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Adventures of Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark/The Temple of Doom/The Last Crusade) - Widescreen, The
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Starring: Ford, Harrison
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Director:	Rating: PG	Running Time:
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color Dolby

Amazon.com As with Star Wars, the George Lucas-produced Indiana Jones trilogy was not just a plaything for kids but an act of nostalgic affection toward a lost phenomenon: the cliffhanging movie serials of the past. Episodic in structure and with fate hanging in the balance about every 10 minutes, the Jones features tapped into Lucas's extremely profitable Star Wars formula of modernizing the look and feel of an old, but popular, story model. Steven Spielberg directed all three films, which are set in the late 1930s and early '40s: the comic book-like Raiders of the Lost Ark, the spooky, Gunga Din-inspired Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the cautious but entertaining Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Fans and critics disagree over the order of preference, some even finding the middle movie nearly repugnant in its violence. (Pro-Temple of Doom people, on the other hand, believe that film to be the most disarmingly creative and emotionally effective of the trio.) One thing's for sure: Harrison Ford's swaggering, two-fisted, self-effacing performance worked like a charm, and the art of cracking bullwhips was probably never quite the iconic activity it soon became after Raiders. Supporting players and costars were very much a part of the series, too--Karen Allen, Sean Connery (as Indy's dad), Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Denholm Elliot, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies among them. Years have passed since the last film (another is supposedly in the works), but emerging film buffs can have the same fun their predecessors did picking out numerous references to Hollywood classics and B-movies of the past. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. DVD features This long-awaited DVD set of the Indiana Jones trilogy is a classy set built for the fan. However, the DVD-extras junky will be disappointed because there's not a bevy of extras: no storyboards, galleries, commentaries, or long-rumored deleted scenes. The three films are the real star here, restored frame by frame and--blessedly--unchanged from their initial release (the first movie has been retitled on the packaging only). Anyone who has grown up with TV airings will be amazed by what they see,... read more

Air Force One
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Starring: Ford, Harrison Oldman, Gary Close, Glenn Crewson, Wendy Matthews, Liesel Macy, William H. Macy, W. H. Stockwell, Dean Stockwell, Dean Berkeley, Xander
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Director: Petersen, Wolfgang	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video You know that old dramatic principle of suspension of disbelief? You'll have to rely on it for this box-office smash, but you won't be disappointed. Harrison Ford plays a U.S. president who single-handedly employs his rigid antiterrorism policy when a band of Russian thugs hatch a mid-flight takeover of Air Force One. Gary Oldman, who chews the scenery as the lead terrorist, will shoot a hostage at the slightest provocation. Glenn Close plays the sternly pragmatic vice president who negotiates with Oldman from her Washington seat of power. If you can believe that the aircraft's pressurized cabin can sustain hundreds of rounds of machine-gun fire, you'll buy anything in this entertaining potboiler, especially thanks to Ford's stalwart heroics and some nifty special effects. Director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot) keeps the action moving so fast you won't be sweating the details. Don't forget your parachute! --Jeff Shannon

Alias - The Complete First Season
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Starring: Garner, Jennifer Vartan, Michael Garber, Victor
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Director: Garner, Jennifer	Rating: Unrated	Running Time:
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is a super (and super sexy) spy, fighting nefarious villains and working for the good guys--or so she thinks. Recruited as a college freshman for espionage work, Sydney found her true calling with SD-6, a secret division of the CIA. When her hunky doctor-boyfriend proposes to her, she decides to let him in on the truth she's not supposed to tell anyone: she's not a grad student with a demanding job for an international bank, but a secret agent who constantly puts her life on the line for the free world. But when SD-6 discovers her security breach, her fianc� is brutally assassinated, and Sydney suddenly finds herself face-to-face with the truth: she's been working for the bad guys. Deciding to become a double agent for the CIA and bring down the evildoers, Sydney gets one more surprise--her estranged father (Victor Garber) is also working for SD-6, and the CIA as well. Welcome to the family, Syd! Confusing? This is all just in the first episode of Alias, the brainchild of Felicity creator J.J. Abrams that plays like a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and James Bond. With its double-edged tension (how long can Syd play double agent?) and one heck of a MacGuffin (the dreaded Rambaldi device, the mythic creation of a Renaissance genius), the show leads its viewers from episode to episode with visceral, compelling action, not to mention the nascent romance between Syd and her CIA handler, Vaughn (Michael Vartan), and her clashes with her heretofore distant father. Sharp, smart, and always suspenseful, Alias' center was held by the gorgeous Garner, a stellar action heroine and an even better actress who could pull off Sydney's exotic undercover missions and conflicted emotions with equal dexterity. By the end of this first season, which concludes with a breathtaking cliffhanger, you'll be seduced into Alias' world with, happily, no desire to escape. --Mark Englehart

Alias - The Complete Second Seasona
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Starring: Garner, Jennifer Vartan, Michael Garber, Victor Cooper, Bradley Olin, Lena Lumbly, Carl Weisman, Kevin Garber, Victor Garber, Victor Anders, David
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Director: Garner, Jennifer	Rating: Unrated	Running Time: 15 Hours
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color Dolby

Amazon.com It was a family affair in the second season of J.J. Abrams's wonderfully inventive Alias, as super secret agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) came face-to-face with the mother of all super secret agents--her own mother, Irina Derevko (Lena Olin), a former KGB agent presumed dead but alive and more dangerous than ever. After shooting poor Syd, Irina later shows up at the doorstep of the CIA, offering to turn herself in and work for the good guys. But can she be trusted? Alias set up so much duplicity in its second season that it might have been hard to keep track of who was doing what to whom, but thanks to a great ensemble cast, fast-paced writing and direction, and some cannily cast guest stars, Alias rode a stunning emotional roller-coaster and never broke its momentum, even when halfway through the season, the show reinvented itself. With episode 13, "Phase One" (which aired after the Super Bowl to the show's biggest audience), Syd's original nemesis (and employer) SD-6 changes forever, yet the kick-butt agent still finds herself going up against the malevolent leader Sloane (Ron Rifkin) and his ever-changing set of henchmen. Action fans got plenty of fighting, while romantic Alias watchers swooned as Syd and the dashing Vaughn (Michael Vartan) finally consummated their unrequited love. The critically acclaimed show owed a debt to Buffy the Vampire Slayer for its mix of action, romance, mystery, and moral quandaries, but in this season Alias truly came into its own--with a climax that came as a total shocker and prepped the show for an emotionally volatile third season. Guest stars included the phenomenal Amy Irving as Sloane's wife, Faye Dunaway as a nefarious bigwig, Christian Slater as a kidnapped scientist, and Ethan Hawke as a fellow CIA agent (or rather, two of them), but it was the dysfunctional nuclear family of Syd, Irina, and father Jack (Victor Garber) that gave Alias its heart and its strength, whether the three perfectly cast actors (all Emmy nominated) were just bickering or undertaking deadly hand-to-hand combat. And you thought your family had problems! --Mark Englehart Description The action gets even hotter in ALIAS' sensational second season. Double agent Sydney Bristow faces the greatest challenge of her life when her mother, an enemy long thought dead, turns herself in to the CIA. As family relationships change and Sydney's friends take on new roles, her life becomes even more tangled and dangerous. It's "like watching a 2,000-piece puzzle assembled before your eyes," says Entertainment Weekly. Experience all 22 scintillating episodes of season two with exclusive bonus features that take you inside the world of ALIAS. Your favorite characters are back, joined by special guest stars, as Sydney fights to reclaim her life and the action builds to a spectacular climax. "Think Bond with feelings, Dostoyevsky with smart bombs," says GQ Magazine. This comprehensive six-disc collection will have you hooked from episode one's incredible start to the season's stunning final minute.

Alias - The Complete Third Season
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Starring: Garner, Jennifer Vartan, Michael Garber, Victor Cooper, Bradley Garber, Victor Dungey, Merrin Lumbly, Carl Grunberg, Greg Grunberg, Greg Anders, David
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Director: Garner, Jennifer	Rating: Unrated	Running Time: 15 Hours 40 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround

Barnes & Noble The labyrinthine plotting of Alias took an even more mind-boggling turn when the second season ended on a cliff-hanger of mythic proportions, leaving fans wondering how the heck Sydney (Jennifer Garner) would get herself out of this one. After a ferocious hand-to-hand fight between Syd and the evil twin of her dead best friend, Francie (Merrin Dungey), our heroine was left on the floor, unconscious. She awakens in a Hong Kong alley and, after calling for help, is relieved to find boyfriend Vaughn (Michael Vartan) waiting for her at a safe house. According to Vaughn, Sydney has been missing for over two years -- and he is wearing a wedding ring. Season 3 picks up at this point, with Syd adjusting to a world that now seems upside-down. In the season opener, "The Two," Will (Bradley Cooper) is in the witness protection program; Irina (Lena Olin) is on the run; Jack (Victor Garber) is being held in a federal detention facility; Dixon (Carl Lumbly) is now director of the division; evil Sloane (Ron Rifkin) is now the head of an international relief organization; and Syd has yet to meet Vaughn's new wife, Lauren (Melissa George). The main thrust of the season revolves around a new CIA threat, the Covenant -- for which Sark (David Anders) is now working -- and Syd's effort to trace her missing years. She learns the truth from a surprising source in "Full Disclosure." Also, the quest for the Rambaldi artifact takes an odd turn in the season's three episodes -- "Blood Ties," "Legacy," and "Resurrection" -- wherein Syd discovers that a sister she never knew, Nadia (Mia Maestro), may have the clues to unraveling its meaning. Syd also has to contend with Lauren, who at season's end is revealed to be a mole. Guest stars such as David Cronenberg, Quentin Tarantino, Djimon Hounsou, Isabella Rossellini, Vivica A. Fox, and The Office star Ricky Gervais all lend their talents to Alias's third season. Christina Urban PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Alternate Wide Screen (1.78:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Features: The Animated Alias: Tribunal -- An unknown chapter of Sydney's missing two years revealed; "Alias Up Close" -- behind the scenes with the cast and crew; deleted scenes; blooper reel; Monday Night Football teaser; actor and filmmaker commentaries; The Museum of Television & Radio -- Creating characters; ScriptScanner (DVD-ROM); and more. Language: English, Espa�ol SubTitles: English Time: 15 Hours 40 Minutes

Bad Boys (Special Edition)
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Starring: Lawrence, Martin Smith, Will Leoni, T�a Pantoliano, Joe Boyle, Lisa Leoni, Tea Leoni, T�a Serrano, Nestor Serrano, Nestor Guerra, Saverio
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Director: Bay, Michael	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 59 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com A cheerfully over-the-top action film, Bad Boys is notable chiefly for the rapport between its two stars, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, as two Miami cops on the trail of a drug kingpin as they try to protect a witness (Tea Leoni). Smith is the swinging bachelor and Lawrence the family man, and both must juggle their personal lives as they baby-sit the one chance they have to recover a stolen drug shipment, save their jobs, and take down the drug dealer. While the film is almost always implausible and its story is something seen many times before, director Michael Bay (The Rock) keeps things moving stylishly and at a feverish pace, as Smith and Lawrence prove themselves a terrific comic pairing. Their odd couple banter flies at a faster clip than the bullets and explosions, and becomes the best reason to see this hyperbolic but entertaining action flick. --Robert Lane --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Bad Boys II
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Starring: Lawrence, Martin Smith, Will Moll�, Jordi Pantoliano, Joe Salley, John Randle, Theresa Molla, Jordi Stormare, Peter Stormare, Peter Nickens, Gary
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Director: Bay, Michael	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 27 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com No one goes to a movie directed by Michael Bay for delicacy and grace; you go because Michael Bay (Armageddon, The Rock) knows how to make your bones rattle during a high-speed chase when a car flips over, spins through the air, and smacks another car with a visceral crunch. Bad Boys II fulfills this expectation and then some. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence may be mere puppets amid all this burning rubber and shrieking metal, but they actually provide a human core to the endless cascade of car wrecks and gunfights. Their easy rapport makes their personal problems--a running joke is Lawrence's attempts at anger management--as engaging as the sheer visual hullabaloo of bullets and explosions. The plot is recycled nonsense about drug lords and dead bodies being used to smuggle drugs, but orchestration of violence is symphonic. If that's your thing, then this is for you. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features It's appropriate for a Michael Bay-Jerry Bruckheimer film that the Bad Boys II DVD is a visual and aural spectacle. The picture is bright and vivid, and the soundtrack explosive and muscular (even without a DTS option--maybe there'll be a Superbit later). There's no Bay commentary track as he did for the original film, but he does appear in the disc 2 featurettes on stunts and visual effects describing the use of real props (check out the "car flipper" apparatus), CGI, and camera positioning... read more

Big Hit, The
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Starring: Wahlberg, Mark Phillips, Lou Diamond Applegate, Christina Sabato Jr., Antonio Woodbine, Bokeem Jr., Antonio Sabato Chow, China Kazan, Lainie Kazan, Lainie Shimono, Sab
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Director: Wong, Kirk	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.7/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Film fans might someday recognize 1997 and '98 as the years Hong Kong came to Hollywood. Stars Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Chow Yun-Fat, Jet Li, and Michelle Yeoh all appeared in major Hollywood projects and directors John Woo, Ronny Yu, and Tsui Hark directed Face/Off, Bride of Chucky, and Knock Off, respectively. Another entry into this new era of entertainment is The Big Hit, directed by Che-Kirk Wong (who also directed Jackie Chan in Crime Story), executive produced by John Woo, and produced by Wesley Snipes. Mark Wahlberg leads this all-American cast in a played-for-laughs macho blowout. Rounding out the testosterone brigade are Lou Diamond Phillips (sprouting a gold-capped tooth and a dirty mouth), Bokeem Woodbine (who, according to this DVD's director audio track, wore extra socks where it counts), Antonio Sab�to Jr., and Avery Brooks. Wahlberg plays Melvin Smiley, a nice-guy hit man with an ulcer and a severe insecurity problem. He's short on cash due to the spending habits of his unsuspecting fianc�e Pam (Christina Applegate) and his girlfriend-on-the-sly Chantel (Lela Rochon). He and his crew decide to do a little freelancing and cook up their own heist to make a little mo' money--specifically by kidnapping Keiko (China Chow), the daughter of a Japanese businessman whom they target for ransom. Little do they know her dad is broke and she's the goddaughter of their boss. The Big Hit has action scenes aplenty (one of the stunt coordinators worked on Woo's The Killer and Bullet in the Head) and the same cornball sense of humor as other films in the Hong Kong action genre. Slick pacing and over-the-top humor made this movie a miss with the critics but a fun ride for fans of Hong Kong-styled action. --Shannon Gee

Bourne Identity (Widescreen Collector's Edition), The
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Starring: Damon, Matt Potente, Franka Owen, Clive Owen, Clive Potente, Franka Owen, Clive Mann, Gabriel Stiles, Julia Stiles, Julia Stiles, Julia
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Director: Liman, Doug	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 59 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

