THE FUTURE now that I think of it must have as much of a "real science" basis as THE ASTRONAUT FARMER and was likely a direct influence on it. Anyway Dern has only one scene where he does any talking at all, and yet, his quiet and heroic individuality dominate every scene of the picture.

Virginia Madsen might be asking her agent, "Why did you let me do this?" and yet at the end of the day I expect she will be glad she has this film to look back on. The two twin brothers who wrote and directed this film must have been in love with her. I have never seen her photographed looking so gorgeous, young, or sexy, even when she was a starlet 25 years ago. She is incredible here and by the way, she's what gives the movie its reality quotient, not white-lipped, white-haired Billy Bob Thornton.

I kept wishing the rocket would somehow strand the two little girls out in space or something. They were annoying plus. Take them out of school? Leave them in school? I just couldn't get interested. But I'm sure that they are fine little girls in real life and girls, if you're reading this, remember, it wasn't your fault, and better parts will come your way and there's always the Olsen twins to emulate.

A movie for dreamers.......2007-06-11

This movie is perfect, I could not have been more moved by the story and Billy-Bob Thorntons acting. When you walk into a movie, whether its based on a true story or not, you either "buy into it" or you dont. Like "The Man From Snowy River", its not a real story but an incredibe and wonderful adventure.

If you are a dreamer I believe this movie will touch you deeply. When one "dreams" he/she is essentially believing that something wonderful is possible, against all odds, and if you want to realize that dream you must hold on even when everyone loses faith. All of the emotional highs and lows of that experience are captured beautifully in this movie.

This movie is in my top 10 favorites of all time. Dare to dream!

Reach the stars and your dreams.......2007-05-29

*No spoilers*
Once again we come across another inspirational film to tell us that dreams do come true. The road to success is a difficult one--you might be the only one seeing it. The Astronaut Farmer is an uplifting, but formulistic film about a man who fought against all odds to follow the path to redemption--yes, we have seen it before, but it doesn't hurt to experience it again.

Story:
Texan farmer and ex astronaut-in-training Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) has a particular dream; he wants to go to space. In order to accomplish that, he builds a rocket--with a bunch of leftovers from a military junkyard--right in his barn. He is smart and has a strong engineering background to complete this peculiar, but dangerous project. His family and many of his friends support his goal, but unfortunately he is broke--the bank is about to take his property. Not only that, the government has found out about his "project" and will try to stop it. Will he ever launch his rocket?

Review:
The Astronaut Farmer brings back the same "feel good" formula of previous films like The World's Fastest Indian and The Pursuit of Happyness, where our main characters have one thing in common; they all want their dreams come true at any cost. In this film we see a supportive family--his wife and three kids--who stick with Farmer during the good times and bad. In a way, the rocket is what unites his family. They have no money--probably spent on the rocket--but he makes his family part of his dream by letting them participate in his project. Working on the rocket becomes a family tradition.

I'm not a big fan of Billy Bob Thornton--the memories of Bad Santa and The Alamo are still fresh on my mind--but in this movie, he gives us a decent performance. He is a likable family man. His "follow your dream" cliché speech is not as uplifting as other similar films, but it gets the job done.

The Astronaut Farmer was craftily shot. The special effects are about average, but create the desired effect--and some funny moments. It's not jaw-dropping a la Apollo 13 and it doesn't want to be.

Unfortunately, not everything in The Astronaut Farmer is "inspirational." Low points of the film are the tiresome topic, soapy feeling and long draggy parts. The notion of somebody building a rocket in his farm--by himself and with almost no budget--to go to outer space is a bit far-fetched. Also some of the humor feels force and unnecessary, especially the "it's so huge" comments by a local girl.

The Verdict:
"Been there done that" is what people are going to say when they get out of the theater. The Astronaut Farmer is another film that gives us hope--once again--to go ahead and build a rocket to reach our dreams. It has its flaws, but it's a good "feel good" family film nevertheless.

My Score: 7

Alice in Wonderland (Masterpiece Edition)

Average customer rating:

enduring entertainment
The bouns features of review of Alice in Wonderland !
Classic
Alice
A confusing masterpiece!

Alice in Wonderland (Masterpiece Edition)
Starring: Kathryn Beaumont , Ed Wynn , Richard Haydn , Sterling Holloway , and Jerry Colonna
Director: Clyde Geronimi , Hamilton Luske , and Wilfred Jackson
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000TG9E2
Release Date: 2004-01-27

Amazon.com

Imaginatively rendered but slightly chilly, this 1951 Disney adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic is also appropriately surreal. Alice (voiced by Kathryn Beaumont) has all the anticipated experiences: shrinking and growing, meeting the White Rabbit, having tea with the Mad Hatter, etc. Characterization is very strong, and the Disney team worked hard to bring screen personality to Carroll's eccentric creations. For a Disney film, however, it seems more the self-satisfied sum of its inventiveness than a truly engaging experience. --Tom Keogh

Description

Experience the magic, fun, and adventure of ALICE IN WONDERLAND like never before in this new Masterpiece Edition 2-Disc set. Join Alice as she falls into the madcap world of Wonderland and meets extraordinary characters such as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, and the frantically late White Rabbit. And the fun continues with new bonus features including the Virtual Wonderland Party, the newly discovered Cheshire Cat song "I'm Odd," Mickey's "Thru the Mirror" animated short, plus sing-along songs and all-new games. Your family will want to experience this timeless Disney masterpiece again and again!

