The Forbidden Kingdom

• Actors: Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michael Angarano, Yifei Liu, Juana Collignon.
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC.
• Language: English. Subtitles: English, Spanish.
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
• Rated PG-13. Run Time: 104 minutes.

Blending historical chronicle, fiction, and commentary, The Forbidden Kingdom brings together the seemingly unrelated lives of a twentieth-century ship's radio operator and the sixteenth-century Portuguese poet-in-exile Luis Camoes.
Jacob Slauerhoff draws his reader into a dazzling world of exoticism, betrayal, and exile, where past and present merge and the possibility of death is never far away.

Born in The Netherlands in 1898, upon graduating from university Jacob Slauerhoff signed up as a ship's surgeon with the Dutch East India Company. H! e was at sea throughout his life, voyaging to the Far East, Latin America, and Africa.

Closed to foreigners for more than 30 years, Mustang, a tiny feudal kingdom in the Himalayas, has existed in virtual isolation from the rest of the world. Although politically part of Nepal, Mustang is linked by religion, culture and history to Tibet, and stands alone as one of the last pure Tibetan cultures existing today. In 1992 restrictions were eased. Clara Marullo and Vanessa Boeye were among the few foreigners who made the journey to Mustang. This book is an account of their journey, and a view of the society that exists there. With its photographs, it also acts as a visual record of the landscape in this country. However, this is an environment under threat. Now open to the West, the landsape and all that is contained in it is open to change, and the survival of Mustang's ancient traditions is questionable. The final part of the book examines the potential problems of! modernization and highlights the need to protect Mustang from! the inf luences of tourism.As the adventures of the lovable charlatan, gluttonous blackguard, and lecherous philanderer continue, Lieutenant Travers is off to the Philippines where he finds a treasure map that leads him on a series of predictably hilarious adventures.Fenny's off to the Philippines to help bring the rebellious natives to heel in a new tangle of decidedly unmilitary adventures.Jackie Chan and Jet Li star in this $25 million-grossing movie about two archivals who unite to challenge a warlord. Bonuses: commentary, featurettes, blooper reel, deleted scenes. Getting martial-arts superstars Jet Li and Jackie Chan together in the same action film is like a fantasy come true, even if The Forbidden Kingdom is more of a children's movie than an instant kung-fu classic. Yes, Li and Chan square off in a lengthy, acrobatic fight scene that is a lot of fun, though it can't be what such a scene might have been even a decade ago: careful editing now compensates for the 54-ye! ar-old Chan's slower moves and reflexes. Still, Chan doesn't disappoint as Lu Yan, a drunken immortal in ancient China who mentors a modern-day American kid, Jason (Michael Angarano), the latter having slipped into the past while in possession of a magical staff that belongs to the imprisoned Monkey King (Li). In order to get back to his own time and help an old friend (also Chan) wounded by thugs, Jason accompanies Lu Yan and a lovely warrior, Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei), on a journey to return the staff. Along the way, a (mostly) silent monk (Li, again), who has spent his life in search of the staff, joins their mission. He helps Lu Yan train Jason in fighting and adding more muscle to the party as it comes under siege from a violent witch (Li Bing Bing) and pathological warlord (Collin Chou). Screenwriter John Fusco (Hidalgo) and director Rob Minkoff (The Haunted Mansion) have made a slightly chintzy, Western version of a Chinese swords-and-sorcery tale. T! he gravity-defying, flying-through-the-air-while-fighting chor! eography looks pretty choppy and graceless compared to, say, the martial arts films of Zhang Yimou. But The Forbidden Kingdom is really aimed at kids, not aficionados of epic fight movies. On that score, the movie aims to please and does so for the right audience. -- Tom Keogh

Beyond The Forbidden Kingdom on DVD

The Forbidden Kingdom Soundtrack

Stills from The Forbidden Kingdom (click for larger image)

