Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition)

• Condition: Used, Very Good
• Format: DVD
• Anamorphic; NTSC

Across the Universe, from director Julie Taymor, is a revolutionary rock musical that re-imagines America in the turbulent late-1960s, a time when battle lines were being drawn at home and abroad. When young dockworker Jude (Jim Sturgess) leaves Liverpool to find his estranged father in America, he is swept up by the waves of change that are re-shaping the nation. Jude falls in love with Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), a rich but sheltered American girl who joins the growing anti-war movement in New York's Greenwich Village. As the body count in Vietnam rises, political tensions at home spiral out of control and the star-crossed lovers find themselves in a psychedelic world gone mad. With a cameo by Bono, Across the Universe is "the kind of movie you watch again, like listening to a favorite album." (Roger Ebert! , Chicago Sun-Times)Set in America during the Vietnam War, Across the Universe is a powerful love story set against a backdrop of political and social unrest: it's a story of soul-searching, self-doubt, and individual powerlessness cleverly conveyed through a multitude of Beatles songs. Like young adults all across America during the 1960's, Jude (Jim Sturgess), Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), Max (Joe Anderson), Sadie (Dana Fuchs), Prudence (T.V. Carpio), and JoJo (Martin Luther) are in turmoil over the war; questioning their individual roles in the war effort and struggling to find a way to hold true to their beliefs while making a difference in the world. While love proves a powerful uniting force, its limitations become clear as relationships are strained and broken over individual perceptions of responsibility to cause and country. A fairly bizarre juxtaposition of extremely stylized, almost hallucinogenic scenes of swirling colors and reflections, highly! choreographed dance segments, seemingly commonplace character! interac tion, and emotionally packed close-up footage of characters lost in contemplative song, this film imparts a good sense of the confusion and passion of the time and is at once powerful, invigorating, and disturbing. The film runs a bit long at 2-hours 11-minutes and several segments drag noticeably thanks to some incredibly slow song tempos. Warning: this production may change how you think about a favorite Beatles song forever. --Tami HoriuchiAmy has left the life she loves for a world 300 years away Trapped in space and frozen in time, Amy is bound for a new planet. But fifty years before she's due to arrive, she is violently woken, the victim of an attempted murder. Now Amy's lost on board and nothing makes sense - she's never felt so alone. Yet someone is waiting for her. He wants to protect her; and more if she'll let him. But who can she trust amidst the secrets and lies? A killer is out there - and Amy has nowhere to hide...Amazon Best Books of the Mo! nth, January 2011: As the spaceship Godspeed travels toward a new earth, the lives of 100 cryogenically frozen settlers hang in the balance after someone endeavors to quietly murder them. The other passengers aboard the ship have never known life outside its walls and are enslaved by the machinations of Eldest, their tyrannical leader, who divides them into three distinct classes. When Amy, a frozen settler from earth, survives being thawed in a murder attempt, she immediately bonds with Elder, Godspeed's lone teen and future leader. Amy’s individuality, her rebellion, and her fierce desire for freedom, inspire Elder to act on his own doubts and defy Eldest--his mentor and keeper--with shocking results. Eldest’s methods of twisting history and altering the lives of this captive community are a frightening echo of tyrants in our own history, and Across the Universe challenges readers to consider the impact of unchecked power, blind trust, and the abil! ity of one dissenting voice to make a difference.-- Seira ! Wilson

Preview the Spacecraft in Across the Universe
(Click on Images to Enlarge)

In Across the Universe, Godspeed is a vast spaceship, the size of a small county. The lives of its passengers are severely regulated. And people are divided into three categories--Feeders, Shippers, and Keepers--represented by the three levels of the ship.

