Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Gil Junger It's, like, Shakespeare, man! This good-natured and likeable update of The Taming of the Shrew takes the basics of Shakespeare's farce about a surly wench and the man who tries to win her and transfers it to modern-day Padua High School. Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) is a sullen, forbidding riot grrrl who has a blistering word for everyone; her sunny younger sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is poised for high school stardom. The problem: overprotective and paranoid Papa Stratford (a dryly funny Larry Miller) won't let Bianca date until boy-hating Kat does, which is to say never. When Bianca's pining suitor Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) gets wind of this, he hires the mysterious, brooding Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to loosen Kat up. Of course, what starts out as a paying gig turns to true love as Patrick discovers that underneath her brittle exterior, Kat is a regular babe. The script, by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, is sitcom-funny with peppy one-liners and lots of smart teenspeak; however, its cleverness and imagination doesn't really extend beyond its characters' Renaissance names and occasional snippets of real Shakespearean dialogue. What makes the movie energetic and winning is the formula that helped make She's All That such a big hit: two high-wattage stars who look great and can really act. Ledger is a hunk of promise with a quick grin and charming Aussie accent and Stiles mines Kat's bitterness and anger to depths usually unknown in teen films; her recitation of her English class sonnet (from which the film takes its title) is funny, heartbreaking and hopelessly romantic. The imperious Allison Janney (Primary Colors) nearly steals the film as a no-nonsense guidance counsellor secretly writing a trashy romance novel. —Mark Englehart

Inspired by Chris Marker's acclaimed short film La Jetée, 12 Monkeys combines intricate, intelligent storytelling with the uniquely imaginative vision of director Terry Gilliam. The story opens in the wintry wasteland of the year 2035, where a virulent plague has forced humans to live in a squalid, oppressively regimented underground. Bruce Willis plays a societal outcast who is given the opportunity to erase his criminal record by "volunteering" to time-travel into the past to obtain a pure sample of the deadly virus that will help future scientists to develop a cure. But in bouncing from 1918 to the early and mid-1990s, he undergoes an ordeal that forces him to question his own perceptions of reality. Caught between the dangers of the past and the devastation of the future, he encounters a psychiatrist (Madeleine Stowe) who is initially convinced he's insane, and a wacky mental patient (Brad Pitt in a twitchy Oscar-nominated role) with links to a radical group that may have unleashed the deadly virus. Equal parts mystery, tragedy, psychological thriller, and apocalyptic drama, 12 Monkeys ranks as one of the best science fiction films of the 1990s, boosted by Gilliam's visual ingenuity and one of the finest performances of Willis's career. —Jeff Shannon

Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Gary Winick Jennifer Garner glows like a rising star in 13 Going on 30, a girly version of the Tom Hanks classic Big. Jenna (Garner, Alias, Daredevil), a frustrated teenage girl, just wants to skip past all those annoying adolescent years and arrive at a glamorous adulthood—and thanks to some inexplicable wishing dust, she does. But once she re-orients herself to a life as a high-end magazine editor with a sports-star boyfriend, she discovers that in the 17 years she skipped she became a not-so-nice person, including casting aside her best friend Matt (played as an adult by Mark Ruffalo, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). There's no question that Jenna will rediscover her lost innocence, but Garner rises above the lack of suspense. 13 Going on 30 floats along, buoyed by her goofy sweetness. Her lovely looks are made accessible by her unfettered silliness; it's a winning combination. —Bret Fetzer

Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Peter Teschner, Betty Thomas To appreciate 28 Days, it's best to be thankful that director Betty Thomas hasn't forced Sandra Bullock into a remake of Clean and Sober. Instead Thomas has balanced her comedic sensibility (evident in Dr. Dolittle and Private Parts) with the seriousness of alcoholism and substance abuse, and she succeeds without compromising the gravity of the subject matter. Some critics have scoffed at the movie's breezy, formulaic portrait of 27-year-old boozer and pill-popper Gwen Cummings (Bullock), but this smooth-running star vehicle does for Bullock what Erin Brockovich did for Julia Roberts, focusing her appeal in a substantial role without taxing the limits of her talent. It's no wonder that Susannah Grant (who wrote both films) was one of the hottest new screenwriters of 1999. She writes "Hollywood Lite" without insulting anyone's intelligence.

As played by Bullock, Gwen is an alcoholic in denial whose latest bender with boozer boyfriend Jasper (Dominic West) ruins the wedding of her sister (Elizabeth Perkins) and lands her in a month-long rehab program with the requisite gang of struggling drunks and junkies. Newcomer Alan Tudyk steals his scenes as a gay German rehabber who might've dropped in from a Berlin performance-art exhibit, and Steve Buscemi aptly conveys the weary commitment of a counsellor who's seen it all. Thomas has surrounded Bullock with a sharp ensemble, and the addition of singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III (as a kind of Greek chorus crooner) is sublimely inspired. Certainly no surprises here—the warring sisters will reconcile, and at least one rehabber will fail to recover—but there's ample pleasure to be found in Bullock's finely tuned performance, and in Thomas's inclusion of flashbacks and tangents that add depth and laughter in just the right dosage. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Put that cynical look away, because the critics were right. 28 Weeks Later really is a sequel that delivers, that expands on the original, and in many ways even surpasses it.

Faithful in many ways to the enjoyable, if derivative, 28 Days Later, this sequel sees original director Danny Boyle (who went off to make Sunshine instead) replaced by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo behind the camera(director of the excellent Spanish film Intacto). And Fresnadillo is an inspired choice, putting together a film that's not bereft of flaws of its own, but one that proves to be an ambitious and surprisingly thought-provoking follow-up.

Many of the building blocks are the same. Primarily set over six months after the Rage virus engulfed Britain, turning many of its inhabitants into deadly zombie-esque creatures in the process, the film this time though sees the American military arrive to help sort things out. Only things quickly go wrong, allowing Fresnadillo to mould a pacey, exciting and desperately enjoyable action carnival, that's got a little more under the surface.

Grounded by Robert Carlyle as one of the survivors of the virus, replete with his kids in tow, 28 Weeks Later skilfully navigates the labyrinth of sequel hell and really, really delivers. What's more, it opens up the enticing possibility of a further sequel, and on the evidence of this film, that's a very welcome thought.

28 Weeks Later, like its predecessor, isn't a film for the faint-hearted, and wholesome family entertainment it absolutely isn't. But it's a very good, energetic horror movie, and far, far better than you might've originally given it credit for. —Jon Foster

Judd Apatow

Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Peter Segal 50 First Dates is a sweet-natured vehicle for sweet-natured stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, and their track record with The Wedding Singer no doubt factors in its lowbrow appeal. But while the well-matched lovebirds wrestle with a gimmicky plot (she has no short-term memory, so he has to treat every encounter as their first), director Peter Segal (who directed Sandler in Anger Management) ignores the intriguing potential of their predicament (think Memento meets Groundhog Day) and peppers the proceedings with the kind of juvenile humour that Sandler fans have come to expect. The movie sneaks in a few heartfelt moments amidst its inviting Hawaiian locations, and that trained walrus is charmingly impressive, but you can't quite shake the feeling that too many good opportunities were squandered in favour of easy laughs. Like Barrymore's character, you might find yourself forgetting this movie shortly after you've seen it. —Jeff Shannon

Ronny Yu

Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Mark Christopher Studio 54 is no Saturday Night Fever—more like Sunday Morning Hangover. This portrait of the legendary Manhattan disco and its colourful cofounder, Steve Rubell, plays like the outtakes of a much more interesting film—where are the sex, the drugs, the classic disco music? (It shouldn't surprise viewers that Miramax and writer-director Mark Christopher had a falling-out over the final cut of the film; Miramax prevailed.) Considering that the essence of Studio 54 was about the rich and beautiful, it seems a bit unwise to focus on the poor and only somewhat beautiful, namely Shane (Ryan Phillippe), a Jersey boy who gets taken in by the razzle-dazzle of the disco era. Crossing the river, Shane finds another, more exciting life at Studio 54 as a shirtless bartender, and soon finds himself partying with the crème de la crème—and smitten with comely soap star Julie (Neve Campbell).

The permutations of the story are familiar, but too many elements are missing. Most of Phillippe's performance seems to have ended up on the cutting-room floor (although his chiselled torso gets maximum exposure), Campbell's role is basically a glorified cameo and Breckin Meyer and Salma Hayek, as Phillippe's only true pals, are wasted. The one true gem of the film, though, is Mike Myers' take on the late Steve Rubell, an inspired high-wire performance that balances humour and tragedy without ever giving in to camp or pathos—his drunken proposition of Philippe is a minor treasure. The soundtrack does feature some unknown chestnuts and a few new remixes, including an inspired disco version of—believe it or not—Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind". —Mark Englehart

Gerard Butler, Rodrigo Santoro, Zack Snyder Like Sin City before it, 300 brings Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's graphic novel vividly to life. Gerard Butler (Beowulf and Grendel, The Phantom of the Opera) radiates pure power and charisma as Leonidas, the Grecian king who leads 300 of his fellow Spartans (including David Wenham of The Lord of the Rings, Michael Fassbender, and Andrew Pleavin) into a battle against the overwhelming force of Persian invaders. Their only hope is to neutralise the numerical advantage by confronting the Persians, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), at the narrow strait of Thermopylae.

More engaging than Troy, the tepid and somewhat similar epic of ancient Greece, 300 is also comparable to Sin City in that the actors were shot on green screen, then added to digitally created backgrounds. The effort pays off in a strikingly stylised look and huge, sweeping battle scenes. However, it's not as to-the-letter faithful to Miller's source material as Sin City was. The plot is the same, and many of the book's images are represented just about perfectly. But some extra material has been added, including new villains (who would be considered "bosses" if this were a video game, and it often feels like one) and a political subplot involving new characters and a significantly expanded role for the Queen of Sparta (Lena Headey). While this subplot by director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) and his fellow co-writers does break up the violence, most fans would probably dismiss it as filler if it didn't involve the sexy Headey. Other viewers, of course, will be turned off by the waves of spurting blood, flying body parts, and surging testosterone. (The six-pack abs are also relentless, and the movie has more and less nudity—more female, less male—than the graphic novel.) Still, as a representation of Miller's work and as an ancient-themed action flick with a modern edge, 300 delivers. —David Horiuchi

Steven Spielberg History will place an asterisk next to A.I.as the film Stanley Kubrick mighthave directed. But let the record also show that Kubrick—after developing this project for some 15 years—wanted Steven Spielberg to helm this astonishing sci-fi rendition of Pinocchio, claiming (with good reason) that it veered closer to Spielberg's kinder, gentler sensibilities. Spielberg inherited the project (based on the Brain Aldiss short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long") after Kubrick's death in 1999, and the result is an astounding directorial hybrid. A flawed masterpiece of sorts, in which Spielberg's gift for wondrous enchantment often clashes (and sometimes melds) with Kubrick's harsher vision of humanity, the film spans near and distant futures with the fairy-tale adventures of an artificial boy named David (Haley Joel Osment), a marvel of cybernetic progress who wants only to be a real boy, loved by his mother in that happy place called home.

Echoes of Spielberg's Empire of the Sunare evident as young David, shunned by his trial parents and tossed into an unfriendly world, is joined by fellow "mecha" Gigolo Joe (played with a dancer's agility by Jude Law) in his quest for a mother-and-child reunion. Parallels to Pinocchiointensify as David reaches "the end of the world" (a Manhattan flooded by melted polar ice caps), and a far-future epilogue propels A.I.into even deeper realms of wonder, just as it pulls Spielberg back to his comfort zone of sweetness and soothing sentiment. Some may lament the diffusion of Kubrick's original vision, but this is Spielberg's A.I., a film of astonishing technical wizardry that spans the spectrum of human emotions and offers just enough Kubrick to suggest that humanity's future is anything but guaranteed. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD:A perfect movie for the digital age, A.I.finds a natural home on DVD. The purity of the picture, its carefully composed colour schemes and the multifarious sound effects are accorded the pin-point sharpness they deserve with the anamorphic 1.85:1 picture and Dolby 5.1 sound, as is John Williams's thoughtful music score. On the first disc there's a short yet revealing documentary, "Creating A.I.", but the meat of the extras appears on disc two. Here there are good, well-made featurettes on acting, set design, costumes, lighting, sound design, music and various aspects of the special effects: Stan Winston's remarkable robots (including Teddy, of course) and ILM's flawless CGI work. In addition there are storyboards, photographs and trailers. Finally, Steven Spielberg provides some rather sententious closing remarks ("I think that we have to be very careful about how we as a species use our genius"), but no director's commentary. —Mark Walker

James Cameron Meticulously crafted but also ponderous and predictable, James Cameron's 1989 deep-sea close-encounter epic reaffirms one of the oldest first principles of cinema: everything moves a lot more slowly underwater. Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, as formerly married petroleum engineers who still have some "issues" to work out, are drafted to assist a gung-ho Navy SEAL (Michael Biehn) with a top- secret recovery operation: a nuclear sub has been ambushed and sunk, under mysterious circumstances, in some of the deepest waters on earth, and the petro-techies have the only submersible craft capable of diving down that far. Every image and every performance is painstakingly sharp and detailed (and the computerised water creatures are lovely) but the movie's lumbering pace is ultimately lethal. It's the audience that ends up feeling waterlogged. For a guy who likes guns as much as Cameron (his next film after all, was the body-count masterpiece Terminator 2: Judgment Day), it's interesting that the moral balance here is weighted heavily in favour of the can-do engineers; the military types are end-justifies-the-means amoralists, just like the weasely government bureaucrats in Aliens. —David Chute

Renny Harlin REGION 2 DVD - SPAIN IMPORT - OFFICIAL 20th CENTURY FOX RELEASE.

Like the animated series it's based on, Aeon Flux is the kind of sci-fi that's best appreciated by the MTV generation. It's a serious attempt at stylized, futuristic action/adventure (the title character, played by Charlize Theron, is essentially a female James Bond for the cyberpunk era) and taken for what it is, it's not all that bad. The action takes place in the year 2415, four centuries after a virus nearly decimated the human race, leaving only five million survivors in a utopian city called Bregna. Aeon belongs to the Monicans, a secret rebel resistance force that is struggling to destroy the Goodchild regime led by its namesake, Trevor Goodchild (Martin Csokas), the ruler of Bregna and a descendant of the man who found a cure for the deadly virus. As instructed by the Handler (Frances McDormand, gamely playing along in ridiculous sci-fi regalia), Aeon is assigned to assassinate Goodchild, but there are deeper secrets to be discovered, and conspiracies to be foiled. This leads director Karyn Kusama (who fared much better with her debut feature Girlfight) to indulge in all sorts of routine action and fast-paced gunplay, but the elusive pleasures of Aeon Flux are mostly found in the sleek athleticism of Theron and costar Sophie Okonedo (as a fellow Monican), who commit themselves 100% to roles that are dramatically flat yet physically dynamic.

Other highlights include Aeon's high-tech gadgetry (including an eyeball that doubles as a microsocope) and the amusing sight of Pete Postlethwaite in a costume resembling a construction-site disposal tube, but Flux fans may wonder what happened to the surreal, chromium sheen future that gave the MTV series its visionary appeal. As a live-action feature, Aeon Flux is a miscalculated exercise in cheesy style and dour tone, but it's entertaining enough to earn a small cadre of admirers. —Jeff Shannon

Neal Preston

Nigel Dick

David Winters

Robbie Coltrane, Whoopi Goldberg, Nick Willing

James Cameron David Fincher Ridley Scott Jean-Pierre Jeunet This deluxe five-disc package shows off not only the merits of the films on offer but the wide possibilities of the DVD medium. Even if you're among the many that only rate two or three of the Alien films, this is still an essential purchase. (The jury is still out on the interesting-but-muddy Alien 3, directed by David Fincher—who went on to make Seven and Fight Club—while Alien: Resurrection by Jean-Pierre Jeunet of Delicatessen fame is the nearest the series has come to an ordinary movie.)

Although more than 20 years old, Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) has hardly dated. It's a film of suspense and terror rather than action and excitement, as disturbing (if illogical) as ever, thanks to Swiss-artist HR Giger's visionary monster design, rooted by a clutch of interesting Anglo-American actors (Sigourney Weaver, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Tom Skerritt). Weaver, making her career breakthrough here, slowly emerges from the pack as the survivor, but the sequel, Aliens (1986), really puts her acting skills (for which she was Oscar-nominated) centre-screen, as the maternal warrior-woman whose compassion makes her fitter to survive than the gung-ho space marines. Titanic director James Cameron's action chops are demonstrated best in the series' duel between Ripley and the "bad mother" alien queen. Watched back-to-back, even the less-satisfying later films work as developments of Weaver's Ripley character, as she becomes a tired martyr in Alien 3 (1992) and is reborn as a part-alien clone in Alien: Resurrection (1997).

In this box set, all four films are presented in widescreen aspect ratios derived from pristine prints allowing you to discern more in the shadows than you get in even the best video editions. The imaginatively designed interactive menus flash the logos and computer codes of Weyland-Yutani (the evil corporation in the films) helping you to "access transmission". The digital English soundtrack can be augmented with optional subtitles in English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Polish, Czech, Hungarian and Icelandic (impress your friends by reeling off the Hebrew for "Get away from her, you bitch"). Alien has an informative audio commentary by Ridley Scott (whose obsession with detail, see for example his recent Gladiator, suits him perfectly to the task of talking you through his typically hyper-designed films). Also included are deleted scenes and outtakes (such as the until-now-legendary sequence showing the ship's captain in a cocoon, plus a few clearer looks at the original beastie), several trailers, tons of production paintings and stills, the storyboard, an alternate music track and the original score in isolation.

The sequels all have trailers, but the extras diminish with each disc. The "Director's Cut" included on Aliens (17 crucial minutes longer than the original theatrical release, which means you find out Ripley's first name is Ellen) has an interview with Cameron and some backstage footage. Alien 3 contains a "making of" documentary that actually covers all three films, while Alien: Resurrection only has a brief making-of "featurette" (oddly, neither Alien 3's director Fincher nor Resurrection's Jean-Pierre Jeunet are interviewed, and Jeunet isn't even mentioned). An extra fifth disc, free with the set, contains "The Alien Legacy", an hour-long documentary on the making of the first film, concentrating on the script, design, effects, production and direction. —Kim Newman

Ridley Scott James Cameron Jean-Pierre Jeunet David Fincher

Ridley Scott By transplanting the classic haunted house scenario into space, Ridley Scott, together with screenwriters Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, produced a work of genuinely original cinematic sci-fi with Alien that, despite the passage of years and countless inferior imitations, remains shockingly fresh even after repeated viewing. Scott's legendary obsession with detail ensures that the setting is thoroughly conceived, while the Gothic production design and Jerry Goldsmith's wonderfully unsettling score produce a sense of disquiet from the outset: everything about the spaceship Nostromo—from Tupperware to toolboxes-seems oddly familiar yet disconcertingly ... well, alien.

Nothing much to speak of happens for at least the first 30 minutes, and that in a way is the secret of the film's success: the audience has been nervously peering round every corner for so long that by the time the eponymous beast claims its first victim, the release of pent-up anxiety is all the more effective. Although Sigourney Weaver ultimately takes centre-stage, the ensemble cast is uniformly excellent. The remarkably low-tech effects still look good (better in many places than the CGI of the sequels), while the nightmarish quality of H.R. Giger's bio-mechanical creature and set design is enhanced by camerawork that tantalises by what it doesn't reveal.

On the DVD: The director, audibly pausing to puff on his cigar at regular intervals, provides an insightful commentary which, in tandem with superior sound and picture, sheds light into some previously unexplored dark recesses of this much-analysed, much-discussed movie (why the crew eat muesli, for example, or where the "rain" in the engine room is coming from). Deleted scenes include the famous "cocoon" sequence, the completion of the creature's insect-like life-cycle for which cinema audiences had to wait until 1986 and James Cameron's Aliens. Isolated audio tracks, a picture gallery of production artwork and a "making of" documentary complete a highly attractive DVD package. —Mark Walker

Paul W.S. Anderson In delivering non-18-rated excitement, Alien vs. Predatoris an acceptably average science-fiction action thriller with some noteworthy highlights, even if it squanders its opportunity to intelligently combine two popular franchises. Rabid fans can justifiably ask: "Is that all there is?" after a decade of development hell and eager anticipation, but we're compensated by reasonably logical connections to the Alienlegacy and the still-kicking Predatorfranchise (which hinted at AVP rivalry at the end of Predator 2); some cleverly claustrophobic sets, tense atmosphere and impressive digital effects; and a climactic AVP smackdown that's not half bad. This disposable junk should've been better, but nobody who's seen Mortal Kombator Resident Evilshould be surprised by writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson's lack of imagination. As a brisk, 90-minute exercise in generic thrills, however, Anderson's work is occasionally impressive... right ! up to his shameless opening for yet another sequel.—Jeff Shannon

Paul W.S. Anderson In delivering non-18-rated excitement, Alien vs. Predatoris an acceptably average science-fiction action thriller with some noteworthy highlights, even if it squanders its opportunity to intelligently combine two popular franchises. Rabid fans can justifiably ask "Is that all there is?" after a decade of development hell and eager anticipation, but we're compensated by reasonably logical connections to the Alien legacy and the still-kicking Predator franchise (which hinted at AVP rivalry at the end of Predator 2); some cleverly claustrophobic sets, tense atmosphere and impressive digital effects; and a climactic AVP smackdown that's not half bad. This disposable junk should've been better, but nobody who's seen Mortal Kombat or Resident Evil should be surprised by writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson's lack of imagination. As a brisk, 90-minute exercise in generic thrills, however, Anderson's work is occasionally impressive... right up to his shameless opening for yet another sequel. —Jeff Shannon

Paul W.S. Anderson In delivering non-18-rated excitement, Alien vs. Predatoris an acceptably average science-fiction action thriller with some noteworthy highlights, even if it squanders its opportunity to intelligently combine two popular franchises. Rabid fans can justifiably ask "Is that all there is?" after a decade of development hell and eager anticipation, but we're compensated by reasonably logical connections to the Alien legacy and the still-kicking Predator franchise (which hinted at AVP rivalry at the end of Predator 2); some cleverly claustrophobic sets, tense atmosphere and impressive digital effects; and a climactic AVP smackdown that's not half bad. This disposable junk should've been better, but nobody who's seen Mortal Kombat or Resident Evil should be surprised by writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson's lack of imagination. As a brisk, 90-minute exercise in generic thrills, however, Anderson's work is occasionally impressive... right up to his shameless opening for yet another sequel. —Jeff Shannon

Paul W.S. Anderson In delivering non-18-rated excitement, Alien vs. Predator is an acceptably average science-fiction action thriller with some noteworthy highlights, even if it squanders its opportunity to intelligently combine two popular franchises. Rabid fans can justifiably ask "Is that all there is?" after a decade of development hell and eager anticipation, but we're compensated by reasonably logical connections to the Alien legacy and the still-kicking Predator franchise (which hinted at AVP rivalry at the end of Predator 2); some cleverly claustrophobic sets, tense atmosphere and impressive digital effects; and a climactic AVP smackdown that's not half bad. This disposable junk should've been better, but nobody who's seen Mortal Kombat or Resident Evil should be surprised by writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson's lack of imagination. As a brisk, 90-minute exercise in generic thrills, however, Anderson's work is occasionally impressive... right up to his shameless opening for yet another sequel. —Jeff Shannon

Brothers Strause, Colin Strause, Greg Strause For those who found 2004's Aliens vs. Predator too lightweight in the gore-and-guns department, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem offers a marked improvement in both categories, as well as a respectable amount of rumbles between the title extraterrestrials. Set in the 21st century (which predates the story to all of the Alien features), Requiem sends a crippled Predator ship crashing to Earth in a small Colorado town; unbeknownst to the locals, the craft is loaded with H.R. Giger's insectoid monsters, which make quick work of most of the population. As the human cast is slowly whittled to a few hardy (if unmemorable) souls, a Predator warrior also arrives to complicate matters and do battle with the Aliens, as well as a ferocious Alien-Predator hybrid (dubbed a Predalien by the sci-fi and horror press).

Visual-effects designers and music-video helmers The Strause Brothers (who make their feature directorial debut here) keep the action on frantic throughout, which is wise, since the dialogue and characters are threadbare at best; that should matter little to teenage male viewers, who are inarguably the film's key audience. Fans of the Alien franchise, however, may find the offhanded nod to the series' mythology given during the finale its sole saving grace. —Paul Gaita, Amazon.com

James Cameron

Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, John Hamburg Opposites are forced to attract in Along Came Polly. Ben Stiller is a newlywed insurance risk-assessment analyst whose wife (Debra Messing, in a throwaway role) betrays him on their honeymoon. His uptight, play-it-safe lifestyle (which includes acute aversion to germs and irritable bowel syndrome) makes him seemingly incompatible with the spontaneous, free-spirited Polly (Jennifer Aniston), but writer-director John Hamburg (whose writing credits include the previous Stiller hits Meet the Parents and Zoolander) is determined to give them at least the appearance of romantic potential. No such luck. You will, however, get a few laughs from supporting players Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bryan Brown, and Alec Baldwin. The film is a dose of featherweight fluff that could've been better and could've been worse—surely no pairing of Stiller and Aniston can be a complete waste of time, right? Faint praise, perhaps, but fans of these mainstream funny-folk will enjoy this movie as a lazy weekend distraction. —Jeff Shannon

Seth MacFarlane, Alberto Calleros The "Laugh Alert" level is elevated with the release of this second volume of episodes that chronologically span seasons 1 and 2. You know the "there" that people talk about when they say, "Don't go 'there'?" Seth MacFarlane's American Dad leaves "there" in the dust. Take the holiday—excuse me, Christmas—episode, "The Best Christmas Story Never," which somehow melds Charles Dickens with a Ray Bradbury-esque cautionary tale of tampering with the past. CIA Agent and true patriot act Stan Smith (voiced by MacFarlane) loses the spirit of the season in a blizzard of PC secularism in which even the fugitive "Christmas rapist" must be referred to as "the holiday rapist." In the "is nothing sacred" world of American Dad, Christmas can only be saved by Stan accompanying the Ghost of Christmas Past (Lisa Kudrow) back in time to (don't ask) kill Jane Fonda (or Donald Sutherland), take over the direction of Taxi Driver from a drug-free Martin Scorsese, and shoot Ronald Reagan. The Smith family—wife Francine, geeky son Steve, and "peace-pusher" daughter Hayley—is still not as vividly drawn as the Griffins on MacFarlane's Family Guy (even Klaus, the talking German-accented goldfish admits in one episode that his "fish shtick" is getting thin), but one can't help salute the audacity of the oft-inspired writing. In "Stannie, Get Your Gun," Stan becomes a National Gun Association spokesperson after being accidentally paralyzed by his anti-gun daughter. "The American Dad After School Special" has an A Brilliant Mind-like twist as Stan battles an eating disorder brought about by Steve's new overweight girlfriend. In "Helping Handis," Steve becomes the big man on campus after he develops steroid-enhanced breasts.

Two episodes are standouts for their animation. "Dungeons and Wagons," as did South Park with "Make Love, Not Warcraft," creates a video game universe in which Steve rules. Near the end of "Failure Is Not a Factory-Installed Option," the screen adjusts to widescreen format, and the saga of the golden turd, begun in the first season episode, "Homeland Insecurity" compellingly continues with the jewel-encrusted oddity becoming the last temptation of an honest cop (Beau Bridges). American Dad is, as should be apparent, not for all tastes (or more sensitive viewers—the episode "Tears of a Clooney" drops some unbleeped F-bombs), but fans of the series are rewarded with this three disc-set's prodigious extra features, including rowdy, chaotic commentaries for all the episodes, a wealth of hit and miss deleted scenes, and a segment devoted to the production of "Dungeons and Wagons." —Donald Liebenson

Mike Kim, Joe Daniello

Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Tony Kaye Perhaps the highest compliment you can pay to Edward Norton is that his Oscar-nominated performance in American History X nearly convinces you that there is a shred of logic in the tenets of white supremacy. If that statement doesn't horrify you, it should; Norton is so fully immersed in his role as a neo-Nazi skinhead that his character's eloquent defense of racism is disturbingly persuasive—at least on the surface. Looking lean and mean with a swastika tattoo and a mind full of hate, Derek Vinyard (Norton) has inherited racism from his father, and that learning has been intensified through his service to Cameron (Stacy Keach), a grown-up thug playing tyrant and teacher to a growing band of disenfranchised teens from Venice Beach, California, all hungry for an ideology that fuels their brooding alienation.

The film's basic message—that hate is learned and can be unlearned—is expressed through Derek's kid brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), whose sibling hero-worship increases after Derek is imprisoned (or, in Danny's mind, martyred) for the killing of two black men. Lacking Derek's gift of rebel rhetoric, Danny is easily swayed into the violent, hateful lifestyle that Derek disowns during his thoughtful time in prison. Once released, Derek struggles to save his brother from a violent fate, and American History X partially suffers from a mix of intense emotions, awkward sentiment and predictably inevitable plotting. And yet British director Tony Kaye (who would later protest against Norton's creative intervention during post-production) manages to juggle these qualities—and a compelling clash of visual styles—to considerable effect. No matter how strained their collaboration may have been, both Kaye and Norton can be proud to have created a film that addresses the issue of racism with dramatically forceful impact. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Adam McKay Will Farrell followed up his star-making vehicle Elf, which matched his fine-tuned comic obliviousness to a sweet sincerity, with a more arrogant variation on the same character: Ron Burgundy, a macho, narcissistic news anchor from the 1970s. Along with his news posse—roving reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd, Clueless), sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner), and dim-bulb weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell, Bruce Almighty)—Burgundy rules the roost in San Diego, fawned upon by groupies and supported by a weary producer (Fred Willard, Best In Show) who tolerates Burgundy's ego because of good ratings. But when Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate, View from the Top) arrives with ambitions to become an anchor herself, she threatens the male-dominated newsroom. Anchormanhas plenty of funny material, but it's as if Farrell couldn't decide what he really wanted to mock, and so took smart-ass cracks at everything in sight. Still, there are moments of inspired delirium. —Bret Fetzer

David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter Taking the Spin-off genre to the extreme, Angel attempts to replicate the success of Buffy by taking the heartthrob as the lead. Spin-off shows rarely match the success of their parent programmes, especially in the superhero/fantasy genre (cf. The Girl From UNCLE, The Bionic Woman, The Green Hornet—Frasier being the notable exception). Characters who were perfectly useful as supporting figures dwindle when forced in the spotlight, and Angel takes a special risk by building an entire series around a character who is: (a) supposed to be a mystery man; (b) a vampire who once spent half a season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a dastardly villain who killed without remorse; and (c) played by David Boreanaz, who is well up on handsome and broody but still can't do an Irish accent to save his life and is visibly learning this acting lark as the series progresses.

The premise is that Angel, the vampire with a soul, has finally admitted he'll never get it together with Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), unless a reunion crossover episode or two are scheduled. He moves to Los Angeles, a city haunted not only by demons and vampires but lawyers and agents. Angel sets up as a private investigator and solves cases with a supernatural aspect, partnered with Doyle (Glenn Quinn), a half-demon with a proper Irish accent and the useful psychic ability to know when someone is in trouble (thereby predicting any given week's plot), and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), another Buffy refugee here trying to reinvent herself as a struggling big-city single girl.

Far less consistent than its parent show, but also not saddled with quite so much of a continuing story arc, Angel has a very different feel, cued by its effective semi-Goth violin theme tune and lots of film noir-ish LA street scenes, with a dose of cynical inside-the-entertainment-industry stuff. It has its share of familiar ideas (such as a Fight Club episode) and simply daft premises (a demon-centred show which allegorises the debate about female circumcision , for example). Angel alienated a lot of initial fans by killing off its most appealing regular a third of the way into the run, dusting off hideous English comic stereotype Wesley the Watcher (Alex Denisof) as a replacement. However, it also comes up with some ingenious moments: in a two-parter guest-starring sometime Buffy villainess Faith (Eliza Dushku), the show finally delivers something scary and emotionally powerful as Angel proves he can solve cases his ex-girlfriend can't. Meanwhile, the last couple of episodes—which beef up a satanic law firm as regular foes and resurrect a long-dead character as a major troublemaker for the future—go from promising to delivering. —Kim Newman

On the DVD: the DVD set is only moderately generous with features, compared to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series DVDs. There are two episodes with commentaries—creators Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt discussing the series' genesis and "City Of ". Added to this Jane Espenson, the resident queen of farce, talks us through the haunted apartment episode "Rm w/a Vu". Also included are four featurettes—introductions to the characters of Angel and Cordelia, a series one overview and a discussion of the show's demons—scripts for the two Faith episodes, cast biographies and a gallery of stills and blue-prints. Most importantly, given the way Angel was butchered by Channel 4 for an inappropriately early time slot, the show's violence and strong language are offered uncut. Presented in English and French Dolby Surround Sound 2.0 and with an aspect ratio of approx 1.33:1 —Roz Kaveney

David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter It is with this second series that Angel, the darker Los Angeles mean-streets spin-off from Buffy, comes entirely into its own. Angel, the vampire with a soul and rather too much hair gel, is driven partly by his need for atonement and partly by his anger at the manipulations of the satanic law firm Wolfram and Hart, especially the morally equivocal Lindsey (Christian Kane). At the end of the previous season, they set his emotional destruction in motion by bringing back from hell Darla, the vampire who turned him, whom he loved for centuries and then killed to save Buffy. Julie Benz's soft-voiced passion—"God doesn't want you, but I still do"—makes her a perfect tragic foil for David Boreanaz's "billowy coat King of Pain" hero and mid-season offers further cause for Angel's despairing rage at his failure to save Darla from being turned vampire again.

There is a nice balance of comedy, horror and the starkly tragic here—fake swamis, accursed shrouds, sexually abused telekinetic assassins all come into the mix along with Angel's gang of sidekicks—pedantic Wesley, abrasive Gunn, flighty clairvoyant Cordelia—and a new and wonderfully improbable character who starts as a running joke and becomes so much more—the Host (Andy Hallett), a green demon with red horns, eyes and hair, who sees into the souls of those who sing karaoke at his bar. And in a four-part finale, the group's friendship with the green karaoke demon Lorne sends them off to his home dimension to rescue Cordelia, right wrongs and acquire an important new character.

On the DVD: Angel, Season 2 on disc presents all the episodes in their original 16x9 widescreen format (2.35:1), which enables viewers to see shots as they were originally conceived, for example in impressive moments like the march of the four vampires through a burning Shanghai or the climaxes of the mediaeval Pylea sequence. The sound is a sumptuous Dolby Surround 2.0. The first Pylea episode, "Over the Rainbow", has a commentary by its director Fred Keller; the 1959 flashback episode "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?" has a commentary by writer Tim Minnear. There are also featurettes on the set designs—specifically concentrating on the huge hotel set which dominates Season 2. —Roz Kaveney

David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter In the third series of Angel the titular vampire with a soul was forced to stand alone thanks to the (temporary) death of his beloved Buffy and her show's move to a new network, with no crossover between the two allowed. He returns from seeking peace in a demon-haunted monastery to find the LA Angel Investigations team fighting supernatural crime in his absence. Fred is still haunted by the nightmare dimension from which they rescued her; Cordelia's visions get ever more painful and debilitating. The schemes of the evil law firm Wolfram and Hart become every more imaginative and dragon lady Lilah Morgan becomes even more of an enemy when lusting after Angel. Unbelievably, Darla, Angel's vampire sire and lover, turns up, pregnant with his child and is tortured by inexplicable motherly feelings as well as a raging thirst for human blood.

For a few episodes things go pretty well—but Angel's enemies, both those he has made in his quest for redemption and those he made when he was unadulterated evil, are still out there. Stephanie Romanov comes into her silky own in this series, making Lilah Morgan all the more seductively evil because she is clear about the choices she has made; the satanic law-firm of Wolfram and Hart are this show's most inspired creation. As the series moves to its close, Wesley (Alexis Denisof) has hard choices to make. The devastating climax is compulsive viewing and this series also contains one of the most impressive single episodes of the entire show: in "Waiting in the Wings" writer, director and creator Joss Whedon comes up with a classic ghost story as Angel and his crew go to the ballet and find a performance that is literally timeless.

On the DVD: Angel, Series 3 DVD box set is generously stocked with extra features—a season overview, commentaries on three episodes, a documentary on the way scripts are transferred to screen, and an overview of the story of the doomed vampire Darla. Of especial interest to fans are two deleted scenes—one from the ballet episode "Waiting in the Wings", in which Amy Acker (Fred) and Alexis Denisof (Wesley) dance a pas de deux at once touching and hilarious, and the other a hilarious scene from "Cordy", the cute situation comedy in which Cordelia stars in an alternate universe. —Roz Kaveney

David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter As the fourth series of Angel starts, everything is still as we left it: Angel has been sunk to the bottom of the sea in an iron box by his inexplicable and vindictive son Connor and Cordelia has been summoned to higher realms to await orders. Gunn and Fred are left in the Hyperion Hotel, unsure about what has happened to their friends, and Lilah is working hard to seduce Wesley to the dark side. In the first few episodes, some of this is resolved but it's almost immediately replaced by far worse crises: prophesies of doom accumulate more rapidly even than usual in this wonderfully gloomy show and a horned rock-like Beast rains fire on Los Angeles. This last year is Angel's most tightly dramatic season yet—with a story arc of surprising intensity punctuated by the show's usual wit and sexiness.

On the DVD: Angel, Series 4 is presented on disc in Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound with a visual aspect ratio of 16:9. It comes with insightful, and often hilarious, commentaries on seven of the 22 episodes as well as featurettes—a series overview, profiles of the characters of Jasmine and the Beast, a farewell to the Hyperion Hotel (the characters' base for three seasons) and a discussion of the apocalypse that Angel has to deal with from episode seven onwards). It has subtitles in English, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish and has the option of the soundtrack dubbed into French. —Roz Kaveney

David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter Lives were upended—and some co-opted—in the fifth and final season of Angel, as the denizens of Angel Investigations found themselves taking on one of their scariest endeavors ever: corporate life. After making a literal deal with the devil (or something distinctly devil-like), Angel (David Boreanaz) moved his team from their crumbling hotel to the high-rise digs of law-firm-from-hell Wolfram & Hart, his reasoning being they could better fight the forces of evil from the inside, and with more resources to boot. Clever maneuvering or easy rationalization? A few members of Angel's team accused him of selling out (as did a number of viewers), but as with most of the show's previous four seasons, Angel somehow took a dubious premise and mined it for gold. And with one core cast member gone (Charisma Carpenter, whose Cordelia was immersed in a deep coma), it seemed as if the show, from within and without, would suddenly fall apart—that is, until Angel's longtime nemesis Spike (James Marsters) showed up, fresh from his sacrificial roasting at the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Let the vampire games begin!

With Buffy off the air, fans flocked to Angel's last season to get their fix of Joss Whedon's "Buffyverse" in any form they could, and the addition of Spike was a shrewd one, albeit not enough to keep the show from getting canceled. And for the first half of the season, the creative forces behind the show seemed to be toying ruthlessly with the audience. Spike was around, but not entirely corporeal; Angel himself became sullen and withdrawn; and most horrifically, sweetheart scientist Fred (Amy Acker) and former watcher Wesley (Alexis Denisof) underwent traumas that would test even the most devoted viewer. However, just when you'd be about to throw in the towel, things started changing for the better—Spike became a permanent fixture (both in the flesh and on the show), Angel's secret motives were revealed, and the introduction of demon warrior Illyria, who proved to be the show's answer to Buffy's sardonic demon-made-human Anya, was a welcome breath of fresh air. Creatively, Angel also came up with some of its best episodes, including "Smile Time" (where Angel is turned into a puppet - really!) and "You're Welcome" (the show's 100th episode, which marked the bittersweet return of Carpenter's Cordelia). The ending of the series was deliberately ambiguous, and not everyone made it through alive, but in going out kicking, it was a proper sendoff for a show that always fought the good fight. —Mark Englehart

Peter Chung Shinichirô Watanabe Kôji Morimoto Mahiro Maeda Andy Jones (VI) The Animatrixis a series of nine stories by different directors set in the Matrixuniverse, all of them conceived and commissioned by the Wachowski brothers. They demonstrate an eclectic mix of anime animation styles, stories and characters, most of which intertwine with the narrative of the first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded.

The first and most impressive is the Final Flight of the Osiris(from the director of Final Fantasy). In a breathtaking computer-generated short that would have worked well as a pre-title sequence for the second film, the crew of the ill-fated Osiris discover the sentinel army and the machines drilling towards Zion. This most filmic of the offerings guides fans into the more individualistic animated styles of the subsequent features.

The second and third instalments, The Second Renaissance, Parts 1 & 2, turn the tables on the man vs. machines battle by telling the story of the emergence of artificial intelligence and the ensuing (mostly human instigated) carnage leading up to the subjugation of the human race. The remaining features are: Kid's Story(directed by anime supreme Shinichiro Watanabe), which introduces us to the Kid, who also features in Reloaded;Programand World Record, written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, better known for schlock horror anime Vampire Hunter B;Beyond, which tells what happens when ordinary people discover bugs in the system;A Detective Story, a homage to film noir as PI Ash is hired to track Trinity; and the distinctly psychedelic Matriculated.

The standard of animation is high throughout, even where the storylines are confused (and in one or two cases little more than conceptual). This is a fascinating collection of shorts that will appeal to Matrixand anime fans alike, as well as shedding light on some of the more obtuse plot machinations of Reloaded.

On the DVD:The Animatrixis primarily a visual offering, so it's good to see that this anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 video transfer is near-perfect, with CGI extravaganza signature short The Final Flight of the Osirisbeing about as stunning as is possible on a small screen. Extras are plentiful: the commentaries for The Second Renaissance Parts 1 & 2are in Japanese with English subtitles; there are two more commentaries, for Programand World Record. There are also some features, including one on the history of anime and seven on the individual films in the series; the best of the latter is the featurette for Osiris, which goes into detail on the CGI and contains a "square celebrity death match" sequence of a modified Aki (from the Final Fantasyfilm) battling a sentinel. —Kristen Bowditch

Virginia Madsen, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Polish

Kirk Wise Gary Trousdale The Disney Studio was built on innovation in animation, so it seems ironic that Atlantis is both a bold departure and highly derivative, borrowing heavily from anime, video games and graphic novels. Instead of songs and fuzzy little animals, the artists offer an action-adventure set in 1914: nerdy linguist Milo Thatch (Michael J Fox) believes he's found the location of the legendary Lost Continent. An eccentric zillionaire sends Milo out to test his hypothesis with an anachronistic crew that includes tough Puerto Rican mechanic Audrey (Jacqueline Obradors), demolition expert Vinnie (Don Novello), and butt-kicking blonde adventurer Helga (Claudia Christian). When they find Atlantis, its culture is dying because the people can no longer read the runes that explain their mysterious power source—but Milo can. Nasty Commander Rourke (James Garner) attempts to steal that power source, leading to the requisite all-out battle. Atlantis offers some nifty battle scenes, including an attack on a Jules Verne-esque submarine by a giant robotic trilobites and fishlike flying cars. But the film suffers from major story problems. If Princess Kida (Cree Summer) remembers her civilisation at its height, why can't she read the runes? Why doesn't Milo's crew notice that the Atlanteans live for centuries? The angular designs are based on the work of comic book artist Mike Mignola (Hellboy), and the artists struggle with the characters' stubby hands, skinny limbs and pointed jaws. The result is a film that will appeal more to 10-year-old boys than to family audiences. —Charles Solomon, Amazon.com

Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, James Cameron Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Zoe Saldana, Giovanni RibisiDirector: James Cameron

Jeremiah S. Chechik

Michael Vejar In the gap between seasons four and five of Babylon 5, fans suffering withdrawal symptoms were sated by this first TV movie. As a prequel to the series' timeline, creator J. Michael Straczynski had an awful lot of continuity to consider. Amazingly, there's only one inconsistency throughout (a matter of who met whom and when), making this an essential part of the overall storyline. The tale is told cleverly from the future as the remembrances of Londo (Peter Jurasik), who is now Emperor of a dying Centauri homeworld. He looks back at the beginnings of the Earth-Minbari war and links together many clues strewn throughout the shows' early years. We see exactly how Delenn contributed to the first blows, the death of dignitary Dukhat, and most importantly what really happened to Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) at the Battle of the Line. The FX showcased by the battle are genuinely spectacular, but overshadowed by the make-up department which had the thankless task of making everyone look younger. Their best success is on an uncredited Claudia Christian who appears as an 18-year-old Susan Ivanova dealing with the death of her brother. Being a prequel there's little in the way of a surprise finale, but there's plenty of intrigue along the way. —Paul Tonks

Michael Vejar

Kevin G. Cremin Mike Vejar Wir befinden uns im Jahr 1996. Die ganze TV-Science-Fiction ist von den Star-Trek-Serien besetzt. Die ganze TV-Science-Fiction? Nein. Eine unbeugsame kleine Serie hört nicht auf, in einer kleinen Ecke des Senders Warner Brothers qualitätsträchtigen Widerstand zu leisten. Und das Leben ist nicht leicht für die Kapitäne an Bord von Deep Space Nine und des Raumschiffs Voyager, die sich der kleinen quotenstarken Serie irgendwo im Weltraum erwehren müssen. Das Jahr: 2260. Ort der Handlung: die Raumstation Babylon 5.

In diesem dritten Jahr des auf fünf Jahre ausgelegten Handlungsbogens der Serie Babylon 5 bricht ein Krieg aus. Das weiß der Zuschauer, der bereits die vorhergehenden Jahre den verzweifelten Kampf um den Frieden miterleben musste, nach wenigen Sekunden der ersten Folge. Denn schon im Vorspann heißt es "Das Babylon-Projekt war unsere letzte und einzige Hoffnung auf Frieden. Diese Hoffnung scheiterte." Serienschöpfer Joe Michael Stratzinsky verstand sich von jeher auf dramatische Momente, und so avanciert im Folgenden jede der kommenden 22 Episoden zu einem Schritt auf den dramatischen Höhepunkt der Serie zu.

Die Rückkehr der Schatten, die Rolle der mysteriösen Vorlonen, das tragische Handeln der Centauri und der Kampf der Ranger für das Licht — all diese Handlungselemente machen die dritte Staffel von Babylon 5 zur bis dato besten der ganzen Serie. Der Punkt ohne Wiederkehr ist nun überschritten, mehr als in den Jahren zuvor spielen Action und spannungsgeladene Storylines mit den Emotionen des Zuschauers Pingpong.

Ohne zu viel von der Handlung vorwegnehmen zu wollen: Wer die dritte Staffel von Babylon 5 zum ersten Mal sieht, wird Fingernägel kauend die Tage zählen, bis die vierte Staffel auf DVD veröffentlicht wird. —Mike Hillenbrand

Kevin G. Cremin Mike Vejar Wir befinden uns im Jahr 1996. Die ganze TV-Science-Fiction ist von den Star-Trek-Serien besetzt. Die ganze TV-Science-Fiction? Nein. Eine unbeugsame kleine Serie hört nicht auf, in einer kleinen Ecke des Senders Warner Brothers qualitätsträchtigen Widerstand zu leisten. Und das Leben ist nicht leicht für die Kapitäne an Bord von Deep Space Nine und des Raumschiffs Voyager, die sich der kleinen quotenstarken Serie irgendwo im Weltraum erwehren müssen. Das Jahr: 2260. Ort der Handlung: die Raumstation Babylon 5.

In diesem dritten Jahr des auf fünf Jahre ausgelegten Handlungsbogens der Serie Babylon 5 bricht ein Krieg aus. Das weiß der Zuschauer, der bereits die vorhergehenden Jahre den verzweifelten Kampf um den Frieden miterleben musste, nach wenigen Sekunden der ersten Folge. Denn schon im Vorspann heißt es "Das Babylon-Projekt war unsere letzte und einzige Hoffnung auf Frieden. Diese Hoffnung scheiterte." Serienschöpfer Joe Michael Stratzinsky verstand sich von jeher auf dramatische Momente, und so avanciert im Folgenden jede der kommenden 22 Episoden zu einem Schritt auf den dramatischen Höhepunkt der Serie zu.

Die Rückkehr der Schatten, die Rolle der mysteriösen Vorlonen, das tragische Handeln der Centauri und der Kampf der Ranger für das Licht — all diese Handlungselemente machen die dritte Staffel von Babylon 5 zur bis dato besten der ganzen Serie. Der Punkt ohne Wiederkehr ist nun überschritten, mehr als in den Jahren zuvor spielen Action und spannungsgeladene Storylines mit den Emotionen des Zuschauers Pingpong.

Ohne zu viel von der Handlung vorwegnehmen zu wollen: Wer die dritte Staffel von Babylon 5 zum ersten Mal sieht, wird Fingernägel kauend die Tage zählen, bis die vierte Staffel auf DVD veröffentlicht wird. —Mike Hillenbrand

David Eagle Kevin James Dobson Es ist das Jahr des Feuers. Das Jahr der Zerstörung. Es ist das Jahr der Eroberungen und das Jahr der Wiedergeburt. Es ist das Jahr, in dem sich alles veränderte. Es ist das Jahr 2261 — und es ist das vierte Jahr der unglaublich guten SF-Serie Babylon 5.

In den ersten beiden Staffeln der Science-Fiction-Serie, die sich mit den Geschehnissen an Bord der letzten großen Raumstation befasst, schienen sich Schauspieler wie Produzenten erst noch ein wenig finden zu müssen. Zu groß war der Druck eines ebenfalls einstündige Episoden ausstrahlenden SF-Franchises, das mit einer ähnlichen Thematik die Fans des Genres zu binden bemüht war. Doch spätestens ab dem dritten Jahr Babylon 5 war jedem Zuschauer klar, dass Produzent J. Michael Straczynski, von den Fans der Serie liebevoll JMS genannt, nicht etwa Star Trek neu erfunden, sondern etwas absolut Eigenständiges mit hohem Qualitätstandard geschaffen hatte. Diesen hohen Standard konnte er in der vorliegenden vierten Staffel der Serie fast ausnahmlos fortsetzen und begeisterte damit viele Science-Fiction-Freunde auf der ganzen Welt.

Der Krieg gegen die Schatten, die Rolle der Vorlonen, das Schicksal des Hauptcharakters John Sheridan (gespielt von Agentin mit Herz-Star Bruce Boxleitner) und die Zukunft der Galaxis sind die Fragen, auf die das vierte Jahr Babylon 5 Antworten gibt. Leider manchmal eine zu viel. Doch wenn man den Ausrutscher "In hundert Jahren, in tausend Jahren" am Ende der Staffel verzeiht (was angesichts der internen Umstände, unter denen das Staffelende produziert werden musste, gerade noch möglich ist), bleibt ein Gesamtwerk von vier Jahren epischer Science-Fiction-Unterhaltung zurück, das kaum besser hätte ausfallen können.

Im Vorspann der Folgen dieses vierten Jahres heißt es: "Es war das Jahr der Schmerzen und das Jahr der Freude." Und es wird gesagt: "Es war das Ende der Geschichte." Wäre die Serie Babylon 5 nach diesem vierten Jahr beendet worden, wäre es ein sehr befriedigendes Ende gewesen. —Mike Hillenbrand

Janet Greek David Eagle Ihre Tage ware gezählt. Das Spacecenter, das die letzte Hoffnung auf Frieden darstellte, sollte sich bald den neuen politischen Koalitionen und technischen Standards ergeben müssen. Und John Sheridan, der das Schiff sicher auch in stürmischen Zeiten befehligte, wusste, dass sein Schicksal unabwendbar besiegelt war. Die 22 Episoden mit herausragenden Extras! der finalen Staffel erzählen vom letzten Versuch Sheridans, den Frieden innerhalb des Bündnisses herzustellen, dem tragischen Schicksal der Telepathen und dem Ende des technisch überholten Spacecenters. Machen Sie sich bereit für den finalen Landeanflug auf Babylon 5!

Richard Compton

Michael Vejar The Shadow War has ended, leaving hundreds of civilisations devastated by the conflict. It is up to the ISA, with the help of the Rangers, to rebuild what the great war destroyed and to maintain peace among the worlds of the ISA. The Legend of the Rangers pilot movie deals with the Ranger crew of the Liandra, a semi-organic ship based on Minbari technology. The Rangers encounter a previously unknown alien race, called the Hand, whose lethal power is far greater than any force previously known to Earth or any other world in the Interstellar Alliance. The Legend Of The Rangers is a movie spin off from the hugely popular Babylon 5 series.

Michael J. Fox, Flea, Robert Zemeckis Has Hollywood produced many more rounded, enjoyable trilogies such as this? We think not, and it’s real testament to the quality of the Back To The Future trilogy that it all holds up so spectacularly well over twenty years since the first film appeared.

The films, as you probably know, following the time-travelling antics of Marty McFly, played by Michael J Fox, and Dr Emmett Brown, brought wonderfully to life by Christopher Lloyd. Across the three films, Marty and the Doc head back to the old west, meet Marty’s kids in the future, nearly ruin the meeting between his parents in the past, and all the while deal with the unwelcome interference of Biff Tannen and his family tree.

Bluntly, for sheer excitement, these movies are hard to beat. Mixing in tightly woven scripts with good effects, lively direction and an endearing set of performances from a superbly-chosen cast, the whole trilogy is just tremendously good fun. Fox and Lloyd must take a good chunk of credit for that, as their on-screen partnership is in many ways the glue that sticks everything so firmly in place, but conversely, it feels odd singling them out when so much else has gone right.

A worthy addition to any DVD collection, the Back To The Future Trilogy is what can happen when Hollywood really works. From the carefully layered screenplays through to the proliferation of standout moments, you can only hope that the occasional rumours of a fourth instalment continue to prove false. After all, how can the filmmakers possibly match their achievements with these three?—Simon Brew

Richard Linklater

Terry Zwigoff Instantly qualifying as a perennial cult favorite, Bad Santais as nasty as it wants to be, and there's something to be said for comedy without compromise. The Coen brothers conceived the basic idea and served as executive producers, but it's director Terry Zwigoff who brings his unique affinity for losers and outcasts to the twisted tale of Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton), a hard-drinking, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed sexaholic safe-cracker who targets a different department store every holiday season, playing Santa while he cases the joint with his dwarf elf-partner Marcus (Tony Cox). With comedic support from Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, Cloris Leachman, and John Ritter in his final film, Thornton milks the lowbrow laughs with a slovenly lack of sentiment, warming Bad Santa's pickled heart just enough to please a chubby misfit (Brett Kelly, hilariously deadpan) who may or may not be mentally challenged. As dry as an arid martini and blacker than morning-after coffee, Bad Santais an instant cure for yuletide schmaltz, and if you think this appropriately R-rated comedy is suitable for kids, your parenting skills are no better than Willie's. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Christopher Nolan

Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell Battlestar Galactica's Edward James Olmos wasn't kidding when he said "the series is even better than the miniseries." As developed by sci-fi TV veteran Ronald D. Moore, the "reimagined" BG is exactly what it claims to be: a drama for grown-ups in a science-fiction setting. The mature intelligence of the series is its greatest asset, from the tenuous respect between Galactica's militarily principled commander Adama (Olmos) and politically astute, cancer-stricken colonial President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) to the barely suppressed passion between ace Viper pilot "Apollo" (a.k.a. Adama's son Lee, played by Jamie Bamber) and the brashly insubordinate Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), whose multifaceted character is just one of many first-season highlights. Picking up where the miniseries ended, season 1 opens with the riveting, Hugo Award-winning episode "33," in which Galactica and the "ragtag fleet" of colonial survivors begin their quest for the legendary 13th colony planet Earth, while being pursued with clockwork regularity by the Cylons, who've now occupied the colonial planet of Caprica. The fleet's hard-fought survival forms (1) the primary side of the series' three-part structure, shared with (2) the apparent psychosis of Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis) whose every thought and move are monitored by various incarnations Number Six (Tricia Helfer), the seemingly omniscient Cylon ultravixen who follows a master plan somehow connected to (3) the Caprican survival ordeal of crash-landed pilots "Helo" (Tahmoh Penikett) and soon-to-be-pregnant "Boomer" (Grace Park), whose simultaneous presence on Galactica is further evidence that 12 multicopied models of Cylons, in human form, are gathering their forces.

With remarkably consistent quality, each of these 13 episodes deepens the dynamics of these fascinating characters and suspenseful situations. While BG relies on finely nuanced performances, solid direction, and satisfying personal and political drama to build its strong emotional foundation, the action/adventure elements are equally impressive, especially in "The Hand of God," a pivotal episode in which the show's dazzling visual effects get a particularly impressive showcase. Original BG series star Richard Hatch appears in two politically charged episodes (he's a better actor now, too), and with the threat of civil war among the fleet, season 1 ends with an exceptional cliffhanger that's totally unexpected while connecting the plot threads of all preceding episodes. To the credit of everyone involved, this is really good television.

Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Michael Rymer Let’s get straight to the point: bar none, Battlestar Galactica is the best science fiction television programme currently showing. In fact, let’s go further. It’s the best of the last decade. And truthfully? You’d find very few sci-fi fans who’d disagree.

What’s more, plenty of people must be busy eating their words, too. Back when it was announced that Battlestar Galactica was being revived, feelings were mixed, not helped by the divided reaction to the mini-series that kickstarted this iteration of the show. Yet over the past couple of years, it’s cleverly proven to be a tense, gripping mix of action and drama, with a tightly-woven plot.

This third season? It’s arguably the best so far. A delicious soup of mystery, relevations, actions, striking characters and winding narrative, Battlestar Galactica is also served superbly well by a quality cast, some quality special effects, and a real focus on what matters from behind the camera.

As usual, there are no spoilers in this review, although it’s not giving much away to say that the deadly cylons have to share the screen time with some intriguing and revealing character development this time round. And with word that season four of the revived Battlestar Galactica will be the last, things are set up for a terrific final act.

Season three of the show though is extraordinarily good, a real, genuine sci-fi classic that’s going to have one mighty shelf life once this particularly iteration of the programme has gone. And with umpteen surprises to go back and check out, it’s never likely to be one to gather dust on the shelf, either. —Jon Foster

Michael Rymer

Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell There was an understandable mix of emotions bubbling to the surface when the final episode of Battlestar Galactica was finally broadcast in the first half of 2009. On the one hand, this has proven to be vintage science fiction television, easily one of the most ambitious, daring and flat-out successful TV projects in recent times. And on the other, it’s all over, with this box set bringing together the final episodes of the show.

Inevitably, this final season wraps up many of the mysteries and narrative questions of Battlestar Galactica, none of which we intend to spoil here. The fate of humanity, the hunt for the fabled earth and the further revelations about the Cylons are packed in, and the standard throughout this final season remains sky high.