Customer Reviews:

enduring entertainment.......2007-05-17

Alice in Wonderland includes story lines from Through the Looking Glass so I had my class read both books before showing the movie. The tale was written as a summer diversion for a precocious child and, done as a musical cartoon, provides a willing suspension of disbelief. I also teach Spanish and played a segment in Spanish for those classes. The dialogue was beyond my second year students who soon lost interest.

The bouns features of review of Alice in Wonderland !.......2007-03-26

The best bouns features on the 2 disc set of the masterpeice is the behind
the concept and scene of Alice in Wonderland !
Bring my favorite storybook read long to life as a child in the flim !
I love the storybook concept deleted scenes on the 2 disc set of Alice in Wonderland !

Classic .......2007-03-25

I loved this animated cartoon, but hadn't seen it in such a long time I had forgotten just how strange it was until my 3 year old granddaughter asked, "Why are the flowers yelling at Alice?" It is definitely a cartoon for older children and adults, knowing its whimsical nature.

Alice.......2007-03-16

The DVD was fine, but the description of the produce is not correct. I returned the item twice because it did not have the slipcase cover as it is described neither both time that the item was sent it to me!

A confusing masterpiece!.......2007-03-14

It's a Classic movie, a masterpiece but I think it's also one of the most confusing movies for a child, dialogues and situations are not easy to understand for a small kid.

Lady and the Tramp (50th Anniversary Edition) (Platinum Edition)

Average customer rating:

Lady and the Tramp
It's Lady And The Tramp And We Love It!
Memories
Lady and the Tramp
Sweet Disney classic

Lady and the Tramp (50th Anniversary Edition) (Platinum Edition)
Starring: Peggy Lee , Barbara Luddy , Larry Roberts (II) , Bill Thompson , and Bill Baucom
Director: Hamilton Luske , Clyde Geronimi , and Wilfred Jackson
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000B8QG4A
Release Date: 2006-02-28

Amazon.com

It's still one of the sweetest kisses onscreen, up there with Bergman and Grant, Bogey and Bacall: the moment when pampered purebred Lady and streetwise mongrel Tramp, sharing a moonlit plate of spaghetti in an alley behind an Italian café, unknowingly slurp the same strand, and suddenly find their mouths meeting in surprise and tenderness. Ah, puppy love. Lady and the Tramp is a delight of animation and surprisingly deep character development, given that the stars are all dogs. Lady, an adorable Cocker Spaniel, feels neglected when her owners become distracted by the pending birth of a baby. But the last straw is clueless Aunt Sarah's appearance with her conniving Siamese cats (among Disney's most creatively evil villains), who wreak havoc on Lady's blissful home life. Soon Lady is off on an adventure in the streets, where the savvy Tramp takes her under his paw. The lessons of friendship and loyalty, of integrity--not to mention trusting in the kindness of strangers--ring true to delighted children and adults alike. And unlike many Disney films, there's no real violence, only challenges that smart dogs (including a tough-talking vamp named Peg, voiced sublimely by Peggy Lee, who also wrote the songs), banding together, can tackle. The animation is terrific; the scene where we first meet Tramp shows him rinsing off under a pipe, and his subsequent shaking-off of the water follows the detailed rippling up and down his back that any dog lover will recognize. And is there any song more romantic than "Bella Notte"? Bellissima! --A.T. Hurley

Description

Walt Disney's LADY AND THE TRAMP, filled with memorable music and purebred fun, now shines like never before with an all-new digital restoration! Embark on a thrilling adventure with the most unforgettable characters: Lady, a lovingly pampered cocker spaniel; Tramp, a mutt from across the tracks with a heart of gold; Jock and Trusty, Lady's best friends; and Si and Am, two of the most devious cats to prowl across the screen. The happiest of endings takes place on a lovely bella notte as Lady learns what it means to be footloose and leash-free. Unleash all the fun and excitement in this 2-Disc Special Edition, including never-before-seen deleted scenes, 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix, all-new games, making-of secrets, and much more!

Customer Reviews:

Lady and the Tramp.......2007-06-26

One of Disney's most endearing family classics, "Tramp" is a marvel of lively animation, bright voice acting, and sensational songwriting, courtesy of the inimitable Peggy Lee (who also voices the sinister twin kitties, Si and Am.) Watching a pampered female pooch fall for a declassé but charismatic male doggie is not only fun but enlightening about the magic of mutual attraction. And the famous spaghetti-slurping scene leading to a surprise first kiss is charming no matter how many times you view it. Highlights include the vamp-y "He's a Tramp" and "Siamese Cat Song."