Across the Universe, from director Julie Taymor, is a revolutionary rock musical that re-imagines America in the turbulent late-1960s, a time when battle lines were being drawn at home and abroad! . When young dockworker Jude (Jim Sturgess) leaves Liverpool to find his estranged father in America, he is swept up by the waves of change that are re-shaping the nation. Jude falls in love with Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), a rich but sheltered American girl who joins the growing anti-war movement in New York's Greenwich Village. As the body count in Vietnam rises, political tensions at home spiral out of control and the star-crossed lovers find themselves in a psychedelic world gone mad. With a cameo by Bono, Across the Universe is "the kind of movie you watch again, like listening to a favorite album." (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)Set in America during the Vietnam War, Across the Universe is a powerful love story set against a backdrop of political and social unrest: it's a story of soul-searching, self-doubt, and individual powerlessness cleverly conveyed through a multitude of Beatles songs. Like young adults all across America during the 1960's, Ju! de (Jim Sturgess), Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), Max (Joe Anderson)! , Sadie (Dana Fuchs), Prudence (T.V. Carpio), and JoJo (Martin Luther) are in turmoil over the war; questioning their individual roles in the war effort and struggling to find a way to hold true to their beliefs while making a difference in the world. While love proves a powerful uniting force, its limitations become clear as relationships are strained and broken over individual perceptions of responsibility to cause and country. A fairly bizarre juxtaposition of extremely stylized, almost hallucinogenic scenes of swirling colors and reflections, highly choreographed dance segments, seemingly commonplace character interaction, and emotionally packed close-up footage of characters lost in contemplative song, this film imparts a good sense of the confusion and passion of the time and is at once powerful, invigorating, and disturbing. The film runs a bit long at 2-hours 11-minutes and several segments drag noticeably thanks to some incredibly slow song tempos. Warning: this production ! may change how you think about a favorite Beatles song forever. --Tami Horiuchi

Beyond Across the Universe

On Blu-ray

The Deluxe Soundtrack

Beatles audio CD

Stills from Across the Universe (click for larger image)

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Facing the Giants

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• AC-3; Closed-captioned; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC

Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, they are confident and focused, standing up to the worst the streets can offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge they’re ill prepared to tackle: fatherhood. When tragedy strikes home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Sherwood Pictures, creators of Fireproof, returns with this heartfelt, action-packed story. Protecting the streets is second nature to these law enforcement officers. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That takes courage. Starring: Alex Kendrick, Kevin Downes, Ken Bevel, Robert Amaya, Ben Davies Director: Alex Kendrick Producer: Stephen KendrickFour men, one calling: To serve and protect. As ! law enforcement officers, they are confident and focused, standing up to the worst the streets can offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge they’re ill prepared to tackle: fatherhood. When tragedy strikes home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Sherwood Pictures, creators of Fireproof, returns with this heartfelt, action-packed story. Protecting the streets is second nature to these law enforcement officers. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That takes courage. Starring: Alex Kendrick, Kevin Downes, Ken Bevel, Robert Amaya, Ben Davies Director: Alex Kendrick Producer: Stephen Kendrick From the award winning producers of FLYWHEEL, comes an action-packed drama about a Christian high school football coach who uses his undying faith to battle the giants of fear and failure. In six years of coaching, Grant Taylor has never led his Shiloh Eagles to a winning season. After learning that he and! his wife Brooke face infertility, Grant discovers that a grou! p of fat hers are secretly organizing to have him dismissed as head coach. Devastated by his circumstances, he cries out to God in desperation. When Grant receives a message from an unexpected visitor, he searches for a stronger purpose for his football team. He dares to challenge his players to believe God for the impossible on and off the field. When faced with unbelievable odds, the Eagles must step up to their greatest test of strength and courage. What transpires is a dynamic story of the fight between faith and fear. Facing the Giants is a powerful experience for the whole family inspiring viewers to live with faith, h

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Fay Grim

• Fay Grim (Parker Posey) is afraid her son Ned (Liam Aiken) will turn out like his father, Henry, who has been a fugitive for seven years. Fay s brother, Simon, is serving a prison sentence for helping Henry escape the country. Adding to her trials, Fay is approached by a CIA agent (Jeff Goldblum) to help find Henry s missing notebooks in exchange for Simon s freedom. The mission escalates into a g