The Bourne Identity (Widescreen Extended Edition)
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Starring: Damon, Matt Potente, Franka Owen, Clive Owen, Clive Potente, Franka Owen, Clive Mann, Gabriel Stiles, Julia Stiles, Julia Stiles, Julia
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Director: Liman, Doug	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 59 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Freely adapted from Robert Ludlum's 1980 bestseller, The Bourne Identity starts fast and never slows down. The twisting plot revs up in Zurich, where amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), with no memory of his name, profession, or recent activities, recruits a penniless German traveler (Run Lola Run's Franka Potente) to assist in solving the puzzle of his missing identity. While his CIA superior (Chris Cooper) dispatches assassins to kill Bourne and thus cover up his failed mission, Bourne exercises his lethal training to leave a trail of bodies from Switzerland to Paris. Director Doug Liman (Go) infuses Ludlum's intricate plotting with a maverick's eye for character detail, matching breathtaking action with the humorous, thrill-seeking chemistry of Damon and Potente. Previously made as a 1988 TV movie starring Richard Chamberlain, The Bourne Identity benefits from the sharp talent of rising stars, offering intelligent, crowd-pleasing excitement from start to finish. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features Created to take advantage of the sequel playing in theaters, the "Explosive Extended" edition of The Bourne Identity is neither. Unlike many special editions, this is a still a single disc and several of the original DVD features--like the DTS and commentary tracks--are jettisoned for more extras, most of which are lightweight 3- to 6-minute featurettes. The new beginning and ending is incorrectly advertised as an extended edition--the feature is the same as the theatrical, and the new footage... read more

Bulletproof Monk
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Starring: Chow, Yun-Fat Scott, Seann William King, James Roden, Karel Chow Yun-Fat King, Jaime Pirae, Marcus J. Hagarty, Patrick Hagarty, Patrick Bell, Sean
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Director: Hunter, Paul	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com The tremendous charisma of Chow Yun-fat anchors this entertaining comic-book romp. Bulletproof Monk centers around a monk with no name (Chow) dedicated to protecting a sacred scroll that can give world-manipulating power to anyone who reads it. A hidden Nazi has been pursuing the scroll for 60 years and has finally caught up with the monk in present-day New York City; meanwhile, the monk suspects he may have found a disciple in a petty thief (Seann William Scott, Dude, Where's My Car?, American Pie) who's learned kung fu from watching double-feature chopsocky flicks. Don't let the presence of Chow Yun-fat lead you to expect much substance--this doesn't have the emotional scope of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or the visual panache of Hard-Boiled. But Bulletproof Monk is a cheerful, tightly edited, unpretentious action flick with flashes of humor, good for a mindless evening's entertainment. Also featuring Jaime (a.k.a. James) King (Blow). --Bret Fetzer

Bullitt
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Starring: McQueen, Steve Bisset, Jacqueline Bisset, Jacqueline Gordon, Don Duvall, Robert Bodge Fell, Norman Oakland, Simon Oakland, Simon Reindel, Carl
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Director: Yates, Peter	Rating: PG	Running Time: 1 Hour 54 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.4/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video San Francisco has been the setting of a lot of exciting movie car chases over the years, but this 1968 police thriller is still the one to beat when it comes to high-octane action on the steep hills of the city by the Bay. The outstanding car chase earned an Oscar for best editing, but the rest of the movie is pretty good, too. Bullitt is a perfect star vehicle for cool guy Steve McQueen, who stars as a tenacious detective (is there any other kind?) determined to track down the killers of the star witness in an important trial. Director Peter Yates (Breaking Away) approached the story with an emphasis on absolute authenticity, using a variety of San Francisco locations. Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Duvall appear in early roles, and Robert Vaughn plays the criminal kingpin who pulls the deadly strings of the tightly wound plot. --Jeff Shannon

Charlie's Angels
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Starring: Diaz, Cameron Barrymore, Drew Liu, Lucy Barrymore, Drew Forsythe, John Curry, Tim Lynch, Kelly Rockwell, Sam Rockwell, Sam Diaz, Cameron
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Director: McG	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.9/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com For every TV-into-movie success like The Fugitive, there are dozens of uninspired films like The Mod Squad. Happily--and surprisingly--this breezy update of the seminal '70s jiggle show falls into the first category, with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore (who also produced), and Lucy Liu starring as the hair-tossing, fashion-setting, kung fu-fighting trio employed by the mysterious Charlie (voiced by the original Charlie, John Forsythe). When a high-tech programmer (Sam Rockwell) is kidnapped, the angels seek out the suspects, with the daffy Bosley (Bill Murray in a casting coup) in tow. A happy, cornball popcorn flick, Charlie's Angels is played for laughs with plenty of ribbing references to the old TV show as well as modern caper films like Mission: Impossible. McG, a music video director making his feature film debut (usually a death warrant for a movie's integrity), infuses the film with plenty of Matrix-style combat pyrotechnics, and the result is the first successful all-American Hong Kong-style action flick. Plenty of movies boast a New Age feminism that has their stars touting their sexuality while being their own women, but unlike something as obnoxious as Coyote Ugly, Angels succeeds with a positive spin on Girl Power for the new millennium (Diaz especially sizzles in her role of crack super agent/airhead blonde). From the send-up of the TV show's credit sequence to the outtakes over the end credits, Charlie's Angels is a delight. --Doug Thomas --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Description They're beautiful, they're brilliant and they work for Charlie. This is a sexy, high-octane update of the popular hit show, Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore) and Alex (Lucy Liu), alongside faithful lieutenant Bosley (Bill Murray), must foil an elaborate murder-revenge plot that could not only destroy individual privacy and corporate security worldwide, but spell the end of Charlie and his Angels.

Chill Factor
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Starring: Jr., Cuba Gooding Ulrich, Skeet Firth, Peter Firth, Peter Leick, Hudson Kelly, Daniel Hugh O'Connor, Kevin J. Mills, Judson Mills, Judson Macopson, Dwayne
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Director: Johnson, Hugh	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Someone must have really shown Cuba Gooding Jr. the money for him to risk his Oscar cachet on this derivative buddy movie that never quite gets up to Speed despite its blatant ripoff of that breakneck thriller's gimmick. Instead of a bomb-rigged bus forced to maintain its speed of 50 mph, here we have Elvis, a chemical weapon that must be kept cooler than 50 degrees. Standing between us and flesh-melting defoliant devastation are the requisite mismatched antagonists Mason, a short-order cook (Skeet Ulrich), and Arlo, a thief (Gooding). Elvis was created by Mason's fishing buddy, Dr. Richard Long (David Paymer), a biologist still shaken up by a deadly test 10 years earlier that went awry and killed 18 soldiers. Instead of Long, "thorn in the side" Captain Andrew Bryner (Peter Firth) took the fall and went to prison. Now, the embittered Bryner has been released and is understandably vengeful. A ticking time bomb himself, the demented Bryner leads the relentless pursuit of Mason and Arlo, who have been compelled by Long to transport Elvis to a military base 90 miles away in--get this--Arlo's ice cream truck. Gooding works hard for the money, although he was shortchanged by the script ("I'd like to kick your ass like last year's underwear" is a sample bon mot). Still, he makes his exuberant Oscar acceptance speech look restrained. And Firth makes an effective villain. "Your lives will end on this miserable road to nowhere," he warns the duo, "and I can't guarantee the end will be quick." Hardly a Factor at the box office, this thriller is fine for action fans who want to put their brains on cruise control and just chill at home. --Donald Liebenson

Cliffhanger (Collector's Edition)
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Starring: Stallone, Sylvester Lithgow, John Rooker, Michael Fairbrass, Craig Forest, Denis Scott Cummins, Gregory McCarthy, Jeff Finn, John Finn, John Robillard, Kim
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Director: Harlin, Renny	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 58 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Cliffhanger was a 1994 comeback of sorts for action hero Sylvester Stallone, this time thanks to director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2 and Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) and some spectacularly rugged and vertigo-inducing high- mountain terrain. The opening sequence alone delivers what the title promises, and there's a doozy of an airplane stunt that was later reprised, with modifications, in Air Force One. Stallone, looking as tough and craggy as the mountains themselves, is a rescue climber who finds himself going after a gang of crooks (headed by John Lithgow in his bad-guy mode) who've hijacked a U.S. Treasury plane and crash landed in the Rockies (played by the Italian Dolomites) with millions of bucks. Outrageous action-packed, snow-packed, and scenery-packed chase sequences (featuring whirring helicopters, whooshing skis, popping gunfire, and clanging pitons that earned the movie Oscar nominations for sound and sound editing) take full advantage of the digital video disc's Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. --Jim Emerson --This text refers to the DVD edition.

Collateral Damage
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Starring: Schwarzenegger, Arnold Leguizamo, John Neri, Francesca Turturro, John Neri, Francesca Sandoval, Miguel Curtis, Cliff Garcia, Jsu Garcia, Jsu Worthy, Rick
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Director: Davis, Andrew	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 49 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Arnold Schwarzenegger's loyal fans get what they want in this routine but rousing revenge thriller, which pits the aging action star against a Colombian guerrilla terrorist. Schwarzenegger plays a Los Angeles fireman who witnesses the killing of his wife and young son, caused by the terrorist's bombing in a crowded L.A. pavilion. Despite intense scrutiny by FBI and CIA officials, Arnie infiltrates the terrorist's remote jungle compound, enlists the aid of the villain's seemingly trustworthy wife (Francesca Neri), and plots to foil another bombing in Washington, D.C. Director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) maintains adequate plausibility even when Schwarzenegger's survival grows absurdly unlikely, and lively roles for John Turturro and John Leguizamo add welcomed spice to the movie's impressive display of military ordnance. Despite its formulaic plot and Arnold's advancing seniority, Collateral Damage still manages to pack an entertaining punch. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Crow, The (Collector's Series)
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Starring: Lee, Brandon Wincott, Michael Wincott, Michael Todd, Tony Polito, Jon Wincott, Michael Levine, Anna Kelly, David Patrick Kelly, David Patrick Mason, Laurence
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Director: Proyas, Alex	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video The Crow set the standard for dark and violent comic-book movies (like Spawn or director Alex Proyas's superior follow-up, Dark City), but it will forever be remembered as the film during which star Brandon Lee (son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee) was accidentally killed on the set by a loaded gun. The filmmakers were able to digitally sample what they'd captured of Lee's performance and piece together enough footage to make the movie releasable. Indeed, it is probably more fascinating for that post-production story than for the tale on the screen. The Crow is appropriately cloaked in ominous expressionistic shadows, oozing urban dread and occult menace from every dank concrete crack, but it really adds up to a simple and perfunctory tale of ritual revenge. Guided by a portentous crow (standing in for Poe's raven), Lee plays a deceased rock musician who returns from the grave to systematically torture and kill the outlandishly violent gang of hoodlums who murdered him and his fianc�e the year before. The film is worth watching for its compelling visuals and genuinely nightmarish, otherworldly ambience. --Jim Emerson --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Diamonds are Forever
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Starring: Connery, Sean John, Jill St. Cabot, Bruce Glover, Bruce Gray, Charles St. John, Jill Dean, Jimmy Maxwell, Lois Maxwell, Lois Glover, Bruce
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Director: Hamilton, Guy	Rating: PG	Running Time: 120 min
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.6/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Sean Connery retired from the 007 franchise after You Only Live Twice (replaced by George Lazenby in the underrated and underperforming On Her Majesty's Secret Service) but was lured back for one last official appearance as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. He's in fine form--cool but ruthless--in a sharp precredits sequence hunting the unkillable Blofeld (a suavely menacing Charles Gray in this incarnation), but the MacGuffin of a story (involving diamond smuggling, a superlaser on a satellite, and Blofeld's latest plot to rule the world ) is full of the groaning tongue-in-cheek gags that Roger Moore would make his signature. Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton keeps the film zipping along gamely from one entertaining set piece to another, including a terrific car chase in a parking lot, a battle with a pair of bikini-clad killer gymnasts named Bambi and Thumper, and a deadly game with a bizarre pair of fey, sardonic killers who dispatch their victims with elaborate invention. Jill St. John is the brassy but not too bright American smuggler Tiffany Case, and country singer and pork sausage king Jimmy Dean costars as a reclusive billionaire with not-so-subtle parallels to Howard Hughes. Shirley Bassey belts out the memorable theme song, one of the series' best. Connery retired again after this one but he returned once more, for Never Say Never Again 15 years later for a rival production company. --Sean Axmaker

Die Another Day (Widescreen Special Edition)
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Starring: Brosnan, Pierce Berry, Halle Stephens, Toby Brosnan, Pierce Madsen, Michael Berry, Halle Salmon, Colin Bond, Samantha Bond, Samantha Lee, Will Yun
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Director: Tamahori, Lee	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 2 Hours 12 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com The 20th James Bond adventure, Die Another Day succeeds on three important fronts: it avoids comparison to Austin Powers by keeping its cheesy humor in check, allows Halle Berry to be sexy and worthy of a spinoff franchise, and keeps pace with the technical wizardry that modern action films demand. Pierce Brosnan's got style and staying power as James Bond, now bearing little resemblance to Ian Fleming's original British super-spy, but able to hold his own at the box office. He's paired with American agent Jinx (Berry) in chasing a genetically altered North Korean villain (Rick Yune) armed with a satellite capable of destroying just about anything. John Cleese and Judi Dench reprise their recurring roles (as "Q" and "M," respectively); they're accompanied by weapons-laden sports cars, a hokey cameo by Madonna (who sings the techno-pulsed theme song), and enough double-entendres to keep Bond-philes adequately shaken and stirred. With clever nods to 007's cinematic legacy, Die Another Day makes you welcome the familiar end-credits promise: James Bond will return. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features James Bond DVDs have in general been pretty loaded, but Die Another Day raises the bar with a two-disc set featuring dynamic DTS 6.1 ES and Dolby Digital 5.1 EX sound that makes good use of the rear speakers. The first commentary track is by Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike (who plays villain Miranda Frost). They weren't together at the time, so their comments are spliced into one track. Brosnan has a good time watching and is proud of the film but also doesn't take himself too seriously... read more

Die Hard (Five Star Collection)
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Starring: Willis, Bruce Rickman, Alan
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Director: McTiernan, John	Rating: R	Running Time:
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com essential video This seminal 1988 thriller made Bruce Willis a star and established a new template for action stories: "Terrorists take over a (blank), and a lone hero, unknown to the villains, is trapped with them." In Die Hard, those bad guys, led by the velvet-voiced Alan Rickman, assume control of a Los Angeles high-rise with Willis's visiting New York cop inside. The attraction of the film has as much to do with the sight of a barefoot mortal running around the guts of a modern office tower as it has to do with the plentiful fight sequences and the bond the hero establishes with an LA beat cop. Bonnie Bedelia plays Willis's wife, Hart Bochner is good as a brash hostage who tries negotiating his way to freedom, Alexander Godunov makes for a believable killer with lethal feet, and William Atherton is slimy as a busybody reporter. Exceptionally well directed by John McTiernan. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the DVD edition.

Die Hard with a Vengeance (Special Edition)
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Starring: Willis, Bruce Irons, Jeremy Jackson, Samuel L. Greene, Graham Camp, Colleen Bryggman, Larry Peck, Anthony Wyman, Nicholas Wyman, Nicholas Chamberlin, Kevin
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Director: McTiernan, John	Rating: R	Running Time: 131 min
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com essential video The second sequel to the mold-making action film Die Hard brings Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) to New York City to face a better villain than in Die Hard 2. Played by Jeremy Irons, he's the brother of the Germanic terrorist-thief Alan Rickman played in the original film. But this bad guy has his sights set higher: on the Federal Reserve's cache of gold. As a distraction, he sets McClane running fool's errands all over New York--and eventually, McClane attracts an unintentional partner, a Harlem dry cleaner (Samuel L. Jackson) with a chip on his shoulder. Some great action sequences, though they can't obscure the rather large plot holes in the film's final 45 minutes. --Marshall Fine --This text refers to the DVD edition.

