Jumat, 18 November 2011

Alone With Her

Dragon Hunters

  • DRAGON HUNTERS - DVD (DVD MOVIE)
When the peaceful inhabitants of the beautiful planet Terra come under attack from the last surviving members of humanity adrift in an aging spaceship, the stage is set for an all-out war between the two species for control of the planet. But will an unlikely friendship between a rebellious young Terrian (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) and an injured human pilot (Luke Wilson) somehow convince their leaders that war is not the answer?Earthlings are the bad guys in this animated saga, which was released to theaters in 3-D. And the good guys? That would be the Terrans, big-eyed little tadpole creatures whose planet is about to be invaded by human beings in search of a permanent living space--and hey, if the atmosphere of this alien planet isn't exactly fit for humans, the visitors can always blast the place with an oxygen-producing terra-forming machine that will ma! ke it habitable. The only collateral damage is that the natives will be killed off. Huh? As you can see, the allegorical undertones here are, well, overtones, all of which might seem less heavy-handed if the story were absorbing and the characters were compelling, but director Aristomenis Tsirbas concentrates on the environmental message and the non-show-offy 3D design. We mostly follow a Terran (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) who comes upon a lone astronaut (Luke Wilson), much to the confusion of her Terran quasi-boyfriend (Justin Long). In the absence of a lot of plot excitement, kids might take some enjoyment in the nerdy declarations of a cute robot (David Cross). Can the brutal intentions of the invading general (Brian Cox) be stopped in time to save Terra? Will you still be awake to learn the answer? --Robert Horton


Stills from Battle for Terra (Click for larger image)
When the peaceful inhabitants of the beautiful planet Terra come under attack from the last surviving members of humanity adrift in an aging spaceship, the stage is set for an all-out war between the two species for control of the planet. But will an unlikely friendship between a rebellious young Terrian (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) and an injured human pilot (Luke Wilson) somehow convince their leaders that war is not the answer?Earthlings are the bad guys in this animated saga, which was released to theaters in 3-D. And the good guys? That would be the Terrans, big-eyed little tadpole creatures whose planet is about to be invaded by human beings in search of a permanent living space--and hey, if the atmosphere of this alien planet isn't exactly fit for humans, the visitors can always blast the place with an oxygen-producing terra-forming machine that will make it habitable. The only collateral damage is ! that the natives will be killed off. Huh? As you can see, the ! allegori cal undertones here are, well, overtones, all of which might seem less heavy-handed if the story were absorbing and the characters were compelling, but director Aristomenis Tsirbas concentrates on the environmental message and the non-show-offy 3D design. We mostly follow a Terran (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) who comes upon a lone astronaut (Luke Wilson), much to the confusion of her Terran quasi-boyfriend (Justin Long). In the absence of a lot of plot excitement, kids might take some enjoyment in the nerdy declarations of a cute robot (David Cross). Can the brutal intentions of the invading general (Brian Cox) be stopped in time to save Terra? Will you still be awake to learn the answer? --Robert Horton


Stills from Battle for Terra(Click for larger image)
When a forgotten enemy returns, the fate ! of the w orld lies with a spirited princess and an unlikely hero. Take an exciting journey to a spectacular realm of magic, fantasy, romance, and adventure.


**Special Features:
*Audio Commentary from the Directors
*Behind the Scenes
*Sounds of Delgo
*Meet the Characters
*Animated Short: Chroma Chamelon
*6 Deleted ScenesDelgo is a computer-animated film that is at once fantasy, action, and drama, with an added dose of comedy. The most amazing thing about the film, besides the fact that it was 10 years in the making, is its rich graphic rendering of a world that's unlike any other. The backgrounds have an almost painted quality and the contrast of the stark, resource depleted planet of the Nohrins and the natural, dreamlike world of Jhamora is striking thanks to intense color saturation and an impressive level of visual detail. Despite its uniqueness, Jhamora is plagued by an all-too-common conflict rooted in the cultural and moral ! differences of its two peoples. This epic story follows two young teenagers, Nohrin Princess Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Lockni Jhamora native Delgo (Freddie Prinze Jr.), who share a common dream of cultural acceptance and cooperation as they fall into friendship and then love. Exiled Nohrin Sedessa (Anne Bancroft), who was banished from Jhamora for killing King Zahn's (Louis Gossett Jr.) wife (Princess Kyla's mother), and General Raius (Malcolm McDowell) kidnap Princess Kyla--an event which leads to Delgo and his bumbling friend Filo (Chris Kattan) being imprisoned for the crime and incites war between the two peoples. Can peace possibly return to Jhamora without the total extermination of either the Nohrin or the Lockni people? Battlefield action on the ground and in the sky is intense and omnipresent throughout the film and the story is interesting, if not original, but the animation is at times rather choppy and almost video-game-like and somehow the film just isn't! all that engaging. Bonus features include commentary with co-! writer a nd producer Marc Adler, co-director and co-writer Jason Maurer, and animation and visual effects supervisor Warren Grubb; a behind the scenes look at how the voice talent shaped the film's characters, a featurette detailing the composer's and sound designer's thoughts about the sounds of Delgo; meet the characters and creatures functions, and six deleted scenes. (Ages 10 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Stills from Delgo (Click for larger image)

