Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Departures

  • DEPARTURES (DVD MOVIE)
When his orchestra disbands, Daigo Kobayashi moves back to his hometown and takes a job preparing corpses for burial. Too embarrassed to admit his new career to his family, Daigo keeps his profession a secret, until he’s faced with the death of someone close to him. Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Film.Departures is surely the gentlest, sweetest movie about death that you will ever see. A cellist named Diago (Masahiro Motoki) comes to the rueful conclusion that he’s not talented enough to make a career as a musician; having just returned to his hometown with his wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue, Wasabi), he answers a job ad for what he thinks must be a travel agency... only to discover that company prepares bodies to be placed in coffins. Fearful of his wife’s response, he hides his new job--but as he grows to appreciate his boss (Tsutomu Yamazaki, Tampopo) and the affect that the humbling ceremony of cleaning and dressing the deceased has on their families, Diago discovers that he might have a calling. Departures won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and it’s easy to understand why. Though it starts out quietly and even seems slight, it gradually builds in emotional power, layer by layer, until scene after scene at the end is richly moving. Particularly affecting is the performance of Kimiko Yo, the secretary of the company, who harbors a troubling secret. A few moments of overt symbolism push the movie from compassion to sentimentality--but every time Departures seems to have lost its footing, a scene follows that strikes all the right notes so deftly it resonates like a bell. A truly marvelous movie. --Bret Fetzer

After the Sunset (Widescreen New Line Platinum Series)

  • Condition: New
  • Format: DVD
  • AC-3; Closed-captioned; Color; Dolby; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC
Pierce Brosnan plays a master thief who, after an incredibly successful heist, moves to the Bahamas with his beautiful partner in crime. But the cat and mouse games begins again when an FBI agent, his old nemesis, returns convinced he is going for the biggest score of all, the famous Napoleon diamond.

DVD Features:
DVD ROM Features:Content- Script to Screen
Documentaries:"Before, During and After the Sunset" & "Interview with a Jewel Thief"
Gag Reel:Blooper Reel
Music Video:
Other:Deleted/Alternate Scenes

After the Sunset may not be the greatest jewel-heist caper comedy ever made, but it sure is easy on the eyes. Shifting back into his crowd-pleasing Rush Hour mode, director Brett Ratner kicks off th! e action with a rousing chase scene that pretty much describes the entire film: utter nonsense, but adequately enjoyable. Things get very sunny thereafter, when FBI agent Woody Harrelson lands in the Bahamas to track down ace diamond thief Pierce Brosnan and his lovely accomplice Salma Hayek, whom he suspects of planning their next big heist on a cruise ship. A Bahamian gangster (Don Cheadle) wants in on the action, and the whole thing's about as fluffy as an Elmo doll and just as harmless, especially when you consider Hayek's revealing wardrobe (which, thankfully, distracts from Brosnan's less-than-Bond-like physique). There's an abundance of witty banter between everyone, and the tropical locations make After the Sunset a balmy, vicarious vacation. Critics weren't exactly kind to this breezy dose of popcorn entertainment, but it's an agreeable time-killer and an instant cure for seasonal affective disorder, even if the comedic chemistry leaves something to be desir! ed. --Jeff Shannon

Air Force One

Beowulf

Almost Famous [Blu-ray]