Dr. No (Special Edition)
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Starring: Connery, Sean Andress, Ursula Wiseman, Joseph Lee, Bernard Gayson, Eunice Lord, Jack Kitzmiller, John Wiseman, Joseph Wiseman, Joseph Marshall, Zena
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Director: Young, Terence	Rating: PG	Running Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video Released in 1962, this first James Bond movie remains one of the best, and serves as an entertaining reminder that the Bond series began (in keeping with Ian Fleming's novels) with a surprising lack of gadgetry and big-budget fireworks. Sean Connery was just 32 years old when he won the role of Agent 007. In his first adventure James Bond is called to Jamaica where a colleague and secretary have been mysteriously killed. With an American CIA agent (Jack Lord, pre-Hawaii Five-O), they discover that the nefarious Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) is scheming to blackmail the U.S. government with a device capable of deflecting and destroying U.S. rockets launched from Cape Canaveral. Of course, Bond takes time off from his exploits to enjoy the company of a few gorgeous women, including the bikini-clad Ursula Andress. She gloriously kicks off the long-standing tradition of Bond women who know how to please their favorite secret agent. A sexist anachronism? Maybe, but this is Bond at his purest, kicking off a series of movies that shows no sign of slowing down. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Duel (Collector's Edition)
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Starring: Weaver, Dennis Benson, Lucille Weaver, Dennis Firestone, Eddie Dynarski, Gene Frizzell, Lou
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Director: Spielberg, Steven	Rating: PG	Running Time: 90 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com essential video This is the TV movie that put Steven Spielberg on the map, shortly before he made The Sugarland Express. Working from a script by Richard Matheson, the film stars Dennis Weaver as a mild-mannered traveling salesman who unintentionally angers the driver of a semi truck. Suddenly, the truck is not only riding his tail but trying to run him off the road. No matter what he does (pulling over, stopping at a diner, calling the cops), he can't get rid of it. Spielberg makes the wise decision of never showing the driver, even as he cranks the voltage on the film's suspense elements. As a result, the truck itself takes on an air of satanic menace--even a personality of sorts--as it seems to hunt its human prey. Spielberg made a lot out of a little, suggesting just how skilled a storyteller he would become. --Marshall Fine --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Eiger Sanction, The
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Starring: Eastwood, Clint Kennedy, George Cassidy, Jack David, Thayer McGee, Vonetta Bruhl, Heidi Sch�ne, Reiner Grimm, Michael Grimm, Michael Venus, Brenda
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Director: Eastwood, Clint	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 9 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Clint Eastwood held the dual role of director and star of this 1975 spy thriller, which makes up for sluggish pacing with a breathtaking climax on a treacherous peak in the Swiss Alps. The plot kicks into gear when Eastwood, playing a retired assassin, is recruited back into a secret organization to avenge the murder of an old friend. He's then blackmailed into making a second "hit"; this time his target is one of three men who will be attempting to conquer the Eiger, a dangerous peak in Switzerland. Himself an accomplished climber, Eastwood's character joins the expedition with George Kennedy as leader of the ground crew. Shifting loyalties, apparent betrayals, and paranoid suspicion factor into the suspenseful climax on the sheer face of the mountain. This memorable sequence--for which Eastwood performed his own mountain-climbing stunts--is effectively intense, built on a standard plot of double-cross and intrigue that was intended to combine Eastwood's screen persona with the global adventure of the James Bond films. For the most part it works--it's not one of Eastwood's better films, but it's got some first-class thrills (and a sly performance by Jack Cassidy) to grab and hold your interest. --Jeff Shannon

Enemy of the State
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Starring: Smith, Will Hackman, Gene Voight, Jon Voight, Jon King, Regina Bonet, Lisa Dean, Loren Busey, Jake Busey, Jake Pepper, Barry
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Director: Scott, Tony	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 12 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video Robert Clayton Dean (Will Smith) is a lawyer with a wife and family whose happily normal life is turned upside down after a chance meeting with a college buddy (Jason Lee) at a lingerie shop. Unbeknownst to the lawyer, he's just been burdened with a videotape of a congressman's assassination. Hot on the tail of this tape is a ruthless group of National Security Agents commanded by a belligerently ambitious fed named Reynolds (Jon Voight). Using surveillance from satellites, bugs, and other sophisticated snooping devices, the NSA infiltrates every facet of Dean's existence, tracing each physical and digital footprint he leaves. Driven by acute paranoia, Dean enlists the help of a clandestine former NSA operative named Brill (Gene Hackman), and Enemy of the State kicks into high-intensity hyperdrive. Teaming up once again with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Top Gun director Tony Scott demonstrates his glossy style with clever cinematography and breakneck pacing. Will Smith proves that there's more to his success than a brash sense of humor, giving a versatile performance that plausibly illustrates a man cracking under the strain of paranoid turmoil. Hackman steals the show by essentially reprising his role from The Conversation--just imagine his memorable character Harry Caul some 20 years later. Most of all, the film's depiction of high-tech surveillance is highly convincing and dramatically compelling, making this a cautionary tale with more substance than you'd normally expect from a Scott-Bruckheimer action extravaganza. --Jeremy Storey

Entrapment
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Starring: Connery, Sean Zeta-Jones, Catherine Rhames, Ving Patton, Will Chaykin, Maury Rhames, Ving O'Neill, Terry Sharma, Madhav Sharma, Madhav Potter, Tim
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Director: Amiel, Jon	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 53 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Sean Connery plays a master thief thought to be long retired, while Katherine Zeta-Jones is his foil, a hotshot insurance investigator assigned to his case. They both have a little something to hold over each other's heads, until it turns out that Zeta-Jones is a professional art thief herself and is playing on both sides of the fence. At first they eye each other with mutual distrust until they team up for a job, which goes off without a hitch. Inevitably their prickly relationship begins to thaw somewhat, and the two become attracted to each other as they plan out the massive Y2K bank scam that is the movie's climax (complete with sequel-ready ending). Entrapment plays somewhat like a '70s caper movie revamped for the gadget-happy high-tech '90s. The plot takes a few too many labored twists and turns, and the chemistry between the two leads is nearly nonexistent, though both carry on gamely in their parts. On the other hand, there is some genuine suspense in many scenes as they go about their business, dripping with whiz-bang burglary devices. Zeta-Jones, of course, is drop-dead gorgeous, and Connery is as reliable as always in his role. The fairly flat editing and direction tends to drag the film down somewhat, but fans of caper movies, high-tech thrillers, and the two leads should find plenty to like in this film. --Jerry Renshaw

Fast and the Furious, The
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Starring: Walker, Paul Diesel, Vin Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Michelle Yune, Rick Schulze, Matt Strong, Johnny Schulze, Matt Schulze, Matt Rule, Ja
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Director: Cohen, Rob	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.8/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com A guilty pleasure with excess horsepower, The Fast and the Furious efficiently combines time-honored male fantasies (hot cars, hot women, hot action) into a vacuous plot of crystalline purity. It's trash, but it's fun trash, in which a hotshot Los Angeles cop named Brian (Paul Walker) infiltrates a gang of street racers suspected of fencing stolen goods from hijacked trucks. The gang leader is Dom (Vin Diesel), ex-con and reigning king of the street racers, who lives for those 10 seconds of freedom when his high-performance "rice rocket" (a highly modified Asian import) hurtles toward another quarter-mile victory. Racing is street theater for a lawless youth subculture, and Dom is a star behind the wheel--charismatic, dangerous, and protective toward his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), who's attracted to Brian as the newest member of Dom's car-crazy team. Director Rob Cohen treats this like Roman tragedy for MTV junkies, pushing every scene to adrenaline-pumping extremes; when his camera isn't caressing a spectrum of nitrous oxide-enhanced dream machines, it's ogling countless slim 'n' sexy race babes. The undercover-cop scenario cheaply borrows the split-loyalty theme perfected in Donnie Brasco; a rival Asian gang adds mystery and menace; and digital trickery is cleverly employed to explore the fuel-injected innards of the day-glo racecars. It's about as substantial as a perfume ad, but just as alluring, and for heavy-metal maniacs of any age, Diesel's superblown '69 Charger proves that Detroit muscle never goes out of style. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Additional features There's a refreshing modesty to Rob Cohen's matter-of-fact commentary track, which contains one of the more practical dissections of direction voiced on DVD as it covers a mix of nuts-and-bolts filmmaking and cinematic thrill making. And why not? The Fast and the Furious is a sleek, unapologetic speed-demon buddy film, and the collector's-edition disc gleefully revels in the rush. Skip the "making of" featurette puff piece and cut to the visual-effects montage of the film's opening race:... read more

From Russia With Love
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Starring: Connery, Sean Lenya, Lotte Connery, Sean Armendariz, Pedro Bianchi, Daniela Connery, Thomas Gayson, Eunice Gotell, Walter Gotell, Walter Pastell, George
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Director: Young, Terence	Rating: PG	Running Time: 115 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video Directed with consummate skill by Terence Young, the second James Bond spy thriller is considered by many fans to be the best of them all. Certainly Sean Connery was never better as the dashing Agent 007, whose latest mission takes him to Istanbul to retrieve a top-secret Russian decoding machine. His efforts are thwarted when he gets romantically distracted by a sexy Russian double agent (Daniela Bianchi), and is tracked by a lovely assassin (Lotte Lenya) with switchblade shoes, and by a crazed killer (Robert Shaw), who clashes with Bond during the film's dazzling climax aboard the Orient Express. From Russia with Love is classic James Bond, before the gadgets, pyrotechnics, and Roger Moore steered the movies away from the more realistic tone of the books by Ian Fleming. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Gauntlet, The
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Starring: Eastwood, Clint Locke, Sondra Hingle, Pat Prince, William McKinney, Bill Cavanaugh, Michael Cook, Carole Corday, Mara Corday, Mara Morris, Jeff
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Director: Eastwood, Clint	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 51 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.0/10 (IMDB)	Color HiFi Sound

Amazon.com Clint Eastwood is a down-and-out cop who is sent on a routine mission to pick up a witness and deliver her to the Phoenix courthouse. Sounds easy until he realizes he's been set up by the man who gave him this simple assignment. The interplay between Eastwood and the witness, a clever prostitute played by the actor's former girlfriend, Sondra Locke, is tough and playful. They obviously had strong chemistry. The story is highly implausible at times, but the action sequences are satisfying. Eastwood directs The Gauntlet very much in the style of his Academy Award-winning Western Unforgiven. Although the body count is surprisingly low for an Eastwood action film, a house, several cars, and a large bus get shot through with more holes than a big wheel of Swiss cheese. For Eastwood fans, this is the laconic hero at his prime. --Richard Natale

Getaway, The
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Starring: McQueen, Steve MacGraw, Ali Johnson, Ben Hopkins, Bo Struthers, Sally Lettieri, Al Pickens, Slim Dodson, Jack Dodson, Jack Hopkins, Bo
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Director: Peckinpah, Sam	Rating: PG	Running Time: 2 Hours 3 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video It's better than the 1994 remake starring Kim Basinger and husband Alec Baldwin, but this 1972 thriller relies too heavily on the low-key star power of Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw, and the stylish violence of director Sam Peckinpah, reduced here to a mechanical echo of his former glory. McQueen plays a bank robber whose wife (MacGraw) makes a deal with a Texas politician to have her husband released from prison in return for a percentage from their next big heist. But when the plan goes sour, the couple must flee to Mexico as fast as they can, with a variety of gun-wielding thugs on their trail. MacGraw was duly skewered at the time for her dubious acting ability, but the film still has a raw, unglamorous quality that lends a timeless spin to the familiar crooks-on-the-lam scenario. As always, Peckinpah rises to the occasion with some audacious scenes of action and suspense, including a memorable chase on a train that still grabs the viewer's attention. Not a great film, but a must for McQueen and Peckinpah fans. --Jeff Shannon

Gladiator
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Starring: Crowe, Russell Phoenix, Joaquin Nielsen, Connie Reed, Oliver Clark, Spencer Treat Moeller, Ralph Arana, Tomas Harris, Richard Harris, Richard Nielsen, Connie
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Director: Scott, Ridley	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 35 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 8.0/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com essential video A big-budget summer epic with money to burn and a scale worthy of its golden Hollywood predecessors, Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a rousing, grisly, action-packed epic that takes moviemaking back to the Roman Empire via computer-generated visual effects. While not as fluid as the computer work done for, say, Titanic, it's an impressive achievement that will leave you marveling at the glory that was Rome, when you're not marveling at the glory that is Russell Crowe. Starring as the heroic general Maximus, Crowe firmly cements his star status both in terms of screen presence and acting chops, carrying the film on his decidedly non-computer-generated shoulders as he goes from brave general to wounded fugitive to stoic slave to gladiator hero. Gladiator's plot is a whirlwind of faux-Shakespearean machinations of death, betrayal, power plays, and secret identities (with lots of faux-Shakespearean dialogue ladled on to keep the proceedings appropriately "classical"), but it's all briskly shot, edited, and paced with a contemporary sensibility. Even the action scenes, somewhat muted but graphic in terms of implied violence and liberal bloodletting, are shot with a veracity that brings to mind--believe it or not--Saving Private Ryan, even if everyone is wearing a toga. As Crowe's nemesis, the evil emperor Commodus, Joaquin Phoenix chews scenery with authority, whether he's damning Maximus's popularity with the Roman mobs or lusting after his sister Lucilla (beautiful but distant Connie Nielsen); Oliver Reed, in his last role, hits the perfect notes of camp and gravitas as the slave owner who rescues Maximus from death and turns him into a coliseum star. Director Scott's visual flair is abundantly in evidence, with breathtaking shots and beautiful (albeit digital) landscapes, but it's Crowe's star power that will keep you in thrall--he's a true gladiator, worthy of his legendary status. Hail the conquering hero! --Mark Englehart

Goldeneye (Special Edition)
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Starring: Brosnan, Pierce Bean, Sean Scorupco, Izabella Janssen, Famke Baker, Joe Don Dench, Judi Dench, Dame Judi Coltrane, Robbie Coltrane, Robbie John, Gottfried
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Director: Campbell, Martin	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 130 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.8/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com The 18th James Bond adventure was a runaway box-office success when released in 1995, thanks to the arrival of Pierce Brosnan as the fifth actor (following the departure of Timothy Dalton) to play the suave, danger-loving Agent 007. This James Bond is a bit more vulnerable and psychologically complex--and just a shade more politically correct--but he's still a formally attired playboy at heart, with a lovely Russian beauty (Izabella Scorupco) as his sexy ally against a cadre of renegade Russians bent on--what else?--global domination. There's also a seductive villainous with the suggestive name of Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen), and the great actress Judi Dench makes her first appearance as Bond's superior, M, who wisecracks about 007's "dinosaur" status as a globetrotting sexist. All in all, this action-packed Bond adventure provided a much-needed boost the long-running movie series, revitalizing the 007 franchise for the turn of the millennium. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the DVD edition.