It's Lady And The Tramp And We Love It!.......2007-06-25

LADY AND THE TRAMP is my favorite of all the Disney animated films. It has great memorable characters from the down on her luck show dog Peg (voiced by the fabulous Peggy Lee who also voices a couple of other characters) to Aunt Sarah's sly pair of Siamese cats. The music is also among the best from Disney with "Bella Noche", Quiet As a Snowflake" and especially "He's A Tramp" with the wonderful dog pound chorus as well as a couple of other memorable songs. The film touts the virtures of both pure bred dogs like the beautiful sweet Cocker Spaniel Lady and also the advantages of mixed breeds like her clever Heinz 57 mate Tramp. This movie is a must for dog lovers and can be enjoyed by all ages.

Memories.......2007-06-09

Just as I remembered it with my son (now 42)and enjoyed equally with my grandkids (3 & 5)

Lady and the Tramp.......2007-05-18

Lady and the Tramp was one of my favorite movies in childhood. Watching it again only supports my endeared feelings I have had for so many years. I am glad I was able to watch, go back and experience like I did when I was a child. This movie, I will always hold dear. The talent has transcended into this decade and has kept the meaning of romance and true love alive with the music and animation.

Sweet Disney classic.......2007-05-15

Gorgeous Disney classic film. An original, beautiful story in a new format that can't be missed. The extras make this a very special edition.

Average customer rating:

Elegant, homey and family friendly
Average movie
Pretty good the second time around.
The Inheritance
The Inheritance

The Inheritance
Starring: Cari Shayne , Brigitta Dau , Paul Anthony Stewart , Max Gail , and Brigid Brannagh
Director: Bobby Roth
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
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ASIN: B00062IZ0Y
Release Date: 2004-12-07

Customer Reviews:

Elegant, homey and family friendly.......2007-07-03

This is my favorite Alcott story and it is so endearing. It is definitely a Victorian delight with beautiful costumes and appropriate settings.

Average movie.......2007-06-26

Perhaps the book is better. This could have been an awesome movie with more character development and embellishment on the story. It's clean and decent, though. Good family movie for a "girls' night!"

Pretty good the second time around........2007-06-20

I first saw this movie on tv, but it was at the very end. It caught my interest so I decided to buy it. When I saw the whole movie from start to finish, I thought it was just too simple a plot. Perhaps my expectations were ridiculously high, so I put it away. Well, one Sunday afternoon I decided to re-watch the movie again, give it a second go, and I'm glad I did. Yes, the movie is quite simple, but that is the beauty of it. It's the kind of movie that makes you feel good in the end.

The Inheritance.......2007-06-11

I love turn of the century movies. I've seen this one over and over.

The Inheritance.......2007-06-08

Good condition well pleased, will do business again soon.

Average customer rating:

Funny, engaging, disturbing movie
"You're nothing but waste and disappointment!"
pitiful
Typical
Great fun!

Notes on a Scandal
Starring: Judi Dench , Cate Blanchett , Tom Georgeson , Michael Maloney , and Joanna Scanlan
Director: Richard Eyre
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000NIVJFY
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Amazon.com

Gold stars to all for this taut psychological thriller based on Zoe Heller's novel that that gets more insidiously twisted as it unfolds. Oscar-nominated for her chilling performance, Dame Judi Dench gives a master class as schoolteacher Barbara Covett, a frumpy, friendless, and flinty spinster who lives with her cat. A formidable presence, Barbara is standoffish with colleagues and not one for students to trifle with (not that they'd dare). Cate Blanchett, also an Oscar nominee and winner of several critics society awards for her impassioned performance, costars as Sheba Hart, the new, overwhelmed art teacher who first becomes enthrall to Barbara after she steps in to help Sheba discipline unruly students. Barbara cultivates a friendship, and insinuates herself into Sheba's chaotic life, which includes her older husband (Bill Nighy), teenage daughter, and a son with Down's syndrome. Then, Barbara catches the reckless Sheba in a compromising position with a 15-year-old student (Andrew Simpson). Seizing her opportunity, the calculating Barbara does not turn her in. Rather, she wants to "help" her. "She's the one I've been waiting for," she writes in the journals she meticulously keeps, and which provide, in voiceover, her corrosive commentary. This all sounds very Fatal Attraction, but no boiling rabbits, please; we're British. Philip Glass's Oscar-nominated score accentuates the growing menace. Though there is little in these characters to admire, (one would think GLAAD would have something to say about the predatory turn Barbara's character takes), Notes on a Scandal is a compelling tour-de-force for its Grade-A cast. --Donald Liebenson

Notes on a Scandal Extras

Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench on their characters in the film

Beyond Notes on a Scandal

Book to Movie Adaptations
More Cate Blanchett Films
What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal: A Novel

Stills from Notes on a Scandal

Description

Academy Award(r) winners Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett give wickedly entertaining, Oscar-nominated performances * ? one as a woman consumed by her colleague's guilty secret, the other, a victim to her own dark obsessions ? in this sexy, stylish thriller. Dench mesmerizes as Barbara Covett, a teacher who rules over her classroom with an iron fist, yet leads a desperate, solitary life outside it. That is, until she meets radiant new art teacher Sheba Hart (Blanchett). Although at first overjoyed with her newfound kindred spirit, when Barbara discovers that Sheba is having an affair with a teenage student, her jealously and rage spiral out of control.