!




 

Earth basked in the glow of a new interstellar age, saved from enslavement to the insectoid biofabs by the dramatic arrival of the Kronarin fleet. Laden with honors and riches, John Harrison, hero of the Biofab War, can finally live the good life--or can he?

Unknown to the Alliance, renegade biofabs escaped to an alternate universe where under their brilliant Tactics Master they're breeding back to strength, readying a counter-strike against the people of both universes.

Catapulted into a twisted image of his world, Harrison must find the biofabs' nest and take it out before a new generation hatches. It won't be easy--the biofabs have found deadly allies. And in this version of Earth, Harrison's a reb! el on the run from the Fourth Reich. (2010 revision of 1986! Tor Boo ks edition. 56,000 words.)

The Battle for Terra Two is one of four novels that begins with a covert alien attempt to control Earth, ending with the battered forces of Galactic humanity battling impossible odds as an AI armada sweeps into our galaxy for its long-overdue reckoning with humanity. (AIs--Artificial Intelligences--cyborgs evolved over vast time from simpler machines to complex beings driven by the simple need to kill us all.)  

All the books follow the crew of the Kronarin Fleet dreadnought Implacable and their Terran allies from the discovery of biofabs on Earth through ever-growing confrontations and diabolical alien machinations to the final battle. The plot line is akin to a nesting doll, each crisis spawning an even deadlier one. The blaster fire never stops--save for the occasional soothing cup of t'ata from Implacable's dodgy beveragers. (Implacable's a resurrected Imperial warship that som! etimes chaffs at having been awakened and pressed into the service of such rude hands. It preferred its Imperial masters.)

To be bested along the way are space pirates, Terra Two's last proconsul, mindslavers, various machine intelligences, a vile alternate Earth, the undying hand of the dead Kronarin Empire, a ubiquitous insectoid-blonde and of course, biofabs. All stirred into a rich bouillabaisse of an adventure that takes the reader on a far flung quest into the fantastic, but where in the end the old verities of honesty, valor and fellowship trump all.

From The Battle for Terra Two:

"I have a theory about the Empire," said Bill as the decks flashed by. "More whimsy than theory.  It never died. It's out there somewhere, manipulating us, the Kronarins, the Scotar, those killer machines--God only knows what else. All for some esoteric and rotten end. It's cold, malevolent, immortal and hopelessly mad. Evil."

This was worse, Jo! hn thought, stumbling over a helmet. Something out of Goya, th! e young dead tormented faces staring sightlessly, throats ripped out, necks broken, holes you could put your fist through. And everywhere the stench of burnt flesh and clouds of flies come to feast.Earth basked in the glow of a new interstellar age, saved from enslavement to the insectoid biofabs by the dramatic arrival of the Kronarin fleet. Laden with honors and riches, John Harrison, hero of the Biofab War, can finally live the good life--or can he?

Unknown to the Alliance, renegade biofabs escaped to an alternate universe where under their brilliant Tactics Master they're breeding back to strength, readying a counter-strike against the people of both universes.

Catapulted into a twisted image of his world, Harrison must find the biofabs' nest and take it out before a new generation hatches. It won't be easy--the biofabs have found deadly allies. And in this version of Earth, Harrison's a rebel on the run from the Fourth Reich. (2010 revision of 1986 Tor Books ! edition. 56,000 words.)