Goldfinger (Special Edition)
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Starring: Connery, Sean Blackman, Honor Blackman, Honor Eaton, Shirley Sakata, Harold "Odd Job" Lee, Bernard Llewelyn, Desmond Maxwell, Lois Maxwell, Lois Mallet, Tania
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Director: Hamilton, Guy	Rating: PG	Running Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.7/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video Dry as ice, dripping with deadpan witticisms, only Sean Connery's Bond would dare disparage the Beatles, that other 1964 phenomenon. No one but Connery can believably seduce women so effortlessly, kill with almost as much ease, and then pull another bottle of Dom Perignon '53 out of the fridge. Goldfinger contains many of the most memorable scenes in the Bond series: gorgeous Shirley Eaton (as Jill Masterson) coated in gold paint by evil Auric Goldfinger and deposited in Bond's bed; silent Oddjob, flipping a razor-sharp derby like a Frisbee to sever heads; our hero spread-eagle on a table while a laser beam moves threateningly toward his crotch. Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore is the prototype for the series' rash of man-hating supermodels. And Desmond Llewelyn reprises his role as Q, giving Bond what is still his most impressive car, a snazzy little number that fires off smoke screens, punctures the tires of vehicles on the chase, and boasts a handy ejector seat. Goldfinger's two climaxes, inside Fort Knox and aboard a private plane, have to be seen to be believed. --Raphael Shargel --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

I Spy
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Starring: Murphy, Eddie Wilson, Owen Janssen, Famke Janssen, Famke Wilson, Owen Dopud, Mike Leacock, Viv Dallas, Keith Dallas, Keith Boyd, Lynda
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Director: Thomas, Betty	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.4/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Eddie Murphy needed a comeback after The Adventures of Pluto Nash, but I Spy didn't provide it. As with his previous turkey, Murphy's the least of this movie's problems; his spitfire delivery begs for better plotting and dialogue, and his teaming with Owen Wilson had even more promise than Wilson's Shanghai comedies with Jackie Chan. But this unfunny hash--bearing no resemblance to the 1960s Bill Cosby-Robert Culp TV series that inspired it--undermines Murphy and Wilson at every turn, stranding them in scenes that play well in isolation but never form a coherent action-comedy. It's not that director Betty Thomas is incapable; she just seems uninterested, going through the motions while Eddie, Owen, and Famke Janssen play spy games in Budapest, chasing after a villain (Malcolm McDowell, wasted again) who's stolen a sleek, invisibility-cloaked jet bomber called the Switchblade. Explosions, shootouts, double-crosses... ignore it all, and find what pleasure you can in Eddie and Owen's aimless banter. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Italian Job, The
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Starring: Theron, Charlize Norton, Edward Wahlberg, Mark Sutherland, Donald G., Franky Statham, Jason Def & Talib Kweli, Mos Green, Seth Green, Seth
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Director: Gary Gray, F.	Rating: PG-13	Running Time:
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color Mono

F. Gary Gray's thoroughly entertaining caper film--a remake of the 1969 crime classic starring Michael Caine and Noel Coward--doesn't merely imitate the original, and that is what makes it such a pleasant, wholly refreshing surprise. Mark Wahlberg stars as Charlie Croker, a smooth thief who orchestrates a flawless heist in Venice with the help of his mentor, safecracker John Bridger (Donald Sutherland). Together with his cronies--explosives expert Left-Ear (Mos Def), tech whiz-kid Lyle (Seth Green), adrenaline junky Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), and the shady Steve (Edward Norton)--Charlie walks away with $35 million worth of precious gold bars. But just when the gang appears to be headed to freedom, Steve performs a heist of his own, killing John and running off with the gold, thinking that Charlie and his mates are all deceased. A year later, Charlie has located Steve, who is gradually selling off the gold bars in Los Angeles. With the help of John's beautiful daughter Stella (Charlize Theron), a brilliant safecracker in her own right--as well as those adorable Mini Cooper sports cars--Charlie orchestrates a revenge heist that will teach Steve a valuable lesson about loyalty once and for all.

Jackal, The - DTS
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Starring: Willis, Bruce Gere, Richard Poitier, Sidney Venora, Diane May, Mathilda Simmons, J.K. Lineback, Richard Cunningham, John Cunningham, John Harper, Tess
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Director: Caton-Jones, Michael	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.7/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com The best way to enjoy this 1997 thriller is to forget the much better film that inspired it (1973's The Day of the Jackal) and get whatever kicks you can from this heavy-metal remake. It's not bad as hokey thrillers go, but all of the original film's suspenseful finesse has been traded in (not traded up) for bigger, bolder action and nonsensical plotting. It's as if Hollywood had forgotten to create excitement without resorting to overblown action and heavy hardware, but there's ample compensation in the casting of Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. Willis is the elusive assassin known only as the Jackal, whose latest target (he uses a cannon-sized gun that's anything but inconspicuous) may be the first lady of the United States. Gere plays a former IRA terrorist who is recruited by the deputy head of the FBI (Sidney Poitier) to trace the Jackal's maneuvers, and Diane Venora offers some gutsy support as a Russian-born agent who assists Gere on his mission. The movie has fun turning Willis into a master of disguise, and Gere adds much-needed gravity to counter the plot's escalating absurdity, but this is the kind of film that falls apart if you think about it too much. --Jeff Shannon

Judgment Night
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Starring: Estevez, Emilio Jr., Cuba Gooding Dorff, Stephen Gooding Jr., Cuba Piven, Jeremy Greene, Peter Schrody, Erik Wiseman, Michael Wiseman, Michael Webb, Relioues
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Director: Hopkins, Stephen	Rating: R	Running Time: 109 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

VideoHound Golden Movie Retriever 2000: Four macho buddies on their way to a boxing match detour a highway traffic jam via surface streets and find themselves witnesses to a murder. The rest of their guys-night-out is spent trying to escape a gloomy ghetto and determined killer (played convincingly by Leary). All of the action takes place after dark on the streets and in the sewers and, subsequently, the scenes are extremely dark with only a burnt orange lighting. Lots of action and a little oomph. Based on a story by Lewis Colick and Jere Cunningham.

Kill Bill Volume 2
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Starring: Thurman, Uma Carradine, David Madsen, Michael Parks, Michael Bishop, Larry Thurman, Uma Chiba, Sonny Svenson, Bo Svenson, Bo Madsen, Michael
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Director: Tarantino, Quentin	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 17 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 8.2/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound,

From Barnes & Noble The adventures of the Bride (Uma Thurman) continue in Kill Bill Volume 2, the second half of Quentin Tarantino's audacious homage to Hong Kong cinema and the wildly outr� potboilers of the drive-in era. Originally intended as the second half of one long film, the sequel picks up where Kill Bill left off, with two members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad dispatched and two more standing between the vengeance-seeking Bride and her former lover and mentor, the quietly philosophical Bill (David Carradine). Volume 2, while not quite as action-packed as its predecessor, is every bit as entertaining in the same over-the-top manner, yet full of the pop culture-spouting dialogue that was missing in Volume 1. The standout sequence is the much-anticipated showdown between the Bride and Elle Driver, the eye patch-wearing assassin played with delicious malevolence by Daryl Hannah. It's a set piece that literally brings the house down. Hannah is absolutely terrific, as is the willowy Thurman, who looks better than she ever has on film -- when she's not drenched in blood, that is. But the top acting honors go to Carradine, whose lengthy banishment to the cinematic outlands of direct-to-video schlock made people forget how good he could be. Tarantino's writing and direction is predictably self-indulgent, but every frame of Kill Bill: Volume 2 is suffused with his love of cinema -- and not just cinema spelled with a capital C. Mr. Q is nothing if not egalitarian, cinematically speaking, and the movie's baroque styling reflects influences you'll never find cited by stuffy academics. This is joyfully exuberant filmmaking at its least restrained, a free-form triumph of style over substance -- and very likely the most exhilarating disc you'll see for some time. Ed Hulse From All Movie Guide Quentin Tarantino's sprawling homage to action films of both the East and the West reaches its conclusion in this continuation of 2003's ultra-violent Kill Bill Vol. 1. Having dispatched several of her arch-enemies in the first film, The Bride (Uma Thurman) continues in Kill Bill Vol. 2 on her deadly pursuit of her former partners in the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, who, in a furious assault, attempted to murder her and her unborn child on her wedding day. As The Bride faces off against allies-turned-nemeses Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), she flashes back to the day of her deadly wedding, and we learn of how she was recruited to join the DiVAS, her training under unforgiving martial arts master Pai Mei (Liu Chia-hui), and her relationship with Squad leader Bill (David Carradine), which changed from love to violent hatred. Originally planned as a single film, Kill Bill grew into an epic-scale two-part project totaling more than four hours in length; as with the first film, Kill Bill Vol. 2 includes appearances by genre-film icons Sonny Chiba, Michael Parks, Larry Bishop, and Sid Haig; Wu-Tang Clan producer and turntablist RZA and filmmaker and composer Robert Rodriguez both contributed to the musical score. Mark Deming

Kill Bill, Volume 1
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Starring: Thurman, Uma Liu, Lucy Fox, Vivica A. Chiba, Sonny Chiba, Shinichi Carradine, David Liu, Gordon Liu, Chia Hui Liu, Chia Hui Hannah, Daryl
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Director: Tarantino, Quentin	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 51 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 8.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Vol. 1 is trash for connoisseurs. From his opening gambit (including a "Shaw-Scope" logo and gaudy '70s-vintage "Our Feature Presentation" title card) to his cliffhanger finale (a teasing lead-in to 2004's Vol. 2), Tarantino pays loving tribute to grindhouse cinema, specifically the Hong Kong action flicks and spaghetti Westerns that fill his fervent brain--and this frequently breathtaking movie--with enough cinematic references and cleverly pilfered soundtrack cues to send cinephiles running for their reference books. Everything old is new again in Tarantino's humor-laced vision: he steals from the best while injecting his own oft-copied, never-duplicated style into what is, quite simply, a revenge flick, beginning with the near-murder of the Bride (Uma Thurman), pregnant on her wedding day and left for dead by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (or DiVAS)--including Lucy Liu and the unseen David Carradine (as Bill)--who become targets for the Bride's lethal vengeance. Culminating in an ultraviolent, ultra-stylized tour-de-force showdown, Tarantino's fourth film is either brilliantly (and brutally) innovative or one of the most blatant acts of plagiarism ever conceived. Either way, it's hyperkinetic eye-candy from a passionate film-lover who clearly knows what he's doing. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Knockaround Guys
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Starring: Diesel, Vin Hopper, Dennis Hopper, Dennis Pepper, Barry Diesel, Vin Davoli, Andrew Malkovich, John Pasco, Nicholas Pasco, Nicholas Gage, Kevin
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Director: Levien, David	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.9/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com An all-star cast enlivens this mobster movie. Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan, Battlefield Earth) plays the central role of Matty, the son of a mob boss (Dennis Hopper, Blue Velvet, Speed) who's reluctant to give his son a shot at crime. Alas, when Matty and his posse of friends--tough guy Vin Diesel (Boiler Room, XXX), lover boy Andrew Davoli (The Sopranos), and screw-up Seth Green (the Austin Powers movies)--finally get an opportunity, they fumble the job, and a very important satchel of money ends up in a Montana town where the wily sheriff (Tom Noonan, Manhunter) decides he deserves a bonus for his years of public service. The posse's problems get worse when Matty's ruthless uncle (John Malkovich) comes to town to clean up the mess. Mechanical and unimaginative, but the capable performances keep it moving. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Description Four sons of well-known gangsters come face to face with their own legacy of violence and betrayal when they travel to a small Montana town to collect a large sum of cash.

Lara Croft - Tomb Raider
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Starring: Jolie, Angelina Voight, Jon Taylor, Noah Jolie, Angelina Craig, Daniel Phillips, Leslie Taylor, Noah Rhind-Tutt, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Julian Phillips, Robert
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Director: West, Simon	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Like the video game series it's based on, Tomb Raider is best enjoyed for its physical strategies, since even casual scrutiny of story details will induce a headache. It's more concerned with puzzles than plot, populated with characters that don't have personalities so much as attitudes. It's silly and somber at the same time, but as a franchise vehicle for Angelina Jolie in the title role of relic hunter Lara Croft, this is packaged entertainment at its most agreeable, ambitious in scope and scale, and filled with the kind of globetrotting adventure that could make Jolie the best thing that's happened to action movies since Indiana Jones. Could being the operative word here, because Tomb Raider can't match any of Steven Spielberg's celebrated joyrides, but the ingredients are there for an exquisitely cinematic meal. Perhaps to distance himself from Lara Croft's video game origins, director Simon West takes things a bit too seriously; Tomb Raider handles its plot (involving a planetary alignment, the nefarious Illuminati, and coveted relics that hold the key to controlling the flow of time) with all the gravity of a championship chess match... minus the tension. If the movie had lightened up and been truly suspenseful (instead of being suffused with been-there, done-that familiarity), it would have been an instant popcorn classic. As it is, however, this is an elegantly mounted adventure featuring exotic locations (in Cambodia and Iceland) and an exotic star born for her role. Even without her padded bra, Jolie would be the living embodiment of Lara Croft, and that's enough to bode well for inevitable sequels. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (Widescreen Edition)
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Starring: Jolie, Angelina Butler, Gerard Hinds, Ciaran Butler, Gerard Barrie, Chris Taylor, Noah Yam, Simon Schweiger, Til Schweiger, Til Caltagirone, Daniel
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Director: Bont, Jan de	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 57 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Cradle of Life is certainly better than its 2001 predecessor, but its appeal is mostly aimed at fans of the video games that inspired both movies. That pretty much leaves you with some fun but familiar action sequences, and the ever-alluring sight of Angelina Jolie (reprising her title role) as she swims, swings, kicks, shoots, flies, jet-skis, motorcycles, and free-falls her way toward saving the world, this time by making sure that a grimacing villain (Ciar�n Hinds) doesn't open Pandora's Box (yes, the actual mythological object) and unleash a deadly plague that will "weed out" the global population. Exotic locations add to Jolie's own coolly erotic appeal, but we're left wondering if this franchise has anywhere else to go. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Description In LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER �THE CRADLE OF LIFE, Pandora�s Box is said to house the most unspeakable evil ever known, and it is hidden in Africa in an area known as "The Cradle Of Life." Now, it is up to Lara Croft to find the infamous box before it falls into the hands of a maniacal Nobel Prize-winning scientist (Hinds), who�s intent on harnessing the evil power. Facing her greatest challenges yet, the intrepid tomb raider travels the world on a spectacular adventure that takes her to such exotic places as Hong Kong, Kenya, Tanzania, Greece and the Great Wall of China.