  • cameron crowe almost famous kate hudson
Audiences and critics alike are raving about this larger-than-life rock'n 'roll favorite that Roger Ebert calls "one of the best movies of the year!" The guys of Stillwater have the sound, they have the look and Rolling Stone Magazine wants their story. For young reporter William Miller, it's the opportunity of a lifetime as he hits the road with his favorite band and discovers the price of fame, the value of family and the limits of friendship.Almost Famous is the movie Cameron Crowe has been waiting a lifetime to tell. The fictionalization of Crowe's days as a teenage reporter for Creem and Rolling Stone has all the well-written characters and wonderful "movie moments" that we expect from Crowe (Jerry Maguire), but the film has an intangible something extra--an insider's touch that will turn the film into the ode to ! '70s rock & roll for years to come. We are introduced to Crowe's alter ego, William Miller (Patrick Fugit), at home, where his progressive mom (Frances McDormand, just superb) has outlawed rock music and sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) has slipped him LPs that will "set his mind free." Following the wisdom of Creem's disheveled editor, Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman in an instant-classic performance), Miller gets on the inside with the up-and-coming band Stillwater (a fictionalized mixture of the Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, and others). A simple visit with the band turns into a three-week, life-altering odyssey into the heyday of American rock. Of the characters he meets on the road, the two most important are groupie extraordinaire Penny Lane (Kate Hudson in a star-making performance) and Stillwater's enigmatic lead guitarist (Billy Crudup), who keeps stringing Miller along for an interview. From the handwritten credits (done by Crowe) to the bittersweet fin! ale, Crowe's comedic valentine is an indelible, heartbreaking ! romance of music, women, and the privilege of youth. --Doug ThomasCameron Crowe's award-winning semi-autobiographical look at the world of 1970s rock music will be presented in its longer "bootleg cut," with a 162-minute run time. Special features include: * Audio commentary with Cameron Crowe and Alice Crowe * Audio introduction by Crowe * Featurette: The Making of Almost Famous * Interview with the real Lester Bangs * Cameron Crowe's Top Albums of 1973 * Music video: "Fever Dog" * Stillwater's Cleveland Concert * "Small Time Blues" * Stairway * "B-Sides" behind-the-scenes footage * Seven Rolling Stone articles with audio introduction by Crowe: o The Allman Brothers from Dec. 6, 1973 o Led Zeppelin from March 13, 1975 o Neil Young from Aug. 14, 1975 o Peter Frampton from Feb. 10, 1977 o Fleetwood Mac from March 24, 1977 o Van Morrison from May 19, 1977 o Joni Mitchell from July 26, 1979Almost Famous is the movie Cameron Crowe has been waiting a lifetime to tell. The fictionalization of Crowe's days as a teenage reporter for Creem and Rolling Stone has all the well-written characters and wonderful "movie moments" that we expect from Crowe (Jerry Maguire), but the film has an intangible something extra--an insider's touch that will turn the film into the ode to '70s rock & roll for years to come. We are introduced to Crowe's alter ego, William Miller (Patrick Fugit), at home, where his progressive mom (Frances McDormand, just superb) has outlawed rock music and sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) has slipped him LPs that will "set his mind free." Following the wisdom of Creem's disheveled editor, Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman in an instant-classic performance), Miller gets on the inside with the up-and-coming band Stillwater (a fictionalized mixture of the Allman Brothers! , Led Zeppelin, and others). A simple visit with the band turns into a three-week, life-altering odyssey into the heyday of American rock. Of the characters he meets on the road, the two most important are groupie extraordinaire Penny Lane (Kate Hudson in a star-making performance) and Stillwater's enigmatic lead guitarist (Billy Crudup), who keeps stringing Miller along for an interview. From the handwritten credits (done by Crowe) to the bittersweet finale, Crowe's comedic valentine is an indelible, heartbreaking romance of music, women, and the privilege of youth. --Doug Thomas