HENRY FOOL - DVD MovieSimon (James Urbaniak), a shy garbage man, lives with his sister (Parker Posey of Party Girl and Waiting for Guffman, among dozens of other movies) and mother, who both treat him with minimal respect. Into Simon's life comes Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan), a heavy-drinking self-proclaimed great writer who goads Simon into writing an enormous poem. The poem becomes the source of great controversy, proclaimed by some as a great work of art, denounced by others as pe! rverse trash. As Simon's star rises, he tries to draw attention to Henry's work as well, to little avail. Though the premise seems simple, Henry Fool takes on something of an epic sweep as it follows the effects of fame on Simon's and Henry's lives. This rumination on art and inspiration was hailed by some critics as the best film yet by writer-director Hal Hartley (Trust, Simple Men, Amateur), while others felt it brought out his worst self-indulgences. All of Hartley's movies defy easy interpretation, and Henry Fool is no exception. Still, it's a rare film that even tries to tackle such subjects, let alone does so with a combination of intelligence and humor (ranging from verbal quirkiness to scatological embarrassment). Hartley's films, surprisingly enough, feel warmer and more accessible on video; perhaps watching them in one's home makes them seem more intimate and less abstract. --Bret Fetzer137 minutes running timeSimon (J! ames Urbaniak), a shy garbage man, lives with his sister (Park! er Posey of Party Girl and Waiting for Guffman, among dozens of other movies) and mother, who both treat him with minimal respect. Into Simon's life comes Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan), a heavy-drinking self-proclaimed great writer who goads Simon into writing an enormous poem. The poem becomes the source of great controversy, proclaimed by some as a great work of art, denounced by others as perverse trash. As Simon's star rises, he tries to draw attention to Henry's work as well, to little avail. Though the premise seems simple, Henry Fool takes on something of an epic sweep as it follows the effects of fame on Simon's and Henry's lives. This rumination on art and inspiration was hailed by some critics as the best film yet by writer-director Hal Hartley (Trust, Simple Men, Amateur), while others felt it brought out his worst self-indulgences. All of Hartley's movies defy easy interpretation, and Henry Fool is no exception. Still, i! t's a rare film that even tries to tackle such subjects, let alone does so with a combination of intelligence and humor (ranging from verbal quirkiness to scatological embarrassment). Hartley's films, surprisingly enough, feel warmer and more accessible on video; perhaps watching them in one's home makes them seem more intimate and less abstract. --Bret FetzerFAY GRIM - DVD MovieFay Grim is Hal Hartley's version of the espionage thriller. Consequently, it's more peculiar than pulse-pounding, but that's what makes his films appealing--to those who appreciate their off-kilter rhythms, that is. In Hartley's world, dialogue is often delivered with a straight face, no matter how funny the line or farcical the situation. In Fay Grim, he picks up seven years after Henry Fool left off, but this time the writer/director shifts focus from novelist Henry (Thomas Jay Ryan) to his seemingly scattered wife, Fay (Parker Posey). Their son, Ned (Liam Aiken), is n! ow in his teens, but Henry remains at large, and Fay's "garbag! e man po et" brother, Simon (James Urbaniak), remains in prison for aiding in his escape. Then two CIA operatives, Fulbright (Jeff Goldblum) and Fogg (Leo Fitzpatrick), inform her that Henry is dead, so Fay agrees to track down his complete set of diaries in exchange for Simon's freedom. Apparently, Henry's incoherent ramblings contain state secrets. Joining forces with stewardess Bebe (Elina Löwensohn), Fay travels from Queens to Paris to Istanbul to fulfill her mission. In the end, Fay Grim resembles Hartley's noir parody Amateur, which featured Löwensohn, more than Henry Fool. It has less to say about talent and celebrity and more about mystery and intrigue. For the filmmaker, it also represents an opportunity to reunite a strong ensemble and to recover, at least for the time being, from a string of disappointments, like No Such Thing and The Girl From Monday. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Rome Total War: Barbarian Invasion Expansion Pack

• Defend Roman Empire from invading barbarians; set in 363 A.D.
• Expansion pack to the award-winning Rome: Total War game
• Experience brand-new generals, maps, battle conditions, and more
• 10 new playable factions, each with strategic options and exclusive army units
• For 1 player

The classic study of how the Roman Empire gradually succumbed to barbarian encroachment.