The Battle for Terra Two is one of four novels that begins with a covert alien attempt to control Earth, ending with the battered forces of Galactic humanity battling impossible odds as an AI armada sweeps into our galaxy for its long-overdue reckoning with humanity. (AIs--Artificial Intelligences--cyborgs evolved over vast time from simpler machines to complex beings driven by the simple need to kill us all.)  

All the books follow the crew of the Kronarin Fleet dreadnought Implacable and their Terran allies from the discovery of biofabs on Earth through ever-growing confrontations and diabolical alien machinations to the final battle. The plot line is akin to a nesting doll, each crisis spawning an even deadlier one. The blaster fire never stops--save for the occasional soothing cup of t'ata from Implacable's dodgy beveragers. (Implacable's a resurrected Imperial warship that sometimes cha! ffs at having been awakened and pressed into the service of su! ch rude hands. It preferred its Imperial masters.)

To be bested along the way are space pirates, Terra Two's last proconsul, mindslavers, various machine intelligences, a vile alternate Earth, the undying hand of the dead Kronarin Empire, a ubiquitous insectoid-blonde and of course, biofabs. All stirred into a rich bouillabaisse of an adventure that takes the reader on a far flung quest into the fantastic, but where in the end the old verities of honesty, valor and fellowship trump all.

From The Battle for Terra Two:

"I have a theory about the Empire," said Bill as the decks flashed by. "More whimsy than theory.  It never died. It's out there somewhere, manipulating us, the Kronarins, the Scotar, those killer machines--God only knows what else. All for some esoteric and rotten end. It's cold, malevolent, immortal and hopelessly mad. Evil."

This was worse, John thought, stumbling over a helmet. Something out of Goya, the young dead tormented faces star! ing sightlessly, throats ripped out, necks broken, holes you could put your fist through. And everywhere the stench of burnt flesh and clouds of flies come to feast.KAENA:PROPHECY - DVD MovieOriginally a computer-generated, animated feature presented in 3-D, the French-American Kaena: The Prophecy still looks eye-poppingly spectacular in a regular, two-dimensional format. The post-apocalyptic tale concerns an adventurous young woman, Kaena (voiced in English by Kirsten Dunst), who is a member of a race--one of many--that inhabit an enormous tree called the Axis, rising 100 miles from Earth's surface. While her people's leader, Opaz (Richard Harris), insists his tribe's sole purpose is collecting sap and honoring the gods who provide sustenance, Kaena is more interested in exploring. Signs that the Axis might be dying sends Kaena on a mission to find out why; along the way she encounters a slavemaster race, the Selenites, and their vicious queen (Anjelica Huston). Fan! tastic to look at, Kaena: The Prophecy is graphically d! ense, co nstantly moving, and truly inventive when it comes to designing creatures that appear equal parts vegetable and animal. --Tom KeoghZoe is a little girl who believes in fairy tales. In order to help her uncle Lord Arnold get rid of a terrible dragon, Zoe decides she has to find some heroes. When she meets Gwizdo and Lian-Chu, a couple of two-bit, fly-by-night dragon hunters, she decides that she s going to believe in them and set out on an adventure to bring peace to the land.

Kamis, 17 November 2011

Raider's Heart (Backwoods Brides)

  • ISBN13: 9781602609488
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
100 Simple Recipes from Gertie Johnson's Backwoods Kitchen. Delicious doesn't have to be complicated. Cora Mae shares her specialty - The Hot and Heavy Manly Sandwich. Kitty takes Drop Dead Desserts to a new level. Even Grandma Johnson gets into the act with several old-time recipes, including her award winning casserole. Included Finnish and Swedish delicacies.100 Simple Recipes from Gertie Johnson's Backwoods Kitchen. Delicious doesn't have to be complicated. Cora Mae shares her specialty - The Hot and Heavy Manly Sandwich. Kitty takes Drop Dead Desserts to a new level. Even Grandma Johnson gets into the act with several old-time recipes, including her award winning casserole. Included Finnish and Sw! edish delicacies.

Just outside the small town of Raven Springs there's a curious little inn. Is it just a coincidence that a number of missing people spent their last night there? That's what Jimmy Clevis aims to find out. He's tracking down a man who seems to have vanished into thin airâ€"and his trail stops dead at Raven Springs. Jimmy has no choice but to check into the inn and find out for himself what mysteries are waiting behind its doors. But will he be able to do what others before him couldn't? Will he survive his stay?

