Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
Fox bungled the short run of Firefly by showing the episodes out of sequence—and in the worst possible time slot it could find. What a surprise—they canceled it. On the strength of word of mouth, the DVD set of the series sold so well that a movie was green-lit. Would the movie be as good as the TV show? Would it work on the big screen? Would anyone see it? Well, yes, yes, and no.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
Mirabelle’s life is about as humdrum as the dress gloves she sells behind the counter at Saks Fifth Avenue are anachronistic. Beautifully portrayed by Claire Danes, Mirabelle wanders through her existence, not quite certain whether she even deserves to find happiness. Of course, she does, and it comes in the form of a rich entrepreneur (Steve Martin), although his plans for the future aren’t as grandiose as hers.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 5
Bloggers across the globe have said so much about Snakes on a Plane—even months before the film was released—except for the one thing that matters. Is the movie any good? The short answer is, no, it’s not good. Not by a long shot.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 4
This is one funny movie. It's the kind of film that you can pick up years later and appreciate all over again. Bill Pullman and John Candy star as two space cadets, literally and figuratively, who rescue a kidnapped princess. Together, this motley crew attempts to save the planet Druidia from the evil Dark Helmet, who plans to steal the planet's fresh air.
The Spider-Man film franchise has millions of satisfied fans, which is quite an accomplishment by the filmmakers, considering the persnickety nature of comic-book devotees and the quality of most sequels. These fans must be confused by the apparent eagerness to modify one of the great superhero movies of all time, but they need not fret. Sony Pictures’ re-edited Spider-Man 2.1 preserves everything we enjoyed theatrically and on DVD in 2004, plus it offers about eight more minutes of footage, every second of it enjoyable in its own right.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
A generation before Captain Kirk and company, there was Jonathan Archer, first captain of the Starship Enterprise, heading with his crew of true space pioneers to explore strange new worlds. It's 2151, and Archer and his officers have a distrust of transporters, phased pistols, and Vulcans, who have subjugated humans' efforts in space for the 100 years since Zefram Cochrane invented the warp drive.
Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee. Directed by George Lucas. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby 5.1 Surround EX (English), Dolby 2.0 Surround (Spanish, French), THX. Two discs. 142 minutes. 2002. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 2005544. PG. $29.98.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
The log line “Will Ferrell hears narration” can conjure up a number of scenarios in one’s mind, some glorious, but most misguided and painful. Thankfully, Stranger Than Fiction turns out to be a rather subtle and charming “meta” comedy. Ferrell plays Harold Crick, a straight-laced, borderline-obsessive-compulsive IRS auditor who begins hearing the dulcet tones of narration. This sets in motion a chain of events that covers the broad spectrum of life, death, love, loss, and all creative endeavors, fictional and non.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 2 Swimming Upstream tells the true story of Australian swimmer Tony Fingleton, who must overcome poverty and a cruel, alcoholic father in his quest to become the best swimmer in Australia. The story is one we've seen many times in different incarnations. The difference here is that, because Fingleton penned the screenplay and the book on which it's based, events aren't always as tidy and pat as Hollywood would like them to be. We don't get the big ending we're expecting, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 2
“Syriana is one of the most relevant stories in the world today,” says the film’s executive producer, Jeff Skoll, in the “Make a Change, Make a Difference” featurette on Warner Brothers’ new DVD release. He’s absolutely right, as even a cursory glance at world and domestic news will confirm. The film paints an unflinching portrait of the world’s dependence on oil and the lengths to which politicians and businessmen will go to maintain the status quo in the global oil fields, even as that status quo contributes to the rise of Islamic extremism in countries where people are afforded few other options.
Video: 2
Audio: 3
Extras: 4
If last year's contentious presidential race wasn't enough to demonstrate how ridiculous politics can be, Tanner 88 and Tanner on Tanner should drive the point home.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 4
Aaron Eckhart owns the screen as tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor in Jason Reitman’s Thank You for Smoking, an acerbic and wickedly funny view of spin control in the modern age. A star-studded cast fills out this comedy, but it’s Eckhart who commands your attention as Naylor tries to soften the image of tobacco in this health-conscious day and age. Whether convincing Hollywood to embrace smoking again, raising his young son, or going up against the U.S. Senate, Eckhart keeps the film together in a delicious performance.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Forty-year-old retail employee Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) loves sci-fi, comic books, video games, magic, and action figures, but, alas, he's given up on loving women. After he is unable to come up with a convincing tale of sexual conquest for his coworkers, they form a mission: get this geek laid.
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