The actual ending itself, as it happens, proved quite divisive, but arguably that’s part of the strength of Battlestar Galactica. Because this is a show that, right to the end, doesn’t take the easy road, and delivers some of the most intelligent, dark drama of recent years. It’s a staggering achievement, and this final season, along with the entirety of the show itself, is set to still be talked about decades into the future. Quite brilliant, and not to be missed. —Jon Foster

Michael Rymer Despite voluminous protest and nitpicking criticism from loyal fans of the original TV series (1978-80), the 2003 version of Battlestar Galactica turned out surprisingly well for viewers with a tolerance for change. Originally broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel in December 2003 and conceived by Star Trek: The Next Generation alumnus Ronald D Moore as the pilot episode for a "reimagined" TV series, this four-hour mini series reprises the basic premise of the original show while giving a major overhaul to several characters and plot elements. Gone are the flowing robes, disco-era hairstyles, and mock-Egyptian fighter helmets, and thankfully there's not a fluffy "Daggit" in sight... at least, not yet. Also missing are the "chrome toaster" Cylons, replaced by new, more formidable varieties of the invading Cylon enemy, including "Number Six" in hot red skirts and ample cleavage, who tricks the human genius Baltar! into a scenario that nearly annihilates the human inhabitants of 12 colonial worlds.

Thus begins the epic battle and eventual retreat of a "ragtag fleet" of humans, searching for the mythical planet Earth under the military command of Adama (Edward James Olmos) and the political leadership of Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), a former secretary of education, 43rd in line of succession and rising to the occasion of her unexpected Presidency. As directed by Michael Rymer (Queen of the Damned), Moore's ambitious teleplay also includes newfangled CGI space battles (featuring "handheld" camera moves and subdued sound effects for "enhanced realism"), a dysfunctional Col. Tigh (Michael Hogan) who's provoked into action by the insubordinate Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), and a father-son reunion steeped in familial tragedy. To fans of the original BG series, many of these changes are blasphemous, but for the most part they work—including an ominous cliffhanger ending. The remade Galactica is brimming with smart, well-drawn characters ripe with dramati! c potential, and it readily qualifies as serious-minded science fiction, even as it gives BG loyalists ample fuel for lively debate. —Jeff Shannon

Dutch Release - Audio : English Subtitles : Dutch ( optional ) with lots of extra's

Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Felix Enriques Alcala The revival of Battlestar Galactica has proven not just to be a roaring success with viewers, but one of the most critically-acclaimed science-fiction series too. Battlestar Galactica: Razor’s place is as an introduction to the events that take place in the fourth season of the show. Yet it’s also a terrific feature-length TV movie in its own right.

The story of Battlestar Galactica: Razor actually focuses quite a lot on a different Battlestar, the Pegasus. Throughout the movie, we see it under the command of the love-to-hate Admiral Helena Cain, while we also follow Lieutenant Kendra Shaw under her tutelage, and Lee Adama’s first mission in charge of the Pegasus.

Naturally too, Battlestar Galactica: Razor isn’t shy of Cylons, as we see them in the infancy of their attack on humankind. And all of these ingredients make for some interesting back story to the main show, and a great one-off piece of entertainment too. It doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to the action sequences, and there’s some worthwhile character work in there too.

While clearly intended as an appetite-whetter for the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica, Razor nonetheless has enough in the tank to more than hold its own. It proves to be yet another example as to why Battlestar is the show that’s been topping science fiction fans’ favourites lists for some time. —Jon Foster

Jason Priestley, Shannon Doherty This long-running drama based around the lives of a group of high school students living in the wealthy Beverly Hills neighborhood, deals with the experiences of a group of young people as they navigate their way through high school, college and ultimately the real world. The kids become friends and enemies, fall in and out of love, and go through an endless series of crises as this small group somehow becomes personally involved in every newsworthy social issue from alcoholism to South African apartheid to pregnancy and AIDS. Love it or hate it, Beverly Hills 90210 is a TV institution.

Synopsis
Glossy teen drama Beverly Hills 90210 was hugely popular throughout the '90s and launched the acting careers of Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, and Tori Spelling (whose father Aaron Spelling executive produced the show). Set in the posh, star-studded Southern Californian community of Beverly Hills, the series follows the lives of siblings Brandon (Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Doherty) as they go through high school and all the stresses it entails. Although primarily aimed at the teen audience, 90210 never shied away from the bigger issues, such as date rape, alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide, or teen pregnancy. Contains every episode from the first series.

Brian Austin Green, Luke Perry Television producer extraordinaire Aaron Spelling launched a pop-culture phenomenon with his 1990s teen soap opera Beverly Hills 90210, a landmark series that not only set the standard for '90s teen culture, but single-handedly wrote the rulebook for later shows like Dawson's Creek. Created by Darren Star, the glitzy series chronicles the coming-of-age dramas of Minnesota siblings Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) as they adjust to their new affluent surroundings, where they attend the fictional West Beverly High with a tight-knit group of teenage friends: good-natured jock Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering); brainy good-girl Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris); naive virgin Donna Martin (Tori Spelling); aspiring DJ David Silver (Brian Austin Green); blonde siren Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth); and troubled bad-boy Dylan McKay (Luke Perry). Like its Canadian counterpart Degrassi Junior High, the series attempts social commentary by crafting storylines that feature a wide range of issues affecting '90s teens, including alcoholism, drug abuse, sex, and depression. Groundbreaking and iconic, 90210's second series is presented in its entirety with this collection of 28 episodes featuring guest appearances by Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Denise Richards, and Color Me Badd.

Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Luke Perry Things continue to plug along at a rapid and highly dramatic pace in season three for the privileged teens of Aaron Spelling's 90's TV classic Beverly Hills 90210. This season the gang tackles eating disorders, gambling addiction, birth, death, incest, infidelity, car accidents, racism, homelessness, and one whopper of a love triangle, along with, of course, the standard high school fare of college applications, SAT scores, and graduation anxiety. 90210 continues to revolve around Minnesota transplants Brandon (Jason Preistley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannon Doherty), though with every season the twins’ Midwestern roots seem to matter a little less. The summer before senior year begins with Brenda and boyfriend Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) still deeply in love, much to the chagrin of Brenda's disapproving parents. To force a little distance, they send Brenda to Paris for the summer with Donna (Tori Spelling), herself the subject of an enjoyable and incredibly absurd French modeling subplot—while halfway around the world Dylan and Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) discover a growing mutual attraction and begin an illicit summer fling. But it’s clear the love triangle between Dylan and best friends Brenda and Kelly remains the heart of the show. Taking a break from all the drama, there are some entertaining subplots this year, many of them involving surprising guest stars (before they were stars), including Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), David Arquette (Scream), and Dean Cain (Lois & Clark).

As in the first two seasons released on DVD, the lack of the original early 90's music is a major disappointment, but the entertainment value doesn't suffer for it. The highlight of the special features is the return of VH-1's John Aboud and Michael Colton. The two comedians' hilarious lampooning of season three in "Everything You Need to Know About Beverly Hills 90210 - Season Three" gently mocks some of the more outlandish dream sequences, Brenda's horrible French accent, and of course, the ridiculousness of many of these highly entertaining but entirely silly plot-lines. Beverly Hills 90210 - Season Three is addictive as ever and incredibly fun to watch - a time capsule, over-the-top soap opera and teen drama trailblazer all rolled into one. —Kira Canny

Synopsis
Television producer extraordinaire Aaron Spelling launched a pop-culture phenomenon with his 1990s teen soap opera Beverly Hills 90210, a landmark series that not only set the standard for '90s teen culture, but single-handedly wrote the rulebook for later shows like Dawson's Creek and The O.C. Created by Darren Star, the glitzy series chronicles the coming-of-age dramas of Minnesota siblings Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) as they adjust to their new affluent surroundings, where they attend the fictional West Beverly High with a tight-knit group of teenage friends: good-natured jock Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering); brainy good-girl Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris); naive virgin Donna Martin (Tori Spelling); aspiring DJ David Silver (Brian Austin Green); blonde siren Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth); and troubled bad-boy Dylan McKay (Luke Perry). The series attempts social commentary by crafting storylines that feature a wide range of issues affecting '90s youths, including alcoholism, drug abuse, sex, and depression. Groundbreaking and iconic, 90210's third series is presented here in its entirety.

Tori Spelling, Luke Perry

Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling The most popular zip code of the '90s changes dramatically in the fifth season, the halfway point of the show's 10-year run. With the departure of one of the primary characters—Brenda Walsh (Shannon Doherty)—multiple new faces arrive (and stick around) on Beverly Hills 90210 for the first time. The most well-known and well-remembered is Tiffani Thiessen as bad girl Valerie Malone, an old family friend of the Walshes, who arrives in Beverly Hills seeking refuge after her father's suicide. Valerie almost immediately becomes the love interest of both Steve (Ian Ziering) and Dylan (Luke Perry) and displays a penchant for smoking pot in the Walsh's house and shooting pool in comically seedy pool halls in the middle of the day. The two other new romantic storylines feature Kathleen Robertson as Clare Arnold, first seen as Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley)'s stalker and eventually as David Silver's (Brian Austin Green) rebound girl after he breaks up with Tori Spelling's Donna (who's holding onto her virginity until marriage); and Jamie "How Do You Talk to an Angel?" Walters as working-class Ray Pruit, the new boyfriend of Donna. Season five firmly establishes the new 90210 soap-opera formula and shifts from message-driven plotlines to character-based action. Perry definitely has some of the finest moments this season as we find him completely broke and fallen very far off the wagon. From alcohol to cocaine to heroin to rehab, Dylan hits bottom with a car crash and we're forced to endure one of the most ridiculous (but accidently hilarious) episodes in Beverly Hills 90210 history: "The Dreams of Dylan McKay." The other characters don't have nearly as dramatic storylines this season, but there's still plenty of action. Brandon and Kelly (Jennie Garth) are figuring out how to be in a relationship while he's constantly fighting bureaucracy and special interests in campus politics. Donna is falling in love with Ray, but finding out a bit too late that he's not quite who she thought he was. Things get a lot more ridiculous, amusing and fun this season and 90210 remains as compulsively watchable as ever.—-Kira Canny

Television producer extraordinaire Aaron Spelling launched a pop-culture phenomenon with his 1990s teen soap opera BEVERLY HILLS 90210, a landmark series that not only set the standard for '90s teen culture, but singlehandedly wrote the template for later shows like DAWSON'S CREEK and THE O.C. Created by Darren Star, the glitzy series chronicled the coming-of-age dramas of Minnesota siblings Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) as they adjusted to their new lives in the affluent environs of the title's postcode, where they attended the fictional West Beverly High with a tight-knit group of teenage friends: good natured jock Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering); naive virgin Donna Martin (Tori Spelling); aspiring DJ David Silver (Brian Austin Green); blonde siren Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth); and troubled bad-boy Dylan McKay (Luke Perry). Like DEGRASSI, the series attempted social commentary by crafting storylines featuring a wide range of issues affecting '90s teens, including alcoholism, drug abuse, sex, and depression. This eighth series continues the social drama and love affairs as the privileged pals brave the pressures of the adult world.

Untertitel: Englisch, Französisch, Niederländisch

Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Charles Correll

Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Tim Burton After a string of mediocre movies, director Tim Burton regains his footing as he shifts from macabre fairy tales to southern tall tales. Big Fish twines in and out of the oversized stories of Edward Bloom, played as a young man by Ewan McGregor and as a dying father by Albert Finney. Edward's son Will (Billy Crudup) sits by his father's bedside but has little patience with the old man's fables, because he feels these stories have kept him from knowing who his father really is. Burton dives into Bloom's imagination with zest, sending the determined young man into haunted woods, an idealised southern town, a travelling circus and much more. The result is sweet but—thanks to the director's dark and clever sensibility—never saccharine. The film also features Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Danny DeVito and Steve Buscemi. —Bret Fetzer

David S. Goyer

Guillermo del Toro Aptly described by critic Roger Ebert as "a vomitorium of viscera", Blade IItakes the express route to sequel success. So if you enjoyed Blade, you'll probably drool over this monster mash, which is anything but boring. Set (and filmed) in Prague, the plot finds a new crop of "Reaper" vampires threatening to implement a viral breeding program, and they're nearly impervious to attacks by Blade (Wesley Snipes), his now-revived mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), and a small army of "normal" vampires who routinely combust in a constant conflagration of spectacular special effects. It's up to Blade to conquer the über-vamps, and both Snipes and director Guillermo del Toro (Mimic) serve up a nonstop smorgasbord of intensely choreographed action, creepy makeup, and graphic ultra-violence, with the ever-imposing Ron Perlman as a vampire villain. It's sadistic, juvenile, numbing, and—for those who dig this kind of thing—undeniably impressive. —Jeff Shannon

Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz This volume contains seasons 1-4 of Bones.

Season 4: A show that continues to go from strength to strength, Bones is based around the character of forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (a creation of author Kathy Reichs) and FBI Special Agent Seely Booth, who between them must use forensic science to get to the bottom of some particularly gruesome crimes.

Season four of Bones finds the show in particularly rich form. Brennan and Booth have a variety of different cases to tackle, as you’d expect, backed up with exposition about earlier events and many interesting new developments. It’d be remiss to spoil them here, but Bones, to its credit, manages to be as fresh and as interesting as when it first arrived.

What helps gives the show a distinction is its marriage of genres. At its heart, it’s a hard-nailed crime show, but it effortlessly weaves in comedy, romance and some very impressive twists, with an undercurrent of unpredictability that serves it well. The writers clearly had their thinking caps on for season four, too, and while there are one or two lulls, they’re easily compensated for by some very impressive episodes. The relationship between Brennan and Booth clearly sits at the core of the show, and even that—appreciating that television has taken us down similar roads in the past—is interesting to watch, and well realised.

Bones might, at first glance, be easy to dismiss as just another crime show. But there’s genuinely impressive work going on here, and some very smart writing. If it’s at this level of quality four seasons in, then Bones has a very bright future ahead of it. —Jon Foster

Joe Berlinger

Troy Duffy With the advent of satellite broadcasting resurrecting the art of the TV movie, films like the invigorating The Boondock Saintsare becoming more frequent. Made for Sky, the movie eschews big-screen production values but is still good value for money. Although the story of two Irish-American brothers who set out on a believed divine mission to wipe out the worst of the criminal element of Boston at times seems like an imitation of the superb Dogma, both films were actually made in the same year. The film is not without its faults, notably the poor performances of Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as the two brothers—both of whom adopt ludicrous Irish accents. Far better is Willem Dafoe, who steals the show as FBI agent Smecker, and the manic David Della Rocco. Still, The Boondock Saintsis highly watchable and keeps the viewer interested throughout with a strong story, frequent black humour and arresting visuals. And there aren't many places where you will come across Billy Connolly as a Mafia contract killer. —Phil Udell

Peter Jackson If you're not a connoisseur of graphic horror and gruesome gore, you'd better steer clear of Braindead, a wicked 1992 horror-comedy from the demented mind and delirious camera of writer-director Peter Jackson, years before he went on to mainstream success with The Lord of the Rings. However, if non-stop mayhem and extreme violence are your idea of great entertainment, you're sure to appreciate Jackson's gleefully inventive approach to a story that can judiciously be described as sick, twisted and totally outrageous. The movie's central character is a poor schmuck named Lionel who's practically enslaved to his domineering mother. But when ol' Mum gets bitten by a rare and poisonous rat monkey from Skull Island and is turned into a flesh-eating zombie, Lionel has the unfortunate task of keeping Mama happy while fending off all the other zombies that result from her voracious feeding frenzies. If you've read this far, you'll either be crying out for censorship or eagerly awaiting your first viewing (or second, or third...) of this wildly clever and audaciously uninhibited movie. While director Jackson would later achieve far greater critical and box-office successes, his talent is readily evident in this earlier effort. If you find this kind of thing even remotely appealing, consider Braindeada must-see movie. —Jeff Shannon

Francis Ford Coppola With dizzying cinematic tricks and astonishing performances, Francis Coppola's 1992 version of the oft-filmed Dracula story is one of the most exuberant, extravagant films of the 1990s. Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder, as the Count and Mina Murray, are quite a pair of star-crossed lovers. She's betrothed to another man; he can't kick the habit of feeding off the living. Anthony Hopkins plays Van Helsing, the vampire slayer, with tongue firmly in cheek. Tom Waits is great fun as Renfield, the hapless slave of Dracula who craves the blood of insects and cats. Sadie Frost is a sexy Lucy Westenra. And poor Keanu Reeves, as Jonathan Harker, has the misfortune to be seduced by Dracula's three half-naked wives. There's a little bit of everything in this version of Dracula: gore, high-speed horseback chases, passion and longing.

Sarah Nean Bruce Eduardo Durao

Vince Vaughn, John Michael Higgins, Peyton Reed The combined star power of Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers, Swingers) and Jennifer Aniston (Bruce Almighty, The Good Girl) makes The Break-Up a high-profile romantic comedy. Gary (Vaughn) and Brooke (Aniston) find that their brittle relationship may have reached the breaking point—but neither is willing to give up the condo they co-own. As their fighting grows increasingly bitter, neither is sure if they're fighting to get out of the relationship or to save it. The Break-Up is an odd combination of realistic scenes that capture the harsh yet human ways that lovers can hurt each other, and broad comic scenes with a more farcical edge. Both types of scenes are entertaining on their own terms—the movie is never boring—but they don't fully mesh, and as a result it's hard to engage emotionally with either Gary or Brooke. But the sterling supporting cast—including Jon Favreau (Wimbledon), Cole Hauser (The Cave), Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy), John Michael Higgins (A Mighty Wind), Justin Long (Dodgeball), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Vincent D'Onofrio (Happy Accidents), and the ever-delirious Judy Davis (Husbands and Wives)—give every scene they're in a boost of comic energy. An uneven but enjoyable movie that may suffer from viewers having overly high expectations due to Vaughn and Aniston's celebrity. —Bret Fetzer

Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, Sharon Maguire, Beeban Kidron Bridget Jones's Diary

Featuring a blowzy, winningly inept size-12 heroine, Bridget Jones's Diary is a fetching adaptation of Helen Fielding's runaway bestseller, grittier than Ally McBeal but sweeter than Sex and the City. The normally sylphlike Renée Zellweger (Nurse Betty, Me, Myself and Irene) wolfed pasta to gain poundage to play "singleton" Bridget, a London-based publicist who divides her free time between binge eating in front of the TV, downing Chardonnay with her friends, and updating the diary in which she records her negligible weight fluctuations and romantic misadventures of the year. Things start off badly at Christmas when her mother tries to set her up with seemingly standoffish lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), whom Bridget accidentally overhears dissing her. Instead she embarks on a disastrous liaison with her raffish boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, infinitely more likeable when he's playing a baddie instead of his patented tongue-tied fops). Eventually, Bridget comes to wonder if she's let her pride prejudice her against the surprisingly attractive Mr. Darcy.

If the plot sounds familiar, that's because Fielding's novel was itself a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, whose romantic male lead is also named Mr. Darcy. An extra ironic poke in the ribs is added by the casting of Firth, who played Austen's haughty hero in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Austen's novel. First-time director Sharon Maguire directs with confident comic zest, while Zellweger twinkles charmingly, fearlessly baring her cellulite and pulling off a spot-on English accent. Like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill (both of which were written by this film's coscreenwriter, Richard Curtis), Bridget Jones's stock-in-trade is a very English self-deprecating sense of humour, a mild suspicion of Americans (especially if they're thin and successful), and a subtly expressed analysis of thirtysomething fears about growing up and becoming a "smug married." The whole is, as Bridget would say, v. good. —Leslie Felperin

Bridget Jones 2: The Edge Of Reason

Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters—all four of them!—are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy—a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous—with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. —Steve Wiecking

Peyton Reed An unexpected box office hit in the late summer of 2000, Bring It On is a smart, snappy teen comedy that bristles with good cheer (literally) and lively, down-to-earth characters. Sunny, happy Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) is the new leader of the Toros, the cheerleading squad of Rancho Carne, an affluent San Diego high school that has lousy football players but one hell of a cheerleading team. National champions, they're the ones who bring in the bodies to the football games with their award-winning moves and sassy grace, and they're poised to take their sixth national cheer title. Torrance's new reign as cheer queen, though, is cut short when she discovers that her snotty, duplicitous forerunner was regularly stealing routines from the East Compton Clovers, the hip-hop influenced cheerleaders of a poor inner city school, and passing them off as the original work of the Toros. Scrambling to come up with a new routine for the Toros—and do the right thing by giving the Clovers their due—Torrance butts heads with the proud and understandably wary Isis (Gabrielle Union), the leader of the Clovers, who wants nothing to do with a rich blonde white girl, but does want to get her squad to the championships. Problem is, only one team can take home the national title. Who's it gonna be? The story may be fairly predictable (who's going to win the big championship?), but director Peyton Reed and screenwriter Jessica Bendinger have fleshed out their characters with formidable strength and provided them with sharp dialogue. Dunst is a radiant comedienne, projecting warmth, determination, sincerity, and a sublime airheadedness, and Union is an impressive dancer and counterpart to Dunst, matching her admirably despite her limited onscreen time. An excellent young supporting cast rounds out the film, most notably Eliza Dushku (Faith of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Jesse Bradford (Steven Soderbergh's King of the Hill) as siblings new to Rancho Carne, who become Torrance's best friend and potential new boyfriend, respectively. All in all, a pleasantly surprising and intelligent teen movie. —Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Peyton Reed An unexpected box office hit in the late summer of 2000, Bring It On is a smart, snappy teen comedy that bristles with good cheer (literally) and lively, down-to-earth characters. Sunny, happy Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) is the new leader of the Toros, the cheerleading squad of Rancho Carne, an affluent San Diego high school that has lousy football players but one hell of a cheerleading team. National champions, they're the ones who bring in the bodies to the football games with their award-winning moves and sassy grace, and they're poised to take their sixth national cheer title. Torrance's new reign as cheer queen, though, is cut short when she discovers that her snotty, duplicitous forerunner was regularly stealing routines from the East Compton Clovers, the hip-hop influenced cheerleaders of a poor inner city school, and passing them off as the original work of the Toros. Scrambling to come up with a new routine for the Toros—and do the right thing by giving the Clovers their due—Torrance butts heads with the proud and understandably wary Isis (Gabrielle Union), the leader of the Clovers, who wants nothing to do with a rich blonde white girl, but does want to get her squad to the championships. Problem is, only one team can take home the national title. Who's it gonna be? The story may be fairly predictable (who's going to win the big championship?), but director Peyton Reed and screenwriter Jessica Bendinger have fleshed out their characters with formidable strength and provided them with sharp dialogue. Dunst is a radiant comedienne, projecting warmth, determination, sincerity, and a sublime airheadedness, and Union is an impressive dancer and counterpart to Dunst, matching her admirably despite her limited onscreen time. An excellent young supporting cast rounds out the film, most notably Eliza Dushku (Faith of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Jesse Bradford (Steven Soderbergh's King of the Hill) as siblings new to Rancho Carne, who become Torrance's best friend and potential new boyfriend, respectively. All in all, a pleasantly surprising and intelligent teen movie. —Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Martin Scorsese Reuniting the "dream team" of director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter (and esteemed director in his own right) Paul Schrader—the men who brought you Taxi Driverand Raging Bull—Bringing Out the Deadprovoked outrageously high expectations on its theatrical release. But when this brown-paper parcel of a film was unwrapped by critics and film-goers, the collective Christmas-morning sigh of disappointment was all but audible. Sure, there's lots of blood but where are all the guns, the wise guys cracking wise, the filmic fireworks most people expect from a Scorsese movie? But shake the wrapping a bit and out rolls a tiny, perfect parable about New York City ambulance driver Frank (Nicolas Cage) who finds grace just when he seems to have hit rock bottom.

Deprived of sleep, wired on speed of kinds, haunted by visions of a homeless girl he couldn't save, like Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle, Frank roams the neon-spackled streets despairing at the decay around him. He's as war-torn by the ravages of the 1980s (the film is set in the early 1990s, before Mayor Giuliani got tough on crime) as Travis was by Vietnam's after effects. But Frank's problem is too much empathy, not alienation, and at least he's not as crazy as his co-drivers—one addicted to food (John Goodman), one to religion (Ving Rhames) and one to drugs and violence (Tom Sizemore)—each colleague more hilarious and frightening than the last. This is a story of a man who thought he could not take it anymore, one wracked by guilt and regret, who ends up being redeemed by—it's a movie cliché, and yet it just about works here—the love of a good woman (Patricia Arquette).

Bringing Out the Deadmay lack the glamorous, adolescent angst of Taxi Driverand eschew the rigorous dissection of masculinity that distinguished Raging Bullbut it has its own quieter virtues and just as much visual bravura. Watching it on the small screen gives you more time to absorb its moral subtleties, its spectacular time-lapse photography and, like all great Scorsese movies, its hysterical stretches of black humour (Rhames' character's attempt to raise a seemingly dead clubber is a particular highlight). It may not be one of the director's, or even the screenwriter's, best films, but it still towers above most of the dross churned out by Hollywood every year and remains indispensable viewing for anyone serious about cinema. —Leslie Felperin

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Bruce Seth Green, David Greenwalt, David Semel, David Solomon, Deran Sarafian After the first season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer became a ratings success the show was renewed with a bigger budget and twice as many episodes. Seeds are sown through the early episodes for many of the stunning plot developments later in the season: there's a slow burn for the relationships building between Buffy and Angel (no surprise), Giles and Jenny (nice surprise), and Xander and Cordelia (huge surprise). Most importantly, we're introduced to important semi-regulars Spike and Drusilla ("School Hard"), Oz ("Inca Mummy Girl") and fellow Slayer Kendra ("What's My Line Part 1"). Their appearances tackle youth issues such as sibling rivalry, sexual maturity and rejection.

But nothing that came before it prepared audiences for the latter half of season 2. In the extraordinary double act of "Surprise" and "Innocence" every aspect of the show grows up in a big hurry: the result of Buffy sleeping with Angel is a series of tragedies everyone is powerless to predict or prevent, a piece of powerful storytelling conveyed with pared-down dialogue and remarkable performances from the young cast. All of these threads are tied together then torn apart by the two-part finale "Becoming". With a cliffhanger ending to rival The Empire Strikes Back, the second chapter of Buffy The Vampire Slayer closes in tantalising style leaving everything at stake. —Paul Tonks

On the DVD: The computer-animated menu opens this gorgeous box set in style with a tour through a dark and oppressive cemetery, a lavish display of graphics that's all the more impressive when compared to the uneventful DVD for the first season. Most of the extra features are concentrated on the last disc, which includes the obligatory biographies, trailers and TV spots that add little value to hardcore fans but serve as a good introduction to the world of Buffy for non-adepts. The three featurettes are captivating: "Designing Buffy" offers a wealth of information about the set designs, and even includes a walk through of Buffy's home; "A Buffy Bestiary" features every monster from the second season, and "Beauty and the Beats" explores the make-up artistry and special effects. There are also brief cast interviews, in which James Masters ("Spike") reveals his American accent. All in all the extras make a worthy accompaniment to the spectacular season 2 episodes, though one might regret that Joss Whedon did not offer a commentary on the double bill season finale "Becoming". —Celine Martig

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, David Greenwalt, David Grossman, David Semel, David Solomon, James A. Contner Action-packed Season Three develops major characters and plot lines brewing over the last couple of years. The Mayor, this season's major baddie, wants to become an invincible demon by slaughtering everyone at Sunnydale High's graduation ceremony but he's going to torture them all by giving his speech first. Bad-girl vampire-slayer Faith wants to get one over on Buffy and becomes even more rotten. Angel comes back from hell but isn't sure what to do about his girlfriend. Willow meets her evil gay vampire duplicate from another dimension. Xander loses his virginity but still has to contemplate his essential uselessness. Cordelia gets less whiny and has to work in a dress-shop when her father becomes bankrupt. Giles wears tweed and drinks tea, though it is revealed that he used to be a warlock and in a punk band. Besides the soap opera, there are monsters, curses and vampires (inevitably). —Kim Newman

On the DVD: The DVDs are presented in a standard television 4:3 picture ratio and in a clear Dolby sound that does full justice both to the sparkling dialogue and to the always impressive indie-rock and orchestral scores. Special features include an overview of Season Three by its creator Joss Whedon, and by writers Marti Noxon, David Fury, Doug Petrie and Jane Espenson and documentaries on the weapons, clothes special effects of the show and the speech/verbal tone which makes it what it is-"Buffyspeak". The episodes "Helpless", "Bad Girls", "Consequences" and "Earshot" have commentaries by, Fury, Petrie, director James Gershman and Espenson, in which we find out some fascinating details about the way the scripts mutate and about the particular illuminations added to scripts by actors' performances. After complaints about the Season 2 DVD packaging, the disc envelopes include a protective coating. —Roz Kaveney

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Christopher Hibler, Daniel Attias, David Grossman, David Solomon, James A. Contner The fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about illusions and the truth that they often reveal; suddenly Buffy has a younger sister, has always had a younger sister. Michelle Trachtenberg as the moody, gawky Dawn achieves the considerable triumph of walking into an established stock company of well-known characters—Xander, Willow, Giles and so on—with the perfect assurance of a long-term member of the cast. Of course, nothing is as it seems; even Glory, the mad brain-sucking beauty in a red dress who is the villain of the year, turns out to be even more than she seems. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy manages to convey heartbreak, self-involvement and real heroism as her relationship with her emotionally dense soldier boyfriend Riley hits the shoals and the blonde vampire Spike starts to show an altogether inappropriate interest.

This season is also about the hard truth that there are some enemies it is impossible to fight. Even being around Buffy and Dawn is dangerous for their friends, as Glory and her minions proceed by a process of elimination. The eventual confrontation, when it comes, is genuinely shocking. Meanwhile, the vampire Spike's obsessed desire for Buffy takes them both to some very strange places and Willow and Tara have their love tested in the most gruelling of ways. And in the quietly upsetting episode "The Body", the cast produce their most impressive performances yet as they have to deal with another enemy they cannot fight. —Roz Kaveney

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon The sixth series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer followed the logic of plot and character development into some gloomy places. The year begins with Buffy being raised from the dead by the friends who miss her, but who fail to understand that a sacrifice taken back is a sacrifice negated. Dragged out of what she believes to have been heavenly bliss, she finds herself "going through the motions" and entering into a relationship with the evil, besotted vampire Spike just to force her emotions.

Willow becomes ever more caught up in the temptations of magic; Xander and Anya move towards marriage without ever discussing their reservations; Giles feels he is standing in the way of Buffy's adult independence; Dawn feels neglected. What none of them need is a menace that is, at this point, simply annoying—three high school contemporaries who have turned their hand to magical and high-tech villainy. Added to this is a hungry ghost, an invisibility ray, an amnesia spell and a song-and-dance demon (who acts as rationale for the incomparable musical episode "Once More With Feeling").

This is a year in which chickens come home to roost: everything from the villainy of the three geeks to Xander's doubts about marriage come to a head, often—as in the case of the impressive wedding episode—through wildly dark humour. The estrangement of the characters from each other—a well-observed portrait of what happens to college pals in their early 20s—comes to a shocking head with the death of a major character and that death's apocalyptic consequences. The series ends on a consoling note which it has, by that point and in spite of imperfections, entirely earned. —Roz Kaveney

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon The seventh and final series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer begins with a mystery: someone is murdering teenage girls all over the world and something is trying hard to drive Spike mad. Buffy is considerably more cheerful in these episodes than we have seen her during the previous year as she trains Dawn and gets a job as student counsellor at the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High. Willow is recovering from the magical addiction which almost led her to destroy the world, but all is not yet well with her, or with Anya, who has returned to being a Vengeance demon in "Same Time, Same Place" and "Selfless", and both women are haunted by their decisions.

Haunting of a different kind comes in the excellent "Conversations with Dead People" (one of the show's most terrifying episodes ever) where a mysterious song is making Spike kill again in spite of his soul and his chip. Giles turns up in "Bring on the Night" and Buffy has to fight one of the deadliest vampires of her career in "Showtime". In "Potential" Dawn faces a fundamental reassessment of her purpose in life.

Buffy was always a show about female empowerment, but it was also a show about how quite ordinary people can decide to make a difference alongside people who are special. And it was also a show about people making up for past errors and crimes. So, for example, we have the excellent episodes "Storyteller", in which the former geek/super villain Andrew sorts out his redemption while making a video diary about life with Buffy; and "Lies My Parents Told Me", in which we find out why a particular folk song sends Spike crazy. Redemption abounds as Faith returns to Sunnydale and the friends she once betrayed, and Willow finds herself turning into the man she flayed. Above all, this was always Buffy's show: Sarah Michelle Gellar does extraordinary work here both as Buffy and as her ultimate shadow, the First Evil, who takes her face to mock her. This is a fine ending to one of television's most remarkable shows. —Roz Kaveney

Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber

William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger

William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger Exclusively available at Amazon.co.uk, this box set contains the complete second series of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

The second series consolidates the show's well-deserved popular appeal, while beginning to explore (gently at first) beneath the slickly professional surface of the investigators themselves. Gradually we learn more about what makes Grissom and his astonishingly gifted forensics team tick, beyond merely that they are workaholics who seem to require no sleep at all. The show's trademark reveals of vital evidence—be it on the autopsy slab or under the microscope—add a fresh spin to what is, at heart, a good old-fashioned whodunit series. And just when CSI starts to seem a little too pat, just when the trail of clues seems too neat, the show always seems able to throw a surprise or two at us: perhaps there has been no crime after all; perhaps the evidence concerns a completely different crime altogether; or perhaps, as in one brave episode concerning brothers implicated in multiple murders, the evidence simply isn't good enough to convict the right man, even when Grissom knows which one really is guilty.

Thanks to its focus on more single-case episodes, the latter episodes provide an even more highly concentrated dose of forensic puzzle-solving. With the whole team working together on one puzzle crime (or series of crime puzzles), the group dynamic is elaborated and the audience drawn deeper into each investigation. "Identity Crisis" sees the return of Grissom's nemesis, serial killer Paul Millander; in "The Finger", Catherine is caught up in an elaborate kidnap plot; in "Burden of Proof", a stray body in a "body farm" leads to a difficult case of child abuse; while "Chasing the Bus" brings the team together to unravel the mystery of a bus crash in the desert. "Stalker" is possibly the show's most terrifying episode to date, with a woman found murdered behind the safely locked doors of her apartment. The season concludes with "Cross Jurisdictions", a rather unsubtle way of introducing the spin-off show CSI: Miami and, finally, "The Hunger Artist", a somewhat strained attempt to comment on our society's obsession with glamour and self-image. —Mark Walker

William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger Now firmly established as one of the top-rated television dramas, by its third year CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a show positively glowing with confidence. Even when individual cases seem either too contrived or too easily resolved, the indefatigable night shift at the Las Vegas PD crime lab always look the part, solving conundrums and discovering microscopic damning evidence while, apparently, never shedding their own loose hair or skin cells all over the supposedly quarantined crime scenes. In reality, Catherine Willows' flowing blonde locks would contaminate any evidence she collected, but in the world of CSI only the bad guys leave body parts behind—the CSIs themselves are so good they're positively pristine.

The 23 episodes of season 3 on this five-disc set present more deliciously bizarre situations for the problem-solving sleuths: cannibalism, snuff movies, dwarfs, death while drag racing, bodies falling from the sky, and various dismemberments all tax the team's acumen. These are all double or multiple-case episodes, though in a characteristic trick of the writing sometimes apparently unrelated murders turn out to be connected (or vice versa, as in "Blood Lust," in which a road-accident victim is not what he seems, and the death of the driver at the hands of an angry mob is made all the more tragic). The mix of genuine forensic science with the glossiest Jerry Bruckheimer production values, plus the virtues of a good ensemble cast headed by William Peterson's modern-day Sherlock Holmes, remains as compelling as ever. —Mark Walker

William L. Petersen, Marg Helgenberger

William L. Petersen, Marg Helgenberger

William L. Petersen, Marg Helgenberger

David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone Some people go all through their career without managing to land even one memorable role. Thanks to Californication, David Duchovny has now chalked up two. Yet Hank Moody is as far removed from The X-Files' Fox Mulder as you can pretty much get. That's because Moody is a successful author, only one with a real eye for the opposite sex. He's a man caught in the midst of a troubled life, on one hand a father, on the other dabbling with the odd drink (to put it mildly). And it's the complexity of the character that Duchovny clearly has a ball with, lifting Californication into must-see territory in the process.

A real show out of nowhere, Californication though has so much more going for it. The scripts veer between very funny moments and areas that other shows wouldn't go anywhere near, while the supporting cast do ably up their game to keep up with the leading man.

The full first season of Californication is presented here, and it's fair to say it leaves you salivating for more. An individual, entertaining and very funny show, this is one of those occasions where the hype surrounding a programme is there to be believed. Don't miss it. —Jon Foster

Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Paul Hirsch, Brian De Palma This terrifying adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling horror novel was directed by shock maestro Brian De Palma for maximum, no-holds-barred effect. Sissy Spacek stars as Carrie White, the beleaguered daughter of a religious kook (Piper Laurie) and a social outcast tormented by her cruel, insensitive classmates. When her rage turns into telekinetic powers, however, school's out in every sense of the word. De Palma's horrific climax in a school gym lingers forever in the memory, though the film is also built upon Spacek's remarkable performance and Piper Laurie's outlandishly creepy one. John Travolta has a small part as a thug, De Palma's future wife, Nancy Allen, is his girlfriend, and Amy Irving makes her screen debut as one of the girls giving Carrie a hard time.—Tom Keogh

Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci, Brad Silberling The 1995 family film Casper tries to put a fun spin on the story of a paranormalist and widower (Bill Pullman) who moves into a new house with his daughter (Christina Ricci) and meets up with the ghost of a dead little boy. Based on the comic book about Casper the friendly ghost, the film is a dreary series of awkward interactions between live actors and computer effects, and you can almost see Pullman and Ricci reconsidering the project while on camera. A few cameo appearances from uncredited stars help things a bit. But there's no way, based on this film, that one could have guessed that its director, Brad Silberling, would go on to make the exceptional drama City of Angels. This special edition DVD release includes a director's commentary and exhaustive 47-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, plus games and DVD-ROM content for the kids. —Tom Keogh

David Twohy Bigger isn't always better, but for anyone who enjoyed Pitch Black, a nominal sequel like The Chronicles of Riddickshould prove adequately entertaining. Writer-director David Twohy returns with expansive sets, detailed costumes, an army of CGI effects artists, and the star he helped launch—Vin Diesel—bearing his franchise burden quite nicely as he reprises his title role. The Furian renegade Riddick has another bounty on his head, but when he escapes from his mercenary captors, he's plunged into an epic-scale war waged by the Necromongers. A fascist master race led by Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), they're determined to conquer all enemies in their quest for the Underverse, the appeal of which is largely unexplained (since Twohy is presumably reserving details for subsequent "chronicles"). With tissue-thin plotting, scant character development, and skimpy roles that waste the talents of Thandie Newton (as a Necromonger conspirator) and Judi Dench (as a wispy "Elemental" priestess), Twohy's back in the B-movie territory he started in (with The Arrival), brought to vivid life on a vast digital landscape with the conceptual allure of a lavish graphic novel. But does Riddick have leadership skills on his resumé? To get an answer to that question, sci-fi fans will welcome another sequel. —Jeff Shannon

Mark L. Lester

Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Stanley Kubrick The controversy that surrounded Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange while the film was out of circulation suggested that it was like Romper Stomper: a glamorisation of the violent, virile lifestyle of its teenage protagonist, with a hypocritical gloss of condemnation to mask delight in rape and ultra-violence. Actually, it is as fable-like and abstract as The Pilgrim's Progress, with characters deliberately played as goonish sitcom creations. The anarchic rampage of Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a bowler-hatted juvenile delinquent of the future, is all over at the end of the first act. Apprehended by equally brutal authorities, he changes from defiant thug to cringing bootlicker, volunteering for a behaviourist experiment that removes his capacity to do evil.

It's all stylised: from Burgess' invented pidgin Russian (snarled unforgettably by McDowell) to 2001-style slow tracks through sculpturally perfect sets (as with many Kubrick movies, the story could be told through decor alone) and exaggerated, grotesque performances on a par with those of Dr Strangelove (especially from Patrick Magee and Aubrey Morris). Made in 1971, based on a novel from 1962, A Clockwork Orange resonates across the years. Its future is now quaint, with Magee pecking out "subversive literature" on a giant IBM typewriter and "lovely, lovely Ludwig Van" on mini-cassette tapes. However, the world of "Municipal Flat Block 18A, Linear North" is very much with us: a housing estate where classical murals are obscenely vandalised, passers-by are rare and yobs loll about with nothing better to do than hurt people.

On the DVD: The extras are skimpy, with just an impressionist trailer in the style of the film used to brainwash Alex and a list of awards for which Clockwork Orange was nominated and awarded. The box promises soundtracks in English, French and Italian and subtitles in ten languages, but the disc just has two English soundtracks (mono and Dolby Surround 5.1) and two sets of English subtitles. The terrific-looking "digitally restored and remastered" print is letterboxed at 1.66:1 and on a widescreen TV plays best at 14:9. The film looks as good as it ever has, with rich stable colours (especially and appropriately the orangey-red of the credits and the blood) and a clarity that highlights previously unnoticed details such as Alex's gouged eyeball cufflinks and enables you to read the newspaper articles which flash by. The 5.1 soundtrack option is amazingly rich, benefiting the nuances of performance as much as the classical/electronic music score and the subtly unsettling sound effects. —Kim Newman

Cloverfield - Limited Edition DVD with Exclusive Collectible steelbook packaging.

Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Francis Lawrence In the grand scheme of theological thrillers, Constantine aspires for the greatness of The Exorcist but ranks more closely with The Order. Based on the popular Hellblazer comic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran Francis Lawrence, it's basically The Matrix with swarming demons instead of swarming machines. Keanu Reeves slightly modifies his Matrix persona as John Constantine, who roams the dark-spots of Los Angeles looking for good-evil, angel-devil half-breeds to ensure that "the balance" between God and Satan is properly maintained. An ancient artifact and the detective twin of a woman who committed evil-induced suicide (Rachel Weisz) factor into the plot, which is taken so seriously that you'll want to stand up and cheer when Tilda Swinton swoops down as the cross-dressing angel Gabriel and turns this silliness into the camp-fest it really is. The digital effects are way cool (dig those hellspawn with the tops of their heads lopped off!), so if you don't mind a juvenile lesson in pseudo-Catholic salvation, Constantine is just the movie for you! —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Robert Zemeckis The opening and closing moments of Robert (Forrest Gump) Zemeckis's Contactastonish viewers with the sort of breathtaking conceptual imagery one hardly ever sees in movies these day—each is an expression of the heroine's lifelong quest (both spiritual and scientific) to explore the meaning of human existence through contact with extraterrestrial life. The movie begins by soaring far out into space, then returns dizzyingly to earth until all the stars in the heavens condense into the sparkle in one little girl's eye. It ends with that same girl as an adult (Jodie Foster)—her search having taken her to places beyond her imagination—turning her gaze inward and seeing the universe in a handful of sand. Contacttraces the journey between those two visual epiphanies. Based on Carl Sagan's novel, Contactis exceptionally thoughtful and provocative for a big-budget Hollywood science fiction picture, with elements that recall everything from 2001to The Right Stuff. Foster's solid performance (and some really incredible alien hardware) keep viewers interested, even when the story skips and meanders, or when the halo around the golden locks of rising-star-of-a-different-kind Matthew McConaughey (as the pure-Hollywood-hokum love interest)reaches Milky Way-level wattage. Ambitious, ambiguous, pretentious, unpredictable—Contactis all of these things and more. Much of it remains open to speculation and interpretation but whatever conclusions one eventually draws, Contactdeserves recognition as a rare piece of big-budget studio film making on a personal scale. —Jim Emerson

Kate Isitt, Gina Bellman This witty, instantly addictive British series could also be called Chaps or Squelchy in the City. Coupling charts the tangled sex lives of a close-knit group comprising "exes and best friends": womanizer Jack, hapless nice guy Steve, "strange and disturbing" Jeff, uninhibited Susan, neurotic Sally, and manipulative Jane. Coupling may inspire feelings of déjà-vu. The obvious frame of reference is Friends (Steve and Susan are the Ross-Rachel equivalent), but this series also echoes Seinfeld in its coinage of catch-phrases (although it's doubtful that "the boyfriend zone" will replace "master of your domain") and plotlines (in episode one, Steve tries to dump Jane, who refuses to accept). But Coupling has its own fresh and provocative takes on relationships. At one point, a furious Susan discovers that Patrick not only had a videotape of the former couple having sex, but that he also taped over her.

In Steven Moffat's second season, there's a brilliant consolidation of all the neuroses, small deceits, obsessions, and personality ticks that struck such a resonant chord when Steve, Susan, and their four friends were first unleashed on us. The success of this is due to the magical combination of Moffat's very funny scripts and the talents of six extremely likeable actors, including Jack Davenport (Steve) and Sarah Alexander (Susan). But it's Richard Coyle's Jeff whose sexual fantasies exert a compelling fascination that will really keep you watching in disbelief. Breasts, bottoms and pants are the basis for most of the conversational analysis when these friends get together as a group, as couples, as girlfriends, or as mates, invariably becoming metaphors for the state of a relationship or situation. Individual viewpoints and terrors are explored through respective memories of the same event and what-if scenarios. Chain reactions inevitably ensue, fuelling comedy that is based almost entirely on misunderstanding.

The third series, first aired in 2002, takes fans into new realms of engaging surrealism. The men are constantly in pursuit of a basic grasp of the "emotional things" that make women behave the way they do. The women analyze everything to death. But again thanks to Steve Moffat's scripts, tighter and quirkier than ever, these characters are living, breathing human beings rather than cynical ciphers for comedy stereotypes. The performances are as strong as you'd expect from an established team, with actors such as Jack Davenport, Ben Miles (unreconstructed chauvinist Patrick), Sarah Alexander, and Kate Isitt (neurotic Sally) wearing their roles like second skins. But in the surreal stakes, it's Richard Coyle as Jeff, wondering aloud what happens to jelly after women have finished wrestling in it, and Gina Bellman as Jane, musing on the importance of a first snog in identifying what men like to eat, who really raise the laughter levels. All things considered, this is superior comedy for all thirtysomethings—genuine and putative.

Then we get to series four - feel free to insert your own "four-play" joke, or for that matter, your own "insert" jokes! Sex is still topic one for the intertwined group of "exes and best friends," but in this pivotal season there are momentous "relationship issues" that will upend all their lives (insert your own "upend" joke while you're at it). Susan is pregnant, inspiring nightmares in Steve about his own execution and unflattering comparisons of the birth process to John Hurt's iconic gut-busting scene in Alien. Missing in action is the Kramer-esque Jeff (although he makes something of a return in the season finale). Joining the ensemble is Oliver, who is more in the Chandler mode as a lovable loser with the ladies. These inevitable comparisons to "Sein-Friends" are no doubt heresy to Coupling's most devoted viewers. Indeed, this series does benefit from creator and sole writer Steven Moffat's comic voice and vision. He provides his ever-game cast some witty, funny-'cause-it's-true dialogue, as in Oliver's observation that "Tea isn't compatible with porn." A bonus disc takes viewers behind the scenes with segments devoted to bloopers and interviews with cast and crew.

This Britcom is less inhibited in language and sexual situations than its American counterparts. In the cleverly-constructed opening episode, in which the same "9-1/2 Minutes" are witnessed from three different perspectives, Sally and Jane can do what was left to the imagination when Monica and Rachel offered to make out in front of Joey and Chandler. The birth of Susan and Steven's baby ends the six-episode fourth season on a satisfying and surprisingly moving grace note.

Plot Synopsis:

On average, men and women think about sex every six seconds. Shorten that to every second, and you've got Coupling. It's more than just a one night stand! When a couple gets together, it's never just the two of them - they also bring baggage - and Susan (Sarah Alexander) and Steve (Jack Davenport) are no exception. Their baggage is a crowd of best friends and exes who talk about all aspects of sex and relationships on their never-ending quest to find true love.

Coupling has been honoured with the prestigious Silver Rose of Montreux, Best TV Comedy Award, and was a winner at the 2003 British Comedy Awards.

David McNally (II) Coyote Ugly is either a girls' film for boys or a boys' film for girls. Either way, it's undemanding tosh that remixes 80s "classics" like Fame, Cocktail, Flashdance and Dirty Dancing for the turn of the century. The main attraction is Coyote Ugly itself, a raucous New York bar run by tough-on-the-outside softie Lil (Maria Bello) where the drinks and the customers are straight and the girls who serve have to be skilled at lightning-fast mental maths when adding up complex rounds as well as a sort of clothed stripping as they line-dance, karaoke-wail or pole-hug on top of the often-flaming bar itself. The plot is a trifle about a shrinking violet actually called Violet (Piper Parabo) who comes to the big city to do one-better than her showbiz near-miss deceased mother and make it as a songwriter but is paralysed by a stage-fright she only overcomes after a couple of energetic nights working the crowds at Coyote Ugly. There's the usual on-off romance, with a sensitive Australian bloke (Adam Garcia) and some soap with an estranged Dad (always-good-value John Goodman) who is hospitalised at just the right moment to prompt a family revelation and a reunion that pays off with a not-unexpected happy ending.

It all boils down to a 12-certificate teenage magazine romance set in what amounts to a nudie bar where there's no actual nudity. Both the men in the heroine's life seriously question whether writhing suggestively for drunken lechers is an empowering activity for an independent girl but since that's more or less the film's strongest visual effect the script has to come down on the side of the girls—if not the customers. The supporting babes—Russian blonde Cammie (Izabella Miko), ferocious brunette Rachel (Bridget Moynahan) and upwardly-mobile Zoe (Tyra Banks)—gyrate and model Spice Girls cast-off gear, but make less of an impression than Melanie Lynskey (the "other one" from Heavenly Creatures) as the devoted, slightly dumpy best friend back home. Like most Jerry Bruckheimer products, it's slickly put-together, at once exciting and predictable, cut like a commercial or a pop promo, directed by a non-entity (David McNally), fantastical yet blue-collar "real" and self-destructs in the mind after viewing. —Kim Newman
On the DVD: The disc is jammed with special features and bonus material: "Search for the Stars" outlines the quest to find the young cast members; "Inside the Song" offers an analysis of the tunes, a voiceover by LeAnn Rimes and the thoughts of songwriter Diana Warren; "Coyote 101"describes the ins and outs of the bar itself, from the drink mixes to the dancers; while "Action Overload" simply shows full-force action sequences from the film. The disc also contains four deleted scenes, the LeAnn Rimes music video, "Can't fight the Moonlight", the theatrical trailer and an energetic commentary by the Coyotes themselves, Tara Banks, Maria Bello, Izabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan and Piper Perbo. Although the disc certainly doesn't scrimp on the special features front, each one tends to be fairly short and uninformative, lacking detail. The DVD itself gives the visual and audio excellence you would expect from a recent Hollywood blockbuster with a 5.1 audio ratio and crisp widescreen format of 2.35:1. —Nikki Disney

Piper Perabo, Maria Bello, David McNally

Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Jeff Freeman, Andrew Fleming If Buffy the Vampire Slayer represents the lighter side of high school as a macabre experience, here's a movie that asks the burning question, "What happens when angst-ridden teenagers develop supernatural powers?" More to the point, how do four outcast teenaged witches handle their ability to cast wicked spells on the taunting classmates who've nicknamed them "The Bitches of Eastwick"? The answer, of course, is "don't get mad, get even." That's about all there is to this terminally silly movie, which makes up for its ludicrous plot by letting its young female cast have a field day as they indulge their dark fantasies. Fairuza Balk is enjoyable as the most wicked of the witches, and is therefore the focus of the film's most dazzling special effects. But it's Neve Campbell from television's Party of Five who made The Craft a modest box-office hit, just before she became her generation's fright-movie favourite in Scream and its popular sequel. —Jeff Shannon

Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Paul Haggis

Ang Lee Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragonis so many things: an historical epic on a grand scale, an Asian martial-arts flick with both great effects andfantastic fighting (choreographed by The Matrix's guru Yuen Wo Ping), a story of magic, revenge and power played with a posse of star-crossed lovers thrown in for good measure. Set during the Qing dynasty (the late 19th century), the film follows the fortunes of righteous warriors Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien (Asian superstars Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, respectively) whose love for one another has lain too long unspoken. When Li Mu Bai's legendary sword Green Destiny is stolen by wilful aristocrat's daughter Jen (exquisite newcomer Zhang Ziyi), who has been trained in the way of the gangster by Li Mu Bai's arch-rival Jade Fox, the warriors must fight to recover the mystical blade. The plot takes us all across China, from dens of iniquity and sumptuous palaces to the stark plains of the Western desert. Characters chase each other up walls and across roof and treetops to breathtaking effect, and Tan Dun's haunting, Oscar-winning East-West inflected score.

Directed by Taiwanese-born Ang Lee and co-written by his longtime collaborator American James Schamus, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragonjoins the ranks of the team's slate of high-quality, genre-spanning literary adaptations. Although it superficially seems like a return to Ang's Asian roots, there's a clear throughline connecting this with their earlier, Western films given the thematic focus on propriety and family honour (Sense and Sensibility), repressed emotions (The Ice Storm) and divided loyalties in a time of war (Ride with the Devil). Nonetheless, a film this good needs no prior acquaintance with the director's oeuvre; it stands on its own. The only people who might be dismissive of it are jaded chop-socky fans who will probably feel bored with all the romance. Everyone else will love it. —Leslie Felperin

On the DVD: As might be expected this superb anamorphic widescreen version of the original 2.35:1 theatrical ratio presents Peter Pau's spellbinding cinematography in its full glory; the same goes for the Dolby 5.1 audio track that showcases Tan Dun's haunting score. Annoyingly, however, the default language option is the dubbed English soundtrack, which means you have to select the original Mandarin version before playing. The extra features are good but not exceptional, with an obligatory "making-of" documentary and commentary from Ang Lee and James Schamus being the best options: the director and producer/cowriter chat amiably and in some detail about their martial arts version of Sense and Sensibility. But it's the breathtaking delight of the seeing the movie in such quality that really counts, and this disc does not disappoint. —Mark Walker

Brandon Lee, Michael Wincott, Alex Proyas 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 film 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 fiancée the year before. The film is worth watching for its compelling visuals and genuinely nightmarish, otherworldly ambience. —Jim Emerson

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Roger Kumble This modern-day teen update of Les Liaisons Dangereuses suffered at the hands of both critics and moviegoers thanks to its sumptuous ad campaign, which hyped the film as an arch, highly sexual, faux-serious drama (not unlike the successful, Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons). In fact, Cruel Intentions plays like high comedy for its first two-thirds, as its two evil heroes, rich stepsiblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), blithely ruin lives and reputations with hearts as black as coal.

Kathryn wants revenge on a boyfriend who dumped her, so she befriends his new intended, the gawky Cecile (Selma Blair), and gets Sebastian to deflower the innocent virgin. The meat of the game, though, lies in Sebastian's seduction of good girl Annette (a down-to-earth Reese Witherspoon), who has written a nationally published essay entitled "Why I Choose to Wait." If he fails, Kathryn gets his precious vintage convertible; if he wins, he gets Kathryn—in the sack.

When the movie sticks to the merry ruination of Kathryn and Sebastian's pawns, it's highly enjoyable: Gellar in particular is a two-faced manipulator extraordinaire, and Phillippe, usually a black hole, manages some fun as a hipster Eurotrash stud. Most pleasantly surprising of all is Witherspoon, who puts a remarkably self-assured spin on a character usually considered vulnerable and tortured (see Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons). Unfortunately, writer-director Roger Kumble undermines everything he's built up with a false ending that's true to neither the reconceived characters nor the original story—revenge is a dish best served cold, not cooked up with unnecessary plot twists. —Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Vincenzo Natali If Clive Barker had written an episode of The Twilight Zone, it might have looked something like Cube. A handful of strangers wake up inside a bizarre maze, having been spirited there during the night. They quickly learn that they have to navigate their way through a series of chambers if they have any hope of escape but the problem is that there are lethal traps awaiting if they choose their route unwisely. Having established some imaginative and grisly punishments in store for the hostages, cowriter and director Vincenzo Natali turns his attention to the characters, for whom being trapped amplifies their best and worst qualities. The film is, in fact, similar to a famous episode of Rod Serling's old television series, though Natali's explanation for why these poor people are being put through hell is a lot closer to the spirit of The X-Files. Cube has some solid moments of suspense and drama and the sets are appropriately striking: one is tempted to believe at first the characters are lost inside a computer chip. —Tom Keogh

Mark Steven Johnson Whether or not one likes Daredevilthe movie probably has a lot to do with whether or not one likes Daredevilthe comic book. To its credit (or, depending upon your perspective, its detriment), Daredevilis one of the most faithful comic-book adaptations to make it to the big screen. Yet in a world where the red-suited crimefighter is hardly a cultural icon in the same league as Batman and Spider-Man, that will mean very little to most filmgoers.

Daredeviltells the story of Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck), a young lawyer who spent his youth getting kicked around by life in Hell's Kitchen, NYC. He's blinded at an early age in an industrial accident, but when he recovers, he discovers that his remaining senses are superhumanly acute. When his father, a boxer, is killed by gangsters for refusing to throw a fight, Matt Murdock vows to dedicate his life to fighting for what's right. To that end, he becomes a lawyer by day and a masked vigilante by night—Daredevil, the Man Without Fear.

