The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season

The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season
From Hbo Home Video

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #128 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2008-08-12
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 630 minutes

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A barroom toast to Det. Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), a one-man good cop/bad cop, offered in The Wire's final episode could very well serve as this series' epitaph: "When you were good, you were the best we had." Season five bears witness to this. The 10 riveting, wrenching episodes focus on yet another beleaguered Baltimore institution, The Baltimore Sun daily newspaper, whose staff, much like the police, is forced to do more with less. One editor (Clark Johnson) struggles to maintain the paper's journalistic standards in the face of declining ad revenues, employee buyouts and bureau closures. An ambitious reporter (Tom McCarthy) undermines him by taking a page out of the Stephen Glass/Jayson Blair playbook, manufacturing sensational quotes, and eventually, whole stories, while bean-counter management encourages its rising star and keeps its eye on the (Pulitzer) prize. Meanwhile, on the streets, the year-long investigation of rising drug lord Marlo Sansfield (Jamie Hector) and the 22 bodies found in "the vacants" has been discontinued and police morale is at an all-time low (the money promised to the department has been diverted to the schools). McNulty manufactures a serial killer case that will have far-reaching repercussions in the mayor's office, where Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen) is mounting a run for governor a mere two years into his term. "I wonder what it would be like to work at a real police station," McNulty rages at one point. The Wire, as ever, is all about real. It's a gritty and unflinching look at life in one of roughest districts of a "broke-ass city." There is street justice for some characters, and street injustice for others. Some meet sad, sudden, or shocking ends that defy TV convention. Referring to Marlo, McNulty declares early on, "He does not get to win; we get to win." The hard-earned victories are mostly small, or come with a price. Not that The Wire does not offer glimmers of hope. Bubbles (Andre Royo) struggles to maintain his sobriety (Steve Earle portrays the leader of his 12-step program and also does the theme song honors this season), and the final episode features a cameo by Jim True-Frost as the once overwhelmed teacher, "Prez," who now seems to have the hang of the job. The ratings-strapped and criminally Emmy-snubbed The Wire has always been a critic's darling with a passionate fan base. To the show's credit, it did not make itself more accessible in its final season (consequently, its send-off did not receive near the fanfare of The Sopranos or Sex and the City). That should not dissuade newcomers to the show. It is heavy lifting, and if you're just joining The Wire, a visit to the show's official website for orientation is recommended. But buy it, watch it, and be patient. It's so worth it. From the masterful storytelling to the peerless ensemble, it just doesn't get any better than The Wire. But that's not exactly news. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Best Series, EVER!
This has been a most joyful viewing experience. Without, question The Wire was the most entertaining television production I have ever scene.

Great price and fast delivery
This dvd set was priced well below retail stores. Target was selling it for $20 more. Can't beat the price (and free shipping, too). I will definitely buy through this site again.

Really great, but not as good as the first 4 seasons
By any standard other than being the last season of the Wire, this would be a five-star season. It's incredible, and definitely must-see television for anyone willing to invest the time to understand it. However, I would say that it is clearly the worst of the five seasons, for two reasons. One has to do with the actual story, which in this season takes a slight turn towards the fantastical and unrealistic, with Jimmy McNulty's mildly absurd gambit for additional funding. More importantly though, this is the first season in which the show seems to have an axe to grind, in this case against the Baltimore Sun. The first four seasons are gorgeously balanced in their presentation of everything. This one is merely well-balanced, if that makes sense. Nevertheless, I absolutely recommend it.

House, M.D. - Season Four

House, M.D. - Season Four
From Universal Studios

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14 in DVD
• Brand: Universal
• Released on: 2008-08-19
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: .50 pounds
• Running time: 660 minutes

