Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 5 [Blu-ray]

A Very Good Season
Redemption, Part II -- Believing the Romulans are behind a Klingon civil war, Picard involves Starfleet in the conflict. (Return of Denise Crosby as Sela formerly Tasha Yar)

Darmok -- Picard is forced into a dangerous encounter with the captain of an alien starship. (Stars Paul Winfield from Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan, The Terminator, and Cliffhanger. Also stars Ashley Judd from Heat, and High Crimes)

Ensign Ro -- The Enterprise crew becomes an unwitting pawn in a deadly conspiracy masterminded by a Starfleet admiral.

Silicon Avatar -- The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise risks all in an attempt to communicate with a destructive force known as the Crystalline Entity before a visiting scientist can destroy it.

Disaster -- Troi holds the lives of the crew in her hands when she is forced to act as captain after the Enterprise is seriously damaged by a rare, natural phenomenon.

The Game -- The fate of the Federation is in Wesley Crusher's hands when he returns to the...
STNG Season Five - On cruise control!
Season five in so many ways, is just an absolutely incredible season that is packed with stunning, thought provoking episodes. As one watched these shows aired for the first time or is working their way through the DVD's, the quality of the writing and the actors comfort with their characters just becomes better and better by the episode. The shows popularity is at an all time high during this season. This is evidenced by the high quality of the scripts and shows that deal with so many issues brilliantly. The one true oddity about the season is the lack of a "Q" episode due to the lack of a good script for the character. Of key interest is the fact that more and more of Hollywood's big names were inquiring about and or getting spots on the show. In my opinion, many of the series best episodes of its seven year run came from this season.

The following is a list with a synopsis of episodes that stand out among all of the great episodes of the season:

Redemption part II - The...
Still very good, but some wasted opportunities
This season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is full of "society episodes" for example, Violations, the Masterpiece Society, the Outcast and the Cost of Living. They're all actually very good, it's the other episodes that the writers can't seem to get right this season. For a start the 2 part special "Unification" featuring Spock is long, drawn out and only has the last 5 minutes with any action. It's still good as a thriller but nothing really happens.

Jonathan Frakes continues his directing with "Cause and Effect" - the Enterprise caught in a temporal loop, leading to it's continual destruction each time. Frakes manages to film each of the 5 or 6 times it happens from a different perspective stopping it from grating. "I Borg" features the return of the Borg with the twist - a faction of them are individuals now. We didn't expect another Borg episode to take such a different stance, that's why it works. "Power Play" and "Disaster" are action packed - Die Hard - type episodes, and...
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Frenzy [Blu-ray]

Droll and dark Hitchcock suspense film
Frenzy was a homecoming of sorts as it was Hitch's first film shot in the UK since he left during the 40's. I would disagree with those who claim that Frenzy can't stand with Hitch's best work; Hitch's droll and dark sense of humor change what could have been a run of the mill thriller into a minor masterpiece. The best bits in Frenzy are every bit as startling and powerful as those in Rear Window, Vertigo and North by Northwest. Although his wife Alma's heart attack couldn't have informed the pre-production stages of the script and film, it certainly had an impact on the atomsphere captured in the film. There is an underlying darkness here only hinted at before (most explicitly in The Birds, Vertigo and Marnie).

The performances are uniformly excellent. The fact that Hitch chose stage actors and lesser known British film actors for this film gives it a bit more grit and reality than his earlier films. Anthony Schaffer's script plays with the routine cliches of suspense films. A...
The Master's Last Psychological Thriller
For the first time in twenty-plus years, Alfred Hitchcock returned to his native England to make what turned out to be his final psychological thriller FRENZY. Despite a series of only modestly successful films since his 1963 triumph with THE BIRDS, Hitchcock had not lost his touch when he was handed Anthony Shaffer's fine screenplay (based on the Arthur LaBern book "Goodbye Picadilly, Farewell Leicester Square"). And although his approach to sex and violence is more explicit here (thanks to the ease in censorship restrictions that happened only a few years before), Hitchcock still delivers a film quite typical of his work--suspenseful, chilling, and often quite funny in a blackly humorous way.

The film revolves around a series of grisly strangulations of women occurring around London that have the police totally baffled. The killer's choice is a necktie, which pretty much leaves the door wide-open, since almost every man there wears a necktie. We are then introduced to Richard...
Not the Hitchcock of old...but brilliant nonetheless
Hitchcock's second last film is a tightly-written, well-acted suspense thriller featuring a luckless and underachieving hero being framed for murder, a cunning and psychotic villain whose murderous itinerary is detailed, a gritty and realistic directorial style from Hitch, a story set in a working-class milieu that is far apart from the glamorous and exotic settings of his earlier films, and one horrific murder scene in which the depiction of brutality and evil reached a new height for the director. This film is quite a world apart from the elegant, smooth, urbane suspense pictures he made in the 40s and 50s. But with the increasingly jaded audiences in the 70s, the change was probably inevitable. Still, Hitchcock's craftsmanship made FRENZY as exciting and memorable as his more traditional thrillers.