Last Castle, The
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Starring: Redford, Robert Gandolfini, James Ruffalo, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Gandolfini, James Collins, Clifton , Jr. Ruffalo, Mark Wright Penn, Robin Wright Penn, Robin Scott, George W.
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Director: Lurie, Rod	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 13 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com The Last Castle rides high on a wave of American patriotism, respectful of military service and protocol, and primed to ignite anyone's passion for justice against corrupted ideals. This intense prison drama begins when a court-martialed three-star general (Robert Redford) is sentenced to military prison for defying a presidential command. The prison's warden (James Gandolfini) is a jealous martinet who's never seen combat, and when the jailed general seizes command of the prison to protest the warden's abuse of power, The Last Castle erupts toward a classic showdown between integrity and cowardice. Former critic and West Point graduate Rod Lurie (The Contender) directs this intimate battle with manipulative skill, appealing more to emotions than intelligence, but his stellar cast keeps the action on track, and a potent script returns flag-waving to its rightful place of honor. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version)
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Starring: Reno, Jean Oldman, Gary Oldman, Gary Oldman, Gary Badalucco, Michael Portman, Natalie Regen, Elizabeth Matusovich, Carl J. Matusovich, Carl J. Badalucco, Michael
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Director: Besson, Luc	Rating: Unrated	Running Time: 2 Hours 13 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 8.4/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) made his American directorial debut with this stylized thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits La Femme Nikita and Subway to the production, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Living Daylights, The
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Starring: Dalton, Timothy d'Abo, Maryam Llewelyn, Desmond Brown, Robert Barry, John Krabbe, Jeroen Dalton, Timothy Rhys-Davies, John Rhys-Davies, John d'Abo, Maryam
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Director: (II), John Glen	Rating: PG	Running Time: 131 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.4/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Timothy Dalton made his 007 debut in the lean, mean mode of Sean Connery, doing away with the pun-filled camp of Roger Moore's final outings. He establishes his persona right from the gritty pre-credits sequence, in which he hangs from a speeding truck as it barrels down narrow cobblestone streets, battles an assassin mano a mano, and lands in the arms of a bikinied babe. This James Bond is ruthless, tough, and romantic. The Living Daylights, set during the thaw of the cold war, begins with the defection of Russian KGB General Koskov (Jeroen Krabb�) and his revelation of a Soviet plot to eliminate Britain's secret agent force. Assigned to eliminate Koskov's Soviet boss (John Rhys-Davies, cutting a memorable figure in his brief appearance), Bond uncovers a conspiracy involving Koskov and an American arms dealer (Joe Don Baker). Maryam d'Abo makes a fine Bond girl as Koskov's beautiful cellist girlfriend, a classy innocent who soon loses her naive blush and shows her pluck. The villains are lackluster--Krabb� is a clown and Baker a blowhard--and Dalton hadn't yet mastered the delivery of the trademark quips, but it's a sleek script with a no-nonsense attitude. Veteran series director John Glen's action scenes have never been better--especially the show-stopping mid-air battle on the net of a speeding cargo plane--and he returns the series to the smart, rough, high-energy adventures that made the Bond reputation. --Sean Axmaker

Long Kiss Goodnight, The
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Starring: Davis, Geena Jackson, Samuel L. Malahide, Patrick Malahide, Patrick Bierko, Craig Cox, Brian Morse, David Morse, David Morse, David Kanakaredes, Melina
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Director: Harlin, Renny	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video Geena Davis and her former husband, director Renny Harlin, attempted to pick up the pieces after the debacle of their box-office disaster, Cutthroat Island. What they came up with was this repulsive ode to American film noir, based on a script by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) about an amnesiac schoolteacher (Davis) who searches for her true identity and finds she is actually a secret agent immersed in a deadly plot to topple the government. Mechanistic in its violence, obnoxious in its attitude, the film makes Davis, a once-promising actress, nothing more than a special effect. She tosses one to sadists in the audience by allowing her character to be beaten, punched unconscious, and tortured. The DVD release has optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, plus Dolby surround sound, theatrical trailer, cast information, optional French-language soundtrack and optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Man with the Golden Gun, The
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Starring: Moore, Roger Lee, Christopher Ekland, Britt Moore, Roger Lee, Bernard Lawrence, Marc Ekland, Britt Adams, Maud Adams, Maud Oh, Soon-Teck
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Director: Hamilton, Guy	Rating: PG	Running Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.4/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby Digital, stereo

From All Movie Guide Man With the Golden Gun, Roger Moore's second outing as James Bond (Live and Let Die was the first), whisks Our Hero off to Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand and then the South China Sea in search of a solar energy weapon. His opponent is Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), who rules the roost on a well-fortified island. Scaramanga's aide-de-camp is Nick Nack, played by future Fantasy Island co-star Herve Villechaize. Britt Ekland plays the bikined Mary Goodnight, whose clumsy efforts to help Bond thwart Scaramanga are almost as destructive as the elusive solar device. Man With the Golden Gun was adapted by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz from Ian Fleming's last James Bond novel, which had to be published posthumously in "rough draft" form. Hal Erickson

Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World (Widescreen Special Two-Disc Set)
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Starring: Crowe, Russell Bettany, Paul Desantis, John Crowe, Russell D'Arcy, James Jones, Mark Lewis Bettany, Paul Boyd, Billy Boyd, Billy Pates, Richard
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Director: Weir, Peter	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 2 Hours 18 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.5/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com essential video In the capable hands of director Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a seafaring adventure like no other, impeccably authentic, dynamically cast, and thrilling enough to give any classic swashbuckler a run for its money. In adapting two of Patrick O'Brian's enormously popular novels about British naval hero Capt. Jack Aubrey, Weir and cowriter John Collee have changed the timeframe from the British/American war of 1812 to the British/French opposition of 1805, where the HMS Surprise, under Aubrey's confident command, is patrolling the South Atlantic in pursuit of the Acheron, a French warship with the strategic advantage of greater size, speed, and artillery. Russell Crowe is outstanding as Aubrey, firm and fiercely loyal, focused on his prey even if it means locking horns with his friend and ship's surgeon, played by Crowe's A Beautiful Mind costar Paul Bettany. Employing a seamless combination of carefully matched ocean footage, detailed models, full-scale ships, and CGI enhancements, Weir pays exacting attention to every nautical detail, while maintaining a very human story of honor, warfare, and survival under wretched conditions. Raging storms and hull-shattering battles provide pulse-pounding action, and a visit to the Galapagos Islands lends a note of otherworldly wonder, adding yet another layer of historical perspective to this splendidly epic adventure. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features If you have any interest in how this impressive-looking film was put together, you must grab the Collector's Edition. The disc of extras is universally intriguing, smoothly presented, and in depth. As good as the 70-minute documentary is--and it is an excellent survey of how the film was made--a 30-minute segment on how the various effects were combined (ocean shoot, tank shoot, CGI and models) is stunning. There's an equally impressive piece on the Oscar-winning sound and an interactive cannon... read more

Mission Impossible
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Starring: Cruise, Tom Voight, Jon B�art, Emmanuelle Beart, Emmanuelle Reno, Jean Rhames, Ving Thomas, Kristin Scott Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, Vanessa Iures, Marcel
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Director: Palma, Brian De	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video A flashy, splashy summer-movie blockbuster that's fun and exciting without being mindless? That's the impossible mission accomplished by director Brian De Palma, star-coproducer Tom Cruise, and the crack team of Mission: Impossible. Based on the '60s TV show and an almost impenetrably complex (but nonetheless thrilling) original story by David Koepp (Jurassic Park) and Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List), with a screenplay by Koepp and Robert Towne (Chinatown, Shampoo), Mission: Impossible begins with veteran agent Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) and his expert crew embarking on a mission that goes horribly, horribly wrong. But nothing is what it seems. The nail-biting set piece--always a signature of director De Palma (Carrie, The Untouchables)--in which Cruise is lowered from the ceiling to retrieve information from a computer in a high-security vault--is an instant classic. But perhaps even more impressive, at least in retrospect, is a flashback sequence in which two characters attempt to reconstruct a series of events from multiple points of view. It's pretty daring and sophisticated stuff for a big-budget spy movie, but brains were always what put the Mission: Impossible team ahead of the competition, anyway, no? --Jim Emerson --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Mission Impossible II
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Starring: Scott, Dougray Newton, Thandie Cruise, Tom Hopkins, Anthony Gleeson, Brendan Polson, John Serbedzija, Rade Roxburgh, Richard Roxburgh, Richard R. Mapother, William
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Director: Woo, John	Rating: PG-13	Running Time:
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color DigitalSound

John Woo raises the action bar in this violent, romantic sequel to Brian De Palma's 1996 original. Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt, this time battling wits with rogue IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott). Hunt is ordered to recruit Ambrose's former lover, Nyah Hall (Thandie Newton), to infiltrate his hideout. But Hunt never expected to fall for the lovely young thief he must use for bait. The romantic triangle that ensues gives the film a unique emotional balance that is unusual (and most welcome) for an action picture. Ambrose is after the killer Chimera virus and its antidote, Bellerophon; in the old days Ambrose would have been after world domination, but in this new world order of day trading and Internet stocks, all he wants is to corner the market and make a fortune. Woo outdoes even himself with a flurry of martial-arts fights, fiery shootouts, thrilling mountain climbing, and blazing motorcycle chases that lead from the beautiful peaks of Utah through the busy streets of Sydney. All of this is set to a booming hard-rock soundtrack that battles with the explosions and blasting guns for ear space. And he doesn't fail to include his trademark birds fluttering like peaceful interludes in the most threatening of moments.

Moonraker
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Starring: Moore, Roger Kiel, Richard Lonsdale, Michael Maxwell, Lois Moore, Roger Lee, Bernard Clery, Corinne Keen, Geoffrey Keen, Geoffrey Kiel, Richard
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Director: (II), Lewis Gilbert	Rating: PG	Running Time: 126 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.9/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com This was the first James Bond adventure produced after the success of Star Wars, so it jumped on the sci-fi bandwagon by combining the suave appeal of Agent 007 (once again played by Roger Moore) with enough high-tech hardware and special effects to make Luke Skywalker want to join Her Majesty's Secret Service. After the razzle-dazzle of The Spy Who Loved Me, this attempt to latch onto a trend proved to be a case of overkill, even though it brought back the steel-toothed villain Jaws (Richard Kiel) and scored a major hit at the box office. This time Bond is up against a criminal industrialist named Drax (Michel Lonsdale) who wants to control the world from his orbiting space station. In keeping with his well-groomed style, Bond thwarts this maniacal Neo-Hitler's scheme with the help of a beautiful, sleek-figured scientist (played by Lois Chiles with all the vitality of a department-store mannequin). There's a grand-scale climax involving space shuttles and ray guns, but despite the film's popular success, this is one Bond adventure that never quite gets off the launching pad. It's as if the caretakers of the James Bond franchise had forgotten that it's Bond--and not a barrage of gizmos and gadgets (including a land-worthy Venetian gondola)--that fuels the series' success. Despite Moore's passive performance (which Pauline Kael described as "like an office manager who is turning into dead wood but hanging on to collect his pension"), Moonraker had no problem attracting an appreciative audience, and there are even a few renegade Bond-philes who consider it one of their favorites. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Never Say Never Again
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Starring: Connery, Sean Basinger, Kim Sydow, Max von Von Sydow, Max Basinger, Kim Casey, Bernie McCowen, Alec Fox, Edward Fox, Edward Atkinson, Rowan
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Director: Kershner, Irvin	Rating: PG	Running Time: 2 Hours 13 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com After years of enduring Roger Moore in the role of James Bond, it was good to have Sean Connery back in this 1983 film for a one-time-only trip down 007's memory lane. Connery's Bond, a bit of a dinosaur in the British secret service at (then) 52, is still in demand during times of crisis. Sadly, the film is not very good. In this rehash of Thunderball, Bond is pitted against a worthy underwater villain (Klaus Maria Brandauer); and while the requisite Bond Girls include beauties Kim Basinger and Barbara Carrera, they can't save the movie. The script has several truly dumb passages, among them a (gasp) video-game duel between 007 and his nemesis that now looks utterly anachronistic. For Connery fans, however, this widescreen print of the Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back) film is a chance to say a final goodbye to a perfect marriage of actor and character. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Ocean's Eleven (Widescreen Edition)
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Starring: Clooney, George Pitt, Brad Damon, Matt Pitt, Brad Lewis, Lennox Gould, Elliott Clooney, George Roberts, Julia Roberts, Julia Jackson, Joshua
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Director: Soderbergh, Steven	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 57 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.5/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video Ocean's Eleven improves on 1960's Rat Pack original with supernova casting, a slickly updated plot, and Steven Soderbergh's graceful touch behind the camera. Soderbergh reportedly relished the opportunity "to make a movie that has no desire except to give pleasure from beginning to end," and he succeeds on those terms, blessed by the casting of George Clooney as Danny Ocean, the title role originated by Frank Sinatra. Fresh out of jail, Ocean masterminds a plot to steal $163 million from the seemingly impervious vault of Las Vegas's Bellagio casino, not just for the money but to win his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) back from the casino's ruthless owner (Andy Garcia). Soderbergh doesn't scrimp on the caper's comically intricate strategy, but he finds greater joy in assembling a stellar team (including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Carl Reiner) and indulging their strengths as actors. The result is a film that's as smooth as a silk suit and just as stylish. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Octopussy
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Starring: Moore, Roger Adams, Maud Maxwell, Lois Brown, Robert Moore, Roger Jourdan, Louis Wayborn, Kristine Meyer, Tony Meyer, Tony Brown, Robert
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Director: (II), John Glen	Rating: PG	Running Time: 131 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Roger Moore was nearing the end of his reign as James Bond when he made Octopussy, and he looks a little worn out. But the movie itself infuses some new blood into the old franchise, with a frisky pace and a pair of sturdy villains. Maud Adams--who'd also been in the Bond outing The Man with the Golden Gun--plays the improbably named Octopussy, while old smoothie Louis Jourdan is her crafty partner in crime. There's an island populated only by women, plus a fantastic sequence with a hand-to-hand fight that happens on a plane--and on top of a plane. The film even has an extra emotional punch, since this time out 007 is not only following the orders of Her Majesty's Secret Service, but he is also exacting a personal revenge: a fellow double-0 agent has been killed. Two Bond films were actually released in 1983 within a few months of each other, as Octopussy was followed by Sean Connery's comeback in Never Say Never Again. The success of both pictures proved that there was still plenty of mileage left in the old license to kill, though Moore had one more workout--A View to a Kill--before hanging it up. And that title? The franchise had already used up the titles to Ian Fleming's novels, so Octopussy was taken from a lesser-known Fleming short story. --Robert Horton --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service
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Starring: Lazenby, George Rigg, Diana Lee, Bernard Savalas, Telly Ferzetti, Gabriele Lazenby, George Steppat, Ilse Horsfall, Bernard Horsfall, Bernard Llewelyn, Desmond
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Director: Hunt, Peter R.	Rating: PG	Running Time: 140 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.7/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Australian model George Lazenby took up the mantle of the world's most suave secret agent when Sean Connery retired as James Bond--prematurely, it turned out. Connery returned in Diamonds Are Forever before leaving the role to Roger Moore and Lazenby's subsequent career fizzled, yet this one-hit wonder is responsible for one of the best Bond films of all time. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 007 leaves the Service to privately pursue his SPECTRE nemesis Blofeld (played this time by Telly Savalas), whose latest master plan involves a threat to the world's crops by agricultural sterilization. Bond teams up with suave international crime lord Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti) and falls in love with--and marries--his elegant daughter, Tracy (Diana Rigg). Bond goes monogamous? Not at first; after all he has Blofeld's harem to seduce. Lazenby hasn't the intensity of Connery but he has fun with his quips and even lampoons the Bond image in a playful pre-credits sequence, and Rigg, fresh from playing sexy Emma Peel in The Avengers, matches 007 in every way. Former editor Peter Hunt makes a strong directorial debut, deftly handling the elaborate action sequences--including a car chase turned road rally through the icy snow--with a kinetic finesse and a dash of humor. Though not a hit on its original release, On Her Majesty's Secret Service has become a fan favorite and the closest the series has come to capturing the spirit of Ian Fleming's books. --Sean Axmaker --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico
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Starring: Banderas, Antonio Hayek, Salma Depp, Johnny Banderas, Antonio Rourke, Mickey Dafoe, Willem Depp, Johnny Trejo, Danny Trejo, Danny Hayek, Salma
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Director: Rodriguez, Robert	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Guns, guns, guns! And a few explosions as bodies fly through the air and crash into tables and fruit stands. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, like all Robert Rodriguez movies, is all about the kinetic kick of high-velocity action. Johnny Depp, blase and whimsical, plays a CIA agent who's drawn guitar-playing gun-slinger Antonio Banderas (long black hair flopping over his face like the ears of a Labrador puppy) into a ridiculously convoluted plot to overthrow the Mexican government. Along for the ride are a craggy-faced rogue's gallery including Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Ruben Blades, and (to balance things out) the smooth, tantalizing complexions of Eva Mendes and Salma Hayek. For sheer trashy fun, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a step down from its predecessor, Desperado--but Desperado set the bar pretty high. For coherent storytelling, look elsewhere, but for action razzle-dazzle, this is your movie. --Bret Fetzer DVD features It's obvious that Robert Rodriguez has as much fun putting together a DVD as he does making a film. Start with his rapid-fire commentary track in which he spills forth everything from his overview of the Mariachi series to how he partly wanted to make the film just so he could use high-def cameras after he saw footage from Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Then listen to the score and sound effects in full bloom on the isolated track, supplemented by Rodriguez sharing stories,... read more Description Robert Rodriguez returns with the mythic guitar-singing hero, El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), in the third installment of the El Mariachi/Desperado trilogy. The saga continues as El Mariachi makes his way across a rugged landscape on the trail of Barrillo (Willem Dafoe), a kingpin who is planning a coup against the president of Mexico. Enlisted by Sands (Johnny Depp), a corrupt CIA agent, El Mariachi demands retribution, and the adventure begins. The character, made famous by Banderas, remains a slinger of guitars and guns, a tragic and bloodied hero, but a survivor forever.

