The entire Avatar: The Last Airbender is a testament not only to great animation, but to great television as a whole. This DVD release is great aside from the packaging. The edges are easily dented and the way the discs are put in the case is not great.
My Best Buy number: 960105647
What's great about it: The television series itself
Wes Anderson has created many great movies over the years, and while The Darjeeling Limited is a good film, it lacks some of the soul that has made the director's other movies fantastic.
Basically, if you like Anderson's other movies, you will like this albeit you may wish for a bit more out of it. And if you have never seen any of Anderson's other movies, I suggest starting with Rushmore or Moonrise Kingdom.
This movie is a lot better than the sum of its parts would make it look, but in some way a talking bear voiced by Seth McFarlane, who is often vulgar and kind of creepy, works on a certain level and winds up being quite funny. Even if the previews turned you off, this is still worth a look at least. Perhaps rent before you buy.
My Best Buy number: 960105647
What's great about it: Good comedy
What's not so great: The ending is a little contrived
If you are a fan of the original Godzilla, then you will like this. The only drawback has nothing to do with the movie itself, but with the packaging. I have never been a fan of having to slide one thing out of another. It is clunky and feels like it could have been thought through more.
The absolute devastation of Emergence Day has just fallen upon the planet Sera and the Locust menace lurks in the secretly terrified corners of your heart. You are Damon Baird, leader of the elite Kilo Squad and your courage may be all that stands in the way of total annihilation. You must navigate the besieged planet in a life-or-death effort to eradicate the enemy — but is this a fight you can win? Gears of War: Judgment gives you a glimpse into the aftermath of Emergence Day, the most defining event in the history of the Gears universe, for the very first time in the most intense and riveting storyline. Follow the efforts of Kilo Squad through this campaign full of menacing enemies and challenging gameplay. The new Mission Declassification system keeps you engaged by revealing critical information upon the completion of achievements. Contend with unpredictable enemy types, timing and location with every new encounter thanks to the new Smart Spawn System. Play cooperatively with up to three friends on Xbox Live to destroy the Locust menace in the campaign, or experience the revolutionary new class-based competitive mode, OverRun, in which you play as Locusts or COG soldiers as they are pitted against each other. The saturated storyline of the Gears saga is enriched even further with numerous new gameplay modes and features in this prequel to one of the most riveting campaigns in gaming history.
This game is fun and totally competent, but it lacks the spirit the previous games in the series had. The story feels unnecessary and the characters are bland. It is also strange seeing enemies that are introduced later on appear in this installment along with a new enemy entirely.
The multiplayer is much the same, with OverRun as a standout. The only drawback is a severe lack of maps.
What's great about it: fun gameplay, good co-op
What's not so great: story feels uninspired, lack of multiplayer maps
For a non-anamorphic picture (widescreen letterbox, 1.85:1 aspect ratio), the picture quality of Office Space is fairly sharp and smooth with rather detailed-looking events, faces, and scenes. Audio options on this single-layered DVD include English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, and French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, with optional subtitles available in English and Spanish. Closed-captioning is also included. Bonus or special features are not, however, except for the original theatrical trailers. The sound quality comes through as mono sounding and front-directed, with overly loud dialogue in places throughout the film; coloring is a bit splotchy and inconsistent in some scenes.
There is so much in this movie that most people, including myself, can relate to. It also helps that not only is the comedy funny and well done, but it feels like a fresh take on things that many other movies have done before.
What's great about it: funny, interesting plot, relateable
The part I enjoyed most about this release was all of its nods to the board game source material. The actual movie is entertaining enough, but nothing mind-blowing. I also would like to have seen more extras.
What's great about it: It is surprisingly faithful to a lot of parts of the board game.
What's not so great: Everything else is just okay; nothing is spectacular.
iTunes Cards are perfect for anyone who enjoys one-stop entertainment. Each card features an iTunes Store code redeemable for music, movies, TV shows, games, apps, and more. Recipients can access content on an iPod, iPad or iPhone, Mac, or PC.
The Farrelly Brothers set this romantic comedy in their home state of Rhode Island. In 1985, when teen-nerd Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) challenges a high-schooler who's bullying retarded Warren Jenson (W. Earl Brown), his concern prompts Warren's sister, the dazzling and desirable Mary Jenson (Cameron Diaz) to choose Ted as her senior prom date, a fact Ted's pals find hard to believe. However, on prom night, Ted gets his penis caught in his zipper, so the much-desired date never happens. Living in Providence and waxing nostalgic 13 years later, Ted hires Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) to locate Mary, and the creepy private investigator finds her in Miami, where she lives with her tan-shriveled roommate Magda (Lin Shaye). After Pat develops a stalker-style fixation on the lovely, unattached Mary, he lies to Ted, telling him that she's now an overweight mother confined to a wheelchair. Employing professional eavesdropping equipment, Pat gathers a dossier on Mary's life and future plans, information that forms the basis for more lies when Pat begins dating her. Sure enough, Mary falls for Pat, although her friend Tucker (Lee Evans) is very suspicious of Pat's claim to be a Harvard-educated architect. Meanwhile, Ted learns the truth but continues to encounter offbeat obstacles as he accelerates to Miami in hopes of finding happiness with his true love. Former Modern Lovers singer Jonathan Richman vocalizes a narrative ballad of onscreen commentary in the Cat Ballou (1965) tradition. Most of the cast sings and frolics to Build Me Up, Buttercup during the closing credits.
This is normally not my type of movie, so it is surprisingly that I liked it so much. The comedy, though crude, works well beyond the simplistic and is genuinely funny. The acting works well with all involved. I would have liked to have seen more bonus features, especially on the Blu-ray release, but it is a great product still.