Using as its source material a classic (well, to comics fans, at least) Frank Miller story line, the film manages to find room for Daredevil's origin, his love affair with Elektra (Jennifer Garner) and his first meetings with his two arch-nemeses, Bullseye (Colin Farrell) and Kingpin (Michael Clark Duncan). Colin Farrell has fun with the psychotic Irish assassin Bullseye, who can use nearly any object as a deadly projectile (and who, as he proudly states, never misses). Michael Clark Duncan adds stone-cold menace to the Kingpin of Crime, the criminal mastermind at the nexus of New York's underworld. Yet Daredeviltries to cram too much into its relatively short running time, and ultimately it's the relationship between Matt Murdock and Elektra that suffers—Garner does all she can with the character, but she could have benefited from a bit more screen time. And the action sequences—particularly the faster-paced, Matrix-style wire fights—only succeed in making Affleck and Farrell look a bit awkward (unlike Garner, neither are natural martial artists). Still, Daredevilis a film by comic-book fans, for comic-book fans, packed with cameos and in-jokes sure to appeal to the die-hards. If that's you, then there's much to love here. —Robert Burrow

Mark Steven Johnson

Alex Proyas If you're a fan of brooding comic-book anti-heroes, got a nihilistic jolt from The Crow (1994) and share director Alex Proyas's highly developed preoccupation for style over substance, you might be tempted to call Dark City an instant classic of visual imagination. It's one of those films that exists in a world purely of its own making, setting its own rules and playing by them fairly, so that even its derivative elements (and there are quite a few) acquire their own specific uniqueness. Before long, however, the film becomes interesting only as a triumph of production design. And while that's certainly enough to grab your attention (Blade Runner is considered a classic, after all), it's painfully clear that Dark City has precious little heart and soul. One-dimensional characters are no match for the film's abundance of retro-futuristic style, so it's best to admire the latter on its own splendidly cinematic terms. Trivia buffs will be interested to know that the film's 50-plussets (partially inspired by German expressionism) were built at the Fox Film Studios in Sydney, Australia, home base of director Alex Proyas and producer Andrew Mason. The underground world depicted in the film required the largest indoor set ever built in Australia. —Jeff Shannon

Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Christopher Nolan Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Eric Roberts Director: Christopher Nolan

George A. Romero George Romero's 1978 follow-up to his classic Night of the Living Deadis quite terrifying and gory (those zombies do like the taste of living flesh). But in its own way, it is just as comically satiric as the first film in its take on contemporary values. This time, we follow the fortunes of four people who lock themselves inside a shopping mall to get away from the marauding dead and who then immerse themselves in unabashed consumerism, taking what they want from an array of clothing and jewellery shops, making gourmet meals, etc. It is Romero's take on Louis XVI in the modern world: keep the starving masses at bay and crank up the insulated indulgence. Still, this is a horror film when all is said and done and even some of Romero's best visual jokes (a Hare Krishna turned blue-skinned zombie) can make you sweat. —Tom Keogh

Zack Snyder Are you ready to get down with the sickness? Movie logic dictates that you shouldn't remake a classic, but Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead defies that logic and comes up a winner. You could argue that George A. Romero's 1978 original was sacred ground for horror buffs, but it was a low-budget classic, and Snyder's action-packed upgrade benefits from the same manic pacing that energized Romero's continuing zombie saga. Romero's indictment of mega-mall commercialism is lost (it's arguably outmoded anyway), so Snyder and screenwriter James Gunn compensate with the same setting—in this case, a Milwaukee shopping mall under siege by cannibalistic zombies in the wake of a devastating viral outbreak—a well-chosen cast (led by Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer), some outrageously morbid humor, and a no-frills plot that keeps tension high and blood splattering by the bucketful. Horror buffs will catch plenty of tributes to Romero's film (including cameos by three of its cast members, including gore-makeup wizard Tom Savini), and shocking images are abundant enough to qualify this Dawn as an excellent zombie-flick double-feature with 28 Days Later, its de facto British counterpart. —Jeff Shannon

Roland Emmerich Supreme silliness doesn't stop The Day After Tomorrowfrom being lots of fun for connoisseurs of epic-scale disaster flicks. After the blockbuster profits of Independence Dayand Godzilla, you can't blame director Roland Emmerich for using global warming as a politically correct excuse for destroying most of the northern hemisphere. Like most of Emmerich's films, this one emphasises special effects over such lesser priorities as well-drawn characters and plausible plotting, and his dialogue (cowritten by Jeffrey Nachmanoff) is so laughably trite that it could be entirely eliminated without harming the movie. It's the spectacle that's important here, not the lame, recycled plot about father and son (Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal) who endure an end-of-the-world scenario caused by the effects of global warming. So sit back, relax and enjoy the awesome visions of tornado-ravaged Los Angeles, blizzards in New Delhi, Japan pummelled by grapefruit-sized hailstones, and Manhattan flooded by swelling oceans and then frozen by the onset of a modern ice age. It's all wildly impressive, and Emmerich obviously doesn't care if the science is flimsy, so why should you? —Jeff Shannon

George A. Romero Day of the Dead, chapter three of George Romero's mighty zombie trilogy, has big footsteps to follow. Night of the Living Deadwas a classic that revitalised a certain corner of the cinema, and Dawn of the Deadwas nothing short of epic. Day of the Dead, however, has always been regarded as a comedown compared to those twin peaks—and perhaps it is. But on its own terms, this is an awfully effective horror movie, made with Romero's customary social satire and cinematic vigour—when a "retrained" zombie responds to the "Ode to Joy", the film is in genuinely haunting territory. The story is set inside a sunken military complex, where Army and medical staff, supposedly working on a solution to the zombie problem, are going crazy (strongly foreshadowing the final act of 28 Days Later). Tom Savini's make-up effects could make even hardcore gore fans tear off their own heads in amazement. —Robert Horton

Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman Audiences were captivated by the women of Wisteria Lane in the first season of Desperate Housewives, the breakout hit from ABC that almost single-handedly lifted the network from its ratings doldrums and brought back the classic TV soap, remixed now with satire, comedy, and mystery. An affectionate yet darkly tinged send-up of suburbia that skirted Twin Peaks territory as much as that of Knots Landing, Desperate Housewives opened with a bang—literally—as perfect-seeming housewife Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) went through her picture-perfect day before putting a handgun to her temple and pulling the trigger. Mary Alice's sudden suicide leaves her four closest friends, all housewives of a sort, with a surfeit of grief, a re-examination of their own lives, and a mystery to solve. It also proves to be a catalyst for a seamy study of what goes on inside the finely appointed homes of Wisteria Lane—the tales of which Mary Alice narrates from beyond the grave with a sardonic tone dipped in both honey and arsenic.

There's Martha Stewart-perfect Bree (Marcia Cross), who rules her household with an iron fist in a tailor-made garden glove and seems to have it all, until she finds out her husband (Steven Culp) is cheating on her—and has a serious fetish habit to boot. Sultry Gaby (Eva Longoria), the youngest of the set, is a bored trophy wife whose predilection for shopping and clothes are the perfect decoy for her affair with the hunky teenage gardener (Jesse Metcalfe). Former career woman Lynette (Felicity Huffman) is the most stereotypical housewife, raising four (or was it five?) kids and frustrated at using her cutthroat business skills for suburban politics. And daffy Susan (Teri Hatcher), the divorcee looking for love, sees her prospects brighten with the arrival of hunky plumber Mike (James Denton), who has some desperate secrets of his own. And did we mention the neighborhood hussy (Nicollette Sheridan), the snotty busybody (Christine Estabrook), and Mary Alice's increasingly agitated son (Cody Kasch)?

It was a fast and wild mix of plot and characters that gave Desperate Housewives the zing that made it a number one hit, as it never got too bogged down in any dilemma before moving on to the next. And though it was neither as hard-hitting nor salacious as it was trumpeted to be, the show nevertheless breathed fresh, funny air into comedy television, for even though it hewed to the hour-long soap format, the content was far more dark comedy than sudsy drama. There were fun bright spots to be had, but the story behind Mary Alice's death—which included drugs, murder, blackmail, secret identities, and vengeance in equal amounts—hovered over all the characters, tingeing the farce with the specter of danger. The show's other source of strength is in its peerless ensemble cast, headed by four perfect leading ladies, all Emmy-worthy. Hatcher received the (deserved) lion's share of praise (and a Golden Globe), but her co-stars—especially the underrated Longoria—matched her scene for scene. And though the mystery of Mary Alice's death was ultimately solved (no Twin Peaks teasing here), it was just the beginning of the troubles on Wisteria Lane, where no life went unexamined for too long. —Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman

Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross

Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria Parker, Larry Shaw, David Grossman

Edward Furlong, Giuseppe Andrews, Adam Rifkin It's hard to call Detroit Rock City a "coming of age" movie—since it's hard to argue that any of the characters do any genuine growing up. But even though it's about four young metalheads trying to get to a Kiss concert, the movie actually has more in common with sincere portraits of adolescence than it does with raucous teen comedies. The four heroes are members of a teen metal band called Mystery (written in the same font as the letters of Kiss, lest anyone mistake their source of inspiration). After the drummer's religiously zealous mother burns their tickets to a long-awaited concert in nearby Detroit, the boys go anyway and try to get tickets through theft, skullduggery, and entering a male stripper contest. The jokes are broad and the movie culminates in an orgy of male adolescent wish-fulfilment, but here and there some loving attention is paid to the details of 1970s teenage life—the haircuts, clothes, and toys the film-makers probably had when they were kids. Edward Furlong (John Connor from Terminator 2, now grown up) as the band's singer exudes his particular lopsided charm; the rest of the cast play their parts with similar high spirits. Though Detroit Rock City was probably meant to be a no-holds-barred comedy in the vein of American Pie, the end result is curiously wistful; no one's going to mistake it for The Last Picture Show, but something sincere and elegiac lurks in those bang-covered eyes. —Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

:On the DVD: Director Adam Rifkin gives a chaotic but funny commentary about a subject clearly dear to his heart; Gene Simmons is more level-headed but no less fascinating in his own commentary as he talks about his transition from a naive nine-year-old immigrant from Israel to the extravagant showman of Kiss. Hardcore Kiss fans will also appreciate another commentary track in which the other members of the band are interviewed on the telephone by associate producer Tim Sullivan. There's a good "making of" featurette with contributions from all involved. Four deleted scenes show how certain sections were cut for length, and you can also watch the complete "Detroit Rock City" concert footage. Also included are two original music videos: Everclear's cover of "The Boys Are Back in Town", and "Strutter" by The Donnas. The movie's trailer and cast and crew biographies round off a good DVD package. —Mark Walker

David Frankel, Curtis Hanson

John McTiernan 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

Roy Wood

Rawson Marshall Thurber How's this for impressive trivia: Dodgeball faced off against The Terminal in opening-weekend competition, and 29-year-old writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber aced Steven Spielberg by a score of $30 to $18.7 in US box-office millions. That's no mean feat for a newcomer, but Thurber's lowbrow script and rapid-fire direction—along with a sublime cast of screen comedians—proved to be just what moviegoers were ravenous for: a consistently hilarious, patently formulaic romp in which the underdog owner of Average Joe's Gym (Vince Vaughan) faces foreclosure unless he can raise $50,000 in 30 days. The solution: A dodgeball tournament offering $50K to the winners, in which Vaughan and his nerdy clientele team up against the preening, abhorrently narcissistic owner (Ben Stiller) of Globo Gym, who's threatening a buy-out. That's it for story; any 5-year-old could follow it with brainpower to spare. But Thurber, Vaughan, Stiller, and their well-cast costars (including Stiller's off-screen wife, Christine Taylor) keep the big laughs coming for 96 nonsensical minutes. With spot-on cameos by champion bicyclist Lance Armstrong, David Hasselhoff, Hank Azaria, Chuck Norris, and William Shatner, and a crudely amusing coda for those who watch past the credits, Dodgeball is no masterpiece, but you can bet Spielberg was unexpectedly humbled by its popular appeal. —Jeff Shannon

Neil Marshall An enjoyable low-concept monster movie, Dog Soldiersis basically Night of the Living Deadwith werewolves. A platoon on a training exercise in Scotland, already fed up because they are missing a vital England-Germany match, come across the wounded survivor of a special ops team (Liam Cunningham) that has been attacked by monsters. There's a confused conspiracy angle, with a scheme to sacrifice the squaddies in order to capture a werewolf for military uses, but it's mostly a lost patrol picture with the soldiers besieged in a mysteriously abandoned house in the woods, complete with "pork" stew on the boil.

The hardman sergeant (Sean Pertwee) is disembowelled early but gruesomely patched up with superglue, letting the sensitive Scot (Kevin McKidd) play hero. A pack of effectively glimpsed Howling-style bipedal werewolves make repeated attacks on the house, whittling the cast down with each invasion. The soldier characterisations are solid cliché, albeit of a British variety rarely seen in horror movies (a highlight of the use of Brit slang is the Geordie shouting "Come on if you think you're hard enough"). The monsters are okay, but writer-director Neil Marshall's strongest suit is his third, as editor, covering for the old-fashioned monster suit effects and making the suspense and action mechanics work.

On the DVD:Dog Soldiersis an excellent DVD package complete with two commentary tracks, a British one with Marshall and the cast and an American one with a couple of producers. Both are interesting and rarely overlap, and there's an amusing contradiction between the Brits who rush over script changes they didn't want to make and the Yanks who imposed a sub-plot they feel saved the picture. Also, a bunch of trailers that amusingly spoof a recent army recruitment ad, deleted scenes and outtakes with optional Marshall commentary, a standard making-of featurette, storyboards and Marshall's short film, Combat. —Kim Newman

Grab your BFG and get ready to kick some Martian-demon butt in Doom, another entry in the increasingly crowded videogame-to-movie genre. The Rock plays Sarge, the commander of a squad of Marines sent to investigate a disturbance at a scientific research facility on Mars. Among the squad is John Grimm (Karl Urban, who played Eomer in The Lord of the Rings), who turns out to have had a previous relationship with Samantha (Rosamund Pike, Die Another Day), the scientist who's accompanying the Marines in order to retrieve some vital data from the facility.

Based on id Software's legendary first-person shooter, Doom tries its best to look like a game, with dark, angled corridors, ferocious creatures appearing out of nowhere, and a variety of lethal weapons that will, like the aforementioned BFG, warm the cockles of a gamer's heart. There's also one memorable sequence that actually turns the movie into a first-person shooter; the good news is that in the context of the whole film, it's not quite as goofy as it might have been.

And that's not a bad frame of reference for the film in general. Considering the game-to-movie field includes such duds as Wing Commander, if you go into Doom with low expectations, you'll probably find it a surprisingly respectable horror/sci-fi thriller in the Resident Evil vein (including its somewhat obligatory subplot of corporate wrongdoing). Also in its favor is that it's unabashedly R-rated, for the extreme gore that is a trademark of the game. After all, the purpose of the movie is to pack scares and thrills into a setting that gamers will quickly recognize. In that sense, it qualifies as a success. —David Horiuchi

Gerard Butler, Justine Waddell, Patrick Lussier Stylish, snappy and entirely without a coherent idea in its head, Dracula 2001 is "Presented by Wes Craven" but shows comparatively little sign of his controlling intelligence. This is very much "Dracula—the Rock Video" with some memorable dream sequences and a lot of product placement: the heroine may not be a virgin but she works at Virgin Records. Among its incidental pleasures are a high-tech bank raid which secures the thieves nothing but an ominous silver coffin, Christopher Plummer as an immortal Van Helsing surviving by injections of leeches that feed on the imprisoned Dracula, Johnny Lee Miller as an unusually obtuse servant of good and Star Trek: Voyager's Jeri Ryan as a television news reporter turned Bride of Evil. The early scenes make interesting use of London's Eurostar terminal as a sinister backdrop. The climax moves to New Orleans during Mardi Gras giving the film a frenetic edginess and a lot of partially clad people to look at; it also proves to tie into a moderately inventive reconsideration of Dracula's origins.—Roz Kaveney

Patrick Lussier

Lawrence Kasdan One of Stephen King's most shapeless, all-but-the-kitchen-sink novels, Dreamcatcheris wrestled by overqualified director-writer Lawrence Kasdan and cowriter William Goldman into an equally shapeless, slightly more entertaining big-budget schlock movie. Mind-reading psychiatrist Thomas Jane, back-from-the-dead road accident victim Damian Lewis, slacker toothpick-chewer Jason Lee and psychic car salesman Timothy Olyphant are King-style thirtysomething buddies who might also evoke Kasdan's The Big Chill, bonded forever by a flashback psychic experience that logically took place in 1983 but with the Stand By Mehaircuts, music and milieu of King's own childhood.

On a weekend retreat in the snowy Maine woods, the quartet run into an alien incursion that begins ominously, with animals fleeing the forest but then throws in enough phenomena for a whole season of The X-Fileswith leftovers that could kit out a video nasty, notably toothy worm parasites memorably named "shit weasels" and a giant ET that turns to red powder and possesses Lewis. Mad militarist Morgan Freeman shows up and claustrophobic lost-in-the-woods business is diluted by a helicopter attack on a downed flying saucer and an internment camp for red-blotched infectees, while the plot boils down to something as simple as a race to prevent a worm from being dropped in a reservoir (which will end the world).

On a scene-by-scene basis, it's entertaining and creepy so long as you don't think too hard about details, like why someone charged with trapping an alien by sitting clamped on the toilet lid would risk reaching down onto a bloody floor to get a toothpick or why the aliens didn't just land by the reservoir in the first place. —Kim Newman

Troy Miller

Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Lima If you're looking for signs that the modern-day Disney has lost neither its touch nor its savvy nature, then there's evidence in abundance in the smart modern-day fairy tale Enchanted. Bookended by the kind of old-style animation the studio is rightly famed for, the main, live action segment of the film finds Amy Adams' Giselle—an archetypal Disney princess in pretty much every sense—dropped slap bang into the middle of modern day New York.

What follows is ingenious fun, as Giselle walks round very much as a fish out of water, followed quickly by James Marsden's prince who attempts to come to the rescue. Thing is, modern day New York and old style princesses don't really mix, and Enchanted studiously mines the comedy of the scenario, thanks to a smart and witty script.

What also lifts Enchanted though are the delightful tips of the hat to classics of Disney old. And we're not just talking the show-stopping numbers: there are references to the likes of Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty to be found here, and a star-making performance from Adams powering the whole film forward.

One of the very best family movies of 2007, Enchanted does occasionally stumble through the odd twee moment (and it could really use a villain with more screen time than Susan Sarandon's wicked stepmother gets), but that can't hide the fact that it's terrific fun, lavishly made and, at its best, quite brilliant. A modern day family classic, and great to see Disney once again delivering the kind of entertainment it excels at. —Simon Brew

Kurt Wimmer A broad science fiction thriller in a classic vein, Equilibriumtakes a respectable stab at a Fahrenheit 451-like cautionary fable. The story finds Earth's post-World War III humankind in a state of severe emotional repression; if no-one feels anything, no-one will be inspired by dark passions to attack their neighbours. Writer-director Kurt Wimmer's monochromatic, Metropolis-influenced cityscape provides an excellent backdrop to the heavy-handed mission of John Preston (Christian Bale), a top cop who busts "sense offenders" and crushes sentimental, sensual, and artistic relics from a bygone era. Predictably, Preston becomes intrigued by his victims and that which they die to cherish; he stops taking his mandatory, mood-flattening drug and is even aroused by a doomed prisoner (Emily Watson). Wimmer's wrongheaded martial arts/duelling guns motif is sheer silliness (a battle over a puppy doesn't help), but Equilibriumshould be seen for Bale's moving performance as a man shocked back to human feeling. —Tom Keogh

Djimon Hounsou, Gary Lewis, Stefen Fangmeier While it owes much of its appeal and appearance to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Eragon can stand on its own as an enjoyable fantasy for younger viewers. Faithfully adapted from the bestselling novel by teenage author Christopher Paolini, this boy-and-his-dragon tale offers clean, fast-paced family entertainment without compromising the darker qualities of Paolini's novel (the first in what is known as the "Inheritance" trilogy). The plot centers on 17-year-old peasant farmboy Eragon (played by appealing newcomer Ed Speleers) who discovers a mysterious blue object that turns out to be an egg that eventually hatches to reveal Saphira, a blue-scaled dragon that quickly grows to full-size. According to prophecy, Eragon is destined to be a dragon-rider like those who once protected a benevolent kingdom, thus reviving an ancient conflict against the army of King Galbatorix (John Malkovich), a former dragon rider who turned to evil, now in alliance with a dark-magic "Shade" sorcerer named Durza (Robert Carlyle).

While the movie serves up familiar fantasy elements and offers little if anything new to fans of the genre (or anyone who's read the books of Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K. Le Guin), it's visually impressive (especially the dragon scenes, with Rachel Weisz providing the telepathic "voice" of Saphira) and full of timeless wisdom, much of it delivered by Eragon's heroic mentor Brom (Jeremy Irons), himself a former dragon rider with memories of past battles and hope for Eragon's future. Add a fair warrior-maiden named Arya (Sienna Guillory) and you've got all the ingredients for a worthwhile (if not particularly original) fantasy that points directly to a sequel. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is up to individual viewers to decide. —Jeff Shannon

Jack Edward Sawyers

Michel Gondry Screenwriters rarely develop a distinctive voice that can be recognized from movie to movie, but the ornate imagination of Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) has made him a unique and much-needed cinematic presence. In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a guy decides to have the memories of his ex-girlfriend erased after she's had him erased from her own memory—but midway through the procedure, he changes his mind and struggles to hang on to their experiences together. In other hands, the premise of memory-erasing would become a trashy science-fiction thriller; Kaufman, along with director Michel Gondry, spins this idea into a funny, sad, structurally complex, and simply enthralling love story that juggles morality, identity, and heartbreak with confident skill. The entire cast—Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, and more—give superb performances, carefully pitched so that cleverness never trumps feeling. A great movie. —Bret Fetzer

Paul W.S. Anderson Drawing from Andrei Tarkovsky's heady science fiction meditation Solarisby way of Alienand Hellraiser, this visually splendid but pulpy piece of science fiction schlock concerns a mission in the year 2047 to investigate the experimental American spaceship Event Horizon, which disappeared seven years previously and suddenly, out of nowhere, reappeared in the orbit of Neptune. Laurence Fishburne stars as mission commander Captain Miller and Sam Neill is Dr Weir, the scientist who designed the mystery ship. Miller's T-shirt-and army-green-clad crew of smart-talking pros finds a ship dead and deserted, but further investigations turn up blood, corpses, dismembered body parts, and a decidedly unearthly presence. It turns out that the ship is really a space-age haunted house where spooky (and obviously impossible) visions lure each of the crew members into situations they should know better than to enter. The ship is gorgeously designed, borrowing from the dark, organic look of Alienand adding the menacing touch of teeth sprouting from bulwark doors and clawlike spikes inexplicably shooting out of the engine room floor. Unfortunately the film is not nearly as inventive as the production design—it turns into a woefully inconsistent psychic monster movie that sacrifices mood for tepid shocks—but the special effects are topnotch, and ultimately the movie has a trashy B movie charm about it. —Sean Axmaker

Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Andy Tennant Take away the Fairy Godmother, and what have you got left from the Cinderella fable? The story of a girl for whom a bad stroke of luck is no match for her internal strength and purity of heart. Drew Barrymore plays Cinderella's alleged inspiration, Danielle, in this romantic drama that purports to tell the "facts" behind the Grimm brothers' story. One of three daughters of a man (Jeroen Krabbé) who dies and leaves her fate in the hands of a conniving stepmother (Anjelica Huston), Danielle is cast into the lowly role of a servant. Meanwhile, her sisters are evaluated as possible mates for a French prince (Dougray Scott), but he's far more intrigued with Danielle's intelligence and beauty—not to mention her way with a sword and fist. Directed by Andy Tennant (who directed Barrymore in TV's The Amy Fisher Story), Ever After has that rare ability to win the heart and mind of a viewer simply by being committed to its own innocence, particularly where Barrymore's luminous performance is concerned. A contemporary take on an old, virtually forgotten Hollywood convention—the costume adventure with middling artistic ambition but real audience appeal—Ever After is a surprisingly delightful film. —Tom Keogh

Ivan Reitman Based on the evidence in Evolution, one thing is perfectly clear: special effects have evolved, but director Ivan Reitman has reverted to primitive pandering. Equally obvious is the fact that Evolutionis a defacto rip-off of Reitman's 1984 classic Ghostbusters, but this time there's no Bill Murray to deliver the best punch lines (we have to settle for fellow ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd in a broad supporting role) and the comedy has devolved into a gross-fest including deep-rectal extraction of alien insects, fire-hose enemas into a giant alien sphincter, and a full-moon display of David Duchovny's naked posterior. Whereas Ghostbusterswas a shrewd, irreverent mainstream comedy that combined gooey spectral ectoplasm with something resembling genuine wit, Evolutionis a crude, juvenile romp in which all things slimy are elevated to comedic supremacy. Granted, that's not always a bad thing. As latter-day Ghostbusters equivalents, Duchovny, Orlando Jones and Seann William Scott make a fine comedic trio, and Julianne Moore is equally amusing as a clumsy scientist and Duchovny's obligatory love interest. Despite the meddling of clueless military buffoons, they join forces to eradicate a wild variety of rapidly evolving alien creatures that arrived on Earth via meteor impact, and the extraterrestrial beasties (courtesy of effects wizard Phil Tippet and crew) are outrageously designed and marvellously convincing. For anyone who prefers lowbrow humour, Evolutionwill prove as entertaining as Ghostbusters(or at least Galaxy Quest), while others may lament Reitman's shameless embrace of crudeness. One thing's for certain: after seeing this film, you'll gain a whole new appreciation for Head & Shoulders shampoo. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD:Evolution's special effects and CGI are seamless and crystal clear in anamorphic widescreen with some of the "creatures" looking more realistic than the actors. This is a movie with quite a few set pieces, but none show off the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack better than the dragon attack in the mall, connect up a couple of speakers and you can hear the flap of leathery wings behind your couch. In terms of extras there's a making-of documentary from HBO called The Evolution of Evolution, hosted by Orlando Jones, in which he interviews his co-stars (most of whom seem to ignore him) and the director Ivan Reitman. You also get the behind-scenes track on the special effects and art direction. Other than that you get the theatrical trailer, the teaser trailer and the original trailer for Ghostbusters, which adds a touch classic 80s' memorabilia. —Kristen Bowditch

Family Guy shouldn't work at all. Even by the witless standards of modern television, it is breathtakingly derivative: does an animated series about the travails of a boorish, suburban yob with a saintly wife, a hopeless son, a clever daughter and a baby sound familiar at all? Even the house in Family Guy looks like it was built by the same architects who sketched the residence of The Simpsons.

However, Family Guy does work, transcending its (occasionally annoyingly) obvious influences with reliably crisp writing and the glorious sight gags contained in the surreal flashbacks which punctuate the episodes. Most importantly, the show's brilliance comes from two absolutely superb characters: Stewie, the baby whose extravagant dreams of tyrannising the world are perpetually thwarted by the prosaic limitations of infanthood, and the urbane family dog Brian—Snoopy after attendance at an obedience class run by Frank Sinatra. Family Guy does not possess the cultural or satirical depth of The Simpsons—very little art in any field does. But it is a genuinely funny and clever programme. —Andrew Mueller

The second series of Seth MacFarlane's animated sitcom Family Guy continues with its own brand of acerbic pop-culture satire mixed with gleefully tasteless comedy. Even though the chaotic Griffin household bears more than a passing resemblance to The Simpsons, and their neighbours are uncannily like those from King of the Hill, the show's combination of extended flashbacks, surreal fantasy sequences and delightful non sequiturs ("Math, my dear boy, is nothing more than the lesbian sister of biology") refreshes the familiar formula. And any show that features Adam "Batman" West guest starring as the demented Mayor of Quahog must score points for bizarre originality.

Highlights of the 15 episodes here include Peter discovering his feminine side ("I Am Peter, Here Me Roar"), Stewie and Brian on an eventful road trip ("Road to Rhode Island"), Peter annexing his neighbour's pool and inviting the world's dictators round for a barbeque ("E Peterbus Unum") and, as a bonus episode, the irreverent "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", which was deemed "too offensive for TV". It may be lowbrow scatological farce, but unlike its big-screen live-action cousins (think Farrelly Brothers), Family Guy is always warm-hearted and never vicious.

On the DVD: Family Guy, Series 2 is spread across two discs that boast Dolby 5.1 sound but standard 4:3 picture. There's no "Play All" facility (something else this release has in common with The Simpsons on DVD) and there are no extras other than the "bonus" episode. —Mark Walker

Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein The third season of Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy finds television's most dysfunctional cartoon family even more animated than usual. As MacFarlane himself noted, he was inspired to go for broke, thinking that the series—already juggled like a hot potato in the US TV schedules (at one point, it aired opposite the mighty Friends)—had been cancelled. Just as This Is Spinal Tap walked the fine line between "clever and stupid", so Family Guy gleefully mocks the line between "edgy and offensive".

Like The Simpsons, Family Guy lends itself to multiple viewings to catch each densely packed episode's way-inside "one-percenter" gags (so-called by the creators because that is the percentage of the audience who will get them), scattershot pop-culture references, surreal leaps and gratuitous pot shots at everyone from, predictably, Oprah, Kevin Costner and Bill Cosby to, unpredictably, Rita Rudner. Also like its Springfield counterpart, this series benefits from a great ensemble voice cast, with surprising contributions from a no-less-stellar roster of guest stars. —Donald Liebenson

Peter Shin Pete Michels Alex Frost Chuck Klein It's criminal, really, given the sheer outright quality of Family Guy that more people aren't willing to give it a try. For while it tends to draw comparisons to The Simpsons—after all, it is a family-based animated comedy show—Family Guy very much has a voice of its own. It's also less worried about catering to a family demographic, something the writers have little problem making the most of.

Season four has plenty of evidence for why the show shouldn't be overlooked. Picking up the story of the family Griffin, this time more of the background characters are allowed into the limelight, and that's really to the programme's benefit. That's not to say the main players are out of sight, and the quite wonderful baby Stewie has plenty of air time, but there's a real ensemble feel.

The rapid-fire, razor-sharp wit and writing quality that's become the trademark of the show is present and correct too, and the quality of the episodes on offer put season four up there as not quite the finest series of Family Guy to date, but it nonetheless runs things very close indeed. If you've not taken the plunge yet, you've really, really been missing out… —Jon Foster

The debates have already been raging across the Internet over whether Family Guy has peaked, whether it's the funniest show on television at the moment, and whether it's better than The Simpsons, or some way behind it. Yet while most will agree that season five isn't the best the show's creators have produced, don't let that blind you to the sheer joy contained within this DVD set.

The highlights of Family Guy for many, of course, are Stewie the ingenious baby and the family's dog Brian (arguably the sanest one of the lot), and both are in fine form here. And while this series again allows many of the supporting characters a space in the limelight, it's Stewie and Brian who remain responsible for some of Family Guy's funniest moments. Bluntly, there are plenty of them.

Still, there's little getting away from the fact that season five lacks the spark that energised the superb first two or three series, and as a result, there are episodes here that are good where they were once great. There are, still, plenty of examples of the old magic, and it's still primarily a real pleasure that's pretty much guaranteed to raise laughs from those who don't mind their entertainment with a bit of edge. But it'll be interesting to see where Family Guy goes from here, and whether its real glory days are permanently consigned to the past. —Jon Foster

Family Guy The adventures of the Griffin family continue apace with this latest Family Guy boxset, which once again delivers many hours of quite brilliant animated comedy.

The show, for those new to it, follows the wonderful Griffin family, headed up by the daft but loveable Peter and the happily oblivious Lois, through to their teenage kids Chris and Meg. But as any seasoned Family Guy viewer will happily tell you, the gold of the show lies with the two characters who are the brains of the family. On the one hand there’s Brian the dog, and then on the other is the little baby Stewie. He, surely, is the absolute highlight, a maniacal evil genius of a child, who in this season seven set finally manages to kill Lois. Insert your own evil laugh here.

The 12 episodes on offer in the Family Guy season 7 boxset aren’t all vintage, but there are some cracking inclusions. The 100th episode special is a good place to start, and then there’s the small matter of President Bush’s underwear going walkabout. Throw in a bit of time travel for Peter, and it’s the usual oddball mix that helps make the show so strong.

With plenty of rewatch value and a continued ability to generate laughs, Family Guy is a show that’s still thriving on the evidence with this set. And frankly, the next collection of episodes on DVD can’t come quickly enough. —Jon Foster

Dominic Polcino What better way to commemorate Star Wars' 30th anniversary than with this double-length Very Special Episode, a full-scale, awesomely animated spoof that recasts George Lucas's saga with Family Guy's galaxy of characters: Chris (Seth Green) is Luke; Lois (Alex Borstein) is Princess Leia; Peter (Seth McFarlane) is Han Solo, but not, as expected, Jabba the Hut; Brian (Seth, again) is Chewbacca; Quagmire (and again, Seth) is C3PO; Cleveland is R2D2; Herbert, the creepy senior paedophile, is Obi-Wan (both voiced by Mike Henry); and, of course, Stewie (Seth, one more time) is Darth Vader ("My diapers have gone over to the dark side"). Poor Meg is reduced to a cameo as the hideous reptilian creature that haunts the garbage compactor.

Blue Harvest is reverently faithful to A New Hope, while engaging in typical Family Guy pop-culture references (everything from old commercials to Doctor Who, Airplane, Dirty Dancing, and Deal or No Deal) and bizarre digressions (the iconic opening crawl detours into an appreciation of a "way naked" Angelina Jolie in Gia). Along for the wild ride are Judd Nelson, who contributes a voice cameo as John Bender for a Breakfast Club gag, Rush Limbaugh railing against futuristic affirmative action on Tatooine talk radio, and Beverly D'Angelo and Chevy Chase as the vacationing Griswolds observing the rebellion from their orbiting station wagon. A Star Wars spoof in 2007 isn't exactly uncharted territory. As Chris Griffin notes in this episode's final moments, Robot Chicken brilliantly did it months earlier (and let us not forget Mel Brooks's Spaceballs from 1987; or, on second thought...). But the Force is strong with Family Guy, and who could resist the opportunity to hear the Muzak playing in a Death Star elevator? —Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com

Pete Michels Peter Shin

Brett Ratner Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) is a quintessential Wall Street shark, scoring killer deals by day and shallow escort sex by night in The Family Man. Carp all you want about this derivative premise, with its marginal stereotypes and biased embrace of domestic bliss and dirty nappies. The simple fact is, The Family Manworks like a charm. Under the assured direction of Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), this holiday crowd-pleaser offers comedy and chemistry in equal measure, making the hilarity of Jack's predicament a smooth catalyst for that rarest of film romances: the marital love story. Leoni is Cage's perfect match as Jack's idealised but imperfect wife and the films's appeal largely derives from its awareness that any life has its pleasures and pains. While it only flirts with the dark desperation that makes It's a Wonderful Lifea classic predecessor, The Family Manis an irresistible what-if fantasy and even its debatable ending rides on a wave of genuine warmth and sentiment. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Tim Story Fantastic Four is a light-hearted and funny take on Marvel Comics' first family of superherodom. It begins when down-on-his-luck genius Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) has to enlist the financial and intellectual help of former schoolmate and rival Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) in order to pursue outer-space research involving human DNA. Also on the trip are Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis); his former lover, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), who's now Doom's employee and love interest; and her hotshot-pilot brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans). Things don't go as planned, of course, and the quartet becomes blessed—or is it cursed?—with superhuman powers: flexibility, brute strength, invisibility and projecting force fields, and bursting into flame. Meanwhile, Doom himself is undergoing a transformation.

Among the many entries in the comic-book-movie frenzy, Fantastic Four is refreshing because it doesn't take itself too seriously. Characterization isn't too deep, and the action is a bit sparse until the final reel (like most "first" superhero movies, it has to go through the "how did we get these powers and what we will do with them?" churn). But it's a good-looking cast, and original comic-book co-creator Stan Lee makes his most significant Marvel-movie cameo yet, in a speaking role as the FF's steadfast postal carrier, Willie Lumpkin. Newcomers to superhero movies might find the idea of a family with flexibility, strength, invisibility, and force fields a retread of The Incredibles, but Pixar's animated film was very much a tribute to the FF and other heroes of the last 40 years. The irony is that while Fantastic Four is an enjoyable B-grade movie, it's the tribute, The Incredibles, that turned out to be a film for the ages. —David Horiuchi, Amazon.com

The Fantastic Four

Tim Story Offering a real improvement on its predecessor and successfully introducing one of the world of comics' most popular characters in the process, Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer easily warrants some attention on DVD to go with its impressive box office take.

Picking up where the surprisingly tepid original left off, Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer finds the Marvel Comics Universe's first family dealing with the celebrity that their powers have brought them, to the point where even a simple wedding can't take place without interruption.

The film then takes a little while to re-establish its characters and re-introduce some of the issues that underpin them. But it's not too long before the Silver Surfer arrives, and things really get into gear. For make no mistake: it's the Surfer who ignites the film and provides some of the very best moments of Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer. Backed up by some superb special effects work, he's a far more interesting draw that the returning Julian McMahon as Dr Doom.

While there are, inevitably, various problems that each of the characters in Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer must face, the film never opts to go knee-deep into them. Instead, it chooses a light, breezy tone, that's suited well to family viewing yet not without some genuine blockbuster moments.

It's no classic, but Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer is most certainly fun. And it's equally certain that this isn't the last we've seen of this quintet of heroes... —Jon Foster

Leave it to the wildly inventive Coen brothers (Joel directs, Ethan produces, they both write) to concoct a fiendishly clever kidnap caper that's simultaneously a comedy of errors, a Midwestern satire, a taut suspense thriller and a violent tale of criminal misfortune. It all begins when a hapless car salesman (played to perfection by William H. Macy) ineptly orchestrates the kidnapping of his own wife. The plan goes horribly awry in the hands of bumbling bad guys Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare (one of them being described by a local girl as "kinda funny lookin'" and "not circumcised"), and the pregnant sheriff of Brainerd, Minnesota, (played exquisitely by Frances McDormand in an Oscar-winning role) is suddenly faced with a case of multiple murders. Her investigation is laced with offbeat observations about life in the rural hinterland of Minnesota and North Dakota, and Fargo embraces its local yokels with affectionate humour. At times shocking and hilarious, Fargo is utterly unique and distinctly American, bearing the unmistakable stamp of its inspired creators. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) An international co-production of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, Australia's Channel 9 and Hallmark Entertainment, Farscapeis genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5and the continuing success of the Star Trekfranchise. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, Farscapetakes a visual leap beyond previous shows. Admittedly, the basic premise may be borrowed from Buck Rogers(American astronaut catapulted to far-flung galaxy populated by strange aliens), while the crew have something of Blake's 7about them (a motley bunch of escaped convicts pursued by a relentless foe), and ideas like the living ship are borrowed from Babylon 5, but the Farscapeconcept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. The production design is all bio-mechanical curves and the script never takes itself too seriously (fart jokes and double-entendres pop up when you least expect them). It must have been expensive to make, but it certainly looks (and sounds—in Dolby Digital 5.1) like every penny made it to the screen.

In this handsome box set, two discs contain the first four episodes of the first season, completely uncut. In "Premiere", astronaut John Crichton is inadvertently catapulted into a parallel universe where he is taken on board the bio-mechanical ship Moya and meets the inhabitants: D'Argo, a seven-foot-tall Luxan warrior, Zhaan, a blue-skinned Delvian priestess, and the diminutive slug-like Rygel, the Henson Creature Shop's proudest creation. Another humanoid (and potential love interest), formidable-yet-sexy Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun, joins soon after. In true Buck Rogers style, Ben Browder plays Crichton as an all-American astronaut, although with a more believable sense of bewilderment; the supporting cast is a mixture of Australian and British actors, mostly disguised under heavy make-up. In episode 2, "Throne for a Loss", Rygel's devious side is developed further as he gets the crew into trouble when he "borrows" a crystal crucial to the operation of the ship and is kidnapped by some unpleasant characters. Disc Two opens with the wittily titled "Back and Back and Back to the Future", the obligatory time-travel episode, followed by "I, E.T.", in which Crichton feels the force of his earlier comment: "Boy did Spielberg get it wrong. Close Encounters, my ass."

On the DVD:Disc One includes a "making of" documentary, with comments from the cast, Brian Henson and producer Rockne S. O'Bannon (the man also responsible for Alien Nationand SeaQuest), plus a profile of principal character John Crichton. Disc Two profiles Aeryn Sun and has the original trailer and DVD-ROM extras (screensaver and weblinks). —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) An international co-production of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, Australia's Channel 9 and Hallmark Entertainment, Farscapeis genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5and the continuing success of the Star Trekfranchise. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, Farscapetakes a visual leap beyond previous shows. Admittedly, the basic premise may be borrowed from Buck Rogers(American astronaut catapulted to far-flung galaxy populated by strange aliens), while the crew have something of Blake's 7about them (a motley bunch of escaped convicts pursued by a relentless foe), and ideas like the living ship are borrowed from Babylon 5, but the Farscapeconcept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. The production design is all bio-mechanical curves and the script never takes itself too seriously (fart jokes and double-entendres pop up when you least expect them). It must have been expensive to make, but it certainly looks (and sounds in Dolby Digital 5.1) like every penny made it to the screen. In true Buck Rogers style, Ben Browder plays leading man John Crichton as an all-American astronaut, although with a more believable sense of bewilderment; the supporting cast is a mixture of Australian and British actors, mostly disguised under heavy make-up.

In this second box set there are five episodes spread across two discs. Although the generic Star Trek-style storylines seem a little over-familiar, the witty and fast-paced scripts help to keep things fresh. In "Exodus from Genesis" the crew of Moya are invaded by space cockroaches, who, in a suprising twist then help them fend off the Peacekeepers. "Thank God it's Friday Again" shows D'Argo finding happiness in a hippy commune where all is not what it seems; Crichton has a Matrix-style worm inserted in his navel before Rygel's bodily functions prove to be instrumental in rescuing the crew. Crichton finds love with the "PK Tech Girl", much to the consternation of Aeryn Sun, who goes into full Lt. Ripley mode and spends the episode running around with a pulse rifle under flickering strobe lighting. In "That Old Black Magic", a malevolent magician forces a confrontation between Crichton and his nemesis, Crais; Zhaan must revive her bad old ways in order to save the day. "DNA Mad Scientist" is the most original episode, with a neat twist on the Frankenstein scenario thanks to the splendid villain, Namtar; a distinctly unpleasant side to some of the characters is revealed as they bargain body parts in exchange for a map home.

On the DVD:Because the first disc contains three episodes instead of the usual two, special features are limited to a trailer and some conceptual art. The second disc also has a profile of Zhaan. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) An international co-production of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, Australia's Channel 9 and Hallmark Entertainment, Farscapeis genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5and the continuing success of the Star Trekfranchise. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, Farscapetakes a visual leap beyond previous shows. Admittedly, the basic premise may be borrowed from Buck Rogers(American astronaut catapulted to far-flung galaxy populated by strange aliens), while the crew have something of Blake's 7about them (a motley bunch of escaped convicts pursued by a relentless foe), and ideas such as the living ship are borrowed from Babylon 5, but the Farscapeconcept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. The production design is all bio-mechanical curves and the script never takes itself too seriously (fart jokes and double-entendres pop up when you least expect them). It must have been expensive to make, but it certainly looks (and sounds-in Dolby Digital 5.1) as if every penny made it to the screen. In true Buck Rogers style, Ben Browder plays leading man John Crichton as an all-American astronaut, although with a more believable sense of bewilderment; the supporting cast is a mixture of Australian and British actors, mostly disguised under heavy make-up.

There are five more episodes from Season One on this third DVD box set. "They've Got a Secret" has D'Argo being accidentally ejected into space, as a result of which, secrets of his imprisonment are revealed. "Till the Blood Runs Clear" finds Crichton and Aeryn confronting bounty-hunters. In "The Flax", the crew get all tangled up with some Zenetan pirates. Blue-skinned Delvian priestess Zhaan meets more of her kind in "Rhapsody in Blue", but madness is the result. Finally, "Jeremiah Crichton" finds our human hero stranded on an earthly paradise where no machines will function; falling in love is just the beginning of his troubles.

On the DVD: Special features here are a gallery of conceptual art and another star profile, this time of Anthony Simcoe's Luxan warrior character, D'Argo. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Geoff Bennett (II) Ian Watson (II) An international co-production of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, Australia's Channel 9 and Hallmark Entertainment, Farscapeis genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5and the continuing success of the Star Trekfranchise. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, Farscapetakes a visual leap beyond previous shows. Admittedly, the basic premise may be borrowed from Buck Rogers(American astronaut catapulted to far-flung galaxy populated by strange aliens), while the crew have something of Blake's 7about them (a motley bunch of escaped convicts pursued by a relentless foe), and ideas like the living ship are borrowed from Babylon 5, but the Farscapeconcept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. The production design is all bio-mechanical curves and the script never takes itself too seriously (fart jokes and double-entendres pop up when you least expect them). It must have been expensive to make, but it certainly looks (and sounds—in Dolby Digital 5.1) as if every penny made it to the screen. In true Buck Rogers style, Ben Browder plays leading man John Crichton as an all-American astronaut, although with a more believable sense of bewilderment; the supporting cast is a mixture of Australian and British actors, mostly disguised under heavy make-up.

Box Set 4 includes four episodes, another gallery of conceptual art, and video profiles of everyone's favourite Hynerian Dominar, Rygel, as well as a profile of Moya the living Leviathan transport ship and her pilot. The episodes are: "Durka Returns", in which the crew meet the beautiful Chiana for the first time, as well as Rygel's old tormentor, Captain Durka;"A Human Reaction", where Crichton finally gets back to Earth but with unfortunate results for the rest of Moya's crew;"Through the Looking Glass" in which the crew and Moya are thrown into a dimensional schism inhabited by a strange creature; and "A Bug's Life", in which an intelligent virus is released on the ship after an encounter with Peacekeepers. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Geoff Bennett (II) Ian Watson (II) Farscapeis genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5and the continuing success of the Star Trekfranchise, but taking a visual and conceptual leap beyond those shows. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the Farscapeconcept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. The production design is all bio-mechanical curves and the script, which is peppered with post-modern pop culture references and film in-jokes, never takes itself too seriously. It may be expensive to make, but it certainly looks (and sounds—in Dolby Digital 5.1) like every penny made it to the screen. Ben Browder plays leading man John Crichton as a latter-day Buck Rogers but with an entirely believable sense of bewilderment, not to mention loss; the rest of the living ship Moya's crew also has plenty of difficult issues to deal with, allowing Farscape's writers licence to develop their characters in often unexpected ways. The result is episodic TV sci-fi that continually pushes at the accepted boundaries of the format.

Box Set 5: these four episodes lead up to the climax of the show's first season. "Nerve" and "The Hidden Memory" make for a bold two-parter in which Crichton is reunited with his Peacekeeper Tech girlfriend, Gilina, and emotions are strained as he infiltrates a Peacekeeper base to find a cure for Aeryn's wound. But the story's most important function is to introduce the dreaded Scorpius, who uses his Aurora chair torture device to extract what he mistakenly believes is vital knowledge from Crichton. Scorpius, it soon becomes clear, is just not going to go away. In "Bone to be Wild" the crew is still on the run from the vengeful Scorpius and take refuge on a strange vegetation-covered asteroid where there's a deadly role-reversal of the beauty and the beast story taking place. Finally in "Family Ties" the season ends on a tense cliffhanger as Rygel plots with Scorpius, Crais intervenes unexpectedly, Moya's child turns out to be something of a handful, and Crichton and D'Argo must take a desperate gamble. Also on the disc is an interview with costume designer Terry Ryan and a profile of the Australian Creature Shop. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) Andrew Prowse Farscapeis genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5and the continuing success of the Star Trekfranchise, but taking a visual and conceptual leap beyond those shows. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the Farscapeconcept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. The production design is all bio-mechanical curves and the script, which is peppered with post-modern pop culture references and movie in-jokes, never takes itself too seriously. It may be expensive to make, but it certainly looks (and sounds—in Dolby Digital 5.1) like every penny made it to the screen. Ben Browder plays leading man John Crichton as a latter-day Buck Rogers but with an entirely believable sense of bewilderment, not to mention loss; the rest of the living ship Moya's crew also has plenty of difficult issues to deal with, allowing Farscape's writers licence to develop their characters in often unexpected ways. The result is episodic TV sci-fi that continually pushes at the accepted boundaries of the format.

Box Set 6: after the nail-biting cliffhanger at the end of the first, the second series gets off to a shaky start in "Mind the Baby", as all the loose plot ends have to be gathered and resolved. Crais apparently has a change of heart, and Scorpius takes his place as Crichton's new nemesis. In "Vitas Mortis" D'Argo falls for a lonely Luxan, with catastrophic and barely plausible results for Moya. "Taking the Stone" showcases Chiana's grief in an episode that manages to be even more confusing. Fortunately by the fourth episode, "Crackers Don't Matter", the show has really hit its stride once again: the crew slowly succumbs to a state of paranoia-fuelled madness, fighting and trying to kill one another thanks to the presence of an odd light-seeking alien. Crichton has a string of great lines ("I hate it when villains quote Shakespeare") and much fun doing an impersonation of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. In "The Way We Weren't" there are shocking revelations about both Aeryn and Pilot's past lives and the show's gift for surprising as well as emotionally convincing character development is once more brought to the fore. Extra features on the DVD include a handful of deleted scenes, cast biographies, a picture gallery and TV trailer. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) The second season of Farscapeexpands upon and develops the characters introduced in the ambitious first season. John Crichton's new nemesis is the deadly Scorpius, replacing Crais who has taken the living ship Moya's offspring on a voyage into the unknown. Moya's regular crew—Aeryn, Zhaan, Chiana, D'Argo and Rygel—remain as divided and suspicious of each other as ever, yet somehow manage to pull together at times of crisis. After revelations about Pilot's introduction to Moya in "The Way We Weren't", the writers continue to exploit the show's gift for surprising as well as emotionally convincing character development. The CGI effects, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, continue to make Farscapethe most original looking sci-fi show on TV. The witty scripts, peppered with post-modern pop culture references and movie in-jokes, are also a breath of fresh air. The result is episodic TV sci-fi that continually pushes at the accepted boundaries of the genre.

On the DVD: the four episodes included here are all distinguished by ambitious storytelling, somewhat let down in the execution. In "Picture if You Will", an old enemy returns with a truly bizarre and barely comprehensible scheme to imprison Moya's crew inside a picture (shades of Dorian Gray maybe?). "Home on the Remains" has a contrived plot that harks right back to classic Star Trek, with Crichton even quoting Jim Kirk (the highlight, though, is Zhaan's transformation, which gives a whole new meaning to hay fever). Both "Dream a Little Dream" and "Out of Their Minds" play around with the crew's perceptions of reality—the former is a curious flashback episode set in between the first and second season, as Zhaan is put on trial for murder on a dystopian planet run by lawyers; the second plays body-swap with the crew, with everyone obviously having fun pretending to be everyone else (the aliens, however, look like leftovers from The Dark Crystal). DVD extras include a handful of deleted scenes, a DVD-ROM screensaver and yet another photo gallery. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) The second season of Farscapeexpands upon and develops the characters introduced in the ambitious first season. John Crichton's new nemesis is the deadly Scorpius, replacing Crais who has taken the living ship Moya's offspring on a voyage into the unknown. Moya's regular crew—Aeryn, Zhaan, Chiana, D'Argo and Rygel—remain as divided and suspicious of each other as ever, yet somehow manage to pull together at times of crisis. After revelations about Pilot's introduction to Moya in "The Way We Weren't", the writers continue to exploit the show's gift for surprising as well as emotionally convincing character development. The CGI effects, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, continue to make Farscapethe most original looking sci-fi show on TV. The witty scripts, peppered with post-modern pop culture references and movie in-jokes, are also a breath of fresh air. The result is episodic TV sci-fi that continually pushes at the accepted boundaries of the genre. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) The second season of Farscapeexpands upon and develops the characters introduced in the ambitious first season. John Crichton's new nemesis is the deadly Scorpius, replacing Crais who has taken the living ship Moya's offspring on a voyage into the unknown. Moya's regular crew—Aeryn, Zhaan, Chiana, D'Argo and Rygel—remain as divided and suspicious of each other as ever, yet somehow manage to pull together at times of crisis. The writers continue to exploit the show's gift for surprising as well as emotionally convincing character development, while the CGI effects, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, continue to make Farscapethe most original looking sci-fi show on TV. The witty scripts, peppered with post-modern pop culture references and movie in-jokes, are also a breath of fresh air. The result is episodic TV sci-fi that continually pushes at the accepted boundaries of the genre. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) The second season of Farscapeexpands upon and develops the characters introduced in the ambitious first season. John Crichton's new nemesis is the deadly Scorpius, replacing Crais who has taken the living ship Moya's offspring on a voyage into the unknown. Moya's regular crew—Aeryn, Zhaan, Chiana, D'Argo and Rygel—remain as divided and suspicious of each other as ever, yet somehow manage to pull together at times of crisis. The writers continue to exploit the show's gift for surprising as well as emotionally convincing character development, while the CGI effects, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry—courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop—continue to make Farscapethe most original-looking sci-fi show on TV. The witty scripts, peppered with post-modern pop culture references and film in-jokes, are also a breath of fresh air. The result is episodic TV sci-fi that continually pushes at the accepted boundaries of the genre. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) It's clear from the opening episodes of its third season that Farscapehas developed into a grown-up show. There's a new self-confidence and maturity here that's entirely welcome after the often wildly erratic tone of the second season. The production design and high-quality effects remain true to the show's original quirky style, although both the look and the more adult-themed scripts have become progressively darker. It's also clear that anyone who has not followed Farscapeextremely closely from the very first episode of Season One will be utterly baffled by the convoluted plotting and complex character interactions. This is not the best place to begin your interstellar journey.

All the principal actors know their characters inside and out by now, and delight in showing off their many weaknesses and flaws. Refreshingly, the crew of Moya are a squabbling, bickering, selfish bunch most of the time, who somehow and against expectations manage to pull together (just) at the crucial moment. The writing has matured, too, remaining as witty as ever but equally unafraid to push both genre and censorship boundaries as villains bloodily torture their victims (usually Crichton) and the main characters become more and more obsessed with their sex lives (or lack thereof). Farscapeis a whole galaxy away from the clean, cosy world of Star Trek.

On the DVD:with a number of key personnel changes on the horizon, these first five episodes are evidence that Farscapeknows where it's going even as it delights in keeping the audience guessing. Will Aeryn survive? If so, at what cost to her crewmates? What will D'Argo do when he discovers that Chiana and his son are having an affair? Can Zhaan really be dying? Just who is Neeyala? And can Crichton keep one step ahead of S&M fetishist Scorpius, various Skarrans and sundry other bloodthirsty aliens all intent upon getting into his mind, sometimes literally?

Aware that no one is going to be able to start Season Three without knowing a lot of background, sensibly the main extra is a 45-minute "Farscape Undressed" documentary, hosted by Ben Browder and Claudia Black, which introduces all the key characters and themes of the show and sets up the backstory for the new season. There are "Info Pods" on Aeryn (with interview) and Zhaan, an interview with new series composer Guy Gross, some text trivia pieces, plus a gallery. There's also a bonus sampler disc of the pilot episode, though if you really want to keep up you'd better start but not stop there. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) With the third season well under way, it's clear that Farscapehas developed into a grown-up show. There's a new self-confidence and a new maturity here that's entirely welcome after the often wildly erratic tone of the second season. The production design and high-quality effects work remain true to the show's original quirky style, although both the look and the more adult-themed scripts have become progressively darker.

This second box set of Season 3 features five of the nastiest, most shocking and incident-packed episodes to date. Things start badly when psychotic madman Kaarvok kills D'Argo and Chiana and sucks out their brains. Only later do we discover he's "twinned" them when the same fate befalls Crichton—though both Crichton "twins" survive. Life just gets more and more complicated thereafter. Crichton twin 1 stays on Moya with D'Argo, Chiana and Jool, while Crichton twin 2 transfers to Talyn with Aeryn, Crais, Rygel and Stark. Talyn is being pursued by a Peacekeeper retrieval squad led by Aeryn's mum, Xhalax Sun, and is then swallowed by a Budong (in the Ben Browder-penned episode "Green-Eyed Monster") before Mrs Sun catches up with her daughter and pals. Back on Moya a mysterious "Energy Rider" possesses the crew in turn. Meanwhile on Talyn, Aeryn and Crichton twin 2 have been blissfully having sex, while Crais lusts vainly for Aeryn. Just wait until Scorpius gets involved.

On the DVD:This box set contains the usual "Info Pods" and other extras, plus the first Region 2 commentary, for the episode "Relativity", with actor Lani Tupu and director Peter Andrikidis; it's a shame that they don't have a lot to say. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) By now it's clear that the third season of Farscapeis the show's most exciting but also the most convoluted to date. The story so far: the crew has been divided across Moya and her troublesome offspring, Talyn; Crichton is literally divided into two; and Scorpius is sometimes real (but with a Crichton clone in his head) and sometimes the neural clone "Harvey" inside Crichton's head. Confused? Better follow events closely as multiple plot strands diverge and intertwine, characters from previous seasons pop up when you least expect them, and weird stuff generally keeps on happening.

The four episodes in this box set take the various story threads still further apart. "Incubator" has the real Scorpius showing his Crichton neural clone the tragic truth about his upbringing. Scarrans, it seems, are the real enemy after all. In "Meltdown", Talyn is captured by a Siren Sun and Stark becomes even more unhinged, while Chrichton and Aeryn just can't keep their hands off each other. "Scratch 'n' Sniff" provides some welcome comic relief with an episode shot like a kinky David Fincher pop video and co-starring Ben Browder's real-life wife as the incredibly annoying Raxil. Finally, the gripping and action-packed "Infinite Possibilities, Part 1: Daedalus Dreams" returns us to the season's primary story-arc: the search for wormhole technology and its potentially dire consequences. The cliffhanger ending will have you yelling at the TV for more.

On the DVD:only four episodes instead of the usual five, it's true, but every one is a corker. There are a handful of extras, including more "Info Pods", some deleted scenes and fact files to round out the set. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) Well over half way through its third season and Farscapehas plenty more surprises in store. This box set concludes the cliffhanger of "Infinite Possibilities" with the extraordinarily brave "Icarus Abides", in which the battle between Crichton and his Scorpius clone is resolved, but with fatal consequences. Then, in a dizzying change of pace, we return to Moya and the "other" Crichton for "Revenging Angel", part of which is a madcap Farscapetake on the Road Runnercartoons, with a furious D'Argo standing in for Wiley Coyote. Matters turn sombre again as Aeryn communes with the spirits of the dead in "The Choice", but the reappearance of her mum, the vengeful Xhalax Sun, creates problems for Rygel and Stark. Across these four episodes the action seesaws between the crews of Moya and Talyn until a reluctant and painful reunion takes place in "Fractures", setting the scene for the final quartet of episodes of this enthralling season. Anyone who has not followed Farscapeextremely closely from the very first episode of season one should go right back and begin at the beginning.

On the DVD:four uncut episodes are accompanied by the now-familiar gallery of extras. There are "Info Pods" on D'Argo and Pilot, some deleted scenes, "Farscape Facts", Sci-Fi channel promos and a picture gallery. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) The final four episodes of Farscape's remarkable third season prove conclusively that this is the show's best and bravest year to date. Powerful issues of love, loyalty and sacrifice remain to be resolved, but after enduring a vertiginous emotional roller-coaster ride in recent episodes, Moya's reunited crew have no time to recuperate as Crichton determinedly calls them to arms for their sternest challenge yet. Scorpius and his Wormhole research must be destroyed at any price. Thus the scene is set to conclude the series' biggest story arc in a climactic confrontation aboard the Peacekeeper Command Carrier.

In "I-Yensch, You-Yensch" the plan is set in motion, as a canny Rygel bargains with Scorpius and gains his grudging respect during an unexpected and tragi-comic heist by two murderously incompetent criminals. Then the two-parter "Into the Lion's Den" takes everyone onto the Command Carrier, where Aeryn is confronted by her past, Crichton's subconscious finally releases its Wormhole secrets, and Crais persuades Talyn to do something extraordinarily noble. By the end, it's hard not to sympathise with poor put-upon Scorpius. In the final episode, "Dog with Two Bones", Moya's crew seem finally free to go their separate ways as a mysterious refugee helps Crichton confront his worst fears about Aeryn. Emotions reach a climax and remain tantalisingly unresolved at the cliffhanger ending.

On the DVD:Farscape, Volume 3.5carries all the usual gallery of extra features—including deleted scenes, "Info-Pods" on Rygel, Crais and Scorpius, "Farscape Facts", trailers and stills—plus of course four uncut episodes. —Mark Walker

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) In its fourth series Farscapeis as much dramatic and romantic fun as it's ever been and it's even more stylish than ever before. A pity, then, that this series is also the show's last, following its abrupt cancellation by the Sci-Fi Channel. If at times the tone seems a little lighter here than in its gloriously doom-laden predecessor, that is because its story arc is the first half of what was intended to cover two series and some of the material is clearly here for the long run. It is, for example, probably no coincidence that the priests' chant in "What Was Lost" has been part of the show's signature tune from the beginning.

There are five episodes here. In "Crichton Kicks", Crichton has been a castaway for months on a senile Leviathan which is waiting its time to die. He has worked out wormhole technology, trained an orchestra of DRDs to sing the 1812 Overture, and is generally content, until his worldly resignation is shattered by the arrival of the beautiful, bossy and untrustworthy Sikozu, a bunch of aggressive butchers and a somewhat battered Chiana and Rygel.