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Furry Vengeance

• dvd
• movie
• dog

Brendan Fraser has tussled with mummies and the devil, but he takes on a cuter enemy in this comedy from director Roger Kumble (Just Friends). As a real-estate developer, he moves his family from cement-filled Chicago to the nature haven of Oregon. But when he starts to take over the home of animals to build his new neighborhood, the creatures who live there reveal their wild side.Humans are out to destroy the forest in the name of progress, but the animals that live there won't go out without a fight. We've seen it before in films like Over the Hedge, but this time it's a green, eco-friendly company versus a very organized group of animals under the leadership of a clever raccoon. Dan (Brendan Fraser) is the project manager who has moved his family from Chicago to the middle of an Oregon forest to live on-site in the community's model home. His wife Tammy! (Brooke Shields) and son Tyler (Matt Prokop) aren't particularly happy about the move, but how bad can it be for one year? When unforeseen obstacles like an inconveniently located beaver dam threaten to slow progress and put the project over budget, Dan's commitment to eco-friendly methods is tested and his son dubs him a hypocrite. The animals start fighting back in a very organized, conniving way, but all Tammy sees is that Dan is beginning to go a little bit crazy. When phase 2 of the development is unveiled and the opportunity to head up the project, along with a considerable raise, is presented to Dan, he accepts without regard for the forest animals or his family. After suffering everything from a wet crotch resulting from a chewed sprinkler line to repeated skunk sprayings, a run-in with a swarm of bees, and an encounter with an insistently pecking crow that almost gets him killed, Dan begins to reconsider what's really important in life. This basic plot has been th! e basis of many similar movies, some good, some bad, but Fu! rry Veng eance is such a predictable, superficial gag-fest that it quickly becomes more tiresome than funny--trite doesn't really even begin to describe it. (Ages 7 and older with parental guidance due to some mildly rude humor.) --Tami HoriuchiBrendan Fraser has tussled with mummies and the devil, but he takes on a cuter enemy in this comedy from director Roger Kumble (Just Friends). As a real-estate developer, he moves his family from cement-filled Chicago to the nature haven of Oregon. But when he starts to take over the home of animals to build his new neighborhood, the creatures who live there reveal their wild side.Humans are out to destroy the forest in the name of progress, but the animals that live there won't go out without a fight. We've seen it before in films like Over the Hedge, but this time it's a green, eco-friendly company versus a very organized group of animals under the leadership of a clever raccoon. Dan (Brendan Fraser) is the project manager ! who has moved his family from Chicago to the middle of an Oregon forest to live on-site in the community's model home. His wife Tammy (Brooke Shields) and son Tyler (Matt Prokop) aren't particularly happy about the move, but how bad can it be for one year? When unforeseen obstacles like an inconveniently located beaver dam threaten to slow progress and put the project over budget, Dan's commitment to eco-friendly methods is tested and his son dubs him a hypocrite. The animals start fighting back in a very organized, conniving way, but all Tammy sees is that Dan is beginning to go a little bit crazy. When phase 2 of the development is unveiled and the opportunity to head up the project, along with a considerable raise, is presented to Dan, he accepts without regard for the forest animals or his family. After suffering everything from a wet crotch resulting from a chewed sprinkler line to repeated skunk sprayings, a run-in with a swarm of bees, and an encounter with an insist! ently pecking crow that almost gets him killed, Dan begins to ! reconsid er what's really important in life. This basic plot has been the basis of many similar movies, some good, some bad, but Furry Vengeance is such a predictable, superficial gag-fest that it quickly becomes more tiresome than funny--trite doesn't really even begin to describe it. (Ages 7 and older with parental guidance due to some mildly rude humor.) --Tami HoriuchiSometimes, four legs are better than two. Dan (Brendan Fraser, The Mummy franchise) just moved his wife and son to the woods to take a new job with a supposedly eco-friendly housing development. But the fur and Dan's temper is sure to fly when the local critters learn of the bleak plans for their forest home and stop at nothing to halt construction. Brooke Shields (TV's Lipstick Jungle ), Matt Prokop (High School Musical 3: Senior Year), Ken Jeong (Knocked Up) and Angela Kinsey (TV's The Office ) co-star in this comedy for the whole family.

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Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

• Harvard Stadium November 23, 1968. With Vietnam raging, Nixon in theWhite House, and issues from civil rights to women's lib dividing thecountry, Harvard and Yale, both teams undefeated for the first time since1909, meet for the annual climax of the Ivy League football season. On theblue-blooded Yale campus, gridiron fever has made local celebrities out of aYale team led by quarterback Brian Dowli

Harvard Stadium November 23, 1968. With Vietnam raging, Nixon in the White House, and issues from civil rights to women's lib dividing the country, Harvard and Yale, both teams undefeated for the first time since 1909, meet for the annual climax of the Ivy League football season. On the blue-blooded Yale campus, gridiron fever has made local celebrities out of a Yale team led by quarterback Brian Dowling, who hadn't lost a game that he finished since the 7th grade, and who was the role model for Do! onesbury's "B.D." At civil unrest scarred Harvard, a melting pot team of working class players, antiwar activists, and a decorated Vietnam vet set aside their differences for the Big Game. Together, Yale and Harvard stage an unforgettable football contest that baffled even their own coaches. Using vintage game footage and bracingly honest contemporary interviews with the players from both sides, including Harvard lineman and future Oscar-® winner Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men), Rafferty crafts an alternately suspenseful, hilarious, and poignant portrait of American lives, American sports, and American ideals both tested on the playing field and transformed by turbulent times.