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
For Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), there's nothing like a good, tension-filled competition to pick his new team of doctors when his old trio of Chase (Jesse Spencer), Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and Foreman (Omar Epps) leave his fold. Among the 40 newbies vying to earn the coveted spots in the fourth season of House, M.D. are Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn, the Harold & Kumar films), Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson, Transformers) and Dr., uh, Thirteen (Olivia Wilde, The O.C.). Taking a cue from Flavor Flav, House dubs the latter with that nickname simply because he can. Though frequently politically incorrect, House is almost always spot on when it comes to diagnosing rare diseases and ailments. His boss Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) puts up with his unorthodox quirks, which include antagonizing patients, berating his colleagues, and being an overall pain in the butt, because he's brilliant. The addition of the new doctors adds a bit of chaos early on. But once the contingent is whittled away to the select few, the storylines grow stronger and the chemistry between the old and new cast members gels. Originally shown during the 2007-2008 television season, House aired only 16--rather than its usual 24--episodes, due to the Writers Guild strike. Though a bit of momentum is lost in the last third of the season, the writers do an admirable job of piecing together loose ends without sacrificing plot or structure. In a nice homage to the Prescription Passion, the General Hospital-esque soap opera he loves, House at one point is afflicted with amnesia. The humorous aspect of the story is offset by urgency as he tries to remember what needs to be done to save a patient. On a separate episode, House kidnaps the star of the daytime drama (played by Sex and the City hunk Jason Lewis) because he's convinced the actor is dying. The season finale is heartbreaking, as one of House's 40 candidates is in a life-and-death situation that even the good doctor may not be able to cure. --Jae-Ha Kim

Customer Reviews

House MD is awesome
House MD Season Four DVD set is very good and entertaining, my teenage son and I enjoy watching all the 4th seasons this Christmas season!

House Season 4
House is an excellent show. Love watching the shows in sequence. If you are a fan of the medical shows this one will be a great choice.

Awful TV show and waste of money
How a show like this is still on the air is a mystery to me too. This show should have ended after probably 1 season - don't waste your money. A completely lame tv show.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Directed by Sidney Lumet

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1746 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2008-04-15
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 112 minutes

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is an exceptionally dark story about a crime gone wrong and the complicated reasons behind it. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke are outstanding as brothers whose mutual love-hate relationship subtly colors their agreement to rob their own parents’ jewelry store, and more explicitly affects the anxious aftermath of their villainy when their mother (Rosemary Harris) ends up shot. Hoffman’s steely, emotionally locked-up Andy, despite pulling down six figures as a corporate executive, is supporting an expensive drug habit while trying to leave the country with his depressed wife, Gina (Marisa Tomei). Hank (Hawke), a whipped dog of low intelligence, owes back alimony and child support to his ex-spouse. Both men need money and agree to rip off their parents' business, a decision that goes awry and puts both men in various kinds of jeopardy while their mother remains comatose and their father (Albert Finney) lurches along trying to make sense of anything. Writer Kelly Masterson's screenplay employs a perhaps now-overly-familiar time-shifting tactic, jumping around the chronology of the story's events and replaying scenes from different vantage points. The effect is a little tedious but successfully deconstructs the film's drama in a way that shows how such terrible events are directly linked to family dysfunction, old wounds between parent and child, between siblings, that fester into full-blown tragedy. Eighty-three-year-old director Lumet (Serpico) employs bleached colors and scenes of blunt sexuality and violence, adding to the moral rudderlessness and banality of this airless world. If Devil feels a little reductive and insistently grim, it is also a generally persuasive work by an old master. --Tom Keogh

Review
Sidney Lumet s Before the Devil Knows You re Dead is an exceptionally dark story about a crime gone wrong and the complicated reasons behind it. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke are outstanding as brothers whose mutual love-hate relationship subtly colors their agreement to rob their own parents jewelry store, and more explicitly affects the anxious aftermath of their villainy when their mother (Rosemary Harris) ends up shot. Hoffman s steely, emotionally locked-up Andy, despite pulling down six figures as a corporate executive, is supporting an expensive drug habit while trying to leave the country with his depressed wife, Gina (Marisa Tomei). Hank (Hawke), a whipped dog of low intelligence, owes back alimony and child support to his ex-spouse. Both men need money and agree to rip off their parents' business, a decision that goes awry and puts both men in various kinds of jeopardy while their mother remains comatose and their father (Albert Finney) lurches along trying to make sense of anything. Writer Kelly Masterson's screenplay employs a perhaps now-overly-familiar time-shifting tactic, jumping around the chronology of the story's events and replaying scenes from different vantage points. The effect is a little tedious but successfully deconstructs the film's drama in a way that shows how such terrible events are directly linked to family dysfunction, old wounds between parent and child, between siblings, that fester into full-blown tragedy. Eighy-three-year-old director Lumet (Serpico) employs bleached colors and scenes of blunt sexuality and violence, adding to the moral rudderlessness and banality of this airless world. If Devil feels a little reductive and insistently grim, it is also a generally persuasive work by an old master. --Tom Keogh --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

beforethe devil knows your dead
it is a lot twisted thought but great acting so I would say check it out

Engrossing movie...
The acting was superb. Ethan Hawke, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who never dissapoints, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney. All big names, and great performances. The movie was engrossing and ultimately kind of tragic. Loved it.