"What Was Lost Part 1: Sacrifice" takes them to an archaeological dig where they join Jool, D'Argo and the mysterious, annoying old woman Noranti and start to uncover lost secrets that change everything. In "What Was Lost Part 2: Resurrection" Crichton, drugged into bed by the seductive evil Peacekeeper Grayza, regains his self-respect by helping save yet another world.

"Lava's a Many-Splendored Thing" is a puzzle episode: how to rescue an amber-encased Rygel from the bottom of a pool of lava without getting crisped or shot by renegades and how to use D'Argo's ship to rescue him when it is keyed to his DNA. Finally, "Promises" takes everyone back to Moya to find a dying Aeryn Sun and a Scorpius she has promised to protect—the issue here is how to outwit both a Peacekeeper torpedo and an extortionist with a big ship and a taste for hiding behind holograms.

On the DVD:Farscape 4.1has a very useful guide to the show's back-story as well as an interview with Anthony Simcoe ( D'Argo) and various character profiles and galleries. The deleted and extended scenes are unusually interesting—there is an exchange between Scorpius, Braca and Grayza which turns out later in the season to have been especially important. The DVD is presented in 4:3 visual aspect ratio and has Dolby Digital 5:1 sound. —Roz Kaveney

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) Episodes 6-10 of Farscape's fourth series continue the themes set at the start of the year while concentrating on one-off adventures. John Crichton is still upset that Aeryn Sun has not confided in him about her pregnancy; Aeryn is still trying to cope with the loss of his dead copy; Chiana is trying in her lascivious way to get them back together; Scorpius and Sikozu are gradually becoming integrated into the life of the crew, and John and the others are trying to learn to trust their former arch-enemy. In "'Natural Election"', the process of choosing which of the crew shall be captain becomes more urgent when the living ship Moya is attacked by a space-dwelling plant that hangs around wormholes;"John Quixote" has Crichton and Chiana trapped in a surreal gameworld full of old friends and enemies; in "I Shrink, Therefore I Am", Crichton has to rescue his friends from bounty-hunters who have shrunk them and hidden them in their heavily-armoured bodies. Aeryn finds herself compelled to homicidal violence in "'A Prefect Murder"' and time goes wonky on her; Crichton has to get into drag and Scorpius has to vomit a lot to save their crewmates from getting caught in the cross-fire of "Coup by Clam". These are enjoyable albeit routine episodes of the most imaginative space opera ever to hit the TV screen, though they only hint at the wonders that were to come later in this final series.

On the DVD:Farscape 4.2has a wealth of special features that include two deleted scenes—one of them a touching discussion of their love lives between Aeryn and Chiana—and a text guide to swearing in the Farscapeuniverse. There is a documentary about the special effects and a prolonged interview with Claudia Black in which she talks about how the show stretched her as an actress. It is presented in widescreen with a visual aspect ratio of 4:3 and has Dolby Digital sound. —Roz Kaveney

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) In the episodes contained in this third volume, Farscape's fourth series finally kicks into gear and does some of the most surprising things a television show has ever done. The first three episodes are all Farscapeclassics, which take our expectations and jump up and down on them. "Unrealised Realities" takes John Crichton (Ben Browder) through a wormhole to be interrogated by a creature who regards the Ancients who put the knowledge of wormhole technology in his brain as annoying bumblers and who tells him a lot about time and about alternate universes. This gives the cast a chance to play each other again—Claudia Black's performance as Chiana is particularly disorientating. In "Kansas" John finds himself finally back on Earth, during his own adolescence, with the task of ensuring that his father does not die in the Challenger explosion and alter his personal history. The visit to his long-missed home continues in "Terra Firma" where the crew of Moya have to cope with Bush's America and John discovers the hard way—politics, family, old girlfriends, alien assassins—that you cannot go home again. Lastly in the moderately weaker "Twice Shy", Chiana (Gigi Edgeley) and the others learn that no good deed goes unpunished as a slave they rescue turns out to be one of the more deadly individual menaces they have ever faced. —Roz Kaveney

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) The fourth volume of Farscape's fourth (and final) series does all those things that the later stages of any season should do: individual episodes play interesting games with how we think television works, while the tension of the overall story arc builds and builds. Of the individual episodes here, "Mental as Anything" is an ensemble piece for the male members of Moya's crew: D'Argo's back-story gets some sort of resolution and Scorpius puts John Crichton through hell for the best of reasons. "Bringing Home the Beacon" is rather more fun— the women of Moya frustrate a Sebacean/Scarren peace treaty—but ends in stark tragedy. In "Constellation of Doubt", Moya picks up, and the crew obsessionally watch, a documentary from American television about their recent visit to earth: Crichton gets to see human paranoia and wishful thinking through cold, intelligent alien eyes. Finally, in "Prayer", Aeryn suffers terribly at the hands of her Scarren captors and Crichton makes a devil's bargain with Scorpius to save her. By this point the season is building to the surprises of its last episodes: Farscapewas about to be cancelled, but it never lost its edge.

On the DVDs:Farscape, Series 4 Vol. 4includes a dictionary of alien slang and technical terms with illustrative clips from the show, as well as text files on the villainous Peacekeepers Braca and Grayza. The high point of the extras, though, is an interview with the wonderfully flakey Gigi Edgeley (Chiana) and a lot of deleted scenes from "Constellation of Doubt", with footage of Chiana, Aeryn and Noranti interacting with Crichton's family in bizarre and touching ways. —Roz Kaveney

Tony Tilse Ian Watson (II) Geoff Bennett (II) This last ever sequence of Farscapeepisodes is as effective and powerful a climax as those of earlier seasons. The three-parter "We're So Screwed" (a title censored by the BBC in the UK) starts with "Fetal Attraction", in which the crew of Moya attempt to rescue the pregnant Aeryn Sun from her Scarren captors and end up starting a dangerous epidemic on a space station. They get Aeryn back and lose Scorpius; in "Hot to Katratzi", the necessity of saving his worst enemy—who just knows too much to be left a captive—forces John Crichton to gate-crash the Sebacean-Scarren peace conference and bluff his way to success. Seemingly betrayed by Scorpius, John snatches victory in "La Bomba", striking another deadly blow against the Scarren empire. The title of the last episode "Bad Timing" refers both to the show's cancellation—the cast and crew felt real bitterness towards the SciFi Channel over this—and to the cliff-hanger ending; the crew of Moya have to prevent a Scarren ship finding its way through the worm-hole to Earth. Farscapewas perhaps the best ever television space opera and certainly the most sexy, stylish, funny and dramatic; it will be greatly missed.

On the DVD:Farscape, Series 4 Part 5presents the shows in 16:9 format with impressively loud Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The special features include a documentary about the cancellation of Farscape, in which the cast talk about their shock and grief and fans talk about the "Save Farscape" campaign. There are a couple of extended versions of scenes from these episodes and an extensive blooper reel, much of it hilarious. Also included is an illustrated glossary of terms from the Uncharted Territories and a collection of interesting facts about these last four episodes. —Roz Kaveney

Uncut first episode of FarScape plus extra features

Created at least in part due to popular demand, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Warswill provide some closure to fans who were dismayed by the demise of the popular science fiction television show in 2003 and campaigned mightily to bring it back. Indeed, this mini-series (originally broadcast over two nights on the Sci-Fi Channel) will likely appeal primarily to the Farscapefaithful, as the somewhat convoluted storyline may prove baffling to the uninitiated.

A brief bit of backstory explains how John Crichton, an astronaut from Earth, went through a wormhole and ended up on Moya, a living spaceship, with a motley group of aliens, including D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), Chiana (Gigi Edgley), various puppet characters (designed by the Jim Henson Company), and Aeryn (Claudia Black), Crichton's love interest, who's expecting their first child. As The Peacekeeper Warsbegins, our heroes find themselves in the middle of a war-to-end-all-wars between the lizard-like, implacably evil Scarrans and their rivals, the Peacekeepers. Crichton is the lynchpin in all of this, as his knowledge of "wormhole technology" is coveted by all, including his old nemesis Scorpius (Wayne Pygram), who captured and tortured Crichton back in season 1 and with whom Crichton must now form an uneasy alliance against the Scarrans.

Over the course of the three-hour miniseries, we get lots of weird- and cool-looking aliens, some nice sets and special effects, plenty of battles, and lots of portentous talk about the fate of the universe—nothing especially original, but all presented with outstanding production values. There's drama and action, love and betrayal, tragedy and triumph, war and, ultimately, peace, with a suitably spectacular ending (and a nod to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey). With a 30-minute "making of" documentary among the DVD special features, The Peacekeeper Warsis a fitting way to end the Farscapesaga. —Sam Graham

Luc Besson Ancient curses, all-powerful monsters, shape-changing assassins, scantily-clad stewardesses, laser battles, huge explosions, a perfect woman, a malcontent hero—what more can you ask of a big-budget science fiction movie? Luc Besson's high-octane film The Fifth Elementincorporates presidents, rock stars and cab drivers into its peculiar plot, traversing worlds and encountering some pretty wild aliens. Bruce Willis stars as a down-and-out cabbie who must win the love of Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) to save Earth from destruction by Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) and a dark, unearthly force that makes Darth Vader look like an Ewok. —Geoff Riley

Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, David Fincher All films require a certain suspension of disbelief, Fight Club perhaps more than others; but if you're willing to let yourself get caught up in the anarchy, this film, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, is a modern-day morality play warning of the decay of society. Edward Norton is the unnamed protagonist, a man going through life on cruise control, feeling nothing. To fill his hours, he begins attending support groups and 12-step meetings. True, he isn't actually afflicted with the problems, but he finds solace in the groups. This is destroyed, however, when he meets Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), also faking her way through groups. Spiralling back into insomnia, Norton finds his life is changed once again, by a chance encounter with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), whose forthright style and no-nonsense way of taking what he wants appeal to our narrator. Tyler and the protagonist find a new way to feel release: they fight. They fight each other, and then as others are attracted to their ways, they fight the men who come to join their newly formed Fight Club. Marla begins a destructive affair with Tyler, and things fly out of control, as Fight Club is transformed into a nationwide fascist group.

The depiction of violence in Fight Club is unflinching, but director David Fincher's film is captivating and beautifully shot, with camerawork and effects that are almost as startling as the script. The movie is packed with provocative ideas and images—from the satirical look at the emptiness of modern consumerism to quasi-Nietzschean concepts of "beyond good and evil"—that will leave the viewer with much food for thought to take away. Pitt and Norton are an unbeatable duo, and the film has a great sense of humour too. Even if it leaves you with a sense of profound discomfort this is a movie that you'll have to see again and again, if for no other reason than to just to take it all in. —Jenny Brown, Amazon.com

Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, James Wong While hardly a spiritual upgrade of the slasher film, this high-concept teen body-count thriller drops hints of The Sixth Sense into the smart-alec sensibility of Scream. Helmed by X Files veteran James Wong, who co-wrote the screenplay with long-time creative partner Glen Morgan, Final Destination is an often entertaining thriller marked by an unsettling sense of unease and scenes of eerie imagery. It suffers, however, from a schizophrenic tone and a frankly ludicrous premise. A high school Cassandra, Alex Browning (Devon Sawa of Idle Hands), wakes from a pre-flight nightmare and panics when he is convinced the plane is doomed. His ruckus bumps seven passengers from the Paris-bound plane, which immediately explodes into a fireball on takeoff, but fate hasn't finished with these lucky few and, one by one, death claims them. Wong brings such a funereal tone to these early scenes of survivor's guilt and inevitable doom that the already far-fetched film threatens to veer into unplanned absurdity. Thankfully, the tale loosens up with a playful morgue humour: one of the victims winds up the splattered punch line to a grim joke and elaborate Rube Goldbergesque chains of cause and effect become inspired spectacles of destruction. Final Destination is a pretty silly thriller when it takes itself seriously, and the filmmakers play fast and loose with their own rules of fate, but once they stick their tongues firmly in cheek, the film takes off with a screwy interpretation of the domino effect of doom. —Sean Axmaker

On the DVD: A superb commentary from writer Jeffrey Reddick, director James Wong and producer Glen Morgan goes into great detail about the film's background. From the team's involvement with The X-Files through to the fight to keep their title "Flight 180", they're pretty candid about the movie's secrets (cameos and character names) and bringing "Death" to life. There are also eight minutes of deleted scenes from an expunged sub-plot that led to their original ending. The explanation for its rejection comes in a 13-minute featurette ("The Perfect Souffle"), which demonstrates the result of Hollywood's reliance on test screenings. There's a trailer, cast and crew biographies and two games—"Your Psychic Eye" and "Death Clock"—which are scary enough by themselves. Rounding this exceptional extras package off is a 20-minute featurette on real-life premonitions. —Paul Tonks

A.J. Cook, Ali Larter, David R. Ellis

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, James Wong Giddily gruesome and perversely entertaining, Final Destination 3 proves, yet again, that horror franchises will thrive as long as teenagers keep finding spectacular ways to die. A stand-alone sequel to the first two Final Destination thrillers, this one begins when a group of seven high-school graduates luckily escape from a deadly roller-coaster disaster, only to discover that their own deaths have been only temporarily avoided. Cute brunette Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) spots clues of impending doom in digital photos of her soon-to-be-expiring classmates, and an ill wind follows her everywhere, suggesting the presence of a supernatural force that makes her a catalyst for gory events, as each of her friends is dispatched in the order they were meant to die. Returning to give their brainchild a suspenseful, low-budget makeover, franchise creators and former X-Files writers James Wong and Glen Morgan cleverly play on our collective fears (the roller coaster sequence is genuinely terrifying) with a knowing nod to violent urban legends, which explains their inclusion of the '70s hit "Love Roller Coaster" on the soundtrack when two stuck-up girlfriends pay an ill-fated visit to a tanning parlor. And that's just for starters: With Wong as director, FD3 serves up its grisly deaths with tight pacing and humor, and the cathartic carnage is discreetly edited yet gory enough to satisfy hardcore horror buffs. When morbid mayhem is this much fun, it's a safe bet that another sequel is just around the corner. —Jeff Shannon

Inspired by the popular video game franchise, Hironobu Sakaguchi's Final Fantasy: The Spirits Withinis a completely computer-generated film which, unlike Toy Storyand Shrek, is also a serious science fiction drama with astonishingly human digital actors. Aki, the female lead, appeared in a full-page spread in Maximmagazine's Hot 100 list—and was indistinguishable from the real-life models. The setting and conflict make for incredible action, but it's the larger issues, character interaction and human elements that really make the movie shine. The Spirits Withinis not simply a science fiction movie, in the same way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonis not simply a kung-fu flick. The result is a fantastic summer movie with better action and more emotion than Pearl Harborand actors more lifelike than those in that other video game movie, Tomb Raider.—Mike Fehlauer, Amazon.com

On the DVD:disc one includes an interesting, if a little flat, director's commentary. Better is the isolated score with a superb and fascinating commentary from composer Elliot Goldenthal. Other options allow you to access more information about the film. The menus are clear and feature full CGI effects and specially created sequences. Disc two is where you will find the real meat, with literally hours of documentaries and technical promos to plough through covering every aspect of the filmmaking process, along with music videos and an alternative opening sequence. You can re-edit a short sequence from the film and there's also a wealth of DVD-ROM material offering the complete screenplay and an interesting tour of Square Pictures, makers of the film. Features like the FHM-style photo shoot of CGI heroine Aki give an indication of the target audience for this movie. Add all this extra material to the superb picture quality—which almost leaves you convinced that you are watching a live action movie—and crystal sharp sound and you have one of the most technically impressive discs to hit the market so far. Any DVD buff will need this just to prove that the format is a worthwhile investment.—Jon Weir

Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Adrian Lyne Flashdance was the aspirational feel-good movie of 1983, with its thudding Giorgio Moroder soundtrack, Fame-meets-An Officer and a Gentleman storyline and a doe-eyed but iron-willed heroine played by the promising Jennifer Beals. By day Alex (Beals) is a Pittsburgh welder. By night she dances self-choreographed pieces for beer swillers in a seedy nightclub. Then she goes home and dreams of entering the city's ballet school and a professional career.

Adrian Lyne's film is full of compromises. It never really gets to grips with Alex's misfit status in a male-dominated world. And in the end, she is given the leg-up she needs by her boss (Michael Nouri) who won't take "no" for an answer. That's called stalking these days. But Flashdance also has some fascinating surreal moments. The infernal qualities of life on an industrial site are well described by good lighting and the dances take on a bizarre life of their own within the film. Beals is often in shadowy long shot for these scenes and, in fact, most of the actual dancing was done by a more qualified stand-in.

On the DVD: Flashdance is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack. On disc the film still pulsates with that 1980s anything-is-possible energy. Apart from standard subtitle options and scene selections, there are no extras. —Piers Ford

Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck, Bronwen Hughes Plane crashes, pickpockets, hurricanes—heaven and hell is moving to prevent our able hero Ben (Ben Affleck) from marrying his sweetie (Maura Tierney) in Savannah. At every turn he runs into someone else despairing about the woes of married life. And of course, temptation proves overwhelming in the face of travelling companion Sarah (Sandra Bullock), the wild woman whom he can't seem—or doesn't want—to lose. After a wayward bird flies into the engine of his aeroplane, Ben is forced to find another way to his wedding. He finds himself stuck with Sarah, whom he carried from the plane after she was whacked in the head by his laptop. The heat between them is unmistakable, and the drama in the film comes from the "will he or won't he", both in terms of sleeping with Sarah and meeting up with his bride. Forces of Nature is a fun and sentimental road-trip film, but Ben is so straight-laced, you can't help but want him to fall flat on his face just a little. Bullock is the life of this film, although her free-spirited ways get a bit tired (responsibility is not all bad). The highlight of this movie, though, is definitely the cinematography. The beautiful rain shots and the colours of the scenes lend to the unsettling mood. While the jokes are not rip-roaring, Forces of Nature is to be reckoned with for those times when a light-hearted film is what you need. —Jenny Brown, Amazon.com

Steve Miner A sleeper hit when released in 1992, this romantic fantasy works as a comedic adventure and a gentle tearjerker thanks to Mel Gibson's appealing performance. He plays Daniel, a daring test pilot who is deeply distraught by the apparent death of his girlfriend, Helen, in 1939. Feeling little reason to live, he volunteers for a pioneering cryogenics experiment and is thawed out 50 years later by two young boys. They bring the confused pilot home to Nat's single mom, Claire (Jamie Lee Curtis). There's a hint of romance, but Daniel desperately needs to know if Helen really died in 1939, and he discovers that love has a way of surviving a half-century leap in time. The premise of Forever Youngis hokey and certain plot details are conveniently ignored, but Gibson, Curtis, and Elijah Wood (as Nat) hold it together with irresistible charm and just the right balance of fantasy and drama. —Jeff Shannon

Geoff Murphy Christopher Lambert stars in Fortress 2, a straight-to-video sequel to the 1992 original. You just knowit's gonna be good. Here he reprises his role as John Brennick, former leader of the Resistance and thorn in the side of the Men-Tel Corporation. In the first movie, Brennick escaped from and destroyed Men-Tel's high-tech "inescapable" prison. In the 10 years since then, he's gotten himself a house in the woods and some horses, and has illegally procreated with his wife. When Resistance members find him and try to recruit him back into the cause, the bad guys are not far behind, and after some two-dollar action scenes he finds himself captured and thrown into MEN-TEL's brand-new prison, which happens to be orbiting the Earth. Surely, nobody could ever escape from this! Except maybe, just maybe John Brennick! The plot is even more predictable than the placement of the co-ed shower scenes, to the point that you can practically quote the dialogue before it's spoken, with the only surprises being whichcliché they're going to use, and when. (By the way, these violent prisoners are actually being used to build and modify the satellite they're imprisoned in.) Pam Grier has an embarrassing cameo as the owner of MEN-TEL, and the dignity she tries to bring to the role is entirely out of place. The only fun to be had is if you watch it as if you're watching a bunch of adults play "action film", making for a strange entertainment, indeed. —Andy Spletzer, Amazon.com

Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Waters In the wonderfully entertaining Freaky Friday, teenager Anna (Lindsay Lohan) and her fortysomething psychiatrist mum Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) have sunk into a rut of frustrated bickering—until a magic spell causes them to switch bodies. Suddenly Tess finds herself faced with petty teachers, vicious rivals and a hunky boy, while Anna has to cope with her mother's neurotic patients as well as her befuddled fiancé (Mark Harmon), who doesn't understand why his bride-to-be is suddenly recoiling from his embrace on the eve of their wedding. Both Lohan and Curtis turn in deft, delightful performances, with Curtis showing a surprising flair for physical comedy. The movie even manages to explore serious issues about fractured families, new parents and adolescent sexuality with honesty and empathy—and without making the story stop dead in its tracks. This 2003 remake of the 1977 original is a mother-daughter film that fathers and sons can enjoy just as much. —Bret Fetzer

Ronny Yu After 11 years in development hell and screenplay drafts by 13 different writers, the long-awaited smackdown of Freddy vs Jasonfinally arrived in cinemas in 2003. After making their respective debuts in Friday the 13th(1980) and A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984), the hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger, replacing long-time Jason performer Kane Hodder) and razor-gloved Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) square off in a slasher-franchise combo-deal that only their most devoted fans will appreciate; it turns out this is a lightweight match in which nobody wins.

It's an average entry in the histories of these horror icons, comparable to half of their previous sequels, and Bride of Chuckydirector Ronny Yu satisfies purists with plenty of gushing blood and mayhem when Freddy recruits Jason to slice 'n' dice the ill-fated teens who've forgotten Freddy's once-formidable reign of terror. While it logically connects the gruesome legacies of Nightmare's Elm Street and Friday's Camp Crystal Lake, this horror hybrid is shockingly uninspired. It briefly peaks when Freddy gives the unconscious Jason a dream-world pummelling, but ultimately, their showdown's a letdown —Jeff Shannon

Rachel Talalay

Catherine Keener, Jason Isaacs, Nicole Holofcener

The eighth season of Friendspicks up just moments after Monica and Chandler said, "I do." But the focus of this season is firmly on Rachel's pregnancy, as the story progresses from fatherhood revelations in "The One with the Red Sweater" and "The One Where Rachel Tells..." toward complicated new feelings for Rachel, Ross, and Joey, culminating in the maternity ward two-parter "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby." But it's not all Rachel's pregnancy story. Standalone highlights include "The One with the Rumor" in which the "We Hate Rachel" club started in high school by Ross and a certain Mr. Jennifer Aniston (an uncredited Brad Pitt) is revealed; while "The One with Monica's Boots" has Monica and Chandler arguing over finances when Phoebe and Ross are arguing over the attentions of Sting's wife, Trudie Styler (cameoing as herself). Relationship complications fall upon Phoebe as "The One with the Tea Leaves" hooks her up with a stellar cameo from Alec Baldwin. "The One with Joey's Interview" has Matt LeBlanc in top form preparing to be interviewed by Soap Opera Digest. But time starts to tick faster for everyone in "The One Where Rachel Is Late," as Joey's WWI movie finally arrives, but is overshadowed by the wait for Rachel's overdue arrival. Naturally it's all build-up to the cliffhanger finale and a final emotional surprise. —Paul Tonks

Nine years is a long time for any group of Friendsto stick so closely together, but somehow the gang are still as daftly charming as ever. After the birth of Emma, Rachel comes to terms with being a mother surprisingly well. It's how everyone else deals with it that makes things interesting. Joey's accidental proposal creates weird friction between him and Ross, who breaks his finger throwing the show's first ever punch. Monica becomes desperately broody and attempts all manner of convoluted ways of persuading Chandler to father a child (unfortunately he inadvertently bankrupts them in a move to Tulsa!). Phoebe, on the other hand, occupies herself in the dating game, holding on to Mike (Paul Rudd) in the longest guest-star relationship anyone's ever had. Other surprise guests this year include Freddie Prinze Jr as an overly sensitive nanny (in the 200th episode), Christina Applegate as another of Rachel's sisters and Jeff Goldblum playing himself on the set of another movie on which Joey is trying to get a break.

As always the sparks occasionally fly between Rachel and Ross, while the others manage to strain their own relationships to the max. The real reason for watching now is the one-off kooky scenarios in which they—or rather Joey—get into. His endless dating finally sees him stuck for remembering if he's already slept with a girl; he botches an attempt at eyebrow waxing; and he manages to make Chandler think Monica's after a breast enhancement. —Paul Tonks

Nine years is a long time for any group of Friendsto stick so closely together, but somehow the gang are still as daftly charming as ever. After the birth of Emma, Rachel comes to terms with being a mother surprisingly well. It's how everyone else deals with it that makes things interesting. Joey's accidental proposal creates weird friction between him and Ross, who breaks his finger throwing the show's first ever punch. Monica becomes desperately broody and attempts all manner of convoluted ways of persuading Chandler to father a child (unfortunately he inadvertently bankrupts them in a move to Tulsa!). Phoebe, on the other hand, occupies herself in the dating game, holding on to Mike (Paul Rudd) in the longest guest-star relationship anyone's ever had. Other surprise guests this year include Freddie Prinze Jr as an overly sensitive nanny (in the 200th episode), Christina Applegate as another of Rachel's sisters and Jeff Goldblum playing himself on the set of another movie on which Joey is trying to get a break.

As always the sparks occasionally fly between Rachel and Ross, while the others manage to strain their own relationships to the max. The real reason for watching now is the one-off kooky scenarios in which they—or rather Joey—get into. His endless dating finally sees him stuck for remembering if he's already slept with a girl; he botches an attempt at eyebrow waxing; and he manages to make Chandler think Monica's after a breast enhancement. —Paul Tonks

Peter Jackson One movie-lover's nightmare is another's raucous joyride, and this special effects-laden horror comedy is bound to split both camps right down the middle. Michael J Fox plays a psychic investigator who can actually see ghosts, and lives with a trio of spirits who scare people to promote Fox's ghost-busting business. In a town infamous for serial killings, a new series of deaths prompts Fox to induce his own out-of-body experience so he can battle death in a spirit-plagued netherworld where evil reigns supreme—or something like that. So much happens in this chaotic film that you might feel like you're watching several movies at once—a slasher pic, a supernatural thriller, and a black comedy all rolled into one non-stop showcase for grisly makeup and a dozen varieties of special effects. It's an odd but wildly inventive film from New Zealand director Peter Jackson, who earned critical acclaim for his previous film Heavenly Creaturesand would later create the ingenious pseudo-documentary Forgotten Silver. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Scott Spiegel B-movie mavens turned A-list genre fiends Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino teamed up in 1996 to take vampire gothic south of the border into spaghetti Western territory for the gory cult film From Dusk Till Dawn. The high-concept mix of southwestern criminals versus supernatural nasties proved too irresistible for either of the video-hound creators to allow it to remain dead (or undead, as the case may be), so they plotted and produced a pair of direct-to-video sequels. Tarantino takes a story credit on the first, a heist film coscripted and directed by Scott Speigel. A Mexican bank robbery helmed by drawling criminal Robert Patrick (Terminator 2) turns into a literal bloodbath when his crew are turned into hungry bloodsuckers. Speigel, a buddy of Sam Raimi, tops both Tarantino and Rodriguez for sheer cinematic acrobatics, putting his camera in the most absurd places (even from inside the mouth of a vampire chomping down on a victim) and driving the film with adrenaline-charged overkill, but despite some clever scenes and a hilarious Psychospoof, From Dusk Till Dawn 2—Texas Blood Moneyturns into another aggressively trashy latex-mask and rubber-bat gorefest as cops and robbers team up against the fanged gang. Bo Hopkins costars as the police detective dogging Patrick's trail. Bruce Campbell and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen make cameos in the jokey opening sequence and Speigel and fellow director Kevin Smith briefly appear as vampire bait. Bartender Danny Trejo is the only returning cast member. —Sean Axmaker

Dwayne Carey-Hill

Billy West, Katey Sagal, Dwayne Carey-Hill The third of a series of four planned Futurama spin-off TV movies, Bender’s Game follows Bender’s Big Score and Beast With A Billion Backs, and comfortably sits alongside them. It’s good, and it’s sometimes very funny, but is unlikely still to be regarded as vintage Futurama.

The plot of Bender’s Game takes the regulars on a mission that soon sees them in a strange land, which bears a striking resemblance to something out of Dungeons and Dragons or Lord of the Rings. This isn’t, as you’d expect, the safest place to be, and thus the scene is set for lots of genre gags that are, at their finest, hard to resist.

On the downside, the pacing is a little off this time round, and it takes Bender’s Game some time to hit its stride. The quest part of the movie doesn’t kick into until well over half the running time is up, and while there’s real ambition in the narrative, it does demand some patience.

But still, even if this isn’t top notch Futurama, it still packs in plenty of belly laughs, and squeezes more entertainment into 84 minutes than many movies get close to in two hours. You still yearn for the tightness of the TV show format, but the quality of the writing just about drags Bender’s Game through, leaving us thirsting for the fourth, and potentially final, movie. —Jon Foster

Set in the year 3000, Futuramais the acme of sci-fi animated sitcom from Simpsonscreator Matt Groening. While not as universally popular as The Simpsons, Futuramais equally hip and hilarious, thanks to its zippy lateral-thinking contemporary pop cultural references, celebrity appearances (Pamela Anderson and Leonard Nimoy are among a number of guest stars to appear as disembodied heads in jars) and Bender, a distinctly Homer Simpson-esque robot. Part of Futurama's charm is that with decades of sci-fi junk behind us we've effectively been living with the distant future for years and can now have fun with it. Hence, the series stylishly jumbles motifs ranging from Lost in Space-style kitsch to the grim dystopia of Blade Runner. It also bridges the gap between the impossible dreams of your average science fiction fan and the slobbish reality of their comic reading, TV-gawping existence. Groening himself distinguishes his two series thus: "The Simpsonsis fictional. Futuramais real."

The opening series (premiered in 1999) sees nerdy pizza delivery boy Fry transferred to the 31st century in a cryogenic mishap. There, he meets the beautiful, one-eyed Leela (voiced by Married with Children's Katey Sagal) and the incorrigible alcoholic robot Bender. The three of them join Fry's great (x30) nephew Professor Farmsworth and work in his intergalactic delivery service. Hyper-real yet strangely recognisable situations ensue—Fry discovers he is a billionaire thanks to 1,000 years accrued interest, Leela must fend off the attentions of Captain Kirk-like Lothario Zapp Brannigan, and Fry accidentally drinks the ruler of a strange planet of liquid beings. —David Stubbs

On the DVD:As with the earlier Fox release of The Simpsons, Season 1this otherwise excellent three-disc set is let down by clunky menu navigation. There are way too many copyright warnings, no "Play All" facility, and you have to click back and forth to begin each new episode or find the additional features. By way of compensation, the menus look great and there's a goodly selection of extras on each disc. The entertaining commentaries are by Matt Groening and various members of his creative team, including producer David X Cohen and John DiMaggio (the voice of Bender) and Billy West (Fry). There are a handful of deleted scenes for certain episodes, plus the script and storyboard for the very first episode and an interactive stills gallery. The 4:3 picture is pin-sharp as is the Dolby 2.0Surround.—Mark Walker

Matt Groening's second series of the 31st century sci-fi sitcom Futuramamaintained the high scripting standards of the first as well bringing improved digital animation. Couch potato Fry now seems thoroughly reconciled to his new existence, transported 10 centuries hence to "New New York" and working for Professor Farnsworth's delivery service. He's surrounded by a cast of freaks, including the bitchily cute Amy (with whom he has a romantic brush) and Hermes, the West Indian bureaucrat. Most sympathetic is the one-eyed Leela (voiced by Katey Sagal). Like Lisa Simpson, she is brilliant but unappreciated; she finds solace in her pet Nibbler, a tiny creature with a voracious, carnivorous appetite. By contrast, Bender, the robot, is programmed with every human vice, a sort of metal Homer Simpson with a malevolent streak.

In one of the best episodes, Bender is given a "feelings" chip in order to empathise with Leela after he flushes Nibbler down the toilet. Elsewhere, Fry falls in love with a Mermaid when the team discover the lost city of Atlanta, Fry and Bender end up going to war after they join the army to get a discount on gum, and John Goodman guest stars as Santa Claus, an eight-foot gun-toting robot. Brimful with blink-and-you'll-miss-them hip jokes (such as the sign for the Taco Bellevue hospital) and political and pop satire, Futuramaisn't a stern warning of things to come but rather, as the programme-makers put it, "a brilliant, hilarious reflection of our own materially (ridiculously) over-developed but morally under-developed society."

On the DVD:Futurama's four-disc package presents the show in 4:3 with a Dolby Digital soundtrack. Among the many extras here are audio commentaries, storyboards, trailers, mock ads for "Soylent Chow" and "Human Rinds" and deleted scenes, including one from "Bender Gets Made" in which he seeks to evade the Robot Mafia by changing his identity. —David Stubbs

Good news, everyone, the third series of Futuramais just as funny as ever—irreverent, boundlessly inventive, warmhearted and chock full of in-jokes, sight gags and fleeting references to all manner of pop culture icons and obscure genre classics. In fact, if the show has a problem it's this very fecundity: it's all so lovingly crafted that scarcely a frame goes by without something both funny and clever going on: when a horse wins a race by a quantum fraction, Prof Farnsworth fulminates "You changed the result by observing it!"

Recurring minor characters (Elzar the chef, the robot mafia, the mutants in the sewers) pop up unexpectedly throughout, providing another wink to dedicated fans; like Red Dwarf, this is a show that loves the genre it sets out to spoof. Shame, then, that the show has had a troubled broadcast history and never quite found the mainstream appeal of its stablemate The Simpsons.

This year, Fry and the Planet Express team find themselves stranded on a planet of unfeasibly large women ("Amazon Women in the Mood"), standing in for psychotic Robo-Santa ("A Tale of Two Santas", with John Goodman reprising his evil robot) and variously falling in love with each other and sundry other humans, aliens, man-bots, fem-bots, virtual reality constructs and even the Planet Express ship itself.

On the DVD:Futurama, Series 3comprises 22 episodes on four discs (see below for complete episode list). As with previous series DVDs the animated menus are a treat and there's a selection of bonus features including deleted scenes, storyboards, selected episode commentaries, animatics, "How to draw" tips and more. Best of all, though, each disc now has a "Play All" facility for the first time. Sheer heaven. —Mark Walker

No more good news everybody—this fourth series of Futurama is the show's last. By turns frenetic and far-sighted, Matt Groening's futuristic comedy provided belly-laughs for self-confessed SF nerds, but somehow failed to connect with a broader audience, even though it was often funnier and sharper than stablemate The Simpsons. So now bid farewell to the Planet Express team—Fry, Leela, Zoidberg, Bender, Amy, Hermes, Prof Farnsworth—as well as to kindly Kif, cloned Cubert, megalomaniac Mom, mutants in the sewer, the cast of robo-sitcom All My Circuits, swashbuckling space lothario and William Shatner wannabe Zapp Brannigan, Elzar the four-armed chef, and all the other characters that made Futurama such a unique experience.

This fourth and final year has all the elements that fans enjoyed so much—but also those elements that partially explain its cancellation. Recurring characters are great if you've watched the show before, as are the in-jokes; and the many parodies of classic science fiction are fine for the initiated, but risk leaving other viewers out in the cold. The show's strengths and perceived weaknesses are exemplified in the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before", in which the original cast of Star Trek play themselves: hilarious for Trekkers, but not really for anyone else. Elsewhere we find Leela discovering her real parents aren't aliens at all but in fact live in the sewers; Kif getting pregnant; Fry discovering the fossilised remains of his faithful pet dog; and Bender being converted to steam power. Despite some ups and downs, it's still the funniest animated show on TV. Those responsible for cancelling it can bite my shiny metal …

On the DVD: Futurama, Series 4 DVD box set includes a "Play All" function on each disc. Multifarious extras include cast and crew commentaries, deleted scenes, animatics, galleries and Easter eggs. —Mark Walker

Billy West, Katey Sagal, Peter Avanzino The latest feature-length DVD spin-off from Matt Groening’s terrific Futurama, The Beast With The Billion Backs picks up directly after the recent Bender’s Big Score, and the momentum and fun from that production comes along with it.

The story of The Beast With The Billion Backs follows, as you may have guessed from the title, the arrival of a strange creature on Earth. Said creature then takes control of Fry, who becomes the Pope of a brand new religion that soon begins to exert its grip on the planet. And without giving too much away, the panic and paranoia becomes just one part of an ambitious animated adventure, that makes a fair few points among its many, many laughs.

The good news for fans of Futurama is that The Beast With The Billion Backs really delivers, with more guffaws and a better all-round script than the mightily enjoyable Bender’s Big Score. It’s not without the odd problem, and still doesn’t quite manage to match the highs of the TV show at its finest, but it’s a very welcome fresh addition to the Futurama universe.

Two further direct-to-DVD movies are in the works at the time of this review being written, and with them comes continued hope for a full-on revival of one of the funniest animated programmes of the past ten years. It may not make suitable family viewing, but Futurama is brilliant television, and The Beast With A Billion Backs offers plenty of evidence as to why. Strongly recommended. —Jon Foster

Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese Almost obliged to be huge, Gangs of New York marks the return to work of three much-admired creatives missing-in-action for the past few years: director Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis. Vast, impressive and challenging, it's unlike anything Scorsese has done in look and manner even as it is exactly the material he has obsessively turned over since his first films. A terrific 1846 prologue depicts a battle for supremacy over a district known as the Five Points between the "native-born American" mob led by William "Butcher" Cutting (Day-Lewis) and an Irish immigrant crew headed by "Priest" Vallon (Liam Neeson). The bloody outcome is the death of Priest and the rise to godfather-like prominence of the literally eagle-eyed Butcher (an eagle-marked marble replaces an eye he fished out in homage to his enemy!). Sixteen years later, Priest's son Amsterdam (DiCaprio) shows up intent on revenge, but finds himself distracted as he is drawn into the Butcher's inner circle much as another Scorsese Irishman hooked up with the mob in Goodfellas.

The film covers an array of New York historical topics—from the corrupt government of William "Boss" Tweed to the riots that rocked the community when President Lincoln tried to impose military conscription—while the actual plot wobbles slightly as Amsterdam gets involved with a winsome pickpocket (Cameron Diaz) and wavers in his vengeful resolve. DeCaprio and Diaz aren't quite strong enough characters or players to hold things together—as in a few other recent Scorsese films, heroes are let off easily though they seem guilty of as many appalling crimes as the villains—but they have to compete with an award-worthy study in moustachioed menace and corruption from Day-Lewis and an array of the best supporting actors from either side of the Atlantic (Jim Broadbent, John C Reilly, Brendan Gleeson, David Hemmings). —Kim Newman

On the DVD: Gangs of New York comes with a decent set of extras on this two-disc set. Most notable is Martin Scorsese's commentary, the first of its kind on DVD. Taking a concise approach with some moderate pauses, Scorsese avoids a scene-specific analysis, but his rich knowledge both of the historical period and of cinema history is phenomenal, as is the account of his 30-year struggle to get the film made. Documentaries include costume and set design; a tour of the set with Scorsese and production designer Dante Ferretti (with optional 360-degree view); and a well-researched and insightful historical Discovery Channel documentary. "The History of the Five Points" is accompanied by some study notes and a vocab guide, all adding to the rich historical background that this extra material provides. Less insightful and more glossy are the obligatory trailer and "Making of" documentary, complete with husky voiceover. A choice of Dolby or DTS mixes are on offer sound-wise and, as you'd expect from such a beautifully filmed epic, the transfer is superb. —Laura Bushell

Steve Beck

Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch Few shows bottle pure delight like Glee, a TV series about the ups and downs of a high school glee club, or show choir. The show lures you in with its musical numbers, a mix of classic rock and Broadway show tunes performed by a cast of marvellous singers and dancers—but what keeps you watching are the wonderful characters, ranging from Rachel (Lea Michelle), whose self-obsession is as uninhibited as it is annoying; to Emma (Jayma Mays), a germ-phobic guidance counsellor hopelessly in love with a married teacher; to Kurt (Chris Colfer), a cherubic young gay man who discovers he's got a fantastic football kick. The centre of the show is Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), the earnest Spanish teacher of McKinley High School, who's determined to guide the glee club to victory at a national competition. He sees this collection of overemotional misfits as heroic, but they're looked down on as losers by the rest of the school—especially Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Best In Show), the ruthless cheerleading coach who will stop at nothing to destroy the glee club before they can take even a fraction of her extravagant budget. Glee fuses adolescent soap opera, the comic pettiness of academic politics, and exuberant song and dance. (While it would be better if the songs weren't so glossily produced, it's impossible to deny the pep and talent of these young performers.) Somehow, the characters manage to be cartoonish yet multidimensional; even the nicest characters are capable of being jerks and the most manipulative have moments of sympathy or grace. For example, Will's wife, Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), fakes a pregnancy because she's afraid Will is about to leave her for Emma—but as absurd as this scenario is, it's carefully grounded in enough moments of desperate yearning that it becomes completely compelling… particularly when Terri seizes on the unwanted pregnancy of lead cheerleader Quinn (Dianna Agron) as the solution to her problem. Throw in vividly coloured costume designs and blisteringly funny rants from Sue, and it's easy to see why Glee became an unexpected hit. Volume One: The Road to Sectionals collects the first 13 episodes, along with a smattering of extras that range from charming (the principal leads the audience on a tour through the school) to inane (bland factoids about the actors' favourite colours). —Bret Fetzer

Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch Few shows bottle pure delight like Glee, a TV series about the ups and downs of a high school glee club, or show choir. The show lures you in with its musical numbers, a mix of classic rock and Broadway show tunes performed by a cast of marvelous singers and dancers—but what keeps you watching are the wonderful characters, ranging from Rachel (Lea Michelle), whose self-obsession is as uninhibited as it is annoying; to Emma (Jayma Mays), a germ-phobic guidance counsellor; to Kurt (Chris Colfer), a cherubic young gay man who discovers he's got a fantastic football kick. The center of the show is Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), the earnest Spanish teacher of McKinley High School, who's determined to guide the glee club to victory at a national competition. He sees this collection of overemotional misfits as heroic, but they're looked down on as losers by the rest of the school—especially Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Best In Show), the ruthless cheerleading coach who will stop at nothing to destroy the glee club before they can take even a fraction of her extravagant budget. Glee fuses adolescent soap opera, the comic pettiness of academic politics, and exuberant song and dance. (While it would be better if the songs weren't so glossily produced, it's impossible to deny the pep and talent of these young performers.) Somehow, the characters manage to be cartoonish yet multidimensional; even the nicest characters are capable of being jerks and the most manipulative have moments of sympathy or grace. Throw in vividly colored costume designs and blisteringly funny rants from Sue, and it's easy to see why Glee became an unexpected hit. —Bret Fetzer

For their homecoming concert in Worcester, Massachusetts in the spring of 2001 Godsmack returned as certified headliners. And for 80-plus minutes, the quartet gives its fans exactly what they came for and love: head-banging, ear-splitting, gut-churning hard rock. The fans, actually, are the co-stars of this in-your-face concert film: there are as many shots of the fist-pumping, bodysurfing crowd as there are of the boys in the band, which may be a clue as to whom this release is aimed at. But those true fans of Godsmack will undoubtedly be sated, since 13 of the group's most memorable slabs of nu-metal—including "Greed", "Awake" and the Grammy-nominated instrumental, "Vampires"—are included.

In between the pummelling songs, singer Sully Erna comes across as an articulate spokesman, and it might have been interesting to have a brief interview with him to discuss his band's music; as it is, there are no DVD extras. —Kevin Filipski, Amazon.com

Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Williams, Steve Miner Halloween is one of the great modern horror films, but as a franchise its track record has been spotty at best, painfully bad at worst. Halloween H2O: Twenty Years Later, directed by horror vet Steve Miner (Friday the 13th parts 2 and 3, House), won't displace John Carpenter's original but it might help you forget the films in between. Miner certainly has: the film begins as if sequels 3 through 6 never happened. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis, reprising her role for the first time in almost two decades) faked her death and is now a single mom and headmistress of an exclusive California private school. She's also a secret alcoholic who lives in fear of her homicidal brother-bogeyman Michael Myers. Guess who decides to show up for a family reunion? The film begins with classic horror-movie exposition (the deserted college campus, Michael's escape, Laurie's waking nightmares) accomplished with some humour and style, but it's all set up for the second half, a driving roller coaster of stalk-and-slash thrills. There's little of the self-conscious genre referencing of Scream and at times the film is a little far-fetched—it is a slasher movie about a knife-wielding homicidal maniac who won't stay dead, after all—but Curtis transforms Laurie from a shrieking victim into an empowered, determined horror-movie heroine who's learned a thing or two from the previous films. Adam Arkin, Josh Hartnett, and TV cutie Michelle Williams (Dawson's Creek) co-star, and the script received uncredited polish from Scream writer Kevin Williamson; Curtis's mom, Janet Leigh, pops up in a cameo. —Sean Axmaker

Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Rick Rosenthal LEADING ROLE: CHARLES CYPHERS, DONALD PLEASENCE, JAMIE LEE CURTIS, JEFFREY KRAMER, LANCE GUEST RELEASE YEAR: 1999 DIRECTOR: RICK ROSENTHAL RUNNING TIME: 115 MIN. REGION: REGION 2: EUROPE RATING: UK:18 GENRE: HORROR REVIEW A Halloween night of terrifying butchery; a convicted killer on the loose; a frenzied chase after an unstoppable murderer. These are the harrowing ingredients of the follow-up to John Carpenter's sensational hit. Once again, Michael Myers pursues the beautiful teenager Laurie and satisfies his blood lust with random slaughter: loving couples, a defenceless nurse, a luckless guard and many more fall prey to Myers as he wields axe, bread-knife and even medical syringe in his relentlessly violent quest.

Donald Pleasence, P. J. Soles, John Carpenter

Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Peter Berg Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman Director: Peter Berg

Zooey Deschanel, Betty Buckley, M. Night Shyamalan You'd expect the end of the world to be no day in the park, but in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening, a day in the park is where the end begins. One otherwise peaceful summer morning, New Yorkers strolling in Central Park come to a halt in unison, then begin killing themselves by any means at hand. At a high-rise construction site a few blocks over, it's raining bodies as workers step off girders into space. And all the while, the city is so quiet you can hear the gentle breeze in the trees. That breeze carries a neurotoxin, and what or who put it there (terrorists?) is a question raised periodically as the film unfolds. But the question that really matters is how and whether anybody in the Middle Atlantic states is going to stay alive.

The Happening is Shyamalan's best film since The Sixth Sense, partly because he avoids the kind of egregious misjudgment that derailed The Village and Lady in the Water, but mostly because the whole thing has been structured and imagined to keep faith with the point of view of regular, unheroic folks confronted with a mammoth crisis. Focal characters are a Philadelphia high-school science teacher (Mark Wahlberg, excellent), his wife (Zooey Deschanel) and math-teacher colleague (John Leguizamo), and the latter's little girl (Ashlyn Sanchez). Instinct says get out of the cities and move west; most of the film takes place in the delicately picturesque Pennsylvania countryside, with menace hovering somewhere in the haze. There are no special effects (apart from a wind machine and some breakaway glass), but the movie manages to be deeply unsettling in the matter-of-factness of its storytelling. Especially effective is its feel for what we might call the surrealism of banality. One warning sign that someone has been infected by the neurotoxin is irrational or erratic speech and behavior, yet Shyamalan has a genius for dialogue that sounds normal and everyday as it's spoken, yet flies apart grenade-like a second later as its logic (or illogic) sinks in. Then there's Deschanel's eye-rolling dodginess about the messages some guy has been leaving on her cellphone. Or the fellow (Frank Collis) who addresses his greenhouse plants as though they were his children—has a stray toxic zephyr wafted his way, or is this just his idea of normal? —Richard T. Jameson, Amazon.com

Guillermo Del Toro

Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Guillermo del Toro Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, James Dodd, Jeffrey Tambor Director: Guillermo del Toro

Hellboy Animated

(voices of) Ron Perlman; Selma Blair; Doug Jones; John Hurt; Peri Gilpin; Yuriana Kim., Phil Weinstein and Tad Stones

Clive Barker

Greg Beeman Allan Arkush It's hard to remember a science fiction series that has hit so big so quickly. Yet by the end of the first series of Heroes, it feels—for all the right reasons—that the show's been around for longer than it has, such is the huge amount of success it's enjoyed.

The setup is simple, yet undeniably intriguing. It essentially tells the stories of a series of people who discover they have legitimate, differing superhero powers. On top of that, these people then gradually appreciate that these powers are needed for reasons that soon become apparent, and the story of Heroes builds up from there.

Heavily influenced by comics both in its structure and story, Heroes sustains interest through a number of story arcs of different magnitudes, skilfully weaving them throughout the 23 episodes that make up the season. It's contained enough to keep you interested, yet offers enough threads to make several more seasons a very appealing prospect.

Heroes, though, really gels because the basics are right. It's plotted intelligently, written and directed with real nerve and talent, and has a cast who you can't help but get emotionally involved with. It's also, for the overwhelming majority of its episodes, utterly compelling televisions. Ironically, its few miss-steps of any note come right at the back end, by which time you really would forgive it pretty much anything.

Heroes is rightly being heralded as a sci-fi classic in the making. Yet even if subsequent seasons don't fully do justice to those words—and at the time of writing, season two is still some way from debuting—this boxset will serve as a glowing testament to just how good television can be when it's just done right. Quite brilliant. —Jon Foster

Stephen Frears Transplanted from England to the not-so-mean streets of Chicago, the screen adaptation of Nick Hornby's cult-classic novel High Fidelity emerges unscathed from its Americanisation, idiosyncrasies intact, thanks to John Cusack's inimitable charm and a nimble, nifty screenplay (co-written by Cusack). Early-thirtysomething Rob Gordon (Cusack) is a slacker who owns a vintage record shop, a massive collection of LPs, and innumerable top-five lists in his head. At the opening of the film, Rob recounts directly to the audience his all-time top-five breakups— which doesn't include his recent falling out with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), who has just moved out of their apartment. Thunderstruck and obsessed with Laura's desertion (but loath to admit it), Rob begins a quest to confront the women who instigated the aforementioned top-five breakups to find out just what he did wrong.

Low on plot and high on self-discovery, High Fidelity takes a good 30 minutes or so to find its groove (not unlike Cusack's Grosse Pointe Blank), but once it does, it settles into it comfortably and builds a surprisingly touching momentum. Rob is basically a grown-up version of Cusack's character in Say Anything (who was told "Don't be a guy—be a man!"), and if you like Cusack's brand of smart-alecky romanticism, you'll automatically be won over (if you can handle Cusack's almost non-stop talking to the camera). Still, it's hard not to be moved by Rob's plight. At the beginning of the film he and his coworkers at the record store (played hilariously by Jack Black and Todd Louiso) seem like overgrown boys in their secret clubhouse; by the end, they've grown up considerably, with a clear-eyed view of life. Ably directed by Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons), High Fidelity features a notable supporting cast of the women in Rob's life, including the striking, Danish-born Hjejle, Lisa Bonet as a sultry singer/songwriter, and the triumphant triumvirate of Lili Taylor, Joelle Carter, and Catherine Zeta Jones as Rob's ex-girlfriends. With brief cameos by Tim Robbins as Laura's new, New Age boyfriend and Bruce Springsteen as himself. —Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Cameron Diaz, Jack Black, Nancy Meyers As a pleasant dose of holiday cheer, The Holiday is a lovable love story with all the Christmas trimmings. In the capable hands of writer-director Nancy Meyers (making her first romantic comedy since Something's Gotta Give), it all begins when two successful yet unhappy women connect through a home-swapping website, and decide to trade houses for the Christmas holiday in a mutual effort to forget their man troubles. Iris (Kate Winslet) is a London-based journalist who lives in a picture-postcard cottage in Surrey, and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) owns a movie-trailer production company (leading her to cutely imagine most of her life as a "coming attraction") and lives in a posh mansion in Beverly Hills. Iris is heartbroken from unrequited love with a cad of a colleague (Rufus Sewell), and Amanda has just broken up with her cheating boyfriend (Edward Burns), so their home-swapping offers mutual downtime to reassess their love lives. This being a Nancy Meyers movie (where everything is fabulously decorated and romantic wish-fulfillment is virtually guaranteed), Amanda hooks up with Iris's charming brother Graham (Jude Law), and Iris is unexpectedly smitten with Miles (Jack Black), a super-nice film composer on the downside of a failing relationship. —Jeff Shannon

Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Steven Spielberg

Rob Schneider, Rachel McAdams, Tom Brady

Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Donald Petrie Kate Hudson twinkles as the heroine of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. She's a magazine writer assigned to date a guy, make all the mistakes girls make that drive guys away (being clingy, talking in baby-talk and so on) and records the process like a sociological experiment. However, the guy she picks— Matthew McConaughey—is an advertising executive who's just bet that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days; if he succeeds, he'll win a huge account that will make his career. The set-up is completely absurd, but the collision of their efforts to woo and repel creates some pretty funny scenes. McConaughey's easy charm and Hudson's lightweight impishness play well together and the plot, though strictly Hollywood formula, chugs along efficiently. At moments Hudson seems to channel her mother, Goldie Hawn, to slightly unnerving effect. —Bret Fetzer

Ang Lee Amazingly, Ang Lee's Hulkmakes a fair fist of pleasing everybody. The latest in a run of Marvel Comic-to-film transfers, it acknowledges the history of a character who dates back to 1962 while recreating him in contemporary terms. Though this, Hulk's origin still draws on the 1960s iconography of bomb tests and desert bases, this new take mixes gene-tampering with gamma radiation and never forgets that poor Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) has been psychologically primed by a mad father (Nick Nolte) and a disappointed girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) to transform from repressed wimp to big green powerhouse even before the mad science kicks in.

The long first act is enlivened by comic book-style split-screen effects and multiple foreshadowings—Lee keeps finding excuses to light Bana's face green—but is also absorbing personal drama from the man who gave you The Ice Stormbefore flexing his action muscles on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. When Banner begins his Jekyll-and-Hyde seizures, the ILM CGI boys step in and use Bana as a template for the most fully-realised digital characterisation yet seen in the movies. Comics fans will thrill as a credibly bulky, superswift, super-green behemoth tangles with mutated killer dogs (including a very vicious poodle) in a night time forest, bursts out of confinement in an underground secret base, takes on America's military might while bouncing around a Road Runner and Coyote-like South Western desert and then invades San Francisco for some major "Hulk... smash" action. Artful and entertaining, engaging and explosive, this is among the most satisfying superhero movies.

On the DVD: Hulktwo-disc set doesn't quite hulk-out as well comparative Marvel movie releases for the X-Menfilms, Spider-Manand Daredevil. Disc 2 assembles a pile of those infotainment documentaries prepared to drum up pre-publicity but which feel a bit redundant once the movie is out, especially since there's so much repetition between the featurettes. It's all very well, and some of the technical stuff is fascinating, but this particular film could do with a more in-depth thematic approach: there's a lot about how the CGI Hulk was realised but little on the development of the story, the performances or the general tone, though Ang Lee's slightly sparse commentary makes interesting stabs in that direction. The biggest revelation in the background material is that Lee, known for his delicacy of touch, himself wore the motion capture suit and smashed up plywood tanks as a guide for the CGI animators. —Kim Newman

Will Smith, Dash Mihok, Francis Lawrence Will Smith stars in the third adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic science-fiction novel about a lone human survivor in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by vampires. This new version somewhat alters Matheson's central hook, i.e., the startling idea that an ordinary man, Robert Neville, spends his days roaming a desolated city and his nights in a house sealed off from longtime neighbours who have become bloodsucking fiends. In the new film, Smith's Neville is a military scientist charged with finding a cure for a virus that turns people into crazed, hairless, flesh-eating zombies. Failing to complete his work in time, and after enduring a personal tragedy, Neville finds himself alone in Manhattan, his natural immunity to the virus keeping him alive. With an expressive German shepherd, his only companion, Neville is a hunter-gatherer in sunlight, hiding from the mutants at night in his Washington Square town house and methodically conducting experiments in his ceaseless quest to conquer the disease.

The film's first half almost suggests that I Am Legend could be one of the finest movies of 2007. Director Francis Lawrence's extraordinary, computer-generated images of a decaying New York City reveal weeds growing through the cracks of familiar streets that are also overrun by deer and prowled by lions. It's impossible not to be fascinated by such a realistically altered cityscape, reverting to a natural environment, through which Smith moves with a weirdly enviable freedom, offset by his wariness over whatever is lurking in the dark of bank vaults and parking garages. Lawrence and screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman wisely build suspense by withholding images of the monsters until a peak scene of horror well into the story. It must be said, however, that the computer-enhanced creatures don't look half as interesting as they might have had the filmmakers adhered more to Matheson's vampire-nightmare vision. I Am Legend is ultimately noteworthy for Smith's remarkable performance as a man so lonely he talks to mannequins in the shops he frequents. The film's latter half goes too far in portraying Smith's Neville as a pitiable man with a messianic mission, but this lapse into pathos does nothing to take away from the visual and dramatic accomplishments of its first hour. —Tom Keogh

Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, Amy Heckerling

Alex Proyas As paranoid cop Del Spooner, Will Smith displays both his trademark quips and some impressive pectoral muscles in I, Robot. Only Spooner suspects that the robots that provide the near future with menial labor are going to turn on mankind—he's just not sure how. When a leading roboticist dies suspiciously, Spooner pursues a trail that may prove his suspicions. Don't expect much of a connection to Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction stories;I, Robot, the action movie, isn't prepared for any ruminations on the significance of artificial intelligence. This likable, efficient movie won't break any new ground, but it does have an idea or two to accompany its jolts and thrills, which puts it ahead of most recent action flicks. Also featuring Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, and James Cromwell. —Bret Fetzer

Louis Leterrier A more accessible and less heavy-handed movie than Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk, Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk is a purely popcorn love affair with Marvel's raging, green superhero, as well as the old television series starring Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the beast within him. Edward Norton takes up where Eric Bana left off in Lee's version, playing Bruce (that's the character's original name) Banner, a haunted scientist always on the move. Trying to eliminate the effects of a military experiment that turns him into the Hulk whenever his emotions get the better of him, Banner is hiding out in Brazil at the film's beginning. Working in a bottling plant and communicating via email with an unidentified professor who thinks he can help, Banner goes postal when General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross and a small army turn up to grab him. Intent on developing whatever causes Banner's metamorphoses into a weapon, Ross brings along a quietly deranged soldier named Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), who wants Ross to turn him into a supersoldier who can take on the Hulk. The adventure spreads to the U.S., where Banner hooks up with his old lover (and Ross' daughter), Betty (Liv Tyler), and where the Hulk takes on several armed assaults, including one in a pretty unusual location: a college campus. The film's action is impressive, though the computer-generated creature is disappointingly cartoonish, and a second monster turning up late in the movie looks even cheesier. Norton is largely wasted in the film—he's essentially a bridge between sequences where he disappears and the Hulk rampages around. As good an actor as he is, Norton doesn't have the charisma here to carry those scenes in which one waits impatiently for the real show to begin. —Tom Keogh

To paraphrase the Green Goliath himself, this Incredible Hulkrelease is a smash, providing 83 minutes of exciting sci-fi with enough action to satisfy Hulk novices and scripting that hews to its Marvel Comics origin (which will please longtime devotees). This set compiles the first four episodes of the 1996-97 animated series that outline the Hulk's origins as well as the struggles of his human alter ego Bruce Banner to rid himself of the creature.