Fisher-Price Little People Lil' Movers Airplane

  • Lights, sounds, talking, and a fun sing-along song help little imaginations take flight while they learn about high and low
  • Little People figures wiggle and wobble as kids spin the wheel, and the easy-carry handle helps pretend flights soar
  • Includes plane and 3 Little People figures: Mia, Roberto, and a pilot
  • Part of the World of Little People System
  • 3 AA batteries required (not included)
This Fisher Price - Little People Lil' Movers Airplane features lights; sounds, talking, and a fun sing-along song help little imaginations take flight. It includes plane and 3 people. It requires 3 AA batteries for lights and sound, which are not included."Ready for take-off…here we go!" Diminutive pilots in training can let their imagination take flight with this stocky, swooshy, wiggly-wobbly airplane. Measuring 12 inches nose to tail, and 8 inches from wingtip t! o wingtip, this sturdy plastic plane features a pilot, two passengers, a piece of luggage, a door that opens, six windows, including the pilot’s windshield, a handle over the cut-out top, working wheels (which make the pilot and passengers go up and down as if encountering turbulence), and the obligatory face on the front of the craft. Push down on the pilot in her seat (yes, her seat…we are in the 21st century, you know!) for flashing lights, a tune, flight attendant commentary, and swooshing airplane sounds. Judging from the outfits of the passengers and the palm tree design on the wings, this aircraft seems to be headed for a tropical port--airport, that is. What’s not to love? Check out the entire line of Lil’ Movers vehicles. Three AA batteries required (not included). (Ages 18 months to 3 years) --Emilie Coulter

Donnie Brasco (Special Edition)

  • TESTED
DVDBased on a memoir by former undercover cop Joe Pistone (whose daring and unprecedented infiltration of the New York Mob scene earned him a place in the federal witness protection program), Donnie Brasco is like a de-romanticized, de-mythologized version of The Godfather. It offers an uncommonly detailed, privileged glimpse inside the world of organized crime from the perspective of the little guys at the bottom of Mafia hierarchy rather than from the kingpins at the top. Donnie Brasco is not only one of the great modern-day gangster movies to put in the company of The Godfather films and GoodFellas, but it is also one of the great undercover police movies--arguably surpassing Serpico and Prince of the City in richness of character, detail, and moral complexity. Donnie (Johnny Depp, a splendid actor) is practically adopted by Lefty Rug! giero (Al Pacino), a gregarious, low-level "made" man who grows to love his young protégé like a son. (Pacino really sinks into this guy's skin and polyester slacks, and creates his freshest, most fully realized character since his 1970s heyday.) As Donnie acclimates himself to Lefty's world, he distances himself from his wife (a terrific Anne Heche) and family for their own protection. Almost imperceptibly his sense of identity slips away from him. Questioning his own confused loyalties, unable to trust anybody else because he himself is an imposter, Donnie loses his way in a murky and treacherous no-man's land. The film is directed by Mike Newell, who also headed up Four Weddings and a Funeral and the gritty, true crime melodrama Dance with a Stranger. --Jim Emerson

American Gun

Hartstrings Baby-Girls Newborn Ginger Bread Interlock Dress, Rose Shadow, 3-6 Months

  • 100% Cotton
  • Sleeveless
  • Pearlier back buttons
  • Appliqué and embroidery details
Told here for the first time, the riveting story of the most remarkable strike in American history

On January 12, 1912, an army of textile workers stormed out of the mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, commencing what has since become known as the “Bread and Roses” strike. Based on newspaper accounts, magazine reportage, and oral histories, Watson reconstructs a Dickensian drama involving thousands of parading strikers from fifty-one nations, unforgettable acts of cruelty, and even a protracted murder trial that tested the boundaries of free speech. A rousing look at a seminal and overlooked chapter of the past, Bread and Roses is indispensable reading.BREAD & ROSES - DVD Movie
Newbery-author Katherine Paterson's tale of the 1912 mill workers' strike -- in pape! rback!

Rosa’s mother is singing again—union songs. She’s joined the strike against the corrupt mill owners. Rosa is terrified. What if Mamma is jailed or, worse, killed?

Jake’s dad threatened to kill him if he joined the strike. For Jake, that is reason enough to do so.