This DVD from MGM/UA presents the film in a new, widescreen video transfer and a Dolby Digital monophonic sound track. The picture looks a bit dark for my liking; unfortunately...
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The Right Stuff (30th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]

The Greatest American Epic
The fact that "The Right Stuff" lost the Oscar for best picture to "Terms Of Endearment" is beyond me; this movie should have won. The fact that it wasn't a hit at the box office back in 1983 is also beyond me. We are talking about what I think it's the best American epic in all the sense of the word.
It's strange that a Venezuelan-born like me should talk about a movie like this, but I feel that "The Right Stuff" should have been a classic -well, it is for me. The story of the "Mercury" astronauts is portrayed marvelously by Philip Kaufman's direction, showcased beautifully by Caleb Deschanel's stylish photography, and supported by an incredible cast including Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Barbara Hershey, Sam Shepard, Pamela Reed, Kim Stanley, and Veronica Cartwright.
In fact, I remember when I was watching that movie at home, and my late father asked me if a man that appeared on the screen was astronaut John Glenn because he looked...
Pushing the Envelope of Space!
'The Right Stuff' is one of the most glorious adventure films ever made, a story of incredible heroism, poignant romance, gripping drama, and broad humor...and amazingly, it has actually happened in our lifetimes!

This is a tale of test pilots, 'pushing the envelope', proving the sound barrier couldn't constrain mankind's reach for space. Leading the way is plain-speaking Chuck Yeager (portrayed by Sam Shepard with Gary Cooper-like charm), a Beeman's gum-chewing cowboy with a passion for his feisty wife (the beautiful Barbara Hershey), and hot planes. Not even a broken rib could hold him back when an opportunity to fly the X-1 was offered. His record-breaking flight could fill a movie by itself...and this is just the BEGINNING of the story!

Jumping ahead a few years, Yeager is joined by a new breed of test pilots, whose total love of flight challenges their relationships, and is the true measure of how they define themselves. Among them are 'Gordo' Cooper (Dennis...
It takes more than rocket fuel to attain escape velocity
Weighing in at three+ hours, "The Right Stuff" gives us a fantastic insight into the embryonic stages of humanity's journey into space. It is a personal disappointment to me that our species hasn't done more with the opportunities that space travel has given us.

Based on Tom Wolfe's history of the space program, the film takes us through the early stages of American space exploration. It starts with Yeager's historic speed record when he broke the sound barrier and finishes at the end of the Mercury program. For this reason I think "Apollo 13" makes a good sequel to "The Right Stuff" as it concerns itself with the subsequent Apollo program.

The cast is outstanding and they mostly offer strong performances. For much of the film Sam Shepard gets center stage in his role as Chuck Yeager. However since Yeager was never allowed the opportunity to join the space program the second half of the film focuses on the seven...
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Breaking Bad: The Final Season

Lightning in a bottle
Breaking Bad is a once in a lifetime, rare example of the type of show that raises the medium of television beyond the pit of mediocrity it usually resides in. Folks, please don't pass this one up - it may be a long while before another story of this caliber comes by again. This is a series that I will always cherish, and not just for the obvious reasons like the superb acting and the high stakes narrative -- but also for the fact that it gave me hope for the future of television, and the media's potential overall, to serve as a platform for talented writers and actors who actually have something inspired to say about the world we live in.
Wow!!!
Breaking Bad is the best show I've watched on TV in Years. It is so well done, it's absolutely riveting. The script is so good and the actors so perfect, I can't take my eyes off the screen. The actoring is excellent and nuanced. I have watched Seasons 1-5 so far and am now going through them a second time, with my husband who is on his first go round. Even though I know what's coming, I'm seeing things I missed before and enjoying even more.
This is truly the most engrossing series ever. It is really hard to turn off...you'll want to marathon. I've actually watched a whole season in one day...it's crazy good. I just hate that there is only one more season to go, starting in early August on AMC, and am still amazed I didn't know about BB until a few months ago. This is a must see!
"The Final Season" Contains the Last 8 Episodes of the Series
THE FINAL SEASON Blu-Ray set contains the final 8 episodes of the series, plus bonus materials (including an alternate ending).

LIST OF SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. "Blood Money" Table Read - A rare look at the only final season Breaking Bad table read.
2. Cast and Crew Commentaries on Every Episode
3. Featurettes
- The Main Event
- The Final Showdown
- Life of a Show Runner
- Behind-the-Scenes of the Alternate Ending
4. Alternate Ending - A 3-minute alternate version of how Breaking Bad could have ended.
5. Deleted & Extended Scenes
6. Gag Reel
7. Walt's Confession
8. The Layers of a Sound Mix
9. Over 15 Episodes of Inside Breaking Bad
10. Uncensored and Extended Episodes

*****

There are technically only 5 seasons of Breaking Bad. But season 5 has been split across two years.
- The first half of Season 5, or "5A", aired the summer of 2012.
- The second half of Season 5, "5B", is...
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Accel World Set 1 [Blu-ray]

Enter the Accelerated World
Accel World was created by the author of Sword Art Online, and features many of the same concepts seen in the series. Characters in this series wear a Neuro linker device that aids them with their day to day lives, including school work, and gaming.