Package, The
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Starring: Hackman, Gene Jones, Tommy Lee Jones, Tommy Lee Jones, Tommy Lee Franz, Dennis Lee Jones, Tommy Crowley, Kevin Dean, Ron Dean, Ron Ross, Chelcie
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Director: Davis, Andrew	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Gene Hackman is a career officer assigned a routine mission well beneath him: deliver a prisoner (Tommy Lee Jones) from Europe to the United States. However, the simple assignment becomes a daring cat-and-mouse game played as the last flames of the Cold War are flickering. This is the first of three films that teamed Jones with director Andrew Davis. In 1989 Jones was a wild card: an actor respected but only popping up in grade B fare. After Davis's Under Siege and The Fugitive, Jones was America's favorite gruff character actor, with an Oscar on his mantel. With a weaker script, Davis still creates the same kind of magic here. Hackman is superb as the officer, an action role similar to others that the nearly 60-year-old unexpectedly excelled at (Bat 21, Narrow Margin) during this period. Tight, tense, and with no letup in the third act, The Package is a good gem for a Saturday night flick. --Doug Thomas --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Payback
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Starring: Gibson, Mel Henry, Gregg Bello, Maria Bello, Maria Unger, Deborah Unger, Deborah Kara Paymer, David Duke, Bill Duke, Bill Kristofferson, Kris
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Director: Helgeland, Brian	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.8/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com They stole his money, turned his woman against him, and left him for dead. Now tough-guy poster child Porter (the appropriately world-weary Mel Gibson) is back, bad to the bone, and a mite ticked off at the Organization that done him wrong. Mucho macho carnage ensues. It took some major guts for first-time director (and Oscar winner for the script of L.A. Confidential) Brian Helgeland to take a shot at adapting Donald Westlake's pseudonymous, legendarily gritty novel The Hunter for the screen (especially considering that director John Boorman and irresistible force Lee Marvin had already produced a fairly definitive rendering of the source material with their enigmatic 1967 masterpiece Point Blank). Nonetheless this novice auteur managed to pull out a winner. Put simply, this compulsively watchable piece of scuzz-art hits like a well-placed Magnum round, with a wonderful '70s vibe and an awesome rogues' gallery of baddies (including James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, William Devane, and the riotously sadistic Lucy Liu) for the charmingly battered star to play off of--and ultimately wade through. Although this enjoyably seedy roll through the gutter of Crime Alley does occasionally threaten to wander off its downturned track (hands-on producer Gibson reportedly stepped in at the last moment to make his antihero a little more heroic), the final result is an admirably pulpy, distinctly dirty slice of neo-noir liberally marinated in blood, blue smoke, and bourbon. This particular payback's one tough little SOB, indeed. --Andrew Wright --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl
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Starring: Depp, Johnny Rush, Geoffrey Bloom, Orlando Arenberg, Lee Davenport, Jack Saldana, Zoe Knightley, Keira Bloom, Orlando Bloom, Orlando New, Giles
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Director: Verbinski, Gore	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 2 Hours 23 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 8.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com You won't need a bottle of rum to enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, especially if you've experienced the Disneyland theme-park ride that inspired it. There's a galleon's worth of fun in watching Johnny Depp's androgynous performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, a roguish pirate who could pass for the illegitimate spawn of rockers Keith Richards and Chrissie Hynde. Depp gets all the good lines and steals the show, recruiting Orlando Bloom (a blacksmith and expert swordsman) and Keira Knightley (a lovely governor's daughter) on an adventurous quest to recapture the notorious Black Pearl, a ghost ship commandeered by Jack's nemesis Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), a mutineer desperate to reverse the curse that left him and his (literally) skeleton crew in a state of eternal, undead damnation. Director Gore Verbinski (The Ring) repeats the redundant mayhem that marred his debut film Mouse Hunt, but with the writers of Shrek he's made Pirates into a special-effects thrill-ride that plays like a Halloween party on the open seas. Aye, matey, we've come a long way since Jason and the Argonauts! --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features Like any DVD blockbuster from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the extras are plentiful and often a bit too self-congratulatory (worst offender here is the primary commentary track). The slickly (natch) produced making-of documentary goes through the standard routine; however, the less-flashy "fly on the wall" bits--just showing what happens on set without comment--is more fun, offering effortless insight on the filmmaking process. The best treasure is a nifty interactive history on pirates with... read more

Point of No Return
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Starring: Fonda, Bridget Byrne, Gabriel Mulroney, Dermot Italiano, Anna Maria Louise Keitel, Harvey Byrne, Gabriel Mulroney, Dermot Lewis, Geoffrey Lewis, Geoffrey Romanus, Richard
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Director: Badham, John	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 49 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.6/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Point of No Return is one of those Hollywood remakes of a European hit in which one can visualize a committee of studio executives sitting around and saying, "Okay, we know what made the original film unique and different and fun. How can we make that same movie and do exactly the opposite?" For-hire director John Badham (Saturday Night Fever) took La Femme Nikita, Luc Besson's undeniably sexy, original, and kitschy French film about a female assassin, and translated it into a calculating, mechanistic American thriller with no distinctive style. Bridget Fonda gamely plays the willowy street punk who becomes a high-society killer, but once that provocative irony is in place, the movie is pretty much a series of by-the-numbers action set pieces. Until, that is, Dermot Mulroney shows up as a love interest; but even that twist can't save this film. You're much better off with the original, subtitles and all. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Description "Bridget Fonda is pure dynamite" (WWOR-TV) as a murderous misfit reprogrammed as a high-tech assassin. Gabriel Byrne and Anne Bancroft co-star in "one of the top thrillers of the year" (ABC Radio Network). Year: 1993 Director: John Badham Starring: Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, Dermot Mulroney

Proof of Life
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Starring: Ryan, Meg Crowe, Russell Morse, David Caruso, David Reed, Pamela Heald, Anthony Anderson, Stanley John, Gottfried John, Gottfried Kitchen, Michael
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Director: Hackford, Taylor	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 15 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com When someone in Proof of Life says "Don't leave me hanging," you can bet they're going to be left hanging. That's what happens when Alice Bowman (Meg Ryan) learns that her husband Peter (David Morse) has been kidnapped by rebels in the (fictional) Latin American country of Tecala. He's building a corporate-funded dam there, and that makes him a fine target for kidnap by the rebels, who barter with the lives of well-insured executives. Enter Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe), former soldier-turned-"K&R" (kidnap and ransom) negotiator for a global firm that collects a commission for rescued hostages. With no guarantee of payment, Thorne takes the job out of moral obligation (and a yearning for would-be widow Alice). There's little room for delicacy in Tony Gilroy's screenplay, adapted from an article by William Prochnau and the book Long Road to Freedom by kidnapping survivor Thomas Hargrove. A hint of romance between Crowe and Ryan (who enjoyed plenty of it off-screen) adds tension as the story shifts back and forth to Morse's captivity, but it also threatens to cast Alice in an unsympathetic light. Avoiding that pitfall, director Taylor Hackford crafts the plot as a latter-day Casablanca that unfolds on a grander canvas (at stunning locations in Ecuador) while favoring an exciting rescue-mission climax over the tragedy of an ill-timed affair. It might have worked better as a straightforward macho action flick (with David Caruso doing lively work as Crowe's gung-ho K&R cohort), but Proof of Life effectively conveys the two-sided torment of a hostage crisis, while Morse holds it all together as the character to root for. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Description Their lives are on the line. Their hearts are out on a limb. The wife of a kidnap victim and the hostage negotiator working with her navigate a brutal world of terrorism that values money over life - and find their tasks complicated by the growing awareness that they're attracted to each other.

The Punisher
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Starring: Harring, Laura Jane, Thomas Patton, Will Collie, Mark Patton, Will Yanez, Eduardo Mathis, Samantha Schneider, Rob Schneider, Rob Jane, Thomas
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Director: Hensleigh, Jonathan	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 3 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com The impressively muscular chest of Tom Jane is the focal point of The Punisher, a movie based on a Marvel Comics superhero. Frank Castle (Jane, Deep Blue Sea) retires from the FBI, which means--as any moviegoer expects--that his family is toast. Howard Saint (John Travolta, Face/Off), a shady Florida businessman whose son was killed in Castle's last mission, orders a hit not only on Castle's wife and child, but also on his parents and a whole bunch of aunts, uncles, cousins, and so forth. The killers shoot Castle himself in the chest, but he inexplicably survives and--as any moviegoer expects--sets out to even the score. Implausibly, given his sometimes curious and roundabout methods, he succeeds. Also featuring Will Patton (Armageddon) as an oily thug, Laura Harring (Mulholland Drive) as Saint's fleshpot wife, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (X-Men) as a waitress with bad taste in men. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Description Each DVD at launch will include a 28 page mini-comic inside the amray case. The comic is the first ever prequel comic to a movie. It is an alternate origin story to the Punisher and ends with the opening dock scene of the movie. It is written by Garth Ennis, premiere writer of Punisher comics, and the cover is illustrated by Tim Bradstreet. The comic is being written exclusively for this promotion, and will not be anywhere else in the marketplace for 6 months. The comic is full color and has a retail value of $2.25. 10,000 comics out of the total run will have a unique cover and be positioned as a limited edition. They will be randomly inserted into the DVDs and randomly distributed to retail.

Recruit, The
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Starring: Pacino, Al Farrell, Colin Moynahan, Bridget Macht, Gabriel Moynahan, Bridget Mitchell, Kenneth Lea, Ron Pruner, Karl Pruner, Karl Fiore, Domenico
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Director: Donaldson, Roger	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 55 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.6/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com "Nothing is as it seems" in The Recruit, a guessing-game thriller that employs plot twists and conflicting loyalties as its primary raison d'�tre. Surrounded by potential deception, a newly recruited CIA officer (Colin Farrell) must determine if his manipulative instructor (Al Pacino) is being honest when he identifies Farrell's fellow recruit and love interest (Bridget Moynihan) as an enemy "mole" assigned to steal a dangerous computer virus from CIA headquarters. While claiming to offer an insider's look at CIA training methods, this engrossing yet ultimately predictable plot is pure Hollywood fantasy; any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental, leaving the perpetually unshaven and scruffily coiffed Farrell to fend for himself in Pacino's cynical arena while tracing his familial roots in the spy game. Wearing its cleverness on its sleeve, The Recruit is an adequately elaborate puzzle of perceptions. "Everything is a test," as Farrell soon realizes, and attentive viewers will enjoy piecing it all together. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Reindeer Games
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Starring: Affleck, Ben Sinise, Gary Williams III, Clarence Trejo, Danny Logue, Donal Affleck, Ben Theron, Charlize Frain, James Frain, James Kutcher, Ashton
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Director: Frankenheimer, John	Rating: R	Running Time: 105 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.5/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com To fully enjoy Reindeer Games, it must be approached properly: your disbelief must be checked at the door, as this John Frankenheimer film needs be taken with a liberal dose of pure faith in the magic of movie plotting. Christmas approaches and all Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck) can think about is the hot chocolate and pecan pie beckoning when he gets out of prison in a couple of days. But standing between him and his sated stomach is Ashley (Charlize Theron), an irresistible woman waiting for him upon his release. Without giving away any of the myriad twists of this thriller, Rudy falls for Ashley, thus becoming forcibly embroiled in a casino-robbery scheme helmed by Ashley's brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise). Frankenheimer, who excels at devious plot machinations, � la The Manchurian Candidate, goes far enough here to stretch the patience of even his most loyal fans. The script relies a little heavily on bad Christmas jokes, and the film is overwhelmed with close-ups. The convoluted turns become outrageous to the point of ludicrous; yet it's all done in the spirit of fun, and once you get past the implausibility, Frankenheimer takes you on a rousing ride. While Affleck doesn't seem quite hardened enough to be a convicted car thief, he does a superb job with a thin script, and Sinise is as sinister as ever. Theron provides more decoration than acting due to the lightweight plot, but my, what lovely decoration she is. For a thought-provoking evening, stick with the earlier Frankenheimer films; for an adrenaline-pumping evening, Reindeer Games has all the violence, chases, and sex scenes for a night of entertaining diversion. --Jenny Brown --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Description After being imprisoned for six years on a grand theft auto charge, Rudy Duncan and his cellmate Nick are finally going to be paroled. After hearing endless stories during his incarceration of Nick's romantic correspondence to a woman named Ashley he has never met, Rudy is looking forward to returning to his family. When Nick is killed during a prison riot, Rudy decides to assume Nick's identity and meet up with the unknown woman. Burdened with knowledge of Nick's Indian casino employment past, Rudy finds himself in too deep with Ashley's brother Gabriel and is forced to cooperate with a casino robbery that Gabriel and his gang have been planning with Nick in mind.