Customer Reviews:

Funny, engaging, disturbing movie.......2007-07-08

"Notes on a Scandal" is really about two scandals--the affair a young, married teacher is having with a 15 year old student and the obsession an older teacher has with the same young teacher. Judi Dench is absolutely stunning as the older teacher who at first, coldly criticizes the young teacher and gradually falls in love with her. Dench wonderfully captures all sides of the character--humorous in her criticisms, harsh in her scoldings and perplexed in her loneliness. Cate Blanchett, also very deserving of her Oscar nomination, plays the younger woman who unwittingly finds herself in an affair with a younger student and, in an equally ignorant matter, remains close friends with the woman who is obsessed with her. Blanchett masterfully portrays all the confusion her character faces. The movie as a whole is perfectly constructed--interesting, absorbing and, ultimately, disturbing. For no one wins in this movie--no one can get what they truly want. Obsession is not the same as love. The fact that we still pursue what we cannot have and what may not be appropriate for us to have even when we know it is wrong is the scariest thing of all.

"You're nothing but waste and disappointment!".......2007-07-03

Cate Blanchett delivers another great performance as a lust-crazed, almost-40 teacher looking for illicit, illegal love in the arms of a 15 yo student. I found the film quite fascinating and very disturbing. The director uses Judi Dench's and Cate's acting brilliance to create a raw intensity that comes from watching adults at their most debased. The magnetism that draws the creepy spinster Dench into an obsessive adulation of Cate's character is true even for the viewer. Blanchett is so beautiful and full of live that the audience can't help but like her. This affection makes her fall from grace all the more shocking. The film was clearly inspired by recent events in America, and the director created a really fine film from such sordid material. Any true fan of Cate Blanchett must see this film!

pitiful.......2007-07-01

An extremely disturbing movie with no clear moral or even comic relief. I can't remember a single character who exhibited good judgement or self-control. Of course with moral relativity in vogue, the suggestion that one should exercise self-restraint or that there even is good and bad is old-fashioned and bigoted.

But if you want to see graphic scenes of Cate Blanchett having sex with a smallish 15 year old boy or an elderly lady lusting after Cate, then this is your movie.

Typical.......2007-06-29

Once again, modern cinema cannot resist the urge to set up and then tear down symbols of moral authority, which this film gleefully does by making a pinata out of Judi Dench's character. Behind every judgmental facade, preaches the movie, lies a twisted and lonely soul who lacks the courage to indulge her passions in the way that Cate Blanchett's character does (and whose atrocious behavior is ultimately portrayed as less culpable than Dench's). Sorry, but no matter how well acted this film was, it's the same old slashing and burning of any remaining pockets of piety.

Great fun!.......2007-06-18

After an uncomfortable hour of Middle Class coffee table navel gazing I decided "Scandal" was best treated as a comedy. A southern gothic like "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" transposed to Blighty.

A hoot!

Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)

Average customer rating:

Great movie
A very good movie
Very bloody movie
63rd anniversary
Outstanding Movie

Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)
Starring: Tom Hanks , Tom Sizemore , Edward Burns , Barry Pepper , and Adam Goldberg
Director: Steven Spielberg
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

Band of Brothers
Black Hawk Down
Braveheart
Schindler's List (Widescreen Edition)
We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B00001ZWUS
Release Date: 1999-11-02

Amazon.com essential video

When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first home movie was a backyard war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his 20s, he saw old men crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image became the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission following the D-day invasion that many have called the most realistic--and maybe the best--war film ever. With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has been able to create a stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at Omaha Beach as troops are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost insurmountable odds.

A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier, who takes a small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a private whose three brothers have recently been killed in action. It's a public relations move for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating back to the Civil War. Some critics of the film have labeled the central characters stereotypes. If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good name: Tom Sizemore as the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private Reiben, Barry Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew, Vin Diesel as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful medic, and Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most memorable performance.

The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg's Oscar-winning Schindler's List, but it's more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace technicians (the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle sequences that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy, and chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us deeper than Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we should feel today. It's the film Spielberg was destined to make. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews:

Great movie.......2007-06-27

Great WWII movie. the best that depicts what the invasion of Normandy was really like for the United States.

A very good movie.......2007-06-18

This movie show you went really went on in WWII.

Very bloody movie.......2007-06-09

This is a very bloody movie and thats why i like it!