The episodes also make fine use of Marvel's rosters of heroes and villains; in the two-part "Return of the Beast", the Hulk tangles with the Leader, the Gargoyle and the hideous Abomination, and in "Raw Power" he's up against the malevolent ZZZAX; in "Helping Hand, Iron Fist", he goes mano-a-mano with Iron Man and War Machine. Terrific performances (TV Hulk Lou Ferrigno provides the creature's voice) and extensive extras make this a must-have for comic and cartoon aficionados.

On the DVD:: The Incredible HulkDVD will provide some clarity to viewers unfamiliar with his past and it also provides some choice trivia for those better versed in Hulk lore. The most enjoyable extra is "Inside the Hulk", which accesses interesting comments and factoids from comic book writer Peter David and Hulk creator Stan Lee throughout the four episodes. The always-exuberant Lee also provides brief introductions to each episode and, in "Stan Lee's Soapbox", voices his feelings on comics and his own unparalleled career. Older audiences will undoubtedly be amused by the inclusion of the first three episodes from the 1966 Incredible Hulkanimated series. But primitive cels aside, the episodes will be of interest to vintage comic book fans, as they utilise original Hulk artist Jack Kirby's drawings. —Paul Gaita

Roland Emmerich

Steven Spielberg Dutch Release - Audio : English Subtitles : Dutch / english (removeable ) + Limited Edition Mini Crystal Skull Replcia - bonus disc extra's : the retunr of a legend featurette / pre-production featurette / production diary / pre-visualization material / photogallery / trailers

Neil Jordan When it was announced that Tom Cruise would play the vampire Lestat in this adaptation of Anne Rice's bestselling novel, even Rice chimed in with a highly publicised objection. The author wisely and justifiably recanted her negative opinion when she saw Cruise's excellent performance, which perceptively addresses the pain and chronic melancholy that plagues anyone cursed with immortal bloodlust. Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst are equally good at maintaining the dark and brooding tone of Rice's novel. And in this rare mainstream project for a major studio, director Neil Jordan compensates for a lumbering plot by honouring the literate, Romantic qualities of Rice's screenplay. Considered a disappointment while being embraced by Rice's loyal followers, Interview with the Vampire is too slow to be a satisfying thriller, but it is definitely one of the most lavish, intelligent horror films ever made. —Jeff Shannon

Dean Karr

Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jon Favreau You know you're going to get a different kind of superhero when you cast Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. And Iron Man is different, in welcome ways. Cleverly updated from Marvel Comics' longstanding series, Iron Man puts billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (that's Downey) in the path of some Middle Eastern terrorists; in a brilliantly paced section, Stark invents an indestructible suit that allows him to escape. If the rest of the movie never quite hits that precise rhythm again, it nevertheless offers plenty of pleasure, as the renewed Stark swears off his past as a weapons manufacturer, develops his new Iron Man suit, and puzzles both his business partner (Jeff Bridges in great form) and executive assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow). Director Jon Favreau geeks out in fun ways with the hardware, but never lets it overpower the movie, and there's always a goofy one-liner or a slapstick pratfall around to break the tension. As for Downey, he doesn't get to jitterbug around too much in his improv way, but he brings enough of his unpredictable personality to keep the thing fresh. And listen up, hardcore Marvel mavens: even if you know the Stan Lee cameo is coming, you won't be able to guess it until it's on the screen. It all builds to a splendid final scene, with a concluding line delivery by Downey that just feels absolutely right. —Robert Horton

Michael Bay An intriguing action adventure set in the near future, The Islandfinds those who survived a mass global contamination living in a contained and highly controlled world. Their actions are controlled, their lives are routine, and the only hope is to win lottery and be sent to a mysterious island, the so-called last surviving, uncontaminated paradise on the planet.

Naturally enough, things are quite what they initially seem, at least in the eyes of Ewan McGregror's Johnny Two Alpha. Along with Scarlet Johansen's Jordan Two Delta, they soon find out what happens when you don't fully comply with the rules of this deeply controlled world, and the stage is thus set for some action-packed cinema.

Given the film's disappointing box office returns though, you could be forgiven for thinking that all is not well with The Island, and truthfully, it's a movie with problems. Its pacing feels a little off, and there are moments when the script does the film no favours at all.

Yet take The Islandas a popcorn flick, and you'll more than likely find yourself enjoying a good couple of hours of solid entertainment. Sure, ultimately they could have made more of the premise, and produced a tighter movie. But what's on screen usually works well enough, and the two stars don't do badly with the material at their disposal.—Simon Brew

James Isaac

Steven Spielberg On remote Isla Nuba entrepreneur John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) has built the ultimate theme-park, populated by genetically engineered dinosaurs painstakingly reconstructed from DNA extracted from prehistoric amber... and, of course, frogs! Adapted from Michael Crichton's novels, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Parkblockbusters became a cultural and commercial phenomenon thanks in part to the enduring appeal of all things prehistoric. But the films' extraordinarily realistic digital dinosaurs also showcased the spectacular computer-generated effects that have since become ubiquitous in Hollywood filmmaking. Indeed, in the years since 1993 it is debatable whether any films have revolutionised special effects to such an extent, and this DVD box set offers the perfect opportunity to relive both movies' visual and aural splendour (the original film was also the first to be released with a DTS soundtrack).

Given their rather insipid human prey (including Dickie Attenborough and Jeff Goldblum) there is little doubt that the dinosaurs are the real stars, from the benign majesty of the towering brachiosaurus to the reptilian menace of the velociraptors. Most memorable of all is the T-rex, displaying a spine-chilling combination of physical ferocity and child-like bewilderment in the face of its reincarnation in the modern world. While Jurassic Parkstill retains a unique power and a seminal place in film history, Spielberg's The Lost Worldsequel exceeds its predecessor in almost every respect: the digital dinos are more populous, faster and meaner, the set-pieces have more bravura, and the special effects raise the benchmark even higher in blending CGI and live action spectacle. Overall, the first film's sense of awe and almost stately contemplation of its own visual splendour are replaced with a more visceral style and darker tone, as the raptors and rexes attack with a predatory ferociousness more reminiscent of Aliensthan Godzilla. Highlights include the T-rexes' cliff-top assault on a trailer van, the trails of attacking raptors as they move silently through a field of tall grass, and the safari-style dinosaur round-up by the marauding hunters, led by a grizzled Pete Postlethwaite. —Steve Napleton

Joe Johnston

Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Waters Bad romantic comedies make you scoff at their absurdity; good ones make you wish your life was that absurd. Just Like Heaven is just smart and likable enough to trigger that wishing. David (Mark Ruffalo, Collateral, You Can Count On Me) finds an amazing apartment in San Francisco—only to discover it's haunted by the spirit of the previous tenant, an overachieving doctor named Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon, Legally Blonde, Election).

There's something not quite right about Elizabeth's afterlife; against his better judgement, David agrees to help her investigate her life...but finds himself digging into his own as well. The plot takes a twist that some viewers will see coming, but Just Like Heaven doesn't rely on the surprise alone; the revelation takes the story in a new and just as entertaining direction. Witherspoon and Ruffalo are two of the best romantic leads around, but the surprise is how well their contrasting flavors (perky and moody, respectively) mesh, creating a sparky, engaging chemistry. Also featuring Dina Waters (Freaky Friday), Donal Logue (The Tao of Steve), Ben Shenkman (Angels in America), and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite). Crisply directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls), who carefully keeps the supernatural from getting silly and the romance from getting gooey. —Bret Fetzer

Iain Softley A wonderfully fresh, original piece of work, K-Paxis a film that manages to combine a variety of genres while still maintaining its own unique identity. The premise of alien life on earth may not be a new one, but Ian Softley's movie is a startling new take on the subject. Spacey's Prot is picked up by the police and, when he claims to be a traveller from the planet K-Pax, is delivered to the care of psychiatrist Jeff Bridges. The intense relationship that develops between the two forms the core of the film, as Bridges searches for the truth about his mysterious patient while also gaining valuable insights into his own life. The movie's great strength is that it keeps the audience guessing up until the very end, refusing to offer them an obvious, tidy conclusion.

Spacey is, as ever, fantastic, playing the kind of charismatic oddball that brought him such acclaim in American Beautyand The Usual Suspects. He manages to embody the themes of the film perfectly, imbuing his character with both a rich humanity and an eerie otherworldliness. Bridges (20 years after he played the role of an alien in Starman) is a revelation, reasserting his position as one of Hollywood's great unsung actors. Softley handles the film with precision, with each revelation from Prot's past adding to the mystery of the story, countering the film's dark, moving moments with episodes of real humour and warmth.

On the DVD:K-Paxoffers a wealth of treasures on disc. Director Softley provides two commentaries (one for the UK and one for the US) and there is an interesting "making of" featurette that goes beyond the usual platitudes to offer a genuine insight into the creative process. A series of deleted scenes are combined with an alternative ending, though all the material on offer is careful not to spoil the vital ambiguity of the plot's conclusion. All the major participants are interviewed and there is a gallery of still photographs taken by Bridges. The film's often dreamlike visual mood is captured beautifully by the enhanced format; this is undoubtedly a well thought out package. —Phil Udell

Leah Remini, Kevin James Like its characters, The King of Queens is a unpretentious but utterly dependable sitcom. Kevin James and Leah Remini, as blue-collar couple Doug and Carrie Heffernan, have the kind of chemistry that every sitcom craves (but far too few have). Layered on top of this solid foundation are the bizarre flights of Jerry Stiller as Arthur, Carrie's loud, paranoid, and combustible father. The second season has no overarching plotlines or recurring themes; it's just a compilation of excellent material, including Doug's ego inflating when a waitress flirts with him; Doug and Carrie squirming when their best friends ask them to be godparents; Doug discovering that Carrie compulsively cheats at games; and a flashback to when they first met. It's the attention to emotional detail that makes the show fly; James and Remini take the most mundane material—say, an argument over where to go for a vacation or how their marriage lacks romance—and turn the many ways in which couples cope into a pugnacious duet. Their sparring not only is funny, but consistently rings true as irrational but oh-so-common human behavior. The show pulls you in all the more because the Heffernans make up just as often as they fight, demonstrating one of the most functional marriages on television. It's meat-and-potatoes comedy, but sometimes nothing else will hit the spot. —Bret Fetzer

Jerry Stiller, Leah Remini The third season of The King of Queens upholds the quality of the first two: Smart but unpretentious comedy based firmly in the daily lives of blue-collar couple Doug and Carrie Heffernan (Kevin James and Leah Remini) as they cope with their jobs, their friends, and sharing their home with Carrie's eccentric, obsessive father Arthur (Jerry Stiller). While dozens of mediocre sitcoms are built around fat guys implausibly married to sexy women, James and Remini have such chemistry and their characters are so well-crafted and complex that their marriage seems not only convenient for sitcom purposes but downright meant to be.

The show only goes astray when it goes for a gimmick. In one episode, Doug dreams of himself as Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners; while it's understandable for James to tip his hat to one of his idols, this belabored concept sucked all the humour out of the show. But when The King of Queens sticks to small, mundane troubles, the results are unfailingly delightful. For example, Doug becomes self-conscious about his weight when he discovers that Carrie buys his clothes at the Big & Tall Shop; Carrie is excited to go to lunch with some of the women lawyers at her firm, then humiliated when it turns out they didn't know she's a secretary; or Carrie admits she finds Doug's best friend Deacon (Victor Williams) hot.

These events launch some wonderful farce, all the funnier because anyone can identify with the characters' insecurity and jealousy. This firm psychological grounding lets the series keep its footing as it dips into some deeper emotions, like the break-up of Deacon's marriage or an unexpected pregnancy. Because James and Remini keep their characters truthful in their most ridiculous moments, they keep us engaged and even moved as they enter what could be maudlin territory—plus, the writers never lose the opportunity for a sharp but telling joke along the way. The King of Queens makes sitcoms look easy, but the show's skillful balance of an ordinary world and fine-tuned humor is anything but. —Bret Fetzer

Kevin James, Leah Remini The fourth season of The King of Queens opens with a perfect example of how the show spins real life into farce: Delivery guy Doug and his sardonic wife Carrie (Kevin James and Leah Remini) want to get pregnant, but can't get Carrie's cantankerous father Arthur (Jerry Stiller) out of the house; the only solution their budget will allow is hiring a dog-walker named Holly (Nicole Sullivan) to take Arthur to the park. A more banal sitcom would conclude with Arthur's rage when he discovers the truth, but The King of Queens finds a grace note with Arthur and Holly beginning a genuine friendship. Which is not to say that The King of Queens goes for easy sentiment; some of the fourth season's best moments walk a distinctly unsentimental line. When Arthur goes into the hospital for a heart problem, Carrie discovers that he hid a college acceptance letter from her in order to keep her at home. While Arthur lies unconscious, Carrie wrestles with anger and grief—and, thanks to smart writing and Remini's deft performance, it's almost uncomfortably funny. James, Remini, and Stiller form the sitcom equivalent of a rock'n'roll power trio—it's astonishing that so much comedy can come out of just three people. The King of Queens has solid supporting players (and, towards the end of this season, succumbs to the questionable trend of casting celebrity guest stars), but the skillful interplay between Doug, Carrie, and Arthur drives the vast majority of the show's stories. The fourth season has a handful of episodes that wallow in typical sitcom schtick, but it's impressive how many more episodes remain fresh, lively, and true to these vivid characters. Even an episode that flashes back to Doug and Carrie's wedding—a premise that usually guarantees a saccharine kiss of death—finds a balance of tartness and genuine warmth. Satisfying and well-crafted. —Bret Fetzer

Kevin James

Kevin James, Leah Remini

Leah Remini, Jerry Stiller

Kevin James

Kevin James, Leah Remini The final season of The King of Queens sends this under-appreciated sitcom out with a bang. The season begins with several strong stand-alone episodes, including ones in which Doug (Kevin James) uses a tax refund to buy an ice cream truck; Carrie (Leah Remini) suspects that their best friends have managed to buy a vacation home by sponging off of her and Doug; Doug, after rescuing a chicken from being killed, becomes a vegetarian; Arthur (Jerry Stiller), eternally resplendent in argyle sweaters, asks Doug and Carrie for the money to get braces; and Adam Sandler (Punch Drunk Love) plays a high school friend of Doug's with a lot of repressed anger. But the season crescendos in a three-episode story that begins with Arthur preparing to get married again while Doug and Carrie's marriage crumbles when Carrie wants to move to an apartment in Manhattan. From there, the Heffernans' worst impulses run comically amok, demonstrating this show's long-standing strengths: The cheerful exploitation of all the character's bad behaviour, be it Doug's selfishness, Carrie's envy, or Arthur's raging egomania; snowballing storylines that routinely end in entertaining disaster and humiliation; and the skilfully-honed interplay of the three leads. The supporting cast—including Doug's best friend Deacon (Victor Williams), the emotionally enmeshed roommates Spence (Patton Oswalt) and Danny (Gary Valentine), and needy dog-walker Holly (Nicole Sullivan)—all have their moments, but James, Remini, and Stiller are the show's engine, and it runs like a Maserati. The Complete 9th Season lacks any extras, which is disappointing considering that it's also a short season of only 12 episodes; but the satisfying comic crunch of each episode makes this box set still a must-have for any fan of the show. —Bret Fetzer

KISS have always had an approach to their fans that on the one hand could be seen as ridiculously crass and on the other as truly generous. And this release, with its three expertly mastered and crammed DVDs—issued with three separate bonus discs—could easily support either view. The second installment in KISS's Kissology DVD series will sort out the casual fans from the true members of the KISS Army. The material included here, after all, begins in 1978, when the band released four separate solo albums at once and their massive popularity began to wane. It continues on through the controversial makeup-free period and ends in '91, as KISS struggled to cope with the ascendancy of grunge over the hair metal style they'd experienced a second boom with. The concert films are pretty great, but the full-length Tom Snyder Tomorrow show appearance is flat-out brilliant, as is their live performance on the short-lived sketch comedy show Fridays. And the highlight of the set has to be the "European theatrical version" of their made-for-TV film KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park. All those who've suffered through poorly degenerated video bootlegs will glory at this wonderfully restored piece of rock and roll camp. —Mike McGonigal

Kiss

Katherine Heigl, Jay Baruchel, Judd Apatow In a year that otherwise struggled to deliver where comedies were concerned, Knocked Up proved to be a very welcome treasure trove of laughs. It's from Judd Apatow, the man behind The 40 Year Old Virgin and the excellent TV show Freaks and Geeks, and sits easily as an equal to both. It's also a long-awaited showcase for the talents of Seth Rogen, who proves with some conviction that he can headline a movie.

The premise of Knocked Up is simple. Seth Rogen and Kathryn Heigl share, for differing reasons, a one-night stand, and several weeks later, the latter discovers she's pregnant. Given that Rogen's character has been jobless for years, and that Heigl is trying to build a TV career, the two don't prove to be a logical match, yet as the pregnancy progresses, they try valiantly to get to know one another.

The narrative itself is quite straightforward, but it's the execution and characters that lift it significantly. Apatow knows how to direct comedy, and with a script peppered with plenty of guffaw-out-loud moments and situations, he wrings very hearty laughs from the material. Plus, while its Rogen and Heigl who power the film, the supporting cast is simply superb, particularly the collection of people that Rogen's character surrounds himself with.

It's perhaps guilty of running ten minutes too long, and there's little to surprise in the story itself, yet Knocked Up is nonetheless a terrific, earthy and grounded comedy, with so much to enjoy. It's hard to single out individual moments, and instead it simply seems more appropriate to declare Knocked Up as one of the best, and most rewatchable, comedies of the last few years. Don't miss it.—Simon Brew

George A. Romero

Simon West Angelina Jolie is the first and best reason to watch Lara Croft Tomb Raider. She gives an extraordinarily committed, physically demanding performance, taking on the mantle of the video game heroine with real conviction and energy, and becoming the embodiment of every teenage boy's wish-fulfilment fantasy female. She's tough, sexy and tomboyish all at the same time, and even has a plummy English accent to give her a touch of class. It's a shame that the movie doesn't live up to Jolie's high standards. A soulless juggernaut of computer-generated effects and one-dimensional characters, the film falls into the same trap that has ensnared every other video game adaptation before it. The convoluted plot—which is concerned with a mysterious planetary alignment, a quasi-Masonic secret society known as the Illuminati and a mcguffin called the Triangle of Light—takes itself far too seriously. Oddly for a film with such a pedigree, the only humour is to be found in the endless repetition by Jolie of the word "bugger", which presumably is hilariously funny to American audiences. Director Simon West, an alumnus of the Brookheimer-Simpson school of filmmaking, choreographs the action sequences spectacularly enough, and their impact is boosted hugely by Jolie's ability to perform almost all the stunt work herself. But the end result is an empty experience that leaves the viewer with the feeling that this much-loved character and this dedicated actress could have been better served.

On the DVD:Eschewing the need for a second disc, this DVD still has plenty of additional material to keep fans happy. There's no single making-of documentary, but rather a series of shorter pieces on specific aspects of the production—the original game, the transition to the big screen, the special effects, the stunt work and the rigorous training endured by Jolie (apparently she got so good she could do the stunts better than any of the stunt doubles). There's also U2's "Elevation" video, some deleted scenes, DVD-ROM features and a chatty commentary from director Simon West. The widescreen picture and thumping surround soundtrack are impressive. —Mark Walker

Jacinda Barrett, Rachel Bilson, Tony Goldwyn Hankies at the ready: the young and pretty ensemble cast of The Last Kiss are about to find out, all too realistically, that grown-up relationships are hard work. Based on an Italian film, The Last Kiss follows a young couple, their friends and their family as they each struggle to come to terms with their lives and relationships—a difficulty compounded by the realisation that they may already have enjoyed their final first kiss. Hence the title.

The excellent soundtrack, hand selected by star Zach Braff, complements the drama perfectly. It also evokes 2004's Garden State, though fans looking for a recreation of that movie's naïve charm may be disappointed: The Last Kiss is rather more downbeat. It's also more adult; the sheen of youthful optimism has been rubbed off, replaced with a painful observation that sometimes, life just isn't easy.

Zach Braff-completists should make sure their Scrubs collections are up to date before picking this up; his character in The Last Kiss isn't as cute and cuddly as his previous incarnations. And be warned if you're looking for a light and fluffy comedy: despite appearances, this is not the movie for you. It's worth a look, but only once you've had a chance to stock up on tissues.—Sarah Dobbs

Stephen Norrington The heroes of 1899 are brought to life with the help of some expensive special effects in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. From the pages of Victorian literature come Captain Nemo, Dr Jekyll (and his alter ego Mr Hyde), Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer, the Invisible Man, Mina Harker (from Dracula), and the hunter Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), all assembled to combat an evil megalomaniac out to conquer the world.

It's hardly an original plot, but perhaps that's fitting for a movie sewn together like Frankenstein's monster. It rushes from one frenetic battle to another, replacing sense with spectacle—Nemo's submarine rising from the water, a warehouse full of zeppelins bursting into flame, Venice collapsing into its own canals. It's flashy, dumb, and completely incoherent. Fans of the original comic book will be disappointed. —Bret Fetzer

Joe Massot Peter Clifton Bombastic, pretentious and narcissistic, Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Sameis also one of the best concert films of the 1970s, capturing the greatest rock band of the decade in full flight at Madison Square Gardens in 1973. The notorious "fantasy sequences" punctuate the musical action but don't, fortunately, interrupt it. Playing true to their self-indulgent rock & roll personas, each band member has his own segment, as does legendary larger-than-life manager Peter Grant. Only John Bonham's is reasonably down-to-earth: during his mammoth drum solo ("Moby Dick") he is seen driving his custom car, his Harley chopper, and a drag racer at Santa Pod, as well as inspecting bulls and doing a bit of building work. Well, what else would a working-class lad from Birmingham do with his millions? Elsewhere, John Paul Jones is a demented Phantom of the Opera with an unfeasibly large organ ("No Quarter"); Robert Plant is a quasi-Arthurian knight errant rescuing a suitable rock-chick damsel in distress ("The Song Remains the Same/Rain Song"); while Aleister Crowley acolyte Jimmy Page goes in for sorcery and mysticism as he encounters the wizard from the cover of Led Zep IV ("Dazed & Confused"). But the real magic is the onstage footage: Page wields his Gibson Les Paul as if he is indeed enchanted (the violin bow becomes his magician's wand in "Dazed & Confused"), while Plant preens and prowls his way around the stage, the very image of the rock idol; and quite how Jones and Bonham managed to be such a behemoth of a rhythm section is still a mystery. For all its many faults, this remains an essential document of an era when rock dinosaurs still walked the earth.

On the DVD: No extra features to speak of at all, which is extremely disappointing given the wealth of archive material concerning the band and this movie that must be available. The picture and sound are respectable without being exceptional. —Mark Walker

Ed Solomon

Peter Jackson In every aspect, the extended edition of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is superior to the theatrical version. No-one who cares at all about the film should ever need to watch the original again. Well, maybe the impatient and the squeamish will still prefer it, because this extended edition makes a long film 30 minutes longer and there's a wee bit more violence. But the changes—sometimes whole scenes, sometimes merely a few seconds—make for a richer film. There's more of the spirit of JRR Tolkien, embodied in more songs and a longer opening focusing on Hobbiton. There's more character development, and more background into what is to come in the two subsequent films, such as Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship and Aragorn's burden of lineage. Some additions make more sense to the plot while others are merely worth seeing, such as the wood elves leaving Middle-earth or the view of Caras Galadhon (but sorry, there's still no Tom Bombadil).

Ralph Bakshi The greatest trilogy in film history, presented in the most ambitious sets in DVD history, comes to a grand conclusion with the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Not only is the third and final installment of Peter Jackson's adaptation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien the longest of the three, but a full 50 minutes of new material pushes the running time to a whopping 4 hours and 10 minutes. The new scenes are welcome, and the bonus features maintain the high bar set by the first two films, The Fellowship of the Ringand The Two Towers.

What's New?

One of the scenes cut from the theatrical release but included here, the resolution of the Saruman storyline, generated a lot of publicity when the movie opened, as actor Christopher Lee complained in the press about losing his only appearance. It's an excellent scene, one Jackson calls "pure Tolkien," and provides better context for Pippin to find the wizard's palantir in the water, but it's not critical to the film. In fact, "valuable but not critical" might sum up the ROTKextended edition. It's evident that Jackson made the right cuts for the theatrical run, but the extra material provides depth and ties up a number of loose ends, and for those sorry to see the trilogy end (and who isn't?) it's a welcome chance to spend another hour in Middle-earth. Some choice moments are Gandalf's (Ian McKellen) confrontation with the Witch King (we find out what happened to the wizard's staff), the chilling Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor, and Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) being mistaken for Orc soldiers. We get to see more of Éowyn (Miranda Otto), both with Aragorn and on the battlefield, even fighting the hideously deformed Orc lieutenant, Gothmog. We also see her in one of the most anticipated new scenes, the Houses of Healing after the battle of the Pelennor Fields. It doesn't present Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) as a savior as the book did, but it shows the initial meeting between Éowyn and Faramir (David Wenham), a relationship that received only a meaningful glance in the theatrical cut.

If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson's marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do.

And for those who complained, no, there are no new endings, not even the scouring of the Shire, which many fans were hoping to see. Nor is there a scene of Denethor (John Noble) with the palantir, which would have better explained both his foresight and his madness. As Jackson notes, when cuts are made, the secondary characters are the first to go, so there is a new scene of Aragorn finding the palantir in Denethor's robes. Another big difference is Aragorn's confrontation with the King of the Dead. In the theatrical version, we didn't know whether the King had accepted Aragorn's offer when the pirate ships pulled into the harbor; here Jackson assumes that viewers have already experienced that tension, and instead has the army of the dead join the battle in an earlier scene (an extended cameo for Jackson). One can debate which is more effective, but that's why the film is available in both versions. If you feel like watching the relatively shorter version you saw in the theaters, you can. If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson's marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do.

How Are the Bonus Features?

To complete the experience, The Return of the Kingprovides the same sprawling set of features as the previous extended editions: four commentary tracks, sharp picture and thrilling sound, and two discs of excellent documentary material far superior to the recycled material in the theatrical edition. Those who have listened to the seven hours of commentary for the first two extended editions may wonder if they need to hear more, but there was no commentary for the earlier ROTKDVD, so it's still entertaining to hear him break down the film (he says the beacon scene is one of his favorites), discuss differences from the book, point out cameos, and poke fun at himself and the extended-edition concept ("So this is the complete full strangulation, never seen before, here exclusively on DVD!"). The documentaries (some lasting 30 minutes or longer) are of their usual outstanding quality, and there's a riveting storyboard/animatic sequence of the climactic scene, which includes a one-on-one battle between Aragorn and Sauron.

One DVD Set to Rule Them All
Peter Jackson's trilogy has set the standard for fantasy films by adapting the Holy Grail of fantasy stories with a combination of fidelity to the original source and his own vision, supplemented by outstanding writing, near-perfect casting, glorious special effects, and evocative New Zealand locales. The extended editions without exception have set the standard for the DVD medium by providing a richer film experience that pulls the three films together and further embraces Tolkien's world, a reference-quality home theater experience, and generous, intelligent, and engrossing bonus features. —David Horiuchi

Peter Jackson This Collector's Box of The Two Towerscontains the four-disc extended version of the movie (also available separately) as well as three unique additional extras. Like The Fellowship of the Ringbefore it, the whole is packaged in a chunky cardboard outer box. Inside is a limited edition polystone statue of Gollum, complete with fish, perched on a moss-covered base (it weighs in at a solid three-and-a-half pounds and comes with a certificate of authenticity). Unlike the "Argonath" bookends, the statue is purely decorative: sculpted by the same artist who created Gollum for the screen it's painted in faithfully "lifelike" colours and has an authentically oily sheen to its flesh that makes it a somewhat less-than-attractive ornament for your mantelpiece. Fans, though, will appreciate the attention to detail and the statue's unique pedigree.

Also included is a box within a box containing yet another bonus DVD, this one devoted to the creation of the Sideshow Weta statue series. Some 24 minutes long, this documentary is introduced by Peter Jackson, who shows us his own extraordinary collection of statues; Jackson and Weta supremo Richard Taylor explain how they insisted that these models were created by the same artists who had worked on the movies, ensuring complete authenticity (the actors themselves are suitably appreciative). Taylor narrates in detail the whole production process. There's also a printed 44-page companion piece specifically devoted to Gollum, showing his evolution from early sketches to sculpted maquette to final on-screen character. —Mark Walker

Pete Riski

Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia

Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan Anybody whose faith in Lost was beginning to waiver will surely appreciate the fourth season of the show. For this is Lost firing on all cylinders, showing a willingness to answer a few more questions than usual, while not being afraid to deepen elements of the mystery of Ocean 815.

The big new idea for Lost season four, as introduced in the cliffhanger at the end of the previous run, is flash-forwards, where we see some of the characters after they?ve left the island. This freshens the show immensely, and gives the writers some much-needed new meat to chew on. As a result, characters are more convincingly fleshed out, and more fun is had with the narrative in general.

There are still a few of the ailments that have hindered Lost in the past. Whenever Matthew Fox?s Jack takes centre-stage, for instance, it still tends to be an episode to forget, while one or two sub-plots are allowed to meander a little more than they should. Yet it?s a transitionary season, moving the show towards its final two years by beginning to fill in some of the blanks we?ve been lacking. And with a cliffhanger at the end that, once more, has the potential to firmly pull the rug from under your feet, it?s very clear that Lost has plenty more tricks up its sleeve to come. A terrific season of an increasingly bold show. —Simon Brew

Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly There's a steady pattern forming to seasons of Lost, where the narrative by turns manages to enthral and frustrate with equal measure. And the show's makers are clearly wise to this, as while elements of the third season revert to type, there's a clear and genuine effort to energise a programme that continues to stretch its simple premise as far as it can.

So while Lost still compromises of a group of plane crash survivors marooned on a mysterious island, there's plenty else being thrown into the pot. Season three finds new characters, greater exposition of the mysterious `others', the obligatory background character work, and a pronounced fracturing of relations between many of the survivors.

It too also manages to hint at some answers to the many conundrums that it continues to pose, not least a concluding episode that itself should keep fan debates fuelled until well into the next series. And, chief among its accomplishments, Lost still manages to keep us interested, and leaves plenty in the tank for the future as well.

In short, there's little danger you'll be short-changed by Lost season three thanks to its ideas, its nerve, and the continued clues it teasingly leaves along the way. As fascinating as it always was. —Jon Foster

Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Joel Schumacher This 1987 thriller was a predictable hit with the teen audience it worked overtime to attract. Like most of director Joel Schumacher's films, it's conspicuously designed to push the right marketing and demographic buttons and, granted, there's some pretty cool stuff going on here and there. Take Kiefer Sutherland, for instance. In Stand by Me he played a memorable bully, but here he goes one step further as a memorable bully vampire who leads a tribe of teenage vampires on their nocturnal spree of bloodsucking havoc. Jason Patric plays the new guy in town, who quickly attracts a lovely girlfriend (Jami Gertz), only to find that she might be recruiting him into the vampire fold. The movie gets sillier as it goes along, and resorts to a routine action-movie showdown, but it's a visual knockout (featuring great cinematography by Michael Chapman) and boasts a cast that's eminently able (pardon the pun) to sink their teeth into the best parts of an uneven screenplay. —Jeff Shannon

Joel Schumacher This 1987 thriller was a predictable hit with the teen audience it worked overtime to attract. Like most of director Joel Schumacher's films, it's conspicuously designed to push the right marketing and demographic buttons and, granted, there's some pretty cool stuff going on here and there. Take Kiefer Sutherland, for instance. In Stand by Me he played a memorable bully, but here he goes one step further as a memorable bully vampire who leads a tribe of teenage vampires on their nocturnal spree of bloodsucking havoc. Jason Patric plays the new guy in town, who quickly attracts a lovely girlfriend (Jami Gertz), only to find that she might be recruiting him into the vampire fold. The movie gets sillier as it goes along, and resorts to a routine action-movie showdown, but it's a visual knockout (featuring great cinematography by Michael Chapman) and boasts a cast that's eminently able (pardon the pun) to sink their teeth into the best parts of an uneven screenplay. —Jeff Shannon

Rowan Atkinson, Colin Firth, Richard Curtis With no fewer than eight couples vying for our attention, Love Actually is like the London Marathon of romantic comedies, and everybody wins. Having mastered the genre as the writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones's Diary, it appears that first-time director Richard Curtis is just like his screenplays: he just wants to be loved, and he'll go to absurdly appealing lengths to win our affection. With Love Actually, Curtis orchestrates a minor miracle of romantic choreography, guiding a brilliant cast of stars and newcomers as they careen toward love and holiday cheer in London, among them the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who's smitten with his caterer (Martine McCutcheon); a widower (Liam Neeson) whose young son nurses the ultimate schoolboy crush; a writer (Colin Firth) who falls for his Portuguese housekeeper; a devoted wife and mother (Emma Thompson) coping with her potentially unfaithful husband (Alan Rickman); and a lovelorn American (Laura Linney) who's desperately attracted to a colleague. There's more—too much more—as Curtis wraps his Christmas gift with enough happy endings to sweeten a dozen other movies. That he pulls it off so entertainingly is undeniably impressive; that he does it so shamelessly suggests that his writing fares better with other, less ingratiating directors. —Jeff Shannon

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Brad Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson A handful of people in California's San Fernando Valley are having one hell of a day. TV mogul Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) is on his deathbed and his trophy wife (Julianne Moore) is stockpiling tranquilliser prescriptions all over town with alarming determination. Earl's nurse (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is trying desperately to get in touch with Earl's only son, sex-guru Frank TJ Mackey (Tom Cruise), who's about to have his carefully constructed past blown by a TV reporter (April Grace). Whiz kid Stanley (Jeremy Blackman) is being goaded by his selfish dad into breaking the record for the game show What Do Kids Know?Meanwhile, Stanley's predecessor, the grown-up quiz kid Donnie Smith (William H. Macy) has lost his job and is nursing a severe case of unrequited love. And the host of What Do Kids Know?, the affable Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), like Earl, is dying of cancer, and his attempt to reconcile with his cokehead daughter (Melora Walters) fails miserably. She, meanwhile, is running hot and cold with a cop (John C. Reilly) who would love to date her, if she can sit still for long enough. And over it all, a foreboding sky threatens to pour something more than just rain.

This third feature from Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights) is a maddening, magnificent piece of film-making, and an ensemble film to rank with the best of Robert Altman (Short Cuts, Nashville)—every little piece of the film means something, solidly placed for a reason. Deftly juggling a breathtaking ensemble of actors, Anderson crafts a tale of neglectful parents, resentful children, and love-starved souls that's amazing in scope, both thematically and emotionally. Part of the charge of Magnoliais seeing exactly how many characters Anderson can juggle, and can he keep all those balls in the air (indeed he can, even if it means throwing frogs into the mix). And it's been far too long since we've seen a film-maker whose love of making movies is so purely joyful. This electric energy is reflected in the actors, from Cruise's revelatory performance to Reilly's quietly powerful turn as the moral centre of the story. While at three hours it's definitely not suited to everyone's taste, Magnoliais a compelling, heartbreaking, ultimately hopeful meditation on the accidents of chance that make up our lives. The soundtrackfeatures eight wonderful songs by Aimee Mann, including "Save Me", around which Anderson built the script. —Mark Englehart

Larry Wachowski Andy Wachowski The Matrix Reloadeddelivers added amounts of everything that the first film had, with the exception of surprises. We see more of the "real world" in the "last human city" of Zion and we go back to the 1999-look urban virtual reality of the Matrix for more encounters with artificially-intelligent baddies and—the real reason you've turned up—a lotmore martial arts superheroics.

The downside is that this is just part one of a two-pack of sequels, with Revolutionsrequired to tie up the story and sort out a great deal of plot confusion. There are other problems: none of the stars have much good material to work with outside the fights and stunts, which makes the film sorely miss the mix of science fiction thrills and character interplay of the original instalment.

However, the Wachowski Brothers still deliver more than enough stand-alone instant classic action sequences to make you ignore their duff script: in particular, Reeves and Hugo Weaving square off in a rumble that gets dicey, as more and more identical Weavings come out of the woodwork to pile on the lone hero; and a full quarter of an hour is devoted to a chase through the Matrix that lets Laurence Fishburne shoulder the heroic business. A last-reel encounter with a virtual God, the architect of the Matrix, finally delivers some major plot advances, but the scene is so brilliantly shot and designed—with Reeves framed against a wall of TV screens that show multiple versions of himself—that it's easy to be distracted by the decor and miss the point of what's being said. —Kim Newman

On the DVD:The Matrix Reloadedtwo-disc set amazingly has very little in-depth stuff on this physically impressive movie; there's not even a commentary track. Perhaps the Wachowski Brothers want to keep their enigmatic aura, or perhaps there's a better DVD coming after the trilogy ends? Best here is the 30-minute feature on the incredible freeway chase: here you get the inside scoop on how the titanic 12-minute sequence was put together. There's plenty of material on the second disc, but it's just filler, with the actors talking about how great it is to work again with the Matrixteam and plenty of quick edits of explosions and other "cool" things. There's a segment on product placement, 30 minutes on how the video game was created and the MTV Movie Awards parody. The features feel more like pre-movie hype than post-film deconstruction. Dolby 5.1 sound is suitably spectacular—but there's no DTS option—and the super-wide 2.40:1 picture is, of course, pin-sharp, bringing out all the lavish detail and highlighting the contrast between the green-hued Matrix and the grimy grey real world. —Doug Thomas

Andy & Larry Wachowski The opening reels of Matrix Revolutionsdo nothing to dispel the feeling of exhausted disappointment that set in during the second half of The Matrix Reloaded. There's plenty more talky guff combined with the picking-up of hard-to-remember plot threads as Neo (Keanu Reeves) lies in a coma in the "real" world and is stranded on a tube station in a limbo "beyond the Matrix" while his allies do a reprise of the shooting-their-way-past-the-bodyguards bit from the last film (this time, the baddies can walk on the ceiling). A new Oracle (Mary Alice) makes some pronouncements about the end being near and more things happen—including the evil Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) manifesting in reality by possessing a minor character and perfidiously blinding our hero, who wears a becoming ribbon over his wounded eyes and perceives the world in an impressive "flaming truth vision".

What about the action? The equivalent of the last film's freeway chase scene is a huge face-off as the Sentinels (robot squids) finally breach the caverns of Zion, "the last human city", and swarm against a battalion of pilot-manipulated giant robots: here, the effects are seamless and the images astonishing, though the fact that none of the major characters are involved and the whole thing goes on so long as if designed to top any previous robot-on-robot screen carnage means that it becomes monotonously amazing, like watching someone else play a great computer game. After a too-easily-managed major realignment of the enmities, the film—and the series—finally delivers a sign-off sequence that's everything you could want as Neo and Smith get into a kung fu one-on-one in a rain-drenched virtual city, flying as high as Superman and Brainiac in smart suits. It comes too late to save the day and the wrap-up is both banal and incoherent, but at least this single combat is a reward for hardy veterans who've sat through seven hours of build-up. —Kim Newman

On the DVD:when the first MatrixDVD was released, with never-before-seen features such as the "Follow the White Rabbit" option, it set a benchmark against which subsequent discs were judged. But neither sequel has lived up to the original's high standards. The Matrix Revolutionstwo-disc set is an unexceptional package, with a routine "making of" featurette being the main bonus item. Amid all the usual backslapping guff about how great everyone is and what a great time they've all had, it's possible to glean some nuggets of useful information about the baffling plot—though cast and crew can't repress a note of weariness creeping in when discussing the horribly protracted shooting schedule. The feature on the CG Revolutionis the most informative for people who like to know how everything was done, and, in the same vein, there's also a multi-angle breakdown of the Super Burly Brawl. A 3-D timeline gives a handy summary of the story so far, and there's a plug for The Matrix Onlinegame. The anamorphic 2.40:1 picture is, of course, a real treat to look at, even if the movie is mostly shades of dark grey and dark green; soundwise the dynamic range of the Dolby Digital surround is extreme: all conversations are conducted in throaty whispers, while the action sequences will push your speakers to the limit. No DTS option, though. And as with Reloaded, there's no audio commentary either: the Wachowski's policy of not talking about their creation begins to seem like a ploy to avoid answering awkward questions. —Mark Walker

Larry Wachowski Andy Wachowski The Wachowski Brothers'The Matrixtook the well-worn science fiction idea of virtual reality, added supercharged Hollywood gloss and a striking visual style and stole The Phantom Menace's thunder as the must-see movie of the summer of 1999. Laced with Star Wars-like Eastern mysticism, and featuring thrilling martial arts action choreographed by Hong Kong action director Yuen Woo Ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), The Matrixrestored Keanu Reeves to genre stardom following virtual reality dud Johnny Mnemonic(1995), and made a star of Carrie-Anne Moss, who followed this with the challenging perception twister Memento(2000). Helping the film stand out from rivals Dark City(1998) and The Thirteenth Floor(1999) was the introduction of the celebrated "bullet time" visual effects, though otherwise the war-against-the-machines story, hard-hitting style and kinetic set-pieces such as the corporate lobby shoot-out lean heavily on Terminator 2: Judgment Day(1991). Elsewhere the influence of John Woo, from the ultra-cool near real-world SF of Face/Off(1997) to the raincoats and sunglasses look of bullet-ballet A Better Tomorrow, is clearly in evidence. The set-up isn't without its absurdities, though—quite why super-intelligent machines bother to use humans as batteries instead of something more docile like cows, for example, is never explained, nor is how they expect these living batteries to produce more energy than it takes to maintain them. The Matrixis nevertheless exhilarating high-octane entertainment, although as the first part of a trilogy it perhaps inevitably doesn't have a proper ending.

On the DVD:the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is virtually flawless, exhibiting only the grain present in the theatrical print, while the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is demonstration quality, showing off the high-impact sound effects and Don Davis' fine score to great effect. Special features are "data files" on the main stars, producer and director and "Follow the White Rabbit", which if selected while viewing the movie offers behind the scenes footage. This is interesting, but gimmicky, requires switching back from widescreen to 4:3 each time, and would be better if it could be accessed directly from one menu. There is also a standard 25-minute TV promo film which is as superficial as these things usually are. —Gary S Dalkin

Bobby Farrelly Peter Farrelly In Me, Myself & Irene, Jim Carrey plays Charlie Baileygates, a cop for the finest police force in the world (Rhode Island's). In denial about his wife's affair, he's a nice guy who goes around trying to do the right thing but is taken advantage of every step of the way. Instead of confronting people, he takes the abuse, balls it up and hides it in the pit of his stomach. His psyche can only take so much, though and soon his alter-egoHank pops out to do every libidinous thing Charlie would never do. It's a great premise for a Jim Carrey film. Unfortunately, it's not a great Jim Carrey film. Famous for the lowbrow, shock comedies like Dumb and Dumber, Kingpinand There's Something About Mary, here the Farrelly brothers get lost in a series of lazy gags and an even lazier plot about some evil golf development and the woman, Irene (Renée Zellweger), who needs to be protected because she knows something about it. Some of the jokes hit (there's a bathroom scene that's 10 times funnier than the hair-gel gag in There's Something About Mary), but many more miss. There are some great concepts (his three sons are hip-hop geniuses) that don't go anywhere (they swear a lot). It's like the movie itself has a split personality—funny ideas trapped in a less-than-funny film. —Andy Spletzer, Amazon.com

Lindsay Lohan, Jonathan Bennett, Mark Waters The cutting wit of Tina Fey (the first female head writer for US comedy breeding ground Saturday Night Live) brilliantly fuses pop culture and smart satire. Fey wrote Mean Girls, in which a formerly home-schooled girl named Cady (Lindsay Lohan) gets dropped into the sneaky, vicious world of the Plastics, three adolescent glamour-girls who dominate their public high school's social heirarchy. Cady first befriends a couple of art-punk outsiders who persuade her to infiltrate the Plastics and destroy them from within—but power corrupts, and Cady soon finds the glory of being a Plastic to be seductive. Mean Girls joins the ranks of Clueless, Bring It On, and Heathers, cunning movies that use the hormone-pressurized high school milieu to put the dark impulses of human nature—ambition, envy, lust, revenge—under a comic microscope. Fey manages to skewer everyone without forgetting the characters' hapless humanity; it's a dazzling and delightful balancing act. —Bret Fetzer

Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro This highly successful spin-off of Beverly Hills 90210, is set in an apartment block in the West Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Melrose Place sets the scene for the stories of the lives and loves of a group of young adults, each with their own dreams and drives and the inevitable conflicts and conquests that they endure. Storylines won't fail to entertain; from characters coming back from the dead, multiple personalities and a bomb destroying the apartment complex this series is packed full of soap opera excitement.

Synopsis
TV drama following the lives and loves of several young adults who reside in Melrose Place, a small apartment complex set in the fashionable West Hollywood district. Despite introducing a whole new cast, the show starts out with former Beverly Hills 90210 babe Jenny (Kelly Garth) moving into Melrose Place to pursue a romantic relationship with carpenter Jake (Grant Show). However, when things don't work out between them, she returns to her 90210 post code. The potent mix of over-the-top storylines, shocking twists, and frank sexuality earned the show much popularity, and helped actress and co-producer Heather Locklear relaunch her career. Includes every episode from the first series.

Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro

"Monumental personal problems." That's D&D Advertising executive Amanda's (Heather Locklear) sarcastic term. She's referring to Alison (Courtney Thorne-Smith), but in Melrose Place's essential third season, everyone's got 'em. Michael (Thomas Calabro) suffers amnesia from his near-fatal hit and run (Michael's actually a sweet guy when he has amnesia, and the defeated look on wife Sydney's face when she realizes that Michael the scum is back is priceless). Jane's (Josie Bissett) business partner (Andrew Williams) stalks Sydney (Laura Leighton) and bilks Jane out of her savings. Sydney is ultimately framed for trying to run down Michael and is later kidnapped twice—TWICE—once by a charismatic cult leader (Ramy Zada from Dark Justice; and when will that "It's Too Hot to Sleep" cult classic be released on DVD?). Alison wrestles with exposing her father (the great Monte Markham), a pillar of the community, as a child molester, and later sinks into alcoholism.

Jake (Grant Show) becomes the target in an elaborate revenge plot and later is pitted against his resentful half brother (Dan Cortese). Jo's (Daphne Zuniga) baby is kidnapped twice—TWICE—and it's only eight weeks old! Kimberly (a magnificent Marcia Cross), well, space doesn't permit all the manipulations, double-crosses, and betrayals she perpetrates before finally going crazy. And Amanda meets her cunning and ruthless match in Dr. Peter Burns (Jack Wagner), the new hospital chief of staff, who, as he so bluntly tells Michael, doesn't play games and takes no crap. And we haven't even mentioned Brooke (Kristin Davis) as the scheming, spoiled rich girl who comes between sap Billy (Andrew Shue) and Alison. Yes, season 3 is really something, as acknowledged that year by the classic show about nothing, Seinfeld, in the season 6 episode "The Beard," in which Jerry is forced to admit that Melrose Place is his secret guilty pleasure ("Oh that Michael," he rants, "I hate him, he's just so smug."). Season 3 is grand, over-the-top fun, a real disc-grabber (the DVD equivalent of a page-turner). Longtime viewers will appreciate the affectionate skewering the show receives from comedians John Aboud and Michael Colton in a bonus feature that presents an overview of the season (they're right; the name of Jake's boat, Pretty Lady, is the lamest ever). Those who turn up their nose at Melrose Place are encouraged to give season 3 a look. To paraphrase the apocalyptic season finale's famous last words: "It's not what you think…it's better!" —Donald Liebenson

UK COMPATIBLE!! Lying, cheating, stealing, seduction, backstabbing, betrayal, murder... it's just another day at Melrose Place. Synopsis The fourth season of Melrose Place literally begins with a bang, as a deranged Kimberly detonates the bombs that lay waste to much of the titular apartment building.

Heather Locklear

Barry Sonnenfeld This imaginative comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty) is a lot of fun, largely on the strength of Will Smith's engaging performance as the rookie partner of a secret agent (Tommy Lee Jones) assigned to keep tabs on Earth-dwelling extra-terrestrials. There's lots of comedy to spare in this bright film, some of the funniest stuff found in the margins of the major action (a scene with Smith's character being trounced in the distance by a huge alien while Jones questions a witness is a riot.) The inventiveness never lets up, and the cast—including Vincent D'Onofrio doing frighteningly convincing work as an alien occupying a decaying human—hold up their end splendidly. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

On the DVD: This Collector's Edition disc contains a "Visual Commentary" that features director Barry Sonenfeld and actor Tommy Lee Jones in an anecdotal conversation, but with the unique twist that they are displayed as silhouettes on your TV screen (imagine you're sitting in the back row of the cinema and they are up front) using a pointer to highlight particular events on screen. If you have a widescreen TV, the menu prompts you to switch to 4:3 mode to see this. There is also a "Visual Effects Scene Deconstruction" in which the tunnel scene and the Edgar Bug fight scene are dissected into their constituent parts; an in-depth documentary, "Metamorphosis of MIB", which charts the progress of the concept from comic book to screen; five "Extended and Alternate" scenes; trailers, including a teaser for MIB II; and Will Smith's "Men in Black" music video. —Mark Walker

Barry Sonnenfeld An exercise in by-numbers sequel-craft, Men in Black IIreheats the mix that made a hit of Men in Blackbut leaves the ingredients in the oven a little too long. Returning director Barry Sonnenfeld throws all the pieces up in the air and has them come down more or less in the same way. An evil alien takes the form of lingerie model Lara Flynn Boyle, when it isn't a large ball of snakes, and searches the Earth for a mysterious whatsit that can turn the tide of a galactic war. The only person who knows the current whereabouts of the Light of Zartha is Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), whose memory was wiped at the end of the first film. Agent Jay (Will Smith) has to recruit his old mentor away from his new job at the post office—where he amusingly deals with spilled cups of coffee in exactly the way he used to handle interstellar crises—then proceeds to run around until he remembers how the plot works.

It's the sort of sequel that assumes walk-on-gag characters, who got a laugh last time round, deserve to be brought back and given bigger roles, which means the talking dog and cigarette-fiend worms show up again and wear out their welcome. Smith, a bigger star now than he was in MiB, unhappily has to play straight leading man rather than whacky sidekick, and his end credits rapping hasn't improved either. Its acceptable in-flight entertainment (and miles better than the Smith-Sonnenfeld Wild Wild West), but nothing here hasn't been done before and better. —Kim Newman

On the DVD:Men in Black IIboasts a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that positively jumps out of the screen, while the Dolby Digital soundtrack hums with alien activity and Danny Elfman's classic spy film-inspired score. Disc 1 contains the film, "Frank's Favourites" (a selection of trailers for both films and videogames), a commentary from director Barry Sonnenfeld and "Alien Broadcast" (an in-movie feature that allows you to stop the film and watch a making-of feature connected with that scene). Disc 2 is packed full with a pick and mix of featurettes, detailing everything from the distinctive aliens to sound and audio looping. There is also an expansive outtake reel (most of which consists of Will Smith cracking up and Tommy Lee Jones getting annoyed), a somewhat highbrow but nonetheless entertaining documentary about Barry Sonnenfeld's comedy style, plus multi-angle scene deconstructions such as the subway worm and car chase. An alternative ending and Will Smith's music video and filmographies complete this expansive special edition. —Kristen Bowditch

Joe Berlinger Bruce Sinofsky

Steven Spielberg Full of flawed characters and shot in grainy de-saturated colours, Steven Spielberg's Minority Reportis futuristic film noirwith a far-fetched B-movie plot that's so feverishly presented the audience never gets a chance to ponder its many improbabilities. Based on a short story by Philip K Dick, Minority Reportis set in the Orwellian near-future of 2054, where a trio of genetically modified "pre-cogs" warn of murders before they happen. In a sci-fi twist on the classic Hitchcockian wrong man scenario, Detective John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is the zealous precrime cop who is himself revealed as a future-killer. Plot twists and red herrings drive the action forward and complications abound, not least Anderton's crippling emotional state, his drug habit, his avuncular-yet-sinister boss (Max Von Sydow), and the ambitious FBI agent Witwer (Colin Farrell) snapping at his heels.

Though the film toys with the notion of free will in a deterministic universe, this is not so much a movie of grand ideas as forward-looking ones. Its depiction of a near-future filled with personalised advertising and intrusive security devices that relentlessly violate the right of anonymity is disturbingly believable. Ultimately, though, it's a chase movie and the innovative set-piece sequences reveal Spielberg's flair for staging action. As with A.I.before it, there's a nagging feeling that the all-too-neat resolution is a Spielbergian touch too far: the movie could satisfactorily have ended several minutes earlier. Though this is superior SF from one of Hollywood's greatest craftsmen, it would have been more in the spirit of Philip K Dick to leave a few tantalisingly untidy plot threads dangling.

On the DVD:Minority Reporton disc brings up Janusz Kaminski's wonderfully subdued cinematography in an ideal anamorphic widescreen print. John Williams's Bernard Herrmann-esque score is the major beneficiary of Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS sound options. There is no commentary, and the movie plus everything on the second disc, which contains five short featurettes and an archive of text and visual material, could probably have been squeezed onto just one disc. The featurettes are: "From Story to Screen", "Deconstructing Minority Report", "The Stunts of Minority Report", "ILM and Minority Report" and "Final Report: Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise". There are subtitles in English and Scandinavian languages. —Mark Walker

Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Donald Petrie It's a good thing Sandra Bullock knows her strengths and weaknesses, because without Bullock as star and producer, Miss Congeniality would be an insufferable mess as opposed to being a mildly enjoyable trifle that is custom-made for Bullock's established screen persona. Here she plays nerdy FBI agent Gracie Hart, who is given the horrific pseudonym Gracie Lou Freebush (one example of the film's juvenile tendencies) when assigned to infiltrate a beauty pageant to investigate threats of a terrorist attack. Transforming Bullock from frumpy to stunning is a piece of cake (although she gives pageant coach Michael Caine a run for his money), so the film's premise is trivial at best. More enjoyable is her character's uncouth disdain for pageant contestants and her mistaken perception that they're all a bunch of bimbos. The film nicely charts Gracie's realisation that her pageant makeover provides a much-needed ego boost. In addition to Caine's effortless scene-stealing, pageant host William Shatner and organiser Candice Bergen are smart choices for comedic support (Shatner is a perfect Bert Parks wannabe), but the film desperately needs a credible foundation for its comedy to really pay off. None of the plotting is as smart as predecessors like Beverly Hills Cop in combining procedure with laughs. That leaves Bullock to carry the burden of a comedy that barely works in her favour. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Sandra Bullock, Regina King, John Pasquin F.B.I. operative Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) famously went undercover in a beauty pageant a while back, and now she's supposedly so recognizable that her only use to the agency is as a pretty public representative. Dumped by her boyfriend (whom Benjamin Bratt wisely decided not to portray this time around), a gloomy Gracie goes along with the promo biz until her friend, Miss United States (Heather Burns), is kidnapped along with pageant official Stan Fields (William Shatner) in Las Vegas. Bullock still has perk to please her fans, but neither she nor her awkward alter-ego has any purpose in a sequel to a movie released five years prior. The result is a desperately unfunny, feature-length commercial for Las Vegas tourism, with outdated homosexual stereotypes (Diedrich Bader, as Gracie's stylist) and the usually terrific Regina King (of Ray and Jerry Maguire fame) stuck in a glum role as Bullock's butch bodyguard. Armed? Yes. Fabulous? No. —Steve Wiecking, Amazon.com

Ciaran Hinds, Lee Pace, Bharat Nalluri

Brian De Palma Mission: Impossiblewas one of the best action blockbusters of the 1990s, deriving a quality unique amongst its peers from the tension between Brian De Palma's directorial stylisation and the overriding presence of its star and producer, Tom Cruise. Cruise plays Special Forces agent Ethan Hunt, disavowed as a traitor by his own superiors and forced to uncover the true mole to prove his innocence. The original 1960s television series provides not only the wonderful musical motif, but also the layered complexity of false realities and masked identities, which are revealed with the playful conjuring of a Russian doll.

This was Cruise's last movie as an angst-ridden youth (next stop was Jerry Maguireand the trials of family life) and he presents Ethan Hunt as caught between his heroic physical prowess and a trusting emotional naïvety that is painfully punctured by the treachery of those around him. Hollywood heavyweights Jon Voight (Heat) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction) are both excellent in support, while the remaining cast reads like an identikit of European cinema, including Emanuelle Beart, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jean Reno (Leon).

De Palma's trademark set-pieces include a giant exploding fishtank in Prague, a helicopter chase through the Channel Tunnel, and, most notably, a break-in to steal a vital disc from CIA headquarters in Langley. The moment in the latter when, in almost complete silence, Cruise dangles precariously from a cable and just catches a bead of sweat before it triggers the floor alarm is as sublimely exhilarating as any in American movies of the last 10 years.

On the DVD: Aside from basic language and chapter selection the disc is devoid of any extras, leaving us to wait for the behind-the-scenes story of the numerous rewrites and wrangling that reportedly beset production. On a more positive note, the picture and sound quality fully realise the film's highly stylised surface beauty and effects-laden kinetic energy. —Steve Napleton

Brian De Palma If Brian De Palma directed Mission to Marsfor 10-year-olds who have never seen a science fiction film, he can be credited for crafting a marginally successful adventure. Isolated moments in this film serve the highest purpose of its genre, inspiring a sense of wonder and awe in the context of a fascinating future (specifically, the year 2020). But because most of us have seen a lot of science fiction films, it's impossible to ignore this one's derivative plot, cardboard characters and drearily dumb dialogue. Despite an awesome and painstakingly authentic display of cool technology and dazzling special effects, Mission to Marsis light years away from 2001: A Space Odysseyon the scale of human intelligence.

After dispensing with a few space-jockey clichés, the movie focuses on a Mars-bound rescue mission commanded by Jim McConnell (Gary Sinise), whose team (Tim Robbins, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O'Connell) has been sent to retrieve the sole survivor (Don Cheadle) of a tragic Mars landing. During the sequence en route to Mars, De Palma is in his element with two suspenseful scenes (including a dramatic—albeit somewhat silly—space walk) that are technically impressive. But when this Mission gets to Mars, the movie grows increasingly unconvincing, finally arriving at an alien encounter that more closely resembles an astronomical CGI video game. But this is a $75 million Hollywood movie, and no amount of technical wizardry can lift the burden of a juvenile screenplay. Kudos to Sinise, his co-stars, and the special effects wizards for making the most of hoary material; shame on just about everyone else involved. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Mark Pellington Described by director Mark Pellington as "a psychological mystery with naturally surreal overtones", The Mothman Prophecies begins like an ambitious episode of The X-Files. Richard Gere brings adequate torment, portent, and ambiguity to his role as a Washington Post reporter and grieving widower plagued by a mysterious, unseen urban legend known as the Mothman. Pellington develops subtle doom and gloom that's as effective as the paranoid streak he brought to Arlington Road. As the Mothman terrifies a West Virginia town, he remains an enigma, glimpsed almost subliminally. This—along with a magnificently creepy soundtrack—amplifies the movie's surreal overtones while keeping everything else (unsettling phone calls, prophesied disasters, suggestions of the afterlife) completely unexplained. With Laura Linney and Debra Messing in underdeveloped roles, The Mothman Prophecies feels a bit underdeveloped itself (and ends in desperate need of Mulder and Scully). But if you like your weirdness open-ended, this moody thriller's worth a look. —Jeff Shannon

Once upon a time, you couldn't turn on MTV without seeing Motley Crue videos in heavy rotation. For those still-loyal fans, this compilation brings back the good old days. From the band's 1982 debut, Too Fast for Love,to 2000's New Tattoo,these 21 videos hit on every phase of the Crue's career: they began as a Kiss wannabe, became huge arena-rockers, then stumbled through new singers and drummers before returning to the original lineup.