This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR?d book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and des! pite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into pri! nt as pa rt of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Steal away to the Old South with Marcia Gruver’s Backwoods Brides series. Two brothersâ€"one violent and one gentleâ€"belong to a family of bandits. While Duncan McRae can hardly stomach their raids, his brother Hooper revels in the violence perpetrated by the band of thieves. When they meet mild-mannered Dawsey Wilkes, the competition steps up a notch as the brothers vie for her hand. Which marauder will steal Dawsey’s heart? Meanwhile, Dawsey holds the key to Dilsey McRae’s past. What will Dilsey do when she discovers the truth?

(20110107)

Evergreen

  • ISBN13: 9780440132783
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Evergreen combines carefully crafted instruction, high-interest readings and student models, and plentiful practice exercises, to provide the most effective paragraph-to-essay-level developmental writing text on the market. The ninth edition includes expanded and revised coverage of writing essays, including an additional essay chapter and numerous additional student models. Photos enhance high-interest readings and promote critical viewing as well as critical thinking and clear writing.


About This Edition


The ninth edition includes expanded and revised coverage of writin! g essays, including an additional essay chapter and numerous additional student models. The new sections follow author Susan Fawcett's MAP (Model-Analysis-Practice) format, which provides an example of a concept followed by clear description and analysis, and then the opportunity for immediate hands-on practice. Photographs and a colorful design, as well as high-interest readings by diverse authors, engage and motivate students and have special appeal to the visual learner. This edition is available with an interactive ebook that includes audio and video segments and online exercises. An annotated instructor's edition provides answers for every exercise as well as teaching tips and ESL tips. An impressive suite of print and online supplements includes an instructor's manual, a comprehensive test-bank with diagnostic and mastery tests, a special teaching manual for using Evergreen with ESL students, and creative classroom exercises. Resources for students include addi! tional practice exercises, student models, and information on ! avoiding plagiarism.

New Features

  • Expanded coverage of essay writing includes a new chapter on types of essays, additional student models for each writing pattern, and graphic organizer diagrams that lead students through the process of writing an essay.

  • Additional content for the visual learner includes 20 new photographs to challenge and engage students, a color-coded essay template, and a colorful design that draws attention to main points and key features.

  • New student models throughout the text and in the writer's workshops at the end of each unit provide realistic models for students' own writing.

  • New "learning styles" annotations in the annotated instructor's edition point out how information about a student's learning style can be used to facilitate learning.

  • Seven new reading selections in Unit 8 feature diverse topics and authors, with high-interest selections such! as Jessica Bennett's "The Flip Side of Internet Fame," Wang Ping's "Book War," and Andrew Sullivan's "Why the M Word Matters to Me."

Additional Features

  • Susan Fawcett's tested MAP format (Model-Analysis-Practice) first provides an example of the concept presented, then discusses the concept, and immediately provides an opportunity for hands-on practice.

  • Numerous student models provide students with real, attainable examples of paragraphs and essays in the writing patterns.

  • Full-color photographs and diagrams reinforce learning and help students learn to study and analyze visual images.

  • Superior ESL coverage includes integrated practice opportunities for grammar and spelling, an ESL appendix that focuses on particular ESL stumbling blocks, ESL tip annotations in the annotated instructor's edition that suggest how and when to provide ESL instruction, and a separate guide t! o teaching evergreen with ESL students that provides specific ! assistan ce in teaching English language learners.
The towering modern classic of passion and  ambition that forever changed the way we see the  courageous immigrants who came to America's shores -- the  story of Anna Friedman transfixes us with the  turbulent emotions of a woman and her family touched  by war, tragedy, and the devastating secrets of one  forbidden love... bittersweet and evergreen.