63rd anniversary.......2007-06-07

It's the 63rd anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy today so in honor of the fact, I watched this movie! Although I have seen it countless times and can speak every line from memory, this movie never ceases to amaze me. The only problem that I have is that the landing on Omaha beach, despite having some of the best special effects, still isn't accurate in terms of the gore (not that that matters anyway). You see, I watched this film with my mom's uncle who is a surviving veteran of the same opening scene on Omaha beach. He saw everything shown in the film 63 years ago and said that it does a great justice to the men who fought and died, but Spielberg got it all wrong. He was touched by the movie but told me that if I could only imagine it infinitely worse, the blood, gore, and death on a larger and more horrifying scale; I would barely be able to grasp what he had to go through. Nevertheless, I love this film.

Outstanding Movie.......2007-05-18

This movie starts with the D-Day landings and that ~20 minute scene reminds you that war is not a "splendid" idea...it's a horrific reality. Once that tone is set, the movie eases off a bit and lets you become enveloped in the concept of several people risking/sacrificing their lives for someone they've never met. That concept is very well developed throughout the movie. -- In addition, the CD includes an interview with Tom Hanks where he says (roughly), it's easy to get a picture of what it was like to be there...but there's no way a guy like me can ever know what it FEELS like to be there. -- As a diabetic who cannot serve in uniform, that accurate statement alone made the purchase worthwhile. -- I encourage people to watch this movie in order to remember what we can do when the chips are down.

Average customer rating:

Delightful Doris Day/James Garner romantic comedy
A Great Movie
I Love It.
move over darling sure is a darling movie
Move Over Darling

Move Over Darling
Starring: Doris Day , James Garner , Polly Bergen , Thelma Ritter , and Fred Clark
Director: Michael Gordon
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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Do Not Disturb
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ASIN: B000JJSJPK
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Amazon.com

Doris Day, the perky, chaste adult star of an odd collection of winking 1960s sex comedies, takes the Irene Dunne role in this remake of the comedy classic My Favorite Wife. As the survivor of a five-year ordeal on a desert island, she returns home the very day her husband has remarried. James Garner, trading his Maverick impish humor and con man cool for a mugging performance of double takes and pratfalls, is her overjoyed husband who is too cowardly to tell his neurotic bride (Polly Bergen). All of this, naturally, leads to a ridiculously complicated plot that combines door-slamming sex farce with mistaken identities (Day poses as a Swedish masseuse) and a goofy sped-up car chase. Chuck Connors, who costars as Day's hunky, he-man island mate "Adam," leads a topnotch supporting cast that includes sassy Thelma Ritter as Garner's no-nonsense mother, Don Knotts as a nervous shoe salesman enlisted by Day to impersonate Adam, Fred Clark at his indignant best, and John Astin and Pat Harrington in early roles. Edgar Buchanan practically steals the film as a gruff, irascible judge who growls through the legal circus that forms the film's chaotic climax. The cast for the most part rises above the tepid script and bland direction and Day sings two songs. Interestingly, this remake was originally developed for Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin as the never completed Something's Got to Give. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Say "I do" to "madcap comedy" (Box Office) and "exuberant farce" (Film Daily) in this feel-good romp about one groom, two wives and one delightfully daffy honeymoon! Starring Doris Day, James Garner and Polly Bergen, Move Over, Darling is "a funny, funny film!" (Hollywood Citizen News) that's the perfect union of "humor, romance and heart" (The Hollywood Reporter)!

Five years after losing his first wife Ellen (Day) at sea, Nick (Garner) is finally ready to have her declared legally dead, get remarried and settle down to a peaceful second marriage! But wedded bliss becomes marital mayhem when Ellen turns up alive -- with a hilarious, hair-brained scheme to win back her husband, put a stop to the honeymoon and give first love a second chance-at happily-ever-after!

Customer Reviews:

Delightful Doris Day/James Garner romantic comedy.......2007-06-28

MOVE OVER, DARLING (1963) offers delightful romantic comedy fun for fans of Doris Day and James Garner. This color and CinemaScope remake of the Irene Dunne-Cary Grant MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940) is so close to the B&W original that WIFE's writers get screenplay credit. DARLING is about a man (Garner) marrying his second wife (Polly Bergen) and honeymooning in a fancy Monterey hotel when his first wife (Day) shows up alive after a several year's absence. So we have a screwball comedy treatment of bigamy, with Bergen in suite C wondering why Garner keeps going to Doris in suite A or down to the hotel lobby for an all evening shave..

Whole scenes here are duplicated in WIFE, sometimes with the same dialogue. But I like DARLING more because it adds a wild car chase and a hilarious scene with Doris going in an open convertible through a carwash. And the supporting cast here is spectacular: Thelma Ritter, Fred Clark, Don Knotts, John Astin, Edgar Buchanan as the Judge, Chuck Connors as hunky "Adam", the list goes on. All are wonderful. WIFE cannot begin to match them, despite a good script.