No real fan will go wrong with this hit list, including much time-capsule material: "Girls Girls Girls", "Dr. Feelgood", and "Home Sweet Home" contain big hair, makeup, tight pants—and that's just the band. Bonuses include six "alternate" videos, including the X-rated version of "Girls" (showing barely more than Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl); 50 minutes of bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee discussing making the clips; and Easter eggs with more hidden videos. The sound, nominally mixed in 5.1 Dolby Surround, is actually quite tame for such hard-hitting music. —Kevin Filipski

Motley Crue

Stephen Sommers Charles Russell

Alec Baldwin, Dane Cook, Howard Deutch

Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, P.J. Hogan One of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, My Best Friend's Wedding not only gave Julia Roberts a delightful vehicle for her crowd-pleasing comeback, but it further distinguished itself by avoiding the conventional plotting of the genre. Julia plays a prominent Chicago restaurant critic whose best friend (Dermot Mulroney) is a former lover from her college days with whom she'd made a binding pact: if neither of them were married by the age of 28, they'd marry each other. Just when they're about to reach the deadline of their agreement, Mulroney arrives in Chicago to introduce Roberts to his seemingly perfect fiancée (Cameron Diaz) and announce their wedding in just three days. That leaves the shocked Julia with just three short days to sabotage the wedding and marry the man she now realises she's loved all along. With potential heartbreak waiting in the wings, she'll either get what she wants or pay the price for her selfish behaviour, and Ronald Bass's cleverly constructed screenplay keeps us guessing to the very end. Rupert Everett scored rave reviews for his scene-stealing performance as Robert's gay friend who goes along with her scheming (but only so far), and even as she makes her character's needy desperation disarmingly appealing, Roberts wisely allows Diaz to capitalise on her charming time in the spotlight. As the romantic outcome remains uncertain, the viewer is held in a state of giddy suspense, and director PJ Hogan pulls off some hilarious scenes (like a restaurant full of people singing the Dionne Warwick hit "I Say a Little Prayer") that could easily have fallen flat in the hands of a less talented filmmaker. It's no surprise that this was one of the box-office smashes of 1997. —Jeff Shannon

Corey Feldman

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Andy Ackerman Skadinavian Edition, PAL/Region 2 DVD: Subtitles: Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, English, French. Audio: English, French. Christine is back with 22 new-to-DVD episodes loaded with laughs, life and dating disasters. In Season 2, getting along with New Christine has gotten easier. Juggling work, motherhood, friends, an ex-husband, a slacker brother and the meanie moms at her son's school hasn't. Nor have affairs of the heart, as Christine wrestles with romances past (discover why Stan the Sad Dad has such allure for Christine), present (a great guy who just happens to be the New Christine's father) and, she hopes, future (Ritchie's hunky new fourth-grade teacher). Every day is an adventure, Christine... ready or not!

George A. Romero George Romero's classic 1968 zombie-fest Night of the Living Dead(shot in black and white) offers some disturbing images, even decades later. In a Pittsburgh suburb people are being stalked by zombies ravenous for human flesh. In a house whose occupant has already been slain, two separate groups of people unite and board themselves in, hoping to fend off the advancing ghouls. Through radio and TV reports they learn that radiation from outer space is thought to be responsible for the wave of zombie attacks all over the eastern United States. Once the humans are trapped, Romero shifts the focus to the internal feuding between them as they decide how to handle their dreadful situation. What unfolds is an examination of human nature, and of the fear and selfishness that keep many citizens from getting involved in the world's problems. Appropriately, both the zombies, and the authorities who later hunt them, are equally soulless. This film could also be read as a criticism of white males—it is not merely a coincidence that the film's two most rational, constructive characters are a woman and a black man. It is also no coincidence that the sequel Dawn of the Dead(1978) takes place in a mall infested by the undead—a perfect analogy for consumer culture. —Bryan Reeseman, Amazon.com

Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Henry Selick For those who never thought Disney would release a film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped and tortured, well, here it is. The full title is Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, which should give you an idea of the tone of this stop-action animated musical/fantasy/horror/comedy. It is based on characters created by Burton, the former Disney animator best known as the director of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and the first two Batman movies. His benignly scary-funny sensibility dominates the story of Halloweentown resident Jack Skellington (voice by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the songs), who stumbles on a bizarre and fascinating alternative universe called ... Christmastown! Directed by Henry Selick (who later made the delightful James and the Giant Peach), this PG-rated picture has a reassuringly light touch. As Roger Ebert noted in his review, "some of the Halloween creatures might be a tad scary for smaller children, but this is the kind of movie older kids will eat up; it has the kind of offbeat, subversive energy that tells them wonderful things are likely to happen." —Jim Emerson

On the DVD:This Special edition is a must for all Burton fans with the biggest gem to be found on a DVD release—"Tim Burtons Early Films" which holds his first two works. Vincent is clear predecessor of Nightmare before Christmas using the same stop-animation style and voiced superbly by Vincent Price himself; and Frankenweenie—a B&W live-action flick—takes you back to early B-movie territory seen through the eyes of a boy. Added to these films is a great special-features menu including a short documentary offering an interview with Burton, which exposes the inspiration for this magical animation and presents the three-year task of making the "Nightmare". On top of this is an in-depth commentary by director Henry Selick and Art director Pete Kozachik and layer upon layer of "character development" offering an insight into the intensity of thought that went into making these animated figures real. You also get a great selection of storyboards along with the sequences they manifest into, deleted storyboards and an animated sequence with a surprise alternative ending. The menu is beautifully animated in keeping with the style of artwork in the film. With a 1.66:1 widescreen format and Dolby digital transfer this charming DVD is perfect for Halloween, Christmas and beyond! —Nikki Disney

Jack Sholder A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge was a quick follow-up no one was exactly happy with. However this deserves some credit for trying to extend rather than repeat the original storyline. As opposed to the resourceful heroines of all the other Elm Street films, this is the one about the troubled male teenager worried that Freddy is out to possess his body and make his way back to reality. It's shot through with a heavy handed gay subtext, with male bodies ogled and sliced (for a change), stuck with a few truly ridiculous moments (the exploding budgie) and lapses into incoherence, but it opens with a great school bus sequence and makes the most of the infernal boiler room of Freddy's soul. With Clu Gulager and Hope Lange. Directed by Jack Sholder (The Hidden). — Kim Newman

Charles Russell Wes Craven was tempted back to the Nightmare on Elm Streetfranchise, in partnership with writers Bruce Wagner (Wild Palms) and Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), to script this fun, action-oriented sequel directed by Chuck Russell (The Mask). Langenkamp (as the world's only teenage psychiatrist) and Saxon return, but the heroine is debuting Patricia Arquette, who has the power to pull her friends into her dreams and thus assemble an army to take on Freddy, who begins here to spout those post-death witticisms that became a trademark. A nun reveals the villain's backstory as "the bastard son of a hundred maniacs". It's full of wild images and effects, such as the sleepwalker turned into a puppet strung on his ripped-out veins, and pays homage to Ray Harryhausen with not only an animated Freddy puppet but also his evil, walking skeleton. —Kim Newman

Renny Harlin By this time, A Nightmare on Elm Streetseries was definitely flagging and no amount of overkill style from promising Finnish director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) covers for the fact that the screenplay (partially by LA ConfidentialOscar winner Brian Helgeland) is a hash of thrown-together scenes and ideas with no coherence whatsoever. The pizza-faced child murderer returns from that limbo he inhabits between sequels and kills off all the characters left over from Part Three(the wonderfully named Tuesday Knight briefly takes over Patricia Arquette's role) before going after a new batch of uncharacterised, blatantly only-in-this-film-to-be-killed teens. The special effects highlight is a girl turning into a giant cockroach, though Harlin also includes more imaginative recurring and repeating nightmares. Lisa Wilcox is the new heroine, and Robert Englund finally gets top billing. —Kim Newman

Stephen Hopkins The Nightmare on Elm Streetseries continues to run out of steam, with director Stephen Hopkins (Lost in Space ) applying something approaching brilliance to a script (partly by horror novelists John Skipp and Craig Spector) that falls apart under the light. Among the impressive horror-weird sequences include a boy being absorbed by a motorbike or the characters straying into a superhero comic, but it still has boring Freddy wisecracks, a parade of indistinguishable and annoying teenage cannon fodder, an incomprehensible premise about the dreams of an unborn baby and lots of pompous would-be scariness to drag it down into the morass. Lisa Wilcox returns, but there's no particular reason to be excited about that. — Kim Newman

Wes Craven Nightmare on Elm Streetis the only Elm street film that falls into the "really scary" category. A dead murderer returns in the dreams of the children of his old enemies, and torments them. Wes Craven tamps down the humour that would overtake the films and goes all out for shivers. There are several memorably surreal horror sequences involving tongued telephones and bottomless baths as Craven's unhealthy imagination runs riot. With Heather Langenkamp as the plucky Nancy, John Saxon and Ronee Blakely as her dim bulb parents, Amanda Wyss and young Johnny Depp as teen victims, and Robert Englund as "Fred" Krueger. — Kim Newman

Steven Soderbergh Ocean's Elevenimproves 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 and thieves. The result is a film that's as smooth as a silk suit and just as stylish. —Jeff Shannon

On the DVD:Ocean's Elevenon disc is hardly swarming with special features, but just like all good heists it's quality not quantity that counts. Although the DVD-ROM feature is simply a game of computer blackjack, the cast list simply that and the HBO special just a standard Hollywood promo, the two refreshing and honest commentaries more than compensate. The cast commentary is lively and it's nice to hear intelligent comments coming from Hollywood's big league for a change. However, it's the director and writer's commentary that is the real gem; it's funny, enlightening and most of all it allows Ted Griffin to put the case forward for all screenwriters across the world as to the importance of their craft. The main feature has an impressive transfer of sound and visuals, making the suits sharper and David Holmes' soundtrack even funkier. —Nikki Disney

Milos Forman A big Oscar winner in 1975, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Neststill holds up remarkably well. Ken Kesey's novel, an allegory of repression and rebellion set in a mental hospital in the early 1960s, is cannily adapted by Czech director Milos Forman into a comedy drama with a cool, unassuming, near-documentary look. Jack Nicholson has his most jacknicholsonian role as Randle P McMurphy, a livewire troublemaker who unwisely cons his way out of prison and into a mental institution without realising he has switched from serving a sentence with a release date to being committed until adjudged sane by the same people he is winding up on a daily basis. Louise Fletcher, in a career-defining turn, is Nurse Ratched, the soft-spoken sadist who represents the worst type of matronly authoritarianism and clashes with Randle all down the line.

Taking another look at the picture after all these years, it's a surprise that all the unknown actors who seemed like real mental patients have graduated to becoming prolific character actor stars: Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli, Brad Dourif, the late Will Sampson, Sidney Lassick, Michael Berryman. Unlike many Best Picture Oscar winners, this deals with profound subject matter without seeming self-important: Forman's approach and all-round great acting make it play as a small character story as well as a Big Statement about the human condition. Full marks also for Jack Nitzsche's musical saw-based score.

On the DVD:One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nestcomes to DVD in a two-disc special edition with a great-looking anamorphic 1.85:1 print and 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, plus tracks in French and Italian and optional subtitles in half a dozen languages. Disc 2 has the trailer, about 13 minutes of deleted scenes (mostly from the first third of the film, and all pretty good) and a making-of retrospective documentary with interesting material from producers Michael Douglas (who inherited the rights from Kirk) and Saul Zaentz, Forman, screenwriter Bo Goldman and many cast-members (though not Nicholson). There's also a commentary track by Forman, Douglas and others which repeats a few things from the documentary but also goes into more scene-specific detail about the development and shooting. —Kim Newman

James Wong (IV) The Onesets a martial arts milestone by pitting action star Jet Li against his greatest enemy: himself. This sci-fi thriller establishes a "multiverse" consisting of countless parallel universes, each populated by variants of every individual. Li plays a renegade from the Multiverse Agency, illegally travelling through "quantum tunnels" to eliminate all versions of himself until only two remain, each sharing the cumulative strength of their "parallel universe versions". This mumbo jumbo inspires a variety of dazzling special effects, and director James Wong (with cowriter and fellow X-Filesalumnus Glen Morgan) injects clever humour into the Matrix-derived premise. Carla Gugino is wasted as the "good" Li's obligatory love interest, but The Onewill appeal to action fans with its fast-paced pursuit between the evil Li and two agents (Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham) assigned to stop his trans-universal killing spree. It's a one-gimmick movie, best enjoyed with your brain in neutral. —Jeff Shannon

On the DVD:The One, as with all martial arts films, needs near-perfect picture quality for full enjoyment; luckily the film's 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is spot on with no graininess or washed-out colours. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack allows you to hear every punch that Li throws. As well as a scene-by-scene commentary from the director and crew, there are extras galore, including a 15-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, "Jet Li is The One";"About Face", a short feature about creating the fight scene between the two Jet Lis; and the "Multiverses Create The One", which has more about Li's training for the movie. There's also a selection of trailers and filmographies. —Kristen BowditchEND

Take the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, add a dash of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a lot more rum. Shake well and you'll have something resembling Dead Man's Chest, a bombastic sequel that's enjoyable as long as you don't think too hard about it. The film opens with the interrupted wedding of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), both of whom are arrested for aiding in the escape of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in the first film. Their freedom can only be obtained by getting Captain Jack's compass, which is linked to a key that's linked to a chest belonging to Davy Jones, an undead pirate with a tentacle face and in possession of a lot of people's souls. If you're already confused, don't worry—plot is definitely not the strong suit of the franchise, as the film excels during its stunt pieces, which are impressively extravagant (in particular a three-way swordfight atop a mill wheel). It may help to know that Dead Man's Chest was filmed simultaneously with some of Pirates 3, so don't expect a complete resolution (think more The Empire Strikes Back) or the movie will feel a lot longer than it really is. Bloom shows a tad bit more brawn this time around, but he's still every bit as pretty as the tomboyish Knightley. (Seriously, sometimes you think they could swap roles.) Bill Nighy (Love, Actually) weighs in as Davy Jones and Stellan Skarsgård appears as Will's undead father. But the film still belongs wholly to Depp, who in a reprise of his Oscar-nominated role gets all the belly laughs with a single widened eyeliner-ed gaze. He still runs like a cartoon hen and slurs like Keith Richards—and he's still one of the most fascinating movie characters in recent history. —Ellen A. Kim

Gore Verbinski You won't need a bottle of rum to enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, even if you haven't 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). They set out on an adventurous quest to recapture the notorious Black Pearl, a ghost ship commandeered by Jack's nemesis Captain 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 of the Caribbean into a special-effects thrill-ride that plays like a Halloween party on the open seas. —Jeff Shannon

Gore Verbinski

David N. Twohy

Perttu Leppä Finland released, PAL/Region 2 DVD:LANGUAGES: Finnish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ),English ( Subtitles ),Finnish ( Subtitles ),ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access,SYNOPSIS: Pitka Kuuma kesa, a feel-good rock/comedy film, is set in 1980, when the boom in original Finnish rock really started. The hero is young Patu, who moves to the city from a small town and invents a new past for himself, trying to impress people with stories about how well he knows some of the famous rock stars in the city. His new friends rely on him to make their promising band successful. Patu starts writing lyrics for the band and soon becomes its manager. But when the band gets a surprise invitation to play at a leading rock club in Helsinki, Patu is forced to face the music of his own past.

Tim Burton Tim Burton's "re-imagining" of Planet of the Apesis about one thing above all else: monkey movement. But for most filmgoers, whether fans of the 1967 original or not, that's simply not enough. Thematically the story of an outsider in a society that doesn't know what to do with him chimes in nicely with Burton's other work. As always with Burton, the focus is more on what's colourfully going on around the central character (Mark Wahlberg) than his own story. It all looks stunning, of course, as make-up, set design and costumes outdo the accomplishments of the original. But otherwise a direct comparison with the classic version simply shows up holes in the Burton approach. The breakneck pace at which the pared-down plot is told makes little sense of the material and misses all the satire and social comment potential. What sold the idea to Burton was the opportunity to goof around with apes as humans: as a result the background is constantly peppered with lame visual gags which fall as flat as the unnecessary homages to Charlton Heston, who pops up repeating lines of his own dialogue from the first movie. Slick, action-packed and ultimately nonsensical, this is the film that made a monkey of Tim Burton.

On the DVD:balancing out the disappointing movie experience is an exceptional 13 hours of extra material. From the heavily CG-animated menus, you'll encounter some standard fare like libraries of promo material (posters, ads and trailers) and concept art. But they're enormous, as are the 26 cast and crew text profiles. If the THX optimiser tests don't convince you of the need for top equipment, there's DVD-ROM and NUON-enhanced player features as well. The "White Rabbit" Enhanced Viewing Mode for FX vignettes and four multi-angle featurettes on shooting scenes may seem a little dry, but the other features ranging from 10 to 30 minutes aren't. You'll find it hard picking a favourite between Rick Baker gushing over the lifetime dream of ape make-up, Michael Clarke Duncan playing to camera on location, or Danny Elfman at work on the scoring stage. Of the two commentaries Elfman's is better by far, even if somewhat sporadic and clearly not recorded to picture. Burton's is typically fragmented, and is certainly not the place to discover what on earth the "shock-value-for-the-sake-of-it" ending means. —Paul Tonks

John McTiernan

Stephen Hopkins

John McTiernan, Robert Rodriguez

Jonathan Hensleigh 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

Jonathan Hensleigh 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

Michael Rymer Queen of the Damned combines the plot elements from the two disappointing novels Anne Rice cranked out as the sequels to Interview with the Vampire and contrives to be better than the book it is named after, but not by much. The vampire Lestat (a pale, pretty Stuart Townsend) awakens after a century-long nap and discovers flamboyant metal music, then irritates the vampire community by "coming out" and courting celebrities. His sub-Marilyn Manson songs interest paranormal-watching human librarian Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), who looks him up in a Mile End Goth club that caters for an undead clientele, but his tunes also awaken Akasha (Aaliyah), eponymous mother of all vampires, who makes him her number one disciple and sets about devastating the world, opposed by a cadre of conservative vampires who include Lestat's sire Marius (Vincent Perez) and Jesse's Aunt Maharet (Lena Olin).

The plot is of the "one-damn-thing-after-another" variety, zipping about the world from New Orleans to Glastonbury to a huge concert in Death Valley as broody characters exchange solemn but comical dialogue and indulge in fight scenes too swift for the camera to catch. Like Blade 2, it offers some spectacular vampire combustions, but its romance is strictly 15-certificate blood-nuzzling and it's hard to take Lestat himself seriously when Townsend plays him as such a feckless twit. —Kim Newman

Quentin Tarantino

Emily Bergl, Jason London, Richard Nord, Katt Shea

Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Garry Marshall

Sydney Pollack

Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, Stephen Hopkins

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Tarantino came out of nowhere (i.e. a video store in Manhattan Beach, California) and turned Hollywood on its ear in 1992 with his explosive first feature, Reservoir Dogs. Like Tarantino's mainstream breakthrough Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogshas an unconventional structure, cleverly shuffling back and forth in time to reveal details about the characters, experienced criminals who know next to nothing about each other. Joe (Lawrence Tierney) has assembled them to pull off a simple heist, and has gruffly assigned them colour-coded aliases (Mr Orange, Mr Pink, Mr White) to conceal their identities even from each other. But something has gone wrong, and the plan has blown up in their faces. One by one, the surviving robbers find their way back to their prearranged warehouse hideout. There, they try to piece together the chronology of this bloody fiasco—and to identify the traitor among them who tipped off the police. Pressure mounts, blood flows, accusations and bullets fly. In the combustible atmosphere these men are forced to confront life-and-death questions of trust, loyalty, professionalism, deception and betrayal.

As many critics have observed, it is a movie about "honor among thieves" (just as Pulp Fictionis about redemption, and Jackie Brownis about survival). Along with everything else, the movie provides a showcase for a terrific ensemble of actors: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Christopher Penn and Tarantino himself, offering a fervent dissection of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" over breakfast. Reservoir Dogsis violent (though the violence is implied rather than explicit), clever, gabby, harrowing, funny, suspenseful and even—in the end—unexpectedly moving. (Don't forget that "Super Sounds of the Seventies" soundtrack, either.) Reservoir Dogsdeserves just as much acclaim and attention as its follow-up, Pulp Fiction, would receive two years later. —Jim Emerson

Paul Anderson Given that Resident Evilis a Paul Anderson movie based on a computer game which was itself highly derivative (especially of George A Romero and James Cameron films), it's probably unfair to complain that it hasn't got an original idea or moment in its entire running time. In the early 1980s, Italian schlock films such as Zombie Flesh Eatersand Zombie Creeping Fleshtried to cram in as many moments restaged from American originals as possible, strung together by silly characters wandering between monster attacks. This is a much-improved, edited, photographed and directed version of the same gambit.

As amnesiac Milla Jovovich remembers amazing kung fu skills and anti-globalist Eric Mabius mutters about evil corporations, a gang of clichéd soldiers with nary a distinguishing feature between them (except for Michelle Rodriguez as a secondary tough chick) are trapped in an underground scientific compound at the mercy of a tyrannical computer—which manifests as a smug little-girl-o-gram—fending off flesh-eating zombies (though gore fans will be disappointed by the film's need to stay within the limits of the 15 certificate) and CGI mutants, not to mention the ever-popular zombie dogs. It's tolerably action-packed, but zips past its borrowings (Aliens, Cube, Deep Blue Sea) without adding anything that future schlock pictures will want to imitate.

On the DVD: Resident Evilon disc has the expected trailers, both teaser and theatrical; a half-hour making-of; zombie make-up tests; featurettes on music (with Marilyn Manson), production design and costume. A lively commentary track features Anderson, Jovovich, Rodriguez and producer/zombie Jeremy Bolt—Jovovich upbraids Anderson for talking about different gradings of film stock over her nude scene and everyone else talks about how much she hurt them by punching them out during action sequences. Anderson mentions an alternate commentary track with visual effects designer Richard Yuricich, but it isn't included. —Kim Newman

Milla Jovovich, Robert Kulzer, Russell Mulcahy Movies based on computer games generally aren't well respected, but just because they aren't high art doesn't mean they can't be highly enjoyable. The only catch is that you need to be a fan of computer games to appreciate them. Resident Evil: Extinction is the third movie in the massively popular Resident Evil franchise, and it's probably the best one yet.

Between Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Extinction, the zombie-creating T-virus has spread far beyond the doomed Raccoon City; now the human race is almost extinct (hence the title). When a convoy of survivors meets up with the genetically-altered Alice, the shadowy Umbrella Corporation does everything in its power to take them down and reclaim her; but Alice isn't giving up without a fight...

Resident Evil: Extinction is part zombie movie, and part post-apocalyptic survival yarn. The big set pieces use CGI that doesn't look anything like reality, but does look very much like a computer game, which is possibly intentional—since this is a sequel to an adaptation, Resident Evil: Extinction does tend to assume a built-in audience which is already familiar with the various quirks of the franchise. If you're a fan of the games, you'll enjoy the various references to game characters and events; if not, you might feel a bit left out. It's not the best entry point to the franchise if you're a complete newcomer, but if you've seen the other films, it's a hell of a lot of fun. — Sarah Dobbs

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Peter O'Brien, Asif Kapadia The Return is a drowsy, mildly creepy and unexpectedly well-crafted supernatural thriller that lays off the cheap thrill and gore factor in favor of the slow build up to fright and a twist ending that, while effective, may hit viewers as mostly out of left field. The Sixth Sense it ain't, but there's enough texture, style and ladled-on art direction to keep the eeriness palpable even through some of the more labored dialogue and plot contrivances. A chocolate-haired Sarah Michelle Gellar (what was wrong with her natural goldilocks?) plays Joanna Mills, some sort of traveling sales rep in a big pickup truck who journeys from her nightmare-disturbed life in St. Louis back to a small town in Texas that she sort-of remembers. Demons from the girlhood she once knew there come fiendishly together in a mishmash of flashbacks and present-day creep-outs involving murder, self-mutilation and spirits that have haunted her more than she knows. Gellar has become a go-to for glossy Hollywood horrorshows like this, thanks to her work in the Grudge franchise and the remnants of our memories from her Buffy glory days.

In spite of the handful of slipshod faults in story and directorial force, she holds her own against the vibrantly dilapidated set decorations along with a variety of other equally important characters. There's a creepy ex-boyfriend, a disgusting being stalking a phantom woman she recognises from her psychosis-induced visions, and a hunky guy who's facing down mysteries from his own past. (Do they all intersect? Hmmm...) She even stands her ground against Sam Shepard, who is all but slumming it in his few scenes as her dad. He talks about an incident that forever changed her when she was 11 years old, but his weird allusions are as enigmatic as the film itself, which desperately wants to be better than it is. But The Return still carries its share of respectable fears that are made scarier by the effectively edited string of spooky noises and images. Together they add up to make a worthy entrant in the genre of understated ghost story. —Ted Fry

Drew Barrymore, Marisa Ryan, Penny Marshall

Tom Cruise, Joe Pantoliano, Paul Brickman Tom Cruise, Joe Pantoliano, Rebecca De Mornay, Curtis Armstrong, Richard MasurDirector: Paul Brickman

Paul Verhoeven Irvin Kershner Fred Dekker Paul Verhoeven was almost unknown in Hollywood prior to the release of RoboCop in 1987. But after this ultra-violent yet strangely subversive and satirical sci-fi picture became a huge hit his reputation for extravagant and excessive, yet superbly well-crafted filmmaking was assured. Controversial as ever, Verhoeven saw the blue-collar cop (Peter Weller) who is transformed into an invincible cyborg as "an American Jesus with a gun", and so the film dabbles with death and resurrection imagery as well as mercilessly satirising Reagan-era America. No targets escape Verhoeven's unflinching camera eye, from yuppie excess and corporate backstabbing to rampant consumerism and vacuous media personalities. As with his later sci-fi satire Starship Troopers the extremely bloody violence resolutely remains on the same level as a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

The inevitable sequel, competently directed by Irvin Kershner, thankfully continues to mine the dark vein of anti-consumerist satire while being reflexively aware that it is itself a shining example of that which it is lampooning. Sadly the third instalment in the series, now without Peter Weller in the title role, is exactly the kind of dumbed-down production-line flick that the corporate suits of OCP might have dreamed up at a marketing meeting. Its only virtue is a decent music score from regular Verhoeven collaborator Basil Poledouris, whose splendid march theme returned from the original score.

Stephen Herek If you've ever indulged a rock & roll fantasy, Rock Starwill give you the vicarious thrill of seeing it come to life. That's what happens when talented tribute-band singer Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) is tapped to replace his idol as frontman for 1980s metal gods Steel Dragon. Chris becomes the groupie-laden "Izzy", his manager/girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) grows weary of sex 'n' drugs on tour, and Rock Starplays out its utterly conventional plot line. Despite the casting of real rockers to support Wahlberg's underrated performance (nicely matched by Aniston and Timothy Spall as Steel Dragon's road manager), his character is too rigidly written to follow an obligatory rise and fall, and even its basis in fact (inspired by Tim "Ripper" Owens' recruitment into Judas Priest) can't conceal the movie's predictable formula. As a cautionary tale it's routine, but as a leather-pants love story, Rock Star's got enough good karma to keep its dream alive (!). —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Stephen Herek If you've ever indulged a rock & roll fantasy, Rock Star will give you the vicarious thrill of seeing it come to life. That's what happens when talented tribute-band singer Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) is tapped to replace his idol as frontman for 1980s metal gods Steel Dragon. Chris becomes the groupie-laden "Izzy", his manager/girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) grows weary of sex 'n' drugs on tour, and Rock Star plays out its utterly conventional plot line. Despite the casting of real rockers to support Wahlberg's underrated performance (nicely matched by Aniston and Timothy Spall as Steel Dragon's road manager), his character is too rigidly written to follow an obligatory rise and fall, and even its basis in fact (inspired by Tim "Ripper" Owens' recruitment into Judas Priest) can't conceal the movie's predictable formula. As a cautionary tale it's routine, but as a leather-pants love story, Rock Star's got enough good karma to keep its dream alive (!). —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Carter Smith Whether you consider plants a source of terror or not will ultimately determine how you feel about the grisly horror movie The Ruins, but director Carter Smith and his cast and crew certainly give their all in bringing the chills of Scott Smith's novel to the big screen. Jena Malone (Saved) and Shawn Ashmore (the X-Men franchise) are the name actors in a pair of American couples down Mexico way who are ambushed by hostile Mayans and forced to the top of an ancient temple, where a monstrous and diabolically clever entity awaits them. Director Smith and his talented crew (which includes cinematographer Darius Khondji of Se7en fame and composer Graeme Revell) create a visually impressive spookshow but can't quite deliver genuine suspense (gore, however, is handled capably), and Scott Smith's script boils away much of the character development and mounting terror in his book, which also strands the likeable cast. The movie's monster, so alarming and imaginative in the original novel, is likely to provoke as many laughs as screams from filmgoers, especially when it reveals its unique talent. —Paul Gaita

James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Roger Avary

Rob Reiner

Garry Marshall It took nearly a decade to find a mutually agreeable screenplay, but the stars and director of Pretty Woman finally reunited to make Runaway Bride, wisely avoiding any attempt to recapture the 1990 film's elusive magic. The result is a perfectly pleasant romantic comedy that would've fared better critically (despite boffo box office) if it hadn't been overshadowed by its blockbuster predecessor. It's certainly a more credible film than Pretty Woman, trading a far-fetched fairy tale (hooker hooks up with tycoon? bah!) for a more amiably conventional plot about big-city reporter Ike Graham (Richard Gere) who falls for a small-town handywoman Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) with a nasty habit of fleeing from the altar in a recurring state of premarital panic.

Both characters are instantly likable, and the smooth dialogue by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott only occasionally panders to sitcom cuteness. And despite his routine sacrifice of subtle craft for commercial appeal, director Garry Marshall knows when to trust his stars and material, lending this movie a casual charm (aided by a terrific supporting cast) that never feels forced or artificial. The whole thing's utterly predictable, riding on the suspenseless question of whether Maggie will dump her sports-nut fiancé (Christopher Meloni) and tie the knot with Ike. It's a foregone conclusion after the usual games of romantic cat and mouse, but the chemistry between Roberts and Gere is undeniable, and with a decade's worth of additional stardom between them, they shine as brightly as ever. —Jeff Shannon

James Wan Adam (Leigh Whannell) wakes up in a dank room across from Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and the body of a guy who has blown his own brains out. Not a happy place, obviously, and it gets worse when both men realize that they've been chained and pitted against one another by an unseen but apparently omniscient maniac who's screwing with their psyches as payment for past sins. Director James Wan, who concocted this grimy distraction with screenwriter Whannell, has seen Sevenand any number of other arty existential-psycho-cat-and-mouse thrillers, so he's provided Sawwith a little flash, a little blood, and a lot of ways to distract you from the fact that it doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense.

Wan and Whannell (who's not the most accomplished actor, either) pile on the plot twists, which after some initially novel ideas become increasingly juvenile. Elwes works hard but looks embarrassed, and the estimable Danny Glover suffers as the obsessed detective on the case. The denouement will probably surprise you, but it won't get you back the previous 98 minutes.—Steve Wiecking

Wes Craven What should have been an explosive finale to the trilogy in Scream 3ends up becoming something of a damp squib, with little of the suspense that made the first two so memorable. Kevin Williamson, creator of the original Scream, claimed he always saw the series as a trilogy, so it's a pity that he couldn't have had more of a hand in the last of the series, settling for a producer credit while the screenplay is penned by Ehren Kruger (ironic in itself, given director Wes Craven's most famous creation). When a crucial player in the first two movies is killed in the now obligatory pre-credit murder sequence, the attention switches to the set of Stab 3, the third in the fictional film series based on the original Woodsboro murders of the first Screammovie. Sydney Prescott, who has spent the last few years targeted by the Ghost-faced killer, is drawn out of hiding in the Californian hills to face the killer one last time. Along the way she is re-united with old friends, (both living and dead) and discovers more about her family history than she ever wanted to know.

Most of the players look a little bored with the whole thing now and Craven just doesn't inject any pace into the proceedings, happy, it seems to produce virtually carbon copy set pieces from the previous instalments. The film sags incredibly in the second act and when a convenient "pre-recorded" message from the late Randy Meeks turns up, it's not so much evidence of that character's forethought, more of the scriptwriter's laziness. It has its moments though: Jenny McCarthy hiding from the killer in a wardrobe room filled with Ghostface costumes, a great cameo from Carrie Fisher and the constant bitching between Cox and the wonderful Parker Posey, who plays Gail Weathers in the fictional Stab 3. Ultimately, though, as the closing chapter in a great horror series, Scream 3fails to live up to its predecessors. —Jonathan Weir

Johnny Depp, Maria Bello, Jill Savitt, David Koepp

Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Eric Lea, Peter Chakos, Tom Cherones Seinfeld is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of American sitcoms, and this long-delayed box set goes a long way in demonstrating why. From the first episode of the first season, it hit the ground running with its collection of oddball New Yorkers: There's stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who plays himself; Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), his pushy ex-girlfriend; his neurotic loser of a best friend George (Jason Alexander); and Jerry's wacky neighbour Kramer (Michael Richards).

Co-written and co-created by Seinfeld and Larry David (who later went on to plumb greater depths of misanthropy with Curb Your Enthusiasm), it revolutionised American sitcoms with its cynical and mature comedy, and its ability to find comic gems in the most mundane situations (one classic episode is set entirely in a mall car-park). Seinfeld was, as all involved frequently admitted, a show about nothing. But this extras-laden collection—which features extensive cast and creator commentaries, deleted scenes, trivia tracks, outtakes, interviews and more—is most definitely something. —Ted Kord

Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, David Steinberg, Joshua White, Tom Cherones Seinfeld is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of American sitcoms, and this long-delayed box set goes a long way in demonstrating why. From the first episode of the first season, it hit the ground running with its collection of oddball New Yorkers: There's stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who plays himself; Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), his pushy ex-girlfriend; his neurotic loser of a best friend George (Jason Alexander); and Jerry's wacky neighbour Kramer (Michael Richards).

Co-written and co-created by Seinfeld and Larry David (who later went on to plumb greater depths of misanthropy with Curb Your Enthusiasm), it revolutionised American sitcoms with its cynical and mature comedy, and its ability to find comic gems in the most mundane situations (one classic episode is set entirely in a mall car-park). Seinfeld was, as all involved frequently admitted, a show about nothing. But this extras-laden collection—which features extensive cast and creator commentaries, deleted scenes, trivia tracks, outtakes, interviews and more—is most definitely something. —Ted Kord

Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander It's hard to believe, but for the first three seasons nobody really knew that Seinfeld was about, well, you know. It wasn't until season 4—unleashed here in a four-disc set that's equal in scope, quality, and quantity of bonus material to its predecessors—that the show really became something. In a series which can claim every installment as classic, the two-parter on disc 1 titled "The Pitch/The Ticket" truly stands out as a defining episode and, in retrospect, marked Seinfeld 4 as the breakthrough season. It's the one where (fake) NBC executives express their interest in working with Jerry Seinfeld on a TV show, then moves to the who's-on-first shtick of George successfully pitching Jerry on creating "a show about nothing." Scattered throughout the discs in commentaries by cast and creators and in numerous "Inside Look" documentaries, nearly everyone expresses some anxiety about the season having a story "arc" depicting Jerry and his "real" life becoming a sitcom. The show had been only marginally successful up to that point anyway, and with the edict, "no hugging, no learning," still in place, maybe messing with nothing was a bad idea. What makes the arc so arch is the self-reflexive way it details the reality of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David coming up with the concept and pitching it to (real) NBC executives as a show that really was about, well, you know. In one of the many informally informative interview segments, Jerry remembers hitting a stride during this time when a lot of crazy ideas started to make sense. "Everything was just a wild guess," he says, "and it takes a while to get confident that you're guessing pretty good. I think sometime in season 4 we realized we were guessing pretty good." Oh, that we could all be so good at nothing.

Season 4 also gave us the episodes "The Bubble Boy" ("He lives in a bubble!"), "The Pick" ("There was no pick!"), and, perhaps most memorably, "The Contest." Recalling how nervous he thought NBC might be about a show based on how long a person can remain—ahem—master of his domain, Larry David says that he kept the idea hidden for a long time. He may have had NBC sweating, but the episode goes by without anyone uttering the word that it's really about. The curmudgeonly David also observes that another famous season 4 episode, "The Outing," only made it on the air due to a network "note" about making sure it wouldn't be offensive to homosexuals. Hence we have the addition of another standard to the Seinfeld lexicon of American pop culture: "Not that there's anything wrong with that!" Not only wasn't there anything wrong with it, the episode won a GLAAD Media Award. Season 4 also brought Seinfeldits first Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. Stay tuned for season 5 (and a move to the coveted Thursday-at-9 slot) when the volcano we now know was always brewing really blew its comedic top. —Ted Fry, Amazon.com

Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tom Cherones

Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andy Ackerman

Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander By the time Seinfeld reached Season 7, it was already firmly established as one of the top shows on TV. But Jerry Seinfeld and series co-creator Larry David still had plenty of stops to pull out to keep the show at the top of its form. This is the season where George—yes, George (Jason Alexander)—gets engaged. Elaine (Julia Louis Dreyfuss) judges her dates to see who is "sponge-worthy." Jerry deals with low-flow showerheads, buys Chinese gum, and tries to date Debra Messing. And Kramer (Michael Richards) solidifies his own essential Kramer-ness by putting a hot tub in his living room, going around town in Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, buying jeans so tight he can't take them off, and taking advice on court strategy from his caddy. If there is a unifying theme in this season, it would be growing up (or rather, futile attempts to grow up), as Jerry whines to George right off the bat, "What are we doing? What kinds of lives are these? We're like children, we're not men." As a result, marriage emerges as a theme, and George proposes to Susan (Heidi Swedburg) in Episode 1. And because George is, well, George, things inevitably go downhill from there.

But it's not all navel-gazing. After all, this is the season that gave us "The Soup Nazi," and years later, "no soup for you" is a still a pop culture touchstone. Other classics include "The Calzone" where Jerry points out that Elaine's boyfriend never asked her out; "The Bottle Deposit," featuring Kramer teaming with Jerry's nemesis, Newman (Wayne Knight), to make millions out of a bottle deposit scheme; and "The Cadillac," where Jerry's gift of a Cadillac to his parents inevitably leads to trouble, to name just a few. In due course through the season, all attempts to grow up inevitably, and hilariously, fail. That seems to be the world of Seinfeldian existentialism. Seven seasons in, who wants to see these characters actually change anyway when it's so much more fun to watch them flail in their own skins? —Daniel Vancini, Amazon.com.

Jerry Seinfeld, Janeane Garofalo After seven seasons of groundbreaking comedy, what could possibly be left to accomplish in Season 8 for Seinfeld and company, especially in this, the first season without co-creator Larry David at the helm? Plenty, as it turns out. This is the season that gave us some of the most memorable episodes in the entire series, including "The Muffin Tops," "The Bizarro Jerry," and "The Yada Yada," the episode that proved you can "yada yada" anything in life. Fortunately by this point in the series, the comic formula that sustained the show throughout its run had not yet begun to get tired, and the writers proved that they could continue to pull a whole lot of something out of the show about nothing. Case in point: "The English Patient," where they created an entire story line out of Elaine's hatred for the award-winning film. In "The Chicken Roaster," one of Seinfeld's most under-appreciated episodes, Kramer switches apartments with Jerry and wages a one-man crusade against a Kenny Rogers' Roasters, only to become like Jerry and become undone by Newman. George continues to, well, be George. He habitually shoots himself in the foot as he continues life without Susan, only to find out marrying her would have made him rich ("The Foundation"). And Elaine gets her kicks, literally, horrifying her co-workers with her terrible dancing, spinning moves so bad they've actually become one of the show's most popular punch lines. Season 8 also continues the Seinfeld tradition of loading up the DVD sets with plenty of special features, including an illuminating documentary detailing how Jerry juggled his act as star and show-runner after Larry David's departure, and all new interviews with the cast. All in all, it's good stuff for fans, and there's plenty here for the casual viewer to enjoy as well. —Daniel Vancini

Synopsis
Jerry Seinfeld is back in the title role, and joining him are his neurotic ex-girlfriend, Elaine; his chronically lazy pal, George; and Cosmo Kramer, a person who takes the weird neighbour character to impressive new heights.

Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander

Kent Alterman

Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Lisa Lassek, Joss Whedon Serenity is a film that, by rights, shouldn’t have been made. For starters, it’s spun out of the short-lived and quickly-cancelled TV series Firefly, which has only itself got the full recognition it deserves on DVD. It then marries up two seemingly incompatible genres, the western and science fiction, has no major stars to speak of, and pretty much has ‘hard sell’ written all over it.

Perhaps that explains its modest box office performance back in 2005. What it fails to reflect, however, is that this is one of the most energetic, downright enjoyable sci-fi flicks in some time. Not for nothing did many rate it higher than the Star Wars movie that appeared in the same year.

It follows renegade captain Mal Reynolds and his quirkily assembled crew, as they work on the outskirts of space, trying to keep out of the way of the governing Alliance. That plan quickly changes when they take on a couple of passengers who have attracted the attention of said Alliance, and thus the scene is set for an action-packed, cleverly written movie that deserves many of the plaudits that have rightly been thrust in its direction.

What’s more, Serenity works whether you’ve seen the TV series that precedes it or not. Clearly fans of the Firefly show will be in their element, but even the casual viewer will find an immense amount to enjoy.

The only real problem is that given the film’s box office returns, further adventures of Reynolds and his crew look unlikely. Unless Serenity turns into a major hit on DVD, that is. It’s well worth playing your part in making that happen.—Simon Brew

David Fincher The most viscerally frightening and disturbing homicidal maniac picture since The Silence of the Lambs, Sevenis based on an idea that's both gruesome and ingenious. A serial killer forces each of his victims to die by acting out one of the seven deadly sins. The murder scene is then artfully arranged into a grotesque tableau, a graphic illustration of each mortal vice. From the jittery opening credits to the horrifying (and seemingly inescapable) concluding twist, director David Fincher immerses us in a murky urban twilight where everything seems to be rotting, rusting, or moulding; the air is cold and heavy with dread. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are the detectives who skillfully track down the killer—all the while unaware that he has been closing in on them, as well. Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey are also featured, but it is director Fincher and the ominous, overwhelmingly oppressive atmosphere of doom that he creates that are the real stars of the film. It's a terrific date movie—for vampires. —Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall Now you can achieve multiple viewings of the best Sex on TV. Winner of Golden Globes for Best TV Series and Best Actress, Sex and the City is based on Candace Bushnell's provocative bestselling book. Sarah Jessica Parker stars as Carrie Bradshaw, a self-described "sexual anthropologist," who writes "Sex and the City," a newspaper column that chronicles the state of sexual affairs of Manhattanites in this "age of un-innocence." Her "posse," including nice girl Charlotte (Kristin Davis), hard-edged Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and party girl Samantha (Kim Cattrall)—not to mention her own tumultuous love life—gives Carrie plenty of column fodder. Over the course of the first season's 12 episodes, the most prominent dramatic arc concerns Carrie, who goes from turning the tables on "toxic bachelors" by having "sex like a man" to wanting to join the ranks of "the monogamists" with the elusive Mr. Big (Chris Noth). Meanwhile, Miranda, Cynthia, and Samantha have their own dating woes, few of which can be described on a family Web site. Seinfeld has nothing on Sex and the City when it comes to shallow, self-absorbed characters or coining catch phrases. Episode 2, for example, introduces the term "modelizer": a guy who is obsessed with and will only date models. Some may accuse this series of male bashing. But women, after years of enduring shows with "men behaving badly," will relish the equal time. Some may blanch at the ladies' graphic language and ribald humour, or dismiss some of the situations as unrealistic (Carrie doesn't bat an eye when she discovers that an artist friend surreptitiously videotapes his sexual conquests). Still others will view Sex and the City as documentary. Regardless of your view, this groundbreaking series will have you longing for more. —Donald Liebenson

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis The Sex and the City phenomenon continues in Series 3 of this outrageously addictive cult show. The four highly sexed thirtysomethings share their hopes, fears and even boyfriends (when Charlotte decides to throw a "used boyfriend party") in a New York where you can buy Manolo Blahniks on the proceeds of one article a week and eat mountains of junk food yet stay as thin as a pencil. But if the peripheral details remain somewhat fantastical, the searing honesty of the main storyline takes this third season to dramatic heights only suggested by the previous seasons. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) falls head-over-heels for chunky furniture designer Aidan Joff (John Corbett) but still embarks on a disastrous affair with her newlywed ex, Mr Big (Chris Noth). The resulting triangle, set against the background of Charlotte's outwardly perfect marriage to Trey (Kyle MacLachlan), proves to be electrifying viewing. But the humour is as sharp as ever too: Samantha's run-in with her drag-queen prostitute neighbours, Miranda pretending to be an air stewardess so as not to frighten men away and one of Charlotte's boyfriends talking dirty to her in bed are all moments of great high comedy. It just gets better and better. —Warwick Thompson

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall The fourth season of Sex and the City is just as smart and sexy as ever, mixing caustic adult wit and sharply observed situation comedy on the mean streets of Manhattan, though this time the quartet of singleton city girls must endure even tougher combat in the unending war of love, sex, and shopping. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) finally seems to have found her ideal life partner when she is reunited with handsome craftsman Aidan (John Corbett). But can their relationship survive trial by cohabitation? Meanwhile Charlotte (Kristin Davis) seems to have both her dream Park Avenue apartment and a solution to her marital problems with Trey (Kyle MacLachlan). But when the subject of babies comes up, everything starts to unravel for her, too. It's not just Charlotte who has baby issues either: after what seems like an eternity of enforced sexual abstinence Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is horrified to discover she's pregnant. And as for the sultry Samantha (Kim Cattrall), she's on a quest for monogamy, first with an exotic lesbian artist, then with a philandering businessman, with whom to her utter dismay she just might have fallen in love. —Mark Walker

Sarah Jessica Parker It was a short but sweet fifth season for Sex and the City, as HBO's resident comediennes found themselves affected by forces beyond their control—the pregnancies of both Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie) and Cynthia Nixon (Miranda). A truncated shooting schedule to accommodate the actresses forced this season to be reduced to a mere eight episodes, and indeed, you can tell both actresses are expecting. (Carrie's wardrobe became more outlandish and more concealing than usual.) Still, the actresses and creators forged ahead, creating a handful of episodes that if short in content were long on emotion and laughs. Whereas the fourth season found all four grappling with various relationships, the fifth season focused on the perils of being single, with a new intensity lacking in the previous sexcapades. Carrie and Miranda wrestled with their solitary lifestyles, albeit with new attachments—Miranda had new baby Brady and single motherhood, while Carrie found herself in the world of publishing as the author of a real-life book of her columns. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) wondered if she'd ever find another man, while Samantha (Kim Cattrall) finally got rid of the one that had been vexing her far too much, hotelier Richard (James Remar). If the season as a whole felt less than the sum of its parts, those parts were some of the best comedy in the show's history, from Samantha's anointment as the "Michiko Kakutani of vibrators" to Carrie's stressful, one-degree-from-fiasco book launch party. (And fear not, Chris Noth's Mr. Big does pop up now and again.) The season's climactic episode, "I Love a Charade," found all four at the straight wedding of a seemingly gay pal (Nathan Lane) and contemplating their future with a wry, bemused tone. It was one of the series' best episodes ever, equally touching and funny, and grounded the show in an emotional maturity that announced that after all their wild travails, these women had truly grown up. —Mark Englehart

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall After a long wait—like the entire fifth season—Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is dating again. The sixth season of the popular HBO show starts with Carrie and her sparkly new potential, Berger (Ron Livingston), trying to leave past relationships and hit it off. The results are mixed (up to Berger's memorable exit), but the good news is Carrie is at it again, and a new love interest can be found in the member of a wedding party, an old high school flame (David Duchovny), or an über-famous painter (Mikhail Baryshnikov). As Carrie plays the field, her friends seem to be settling down, relatively speaking. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) decides that her affair with TiVo cannot compete when Mr. Perfect (Blair Underwood, at his most charming) moves into her building. Charlotte's (Kristin Davis) feelings for her "opposites attract" boyfriend (Evan Handler, perhaps fans' most-loved boyfriend) deepen, but they still have a few things to iron out. Most surprising is Samantha's (Kim Cattrall) hot relationship with waiter-actor-stud Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis) taking on something resembling love, despite Samantha's best intentions.

Before the sixth season started in the summer of 2003, a bombshell hit: it was announced that this would be the finale. Fans, just getting over the truncated fifth season (due to half the cast getting pregnant), were beside themselves. But it would be a long season, and these 12 episodes plant the seeds for the final eight airing the following winter. These dozen episodes illustrate the maturity of the show: there's not a bad one in the bunch, with things like old flames Mr. Big (Chris Noth), and Steve (David Eigenberg) popping in with deeper resiliency. And the show is still flat-out funny. Berger is the most intrinsically humourous of Carrie's beaus (his introduction to Prada is a classic), Jarrod's earnest streak on Samantha gets her flabbergasted in the giddiest ways, and Charlotte's attempt to convert to Judaism is right in character. The touchstone episode is "A Woman's Right to Shoes," in which Carrie loses her prized and expensive Manolo Blahniks at a party. The comedy blends serious points of how we perceive singles, couples, and parents (and the gifts we lavish on the latter two). Carrie's method of celebrating her singlehood is just another gem in this treasure of a series. —Doug Thomas

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Michael Patrick King As light and frothy as the Vivienne Westwood wedding gown that's an unofficial fifth star, the film version of Sex and the City is both captivatingly stylish and sweetly sentimental. Viewers who loved hanging with Carrie Bradshaw and her three pals during the series' TV run will feel as though no time has passed. Except that it has: Carrie and Big are poised to make a Big Commitment; Miranda and Steve are facing the breakup of their wonderful family; Charlotte and Harry have added to their brood; and Samantha (are we sitting down?) has been devoted to hunky Smith for five full years. Still, in all that time, the women's style, conviviality, and appetite for bons mots have only grown. When practical attorney Miranda learns that Carrie is considering moving in with Big (in possibly the coolest apartment in Manhattan), she can't help but frown in that but-you-might-lose-everything way. Carrie's retort: "For once, can't you feel what I want you to feel—jealous?!"

The cast is spot-on, as always. Sarah Jessica Parker is effortless as the angst-ridden yet practical, stylish yet vulnerable Carrie. Kim Cattrall is deliciously decadent as Samantha, but she's wiser now and knows herself and her needs for a real relationship. Kristin Davis, as Charlotte, has quietly become the most gorgeous among the beauties, her sleek presence both winsome and sophisticated. And Cynthia Nixon (Miranda) shows nuance as a woman torn between betrayal and grudging hope. Supporting roles include Candice Bergen as the Vogue editor who anoints Carrie "The Last Single Girl in New York," and Jennifer Hudson, as a starry-eyed, ambitious romantic who represents the new generation of SATC women. Through it all, New York is a benevolent cocoon that envelopes and nurtures the women and their friendships and careers. No matter that none of them appears to have any semblance of "real" family; as long as they have each other, and Manhattan, all will be right with their world. —A.T. Hurley

Edgar Wright It's no disparagement to describe Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's zombie-rom-com Shaun of the Deadas playing like an extended episode of Spaced. Not only does the movie have the rather modest scope of a TV production, it also boasts the snappy editing, smart camera moves, and deliciously post-modern dialogue familiar from the sitcom, as well as using many of the same cast: Pegg's Shaun and Nick Frost's Ed are doppelgangers of their Spacedcharacters, while Jessica Stevenson and Peter Serafinowicz appear in smaller roles. Unlike the TV series, it's less important for the audience to be in on the movie in-jokes, though it won't hurt if you know George Romero's famous Dawn of the Deadtrilogy, which is liberally plundered for zombie behaviour and mythology.

Shaun is a loser, stuck in a dead-end job and held back by his slacker pal Ed. Girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) is exasperated by his lack of ambition and unceremoniously dumps him. As a result, Shaun misses out on what is apparently the end of the world. In a series of beautifully choreographed and edited scenes, including hilarious tracking shots to and from the local shop, he spectacularly fails to notice the death toll and subsequent zombie plague. Only when one appears in their back garden do Shaun and Ed take notice, hurling sundry kitchen appliances at the undead before breaking out the cricket bat. The catastrophe proves to be the catalyst for Shaun to take charge of his life, sort out his relations with his dotty mum (Penelope Wilton) and distant stepdad (Bill Nighy), and fight to win back his ex-girlfriend. Lucy Davis from The Officeand Dylan Moran of Black Booksfame head the excellent supporting cast. —Mark Walker

Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Robert Iscove This charming update of Pygmalion (by way of the John Hughes oeuvre, most notably Pretty in Pink) rode the crest of the late-1990s wave of immensely popular teen films (Varsity Blues, etc.), thanks primarily to the immense charisma of its two leads, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook. When school star Zach (Prinze)—who's a jock, smart, and popular—gets dumped by vacuous Taylor (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) after spring break, he's left dateless for the all-important prom. With a little goading from his less-than-sensitive best friend (hunky Paul Walker), he bets that he can make any girl into prom queen a mere eight weeks before the dance. The object of their wager: misfit Laney (Cook), a gawky art student too busy with her paintings and taking care of her brother and dad to worry about school politics. However, after a couple of looks from Zach, and a few dates that reveal him to be a hunk of substance, Laney's armour begins to melt—and her stock at school soars. Soon enough, she's the lone candidate for prom queen against the bitchy and relentless Taylor.

What elevates She's All That above the realm of standard teen fare is its mixture of good-natured fairy-tale romance and surprisingly clear-eyed view of high school social strata. The lines of class are demarcated as clearly as if in a Jane Austen novel, but the satire is equally deflating and affectionate. Sure, high school can be bad sometimes, but it can be lots of fun too; this is a movie good-natured enough to take time out for an extended hip-hop dance number at the prom. Director Robert Iscove (who also headed the Brandy-starring TV adaptation of Cinderella) has also assembled a great young cast, including a scene-stealing Anna Paquin as Zach's no-nonsense sister, Kieran Culkin as Laney's geeky brother, and a stupidly goofy Matthew Lillard as a Real World cast member whose arrival shakes things up a little too much. And amidst all the comedy and prom drama, you'd be hard-pressed to find two teen stars as talented, attractive, and appealing as Prinze and Cook. Prinze is an approachable and sensitive jock, though it's Cook who's the true star, investing Laney with confidence, humour, and heart. Like Zach, you'll be hard-pressed not to fall in love with her. By the story's end, both Cook and the film will have charmed the socks off of you. —Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

On the DVD: While the cast and director interviews are enjoyable and quick-paced, they offer few behind-the-scenes revelations. The "Shooting the Movie" sequence can hardly be called a documentary as it's just a backstage amateur camera filming the crew in action (it doesn't even have a presenter), but at least it offers an idea of the day-to-day routine of filming. As for the yearbook photo library and the trailer, they are very middle-of-the-road fare. The only redeemable point in this package is the picture quality in an excellent 16:9 anamorphic format and the 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, although it is only offered in English with no subtitles. —Celine Martig

Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Andy Fickman Shakespearean comedy and American high school are a match made in heaven—or Hollywood, at any rate. Somehow the exaggerated emotions and budding hormones of adolescence are perfectly suited to Shakespeare's twisty plots, and She's the Man is a perfect example. Viola (Amanda Bynes, What a Girl Wants) is furious when she learns that her high school, Cornwall, has cut the girl's soccer team—so furious that she takes advantage of her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk, Final Destination 2) skipping town for a few weeks to take his place at his school, Illyria, so she can join the soccer team there. But her disguise as her brother leads to complications when she falls in love with her soccer-playing roommate and the girl he's in love with falls in love with "Sebastian"... Bynes may not be entirely persuasive as a high school boy, but she's got the charm and sprightliness to make the audience follow her anyway. The clever script walks a fine balance, treating the situation realistically enough to make Viola's efforts matter, but zipping along quickly enough that we don't worry too much about the details. As Duke and Olivia—the other two parts of the love triangle—Channing Tatum and Laura Ramsey combine sex appeal with engaging sweetness; the excellent supporting cast includes David Cross (Arrested Development), Julie Hagerty (Airplane! ), and former British soccer star Vinnie Jones (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels). All in all, a delightful bit of fun. —Bret Fetzer

Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is less an adaptation of Stephen King's best-selling horror novel than a complete re-imagining of it from the inside out. In King's book, the Overlook Hotel is a haunted place that takes possession of its off-season caretaker and provokes him to murderous rage against his wife and young son. Kubrick's film is an existential Road Runner cartoon (his steadicam scurrying through the hotel's labyrinthine hallways), in which the cavernously empty spaces inside the Overlook Hotel mirror the emptiness in the soul of the blocked writer settled in for a long winter's hibernation. As many have pointed out, King's protagonist goes mad, but Kubrick's Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is Looney Tunes from the moment we meet him—all arching eyebrows and mischievous grin. (Both Nicholson and Shelley Duvall reach new levels of hysteria in their performances, driven to extremes by the director's fanatical demand s for take after take after take.) The Shining is terrifying—but not in the way fans of the novel might expect. When it was redone as a TV mini-series (reportedly because of King's dissatisfaction with the Kubrick film), the famous topiary-animal attack (which was deemed impossible to film in 1980) was there—but the deeper horror was lost. Kubrick's The Shining gets under your skin and chills your bones; it stays with you, inhabits you, haunts you. And there's no place to hide... —Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

M. Night Shyamalan Director-writer M Night Shyamalan brings his distinctive, oblique approach to aliens in Signsafter tackling ghosts (The Sixth Sense) and superheroes (Unbreakable). With Mel Gibson replacing Bruce Willis as the traditional Shyamalan hero—a family man traumatised by loss—and leaving urban Philadelphia for the Pennsylvania sticks, the film starts with crop circles showing up on the property Gibson shares with his ex-ballplayer brother (Joaquin Phoenix) and his two troubled pre-teen kids (pay attention—all these character quirks turn out to be important). Though the world outside is undergoing a crisis of Independence Day-sized proportions, Shyamalan limits the focus to this family, who retreat into their cellar when "intruders" arrive from lights in the sky and set out to "harvest" them.

Just as Unbreakableslowly revealed itself to be Supermanre-thought as an intense personal drama, this is The Birdsredone as a religious drama of faith lost and perhaps regained. The tone is less certain than the earlier films—some of the laughs seem unintentional and Gibson's performance isn't quite on a level with Willis's commitment—but Shyamalan still directs the suspense and shock dramas better than anyone else.