Smokey & The Bandit [Blu-ray]

  • UK Import
  • Region-Free
  • Blu-ray
Escaped prisoners kidnap bank managers, spend the evening with their families and then go to the bank together for the money in the morning.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 3-JUN-2003
Media Type: DVDChemistry and quirkiness--and a stellar cast--help make Barry Levinson's Bandits more than just another comedy about ill-matched outlaws. Levinson's deft touch in Rain Man is evident in the film's road-movie structure, which follows bank robbers Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) on a crime spree from Oregon to California. They're eventually joined by an aspiring stuntman and getaway driver (Troy Garity, son of Jane Fonda) and a neglected housewife (Cate Blanchett) who falls in love with both Joe and Terry after escaping her boring marriage. As scripted by Twi! n Peaks alumnus Harley Peyton, Bandits shifts from character comedy to crime thriller with reckless abandon, and the humor (particularly Terry's multiple neuroses) is occasionally forced and flat. Levinson compensates with offbeat moments of unexpected tenderness, allowing his cast to express depths of character not necessarily found in the script. A twist ending won't surprise attentive viewers, but it gives Bandits the extra kick it needs. --Jeff ShannonFour tough women in a German penitentiary join forces to form a rock band. When administrators take them to perform at a policeman's ball, the prisoners escape, kidnapping a convenient boy-toy hostage (Werner Schreyer), along the way. Their band, Bandits, becomes a national sensation as the women continue to evade the police. The movie is a wild ride, with quite a respectable score of rock songs--some catchy, some haunting--composed and performed by Bandits members themselves. All are sung in Engl! ish (which seems to be the universal language of rock & roll).! But alt hough the picture is a lot of fun, it's no Spice World; there's a harder edge, a deeper agenda here. These women were all prisoners for a reason. Each fugitive's story is gradually revealed as the plot progresses. Luna (sultry Jasmin Tabatabai), the lead singer and guitarist, is a loose canon with a real attitude problem. And she likes to rob banks. Emma (Katja Riemann), the brains of the group, had a successful jazz career in America before her abusive boyfriend drove her over the edge. Marie (Jutta Hoffmann), the band's middle-aged keyboard player, is suicidal: something to do with her involvement in her husband's death. Angel (lovely Nicolette Krebitz), is the team's weak link; she can't be trusted. As the Bandits pull off each increasingly improbable narrow escape, the film takes on the radiance of myth, ascending ultimately to an apocalyptic finale. --Laura MirskyGet ready to tear up the highway with the Bandit (Burt Reynolds), a fun-loving, fast-tal! king trucker who takes on his craziest haul yet - delivering 400 cases of beer from Texarkana to Atlanta in just 28 hours. With Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason) hot on his trail and eager to teach him some respect for the law, the Bandit joins forces with good ol' boy, Cledus (Jerry Reed) and runaway bride Carrie (Sally Field). Gear up for huge laughs, pedal-to-the-metal action, and some of the wildest car crashes ever filmed! Starring: Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Mike Henry, Paul Williams, Pat McCormick Directed by: Hal NeedhamIt's easy to assume this is just another dumb redneck comedy from Burt Reynolds's years of underachievement. But it's not bad as a dumb redneck comedy at all. Directed by career stuntman Hal Needham, Smokey and the Bandit is just a goofy chase starring a bunch of Reynolds's Hollywood cronies. New to the job as film boss, Needham brings a silly but energized sensibility to the production and an action man'! s need to see things moving. But he also has a distinctive fee! ling for relationships, and he's good with a joke. Put all that together, and Smokey is, at the very least (and unlike its sequels), a simple and original pleasure. --Tom Keogh Young Kevins daydreams burst into astonishing and hilarious life when a band of time-traveling little men come crashing through his bedroom wardrobe and carry him off on an unbelievable crime spree, weaving through the greatest and strangest moments of history. The pint-sized plunderers filch from a neurotic Napoleon (Ian Holm), a dim-witted Robin Hood (John Cleese) and a heroic King Agamemnon (Sean Connery), leading to a showdown with the dark forces of Evil (David Warner)...all while keeping just one precarious step ahead of the wrath of The Supreme Being himself!Producer/Director/Co-writer Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Brazil) teams with many of his comic-genius cohorts from Monty Python to bring this laugh-out-loud modern fairy tale-adventure to life.Movie DVDBurt Reynolds ! stars as the Bandit in this seminal portrayal of rough-ridin', beer-swillin', sheriff-dodgin', trouble-chasin' truckers. The Bandit's has taken on his craziest haul yet: a trailer full of Coors beer. If he can deliver the goods from Texarcana to Atlanta within forty-eight hours, he'll be eighty thousand dollars richer. Hilarious mayhem ensues, however, when the Bandit falls for a runaway bride (Sally Field). As they push toward Atlanta, the two have to evade Fields' vengeful father-in-law, Texas Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason as the maniac Smokey of the title). The stakes get higher and the car chases more frenzied in this hysterical romp through the American highways. Charismatic performances by Reynolds and Gleason made this a huge box office draw. ITA winner. Academy Award Nominations: Best Film Editing.It's easy to assume this is just another dumb redneck comedy from Burt Reynolds's years of underachievement. But it's not bad as a dumb redneck comedy at all. ! Directed by career stuntman Hal Needham, Smokey and the Ban! dit is just a goofy chase starring a bunch of Reynolds's Hollywood cronies. New to the job as film boss, Needham brings a silly but energized sensibility to the production and an action man's need to see things moving. But he also has a distinctive feeling for relationships, and he's good with a joke. Put all that together, and Smokey is, at the very least (and unlike its sequels), a simple and original pleasure. --Tom Keogh