MOVE OVER, DARLING is not a musical. There are no songs. But this was the 1960's, when Doris was making romantic comedies with (ironically) Cary Grant or James Garner, and not musicals. This started out as a vehicle called SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE, with Marilyn Monroe, and was left unfinished with Marilyn's tragic death in 1962. It was revamped a year later into DARLING with Day and Garner and Bergen. Complicating matters is that MY FAVORITE WIFE is itself a remake of the D. W. Griffith silent drama, ENOCH ARDEN (1911), based on the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson! That version plays complete at 35 minutes as a wonderful bonus with DARLING; it has been supplied from the Library of Congress.

Besides all that exists of ENOCH ARDEN, liberal bonuses with MOVE OVER, DARLING include a behind-the-scenes filmmaking documentary, a Marilyn vs. Doris featurette, and a welcome chat with a still-beautiful Polly Bergen. It's not a masterpiece, but still one of Doris Day's most enjoyable films. Love that carwash scene and Don Knotts playing a shoe salesman sex symbol!

A Great Movie.......2007-06-28

This is a great movie. i love the whole movie but the car wash scene is awesome and one of my favourites.

I Love It........2007-06-13

I wasn't a James Garner fan until I saw this movie for the first time. Now I am.

move over darling sure is a darling movie .......2007-06-08

this movie gets a 5+ STAR IN MY OPTION THIS MOVIE IS SO CUTE THAT i WATCHED IT OVER AND OVER AFTER i GOT IT AND IT IS STILL MY FAVORATE MOVIE OF ALL TIME PLEASE BUY THIS MOVIE IF YOU HAVE NOT THAN DO IT IS A AL TIME CLASIC MOVIE

Move Over Darling.......2007-06-02

This one of my favorite movies. No deep message, just good entertainment. Doris Day and James Garner have a great chemistry.

The World at War (30th Anniversary Edition)

Average customer rating:

No closed captions/provisions for hearing impaired
Greatest WWII overview
Surely the best?
Just okay ...
World at War--Good look at history!

The World at War (30th Anniversary Edition)
Starring: Laurence Olivier , Sir Max Aitken , Vannevar Bush , Christabel Bielenberg , and Edward Butler (II)
Director: John Pett , David Elstein , and Hugh Raggett
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Documentary | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The First World War - The Complete Series
Victory at Sea - The Legendary World War II Documentary (History Channel)
BBC History of World War II
World War 1 in Color
The Nazis - A Warning from History

ASIN: B0002F6AH0
Release Date: 2004-08-24

Amazon.com essential video

Sir Jeremy Isaacs highly deserves the numerous awards for documentaries he has earned: the Royal Television Society's Desmond Davis Award, l'Ordre National du Mérit, an Emmy, and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. His epic The World at War remains unsurpassed as the definitive visual history of World War II.

The Second World War was different from other wars in thousands of ways, one of which was the unparalleled scope of visual documents kept by the Axis and Allies of all their activities. As a result, this war is understood as much through written histories as it is through its powerful images. The Nazis were particularly thorough in documenting even the most abhorrent of the atrocities they were committing--in a surprising amount of color footage. The World at War was one of the first television documentaries that exploited these resources so completely, giving viewers an unbelievable visual guide to the greatest event in the 20th century. This is to say nothing of the excellent, comprehensible narrative. Some highlights:

A New Germany 1933-39: early German and Nazi documentation of Hitler's rise to power through the impending attack on Poland
Whirlwind: the early British losses in the blitz in the skies over Britain and in North Africa
Stalingrad: the turning point of the war and Germany's first defeat
Inside the Reich--Germany 1940-44: one of the most fascinating documentaries that exists on life inside Nazi Germany, from Lebensborn to the Hitler Youth
Morning: prior to Saving Private Ryan, one of the only unromanticized views of the Normandy invasion
Genocide: this film is one of the most widely shown introductions to the Holocaust
Japan 1941-45: although The World at War is decidedly focused more on the European theater, this is an important look into wartime Japan and its expansion--early 20th-century history that lead to Japan's role in World War II is superficial
The bomb: another widely shown documentary of the Manhattan Project, the Enola Gay, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki

The World at War will remain the definitive visual history of World War II, analogous to Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. No serious historian should be missing The World at War in a collection, and no student should leave school without having seen at least some of its salient episodes. Rarely is film so essential. --Erik J. Macki

Customer Reviews:

No closed captions/provisions for hearing impaired.......2007-07-07

The miniseries was terrific but the DVD has one unacceptable (for me) flaw: It has no provisions for the hearing impaired. There is no closed captioning. I bought this as a gift for someone who is hearing impaired and was forced to return it.

Such a cheap, shoddy decision for production is unworthy of the fine miniseries.

Greatest WWII overview.......2007-07-05

We have seen several very good overviews of the 2nd world war. This one is the yardstick that we measure them by. So many people are trying to rewrite history that young people can't really understand how it was. 'World at War' and 'Victory at Sea' give the even handed history that we need today.