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Chronicles of Narnia: Lion Witch & Wardrobe [Blu-ray]

• CHRONICLES OF NARNIA-LION. BLU-RAY/DV (BLU-RAY DISC)

Features include:

•MPAA Rating: PG
•Format: Blu-Ray
C.S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It's a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids' movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and t! heir adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).

Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but ! audiences aren’t knocked over the head with it, and in the h! ands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. --Dan Vancini




Stills from The Chronicles of Narnia:  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Click for larger image)

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Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Special Edition)

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Black & White; Closed-captioned; DVD; Full Screen; Special Edition; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC

Psychotic Air Force General unleashes ingenious foolproof and irrevocable scheme sending bombers to attack Russia. U.S. President works with Soviet premier in a desperate effort to save the world.Arguably the greatest black comedy ever made, Stanley Kubrick's cold war classic is the ultimate satire of the nuclear age. Dr. Strangelove is a perfect spoof of political and military insanity, beginning when General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), a maniacal warrior obsessed with "the purity of precious bodily fluids," mounts his singular campaign against Communism by ordering a squadron of B-52 bombers to attack the Soviet Union. The Soviets counter the threat with a so-called "Doomsday Device," and the world hangs in the balance while the U.S. preside! nt (Peter Sellers) engages in hilarious hot-line negotiations with his Soviet counterpart. Sellers also plays a British military attaché and the mad bomb-maker Dr. Strangelove; George C. Scott is outrageously frantic as General Buck Turgidson, whose presidential advice consists mainly of panic and statistics about "acceptable losses." With dialogue ("You can't fight here! This is the war room!") and images (Slim Pickens's character riding the bomb to oblivion) that have become a part of our cultural vocabulary, Kubrick's film regularly appears on critics' lists of the all-time best. --Jeff Shannon

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Dark Water (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

• Far more terrifying than what was seen in theaters, this special unrated version of DARK WATER is a thoroughly absorbing, suspense-filled thriller starring Jennifer Connelly. Dahlia Williams (Connelly) and her 5-year-old daughter are ready to begin a new life together. But their new apartment dilapidated and worn suddenly seems to take on a life of its own. Mysterious noises, persistent leaks of d

Far more terrifying than what was seen in theaters, this special unrated version of DARK WATER is a thoroughly absorbing, suspense-filled thriller starring Jennifer Connelly. Dahlia Williams (Connelly) and her 5-year-old daughter are ready to begin a new life together. But their new apartment â€" dilapidated and worn â€" suddenly seems to take on a life of its own. Mysterious noises, persistent leaks of dark water, and other strange happenings in the deserted apartment above send Dahlia on a hauntin! g and mystifying pursuit â€" one that unleashes a torrent of living nightmares.

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The Human Centipede

• HUMAN CENTIPEDE, THE (DVD MOVIE)

Studio: Mpi Home Video Release Date: 10/05/2010 Run time: 92 minutes Rating: Nr

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Brother CS6000i Sew Advance Sew Affordable 60-Stitch Computerized Free-Arm Sewing Machine

• Free-arm computerized sewing machine; with 60 stitch functions, 7 styles of 1-step buttonholes, and variety of snap-on presser feet
• Computerized stitch selection on LCD screen; with auto threading, tension control dial, and auto-set drop-in bobbin
• 110-volt machine operated with either foot pedal or 1-touch button for start, stop, and reverse stitching; dual LED light
• Accessories include wide table accessory for quilting and more; hard cover case protects in storage
• Machine measures 9-3/4 inches wide by 9-3/5 inches deep by 12-1/2 inches high; limited 25-year warranty

This light weight computerized sewing machine is heavy on the features that you are looking for! The CS-6000i has 60 built in stitches including, utility, decorative, heirloom, quilting and 7 styles of one step auto-sizing buttonholes. Whether you sew for crafting, garment, home decoration, or qu! ilting; this machine has it all for you at an affordable price! The CS-6000i also includes a plastic fitted wide table to support your larger projects such as quilts.

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