On the DVD: Signshas THX-certified Dolby Digital Surround Sound which reproduces in the home exactly as the scary sounds that creeped you out in the cinema. A selection of deleted scenes are mostly tiny, but there's a self-reflexive joke (wisely dropped but worth preserving) as Gibson wishes his dead wife were here in the crisis because she was so smart: "She always knew how movies would end." A six-part making-of goes deeper than the usual puff-piece, including an interesting alternative to a commentary track as Shyamalan talks through a précis of clips and on-set snippets. A tradition continued from the Sixth Senseand UnbreakableDVDs is an extract from Pictures, "Night's first alien film". It's a teenage camcorder effort in which the future A-list Hollywoodian is menaced by a tiny Halloween-masked robot. Also included are a "multi-angle storyboards" feature, subtitles in a clutch of languages and eerie menu screens. —Kim Newman

Christophe Gans A lot of movies can be described as "dripping with atmosphere," but in the case of Silent Hill it's literally true. Faithfully adapted from the Konami video games by French director Christophe Gans and Pulp Fiction cowriter Roger Avary (both self-confessed video game addicts), this dark and grisly horror-fest is nothing if not a triumph of cinematography and production design, consisting of a minimal and mostly incoherent plot propped up by a mysterious maze of sets that literally seep, drip, and ooze with the atmospheric evil of past misdeeds. Welcome to the abandoned and perpetually foggy ghost town of Silent Hill, where grey ash falls like snow, a devastating coal-mine fire still burns in a hellish underground, and demons of various shapes and sizes make your worst nightmares seem like a walk in the park. It's here that distressed mother Rose (played by Pitch Black heroine Radha Mitchell) has taken her daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) in hopes of discovering the source of Sharon's sleepwalking nightmares. What they find instead is a burned-out legacy of unspeakable evil, as Silent Hill's dark secrets are revealed. As opposing denizens of Silent Hill's meta-morphing underworld, Canadian actresses Alice Krige and Deborah Kara Unger seem to be the only ones who recognize this morbid mess as campy comedy; Gans (who established his visual flair with The Brotherhood of the Wolf) and Avary take it far too seriously, and the entire movie is utterly devoid of any emotional hooks or plot logic that would make us care about anything that happens. In crafting a loyal big-screen rendition of Silent Hill and its Playstation sequels, they've forgotten that movies play by a different and more demanding set of rules. As a result, they've made an impressive-looking but ultimately hollow horror film that only Silent Hill game-players can truly appreciate. —Jeff Shannon

The Simpsons: Backstage Pass is a veritable rock & roll extravaganza: you'll hear a classical version of "Insane in the Membrane" and watch The Who destroying rubbish with pure guitar power. It also features guest performances by The Who, Cypress Hill, The Smashing Pumpkins, Peter Frampton and Spinal Tap.

In "Homerpalooza", Homer has a mini mid-life crisis caused by his inability to recognise new bands in the local record store (not even Sonic Youth). The result is a trip for him and the kids to the "Hullabalooza" festival where Homer fulfils his rock star dreams by touring as part of the freak show. "A Tale of Two Springfields" sees the town divided by a change in area code, which only The Who can solve with their infinite wisdom: "Why don't you get phones with auto-dial?". In "The Otto Show" Milhouse and Bart enjoy their first outing to a rock gig to see top super-group, Spinal Tap. Finally, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" offers the rare opportunity to see Homer sing as part of Springfield's B Sharps, who allegedly rocked America back in 1985!

On the DVD: The Simpsons: Backstage Pass offers a collection of Otto's finest moments, proving what a cooool guy the local bus driver is. Otherwise the disc is barren of extras. Picture is standard 4:3 and you can choose between English, French and German audio languages with a vast range of European subtitle options. —Nikki Disney

Any four episodes of The Simpsonschosen at random would make perfectly acceptable entertainment, but The Simpsons' Film Festivalis a particularly happy selection. One of the show's many delights has always been its unending stream of movie parodies, and here we have four episodes devoted to just that. In "Beyond Blunderdome", Mel Gibson (playing himself) sends up his tough-guy persona when he hires Homer to produce his latest movie. Then in "A Star is Burns" Springfield hosts its own film festival (with acerbic guest critic Jay Sherman in attendance). The competition boils down to Barney's haunting cinema veritéshort about the horrors of alcohol or Mr Burns' grandiose vanity project (though Homer prefers Hans Moleman being hit by a football). "22 Short Films About Springfield" is a series of parodies within a parody featuring Springfield's secondary characters, including Milhouse's dad and Chief Wiggum in a glorious Pulp Fictionsequence. Finally, the show's own internal parody cartoon duo hit the big screen in "The Itchy and Scratchy Movie", while Bart and Homer lock horns about going to see it. They sell Soylent Green in the future cinema foyer; and Homer loves it, of course.

On the DVD:just four episodes is hardly stunning value for money, but it's perhaps quality not quantity that counts here. Annoyingly there is no "Play All" facility, a serious let down in all the SimpsonsDVD releases (Futuramahad the same problem, too). The only extra feature of any note is a three-minute montage of Troy McClure's finest moments. Sound is unexceptional Dolby Stereo and the picture is standard 4:3 ratio. —Mark Walker

From practically the first episode, broadcast in 1989, The Simpsons impacted on planet TV like a giant multi-coloured meteor. With a claim to being the defining pop cultural phenomenon of the 1990s—hip, fast, sharp and primary—there was nothing even in rock & roll to match this. The Simpsons is possibly the greatest sitcom ever made. Although the animation was initially primitive, never before had cartoon characters been so well drawn. There had been loveable middle-aged layabouts on TV before, but Homer Simpson successfully stole their crown and out-slobbed them all in every department ("The guys at the plant are gonna have a field day with this," he grumbles in "Call of The Simpsons" as he watches scientists on a TV news item who can't decide whether he is incredibly dense or a brilliant beast). However, in this first series he isn't quite yet the bloated man-child he would become in later series; instead he's a growling patriarch with a Walter Matthau-type voice. His sensible half Marge's croak, meanwhile, has yet to settle down, while the vast cast of minor Springfield characters have yet to find their place. Bart, however, was a smash from the start: dumb as Homer but spiky-haired and resourceful, he sets out his manifesto in "Bart the Genius"; while "Moaning Lisa" spotlights his over-achieving sister and is a good early example of the series' clever handling of melancholy bass notes.

Throughout its life there's always been confusion as to whether The Simpsons is a show for kids or adults, but with allusions in these first 13 episodes to Kubrick, Diane Arbus, Citizen Kane and (in a very satisfyingly anti-French episode) Manon des Sources, it should already have been clear that this was a programme for all ages and all IQs from 0 to 200. Dysfunctional they may have been, but the Simpsons stuck together, and audiences stuck with them into the 21st century. —David Stubbs

On the DVD: The packaging is good but the 13 episodes are spread very thinly here, with just five each on discs one and two . The commentary track is intermittently interesting though a tad repetitive, as creator David Groening is joined by various other members of the team. The third disc has some neat extra stuff, including outtakes, the original Tracey Ullman Show shorts and a five-minute BBC documentary, but is again fairly brief. The menu interfaces are pretty clunky, annoyingly forcing you to watch endless copyright warnings after each episode and with no facility to "play all". The content is wonderful, of course, but three discs looks like overkill. —Mark Walker

First aired in 1990-91, the second series of The Simpsons proved that, far from being a one-joke sitcom about the all-American dysfunctional family, it had the potential to become a whole hilarious universe. The animation had settled down (in the first series, the characters look eerily distorted when viewed years later), while Dan Castellaneta, who voiced Homer, decided to switch from a grumpy Walter Matthau impression to a more full-on, bulbous wail. The series' population of minor characters began to grow with the inclusion of Dr Hibbert, McBain and attorney Lionel Hutz, while the writers became more seamless in their ability to weave pastiche of classic movies into the plot lines. While relatively "straight" by later standards (the surreal forays of future seasons are kept in check here), Season Two contains some of the most memorable episodes ever made, indeed some of the finest American comedy ever made.

These include "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", in which Homer is reunited with, and ruins the business of, his long-lost brother ("He was an unbridled success—until he discovered he was a Simpson"), "Dead Putting Society", in which Homer lives out his rivalry with neighbour Ned Flanders through a crazy-golf competition between the sons ("If you lose, you're out of the family!") and one of the greatest ever episodes, "Lisa's Substitute", which not only features poor little Lisa's crush on a supply teacher voiced by Dustin Hoffman but also Bart's campaign to become class president. "A vote for Bart is a vote for anarchy!", warns Martin, the rival candidate. By way of a retort, Bart promises faithfully, "A vote for Bart is a vote for anarchy!". —David Stubbs

On the DVD: The Simpsons, Season 2, like its DVD predecessor, has neat animated menus on all four discs as well as apparently endless copyright warnings, but nothing as useful as a "play all" facility. The discs are more generously filled than Season 1, however, and each episode has an optional group commentary from Matt Groening and various members of his team. The fourth disc has sundry snippets including the Springfield family at the Emmy Awards ceremony, Julie Kavner dressed up as Bart at the American Music Awards and videos for both "Do the Bartman" and "Deep, Deep Trouble" (all with optional commentary). There are two short features dating from 1991: director David Silverman on the creation of an episode and an interview with Matt Groening. TV commercials for butterfinger bars, foreign language clips and picture galleries round out the selection. Picture is standard 4:3 and the sound is good Dolby 5.1. —Mark Walker

Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Tim Long

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner

Sixteen seasons (and counting) of pop culture-rocking brilliance, the first four of which have already been gloriously archived on DVD. But in the words of Krusty the Clown: "What has The Simpsons done for me lately?" Well, how about all 22 episodes of season 5, each accompanied by commentary, deleted scenes, and other encyclopedic extras that hopelessly devoted Simpsons fans crave, no, demand? Season 5 is perhaps not as classics-packed as the third or fourth seasons, but no self-respecting Simpsons fan should be without the episodes "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", featuring George Harrison, "Cape Feare", one of Sideshow Bob's (and guest voice Kelsey Grammer's) finest half-hours, "Rosebud", "Springfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" and "Bart Gets Famous", with the Springfield-sweeping catchphrase "I didn't do it". Plus, the star power this season is impressive: Michelle Pfeiffer as Homer's comely, donut-loving co-worker in "The Last Temptation of Homer", Albert Brooks as a self-help guru who unleashes "Bart's Inner Child", Kathleen Turner as the creator of Malibu Stacy in "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", and, as themselves, the Ramones ("Rosebud"), James Woods ("Homer and Apu"), Buzz Aldren ("Deep Space Homer"), and even Robert Goulet ("Springfield").

But it is the writers and the core ensemble cast who exhibit, to quote "Deep Space Homer", "the right... What's that stuff?" Series milestones include the first appearance of yokel Cletus in "Bart Gets an Elephant" and Maggie's infant nemesis, The Baby with One Eyebrow in "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Badasssss Song" which also happens to be The Simpsons' 100th episode. Add in a very good "Treehouse of Horror" episode, (which outs Ned Flanders as the Devil and Marge as the head vampire), and one Emmy-nominated musical extravaganza ("Who Needs the Quick-E-Mart" from "Homer and Apu"), and you have a Simpsons season that's not just great, it's DVD-box-set great. —Donald Liebenson

Jim Reardon Mark Kirkland David Silverman Wesley Archer Susie Dietter Another series of everyone’s favourite family, another collection of cracking episodes, and with 25 episodes to choose from, including some of the very best ever, you’re a little spoiled for choice.

First aired back in the mid-nineties, the show had really hit its stride following a massively successful fifth series and this series marks a particularly popular period in the show’s history, with celebrity interest bringing a gamut of guest appearances. So, we see Winona Rider in ‘Lisa’s Rival’, Kelsey Grammar in ‘Sideshow Bob Roberts’ Meryl Streep in ‘Bart’s Girlfriend’ and Mel Brooks and Susan Sarandan in ‘Homer vs. Patty and Selma’. But perhaps the most notable, certainly the most amusing, guest vocal is offered by Patrick Stewart in the barnstormingly funny ‘Homer The Great’, which also features one of the funniest Simpsons’ songs ever—‘The Stonecutters Song’.

Other highlights include Bart vs. Australia (‘Hey, I think I hear a dingo eating your baby!’), Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy, in which Homer and Grampa Simpson attempt to sell their homemade viagra-like revitalising tonic to the world, and Two Dozen and One Greyhounds, featuring the second of the great Simpsons’ songs to appear here—‘See My Vest’.

And to top it all off, there’s part one of the only ever Simpsons two-parter, ‘Who Shot Mr. Burns’. The two-parter prompted months of speculation over in the US when first aired and remains an expertly executed slice of Simpsons’ history.

This is The Simpsons on top form. Guest appearances, wonderful animation, tongue in cheek humour and the usual abundance of belly laughs, together with a great selection of extras—it’s another great collection.—Mark Oakley

Wesley Archer Susie Dietter Mark Kirkland Bob Anderson Jim Reardon One of the hallmark seasons of The Simpsons, season 7 features some of the strongest episodes produced during the show’s run. Considering that this is The Simpsons we’re talking about here, that’s saying a lot, but this collection deserves the accolades.

Broadcast in 1995, season seven features several signature episodes, including Part II of "Who Shot Mr. Burns," "Bart Sells His Soul," and "Two Bad Neighbors" where former President George Herbert Walker Bush moves into the neighborhood (an episode gamely playing on the former President’s open dislike for the show). One of The Simpsons’s most definitive episodes, "Treehouse of Horror VI" famously broke the third wall by using the then-groundbreaking CGI technology to render Homer first in a 3-D world, then in real life, (despite the evolution in his form, he naturally ends up in an erotic cake shop). As the producers openly note on the commentary, it was a big deal at the time, and super expensive, which is why they could only do a few minutes of footage in CGI (some fans will particularly enjoy the revealing commentary on this one, as the producers explain the many visual puns and math jokes appearing in the background of the 3-D world). It’s a great example of how The Simpsons continued to play with its visual style and take creative risks years into its run. In fact, one of the best episodes on this collection, "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" proves just how far the look and style of the show really came during that time. Hosted by actor Troy McClure (voiced by the late comic great Phil Hartman), it presents never-before-seen outtakes and original footage from the show’s debut days on The Tracey Ullman Show, while taking a few self-referential digs at show creators Matt Groening, James Brooks, and Sam Simon. Other gems include "Homerpalooza" where Homer thanks guests The Smashing Pumpkins for their gloomy music because it has made his kids "stop wishing for a future I can’t possibly provide," and "Bart the Fink" where Bart inadvertently gets Krusty the Klown busted for tax "avoision."

Along with the 25 episodes there are extensive commentaries, featurettes, and deleted scenes all of which add immense value to the set and will give die-hard fans another excuse to spend more hours in front of the TV. It’s another benchmark collection from a show that, up to this point, doesn’t seem to know its own limits. —Dan Vancini

The argument will rage long after the boxset of The Simpsons: Season Nine has been released about when exactly America’s finest television animated export actually peaked. Some arguably, with genuine gusto, that it was a year or two before this series was first shown. Most purists though satisfy themselves that it’s the single digit seasons where the best of The Simpsons, and there’s certainly plenty of gold in this latest set.

Boasting twenty five episodes in all, and backed up by the superb selection of extras we’ve come to expect from Simpsons boxsets, there are some terrific episodes to be found. The 200th episode of the show, for instance, "Trash Of The Titans" makes compelling viewing out of, literally, sanitation, while "The City Of New York vs Homer Simpson" is likewise outstanding, as Homer trots off to recover his car.

Truth be told, for this reviewer’s money, The Simpsons: Season Nine isn’t the equal of the two boxsets that preceded it, and it certainly has its fair share of easily forgettable episodes. But these are still in the minority, with the bulk of this set being as representative of the great writing, humour and wry observations we’ve come to expect from The Simpsons. Cracking value for money, too.—Simon Brew

Jim Reardon Pete Michels Even as we arrive at season ten, these Simpsons DVD boxsets remain irresistible. Put together comprehensively and with real care, this latest release upholds the standard for terrific (and many) DVD extras to back up and complement the episodes themselves.

Season ten of The Simpsons features 23 episodes, spread across four discs, and there are some belters contained within. "Lard Of The Dance", for instance, finds Homer and Bart trying to steal and sell grease, against the backdrop of Lisa’s school dance. "Lisa Gets An ‘A’" meanwhile sees the Simpsons’ eldest daughter getting addicted to videogames, while "Mayored To The Mob" throws in Mark Hamill and a science fiction convention. Quite brilliant stuff.

The lazy argument though is that by season ten, The Simpsons was on the slide, but there’s plenty of compelling evidence in this boxset to counter that. Sure, not every episode’s a classic, but there are a lot of laughs and much entertainment to be gleamed here.

Furthermore, when you factor in the commentaries, deleted scenes, sketch gallery and look at the upcoming film, once again the stops have been pulled off for a distinguishable TV collection. Again, The Simpsons—in more than one sense—sets the standard that the others look up to. —Jon Foster

David Silverman, Steven Dean Moore, Mark Kirkland, Bob Anderson, Mike B. Anderson

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner Season 12 of The Simpsons flies in the face of the contention that it’s the earlier runs of the show where you’ll find the gold. Granted, it’s been tough to keep the standard up to the levels of the show at its finest, but here we find some majestic and inspired Simpsons moments.

Season 12 doesn’t have, it should noted, the calibre of guest voice star of previous runs. That said, it’s still the core adventures of Homer, Maggie, Lisa, Marge and Bart that form the heart of the fun. Particular favourite highlights of The Simpsons’ twelfth season include Lisa’s relationship with the tree hugger, Homer’s brand new gossip website, the moment where Homer suddenly (and temporarily!) gets a burst of intelligence, and the wonderfully titled Worst Episode Ever. There’s also the very welcome return of Sideshow Bob, as voiced by Kelsey Grammar.

The writing of The Simpsons, as evidenced here, remains witty and sharp, and while perhaps there aren’t so many of the belly laughs of the earlier years, season 12 still more than justifies its purchase price. At least half the episodes here are ones you’ll be looking, we’d suspect, to watch again. Factor in too the usual high quality selection of extras, and long after most series have folded, we continue to find The Simpsons on fine form. —Jon Foster

The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horrorcollection proves that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, 2001, Harry Potter, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Tronget the inimitable Simpsonsskewering in this shockingly funny collection of four mostly classic episodes. Best is "V" in which no TV and no beer make Homer go crazy in "The Shinning" ("You mean The Shining", Bart corrects. "Shh, you want to get sued?" Homer reprimands him). "VI" contains the ambitious, computer-animated "Homer3". "VII" features aliens Kang and Hados's finest quarter half-hour as they assume the identities of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. "XII" boasts the star power of Pierce Brosnan as the voice of a mechanised house that falls in love with Marge and lures Homer to his apparent death with "unexplained bacon". For Halloween and beyond, this crypt-kicking collection is full of screamingly funny treats. —Donald Liebenson

David Silverman Racking up impressive box office numbers right across the globe, the arrival of The Simpsons Movieonto the big screen proved, for many, to be more than worth the wait. But with its DVD release, there's a compelling argument that Springfield's finest have come back to their natural home.

The film itself is primarily Homer-centred, with the head of The Simpsonsfamily seemingly consigning Springfield to certain doom when he dumps his waste where he shouldn't. But, in the true spirit of the show, the plot takes a relative back seat to the antics of America's first family.

And it's those antics that offer the film's gold. As you'd hope, it boasts several laugh-out-loud moments, from visual gags (the rock and hard place being a favourite) through to the by-now infamous Spider-pig. There's not quite enough material to keep the chuckle counter going for the full duration of The Simpsons Movie, and the criticism that it's effectively three episodes strung together has some truth to it. But you'd still be hard-pushed to complain for one key reason: The Simpsons Movieis grand entertainment, with plenty of rewatch potential.

So while you can add us to the queue of people who wanted more Mr Burns, and while it doesn't quite measure up to some of the show's best episodes, The Simpsons Moviestill delivers, and does it with some quality. And Spider-pig isa work of genius…—Jon Foster

Iain Softley

Jean Pellerin

Snatch, the follow-up to the Guy Ritchie's breakthrough film—the high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels—hardly breaks new ground being, well, another high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie. Okay, so there are some differences. This time around our low-rent hoodlums are battling over dodgy fights and stolen diamonds rather than dodgy card games and stolen drugs. There has been some minor reshuffling of the cast too with Sting and Dexter Fletcher making way for the more bankable Benicio Del Toro and Brad Pitt, the latter pretty much stealing the whole shebang as an incomprehensible Irish gypsy.

Moreover, no one can complain about the amount of extras featured on this DVD that includes 15 minutes of deleted scenes, a making-of documentary, trailer, storyboards, production notes and commentary from Ritchie himself. And, sure, people who really, really liked Lock, Stock—or have the memory of a goldfish—will really, really like this. The suspicion lingers, however, that if the director doesn't do something very different next time around then his career may prove to be considerably shorter than that of 'er indoors. —Clark Collis

Lauri Nurkse Finland released, PAL/Region 2 DVD:LANGUAGES: Finnish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ),English ( Subtitles ),Finnish ( Subtitles ),Swedish ( Subtitles ),ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Featurette, Interactive Menu, Music Video, Posters, Scene Access, Trailer(s),SYNOPSIS: Emma, an intelligent and independent urban reporter, is sent extempore to interview top conductor Joel Abrahamsson. The interview is a total flop, but during it, Emma suddenly finds herself falling for Joel and in a weeks time they are both head over heels in love. Emma could never have imagined that in just a few weeks she would be living in an old country house with Joel's demented and temperamental mother, while Joel races around the world from concert to concert. And in less than no time, Emma finds out that she is pregnant.

Trey Parker OK, let's get all the disclaimers out of the way first. Despite its colourful (if crude) animation, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncutis in no way meant for kids. It is chock full of profanity that might even make Quentin Tarantino blanch and has blasphemous references to God, Satan, Saddam Hussein (who's sleeping with Satan, literally) and Canada. It's rife with scatological humour, suggestive sexual situations, political incorrectness and gleeful, rampant vulgarity. And it's probably one of the most brilliant satires ever made. The plot: flatulent Canadian gross meistersTerrance and Philip hit the big screen and the South Park quartet of third graders—Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman—begin repeating their profane one-liners ad infinitum. The parents of South Park, led by Kyle's overbearing mom, form "Mothers Against Canada", blaming their neighbours to the north for their children's corruption and taking Terrance and Philip as war prisoners. It's up to the kids then to rescue their heroes from execution, not mention a brooding Satan, who's planning to take over the world.

To give away any more of the plot would destroy the fun but this feature-length version of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Comedy Central hit is a dead-on and hilarious send-up of pop culture. And did we mention it's a musical? From the opening production number "Mountain Town" to the cheerful anti-profanity sing-along "It's Easy, MMM Kay" to Satan's faux-Disney ballad "Up There", Parker (who wrote or cowrote all the songs) brilliantly shoots down every earnest musical from Beauty and the Beastto Les Misérables. And in advocating free speech and satirising well-meaning but misguided parental censorship groups (with a special nod to the MPAA), Bigger, Longer & Uncuthits home against adult paranoia and hypocrisy with a vengeance. And the jokes, while indeed vulgar and gross, are hysterical; we can't repeat them here, especially the lyrics to Terrance and Philip's hit song, but you'll be rolling on the floor. Don't worry, though—to paraphrase Cartman, this movie won't warp your fragile little mind unless you have something against the First Amendment. —Mark Englehart

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks's 1987 parody of the Star Warstrilogy is a jumble of jokes rather than a comic feature, and, predictably, some of those jokes work better than others. The cast, including Brooks in two roles, more or less mimics the principal characters from George Lucas's famous story line, and the director certainly gets a boost from new allies (Rick Moranis and John Candy) as well as old ones (Dick Van Patten, Dom DeLuise). Watch this and wait for the sporadic inspiration—but don't be surprised if you find yourself yearning for those years when Brooks was a more complete filmmaker (Young Frankenstein). —Tom Keogh

Mark A.Z. Dippé After being murdered for quitting his role as a ruthless yet moral government assassin, Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is sent to Hell, where he makes a pact with the demon Malebolgia—if Simmons is allowed to see his lover, Wanda, again, he will agree to lead the demon's armies to storm the gates of Heaven. Transformed into a superhuman entity with shape-shifting powers and quick regeneration capabilities, Simmons (soon to be dubbed "Spawn" by Malebolgia's crony, the Violator) returns to Earth and attempts to reunite with Wanda, not knowing that five years have passed. He also seeks revenge on his former boss and killer, Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), who has made a deal with the Violator to develop a lethal virus to take over the world, where Wynn is promised to be king. Spawn wages an inner battle between good and evil as he tries to come to terms with selling his soul and what it could mean for humankind. Despite excellent special effects and great potential, Spawn seems to come up short. While White certainly displays verve in his characterisation of the twisted hero, he cannot overcome some forced dialogue. On the flip side, the usually engaging John Leguizamo portrays the sinister Violator—an evil monster masquerading as a rotund, weird-looking clown—as an irritating lackey who spews overbearing sarcasm and incessantly banal one-liners. Admitted, many of Spawn's action sequences are fun, and the transitions effectively brisk, but more could have been done to explore how Simmons grapples with his humanity in these daunting circumstances. But if you want sizzling action sequences and digital effects, this film should keep you happy. —Bryan Reesman

Roger Donaldson There's a kind of perverse marketing genius at work in Species, a cheesy sci-fi hit from 1995 in which scientists create a half-human, half-alien woman named Sil (Natasha Henstridge) who's capable of morphing from a slimy, tentacled creature into a blonde babe with the body of a Playboy centerfold. This makes it easy for Sil to lure gullible guys who are only too willing to indulge her voracious mating urge, realizing too late that sex with Sil is anything but safe. As the body count rises, a handpicked team of specialists tracks the alien's killing spree, but their diverse expertise is barely a match for the ever-morphing Sil. Borrowing elements of the Alienmovies (including bizarre alien designs by Swedish artist H.R. Giger) and spicing them up with some tantalizing nudity, Speciesis a wet dream for creature-feature fans—kind of like watching a sci-fi vampire fantasy while browsing through the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. —Jeff Shannon

Sam Raimi Marvel Comics fans have been waiting for this big-screen Spider-Mansince the character made his print debut in 1962, which attaches impossible expectations to a film that rates as a solid success without breaking out of the spandex ghetto in the way that Batman Returnsor X-Mendid. Tobey Maguire is ideally cast as speccy Peter Parker, a high school swot with personal problems. The suit and effects take over when he gets bitten by a genetically engineered (i.e., no longer radioactive) spider and transforms into a web-swinging superhero who finds that these super-powers don't really help him get close to the girl next door (Kirsten Dunst) or protect his elderly guardian (Cliff Robertson) from random violence. The villain of the peace is Peter's best friend's industrialist father (Willem Dafoe) who has dosed himself on an experimental serum which makes him go all Jekyll-and-Hyde and emerge as the cackling Green Goblin, who soon gets a grudge against Spider-Man.

Sam Raimi gives it all a bright, airy, kinetic feel, with wonderful aerial stuff as Spider-Man escapes from his troubles by swinging between skyscrapers, and the rethink of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's origin story is managed with a canny mix of faithfulness (JK Simmons' as the crass editor JJ Jameson is the image of the comic character) and send-up (after a big introduction, Spider-Man finally appears in a really rubbish first attempt at a spider costume). Maguire and the impossibly sweet Dunst make it work as a hesitant teen romance, but somehow the second half, which brings on the villain to give the hero someone to fight, is only exciting when it wants to be affecting too. —Kim Newman

On the DVD:Spider-Man's two-disc offering is nothing out of the ordinary, but fans will find some gems here including Stan Lee's thoughts, a gallery of comic cover art and profiles on the baddies. The two commentaries (cast and crew, and Special Effects) both have long periods with pauses, but the special effects guys are full of insight. The DVD-ROM section offers some of the more exciting features, including three comics transferred onto your computer, page by page, although be aware that the "Film to Comic" comparison is not for the original but for the new comic of the film. As you would expect from a blockbuster superhero film, the sound and vision are immaculate. —Nikki Disney

Sam Raimi For devoted fans and non-fans alike, Spider-Man offers nothing less—and nothing more—than what you'd expect from a superhero blockbuster. Having proven his comic-book savvy with the original Darkman, director Sam Raimi brings ample energy and enthusiasm to Spidey's origin story, nicely establishing high-school nebbish Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as a brainy outcast who reacts with appropriate euphoria—and well-tempered maturity—when a "super-spider" bite transforms him into the amazingly agile, web-shooting Spider-Man. That's all well and good, and so is Kirsten Dunst as Parker's girl-next-door sweetheart. Where Spider-Man falls short is in its hyperactive CGI action sequences, which play like a video game instead of the gravity-defying exploits of a flesh-and-blood superhero. Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as Spidey's schizoid nemesis, the Green Goblin, and the movie's a lot of fun overall. It's no match for Supermanand Batmanin bringing a beloved character to the screen, but it places a respectable third. —Jeff Shannon

Gleich zwei berühmte und gern gesehene Helden des legendären Comic-Autors Stan Lee stehen sich hier in dieser Comic-Verfilmung Daredevil vs. Spider-Man aus dem Hause Marvel gegenüber.

Spider-Man alias Peter Parker wird vor Gericht angeklagt, geheime Regierungspläne gestohlen zu haben. Seine Verteidigung übernimmt Matt Murdock, ein blinder Staranwalt. Bekanntermaßen stecken beide Männer voller Geheimnisse: Den spinnenartigen Kräften Parkers setzt Anwalt Daredevil seine vielfach gesteigerten, restlichen Sinne entgegen.

Peter Parker rettete einst das Leben des Millionärs Wilson, der ihn zum Dank als Werkstudenten in der Computerwartung einsetzte. Täglich liefert ihm der Computer eine Diagnose-CD. Eines Tages jedoch jagt ihn die Polizei mit der Anschuldigung, er stehle mit eben diesen CDs Regierungsgeheimnisse: Ganz klar, jemand versucht, Parker hereinzulegen. Es stellt sich heraus, dass der Millionärssohn hierbei seine Hände im Spiel hat. Offenkundig hegt Daredevil besonderes Interesse an diesem Fall, denn der scheinbar rechtschaffene Wilson entpuppt sich als ein hochgradig Krimineller, der durch den illegalen Transport radioaktiven Gutes die Blindheit des Anwalts verschuldet hat. Als Spider-Man und Daredevil aufeinander treffen sprühen zuerst die Funken, doch schnell finden beide im Kampf gegen die Bösen auch zueinander. Um Spider-Mans menschliches Selbst und auch Randy zu retten, muss das Duo gegen Bösewichte, wie Kingpin alias Wilson, Dr. Landon und auch Tombstone antreten.

Die beiden Superhelden werden wohl den meisten durch den erfolgreich in den Kinos gelaufenen Film Spider-Man und den Kinofilm Daredevil bestens bekannt sein. Und egal, für wen das Herz der Zuschauer schlägt, die hier enthaltenen, recht nah an den Comics orientierten Folgen, werden beide Lager überzeugen. Das Böse, das Gute, das Besondere: Daredevil vs. Spider-Man liefert alles, was kleine und große Fans, frühestens ab sechs Jahren, von einem ordentlich gemachten, farbintensiven und rasanten Trickfilm erwarten. —Simone Gefeller

Brandon Vietti Audu Paden Sean Frewer Vincent Edwards (III) Ezekiel Norton

Spiderman ist Kult und das nicht erst, seitdem Regisseur Sam Raimi die Story der Spinne als mit Spezialeffekten geladenes Hollywood-Spektakel auf die große Leinwand brachte. Seit 1962 begeistern Spider-Man-Comics Fans auf der ganzen Welt. Die erste Staffel einer Zeichentrickserie folgte 1966. Drei Jahrzehnte später gab es wieder eine in den USA produzierte Serie, und aus dieser Zeit stammen die vier Folgen, die Spiderman auf dieser DVD Im Netz des Bösenzappeln lassen.

Spannende Action und verwirrende Verwicklungen stehen bei Spider-Man auf der Tagesordnung. Die Episoden "Zeitlöcher", "Krieg der Gnome", "Faule Tricks" und "Aufgeflogen" lassen Spidy immer wieder gegen böse Schurken kämpfen, obwohl er eigentlich lieber der ganz normale Mensch Peter Parker wäre. Doch wenn Dr. Ohn als Spot mit seinen Zeitlöchern die ganze Welt bedroht, sich der Gnom gemeinsam mit Kingpin daran macht, alles Geld der Erde zu rauben, der grüne Gnom Mary Jane entführt, nachdem er Spider-Mans wahre Identität entdeckt hat oder Kingpin Parkers Freund und Kollegen Robbie unrechtmäßig ins Gefängnis bringt, dann kann Spider-Man nicht anders, als seine Superspinnenkräfte im Auftrag des Guten einzusetzen.

Von allen Superhelden ist Spider-Man einer der interessantesten. Sein Doppelleben macht ihm sehr zu schaffen und geht sogar so weit, dass er in jeder Gestalt eine andere Frau liebt. Seine Widersacher sind zahlreich, durch und durch böse und besitzen — genau wie Spider-Man selbst — übermenschliche Kräfte. Es geht um Frauen, Geld und Macht. Wie im wirklichen Leben. Nur als Zeichentrickserie.

Spider-Man — Im Netz des Bösenist ein spannender Titel, der Kids ab zwölf, aber auch Erwachsene in ihren Bann ziehen wird. Die Kommentare von Spider-Man-Erfinder Stan Lee sind sehr unterhaltsam und die verschiedenen Bösewichte, mit denen sich Spider-Man herumschlagen muss, können einem eine Gänsehaut über den Rücken jagen. Viel Spaß mit diesen dramatischen Folgen aus dem Leben der Spinne. —Sandra Neumayer

More than a few critics hailed Spider-Man 2 as "the best superhero movie ever," and there's no compelling reason to argue—thanks to a bigger budget, better special effects, and a dynamic, character-driven plot, it's a notch above Spider-Man in terms of emotional depth and rich comic-book sensibility. Ordinary People Oscar-winner Alvin Sargent received screenplay credit, and celebrated author and comic-book expert Michael Chabon worked on the story, but it's director Sam Raimi's affinity for the material that brings Spidey 2 to vivid life. When a fusion experiment goes terribly wrong, a brilliant physicist (Alfred Molina) is turned into Spidey's newest nemesis, the deranged, mechanically tentacled "Doctor Octopus," obsessed with completing his experiment and killing Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) in the process. Even more compelling is Peter Parker's urgent dilemma: continue his burdensome, lonely life of crime-fighting as Spider-Man, or pursue love and happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)? Molina's outstanding as a tragic villain controlled by his own invention, and the action sequences are nothing less than breathtaking, but the real success of Spider-Man 2 is its sense of priorities. With all of Hollywood's biggest and best toys at his disposal, Raimi and his writers stay true to the Marvel mythology, honouring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. —Jeff Shannon

Sam Raimi More than a few critics hailed Spider-Man 2 as "the best superhero movie ever," and there's no compelling reason to argue—thanks to a bigger budget, better special effects, and a dynamic, character-driven plot, it's a notch above Spider-Man in terms of emotional depth and rich comic-book sensibility. Ordinary People Oscar®-winner Alvin Sargent received screenplay credit, and celebrated author and comic-book expert Michael Chabon worked on the story, but it's director Sam Raimi's affinity for the material that brings Spidey 2 to vivid life. When a fusion experiment goes terribly wrong, a brilliant physicist (Alfred Molina) is turned into Spidey's newest nemesis, the deranged, mechanically tentacled "Doctor Octopus," obsessed with completing his experiment and killing Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) in the process. Even more compelling is Peter Parker's urgent dilemma: continue his burdensome, lonely life of crime-fighting as Spider-Man, or pursue love and happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)? Molina's outstanding as a tragic villain controlled by his own invention, and the action sequences are nothing less than breathtaking, but the real success of Spider-Man 2 is its sense of priorities. With all of Hollywood's biggest and best toys at his disposal, Raimi and his writers stay true to the Marvel mythology, honoring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. —Jeff Shannon

Sam Raimi How does Spider-Man 3 follow on the heels of its predecessor, which was widely considered the best superhero movie ever? For starters, you pick up the loose threads from that movie, then add some key elements of the Spidey comic-book mythos (including fan-favorite villain Venom), the black costume, and the characters of Gwen Stacy and her police-captain father. In the beginning, things have never looked better for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire): He's doing well in school; his alter ego, Spider-Man, is loved and respected around New York City. And his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), has just taken a starring role in a Broadway musical. But nothing good can last for Spidey. Mary Jane's career quickly goes downhill; she's bothered by Peter's attractive new classmate, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard); and the new Daily Bugle photographer, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), is trying to steal his thunder. Enter a new villain, the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), who can transform his body into various forms and shapes of sand and who may be connected to Peter's past in an unexpected way. There's also the son of an old villain, Harry Osborne (James Franco), who unmasked Spidey in the previous movie and still has revenge on his mind. And a new black costume seems to boost Spidey's powers, but transforms mild-mannered Peter into a mean and obnoxious boor (Maguire has some fun here).

If that sounds like a lot to pack into one 140-minute movie, it is. While director Sam Raimi keeps things flowing, assisted on the screenplay by his brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent, there's a little too much going on, and it's inevitable that one of the villains (there are three or four, depending on how you count) gets significantly short-changed. Still, the cast is excellent, the effects are fantastic, and the action is fast and furious. Even if Spider-Man 3 isn't the match of Spider-Man 2, it's a worthy addition to the megamillion-dollar franchise. —David Horiuchi

Hayao Miyazaki

Scott Zakarin

George Lucas George Lucas transports audiences back to the future with Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace, the first instalment of a prequel trilogy in which the director imagines the foundation for the entire six-part saga. Reflecting the symbolic and mythological bases of at least five story arcs, The Phantom Menacewields a newly emerged, youthful vibrancy courtesy of Lucas' invigorating return to the director's chair and his healthy respect for the emotional sources of fantasy. Despite receiving a storm of adverse criticism (notably for Jar Jar Binks) Lucas continually fascinates with his ability to place his characters—some new, some old, some CGI—in the same dramatic situations posed in the original trilogy: whether it be the juxtaposition of primitives with technologically advanced societies or the timeless battle between good and evil, the very familiarity of these recurring scenarios and rhythms galvanises the viewer. Of course, the state-of-the-art visual effects contribute mightily to the final impact. Much has been written about the kinetic Pod Race sequence (compared favourably with the chariot race in Ben Hur) and the War and Peace-style military battles, but even these events are upstaged by the new planetary vistas: consider the Romanesque grandeur of Naboo, the underwater city of Otoh Gunga illuminated by Art Nouveau lamps, the decadent brio of Tatooine, or the dizzying skyscrapers of the city planet Coruscant (imagine Blade Runnerin daylight). Despite the beauty of his iridescent images, Lucas exercises discipline, cutting fast within frames filled with rich detail and activity. As a result, The Phantom Menacelends itself to repeated viewings.

On the DVD:This spectacular two-disc DVD set was certainly worth the wait. Simply put, this is the most comprehensive packaging of supplementary materials so far assembled for DVD. Most importantly, Lucas film offers an anamorphic, 2.35:1 film transfer and a highly active Dolby 5.1 audio mix. Disc 1 includes an insightful commentary with Lucas—his first for DVD—and other key personnel, making for a great tour. The bulk of extra treasures can be found on Disc 2, including seven deleted scenes completed just for this set that possess the same quality as the film; in fact, some moments (the "Air Bus Taxi" and "Pod Race Grid" sequences) are so good that Lucas reincorporated them into the film proper. Viewers can also enjoy no less than 12 Web documentaries, five informative featurettes, the popular John Williams music video "Duel of the Fates" and numerous galleries of stills, trailers and television spots. Better yet, Lucas premieres "The Beginning," a 66-minute documentary edited from hundreds of hours of behind-the-scenes footage. This is not your standard-issue studio documentary, instead "The Beginning" is an Oscar-worthy, cinema verityé-style exploration of the creative process behind every aspect of the film's production. One of the most memorable moments involves a late-day visit to the set by Steven Spielberg: watching Lucas and Spielberg behave like kids in a candy store is one more reminder why the Star Warssaga remains enduringly popular. —Kevin Mulhall

George Lucas The most densely plotted instalment of the saga so far, Attack of the Clonesis a tale of both Machiavellian political drama and doomed romance; it's epic war film and silly comic-book fantasy combined, as teenage Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) chafes at the restrictions imposed by his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and falls in love with Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman). Renegade Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) is leading a breakaway federation of disgruntled systems; while the insidious influence of Darth Sidious is felt rather than seen as his invisible hand guides apparently unrelated events, from Jar Jar's unwitting instigation of a disastrous Senate decision to bounty hunter Jango Fett's revelatory role at the centre of the conspiracy.

Along the way the story has fun with the conventions of Chandleresque detective fiction as Obi-Wan explores the seedier side of Coruscant, and incorporates the noble warrior ethos of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonin its portrayal of the Jedi order. The portentous tone is lightened by tongue-in-cheek self-referential dialogue and the antics of robotic clowns R2D2 and C3PO. (One niggle for music fans, though, is the cavalier cut-and-paste approach to John Williams's music score.) Like the Empire Strikes Back, Clonesis the bridging film of the trilogy and thus ends on an equivocally bittersweet note.

On the DVD:Attack of the Clonesis an all-digital film, and so looks suitably superb in this anamorphic widescreen transfer, accompanied by a THX encoded Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. Anyone who owns The Phantom Menacetwo-disc set will know what to expect from the special features: here's another group commentary led by George Lucas, two lengthy documentaries on the digital effects ("From Puppets to Pixels" and "The Previsualisation of Episode II") plus several other featurettes and Web documentaries, notably "Films Are Not Released, They Escape", a look at the sound design. There's also a fun trailer for the R2-D2 mockumentary "Beneath the Dome", trailers, photo galleries and more to satisfy any Star Warsfan. —Mark Walker

George Lucas Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sithis an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clonesas well as the animated Clone Warsseries, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid has kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). It's just the latest manoeuvre in the on-going Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist forces led by former Jedi turned Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). On another front, Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) leads the Republic's clone troops against a droid attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. All this is in the first half of Episode III, which feels a lot like Episodes I and II. That means spectacular scenery, dazzling dogfights in space, a new fearsome villain (the CGI-created Grievous can't match up to either Darth Maul or the original Darth Vader, though), lightsaber duels, groan-worthy romantic dialogue, goofy humor (but at least it's left to the droids instead of Jar-Jar Binks), and hordes of faceless clone troopers fighting hordes of faceless battle droids.

But then it all changes.

After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies, Episode III finally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you've been living under a rock the last 10 years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn't matter. In fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they'll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because Episode III is a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.

Episode III is easily the best of the new trilogy—OK, so that's not saying much, but it might even jockey for third place among the six Star Warsfilms. It's also the first one to be rated PG-13 for the intense battles and darker plot. It was probably impossible to live up to the decades' worth of pent-up hype George Lucas faced for the Star Warsprequel trilogy (and he tried to lower it with the first two movies), but Episode III makes us once again glad to be "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."—David Horiuchi, Amazon.com

George Lucas Irvin Kershner Richard Marquand Four-disc set includes: Episode IV, A New Hope(Special Edition)—with commentary by George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carrie Fisher; Easter egg: credit roll (2 min)Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back(Special Edition)—with commentary by George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carrie Fisher; Easter egg: credit roll (2 min)Episode VI, Return of the Jedi(Special Edition)—commentary by George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carrie Fisher; Easter egg: credit roll (2 min)Bonus disc: all-new bonus features, including the most comprehensive feature-length documentary ever produced on the Star Wars saga, and never-before-seen footage from the making of all three films

Subitles (all material across all four discs): English, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Click here to see detailed information on the special features included on the bonus disc.

Amazon.co.uk Review

George Lucas's original Star Warstrilogy is a clever synthesis of pop-cultural and mythological references, taking classic fairy-tale themes, adding more than a dash of Arthurian legend, and providing cinematic high adventure inspired as much by Kurosawa's Samurai epics as by Flash Gordonand Buck Rogers. As a result, audiences of all ages can find something to identify with in Luke Skywalker's journey from disaffected teenager dreaming of adventure to Jedi Knight and saviour of the galaxy. He not only rescues a Princess, but discovers she's a close relative. And if there's a lesson to be gleaned from the Skywalker clan, it's that no matter how bad things get in the average dysfunctional family, it's never too late for reconciliation.

Originally released in 1977, Star Wars, the first film, was made as a standalone. Perhaps that's why Obi-Wan Kenobi seems a tad inconsistent in his attitude towards his old pupil Anakin Skywalker, and perhaps also why Luke is allowed to develop a guilt-free crush on Princess Leia. Lucas's story, told from the point of view of the two bickering droids (a device taken from Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress), also borrows freely from Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, as does John Williams's seminal Korngold-inspired music score.

Thanks in equal part to Leigh Brackett's screenplay and Irvin Kershner's direction The Empire Strikes Back(1980) is the most grown-up instalment in the series. The basic fairy-tale is developed and expanded, with the principal characters experiencing emotional turmoil—blossoming romance, mixed feelings and confused loyalties—amid a very real threat of annihilation as Darth Vader's motivations become chillingly personal. Luke's quasi-Arthurian destiny is complicated still further by the half-truths of his wizardly mentors; and swashbuckler Han Solo finds the past catching up with him, quite literally in the form of bounty hunter Boba Fett. The film is graced by more fabulous landscapes (ice, forest, clouds), more unforgettable new characters (Yoda), more groundbreaking special effects (the asteroid chase), and John Williams's finest score.

The difficult third film, 1983's Return of the Jedi, seems schizophrenic in its intentions, hoping to please both the kiddies who bought all the toys and an older audience who appreciated the narrative's epic and mythological strands. The result is a film that splits awkwardly into two. One thread, which might be subtitled "The Redemption of Anakin Skywalker", pursues the story of the Skywalker family to a cathartic conclusion. The other thread, which might be described as "The Care Bears Go to War", attempts to say something profound about primitivism versus technological sophistication, but just gets silly as furry midgets doing Tarzan whoops defeat the Emperor's crack legions.

In 1997 Lucas re-released the three original films in digitally remastered "Special Edition" versions, in which many scenes have been restored and enhanced (some would say "unnecessarily tinkered with"). Despite loud and continued criticisms from fans, these Special Editions are now considered definitive, if only by Lucasfilm. —Mark Walker

Roland Emmerich A self-consciously epic sci-fi adventure of Cecil B DeMille-sized proportions, Stargate refreshes and combines several well-worn sci-fi and sword 'n' sandal genre conventions with some Erich von Daniken-style Biblical Egyptology. The directing-writing-producing team of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin had previously collaborated on B-movies Moon 44 (1990) and Universal Soldier (1992), but handed a significantly bigger budget they were able to give their Steven Spielberg pretensions free reign here ("Indiana Jones and his Close Encounters with the Chariots of the Gods" might be a suitable subtitle). James Spader is endearingly dithery as the fish-out-of-water academic who finds himself teamed with taciturn tough guy Kurt Russell: the two excellent leads are largely responsible for imparting what depth there is to otherwise two-dimensional characters. British composer David Arnold makes his major studio debut in the grandest fashion with an outstanding score that pays suitable homage to epic film music (John Williams' CE3K and Maurice Jarre's Lawrence of Arabia in particular). It's all done with such unabashed enthusiasm that viewers will happily forgive the film's derivative elements and even overlook the high-camp theatricality of Jaye Davidson's bizarre bad guy. Despite subsequent huge box-office hits (Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot), Stargate remains Emmerich and Devlin's freshest, most satisfying film.

On the DVD: This special edition version adds approximately seven minutes of additional footage, much of which is in the form of slightly extended scenes, but does also include an opening sequence in Ancient Egypt, a scene with Kurt Russell and the fossilised Horus guards, and Ra's bath scene. These are also collected in a bonus "Promo Reel". The anamorphic widescreen presentation of the 2.35:1 Panavision picture looks sharp and clear, although some of the additional footage is degraded; the sound is suitably spectacular 5.1 or DTS. Devlin and Emmerich provide a relaxed, chatty commentary ("We have nothing to do with the TV series"!), although you have to access this from the Set Up menu not the Special Features menu. There's a photo gallery and trailer, but sadly no "making-of" documentary. —Mark Walker

Ben Browder, Michael Shanks, Robert C. Cooper

Roland Emmerich A self-consciously epic sci-fi adventure of Cecil B DeMille-sized proportions, Stargate refreshes and combines several well-worn sci-fi and sword 'n' sandal genre conventions with some Erich von Daniken-style Biblical Egyptology. The directing-writing-producing team of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin had previously collaborated on B-movies Moon 44 (1990) and Universal Soldier (1992), but handed a significantly bigger budget they were able to give their Steven Spielberg pretensions free reign here ("Indiana Jones and his Close Encounters with the Chariots of the Gods" might be a suitable subtitle). James Spader is endearingly dithery as the fish-out-of-water academic who finds himself teamed with taciturn tough guy Kurt Russell: the two excellent leads are largely responsible for imparting what depth there is to otherwise two-dimensional characters. British composer David Arnold makes his major studio debut in the grandest fashion with an outstanding score that pays suitable homage to epic film music (John Williams' CE3K and Maurice Jarre's Lawrence of Arabia in particular). It's all done with such unabashed enthusiasm that viewers will happily forgive the film's derivative elements and even overlook the high-camp theatricality of Jaye Davidson's bizarre bad guy. Despite subsequent huge box-office hits (Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot), Stargate remains Emmerich and Devlin's freshest, most satisfying film.

On the DVD: This special edition version adds approximately seven minutes of additional footage, much of which is in the form of slightly extended scenes, but does also include an opening sequence in Ancient Egypt, a scene with Kurt Russell and the fossilised Horus guards, and Ra's bath scene. These are also collected in a bonus "Promo Reel". The anamorphic widescreen presentation of the 2.35:1 Panavision picture looks sharp and clear, although some of the additional footage is degraded; the sound is suitably spectacular 5.1 or DTS. Devlin and Emmerich provide a relaxed, chatty commentary ("We have nothing to do with the TV series"!), although you have to access this from the Set Up menu not the Special Features menu. There's a photo gallery and trailer, but sadly no "making-of" documentary. —Mark Walker

Mario Azzopardi Peter DeLuise Martin Wood

Mario Azzopardi James Head Andy Mikita Martin Wood

Martin Wood

Martin Wood Andy Mikita Brad Turner

Andy Mikita, Brad Turner, Brenton Spencer, Martin Wood, Paul Ziller

Andy Mikita, Martin Wood, Peter F. Woeste, Robert C. Cooper, William Waring

Amanda Tapping, Joe Flanigan By the time the credits roll for the final time at the end of Stargate Atlantis’ fifth season, it’s hard not to feel some sadness. For this is the final season of the show, and it’s also, arguably, right up there with the best.

It starts with a fairly major gamble, by replacing Amanda Tapping’s Samantha Carter as Atlantis’ commander and instead giving the job to Richard Woolsey, played by Robert Picardo. But it’s a gamble that pays off smartly, as Woolsey becomes a less predictable and more interesting commander. That said, not all of the characters in the show will have you warming to them, but then that’s arguably deliberate. The fifth season follows the ongoing battle with Wraith, and leaves—in the aftermath of its excellent finale—a number of threads that were presumably designed to be picked up in the sixth season that we’ll now never see.

Yet don’t let that discourage you. Season five of Stargate Atlantis doesn’t just feature some of the best moments of the show to date, but also some episodes rival anything its forerunner served up, too. The ambition of the ideas here, and the quality of both the visual effects and overall execution, is something to be genuinely admired.

The Stargate torch now passes over to the new series Stargate: Universe. But Atlantis deserves time to be kind to it. Out of the shadows of SG-1 it emerged as something genuinely special in its own right, and this fifth season finds it on tip-top form. —Jon Foster

Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Mario Azzopardi Eclipsing many of the rival shows it pitched itself against, Stargate SG-1 went on to become the longest-running North American science fiction show in history, with ten seasons and 214 episodes in all. This new release of Children Of The Gods, however, offers a chance to see where it all began.

Spun out of the 1994 movie, Stargate, Stargate SG-1’s story picks up events a year afterwards, which is where Children Of The Gods kicks in. Originally broadcast as a two-part pilot episode, this new DVD release has been recut into movie format, with freshly added material, and brand new special effects. And a nice job has been done, too.

Not that it detracts greatly from the adventure. It still acts as the kick-starting of the Stargate programme, as Colonel Jack O’Neill leads a team to the planet of Abydos, but while on his mission, stumbles across what turns out to be a map of Stargates around the galaxy. Yet, without spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it, Children Of The Gods takes this as a starting point for things really going wrong…

Children Of The Gods is sometimes a little uneven, and for purists, it lacks the full frontal nudity that was shown when the episode was first broadcast, but has never been seen since. But no matter: the work done on boosting this opener into a TV movie has paid off, and it’s a handsome way to check out where such a long-running TV show got started… —Jon Foster

Martin Wood Jonathan Glassner Jeff Woolnough Mario Azzopardi Allan Eastman Like the very best of SF TV, Stargate SG-1 began very simply. Of course it had the benefit of a movie preceding it—in which the alternate universe, its rules and its characters were largely established—so this premiere season was therefore able to concentrate on good storytelling.

In 1997 not every new show was obsessed with securing a syndication-guaranteed franchise (same goes for Buffy debuting the same year), instead one-off episodes were the way of things, exploring interesting scenarios and conundrums. Naturally there were allusions to the feature film, but most were subtle and inspired. For example, a trip to retrieve the trapped professor who'd worked on the Gate decades ago was an unusual way of tying up loose ends. Some groundwork was laid for continuation should the show be renewed into an ongoing series. Knowing that these elements were pure wishful thinking at the time makes the tapestry of System Lords and the interlinks with our history and mythology all the more enjoyable in revisiting the show from its beginnings. With Richard Dean Anderson, leading the team in a far more charismatic and empathetic way than Kurt Russell in the movie, the series also benefited from some spot-on casting that instantly won audiences over. Special effects and use of studio sets may be less dazzling in these initial shows, but its solid grounding in old-fashioned SF won for the show a loyal audience. —Paul Tonks

For a science-fiction show in its eight season, Stargate SG-1 clearly still has a lot of gas left in the tank. It’s especially surprising, considering that this is a season that effectively was never meant to be, as spin-off series Stargate: Atlantis was due to take the reigns. Yet someone in power relented, and the further adventures of Jack O’Neill and his team are the result.

Accepting that there are one or two bumps across the season, the standard though remains steadfastly high for the bulk of the episodes here. You’ll find no spoilers here, short of to say that some of Stargate SG-1’s long-running narratives are developed satisfyingly well.

What’s also pleasing is that there’s a nice cocktail going on here. A gentle, welcome sprinkling of laugh-out loud moments compete with a good mystery or two, and some terrific action. Granted, sometimes you feel you’ve seen bits before, and it’s a shame that the series ends on arguably some of its weaker episodes. But this is countered nonetheless by some terrific individual programmes, with plenty you’ll find yourself rewinding back to once you’ve reach the end.

What’s most pleasing though is that for a mature show of any genre, it’s tricky to keep producing good quality TV. In the sci-fi genre in particular, there’s a veritable graveyard of shows that never made it this far. Thus, to see Stargate SG-1 is such confident form is much to its credit. —Jon Foster

Considering most television series tend to fizzle out in their first few seasons, for Stargate SG-1 to have endured so long is no small feat at all. For it to have endured, and still be able to throw up convincing new ideas and surprises even at season nine is really something special.

But that’s just what Stargate SG-1 does. And in spite of the fact that Richard Dean Anderson’s O’Neill had moved on, and despite the fact that Ben Browder’s Mitchell valiantly tries but ultimately fails to fill the gap left behind, the show still has plenty of gas in the tank. There are some very strong episodes here, and while the season as a whole does take a little time to get going, the likelihood is that, come the customary end-of-season cliffhanger, you’ll have enjoyed a very good series of a rightly long-lasting show.