Surely the best?.......2007-06-25

For me, as a British viewer this is almost like the `authorised' documentary television series about The Second World War. Considering the fact that most of the participants in this conflict, as young men and women were now middle-aged at the time of the production of this series in the early 1970's; they could relate their individual experiences which for them would have been recent memories.

American viewers criticize the lack of emphasis on the war in the Pacific. At the time, long before the concept of home video, cable and satellite television was conceivable I'm sure it was thought very unlikely that this excellent series would ever tempt the American broadcasting networks to buy it. So therefore it is not surprising that the series emphasises the war from the British point of view.

As there was little British, or British empire participation in the Pacific theatre it can hardly come as a surprise that the bitter conflict in Burma, Malaya and New Guinea should hold our primary attention. Should the series be made today, with the avowed intention of making a documentary series that would have to be sold around the world to recoup production costs alone, the story would more encompassing in its scope.

Please don't forget that the war began for Britain and France when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 and the security of the British people and homeland did not finally arrive until the surrender of Germany in May 1945. Our focus was on the war in Europe and the Soviet Union. The war in the Pacific was a dim and distant event for the "Blacked-out" and severely rationed British people more concerned with the daily struggle just to keep body and soul together.

Just okay ..........2007-06-19

The very first episode was great ... after that it was hit and miss. I found multiple times I wanted to fall asleep on some episodes, but stayed awake out of some desire to feel I watched the whole thing. It is also narrated from a British perspective, and so as an American, I found little to entertain my appetite. Especially Pacific theatre combat with the Americans was almost none existent, as if British combat and especially in Burma was the only real thing that happened. It does have good insights into the Nazi's and rewards itself here and there, but overall I think the British slant and focus ruined the series.

I also found it humorous that the narrator tried to label Hitler as "right-wing" when he was a Socialist dictator. What?

World at War--Good look at history!.......2007-06-18

World at War is a classic! The combination of high-level policymakers' viewpoints and individual citizens' and soldiers' viewpoints gives excellent understanding of the events and issues. I highly recommend it for individuals or classes who want to learn about WWII.

Average customer rating:

Bloody great!!!!
Very political film
This is Sparta!

300 (Widescreen Single Disc Edition)
Starring: Gerard Butler , Lena Headey , Dominic West , David Wenham , and Vincent Regan
Director: Zack Snyder
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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Shooter (Widescreen Edition)
Fracture (Widescreen Edition)
Zodiac (Widescreen Edition)
Ghost Rider (Two-Disc Extended Cut)
Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000QXDED6
Release Date: 2007-07-31

Description

The epic graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) assaults the screen with the blood, thunder and awe of its ferocious visual style faithfully recreated in an intense blend of live-action and CGI animation. Retelling the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, it depicts the titanic clash in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his massive Persian army. Experience history at swordpoint. And moviemaking with a cutting edge.

Customer Reviews:

Bloody great!!!!.......2007-07-08

A graphic novel comes to life
Awash with bloody splendor
Testosterone fuels the cry
No retreat, No surrender!

Spartans groom their toughest men
Picked from the day they're born
When challenged by the Persian king
They counter it with scorn

The Oracle says not to fight
So say the corrupt priests
You cannot stop our festival
To go and fight like beasts

Leonidas gathers his men
Three hundred strong and brave
To battle at Thermopylae
And stop the Persian wave

They battle 'neath the narrow cliffs
The Persian death count's high
With phalanxes, and brutal strength
The Spartan colors fly

Xerxes wants them on his side
And offers wealth and power
If Leonidas will just bow down
And ask his men to cower

On seeing that he will not kneel
King Xerxes is enraged
Thanks to a bitter Spartan spy
A new fight plan's engaged

The battle scenes are so well done
Arrows blacken the sky
No Spartan dreams of backing down
This IS the way to die

Fighting, dying, splattered blood
This is a visual treat
Here's to the Spartans who refused
To bow down in defeat