Haruyuki Arita is the main character of this series, he's a somewhat chubby teenager who is low on confidence due to being bullied at school, until one day he meets a girl called Kuroyukihime.

Contains: Episodes 1-12
Languages: English, Japanese
Subtitles: English
Blu Ray Region: A

Upon meeting Kuroyukihime, she takes a strong interest in him, and after linking with his neuro linker installs a program called 'Brain Burst' onto it, and teaches him about the Accelerated world. Without getting into the science of the idea, the neuro linker can basically accelerate the users perception of time. And while minutes, if not hours can pass in the accelerated world, not a great deal of time passes in...
This may include the Dub Version
This show Is a great awesome show and I just want to point out that this may include the first 12 episodes in english but I'd talk with viz before ordering.

The english dub is currently being worked on by Viz and Airs on Neon Alley infact by time this is released the series should be finished and completed in english

Also want to note for people interested in this Accel World is by the guy who created Sword Art Online but if you're looking for AW to be just like Sao you're in for a shocker. I feel AW was overshadowed by Saos popularity and was highly underestimated.

You'll love the Show or the Music ( which is beautiful by the way) or might even love both
overview
this anime is a mix of heavens lost property, dot hack and air gear

by which i mean we get a chubby chibi main character with detailed sub characters
the technology in this anime allow for augmented reality and virtual worlds to exist for people to create avatars

(similar to dot hack)

now there is a secret program/game that is the focus called burst link.
the series revolves around this game and the abilities it gives. the areas of the world of burst link are divided by kings, which is similar to air gears setup, as well as the main characters ability.

now this has the first 12 episodes i believe, which are good, but each set leaves you on a cliff hanger.

part 1
ep1-12

part 2
ep12-21

now this series is in dub. i have sent corrections to amazon and hopefully it updates. this series style is unique and despite the main character being fat and feeling self pity, its rather a good show that...
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Gourds - All The Labor: The Story Of The Gourds

Essential
A perfect film to celebrate and get to know each of the members of The Gourds--essential for those who love their music and a great introduction to hook those unfortunate folks who do not yet know about them.

I was fortunate to have received an advance dvd copy of the film and have watched it three times on three consecutive days. The film conveys the energy of their performances, the skill and passion of each member--Jimmy Smith, Keith Langford, Max Johnston, Claude Bernard and Kev Russell. Kev Russell and Jimmy Smith write most of their songs. You get a real sense of their stylistic differences and how they ultimately complement each other so effectively. But what I really liked was the filmmakers' emphasis on how the combined contributions of every member form the unique sound and soul of The Gourds.

All the Labor evokes the essence of the title of their most recent album, Old Mad Joy. There is joy and humor throughout. The funniest moment is the...


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The Great Muppet Caper And Muppet Treasure Island: Of Pirates & Pigs 2-Movie Collection [Blu-ray]

Great purchase
I purchased this set because I remembered Muppet Caper as a child and really wanted to get my hands on my long time favourite movie. It was just as i remembered and what made it even better I had Treasure Island to see for the first time. It comes with 2 tins filled with muppet stickers, note pad, pencils and sharpener (i gave these to my 2 kids...they love it.) Great purchase!!
The Great Muppet Caper / Muppet Treasure Island
I'm excited to finally own all the theatrical Muppet films on Blu-Ray.
I personally believe that 'The Great Muppet Caper' should be featured on the left side, and the Muppet Treasure should be on the right, so they go in order by release. Nonetheless, I'm not bothered it is a double feature because I can get both films for the price of one, which is actually very low considering the Muppet Movie is the same price and that's only for one film.
The disc (assuming it's a single disc, this is Disney) will include the following special features:
- The Tale of the Story Beyond the Tail, a making-of look at Muppet Treasure Island
- Muppet Treasure Island Audio Commentary
- "Frog-E-Oke" sing-along
- "Let the Good Shine Out"
- A preview of Muppets Most Wanted
and if Disney re-uses the 2005 DVD releases in this set, then
Muppet Trasure Island DVD should feature Widescreen + Fullscreen prestentaion and Pepe Profiles: Fozzy Bear; and the Great Muppet...
My Dream 2-Movie Team
Aside from 'Disney's The Muppets' released in 2011, 'Muppet Treasure Island' and 'The Great Muppet Caper' are two of my favorite Muppet movies. I also liked 'The Muppets' Christmas Carol' and 'The Muppet Movie'...'Muppets From Space' is so-so, but for some reason I couldn't seem to get into 'The Muppets Take Manhattan' (I never even seen the full movie).
The way I see it, this combo pack was released so they could have all the prior theatrical Muppet movies on Blu-ray format, before 'Disney's The Muppets Most Wanted' is released in 2014. For me personally, this double feature is a 'dream team' since I loved both movies and the price is 'affordable' for my budget...I just might have to consider the Blu-ray versions of the other four Muppet film I don't have on Blu-ray, since I have 'Disney's The Muppets' on Blu-ray combo pack and all the other Muppet films on DVD. For some reason, if I like something I tend to (as I call it) 'Upgrade' if I can to the next home media format they...
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