Rob Roy
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Starring: Neeson, Liam Lange, Jessica Hurt, John Roth, Tim Stoltz, Eric Cox, Brian Cox, Brian McCardie, Brian McCardie, Brian Masson, Vicki
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Director: Caton-Jones, Michael	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 19 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.8/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com essential video One of the most invigorating period adventures to hit the big screen in decades, this lavish, brilliantly directed film drew critical and audience raves when it was released in 1995. Inspired by historical fact and larger-than-life legend, the intelligently scripted story takes place in Scotland in 1713, when Highland farmer and clan leader Rob Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson) is forced to borrow money from the duplicitous aristocrat Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt) to help his clan survive a harsh winter. When Montrose's vile henchman (Tim Roth) schemes to dishonor MacGregor and his wife (Jessica Lange) and take the money for himself, the rugged Highlander must take courageous action to preserve his integrity. What follows--along with some of the finest sword-fighting ever filmed--is a tale of courage and valor destined to become an enduring movie classic. Tim Roth received a well-deserved Oscar nomination (for Best Supporting Actor) for his indelible performance as the foppish but deadly villain Cunningham, and both Neeson and Lange bring an earthy, sensual quality to their passionate roles. Boasting a wealth of breathtaking scenery and high-intensity action, Rob Roy is further blessed by a splendid supporting cast (including Brian Cox and Eric Stoltz), and the lush soundtrack by Carter Burwell strikes a perfect balance of romanticism and vigorous dramatic energy. --Jeff Shannon

Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves (Two-Disc Special Extended Edition)
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Starring: Costner, Kevin Freeman, Morgan Mastrantonio, Mary Elizabeth Slater, Christian Rickman, Alan Wincott, Michael McShane, Michael Blessed, Brian Blessed, Brian Brimble, Nick
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Director: Reynolds, Kevin	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 2 Hours 35 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com Kevin Costner's lousy English accent is a small obstacle in this often exciting version of the Robin Hood fable. That aside, it's refreshing to have a preface to the old story in which we meet the robber hero of Sherwood Forest as a soldier in King Richard's Crusades, coming home to find his people under siege from the cruelties of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman). After Robin and his community of outcasts and fighters take to the trees, director Kevin Reynolds (Fandango, 187) is on more familiar narrative ground, and he goes for the gusto with lots of original action (Robin shoots two arrows simultaneously from his bow in two directions). Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, as Marion, makes a convincing damsel in distress, and Morgan Freeman brings dignity to his role as Robin's Moor friend. Alan Rickman, however, gets the most attention for his scene-chewing role as the rotten sheriff, an almost campy performance that is highly entertaining but perhaps a little out of sorts with the rest of the film. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. DVD features Well, the battling Kevins are friends again. Director Kevin Reynolds and actor Kevin Costner have made three films together, and had several notorious battles--most memorably over the Waterworld debacle--yet they're together for a very enjoyable and congratulatory commentary track for this new edition of their film. Costner, as usual, is quite loose for the commentary and is even candid about his "dumb-ass accent." This new cut is 12 minutes longer, adding a few new scenes, mostly with Alan... read more Description For the good of all men, and the love of one woman, he fought to uphold justice by breaking the law. In this richly-detailed, action-packed retelling of the legendary story, Robin Hood must battle the evil Sheriff of Nottingham not only to save King Richard the Lionhearted and England but also to save his love, the noble beauty Maid Marian.

Rock - Criterion Collection, The
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Starring: Connery, Sean Cage, Nicolas Harris, Ed Connery, Sean Biehn, Michael Cage, Nicolas Morse, David Harris, Ed Harris, Ed Biehn, Michael
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Director: Bay, Michael	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 16 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com Between his high-octane debut, Bad Boys, and 1998's wannabe blockbuster Armageddon, hotshot director Michael Bay forged his dubious reputation with this crowd-pleasing action extravaganza. In it a psychotically disgruntled war hero (Ed Harris) seizes the island prison of Alcatraz and threatens to wage chemical warfare against nearby San Francisco unless the government publicly recognizes the men who were killed under Harris's top-secret command. Nicolas Cage plays the biochemist who teams up with the only man ever to have escaped from Alcatraz (Sean Connery) in an attempt to foil Harris's terrorist scheme. As one might expect, what follows is an action-packed barrage of bullets, bodies, and climactic confrontations, replete with enough plot contrivances to give even the most jaded action fan cause for alarm. It's a load of hooey, but the cast is obviously having a grand old time, and there's enough wit to make the recycled action sequences tolerable. If you're ordering this movie on DVD, be careful with the volume knobs on your home-theater sound systems, because The Rock could cause partial hearing loss and structural damage to your home. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the DVD edition. Description A highly decorated, retired U.S. Marine general (Ed Harris) seizes a stockpile of chemical weapons and takes over Alcatraz, with 81 tourists as hostages on the San Francisco Bay isle. His demand: Restitution to families of soldiers who died in covert operations. The response: An elite Navy SEAL team, with support from an FBI chemical-warfare expert (Nicolas Cage) and a former Alcatraz escapee (Sean Connery), is assembled to penetrate the terrorists' defenses on the island and neutralize the threat before time runs out. The result: A fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller with a first-rate cast, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry bruckheimer.

Ronin
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Starring: Niro, Robert De Reno, Jean McElhone, Natascha Pryce, Jonathan McElhone, Natascha Skarsgaard, Stellan Bean, Sean Witt, Katarina Witt, Katarina Perkins, Ron
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Director: Frankenheimer, John	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 1 Minute
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the end of the Cold War--much like a masterless samurai, a.k.a. "ronin." With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone, and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job--going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable--there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business--but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds, The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centerpiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon), but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense, Ronin is almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film. There isn't anything here he hasn't done before, but it's sure great to see it all again. --Tom Keogh

Run Lola Run
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Starring: Potente, Franka Bleibtreu, Moritz Knaup, Herbert Petri, Nina Rohde, Armin Krol, Joachim Pistor, Ludger Von Borsody, Suzanne Von Borsody, Suzanne Lindig, Julia
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Director: Tykwer, Tom	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 21 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 8.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video It's difficult to create a film that's fast paced, exciting, and aesthetically appealing without diluting its dialogue. Run Lola Run, directed and written by Tom Tykwer, is an enchanting balance of pace and narrative, creating a universal parable that leaps over cultural barriers. This is the story of young Lola (Franka Potente) and her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). In the space of 20 minutes, they must come up with 100,000 deutsche marks to pay back a seedy gangster, who will be less than forgiving when he finds out that Manni incompetently lost his cash to an opportunistic vagrant. Lola, confronted with one obstacle after another, rides an emotional roller coaster in her high-speed efforts to help the hapless Manni--attempting to extract the cash first from her double-dealing father (appropriately a bank manager), and then by any means necessary. From this point nothing goes right for either protagonist, but just when you think you've figured out the movie, the director introduces a series of brilliant existential twists that boggle the mind. Tykwer uses rapid camera movements and innovative pauses to explore the theme of cause and effect. Accompanied by a pulse-pounding soundtrack, we follow Lola through every turn and every heartbreak as she and Manni rush forward on a collision course with fate. There were a variety of original and intelligent films released in 1999, but perhaps none were as witty and clever as this little gem--one of the best foreign films of the year. --Jeremy Storey --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Rundown (Widescreen Edition), The
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Starring: Rock, The Scott, Seann William Dawson, Rosario Walken, Christopher Lucking, William Dawson, Rosario Bremner, Ewen Scott, Seann William Scott, Seann William Misko, Ernie
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Director: Berg, Peter	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Professional wrestling star the Rock, who was such a lump of flesh in The Scorpion King, proves surprisingly light on his feet in The Rundown, demonstrating charm and humor as well as the requisite toughness. Beck (the Rock), a repo-man for deadbeats, is sent to South America to find a treasure hunter (Seann William Scott) who's seeking a priceless golden idol--which the local head honcho (Christopher Walken) would like to get his hands on as well. Add in the lovely but dangerous barmaid with a secret (Rosario Dawson), and Beck has some obstacles to overcome. The plot of The Rundown isn't anything special, but the script is enjoyably clever and reasonably coherent; the capable cast keeps things lively; and the movie's relaxed but sinewy pace sets it apart from the frantic floundering of recent action flicks--kudos to director Peter Berg (Very Bad Things). A surprisingly fun flick. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Running Man (Special Edition), The
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Starring: Schwarzenegger, Arnold Alonso, Maria Conchita Dawson, Richard Alonso, Maria Conchita Zappa, Dweezil Lidth, Erland van McIntyre, Marvin J. Rethwisch, Gus Rethwisch, Gus Fleetwood, Mick
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Director: Glaser, Paul Michael	Rating: R	Running Time: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.2/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Amazon.com In this action thriller based on an early story by Stephen King, Los Angeles in the year 2017 has become a police state in the wake of the global economy's total collapse. All forms of entertainment are government controlled, and the most popular show on television is an elaborate game show in which convicted criminals are given a chance to escape by running through a gauntlet of brutal killers known as "Stalkers." Anyone who survives is given their freedom and a condominium in Hawaii, so when a wrongly accused citizen (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is chosen as a contestant, all hell breaks loose. Cheesy sets and a slimy role for game-show host Richard Dawson make this violent mess of mayhem a candidate for guilty pleasure; it is the kind of movie that truly devoted Arnold fans will want to watch more than once. And check those credits--choreography by Paula Abdul! --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the DVD edition.

S.W.A.T. (Widescreen Special Edition)
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Starring: Jackson, Samuel L. Farrell, Colin Rodriguez, Michelle Charles, Josh Poindexter, Larry Sturges, Shannon Martinez, Olivier Andrews, Real Andrews, Real Cathey, Reg E.
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Director: Johnson, Clark	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 1 Hour 57 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell swagger through S.W.A.T., a guns-and-big-trucks macho extravaganza based on the 1970s TV show of the same name, about the police teams brought in to take care of extremely dangerous situations. Jackson plays a sergeant brought out of retirement to form a new squad, which includes rebellious Farrell (The Recruit) and tough babe Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight, Blue Crush). After a lot of training and head-butting with a smarmy police captain, the squad gets assigned to transfer the head of a European crime cartel (Olivier Martinez, Unfaithful) who's declared on television that he'll give $100 million to anyone who gets him out. Every scumbag in Los Angeles descends to claim the money, turning a routine transfer into a bullet-filled gauntlet. Despite some gaps in logic and a generic flavor, S.W.A.T. will satisfy most action-movie junkies. Also featuring LL Cool J and Josh Charles. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features S.W.A.T. crams onto a single DVD two commentary tracks, deleted scenes, featurettes, and excellent technical specs, including an exciting sound mix. The first commentary track is a combination of informative but subdued remarks by director Clark Johnson spliced with a track by Samuel L. Jackson and five other actors (but not Colin Farrell) together. The comments by the actors are infrequent, raucous, and forgettable. There's also a commentary track by four of the writers, who discuss how they... read more Description An arrested drug kingpin is transported by a Los Angeles Police Department S.W.A.T. team, led by Jackson's character, out of the city and into federal custody. Plans go awry when the kingpin offers $100 million to anyone who can free him. Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Oliver Martinez.

Siege, The
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Starring: Washington, Denzel Willis, Bruce Bening, Annette Shalhoub, Tony Bouajila, Sami Pai, Liana Mohamed, Mosleh Pai, Lianna Pai, Lianna Gwaltney, Jack
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Director: Zwick, Edward	Rating: R	Running Time: 116 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.9/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com A high-profile action/exploitation thriller set in the present, The Siege is really a fantasy that extrapolates from major terrorist attacks. Denzel Washington is FBI special agent Hubbard, "Hub" to his friends, whose anti-terrorist task force must track down the terrorist cells responsible for a spate of bombings in New York. His partner is an FBI agent of Arabian extraction (played convincingly by Tony Shalhoub), proving not all Arabs are bad guys--a point the film should be lauded for making again and again. Thrown into the mix is a CIA spy (played almost kittenish at times by Annette Bening), whose ties to the terrorists appear to be at the center of the conflicts. When the bombings escalate out of control, the President institutes martial law, sending in General Devereaux (played with impenetrable countenance by Bruce Willis) with tanks and troops to ferret out the terrorists. Echoes of Japanese-Americans in internment camps ring out as Arabs, including the son of the Arab-American FBI agent, are herded into a stadium. Periodic audio-montages of "man in the street" sentiments anchor the material in the present and show how serious and relevant the material is. But finally what we have is a taut and entertaining popcorn movie, giving itself the humanistic nod when it can. --Jim Gay

Speed (Five Star Collection)
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Starring: Reeves, Keanu Hopper, Dennis
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Director: Bont, Jan de	Rating: R	Running Time:
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Everything clicked in this 1994 action hit, from the premise (a city bus has to keep moving at 50 mph or blow up) to the two leads (the usually inscrutable Keanu Reeves and the cute-as-a-button Sandra Bullock) to the villain (Dennis Hopper in psycho mode) to the director (Jan De Bont, who made this film hit the ground running with an edge-of-your-seat opening sequence on a broken elevator). This is the sort of movie that becomes a prototype for a thousand lesser films (including De Bont's lousy sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control), but Speed really is a one-of-a-kind experience almost anyone can enjoy. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. DVD features Fox puts the pedal to the metal for the two-disc Five Star edition of the high-velocity action hit. Check out the five brand-new production featurettes, especially the behind-the-scenes revelations of the two action highlights of the film--the bus jump and the subway crash--and then get a different angle (actually eight different angles) on the scenes in the multiangle comparisons. The highlight of the dozens of supplements, however, is the commentary on disc 1. Jan de Bont's reflective take is... read more

Spy Game (Full Screen Edition)
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Starring: Redford, Robert Pitt, Brad McCormack, Catherine McCormack, Catherine Jean-Baptiste, Marianne Bryggman, Larry Marsh, Matthew Boyce, Todd Boyce, Todd Hagon, Garrick
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Director: Scott, Tony	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 7 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com A thinking person's thriller, Spy Game employs dense plotting without sacrificing the kinetic momentum that is director Tony Scott's trademark. The film has the byzantine scope of a novel, focusing on veteran CIA operative Nathan Muir (Robert Redford), whose prot�g� Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) is scheduled for execution in a Chinese prison. It's Muir's last day before retiring (clich� alert!), and Bishop is being deliberately sacrificed by oily CIA officials to ensure healthy trade with China. Muir has 24 hours to rescue Bishop and his perfunctory love interest (Catherine McCormack), and Spy Game connects the mentor's end-run strategy to flashbacks of his student's exploits in Berlin, Beirut, and beyond. Ambitious but emotionally bland--and not as exciting as Scott's Enemy of the State--Spy Game offers pass-the-torch humor between leather-faced Redford and pretty boy Pitt, and although their dialogue is occasionally limp, the movie compensates with efficient style and substance. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

Spy Who Loved Me (Special Edition), The
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Starring: Moore, Roger Bach, Barbara Jurgens, Curd Bach, Barbara Jurgens, Curt Gotell, Walter Keen, Geoffrey Kiel, Richard Kiel, Richard Billington, Michael
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Director: (II), Lewis Gilbert	Rating: PG	Running Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.9/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com The best of the James Bond adventures starring Roger Moore as tuxedoed Agent 007, this globe-trotting thriller introduced the steel-toothed Jaws (played by seven-foot-two-inch-tall actor Richard Kiel) as one of the most memorable and indestructible Bond villains. Jaws is so tenacious, in fact, that Moore looks genuinely frightened, and that adds to the abundant fun. This time Bond teams up with yet another lovely Russian agent (Barbara Bach) to track a pair of nuclear submarines that the nefarious Stromberg (Curt J�rgens) plans to use in his plot to start World War III. Featuring lavish sets designed by the great Ken Adam (Dr. Strangelove), The Spy Who Loved Me is a galaxy away from the suave Sean Connery exploits of the 1960s, but the film works perfectly as grandiose entertainment. From cavernous undersea lairs to the vast horizons of Egypt, this Bond thriller keeps its tongue firmly in cheek with a plot tailor-made for daredevil escapism. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Sum of All Fears, The
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Starring: Affleck, Ben Freeman, Morgan Bates, Alan Moynahan, Bridget McGill, Bruce Hinds, Ciaran Feore, Colm Cromwell, James Cromwell, James Matiko, Marie
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Director: Alden Robinson, Phil	Rating: PG-13	Running Time:
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.6/10 (IMDB)	Color DigitalSound

In this high-intensity drama, based on the novel by Tom Clancy, Ben Affleck stars as Jack Ryan, the CIA agent from Clancy's THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, PATRIOT GAMES, and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. Here, Ryan is dealing with a terrifying new problem: a nuclear weapon has fallen into the hands of foreign terrorists who are determined to create a war between Russia and the U.S. As the film begins, a South African arms dealer (Colm Feore) acquires a long-lost nuclear weapon and sells it, at great profit, to a resurgent group of fascists led by Dressler (Alan Bates), who plans to lure the U.S. and Russia into a war. Soon after, the Russian premiere dies and the relatively unknown Nemerov (Ciar�n Hinds) replaces him. But U.S. president Fowler (James Cromwell) smells a rat, and calls CIA chief William Cabot (Morgan Freeman) and special agent Jack Ryan (Affleck), the junior analyst who has been researching Nemerov, into action. THE SUM OF ALL FEARS is a powerful addition to Tom Clancy's techno-thriller series. Affleck is effective, and there are notable supporting performances from Freeman, Cromwell, Feore, Hinds, Bates, and Liev Schreiber as a CIA operative. Director Phil Alden Robinson manages the action with great skill. Particularly notable are the terrifying nuclear attack and the sequence of final reckonings intercut with Puccini's beautiful aria "Nessun Dorma."