Cremaster 3 (Audio CD) Music by Jonathan Bepler

  • Music for Matthew Barney's Cremaster 3.
  • 2 CD set.
  • Music by Jonathan Bepler.
Cremaster 3, the last in Matthew Barney's epic five-part film project, is part zombie, part gangster film. Set in 1930s New York and Saratoga Springs as well as Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, the plot explores the Irish mob system, freemasonry, and Celtic lore as further symbols for the forces at play in Barney's mythological system. Named after the muscle that raises or lowers a man's testicles in response to temperature, the Cremaster series has featured Barney as a satyr, a magician, a ram, Harry Houdini, and even famous murderer Gary Gilmore, props made from tapioca, petroleum jelly, ice, and self-healing plastic, and settings as fantastic and desolate as the Isle of Man, an empty football stadium in Idaho, and a nearly empty opera house in Hungary. The films are slow-moving and weirdly hyno! tic, full of elaborate sexual and biological allusions, references to sports and fashion, and a bizarre mix of autobiography, history, and private symbolism that have earned him comparisons to Wagner. This book is the final of the five companion volumes published to coincide with the release of each of the Cremaster films. Each was designed in an original manner by the artist and features photographs and stills from the film it accompanies.TRACKS: (CD 1) Giants Prologue / Chrysler Chorale Overture / Rough Ashler / Air Prelude / Song of the Vertical Field / Level Glass Nocturne / Cloud Club Reel / Initiate's Serenade / Pace of the Novitiate / Back Stretch Coda and Return (CD 2) Crown Overture / Spire March and Anthem / Rainbow Girls Idyll / Giants Epilogue / Finial Postlude

Rabu, 16 November 2011

Hunger: A Gone Novel

  • ISBN13: 9780061449086
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.

Against all odds,! Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.With Hunger, British filmmaker and artist Steve McQueen has turned one of history’s most controversial acts of political defiance into a jarring, unforgettable cinematic experience. In Northern Ireland’s Maze prison in 1981, twenty-seven-year-old Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands went on a hunger strike to protest the British government’s refusal to recognize him and his fellow IRA inmates as political prisoners, rather than as ordinary criminals. McQueen dramatizes prison existence and Sa! nds’ final days in a way that is purely experiential, even a! bstract, a succession of images full of both beauty and horror. Featuring an intense performance by Michael Fassbender, Hunger is an unflinching, transcendent depiction of what a human being is willing to endure to be heard.

Stills from Hunger

With the exception of Julian Schnabel, visual artists have had a tough time at the cinema, but like the American ! painter before him, Britain's Steve McQueen beat the odds with the award-winning Hunger. In his visceral depiction of a political hunger strike, McQueen emphasizes specific moments over plot mechanics. Guard Raymond Lohan (Stuart Graham) serves as a guide into the hell of Belfast's Maze Prison, circa 1981, where Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender in a remarkable performance) and his IRA brethren hunker down in blankets, since they refuse to don uniforms and can't wear their own clothes. They dump food on the floor, smear waste on the walls, and sleep with maggots in protest against their conditions. Even after moving the prisoners, the mistreatment continues, so they step up their campaign. It's no way to live, and it isn't easy to watch, but McQueen provides a reprieve through Sands's riveting conversation with Father Dominic Moran (Liam Cunningham), a scene his backers pressured him to cut, but the filmmaker wisely stood firm In his director's statement, McQueen says ! he wanted to "show what it was like to see, hear, smell, and t! ouch in the H-Block." Because he avoids editorializing, it's as easy to condemn his subjects for their naïve idealism as it is to admire their singularity of purpose. Art background aside, McQueen clearly knows his U.K. film history, and appears to have spent time with the works of Alan Clarke (specifically Elephant) and Stanley Kubrick (see A Clockwork Orange), who share his fascination with the abuse of power, the horror of sudden violence, and the splendor of the static shot. --Kathleen C. FennessyIn the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a d! eath sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Acclaimed writer Suzanne Collins, author of the New York Times bestselling The Underland Chronicles, delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen,! who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards i! t as a d eath sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Acclaimed writer Suzanne Collins, author of the New York Times bestselling The Underland Chronicles, delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.