In print for more than thirty years, this book has long served as a standard text on the Germanic penetration of the Roman Empire. Bury's history is indispensable to anyone who seeks to understand the connection between the barbarian migrations of the third to the ninth century and the framework of modern Europe.

 

This richly detailed chronicle brings to life the personalities of Attila the Hun, Alaric the Goth, Genghis Khan, and many other barbarian kings and chieftains whose rampages across Europe, Asia, and North Africa changed the course of history.

 

In this highly readable and authoritative book, author Thomas J. Craughwell draws upon the latest historical and archaeological research to reveal the impact of the barbarian invasions on the modern world: from the establishment of the English language, to the foundation of world capitals such as Dublin, to the introduction of gunpowder to Europe. Illustrated with more than 100 archival images gathered from around the world.

 

The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes! a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the ! neighbor s Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long.
A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart. He shows first how the Huns overturned the existing strategic balance of power on Rome's European frontiers, to force the Goths and others to seek refuge inside the Empire. This prompted two generations of struggle, during which new barbarian coalitions, formed in response to Roman hostility, brought the Roman west to its knees. The Goths first destroyed a Roman army at the battle of Hadrianople in 378, and went on to sack Rome in 410. The Vandals spread devastation in Gaul and Spain, before conquering North Africa, the breadbasket of the Western Empire, in 439. We then meet Attila the Hun, whose reign of terror swep! t from Constantinople to Paris, but whose death in 453 ironically precipitated a final desperate phase of Roman collapse, culminating in the Vandals' defeat of the massive Byzantine Armada: the west's last chance for survival.

Peter Heather convincingly argues that the Roman Empire was not on the brink of social or moral collapse. What brought it to an end were the barbarians.This digital document is an article from Queen's Quarterly, published by Queen's Quarterly on March 22, 2004. The length of the article is 3009 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Corporate Invasions, Barbarian Invasions.
Author: Maurice Yacowar
Publication: Queen's Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2004
Publisher: Qu een's Quarterly
Volume: 111 Issue: 1 Page: 87(10)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

 

This richly detailed chronicle brings to life the personalities of Attila the Hun, Alaric the Goth, Genghis Khan, and many other barbarian kings and chieftains whose rampages across Europe, Asia, and North Africa changed the course of history.

In this highly readable and authoritative book, author Thomas J. Craughwell draws upon the latest historical and archaeological research to reveal the impact of the barbarian invasions on the modern world: from the establishment of the English language, to the foundation of world capitals such as Dublin, to the introduction of gun! powder to Europe. Illustrated with more than 100 archival images gathered from around the world.

 

 

This richly detailed chronicle brings to life the personalities of Attila the Hun, Alaric the Goth, Genghis Khan, and many other barbarian kings and chieftains whose rampages across Europe, Asia, and North Africa changed the course of history.

In this highly readable and authoritative book, author Thomas J. Craughwell draws upon the latest historical and archaeological research to reveal the impact of the barbarian invasions on the modern world: from the establishment of the English language, to the foundation of world capitals such as Dublin, to! the introduction of gunpowder to Europe. Illustrated with mor! e than 1 00 archival images gathered from around the world.

 

This series of lectures by J.B. Bury, one of the great figures in the study of Late Antiquity, forms a concise and readable account of the last centuries of the western Roman empire, from the first stirrings of the Goths north of the Danube to the settlement of the Lombards in Italy in the sixth century.