Not every story has a happy ending
I thought this was the best movie I had seen in years. The acting was very good and yes its a depressing story, but that should not mean its a bad movie (not sure why those people who rated this movie as poor did so just because it was disturbing and depressing). If you need a happy ending and hate flashbacks and forward in movies so much that you can't enjoy such films, well then, this movie isn't for you.

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Transformers

Transformers
From Dreamworks Video

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #634 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2007-10-16
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 143 minutes

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
"I bought a car. Turned out to be an alien robot. Who knew?" deadpans Sam Witwicky, hero and human heart of Michael Bay's rollicking robot-smackdown fest, Transformers. Witwicky (the sweetly nerdy Shia LaBeouf, channeling a young John Cusack) is the perfect counterpoint to the nearly nonstop exhilarating action. The plot is simple: an alien civil war (the Autobots vs. the evil Decepticons) has spilled onto Earth, and young Sam is caught in the fray by his newly purchased souped-up Camaro. Which has a mind--and identity, as a noble-warrior robot named Bumblebee--of its own. The effects, especially the mind-blowing transformations of the robots into their earthly forms and back again, are stellar.

Fans of the earlier film and TV series will be thrilled at this cutting-edge incarnation, but this version should please all fans of high-adrenaline action. Director Bay gleefully salts the movie with homages to pop-culture touchstones like Raiders of the Lost Ark, King Kong, and the early technothriller WarGames. The actors, though clearly all supporting those kickass robots, are uniformly on-target, including the dashing Josh Duhamel as a U.S. Army sergeant fighting an enemy he never anticipated; Jon Voight, as a tough yet sympathetic Secretary of Defense in over his head; and John Turturro, whose special agent manages to be confidently unctuous, even stripped to his undies. But the film belongs to Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and the dastardly Megatron--and the wicked stunts they collide in all over the globe. Long live Transformers! --A.T. Hurley

Review
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Customer Reviews

Transformers
This movie was a lot better than I expected, it has a lot of action and has a lot going on, so I recommend to those that like action movies. It also has the new 2010 chevy camaro and it looks cool, so check it out.

Lots of good points, lots of bad points
While I was never a fan of the original toys, comic books, TV series, movie or anything, I've been as swept up in the hype as anybody else has. Also I have a five year old boy, so there was really no good reason for me to avoid this film simply because it was a Michael Bay project.

I found it very good. It started quite well, with some mystery about what the hell these things were anyway, and why they were on earth. Then the character development was actually fairly okay, although uber-geek Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LaBoeuf was a bit irritating at first. Never mind, he was introduced at the same time as the shapely character played by Megan Fox, who has a very appropriate name. Everything about the film was fairly good, and at times the action scenes were such that I was thinking to myself, "hey, I'm having fun in spite of myself."

The main problem of the film was in the editing - enough to make me wonder if the Singapore release is some unpolished version and the one that will be released on the fourth of July in the U.S. will be a bit smoother... although maybe the thought that Hollywood types would give as much attention to the plot as they would to their CG and explosions is giving these people too much credit. Some action scenes between the Autobots and the Decepticons don't make sense (who hit whom, where are they attacking from, where was Optimus Prime when Megatron was doing this and that, whatever). Other plot points seem juxtaposed somewhat, so it's a bit confusing. It also seemed to be a film that couldn't make up its mind whether it wanted to be a film about people or a film about robots. The "characters" of the robot, unfortunately, aren't very fleshed out, and the scene where Optimus Prime introduces his crew seems it was taken right out of Top Secret ("this is Duchamp, Levieus, Escargot, Latrine, Deja-vu, and Chocolat Mousse"). The human characters, oddly enough, are quite adequately fleshed out, often too much so - sure Sam Witwicky's dad is nitpickety, but the scene when he's trying to find something in his room while the impatient autobots are waiting outside trying to save the world, and his fussy folks are going on about whether he did his chores or not is a bit tiresome.