It's been three months since all the adults disappeared. Gone.

food ran out weeks ago and starvation is imminent. Meanwhile, the normal teens have grown resentful of the kids with powers. And when an unthinkable tragedy occurs, chaos descends upon the town. There is no longer right and wrong. Each kid is out for himself and even the good ones turn murderous.

But a larger prob! lem looms. The Darkness, a sinister creature that has lived buried deep in the hills, begins calling to some of the teens in the FAYZ. Calling to them, guiding them, manipulating them.

The Darkness has awakened. And it is hungry.


Beverly Hills Ninja : Widescreen Edition

  • Widescreen
BEVERLY HILLS NINJA - DVD MovieA slapstick comedy starring Chris Farley, Beverly Hills Ninja is part prop-gag movie and part testament to the late comedian's physical comedic abilities. As a baby, Haru (Farley) appeared on the coastal shores of Japan. Legend has it that a foreigner would arrive and become the greatest ninja ever, known as the "Great White Ninja." As Haru grew, it became apparent: he was not the one. But when a beautiful stranger named Sally (Nicollette Sheridan) appears at the dojo seeking a ninja's help, Haru finds his calling. Through a series of mix-ups (generally caused by Haru himself), Haru is framed for murder and he follows Sally to Beverly Hills to set things right. Finding out Sally's boyfriend is a counterfeiter and murderer, Haru with the help of hotel bellboy Joey (Chris Rock) and unknowingly with the help of his ninja brother Gobei (Robin Shou)! takes down the counterfeit ring and finds his place among the ninja clan.

Beverly Hills Ninja is full of individual comic gags that are hilarious in their purity--call it sadistic, but sometimes it's just plain funny watching a guy unwittingly walk into a lamppost while carrying on a conversation. Farley was a master at these tried-and-true gags, which reach right back into the origins of comedy. But it's not all slapstick; a scene where Haru is so taken by dancers at a local strip bar that he joins in is reminiscent of the mud-wrestling scene from Stripes. Beverly Hills Ninja may be considered a low-brow romp, but a romp it is nonetheless. --Shannon Gee A slapstick comedy starring Chris Farley, Beverly Hills Ninja is part prop-gag movie and part testament to the late comedian's physical comedic abilities. As a baby, Haru (Farley) appeared on the coastal shores of Japan. Legend has it that a foreigner would arrive and become the great! est ninja ever, known as the "Great White Ninja." As Haru grew! , it bec ame apparent: he was not the one. But when a beautiful stranger named Sally (Nicollette Sheridan) appears at the dojo seeking a ninja's help, Haru finds his calling. Through a series of mix-ups (generally caused by Haru himself), Haru is framed for murder and he follows Sally to Beverly Hills to set things right. Finding out Sally's boyfriend is a counterfeiter and murderer, Haru with the help of hotel bellboy Joey (Chris Rock) and unknowingly with the help of his ninja brother Gobei (Robin Shou) takes down the counterfeit ring and finds his place among the ninja clan.

Beverly Hills Ninja is full of individual comic gags that are hilarious in their purity--call it sadistic, but sometimes it's just plain funny watching a guy unwittingly walk into a lamppost while carrying on a conversation. Farley was a master at these tried-and-true gags, which reach right back into the origins of comedy. But it's not all slapstick; a scene where Haru is so taken by dancers at a l! ocal strip bar that he joins in is reminiscent of the mud-wrestling scene from Stripes. Beverly Hills Ninja may be considered a low-brow romp, but a romp it is nonetheless. --Shannon Gee DVD

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