From the preface: "The main results of [Bury's] highly specialised research and wide reading he embodied in various courses of lectures delivered from time to time before the University. In particular, beginning in the Michaelmas term of his second professorial year, he treated periodically of 'The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians', covering roughly the two centuries of transition from Roman to Mediaeval Europe, A.D. 375-575. These lectures...present in vivid and memorable form the principal conclusions of much recondite research and mature thou! ght. As summaries of Professor Bury's opinions on a number of long-debated problems they are of great interest and enduring value. What Professor Bury has to say, for instance, on the relative importance of the battles of Chalons (451) and Nedao (454) will be fresh to many readers, and full of illumination for all. His constant insistence, too, on the gradual and imperceptible encroachment of Barbarism upon Romanism during the two centuries under review is, in the highest degree, impressive and convincing."

The Kindle edition has been prepared with careful attention to the original typography and is fully navigable.
This series of lectures by J.B. Bury, one of the great figures in the study of Late Antiquity, forms a concise and readable account of the last centuries of the western Roman empire, from the first stirrings of the Goths north of the Danube to the settlement of the Lombards in Italy in the sixth century.

From the preface: "The main results! of [Bury's] highly specialised research and wide reading he e! mbodied in various courses of lectures delivered from time to time before the University. In particular, beginning in the Michaelmas term of his second professorial year, he treated periodically of 'The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians', covering roughly the two centuries of transition from Roman to Mediaeval Europe, A.D. 375-575. These lectures...present in vivid and memorable form the principal conclusions of much recondite research and mature thought. As summaries of Professor Bury's opinions on a number of long-debated problems they are of great interest and enduring value. What Professor Bury has to say, for instance, on the relative importance of the battles of Chalons (451) and Nedao (454) will be fresh to many readers, and full of illumination for all. His constant insistence, too, on the gradual and imperceptible encroachment of Barbarism upon Romanism during the two centuries under review is, in the highest degree, impressive and convincing."

The Kindle edition ! has been prepared with careful attention to the original typography and is fully navigable.
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.You arrived you saw you conquered....you're notfinished yet!Product Information[Requires Rome: Total War to play]With this official expansion pack to the award-winning Rome: Total War the action takes place 350 years later when the Roman Empire is beset by enemies inside and out. The year is 363 A.D. and the Roman Empire has split into two parts ruled from the cities of Rome and Constantinople. Barbarian tribes are massing on the Imperial frontiers and there are many many challenges for a Roman to face - and some may be almost unbeatable!A seemingly unstoppable tide of barbarian invaders is massing on the borders of a fracture! d Roman Empire. Choose to take control of the barbarian hordes! and tea r apart the world's mightiest ancient empire or take command of massed Roman legions and change the course of history forever! Barbarian Invasion is the new expansion to the million-selling multi-award-winning PC strategy game Rome: Total War. Set in a time 200 years after the main campaign of Rome: Total War Barbarian Invasion presents an entirely redrawn campaign map reflecting two centuries of change and turmoil across the Roman Empire. Ten new playable factions have entered the fray - all with new buildings units and technologies to exploit. The threats to Rome are as brutal as they are varied - from Sassanid war elephants and lethal Frank axe throwers to ferocious Hun riders.The epic war to decide the fate of the world's grandest empire is now yours to control! Product FeaturesCommand vast armies to decide the fate of the Roman Empire in the massive expansion to worldwide smash hit Rome: Total War.  Redesigned campaign map reflects 200 years of change! and turmoil. Updated gameplay features the hordes character loyalty and Roman civil wars. Barbarians can also relocate to a new homeland after losing their last settlement as a mass migration of

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The Complete Cat's Meow: Everything You Need to Know about Caring for Your Cat