Then Rosa, Jake, and the other children living in the middle of the strike are offered a very special opportunity: To live in Vermont until the strike is over. For Rosa, being away from her family is worse than seeing them in harm’s way. For Jake, it’s a chance to start over. For both of them, it’s a time of growing up.
Told here for the first time, the riveting story of the most remarkable strike in American history

On January 12, 1912, an army of textile workers stormed out of the mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, commencing what has since become known as the “Bread and Roses” strike. Based on newspaper accounts, magazine reportage, and oral ! histories, Watson reconstructs a Dickensian drama involving th! ousands of parading strikers from fifty-one nations, unforgettable acts of cruelty, and even a protracted murder trial that tested the boundaries of free speech. A rousing look at a seminal and overlooked chapter of the past, Bread and Roses is indispensable reading. Told here for the first time, the riveting story of the most remarkable strike in American history

On January 12, 1912, an army of textile workers stormed out of the mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, commencing what has since become known as the “Bread and Roses” strike. Based on newspaper accounts, magazine reportage, and oral histories, Watson reconstructs a Dickensian drama involving thousands of parading strikers from fifty-one nations, unforgettable acts of cruelty, and even a protracted murder trial that tested the boundaries of free speech. A rousing look at a seminal and overlooked chapter of the past, Bread and Roses is indispensable reading.

The new baking masterwork ! from the author of The Cake Bible and The Pie and Pastry Bible.

The Bread Bible gives bread bakers 150 of the meticulous, foolproof recipes that are Rose Levy Beranbaum's trademark. Her knowledge of the chemistry of baking, the accessibility of her recipes, and the incomparable taste of her creations make this book invaluable for home cooks and professional bakers alike.

"Understanding" and "Pointers for Success" sections explain in simple, readable language the importance of various techniques and ingredients demonstrated in a recipe, providing a complete education in the art of baking, with thorough sections on types of flour, equipment, and other essentials. Easy-to-use ingredient tables provide both volume and weight, for surefire recipes that work perfectly every time.

Recipes include bread made with yeast starters, quick breads, flatbreads, brioche, and much more. From ciabatta, semolina, rye, and sourdough bread! s to bagels, biscuits, crumpets, and pizza dough, The Brea! d Bible< /em> covers all the baking bases. 225 line drawings and 32 pages of color illustrationsRose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible introduced readers to a newly illuminating baking-book approach--a precisely detailed yet accessible recipe format emphasizing baking science. The Bread Bible follows the same plan, offering 150 recipes, arranged by type, for a great variety of baked goods--from muffins, popovers, and English muffins to sandwich loaves, focaccia, rolls, hearth breads, rye bread, challah, and more, with a particularly vivid (and passionate) stop at sourdough loaves. Instruction is abetted by 32 pages of photos plus 300 step-by-step illustrations that depict, for example, bagel forming, in exact, imitable detail. In addition, an introductory section, "The Ten Essential Steps of Making Bread," includes a particularly lucid discussion on the way yeast works plus an invaluable comparison of kneading methods. Like the book's final look at ingredients, these "min! i-texts" provide information uncommon to most home bread books, rendered in simple language that allays fears of putting one's hand in the dough.

All this is impressive indeed, and readers bitten by the bread-baking bug will welcome the ultra-thorough Beranbaum approach. The less committed may find her technical demands too painstaking (her baguette recipe requires two starters, for example; though simpler loaves are, of course, offered) or even impractical (ingredient quantities using grams are sometimes given in minute fractions, requiring a special scale). The frequent inclusion of alternate mixing methods and equipment options can also make the formulas unwieldy. On the other hand, features like Pointers for Success and Understanding often yield exciting discovery as well as rewarding results. In short, this Beranbaum bible answers virtually every bread-making question, as well as providing exemplary formulas. It's the real deal for those willing to bake along wi! th Rose. --Arthur Boehm"Blood, Bread, and Roses" reclai! ms women 's myths and stories, chronicling the ways in which women's actions and the teaching of myth have interacted over the millenia. Grahn argues that culture has been a weaving between the genders, a sharing of wisdom derived from menstruation. Her rich interpretations of ancient menstrual rites give us a new and hopeful story of culture's beginnings based on the integration of body, mind, and spirit found in women's traditions. "Blood, Bread, and Roses" offers all of us a way back to understanding the true meaning of women's menstraul power.