One of the funny thing about the film is all of its wacky bits. There's a scene where an Autobot pisses on a police officer. The chihuaua is called "Mojo," and there's a rather surreal scene where an Autobot is scolding him - "Bad Mojo - BAD Mojo." Then there's John Torturro's over-the-top performance as a government operative, which is quite funny. Sam's parents are also quite good, despite the above-mentioned scene, as a sort of non-gangster Tony and Carmella Soprano. Jon Voigt is in the film, going through the motions as the Secretary of Defense who loses his marbles near the end. Then there's also John Robinson, who played Stacey Peralta in "Lords of Dogtown" who has a brief role - probably got paid more here than for Lords of Dogtown. There's this priceless bit in the end credits where they talk about "alien sightings," and say to the effect "oh no, we live in a democracy, our government wouldn't hold secrets like that from us." In another superfluous scene, there's this weird interchange like "hey - there are three scratch lines on this, like Freddie Kruger." "No, Freddie Kruger has four claws, Wolverine has three." The music is generally quite good too, although the re-use of that Kill Bill song was a bit weird.

"Transformers" on Blu-ray
I used to love Transformers as a kid and I still love them! I well remember the Autobots vs the Deceptacons. I would enjoy seeing some reruns of the original show, but for now I guess this movie will do. I was amazed at how the movie is both nostalgic and current with todays techs. I told my hubby (whose account I use at Amazon) that the Transformers rule, all the while he disagreed till we saw this movie. So for all you oldschool peeps out there, a little reminder ... " Oldschool Is Cool!" (with a little help from our tech friends)

List Price:	$29.99
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The Mist (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

The Mist (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Directed by Frank Darabont

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7104 in DVD
• Brand: MIST, THE: 2-DISC COLLECTOR'S EDITION (DVD MO
• Released on: 2008-03-25
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Formats: Collector's Edition, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 126 minutes

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Writer-director Frank Darabont, who showcased the softer side of Stephen King in his film adaptations of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, turns to darker material for The Mist, his latest King adaptation about a group of ordinary townspeople trapped in a supermarket by a mysterious fogbank. Thomas Jane is top-billed as a Maine illustrator who attempts to calm the frightened shoppers, but his job is cut out for him from the get-go, first by the discovery of malevolent creatures lurking in the mist, and then by the mad mutterings of Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), a local eccentric who calls for Old Testament-style sacrifices to appease the supernatural forces. Darabont delivers monster movie thrills and understated social commentary with equal skill, and he's well supported by his cast (which includes Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler and Jeffrey DeMunn) and the vivid special effects by KNB EFX, which effectively mix CGI with models and stop-motion animation (the terrific monsters were designed by legendary comic book artist Bernie Wrightson). And for those curious about how the novella's downbeat ending has translated to film, suffice it to say that Darabont's conclusion is at once different and more unsettling than King's. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

Well done thou good and faithful horror writer, producer/s and director/s!
It is incumbent upon me to post a review about this movie. How tame and idyllic it began, with beautiful scenery and a generic storm and it's aftermath of destruction. How quickly things can depart from the norm. In the course of mere minutes, a very disturbing, yet believable presentation of horrror, both of monster and of man in his baser mindset, splattered across the surface of my HDTV. This cinematic effort has indeed been a reminder of all that is creative and chilling about Stephen King. This is the stuff that true nightmares are made of!
I say well done to those who made "The Mist" a reality!
Respectfully,
Rodney Kase Tyrone (a.k.a. the Warlock)
12-28-2008
5:20P.M.

.....heh, tentacles from planet x.
This is a definite A+ film & by far one of the best horror films I've seen in quite sometime. I believe this one gave the horror film genre a nice shot of creativity in the arm. Personally The Mist ranks right up their w/ other classics such as Prince of Darkness, The Exorcist, & The Shining.

Are the monsters on the inside or outside?
The Mist is an absolutely stunning horror movie. It has everything a monster movie should have such as suspense, panic, terror, madness with some powerful performances to boot. The premise is simple. A mist settles on a town and shoppers find themselves in a supermarket defending themselves from monsters that appear in the mist... and then having to defend themselves from each other. It leaves you asking the question "are the monsters on the inside or outside?"

That dichotomy is what drives the film. It is very much about human behaviour under extreme duress in this survival horror as people doubt there are monsters and go outside, go outside anyway for a cause or to save somebody or a family member, start a cult inside that blames "unbelievers" or form separatist movements to plan an action of escape from the mystery mist that brings with it a wrath of monstrous proportions.

The ending grabs you by the scruff of your neck and rattles you emotionally. It is the sort of ending you thought Hollywood never had the brass pair to make and yet when it comes you wish it hadn't. Not that the twist isn't good, it delivers a punch, but rips your heart out with it. Never has a film explored such dark realms as this has. You can't say in the end that you enjoyed the mist, but you can say that you lived through it. Unforgettably depressing but stylish and enduring, it is still a must see and daring brilliance.

List Price:	$32.95
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