• ISBN13: 9780470641675
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is not always a bad thing… Noah Anderson is odd and he knows it. He has a strong obsessive compulsive disorder that keeps him organized but distances him from the world around him. He doesn't have any friends, family, or even a lover. He's never had a lover. When he finds himself in the wrong place at the right time, Noah discovers that the dangers posed by having sex for the first time pale in comparison to having sex with the assassin that comes to kill him, even if it means his life. Gage Tynan is a killer. It's what he's always been. And he excelled at his job until he jumped into the car of a passing motorist when his latest mission goes wrong.! The man driving is so odd that Gage suspects he might have been sent to harm him. Gage has no idea that the little man that asks him to take his cat will change his life in ways he has no clue of. Gage is dragged into a world of shifters and exiled kings, one where his strength will be called upon to keep Noah safe from the pride soldiers sent to keep him from taking the throne.This ultimate celebration of the cat features witty quotes about felines and images by three of the world s most beloved animal photographers. Whether playing, pouncing, or just purring contentedly, these are some of the most adorable kittens and cats ever to grace the printed page.Many children love cats, and there is so much to know about America's most popular pet. Why do they meow, hiss, and purr? Why do they have whiskers, tails, and claws? Beginning readers can find out the answers to those questions and many more in this fun, fact-packed book filled with colorful feline photos and drawings! .

At the annual gathering of the MEOW society, cat! s of all kinds convene to share their stories and those of their ancestors. Chico, the smallest cat in the world, recounts stopping a crime. The Pirate Cat tells of the fateful day when he discovered a treasure while hunting for mice. And Georgio shares his delectableâ€"and sometimes surprisingâ€"recipes.

 

In this winning companion to Dog Diaries, animal lovers will be wooed by the charm, strength, and wit of these feline friends.

The all-in-one resource for cat owners

Do you consider cats valued members of the family? Do you want to ensure you're giving your beloved feline friend the very best possible care? Then this all-in-one, comprehensive cat care guide is for you!

From grooming to litter box issues to nutrition and much more, The Complete Cat's Meow covers all the bases to raising and caring for kitties. It also shows you how to introduce a new kitten to other pets, handle behavioral problems, and make life comfortable for! cats of all ages.

• Covers everything cat owners need to know about health, nutrition, behavior, and training
• Compelling photos of a wide variety of breeds
• Other titles by Arden: The Irrepressible Toy Dog; Small Dogs, Big Hearts

Whether you're a veteran cat owner or thinking about adding a feline to your family, The Complete Cat's Meow is your one-stop guide to comprehensive cat care.

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Aurora Borealis

• Ever since the premature death of his father, 25-year-old Minneapolis slacker Duncan (Joshua Jackson) is content with shuffling aimlessly through life, hanging out with his lifelong friends, and ditching one dead-end job after another. Duncan takes a job as a handyman in a high-rise that allows him to be near his gravely ill grandfather Ronald (Donald Sutherland), who's more than a handful