Foreword by Charlene Spretnak

"[Grahn's] intriguing excursion through folklore, myth, religion, anthropology and history bespeaks a feminist conviction that male origin stories must be balanced by a recognition of women's central role in shaping civilization."
-Publishers Weekly

Newbery-author Katherine Paterson's tale of the 1912 mill workers' strike -- in paperback!

Rosa’s mother is singing again—uni! on songs. She’s joined the strike against the corrupt mill owners. Rosa is terrified. What if Mamma is jailed or, worse, killed?

Jake’s dad threatened to kill him if he joined the strike. For Jake, that is reason enough to do so.

Then Rosa, Jake, and the other children living in the middle of the strike are offered a very special opportunity: To live in Vermont until the strike is over. For Rosa, being away from her family is worse than seeing them in harm’s way. For Jake, it’s a chance to start over. For both of them, it’s a time of growing up.
Newbery-author Katherine Paterson's tale of the 1912 mill workers' strike -- in paperback!

Rosa’s mother is singing again—union songs. She’s joined the strike against the corrupt mill owners. Rosa is terrified. What if Mamma is jailed or, worse, killed?

Jake’s dad threatened to kill him if he joined the strike. For Jake, that is reason enough to do so.

Then ! Rosa, Jake, and the other children living in the middle of the! strike are offered a very special opportunity: To live in Vermont until the strike is over. For Rosa, being away from her family is worse than seeing them in harm’s way. For Jake, it’s a chance to start over. For both of them, it’s a time of growing up.
From the producer of Selena and directed by award-winning actor Edward James Olmos comes the stirring true story of courage and justice. The year is 1968, the height of the national civil-rights movement. Paula Crisostomo (Alexa Vega, Spy Kids) is an idealistic honor student who refuses to "play it safe" in a school system that discriminates against Mexican-Americans. Together with thousands of supporters, she coordinates a multi-school walkout of students to protest academic prejudices. Mentored by her charismatic teacher Sal Castro (Michael Pena, Million Dollar Baby), and with the help of her friend Bobby (Efran Ramirez, Napoleon Dynamite), Paula learns that sometimes the price of progress is high - but it's ultimat! ely worth paying.In an era when so many movies about inner-city youth focus on gangs, drugs, and violence, Walkout deserves props for its sincere depiction of the peaceful efforts of Chicano students to effect positive change in the Los Angeles school system. The year is 1968, a time of profound social upheaval, what with the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, the escalation of the Vietnam War, the chaotic scene in Chicago during the Democratic Convention, and so on. In East L.A., a young schoolteacher (Michael Pena) tries to instill pride in his students, reminding them of Chicano contributions to the Civil War and 'Nam and taking them on a tour of the west side, where they see how the other (i.e., whiter) side lives. Laura Crisostomo (Alexa Vega from the Spy Kids series), a good girl and ace student, soon finds herself caught up in the movement to improve conditions at local high schools--much to the chagrin of her dad (Yancey Arias), a! strict Filipino immigrant mistrustful of "agitators" (this fa! ther-dau ghter dynamic, while not the film's only cliché, is perhaps its most obvious). Said conditions are not, in fact, all that horrendous; there's nothing good about corporal punishment (students are "swatted" for speaking Spanish during an English lit class), of course, but the lack of Mexican food in the cafeteria and the fact that school bathrooms are closed during lunch are hardly issues of earth-shattering importance. The students persist nonetheless, leading to mass boycotts (the titular "walkouts"), the predictable over-reaction by police and other authorities, and, eventually, some tangible results. All of this is presented by director Edward James Olmos (who also has a small onscreen role) and three screenwriters in the kind of earnest, inspiring style of a TV movie of the week (the film originally aired on HBO in 2006). But while Walkout is hardly what you'd call "edgy," its efforts to refute stereotypes and promote Mexican-American cultural awareness are nothin! g if not admirable. Bonus features include three audio commentary tracks, with participation by Olmos, the writers, and executive producer Moctesuma Esparza, who was part of the student movement (and is portrayed in the film). --Sam Graham