Amanda Richards

Very political film.......2007-07-06

Edit: Iran is now irate, is protesting this movie, and declaring that Hollywood has "declared war on Iran." How ironic, considering that since the 1970s they have held parades every Friday in which crowds of people chant "Death to all Americans." By the way, this review points several things out that are in the film 300. If you don't like these observations, THEN YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE FILM, NOT WITH MY REVIEW! Just because you didn't pick up on such things doesn't mean they're not there! (The Iranians certainly picked up on the exact same things, and that's why they're now pissed.) Read on: The most striking thing to me about the reviews of 300 is how few critics have commented on how political the movie is. Frank Miller is doing way more than delving into the mysterious Spartan way; he is commenting on current events. Is Frank Miller warning us about Islamo-fascism? Maybe not, but quite a few political views are strongly expressed in 300. One need not delve into the film to find such messages either; they are clearly stated many times, painted in broad, dramatic strokes, spoken by the characters on many occasions. 300 is about a war that is foisted on a reticent nation, Sparta. They send too few troops. The troops that go do so gladly as they fight and die as free men. The message of the film is clear, and is even stated explicitly on more than one occasion: Freedom is not free. It comes at the cost of blood. This is not an ideology; it is an observation confirmed throughout history. The Spartans stand to defend their freedom against the kingdom of Persia, now Iran. Persia comes to impose its religious tyranny on them. Xerxes, the King/ "god" of Persia, is depicted as a megalomaniacal androgynous sociopath. He tempts outsiders to join his kingdom with orgies of hedonism; upon acceptance of course one loses one's freedom. The King of Sparta will not bow to him. Much in the film comments on opposing religious tyranny and preserving freedom. The King of Sparta, toward the beginning of the film, asks that his advisors rely on their reason, not religious oracles. The oracle herself he calls a drunk adolescent. One of the very last lines of the film, as the Spartans charge toward Iran's ancestors, is that they are about to free the world from superstition and tyranny. The political commentary couldn't be made any plainer than that. Though many critics have failed to point out the political commentary in 300, many have claimed that this film is "homoerotic." Far from it, unless you actually find the sight of scantily clad men erotic, there is nothing homoerotic about the Spartans. In fact, in one scene, the King of Sparta even makes fun of the Athenians who were notorious for their bisexual ways, calling them "boy-lovers." On a cinematic level, 300 does not disappoint. The battle scenes are many and excellent. The movie is quite adept at mounting spectacle upon spectacle, each more bizarre than the previous, such as the deformed Persian warriors that resemble monsters more than humans. The Spartans have no such soldiers among their ranks; they kill deformed children at birth. The Spartans then practice abortion, oppose religious tyranny, and fight for liberty. They know that life is finite and that that is what gives it its worth. They harbor no illusions of immortality in other realms. In one of the best scenes in the film the King of Sparta curses a traitor by stating that he hopes the traitor will live forever. Something that is not very well appreciated today, in our pursuit of mythical immortality, is that to actually live forever would indeed be a curse, not a blessing.

This is Sparta!.......2007-05-24

Frank Miller adaptations are on a roll. First we got "Sin City," and now we have the story of three hundred Spartans who repelled a massive invasion.

And the adaptation of "300" is a stunning one -- literally stunning, since it bombards the viewer with larger-than-life characters, smashing visuals and tight direction. It goes a bit too fast for its own good, but it's a truly epic film that takes the historical war movie to another level -- all the more so because it actually happened.

As the introduction tells us, the Spartans were the ultimate warrior people. Babies were inspected for weakness or faults, and killed if they had any; as they were growing up, they were taught and toughened by a savage regimen. Their only true hope was to "die beautifully" for their land.

A Persian messenger arrives, telling King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) that the god-king Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) wants the Spartans to bow to him. Leonidas' response: shove the Persians into a pit. But before he can go to war, he must consult the corrupt priesthood of Ephors and their beautiful Oracle. She predicts that Sparta will fall and the gods forbid war at the approach of the Carneaian festival -- courtesy of a hefty bribe from a Spartan traitor.

So Leonidas takes out three hundred of his best men, along with their nervy Arcadian allies, and begin trouncing the Persians. But they are being sabotaged, both by a hunchbacked outcast and by a treacherous councilor, whom Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) is battling. And so at Thermopylae, Leonidas prepares for a final battle against the monstrous Persian Army -- knowing that their story of freedom will live on.

This is not a "sensitive" movie where you have any appreciation for the bad guys -- it's a glorification of three hundred soldiers who died for their land and freedom. It just wouldn't work otherwise. It doesn't blindly adore the Spartans -- we see their darker side in their "weed out the weak" policy -- but it does appreciate them. They respect and care about each other, and Leonidas is as kind as he can be even to Ephialtes, the traitor.

And it's done in a manner appropriate to its comic book origins -- grimy, bloody and epic, but with a stylized look that is almost like CGI. The battles are shockingly good, and full of fantasy-ish creations like the monstrous creatures or the silver-masked Immortals. Even a wall of corpses. But we also get some beautiful visuals as well -- roiling seas, sunlit battlefields, Spartan cities, and the drugged Oracle in her white veil.

While the script gets a bit over-the-top at times, it's hard not to be moved by dialogue that can be darkly funny ("It's just an eye. The gods saw fit to grace me with a spare") or stirring ("He did not wish tribute, nor song, or monuments or poems of war and valor. His wish was simple: "Remember us." That was his hope, should any free soul come across that place, in all the countless centuries yet to be").

Butler and Headey are simply great as Leonidas and Gorgo -- they're both strong, passionate and fearless, and they both do a great job in their separate storylines. But the movie is filled with good performances -- David Wenham as the narrator, Dominic West as a disgusting traitor, Santoro as the decadent, arrogant god-king, and many others.

"300" is a unique, stirring, stunning movie that pushes the action-movie envelope, and gives a thrilling edge to a real-life story of overwhelming power. A brilliant movie.

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