The stunning, prism-like look of the Swarovski Elements Crystal Aurora Borealis Large Rondelle Drop Earrings is magnified by the elegant, rondelle-shaped stones. Two large stones are aligned vertically and provide a glittering, dazzling look. The earrings are made from 925 sterling silver and feature sturdy, lever-back clasps. The elegant earrings are 1.8 inches long and frame your face. They can be worn for any special occasion or pair them with something simple to spruce up your everyday look.Electric g! reen pierced by neon blue, shocking pink spinning into violent red, and shimmering purple sidled up against deep indigo: never before have you seen such high-octane colors in the sky, and never before has a book shown the northern lights-aurora borealis-in such vivid color. In Northern Lights, photographers Calvin Hall and Daryl Pederson bring to print nearly a hundred photographs of this amazing natural phenomenon, shot from remote locations all over Alaska and using no filters or digital enhancement. Just as fascinating are the legends, myths, and science surrounding this polar phenomenon, described by George Bryson. As 2002 marks the peak viewing time of the northern lights in an eleven-year cycle, this book brings the elusive magic of the northern lights to stargazers near and far.(Drama) Ever since the premature death of his father, Duncan (Joshua Jackson) has been content with drifting aimlessly through life. When he takes a job in order to be near his ill gra! ndfather (Sutherland) and grandmother (Fletcher), he begins to! find pu rpose. The newfound sense of being needed, plus a budding romance with Kate (Lewis), begins to change Duncan profoundly.Joshua Jackson adds another poignant role to his resume as he continues to distance himself from his breakthrough role as hapless Pacey Witter on the television series Dawson's Creek. In the sweet family drama Aurora Borealis, Jackson portrays Duncan, a twentysomething former hockey player who deals with the death of his father--10 years prior--by bonding with his grandfather Ronald (Donald Sutherland), whose own health is deteriorating due to the onset of dementia. Though others dismiss his rambling as the babbles of an old man, Duncan sees that however his grandfather may seem, he has moments of lucidity. His grandfather claims he can see the Aurora Borealis from his balcony, and who is Duncan to contradict him? Both share a sardonic and sarcastic sense of humor, as well as a feeling of guilt about their respective losses. While Duncan sees ! Ronald as a fairly strong man, his grandmother (Louise Fletcher) worries about her husband's obsession with guns. Duncan also develops feelings for his grandfather's free-spirited nurse Kate (Juliette Lewis), a development that surprises no one. Lewis has played similar roles before, but she brings such vivaciousness to her part that viewers can see why Duncan is smitten. She's emboldened to move forward and start a new life, while he's reticent to let go of the past and move toward the unknown. At one point, Duncan has to decide whether he can let go of his fears to try to make a future for himself with Kate. The film moves at a slow pace, but that actually works with the plot, since it mirrors Duncan's own hesitation. The acting all around is superb, especially in the interactions between Jackson and Sutherland. In the end, it doesn't really matter whether Ronald can see the Northern Lights. If he believes he can, then he can. And that's the kind of optimism that his gran! dson so desperately needs. --Jae-Ha Kim

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Full Metal Jacket

• The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R Age: 085391163114 UPC: 085391163114 Manufacturer No: 116311

The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.Stanley Kubrick's 1987, penultimate film seemed to a lot of people to be contrived and out of touch with the '80s vogue for such intensely realistic portrayals of the Vietnam War as Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Certainly, Kubrick gave audiences plenty of reason to wonder why he made the film at all: essentially a two-part drama that begins on a Parris Island boot camp for rookie Marines a! nd abruptly switches to Vietnam (actually shot on sound stages and locations near London), Full Metal Jacket comes across as a series of self-contained chapters in a story whose logical and thematic development is oblique at best. Then again, much the same was said about Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a masterwork both enthralled with and satiric about the future's role in the unfinished business of human evolution. In a way, Full Metal Jacket is the wholly grim counterpart of 2001. While the latter is a truly 1960s film, both wide-eyed and wary, about the intertwining of progress and isolation (ending in our redemption, finally, by death), Full Metal Jacket is a cynical, Reagan-era view of the 1960s' hunger for experience and consciousness that fulfilled itself in violence. Lee Ermey made film history as the Marine drill instructor whose ritualized debasement of men in the name of tribal uniformity creates its darkest angel in a murdero! us half-wit (Vincent D'Onofrio). Matthew Modine gives a smart ! and savv y performance as Private Joker, the clowning, military journalist who yearns to get away from the propaganda machine and know firsthand the horrific revelation of the front line. In Full Metal Jacket, depravity and fulfillment go hand in hand, and it's no wonder Kubrick kept his steely distance from the material to make the point. --Tom Keogh

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Enchanted (Widescreen Edition)

• A fairy tale comes to life in this thoroughly original, new Disney Classic. Drawing inspiration from itsic heritage, Disney creates an inspired story unlike any you've experienced before. Filled with excitement, fun, and incredible music from the legendary Alan Menken, ENCHANTED is the ultimate fish-out-of-water adventure. For princess-to-be Giselle, life is a fairy tale -- until she's ba

Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 12/26/2008 Run time: 107 minutes Rating: Pg

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