Thunderball
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Starring: Connery, Sean Auger, Claudine Auger, Claudine Paluzzi, Luciana Lee, Bernard Doleman, Guy Peters, Molly Llewelyn, Desmond Llewelyn, Desmond Llewelyn, Desmond
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Director: Young, Terence	Rating: PG	Running Time: 131 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.8/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com James Bond's fourth adventure takes him to the Bahamas, where a NATO warplane with a nuclear payload has disappeared into the sea. Bond (Sean Connery) travels from a tony health spa (where he tangles with a mechanized masseuse run amuck) to the casinos of Nassau and soon picks up the trail of SPECTRE's number-two man, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), and his beautiful mistress, Domino (Claudine Auger), whom Bond soon seduces to his side. Equipped with more gadgets than ever, courtesy of the resourceful "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn), agent 007 escapes an ambush with a personal-size jet pack and takes to the water as he searches for the undersea plane, battles Largo's pet sharks, and finally leads the battle against Largo's scuba-equipped henchmen in a spectacular underwater climax. This thrilling Bond entry became Connery's most successful outing in the series and was remade in 1983 as Never Say Never Again, with Connery returning to the role after a 12-year hiatus. Tom Jones belts out the bold theme song to another classic Maurice Binder title sequence. --Sean Axmaker --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Tomorrow Never Dies (Special Edition)
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Starring: Brosnan, Pierce Pryce, Jonathan Khan, Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Hatcher, Teri Jay, Ricky Otto, Gotz Baker, Joe Don Baker, Joe Don Dench, Judi
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Director: Spottiswoode, Roger	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 119 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.4/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Pierce Brosnan returns for his second stint as James Bond (after GoldenEye), and he's doing it in high style with an invigorating cast of costars. It's only appropriate that a Bond film from 1997 would find Agent 007 pitted against a media mogul (Jonathan Pryce) who's going to start a global war (beginning with stolen nuclear missiles aimed at China) to create attention-grabbing headlines for his latest multimedia news channel. It's the information age run amok, and Bond must team up with a lovely and lethal agent from the Chinese External Security Force (played by Honk Kong action star Michelle Yeoh) to foil the madman's plot of global domination. Luckily for Bond, the villain's wife (Teri Hatcher) is one of his former lovers, and at the behest of his superior M (Judi Dench), 007 finds ample opportunity to exploit the connection. Although it bears some nagging similarities to many formulaic action films from the '90s, Tomorrow Never Dies (with a title song performed by Sheryl Crow) boasts enough grand-scale action and sufficiently intelligent plotting to suggest the Bond series has plenty of potential to survive into the next millennium. Armed with the usual array of gadgets (including a remote-controlled BMW), Brosnan settles into his role with acceptable flair, and the dynamic Yeoh provides a perfect balance to the sexism that once threatened to turn Bond into a politically incorrect anachronism. He's still Bond, to be sure, but he's saving the world with a bit more sophisticated finesse. This edition includes a separate tape on the cinematic history of James Bond.--Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Twister
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Starring: Hunt, Helen Paxton, Bill
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Director: Bont, Jan de	Rating: PG-13	Running Time:
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Category: Action	User Rating:	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Twister was a mega-million-dollar blockbuster--helmed by a director (Dutchman Jan de Bont) hot off another scorcher hit (Speed)--that flaunted state-of-the-art digital effects and featured a popular leading actress (Helen Hunt) who would win an Academy Award for her next film (As Good As It Gets). But ask anybody who's seen it and they'll tell you who the real star of Twister is: the cow. Not to give anything away, but the cow is one of those inspired little touches (like, say, Bronson Pinchot's career-making cameo in Beverly Hills Cop) that adds a touch of personality to a gigantic Hollywood production. The story is blown out the window after an impressive prologue in which Hunt's character, as a little girl, witnesses her daddy being sucked into a tornado. Basically, Hunt and Bill Paxton are thrill-seeking meteorologists chasing twisters in order to study them (and help warn people of them, of course) with a new technology they've developed. If you thought the Kansas tornado in The Wizard of Oz was every bit as scary as the Wicked Witch of the West, then this may be the movie for you. --Jim Emerson

U.S. Marshals
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Starring: Jones, Tommy Lee Snipes, Wesley Jr., Robert Downey Roebuck, Daniel Jacob, Ir�ne Pantoliano, Joe Nelligan, Kate Wood, Tom Wood, Tom Malahide, Patrick
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Director: Baird, Stuart	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 2 Hours 11 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com An ultimately futile attempt to make lightning strike twice, this so-called spinoff from 1993's blockbuster The Fugitive avoids the label of "sequel" by forging ahead without the first film's star, Harrison Ford. The idea is to showcase the return of Tommy Lee Jones in his Oscar-winning role as tenacious U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard, this time testing his mettle against a covert government operative (Wesley Snipes) accused of murdering two secret service attach�s. Unfortunately, Jones and the entire cast have been trapped in a rambling plot, and the underdog status that made Ford such a compelling hero is sacrificed to an evenly matched and eventually tiresome game of cat and mouse, with a villain whose identity is far too predictable. With no dramatic buildup and several superfluous characters to distract its focus, the film's momentum plays out like a rote exercise compared to the high stakes of the earlier film. --Jeff Shannon Description Ladies and gentlemen, be alert. We are going to initiate a hard-target search for a fugitive in an ever-widening perimeter. We will wade through swamps, prowl Manhattan streets, search every house and doghouse. We'll eat on the run, sleep tomorrow, watch our backs. And since Marshal Sam Gerard leads the hunt, we will experience suspense, action and daring twists every breathless step of the way. Returning to his Oscar-winning role from The Fugitive, Tommy Lee Jones is Gerard, joining an A-team including Wesley Snipes, Robert Downey Jr. and director Stuart Baird. (Executive Decision) to deliver adrenaline-rush excitement. The suspect: armed, extremely dangerous, perhaps linked to a spy ring. The chase: highlighted by an out-of-control 727, a death match in a ship's cargo hold, a 12-story plunge onto a moving train and more heart-pounding sequences. The movie: U.S. Marshals.

Vertical Limit (Special Edition)
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Starring: O'Donnell, Chris Glenn, Scott O'Donnell, Chris Paxton, Bill Glenn, Scott Mendelsohn, Ben Seth, Roshan Morrison, Temuera Morrison, Temuera Lea, Nicholas
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Director: Campbell, Martin	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.6/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Finally, a movie for the REI set! For all those mountain-climbing aficionados who devoured Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and similar books (as well as the IMAX film Everest), Vertical Limit attempts to translate man-against-the-mountain adventure into compelling, albeit fictional, drama. And while the climbing action is pretty darn breathtaking, somebody forgot to put the brakes on the clich� machine while penning the screenplay. Two siblings (Chris O'Donnell and Robin Tunney) are mentally scarred by a climbing accident in which their father died to save them. She becomes a famous mountain climber (catch that Sports Illustrated cover?); he never climbs again, and becomes a National Geographic photographer. She agrees to accompany a shady billionaire (Bill Paxton) up the icy carapace of K2, the world's second highest mountain; he just happens to be "in the neighborhood" when she starts. After the requisite argument, she sets out, but an avalanche strands her and the billionaire in some kind of underground cavern, and bad weather forbids a daring rescue. It's up to her determined brother to bring her back, along with a ragtag team of rescuers that includes a French-Canadian babe, two wisecracking Aussies, and a crusty old sage (Scott Glenn) who has a few scores to settle. It's easy to pick out the rest of the story from here (though you probably didn't count on that faulty nitroglycerine, now did you?), but Vertical Limit is less about the hackneyed plot than it is about putting its characters into increasingly dangerous situations and hanging them precariously over various mountainsides. It's a credit to director Martin Campbell (GoldenEye) that the impressive action keeps the film moving along past the bordering-on-absurd plot twists. O'Donnell tosses his mane of fluffy hair admirably, but it's still disheartening to see this once-promising actor turning into a pretty-boy stand-in; only Glenn manages to overcome his character's predictability. Mountaineering enthusiasts will recognize a cameo by world-renowned climber Ed Viesturs, who as an actor proves that he's... a very good mountain climber. --Mark Englehart --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

View to a Kill, A
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Starring: Moore, Roger Walken, Christopher Moore, Roger Jones, Grace Adams, Maud Walken, Christopher Lundgren, Dolph Maxwell, Lois Maxwell, Lois Brown, Robert
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Director: (II), John Glen	Rating: PG	Running Time: 131 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.9/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Roger Moore's last outing as James Bond is evidence enough that it was time to pass the torch to another actor. Beset by crummy action (an out-of-control fire engine?) and featuring a fading Moore still trying to prop up his mannered idea of style, the film is largely interesting for Christopher Walken's quirky performance as a sort-of supervillain who wants to take out California's Silicon Valley. Grace Jones has a spookily interesting presence as a lethal associate of Walken's (and who, in the best Bond tradition, has sex with 007 before trying to kill him later), and Patrick Macnee (Steed!) has a warm if brief bit. Even directed by John Glen, who brought some crackle to the Moore years in the Bond franchise, this is a very slight effort. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Walking Tall
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Starring: Rock, The Knoxville, Johnny Wilson, Kristen The Rock Johnson, Dwayne Knoxville, Johnny Scott, Ashley Thomas, Khleo Thomas, Khleo Durand, Kevin
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Director: Bray, Kevin	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 86 minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.8/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com The Rock is definitely Walking Tall in this straightforward remake of the popular 1973 revenge flick based on the real-life exploits of Sheriff Buford Pusser. Only the basic premise of the original film remains, but it's well-suited to the Rock's rising-star agenda, and it's a savvy, albeit uninspired follow-up to his previous hit, The Rundown. With typical beefcake bravado, Chris Vaughan (the Rock) arrives home in rural Kitsap County, Washington (filmed in budget-friendly Canada, of course) to find his hometown overtaken by childhood friend-turned-sleazebag casino owner and drug-dealer Jay Hamilton (played with steely-eyed malevolence by Neal McDonough), whose squad of goons includes the local sheriff. The cards are instantly and simplistically stacked against our hero, but no matter: he's soon kickin' ass and takin' names as the new sheriff, and from that point director Kevin Bray (All About the Benjamins) goes strictly by-the-numbers, limiting this punchy programmer to a brisk 85 minutes, with comic relief (courtesy of costar Johnny Knoxville) and an obligatory love-interest (Ashley Scott, in obligatory skimpy attire) tossed in for good measure. It's a cracker movie for a cracker audience, and on those terms it handily expedites the Rock's ascension to the action-movie throne. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

World Is Not Enough, The
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Starring: Brosnan, Pierce Marceau, Sophie Dench, Dame Judi Llewelyn, Desmond Cleese, John Coltrane, Robbie Brosnan, Pierce Marceau, Sophie Marceau, Sophie Coltrane, Robbie
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Director: Apted, Michael	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 128 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com In his 19th screen outing, Ian Fleming's superspy is once again caught in the crosshairs of a self-created dilemma: as the longest-running feature-film franchise, James Bond is an annuity his producers want to protect, yet the series' consciously formulaic approach frustrates any real element of surprise beyond the rote application of plot twists or jump cuts to shake up the audience. This time out, credit 007's caretakers for making some visible attempts to invest their principal characters with darker motives--and blame them for squandering The World Is Not Enough's initial promise by the final reel. By now, Bond pictures are as elegantly formal as a Bach chorale, and this one opens on an unusually powerful note. A stunning pre-title sequence reaches beyond mere pyrotechnics to introduce key plot elements as the action leaps from Bilbao to London. Bond 5.0, Pierce Brosnan, undercuts his usually suave persona with a darker, more brutal edge largely absent since Sean Connery departed. Equally tantalizing are our initial glimpses of Bond's nemesis du jour, Renard (Robert Carlyle), and imminent love interest, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), both atypically complex characters cast with seemingly shrewd choices, and directed by the capable Michael Apted. The story's focus on post-Soviet geopolitics likewise starts off on a savvy note, before being overtaken by increasingly Byzantine plot twists, hidden motives, and reversals of loyalty superheated by relentless (if intermittently perfunctory) action sequences. Indeed, the procession of perils plays like a greatest hits medley, save for a nifty sequence involving airborne buzz saws that's as enjoyable as it is preposterous. Bond's grimmer demeanor, while preferable to the smirk that eventually swallowed Roger Moore whole, proves wearying, unrelieved by any true wit. The underlying psychoses that propel Renard and Elektra eventually unravel into unconvincing melodrama, while Bond is supplied with a secondary love object, Denise Richards, who's even more improbable as a nuclear physicist. Ultimately, this World is not enough despite its better intentions. --Sam Sutherland

XXX (Widescreen Special Edition)
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Starring: Diesel, Vin Argento, Asia Csokas, Marton Jackson, Samuel L e, Ev Csokas, Marton Roof, Michael Everett, Tom Everett, Tom Everett, Tom
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Director: Cohen, Rob	Rating: PG-13	Running Time: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 5.6/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Vin Diesel is no James Bond, and he doesn't want to be. That's why XXX announced Diesel as the adrenalin-junkie Bond of the PlayStation generation, copying the Bond formula so shamelessly that this action-packed silliness would be a Bond movie if it starred Pierce Brosnan. Reuniting Diesel with his Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen, XXX has an attitude (if not a brain) all its own, plucking Diesel's Xander Cage from his celebrity as an extreme sports renegade, recruited by a National Security Agency big shot (Samuel L. Jackson) to foil a nasty Czech villain (Marton Csokas) who's eager to depopulate Prague with remote-controlled biological weaponry. Toss in a sulky, sultry Russian agent (Asia Argento) and you've got extreme Bond-age for anyone who thinks tuxedos are pass�. With a handful of eye-popping action sequences, XXX launched a movie franchise with a cool guy, another cool muscle car, and plenty of box-office sizzle. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.

You Only Live Twice
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Starring: Connery, Sean Wakabayashi, Akiko Dor, Karin Maxwell, Lois Wakabayashi, Akiko Shimada, Teru Tamba, Tetsuro Llewelyn, Desmond Llewelyn, Desmond Llewelyn, Desmond
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Director: (II), Lewis Gilbert	Rating: PG	Running Time: 117 Minutes
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Category: Action	User Rating: 6.8/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com The film boasts the best of the Bond title songs (this one sung on a dreamy track by Nancy Sinatra), but the movie itself is one of the weaker ones of the Sean Connery phase of the 007 franchise. The story concerns an effort by the evil organization SPECTRE to start a world war, but the not-so-super villain behind the plot is the awfully civilized Donald Pleasence. The thin script is by Roald Dahl (shouldn't we have expected a better Bond nemesis from the creator of mad genius Willy Wonka?), and direction is by British veteran Lewis Gilbert (Alfie). But the movie can't hold a candle to Dr. No, From Russia with Love, or Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.