Season nine, though, marks the penultimate series of Stargate SG-1, which finally ends with its tenth run. And, to be fair, there are a few signs littered throughout this ninth series boxset that there’s only so much left in the well for the show’s creators to explore. Yet this is still very good, highly enjoyable science fiction entertainment, and one that’s leaving quite a void behind it now it’s left our screens. —Jon Foster

Beau Bridges, Ben Browder If this five-disc, 20-episode, tenth season set really is the end of Stargate SG-1—and considering the number of reprieves the show has already had and the rumours of various movie spin-offs, not to mention the fact that the final installment is entitled "Unending," who knows?—then the folks responsible for this durable sci-fi series can be proud that they finished it off in style, with a run of episodes that are for the most part highly entertaining, exciting, and fun, offering resolution if not complete closure. And if sharks were jumped, at least they were small ones. As was the case in Season 9, and to a large extent in Season 8 as well, original series star Richard Dean Anderson is little in evidence here. Portraying Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, Ben Browder, who came to Stargate SG-1 from the underrated Farscape, is now entrenched as leader of SG-1, the Stargate project's ace team in the field, joining series veterans Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, and Michael Shanks (as Samantha Carter, Teal'c, and Daniel Jackson, respectively). Most notably, fellow Farscape alum Claudia Black has an ever-expanding role as Vala, whose cheeky wit and irreverence bring a consistent spark to the proceedings. The big, bad villains known as Ori are back as well. We still can't see them—they are, after all, "ascended beings," represented by the blind, monk-like Priors, who roam the universe intoning "Hallowed are the Ori" and ensuring that all will submit to their will (the element of scary religious fanaticism remains as relevant as ever). But the Ori are also still the most implacable, irresistible force our heroes have ever encountered; nothing less than the fate of the entire galaxy is at stake (again)! And now there's an added twist: the Ori have a frontwoman, if you will, whose powers make the Priors look like well, monks. Known as Adria (or "the Orici" to believers), this beautiful young woman (played by Morena Baccarin) also happens to be the daughter of Vala, whom the Ori chose to bring their demon seed into the world; the uneasy (to say the least) Adria-Vala relationship provides many intriguing moments. On the minus side, the show tends to break its own rules (for instance, for a character who's supposed to be invincible, Adria often seems awfully, well, vincible), and the co-mingling of Arthurian legend, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian myth, magic, and other sources is occasionally over-the-top, even for this franchise. Some episodes are plot-heavy, bogged down by too many characters (past bad guys like the Goa'uld, and Ba'al reappear, as do several Stargate Atlantis leads in one episode) or excessive techno-rap about time dilation fields, flux capacitors, and something called the Clava Thessara Infinitas (don't ask). Episodes in which the writers move away from the central Ori theme are less than stellar; "200" exists mostly as an opportunity to make fun of the TV business and is as irrelevant and silly as "Citizen Joe," the worst episode from Season 8. And finally, without revealing details, suffice to say that "Unending," which offers a possible fate for our heroes before totally pulling its punches, may frustrate some longtime adherents. By and large, though, Stargate SG-1 has all the elements—humour, action, great effects, good story-telling and acting, characters you care about—to more than justify its ten-year run. It will be missed. Special features are again bountiful, including audio commentary on all episodes, various featurettes, and five "directors series" entries devoted to particular episodes. —Sam Graham, amazon.com

Mario Azzopardi David Warry-Smith Martin Wood The 1994 film Stargate was originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. Since neither Kurt Russell nor James Spader would be able to commit, it gave the producers licence to tinker with the cast and the universe they'd explore. Replacing the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG 1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" pharaoh-like Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are not too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot-thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnel to the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargate has held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

This peculiar chronological cut and paste from the opening year at least starts sensibly with the pilot "Children of the Gods". A year on from Stargate the motion picture, Earth's military have assembled crack units to protect against whatever might follow from planet Abydos. So naturally they make things worse discovering a new enemy on Chulak. In "There But for the Grace of God" Daniel plays out Star Trek's "Mirror Mirror" scenario in an alternate dimension. Then in "Politics" no one believes his warnings of an impending attack, instead rationalising the Gate's closure. The season's stunning cliffhanger—"Within the Serpent's Grasp"—lands the team aboard the Goa'uld flag attack ship headed to destroy Earth. This episode features some truly inspired one-liners: "We can't just upload a virus to the Mothership!" —Paul Tonks

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. Since neither Kurt Russell nor James Spader would be able to commit, it gave the producers licence to tinker with the cast and the universe they'd explore. Replacing the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" pharaohnic Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

Concluding the cliff-hanger from the end of Season One, "The Serpent's Lair" is a rollercoaster of wit, plot twists, and cutting-edge special effects as the SG-1 team resign themselves to a suicide mission. Then it's a case of ignorance of the law being no excuse in "Prisoners", as the team winds up in a penal colony striking a deal with someone who will have far-reaching influence on their future. Sam is stalked by an assassin after a rescue mission all "In the Line of Duty". She saves someone in the most unique of ways—by taking over as host of their Goa'uld symbiont. This introduction of Jolinar is key to much of the continuing storyline. Dwight Schultz guest stars as "The Gamekeeper" in a garden that forces the team to puzzle their way out of re-living secrets of the past. But all is not what it seems. —Paul Tonks

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. Since neither Kurt Russell nor James Spader would be able to commit, it gave the producers licence to tinker with the cast and the universe they'd explore. Replacing the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" pharaohnic Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

One of many romances for the supposedly grief-stricken Jackson puts SG-1 in jeopardy again. "Need" refers to several aspects of the plot, but someone should do something about Daniel's libido! A return to planet Cimmeria tests their battle savvy as "Thor's Chariot" links the Asgard race to the plot once more. There's a rather unfriendly "Message in a Bottle" delivered to O'Neill in the form of a spear through his shoulder. This fantastic episode demonstrates every aspect of the show's appeal. Finally in "Family", Teal'c's son Rya'c performs a role reversal on his father that puts the Goa'uld's motivations in question. —Paul Tonks

David Warry-Smith William Gereghty The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. Since neither Kurt Russell nor James Spader would be able to commit, it gave the producers licence to tinker with the cast and the universe they'd explore. Replacing the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" pharaohnic Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

Returning to the planet from the original Stargatemovie, Daniel catches up with his lost wife and painfully discovers her "Secrets". Teal'c gets stung by a giant insect in "Bane", and O'Neill is crippled in "Spirits". The best is saved to last on this volume in "The Tok'ra (Part I)". Sam's estranged father is dying of cancer, but her obligations sway her toward saving a member of the Goa'uld renegade Tok'ra who is also dying. Although the resolution may seem apparent a mile off, the series takes one of many brave steps in not chickening-out at the last moment. —Paul Tonks

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. Since neither Kurt Russell nor James Spader would be able to commit, it gave the producers licence to tinker with the cast and the universe they'd explore. Replacing the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" pharaohnic Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

A satisfying conclusion to the previous episode's cliff-hanger is reached in "The Tok'ra (Part II)". There may only be preliminary goodwill established between Earth and the rebels, but the dangling thread bodes well. On planet Madrona, the team are accused of stealing a "Touchstone" that controls its climate. The revelation of who really stole it causes ripples in the pond back on Earth. Prepare for a science lesson (one of the series' strengths) in "A Matter of Time" as the gang ponders how to resist a black hole's pull. The last episode in the volume carries a voice from the past through O'Neill's lips as the "Fifth Race" demands to be heard. —Paul Tonks

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. Since neither Kurt Russell nor James Spader would be able to commit, it gave the producers licence to tinker with the cast and the universe they'd explore. Replacing the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" pharaohnic Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

"The Serpent's Song" is a cry for help from the team's nemesis—Apophis—who they've been fighting since the beginning. It's a morality showcase all-round. Although deserving a "Holiday", the team just can't leave alien artefacts alone, which gets them into all manner of trouble playing with Ma'chello's body-swapping machine. This episode gives everyone a fantastic opportunity to impersonate one another. "One False Step" of another kind lays a guilt trip on them all for accidentally infecting a race with a disease. Then in "Show and Tell" the central story arc takes a dramatic turn when a child arrives to warn that some survivors of a Goa'uld attack are determined to eliminate anyone who might host their enemy—which means Earth as a whole. —Paul Tonks

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. Since neither Kurt Russell nor James Spader would be able to commit, it gave the producers licence to tinker with the cast and the universe they'd explore. Replacing the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" pharaohnic Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

The first two episodes here (nos. 9 & 13) do not follow the previous Volume 6 chronologically. "Thor's Hammer" ought to be seen before Vol. 3, since this visit to Cimmeria presents an earlier chapter in Teal'c's problems at home and is the introduction to the Gate-building Asgard race. "Hathor" is likewise an essential early instalment by introducing the siren-like goddess who will continue to put Earth's men under her spell. Episodes 21 and 22 jump forward to finish Season Two: there's great fun to be had in "1969" and a time-travel plot that loops many aspects of the show's storylines together. The cliff-hanger finale, "Out of Mind", has O'Neill experience an Aliens-style awakening 79 years into his future. What the Hell happened? And why is he being asked so many questions about Earth's defences? —Paul Tonks

Martin Wood Bill Corcoran Peter DeLuise The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. Since neither Kurt Russell nor James Spader would be able to commit, it gave the producers licence to tinker with the cast and the universe they'd explore. Replacing the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Pharaonic Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife; Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld; and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

On the DVD: To resolve the Season Two cliffhanger "Out Of Mind", General Hammond rounds up every conceivable ally to rescue the SG-1 team from Hathor's clutches and gets a much-needed field trip in the process. "Into the Fire " is actually a weak opening for the new year, but does boast some impressive visuals as Hammond and Brat'ac pilot a shuttle through an open Stargate (euphemistically called "threading the needle"). In the next episode, the team are troublingly advised that the ancient God of Evil—"Seth"—has been hiding on Earth for thousands of years. Daniel miraculously tracks him down in about five minutes through a quick surf on the Web! In "Fair Game" O'Neill is "beamed up" to his chum the Asgard Thor in the middle of Carter's promotion to Major. Thor warns him that the Goa'uld System Lords are miffed about his team thwarting Hathor in "Out of Mind". All manner of underhand trickery and subterfuge then follows at a treaty meeting between three representatives and the hapless Jack. "Legacy" on the other hand is a strange connection back to Season Two's "Holiday" when Daniel suffers a mental breakdown courtesy of scientist Ma'chello. Some unnerving imagery (slugs in the ear akin to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) makes this one of the series' darker instalments. —Paul Tonks

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi. —Paul Tonks

On this DVD: On planet Orban, Daniel Jackson is intrigued by a population's scientific advances over only a few years. An exchange of knowledge is agreed and the precise "Learning Curve" of their children is revealed. Still recalling the original movie, O'Neill is concerned for the siblings because of the loss of his son. Some more continuity tests the memory back to the episode "There But For the Grace of God", when Jackson discovered a dimensional mirror. Here, in "Point of View", it allows the Sam Carter and Major Kawalsky from an alternate reality to shelter from their Goa'uld threat. The problem being that Sam's married to Jack in her reality, and Kawalsky's dead in ours! The show is blessed with a star turn from Flash Gordon himself in "Deadman Switch" when Sam J Jones guests as Aris Boch, an alien bounty hunter working for the Goa'uld. Lastly, in "Demons" some serious lambasting of organised religion occurs in a storyline concerning a medieval Christian village that's being terrorised by a giant Goa'uld servant creature. This episode both brings to light and questions each of the principal characters' beliefs.

As well as trailers for the next volume, this disc includes an interview with Amanda Tapping on her character, Samantha Carter. There's also a featurette on the general workings of the show called "Producing the Stargate". —Paul Tonks

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi. —Paul Tonks

On this DVD: This volume begins in confusion when the S.G.1 team discover a military camp training for "Rules of Engagement". All is not what it seems however. The same is true of "Forever in a Day", when Daniel's wife Sha're is killed by Teal'c. This episode begins an important storyline about her stolen child who is a "Harcesis", an illegal breeding between Goa'uld hosts. Then an earlier thread is picked up in "Past and Present" on planet Vyus whose people all suffer amnesia. Their leader Ke'ra (played by Megan Leitch who's portrayed Mulder's missing sister in The X-Files) is a link to the earlier "Prisoners" episode and the dangerous "destroyer of worlds". Closing the volume is a cliffhanger in which Sam must attempt to rescue her father, face Satan himself on a prison moon, and resurrect "Jolinar's Memories" from the Goa'uld she was briefly possessed by. Trapped in Hell, the team's escape seems impossible.

As well as trailers for the next volume, the disc includes a 10-minute interview with Christopher Judge on his 97-year-old character Teal'c. He spends much of the time recalling plot points, but his philosophy of the show as a social allegory is refreshing. —Paul TonksEND

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi. —Paul Tonks

On this DVD: Resolving the cliffhanger from Volume 10, "The Devil You Know" reveals an embarrassing secret that could allow the team to escape the clutches of Satanic Sokar. Then, when following up clues to find the Harcesis child "Forever in a Day", Teal'c is the only one to notice the SGC has been taken over by chameleonic aliens trying to establish a "Foothold" on Earth for invasion. The following "Pretense" is one of those sci-fi series staples as a character is put on trial to prove their guilt on behalf of another. "Urgo" is this volume's highlight, and expands the general sardonic humour with a little pathos for the guest appearance by Dom DeLuise. Lots of slapstick ensues.

As well as trailers for the next volume, the disc includes a seven-minute interview with Don Davis on his character of General George Hammond. He talks about his own Captaincy in the army and an acting career that began with MacGuyver! There's also five minutes with costume designer Christine McQuarrie explaining what has to be done in just seven days. —Paul Tonks

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1.

With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi. —Paul Tonks

On this DVD: the first two episodes of this volume spotlight O'Neill. "A Hundred Days" is the three months he spends stranded on planet Edora by the fire rain of a passing asteroid belt. Then in "Shades of Grey" he appears to suffer a total personality switch when he steals technology from the Tollan and is insubordinate in the extreme. Both these are terrific concepts but are scarcely enough story to have stretched across more than one episode. A little more teamwork is required to break "New Ground" on a planet fighting a war of ideology. Finally, the storyline concerning the Harcesis child from Volume 10 elicits a "Maternal Instinct" in Daniel after the discovery of mystical planet Kheb. But ultimately his agenda only brings them more trouble.

As well a trailer for the next volume, the disc includes a nine-minute interview with Michael Shanks on his character of anthropologist Dr Daniel Jackson. He reveals his acting career was inspired by Richard Dean Anderson. There's also seven minutes with production designer Richard Hudolin explaining how the on-location Stargate takes an entire day to set up. —Paul Tonks

The 1994 film Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-alikes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi. —Paul Tonks

The 1994 film Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative lookalikes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

On this DVD: Picking up a week after the Season Three cliff-hanger "Nemesis", the Fourth Season finds the SG team split apart to win a few "Small Victories". Providing a nice change of scenery for the show, O'Neill and Teal'c are trapped aboard a Russian submarine fending off the remaining Replicator threat. Carter meanwhile is whisked away by Thor to come up with her best "stupid idea" to save the Asgard homeworld. Then the show respectfully broaches the subject of racial tolerance found on a planet at war on "The Other Side". The material is handled superbly by guest star Rene Auberjonois (formerly Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Odo).

A little comic relief is provided in "Upgrades". When Tok'ra scientist Anise/Freya (Vanessa Angel) shows off some fabled technology the team are initially cautious. But the armbands give the wearer increased strength and speed, and in no time at all Jack, Sam and Daniel are abusing them. The fun of seeing them at a local restaurant ordering multiple rare steaks gives way to practical use when it's revealed that arch-enemy Apophis is constructing a new battleship. If the Tok'ra's duplicity is off-putting to the SGC this time, it's nothing compared to seeing Anise/Freya again in "Crossroads". O'Neill notices the "sparkage" between Teal 'c and visiting Jaffa-babe Sho'nac. When she states she has a way for the Tok'ra to obtain information about the Goa'uld from her placid symbiote, it's just bound to go bad. —Paul Tonks

The 1994 film Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted when celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's-pet primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative lookalikes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

On this DVD:"Divide and Conquer" presents a disturbing theory that none of us may be who we think we are. Newly recurring guest star Vanessa Angel returns as Freya to reveal that "za'tarc" technology can programme a person to be an assassin without their knowledge. This episode becomes a claustrophobic showcase for the actors to display distrust for one another. "Window of Opportunity" is the now mandatory Groundhog Dayscenario episode that all franchise series must attempt. Typically the SG-1 writers make more of the material than in other shows, with O'Neill and Teal'c growing to enjoy having 10 hours to live repeatedly. Ultimately, though, there's a lesson to be learned about the fruitlessness of trying to recapture the past.

"Watergate" demonstrates the excellent continuity kept up by the show in revealing what happened to the original missing Dial Home Device—the Russians have it! Not only that, they have their own Stargate, a disturbing amount of information on the SG-1 team, a mysterious link to a water planet and a scientist who bears an uncanny resemblance to Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation(Marina Sirtis). "The First Ones" is a warm variant on the Lion and the Mouse fable when Daniel establishes a relationship with a primitive alien creature. The planet is the original home world of the Goa'uld parasites, meaning that the SG Team's rescue mission turns into a dangerous period of paranoid suspicion. Who has been compromised and what does Chaka really want with Daniel? —Paul Tonks

Peter DeLuise William Gereghty Martin Wood The 1994 film Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

On this DVD:"Scorched Earth" presents the kind of moral dilemma Star Trek: The Next Generationoften explored. The SG-1 team aren't exactly hampered by a Prime Directive, but searching questions are asked when they discover two civilisations attempting to colonise a world simultaneously. This is a great episode for seeing the friends disagree over personal principles, and features some stunning FX. "Beneath the Surface" refers to several things at once. The team are literally in an underground environment; enforced slave labour is taking place without the general government's knowledge; memories have been suppressed. But most tellingly for this season's story arc, Jack and Sam are free to express their secret love for one another.

"Point of No Return" is light relief after several episodes of angst and continuity. Willie Garson guest stars as Martin, a worryingly well-informed conspiracy theorist. It's a chance for the team to interact with the real world for a change and leads to several hotel room luxuries, such as the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Stillfor Jack and a vibrating bed for Teal'c! "Tangent" puts Jack and Teal'c in the worst kind of danger. Two years on from the capture of Goa'uld gliders (The Serpent's Lair), Earth scientists have developed their own. It all goes horribly wrong through a trap laid by old nemesis Apophis, and strands the two men in space with out enough oxygen to reach safe harbour. —Paul Tonks

Andy Mikita Martin Wood The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

On the DVD:Episodes: The Curse, The Serpent's Venom, Chain Reaction and 2010.

It's five years after the Stargatemovie saw Dr. Jackson's theories professionally debunked. In "The Curse", he finally finds short-lived vindication with a few of his old archaeological colleagues. Unfortunately, one of them is more interested in the recently discovered Osiris Jar than is healthy. The birth of a powerful new Goa'uld God is sure to spell trouble for the SG team soon. "The Serpent's Venom" is the strongest test of Teal'c's loyalties anyone could have imagined. Betrayed and captured on homeworld Chulak, the "sholvah" is tortured to the point of death. In fact, it is his willingness to accept death that convinces his captors that perhaps his rejection of Apophis has meaning for them too. This is a powerful episode with strong violence and performances. When General Hammond announces his resignation on the grounds of disliking sending people into danger, the team know something's wrong. A "Chain Reaction" of events and clues leads O'Neill to the recently incarcerated turncoat Maybourne. Suddenly with this episode, all the previous references to the sinister NID agency make worrying sense. As Hammond explains, they're "above the law". That doesn't stop Jack from MacGuyvering a way out of the clutches of Ronny Cox's double-dealing Senator Kinsey though! Inexplicably, we're then presented with a future vision of the year "2010" where Kinsey has become President. Here we see Earth in peaceful alliance with the Aschen race. But Jack is sulking in secluded retirement. Sure enough things aren't at all idyllic—just as he forewarned—and in typical style for the series, an engaging time-travel plotline unravels to safeguard the past from this imperfect present. —Paul Tonks

Peter DeLuise Peter F. Woeste Allan Lee The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

On the DVD:Episodes: Absolute Power, The Light, Prodigy, Entity.

The Harcesis child Shifu (an excellent young Lane Gates) decides Earth needs a lesson in what would happen if it acquired the "Absolute Power" its powers-that-be are greedily after. Daniel is the unwitting test subject, and by the time we see him unflinchingly destroy Moscow it's apparent just what this lesson is. Seeing "The Light" in another way, SG-1 find themselves like moths to a flame on a seemingly abandoned planet. After the shocking suicide of another team member, it takes everyone's individual talents (including the under-used Dr. Fraser) to crack the mystery of the pillar of energy from which all the trouble clearly emanates. In a rare glimpse of ordinary military life, Sam is presented with a "Prodigy" of sorts. The brilliant young Cadet Jennifer Hailey (Elisabeth Rosen) is precocious about her talents to the point of being obnoxious in the eyes of her tutors and peers. She naturally experiences quite a humbling come down when taken through the Stargate to assist on a science mission dealing with a pesky new life form. This episode is all about identifying personal flaws and what it takes to acknowledge them. In another strong show for Carter, a particularly elusive "Entity" imprints itself upon her consciousness as well as the base's computer systems. While every conceivable method of extraction is undertaken, the situation is made more complicated by the possibility that it's all been an enormous misunderstanding. Definitely the most heart-warming presentation of the life of a computer virus you'll ever see!

The 1994 movie Stargatewas originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's-pet primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld—the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. There's something of The Time Tunnelto the show's premise, but Stargatehas held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

On the DVD:Episodes: Double Jeopardy and Exodus. In "Double Jeopardy", SG-1 experiences a bogus journey when they're reunited with their robot doppelgangers (from "Tin Man"). Some welcome resolution is given to their separate story line, since they'd basically been left to fend for themselves. The split-screen effects are excellent allowing the actors to interact with themselves. This was the directorial debut of Michael Shanks (Dr Jackson). The big Season Four finale had a lot of continuity to pull together before allowing our heroes their "Exodus". Sam gets to spend more time with her Tokra father than has been possible while everything disintegrates around them. While Teal'c goes out of his way to avenge the death of an old lover (how many wives has he had?), the unveiling of Earth's most recently acquired piece of technology seems to turn the tide of battle against the Goa'uld. And then all is lost. Including them.—Paul Tonks

Martin Wood Peter DeLuise The opening episodes of the fifth season of Stargate SG-1had a lot of story left over from the nail-biting Season 4 cliffhanger, so this year had to open with a two-part conclusion. "Enemies" is aptly named because the team are faced with their biggest nemeses of all, Apophis and the Replicators, while stuck in another galaxy 120 years away from Earth. The biggest interpersonal problem facing them, however, is a switch in allegiance by Teal'c. Continuing into "Threshold", it takes the wisdom of his old master Bra'tac to perceive that all is not as it seems. But after so many attempts, can the enemies ever truly be vanquished?

At long last, Sam gets a sympathetic and revealing spotlight. We get to see some of her home life and who she is away from the science lab. In her garage she has a 1940 Indian motorcycle, a 1961 vintage Volvo and a Harley. These aren't the only things she tinkers with in "Ascension", however. In a case of torn loyalties, she's confronted by an imaginary friend/lover (Young Indiana Jones himself, Sean Patrick Flanery). And then Jack seems to experience something very similar when the team gains a "Fifth Man". Both these episodes' storylines are threatened by the poisonous introduction of Colonel Simmons (John de Lancie, Star Trek's Q). —Paul Tonks

Stargate SG-1is the TV spin-off from the 1994 big-screen movie. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible.

Episodes on this DVD:"Red Sky". A picturesque location shoot and a questioning of faiths distinguishes this episode. After an unavoidable accident initiates a global catastrophe on planet K'Tau, Sam forces Jack and the others to decide between technology or primitive faith. Naturally, Daniel is for the latter, and ultimately the show stands tall by leaving its resolution up to the interpretation of the viewer.

"The Rite of Passage". Some Stargateguest stars just don't get a break. Cassandra, the poor little girl turned into a human bomb four years ago ("Singularity") is now a teenager experiencing a far more problematic "Rite of Passage" than she deserves. Infected with a secretly dormant retro-virus, she also seems to be seeing a ghostly form no one else can see. And for once, there's an opportunity for Dr Fraiser to do more than jab needles too!

"Beast of Burden". An interesting mix of the movie Enemy Mineand the Biblical tale of Daniel and the Lion. Here it's Daniel Jackson who had previously befriended the Unas "Beast" Chaka (Dion Johnstone) in "The First Ones". There's an agreeable political stance taken on slave labour and animal captivity too, aided enormously by the star calibre cameo of Larry Drake.

"The Tomb". Paired up with their on/off adversaries the Russians(!), SG-1 enjoys a spot of Indiana Jonesing around "The Tomb". Throw in a little Alien-style hunt and seek with an unseen predator, and you have a terrific movie mish-mash in which Jack manages an all-time high in sarcastic barbs. —Paul Tonks

Peter DeLuise Martin Wood Stargate SG-1is the TV spin-off from the 1994 big-screen movie. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible.

Episodes on this DVD:"Between Two Fires". If there's one lesson SG-1 has learned, it's to always look a gift horse in the mouth. So when old acquaintances the Tollan offer Earth a brace of advanced weaponry, Jack's the first to raise a questioning hand and wonder if they aren't "Between Two Fires". Some James Bond-style sneaking about soon unravels the mystery.

"2001". A lot of behind-the-scenes political machinations occur during "2001". There's another gloriously menacing cameo from Ronny Cox as Senator Kinsey who's desperately trying to dismantle the Stargate programme. All of which makes the A-plot about a new ally somewhat insignificant! But as always with newcomers on the show, the Aschen may not be all they appear to be.

"Desperate Measures". Driven to "Desperate Measures", the perpetrator behind the kidnap of Major Carter puts everyone in an ethical quandary. Jack is forced to team up with his old foe Maybourne to find her. As if his cameo isn't insidious and slimy enough, there's another terrifically snake-like appearance by John de Lancie as Colonel Simmons.

"Wormhole X-Treme!". Coming soon to network TV is "Wormhole X-Treme!", a science fiction show featuring an intrepid team travelling to other worlds via an intergalactic portal. Sound familiar? It sure does to the SGC, and when Jack and company investigate they discover dear old Willie Garson (Martin Lloyd from Season 4's Point of No Return) has become a whole new form of security problem. This is the show's 100th episode, and was created as a sort of Galaxy Questparody. Full of crew-member cameos and in-jokes, it's definitely the best fun fans and cast have had amid the more dramatically serious story arc over the year. —Paul Tonks

Stargate SG-1is the TV spin-off from the 1994 big-screen movie. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible.

Episodes on this DVD:"Summit", "Last Stand", "48 Hours" and "Proving Ground". In a daring Tok'ra mission, Daniel Jackson is sent to infiltrate and attend a Goa'uld "Summit" disguised as a manservant. With a lot of sneaking around and a little technobabble thrown in to explain how he isn't recognised, things come to a head with the unveiling of who the secret new baddies are and how they affect Daniel personally.

In a direct continuation from "Summit", SG-1 make what they hope is a "Last Stand" against the System Lords. Similarly, the Tok'ra stand together on planet Revanna where O'Neill and Teal'c have a crash course in alien technology as they learn how to grow different types of tunnel from crystal.

It's been a while since someone made the analogy of the Stargates operating like a telephone exchange. "48 Hours" traps Teal'c within the system, and the team have only two days to find a way to reconnect him. Unfortunately, this requires the aid of the Russians who are more than a little reluctant about giving up their private dialling device. This episode also features terrific cameos from the slithery Maybourne and Simmons (John de Lancie).

Inevitably there needs to be a next generation of SG teams, so Jack and co take time out from their missions to train up some newbies. "Proving Ground" is all about who can make the grade, and in particular they have their eyes on the brilliant Jennifer and headstrong Elliot. The tension is really piled on in this show as layers of reality build to confuse the kids and the audience as to what's really happening to them. —Paul Tonks

Andy Mikita Peter DeLuise Martin Wood Stargate SG-1is the TV spin-off from the 1994 big-screen movie. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible.

Episodes on this DVD:"Fail Safe", "The Warrior", "Menace" and "Sentinel". Before now, this show has managed to skirt around the edges of the technological implausibility that plagued the latter Star Trekincarnations. But in "Fail Safe", Sam's surreal solution to the problem of an asteroid on collision course with Earth has to be seen to be disbelieved.

Teal'c and his old master Bra'tac have always wanted an inspiring leader to assist in making the other Jaffa realise their mistaken allegiances. Kytano (Rick Worthy) sure looks like "The Warrior" for whom they've been waiting. But everyone's patience and beliefs are put to the test when Jack questions what he sees as a situation that's too good to be true.

The discovery of a Data-like android poses all sorts of questions for the SGC, especially as the dormant machine is the only thing left of a desolated world. Dr Jackson persuades everyone to turn it on, and boy do they regret it! Reese (Danielle Nicolet) turns out to have the mental maturity of a child, and a stroppy one at that. Worse, she's responsible for the greatest "Menace" the galaxy has ever known.

Former crimes by the sinister NID have to be rectified on a doomed world. Led by the timid Marul (a fantastic turn by Henry Gibson), the planet believes in the mystical protection of "The Sentinel". Regrettably two turncoat agents destroyed that protection and it's up to the team to put something in its place. —Paul Tonks

William Waring Martin Wood Stargate SG-1is the TV spin-off from the 1994 big-screen movie. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They are joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible.

Episodes on this disc:"Meridian", "Revelations".It's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khanall over again as Daniel Jackson decides the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, sacrificing himself for the greater good in "Meridian". The departure of Michael Shanks is both sudden and suspicious. His Season 6 replacement—Corin Nemec as Jonas Quinn—is quickly established too. So much intrigue will leave regular viewers puzzled, especially since this is only the penultimate cliffhanger to the year.

"Revelations" are aplenty at the end of year five. Earth's seemingly all-powerful allies the Asgard show yet more chinks in their armour. The SG-1 teams' grief over Daniel is remarkably short-lived. And behind the scenes a change of US broadcast channels could mean anything might happen between now and next year. Is this the beginning of the end? —Paul Tonks

Martin Wood Peter DeLuise

Peter DeLuise Martin Wood

Martin Wood Peter F. Woeste Peter DeLuise

Robert Carlyle

Paul Verhoeven A gloriously over-the-top treat, Paul Verhoeven's Starship Trooperstakes the militaristic moralising of Robert Heinlein's pulp classic and sets about undermining it mercilessly. Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) desperately wants to join the Mobile Infantry and kill some Earth-threatening alien bugs. He also desperately wants Carmen (Denise Richards), but only gets to fulfil one ambition in the second of Verhoeven's futuristic satires (also cowritten with his RoboCopscriptwriter Ed Neumeier).

Set in a fascistic future where kids must do military service to qualify as citizens, own property or even have babies, the film's dark Vietnam and Nazi-era parallels are all the more disturbing given its deceptively sunny Beverly Hills 90210teenage cast (though scenery-chewing veteran Michael Ironside steals the movie as tough-talking Lt Rasczak). The CGI arachnids are among the most convincing and dangerous-looking creatures ever seen on screen, and with the movie clocking up the highest number of blanks ever fired on a film set, it's also pretty loud! Verhoeven went on to be Executive Producer of the Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chroniclesanimated TV series a couple of years later.

On the DVD: Starship Troopersin this DVD incarnation can now be played continuously on one side of the disc (the original Region 2 release version was that crime against the DVD format, a "flipper"). You'll also feel really spoiled by the extras here: five deleted scenes (approximately six minutes) pad out Carmen's love triangle problems. There are impressive screen tests for Denise Richards and Casper Van Dien (three-and-a-half minutes). An eight-minute featurette zips by with key interviews and fact flinging. And a real treat is three scene developments with layers of FX work explained by Verhoeven. But what makes this DVD essential is the director's enthusiastic commentary alongside screenwriter Ed Neumeier: dissing astrology, making a stand for feminist issues, saying how he went nude to placate the actors for their shower scene, and drooling with praise for his FX team, Verhoeven makes a fascinating statement that "war makes fascists of us all". After a studio disclaimer, and beginning with his reaction to the film's critique in Time Magazine, this is no-holds-barred fun. —Paul Tonks

John Pieplow

Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles Supernatural, like so many successful shows before it, starts with a simple concept. When their father goes missing, two brothers—Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) Winchester—head off across the country to try and find him. But their journey isn’t easy, especially when you consider the assortment of spirits and nightmarish creatures that stand in their path.

On paper, that sounds a derivative mix of many shows that have gone before it. And to some extent, that’s what Supernatural is, yet its mix is nonetheless compelling. What lifts it above the norm is the quality both of the writing, and crucially, the direction of the show. There are moments that are spooky, and some that are downright scary, with plenty of suspense linking the two. And while the 22 episodes have their fair share of peaks and troughs, Supernatural has an edge about it that easily carries it through its slower points.

At the heart of the show, ironic considering the number of other programmes it tips its hat to, is a desire to do things its own way, and for that reason, come Supernatural’s maiden season finale, it leaves a real thirst for more episodes. Fortunately, the second season is already in the can, and we suspect it’ll continue to grow the number of fans that Supernatural is rightly earning for itself. —Jon Foster

Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles Horror series Supernatural delivers some of the most satisfying small-screen scares in recent memory. The premise is deceptively simple: brothers Sam and Dean (Jared Padalecki from Gilmore Girls and Jensen Ackles) travel the darker corners of the American landscape in search of their father, who's gone missing while hunting the malevolent forces that lead to the death of their mother. In the course of their search, the siblings encounter a host of otherworldly creatures, including vampires, ghosts and witches, as well as such distinctly American phenomena as the urban-legend favourite the Hook, monsters from Native American mythology and fearful figures from well-known children's games. Supernatural's integration of elements from American pop culture and folklore, combined with its skilled cast and crew (creator/co-writer Erik Kripke delivered 2005's Boogeyman, while director/executive producer David Nutter is a veteran of The X-Files and Millennium), and better-than-average attempts at atmosphere and suspense place the series well above the other spookshow programs that arrived on TV screens at about the same time (Invasion, Night Stalker), and should hold considerable appeal for fans of frightful fare. The six-disc set contains all episodes of the second season, with commentaries, making-of documentaries, a brace of unaired scenes and a gag reel completing the set. —Paul Gaita

Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles Three seasons into Supernatural and brothers Sam and Dean Winchester are still attracting trouble. For the pair have a talent for battling the kind of spirits and creatures that are best kept locked away in nightmares—and it's fair to say their journey has taken its toll on them.

As we join them in the third season of Supernatural, their travels and adventures take in a mixture of increasingly intriguing threats and foes. Among the highlights is a man who has become trapped within his own mind, the day that Sam continually has to live over and over again (Groundhog Day style) and a sinister threat to Dean that underpins much of the series. Not forgetting a Christmas episode with a bit of a different feel to it than your usual festive special...

While the series was shortened a little due to the writers' strike that was ongoing in America while it was being made, the sixteen episodes in this Supernatural boxset nonetheless offer ample entertainment. Cleverly weaving together action, comedy and horror, it builds and improves on the second season, and while it may rush things a little come the finale, it's still a terrific and underrated programme. Here's looking forward to season four. —Jon Foster

Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, Roger Kumble Prudes, beware! Despite its tendency to take the comedic low road, The Sweetest Thing is a near-perfect product of the new-millennial Hollywood. That's a backhanded compliment, but as a fun-loving Yankee girl's answer to Bridget Jones's Diary, the mainstream pandering of Nancy Pimental's lucrative screenplay is undeniably effective. On the opening soundtrack, Macy Gray's "Sexual Revolution" is a perfect accompaniment to gyrating guy-dumper Christina (Cameron Diaz), whose fear of commitment is tested when she meets Peter (Thomas Jane) and knows he's Mr. Right. With supportive gal-pals Courtney (Christina Applegate) and Jane (Selma Blair), she plots to snag the guy, and the movie's road-trip detour mines gut-busting gold from gags involving incriminating dress stains, oral sex, rotting food, garish clothing, and the simple joys of old-fashioned romance. Perfectly cast, raucously ribald, and conventionally charming, The Sweetest Thing is a schizophrenic comedy, but its dual personalities are irresistibly in synch. —Jeff Shannon

Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Adam McKay Sweet baby Jesus, we thank you for blessing Will Ferrell and Adam McKay with the talent to create a NASCAR comedy as hilarious as Talladega Nights. The so-called "Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is hardly flawless in fact it's not always firing on all cylinders but with comedy star Ferrell and director McKay still hot from the success of their previous comedy hit Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, most of this 108-minute spoof of oval-track racing is so knee-slappin' funny that you can't help but surrender to the stupidity.

Obviously, Ferrell's the shining star, and his portrayal of lead-footed pit-crew-member-turned-#1 NASCAR champion Ricky "I Wanna Go Fast" Bobby (how can you not love that name?) is spot-on perfect, righteously spoofing the entirety of NASCAR culture without insulting its oft-ridiculed roots in redneck bootlegging of a bygone era. You could even argue that Talladega Nights is truer to NASCAR than Tom Cruise's Days of Thunder, and it's certainly more entertaining, especially when you add John C. Reilly as Ricky's life-long pal, teammate, and eventual rival Cal Naughton, Jr. (together they're nicknamed "Shake 'n Bake"), and Sacha Baron Cohen (from Da Ali G Show and Borat) as gay French "Formula Un" driver-turned NASCAR rival Jean Girrard, to a stellar cast including Molly Shannon, Greg Germann, Amy Adams and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Sure, it's mostly a showcase for Ferrell's loud, over-the-top antics and nonsensical non sequiturs (like cameo appearances by Elvis Costello and Mos Def), but with Ferrell behind the wheel, Talladega Nights rolls into victory lane with fuel to spare, and there's one final bit of comedy (with a tip of the hat to William Faulkner) for those who sit through the credits. —Jeff Shannon

Trey Parker An elite U.S. counter-terrorism squad loses a member while decimating half of Paris in the reckless pursuit of Middle Eastern maniacs; a Broadway actor with a traumatic childhood secret is naturally hired to replace him. Oh—and they're all marionettes. South Parkmaestros Trey Parker and Matt Stone (along with co-writer Pam Brady) came up with this shameless satire of pea-brained Hollywood action flicks and even smaller-minded global politics, so don't expect subtlety or even a hint of good taste. Team Americais soon on the trail of North Korea's evil Kim Jong Il, who treats us to a tender song about his loneliness before ensnaring Alec Baldwin and the rest of the oblivious Film Actors Guild (F.A.G. for short) in a plot to blow up every major city on the planet. Just as the mindless squad cheerfully demolishes everything in sight, so do director Parker and company. Throwing punches left, right and in-between, the movie's politics leave no turn un-stoned; there's even time to bludgeon the musical Rent. It's offensive, irresponsible comic anarchy seemingly made by sniggering little boys. Painfully funnysniggering little boys. —Steve Wiecking, Amazon.com

James Cameron The Terminatorwas the film that cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger's place in the action-brawn firmament, and both his and the movie's subsequent iconic status are well deserved. He's chilling as the futuristic cyborg that kills without fear, without love, without mercy. James Cameron's story and direction are pared to the bone and are all the more chillingly effective for it. But don't overlook the contribution of Linda Hamilton, who more than holds her own as the Terminator's would-be victim, Sarah Connor, thus creating—along with Sigourney Weaver in Alien—a new generation of rugged, clear-thinking female action stars. The film's minimalist, malevolent violence is actually scarier than that of its far more expensive, more effects-laden sequel. —Anne Hurley, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Rejoice, The Terminatoris back, better looking and louder than ever. After years of inferior VHS versions, the cleaned-up print of this DVD is a revelation, as is the digitally remastered Dolby 5.1 soundtrack: from the opening MGM lion's roar to the crunch of Arnie's boots and the pounding of Brad Fiedel's techno-industrial score, both picture and sound are of a quality that belie the movie's age. The first disc has the movie plus a DVD-ROM feature containing three different versions of the screenplay, which can be read scene-by-scene along with the film. On the second disc there are seven deleted scenes, including a fascinating foreshadowing of Sarah Connor's mission in T2, as well as trailers and TV spots. There are also two "making of" featurettes, one being an 18-minute piece from 1992 based around a friendly at-home chat with Cameron and Schwarzenegger ("We did the first Terminatorfor the cost of your motor home on the second film", jokes director to actor). The hour-long "Other Voices" featurette is an in-depth montage of cast and crew reminiscences covering all aspects of the production from its initial genesis as a fevered nightmare to the "guerrilla" filmmaking of getting the final shots. Script collaborator Bill Wisher neatly sums up the movie as "It's a Wonderful Life, with guns". The second disc also contains a stills archive of production photographs, James Cameron's amazing original conceptual artwork, plus his first story treatment. If you own a player, how can you resist? After all, the Terminatormovies are what DVD was invented for. —Mark Walker

Jonathan Mostow Terminator 3: Rise of the Machinesstarts in high gear and never slows down. The apocalyptic "Judgment Day" of T2was never prevented, only postponed: John Connor (Nick Stahl, replacing T2's Edward Furlong), now 22 and disconnected from society, is being pursued yet again, this time by the advanced T-X, a sleek "Terminatrix" (coldly expressionless Kristanna Loken) programmed to stop Connor from becoming the saviour of humankind. Originally programmed as an assassin, a disadvantaged T-101 cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger, bidding fond farewell to his signature role) arrives from the future to join Connor and future wife Kate (Claire Danes) in thwarting the T-X's relentless pursuit. The plot presents a logical fulfilment of T2's prophecy, disposing of Connor's mother (Linda Hamilton is sorely missed) while computer-driven machines assume control, launching a nuclear nightmare that Connor must survive.

With Breakdownand U-571serving as rehearsals for this cautionary epic of mass destruction, director Jonathan Mostow wisely avoids any stylistic connection to James Cameron's classics; instead he's crafted a fun, exciting popcorn thriller, humorous and yet still effectively nihilistic, and comparable to Jurassic Park IIIin returning the Terminatorfranchise to its potent B-movie roots. —Jeff Shannon

On the DVD:Terminator 3two-disc set has only one deleted scene, but it's first-class. The "Sgt Candy Scene" is a must-see and, unfortunately, the best thing on the second disc. The rushed HBO documentary shows us far more flash than substance. Better is the Visual Effects Lab that goes more in-depth with four sequences, although you need to wade through a weak interface for each segment. Making your "own" effects isn't that much fun; you can only choose a few effects that change in two scenes. Anyone looking to get the complicated backstory of the trilogy figured out should dig into the "Sky Net Database" and an intricate timeline.

Disc 1 has a 30-second intro from the Governator himself, plus two commentary tracks: director Jonathan Mostow goes into great detail on how the little things (from lighting street scenes to tricks for destroying buildings) count; the second track is pieced together from the actors recorded separately—here Mostow appears with actress Claire Danes doing her first commentary track. The anamorphic 2.40:1 widescreen picture and thunderous DTS 5.1 or Dolby Digital 5.1 sound options deliver everything you would expect. —Doug Thomas

Jordana Brewster, Matthew Bomer, Jonathan Liebesman

Marcus Nispel The 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre adheres to the pure-and-simple slasher-movie formula: introduce a gaggle of sexy young people, make vague gestures to distinguish them—Jessica Biel wants to get married and doesn't like pot, so she's our moral compass—then start hacking them to pieces one by one. The visual palette includes grimy crucified dolls, fly-specked pig carcasses, body parts floating in murky jars, a tobacco-chewing redneck sheriff and many slender beams of sunlight cutting through dank, dusty interiors. The camera lovingly photographs Biel's tank-topped bosom and sculpted abs as she's running in terror from a bloated, chainsaw-wielding, human-skin-wearing maniac. This remake lacks the macabre comedy of the original; it's all about the nauseating sensation of waiting for something to jump out of the dark. —Bret Fetzer

Eduardo Sánchez (II) Daniel Myrick

Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Noah Baumbach The Squid and the Whale follows the divorce of Joan (Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me) and Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels, The Purple Rose of Cairo) as it wreaks havoc on the emotional lives of their two sons, Walt (Jesse Eisenberg, Roger Dodger) and Frank (Owen Kline, The Anniversary Party). Though there's no plot in the usual sense, the movie progresses with growing emotional force from the separation into the bitter fighting between Joan and Bernard and the hapless, floundering behaviour of Walt and Frank, who act out through plagiarism, sexual acts and drinking.

Some viewers may find the ending too diffuse; others will appreciate that writer/director Noah Baumbach (Mr. Jealousy) doesn't wrap up the messiness of life in a false cinematic package. Either way, viewers will appreciate how the specificity of the personalities makes The Squid and the Whale so compelling, as Baumbach has drawn the characters with such detail, both engaging and off-putting, that they leap off the screen. Naturally, he's greatly helped by the cast: Linney, Eisenberg, Kline and especially Daniels bite into these often unsympathetic portraits and give fearlessly honest performances, interlocked in both painful and funny ways—rarely have family dynamics been captured so vividly. If there was an ensemble Oscar, this cast would deserve it. —Bret Fetzer

Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Ridley Scott Thelma and Louise is as extraordinary and admirable a film in retrospect as it was when it was first shown. Nothing has dated about its tale of two waitresses who decide that being outlaws and eventual death on their own terms is better than putting up with any more nonsense from husbands, boyfriends, rapists and offensive strangers.

Ridley Scott's direction is almost impeccable; Callie Khourie's script is intelligent, without being patronising, about the lives of blue-collar women; and the central performances from Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon are finely judged in the way they show hidden capacities in two ordinary people gradually opening up. The secondary performances are remarkable as well, most notably Harvey Keitel as the policeman with a heart who tries and fails to save them, and Brad Pitt as the beautiful boy whose casual thievishness dooms them even further.

On the DVD: Thelma and Louise comes to DVD in its original widescreen ratio of 2.35:1 and with high quality Dolby 5.1 sound that brings out fine details of the Country score and the atmospheric noises of fast cars and lonely places. This special edition also comes with two commentaries, one in which Ridley Scott discusses his conception of the film in painstaking detail, and a delightful one in which Khourie, Davis and Sarandon charmingly bitch their way through the whole film. There is more of this in the excellent making-of documentary, "The Last Journey", which includes a subtly different alternate ending, as well as a comprehensive set of deleted scenes, notably a more tender alternate version of the Davis/Pitt love scene. —Roz Kaveney

Rob Reiner The comedic genius of This Is Spinal Tapis confirmed by the fact that a majority of studio executives were utterly clueless about its brilliance. As a first-time director and cowriter, Rob Reiner must have felt simultaneously frustrated and elated, knowing that the obtuseness of movie executives was a clue to his debut project's potential greatness. Now, of course, the clarity of hindsight and the rarity of superior satire have turned This Is Spinal Tapinto one of the funniest documentary spoofs of all time. Reiner and the members of "Tap" (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer) couldn't have picked a better target for their satire, because heavy metal music in the early 1980s was already a borderline case of self-parody. From the bizarre, premature deaths of the band's drummers to the backstage squabbles over sexist cover art and meddling groupies, this movie scores about a hundred comedic bull's-eyes for lampooning every possible aspect of rock pomposity in the age of Kiss. It's a virtual bible of rock & roll irreverence, so accurate in its observations that it's become a tour-bus classic for real bands around the world. On the one-to-ten scale of satirical inspiration, This Is Spinal Tapis like the modified amplifiers that Christopher Guest so hilariously demonstrates: this one goes to 11. —Jeff Shannon

Tim Burton Mike Johnson Who else but Tim Burton could make Corpse Bride, a necrophiliac's delight that's fun for the whole family? Returning to the richly imaginative realm of stop-motion animation—after previous successes with The Nightmare Before Christmasand James and the Giant Peach, Burton, with codirector Mike Johnson, invites us to visit the dour, ashen, and drearily Victorian mansions of the living, where young Victor Van Dort, voiced by Johnny Depp, is bequeathed to wed the lovely Victoria.

But the wedding rehearsal goes sour and, in the kind of Goth-eerie forest that only exists in Burton-land, Victor suddenly finds himself accidentally married to the Corpse Bride, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter, a blue-tinted, half-skeletal beauty with a loquacious maggot installed behind one prone-to-popping eyeball.

This being a Burton creation, the underworld of the dead is a lively and colorful place indeed, and Danny Elfman's songs and score make it even livelier, presenting Victor with quite a dilemma: Should he return above-ground to Victoria, or remain devoted to his corpse bride? At a brisk 76 minutes, Burton's graveyard whimsy never wears out its welcome, and the voice casting is superbly matched the film's gloriously amusing character design, guaranteed to yield a wealth of gruesome toys and action figures for many Halloweens to come. —Jeff Shannon

Simon Wells Reinterpreting HG Wells'The Time Machine, one of the most well-loved science fiction classics both as a book and in its 1960 film incarnation, was always going to risk critical condemnation. Yet despite all the problems experienced in making the film (reshoots, September 11 comparison fears, Guy Pearce breaking a rib), this new Time Machineis still great fun. Critics and naysayers may point at the obvious timeline gaffes, the lazy groundlaying for a sequel, or even the radical departure from Wells' scenario, but the film is still gorgeous to look at and imbued with a sense of carefree adventure. Pearce plays Professor Hartdegen with just the right touch of distraction turning into passionate resolve. The secondary cast all manage to make something of their brief on-screen appearances, too, notably Mark Addy as faithful friend Philby, Samantha Mumba as Morlock babe Mara and Jeremy Irons making more of his shadowy baddie than might be thought likely. The film's chief accomplishment is that it in no way supersedes the George Pal version. If anything, it enriches the spirit of fun it has happily inherited.

On the DVD:The Time Machine2002 incarnation has picture (2.35:1) and sound (Dolby 5.1) that are as pristine as you'd expect from so recent a digital FX extravaganza. In the extras department there's plenty to keep you busy: a gallery of production drawings, an action sequence animatic, three trailers, four mini-documentaries on stunts, FX, Morlocks and building the Time Machine. The only thing missing is anything acknowledging the 1960 version or the link with director Simon Wells (the author's great-grandson). Wells joins editor Wayne Wahrman for one commentary track dealing with the broad strokes of conceptualisation and changes along the way. Commentary two is from the Designer, FX Supervisor and Producer, so is naturally more technically focused. —Paul Tonks

Don Bluth Art Vitello Gary Goldman A visual knockout, Titan A.E.is an ambitious animated feature that combines traditional animation, computer-generated imagery and special effects in the service of a science fiction adventure plotted with narrative conventions familiar from Star Warsand Star Trek. Credit directors Don Bluth (An American Tail, The Secret of NIMH, Anastasia) and Gary Goldman with crafting a vivid, convincing look to this deep space saga, which conjures some stunning images: a tense opening sequence climaxing in the destruction of Earth; a watery planet where delicate but deadly hydrogen trees float; joyriding in a starship while pursued by playful "space angels"; and a nerve-wracking journey through a lethal maze of massive ice crystals each qualify as mesmerising sequences in any film context.

What's visually stunning proves intermittently stunted on the narrative front, however. Orphaned when the evil Drej atomise Earth, protagonist Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) must journey across space to unlock the mystery of his late father's final project, the Titan spacecraft, in a test of faith and filial identity that echoes Star Wars. The Titan itself ultimately poses a cosmic potential familiar to admirers of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Comical sidekicks (Nathan Lane, Janeane Garofalo, John Leguizamo), a sultry love interest (Drew Barrymore) and a roguish mentor (Bill Pullman) all verge on the generic, narrowly redeemed by dialogue from a writing team including Buffy the Vampire Slayer-creator Joss Whedon.

It's likely that Titan's target audience of young males prompted the filmmakers to walk a tightrope between softer family features and more violent, hard-edged anime. Although it's brief bloodshed and coy nudity stops short of more adult terrain, younger viewers might be unsettled by the violence. Young teens will find the proceedings tamer than the video games and anime fantasies that have influenced it. —Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com

John Hays Brad Rader Eric Radomski Thomas A. Nelson Chuck Patton

Jennifer Yuh

Paul Verhoeven Total Recall, director Paul Verhoeven's mega-budget sci-fi action blockbuster from 1990, began its production life as a very different movie. An adaptation of the Philip K. Dick short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale", it was originally conceived of with Richard Dreyfuss starring as a Walter-Mitty-like character who experiences a variety of artificially induced fantasies. But with Arnold Schwarzenegger on board, the final version took a rather different direction. The Austrian Oak plays a normal working man who discovers his entire reality has been invented to conceal a scheme for planetary domination on Mars. Oscar-winning special effects and violent action propel the twisting plot, in which Arnold manipulates his manipulators in a world of dazzling high technology. Verhoeven (Robocop, Starship Troopers) indulges his usual penchant for gratuitous bloodshed, but the movie has enough cleverness to rise above its excesses. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Not many extras, but excellent picture and sound. The reds of Mars are a terrific way of testing your television's colour definition in this digital transfer. Combine that with testing your speakers in the opening scene to Jerry Goldsmith's pounding score boosted to Dolby 5.1, and what an ideal home cinema demo disc this is! Two trailers show the way a film should and shouldn't be advertised, since the teaser gives nothing away but the main advert tells you everything. A seven-minute behind the scenes featurette with cast interviews and on-set action rounds out the extras package. —Paul Tonks

Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Danny Boyle The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed with abandon by Danny Boyle, Trainspotting conspires to be at once a hip youth flick and a grim cautionary fable. Released on an unsuspecting public in 1996, the picture struck a chord with audiences worldwide and became adopted as an instant symbol of a booming British rave culture (an irony, given the characters' main drug of choice is heroin not ecstasy).

McGregor, Lee Miller and Ewen Bremner play a slouching trio of Scottish junkies; Carlyle their narcotic-eschewing but hard-drinking and generally psychotic mate Begbie. In Boyle's hands, their lives unfold in a rush of euphoric highs, blow-out overdoses and agonising withdrawals (all cued to a vogueish pop soundtrack). Throughout it all, John Hodge's screenplay strikes a delicate balance between acknowledging the inherent pleasures of drug use and spotlighting its eventual consequences. In Trainspotting's world view, it all comes down to a question of choices—between the dangerous Day-Glo highs of the addict and the grey, grinding consumerism of the everyday Joe. "Choose life", quips the film's narrator (McGregor) in a monologue that was to become a mantra. "Choose a job, choose a starter home... But why would anyone want to do a thing like that?" Ultimately, Trainspotting's wised-up, dead-beat inhabitants reject mainstream society in favour of a headlong rush to destruction. It makes for an exhilarating, energised and frequently terrifying trip that blazes with more energy and passion than a thousand more ostensibly life-embracing movies. —Xan Brooks

Michael Bay How do you like your blockbuster movies? If the answer's loud, fast and full of big robots fighting, then you're well and truly in luck. For director Michael Bay's take on Transformers, based on the toys of the same name, delivers just that. And with some style.

The film stars the fast-rising Shia LaBeouf (Disturbia) as Sam, who discovers that his first car has a little more to it when it transforms into an Autobot robot called Bumblebee. Fortunately, the Autobots are the good guys, and following not far behind are a good number more, headed up by Optimus Prime. Against them are the less friendly Decepticons, with Megatron at the helm, and the two sides are set for a frenetic battle right in the middle of Planet Earth.

There's a plot sitting underneath all of this, but it's pretty much given with the Transformersmovie that it's just a vehicle to get the film from one set piece to another. And there's little denying that the action sequences are spectacular. Boasting quite staggering special effects, the on-screen action moves with a pace and ferocity that sometimes makes it hard just to keep up with it all, as mighty robots engage is some quite staggering fights. It's quite an achievement.

Paving the way for an already-in-production sequel, Transformershas little pretensions about what it's going to do, and is all the better for it. This is a film about big robots, big fights, big effects and, ultimately, big, dumb grin-inducing fun. What, really, is there not to like? —Jon Foster

Anna Paquin Alan Ball’s True Blood series works well for television, as it has enough sensationalism to tantalise and enough story girth to make the viewer care about the characters. That one can finally invest emotion into monsters, including an undead Civil War victim, a transformer who can shapeshift into various animals, and a female mind reader, speaks volumes about America’s willingness to accept fantasy. Of course, television has always produced good fantasy shows (I Dream of Jeannie), but True Blood’s Southern Goth brand of fun horror is more macabre and more perverse, not to mention gorier, than most shows of its kind to date. Adapted from Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, True Blood thrills because of its equal blend in each episode of erotica, humour, tragedy, mystery, and fantasy.

Set in a rural, swampy Louisiana parish, the show centers around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and her clan, sweet grandmother Adele (Lois Smith) and air-headed brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten). Illicit love is spawned early on, when Sookie saves vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) from having his blood stolen in the parking lot of Merlotte’s diner, owned by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) who completes what will form a complex love triangle. As tensions between Sookie’s suitors loosen or tighten, many side plots, such as her African American best friend Tara’s (Rutina Wesley) struggle with an alcoholic, Bible-thumping mother and her brother’s dangerous crush on drug-addicted hippie Amy Burley (Lizzy Caplan), keep one wondering who will succeed in this podunk place. The main tension throughout, however, is a race war waged between vampires and humans. As murders of “fang bangers” occur (human girls who let vampires bite them) and dumb policeman Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) fails to find clues, one sees the metaphorical implications of vampirism and feels deeper resonance with what can be a downright trashy show. Gossip galore, especially about what kinds of babies interbreeding will produce, is rampant. One of the funniest characters is Tara’s flamboyant cousin, Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), who deals drugs, works as a fry cook, and services the local white politicians, while making sure he’s always up in everyone’s business.

What makes True Blood smarter than pure soap opera is the parallels it draws between its monster mash and actual, familiar social problems. Sookie and her friends watch the news where Evangelicals bash vampires and prohibit mixed marriage and everyone is addicted to V, a.k.a vampire blood, that effects like psychedelic heroin. Even its gore reflects a mix of serious and silly, as vampires explode into red, sticky goop. Though it may not be attempting to qualify for the best vampire footage ever shot, True Blood is as addictive as that substance the town’s youth obsesses over, which is a metaphor in itself. —Trinie Dalton

Dome Karukoski Finland released, PAL/Region 2 DVD:LANGUAGES: Finnish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ),English ( Subtitles ),Finnish ( Subtitles ),Swedish ( Subtitles ),ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Biographies, Commentary, Featurette, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s),SYNOPSIS: Juhani, 14 years old, is haunted and oppressed by a traumatic childhood experience. After being bounced between foster homes and temporary families for six years, Juhani ends up in a Boys' Home, The Island. The place is run under the laws and regulations of the superintendent, Olavi Harjula, who is ruthless in his administration. Besides the seven boys and Harjula, the only other inhabitants of the Island are the superintendent's wife Irene and their two daughters, along with Tyyne, who's in charge of the livestock and the catering. The isolated community is a world of its own.

In Unbreakable, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan reunites with Sixth Sensestar Bruce Willis, comes up with another story of everyday folk baffled by the supernatural (or at least unknown-to-science) and returns to his home town, presenting Philadelphia as a wintry haunt of the bizarre yet transcendent. This time around, Willis (in earnest, agonised, frankly bald Twelve Monkeysmode) has the paranormal abilities, and a superbly un-typecast Samuel L. Jackson is the investigator who digs into someone else's strange life to prompt startling revelations about his own. David Dunn (Willis), an ex-jock security guard with a failing marriage (to Robin Wright Penn), is the stunned sole survivor of a train derailment. Approached by Elijah Price (Jackson), a dealer in comic book art who suffers from a rare brittle bone syndrome, Dunn comes to wonder whether Price's theory that he has superhuman abilities might not hold water. Dunn's young son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark) encourages him to test his powers and the primal scene of Superman bouncing a bullet off his chest is rewritten as an amazing kitchen confrontation when Joseph pulls the family gun on Dad in a desperate attempt to convince him that he really is unbreakable (surely, "Invulnerable" would have been a more apt title). Half-convinced he is the real-world equivalent of a superhero, Dunn commences a never-ending battle against crime but learns a hard lesson about balancing forces in the universe.

Throughout, the film refers to comic-book imagery—with Dunn's security guard slicker coming to look like a cape, and Price's gallery taking on elements of a Batcave-like lair—while the lectures on artwork and symbolism feed back into the plot. The last act offers a terrific suspense-thriller scene, which (like the similar family-saving at the end of The Sixth Sense) is a self-contained sub-plot that slingshots a twist ending that may have been obvious all along. Some viewers might find the stately solemnity with which Shyamalan approaches a subject usually treated with colourful silliness offputting, but Unbreakablewins points for not playing safe and proves that both Willis and Jackson, too often cast in lazy blockbusters, have the acting chops to enter the heart of darkness. —Kim Newman

Len Wiseman Underworldis a hybrid thriller that rewrites the rulebook on werewolves and vampires—imagine Blademeets The Crowand The Matrix. It's a "cuisinart" movie (blend a lot of familiar ideas and hope something interesting happens) in which immortal vampire "death dealers" wage an ancient war against "Lycans" (werewolves), who've got centuries of revenge—and some rather ambitious genetic experiments—on their lycanthropic agenda. Given his preoccupation with gloomy architecture (mostly filmed in Budapest, Hungary), frenetic mayhem and Gothic costuming, it's no surprise that first-time director Len Wiseman gained experience in TV commercials and the art departments of Godzilla, Men in Blackand Independence Day. His work is all surface, no substance, filled with derivative, grand-scale action as conflicted vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale, who later became engaged to Wiseman) struggles to rescue an ill-fated human (Scott Speedman) from Lycan transformation. It's great looking all the way, and a guaranteed treat for horror buffs, who will eagerly dissect its many strengths and weaknesses. —Jeff Shannon

Len Wiseman Underworldis a hybrid thriller that rewrites the rulebook on werewolves and vampires—imagine Blademeets The Crowand The Matrix. It's a "cuisinart" movie—blend a lot of familiar ideas and hope something interesting happens—in which immortal vampire "death dealers" wage an ancient war against "Lycans", who've got centuries of revenge—and some rather ambitious genetic experiments—on their lycanthropic agenda.

Given his preoccupation with gloomy architecture, frenetic mayhem and Gothic costuming, it's no surprise that first-time director Len Wiseman gained experience in TV commercials and the art departments of Godzilla, Men in Blackand Independence Day. His work is all surface, no substance, filled with derivative, grand-scale action as conflicted vampire Selene struggles to rescue an ill-fated human from Lycan transformation. It's great looking all the way, and a guaranteed treat for horror buffs, who will eagerly dissect its many strengths and weaknesses. —Jeff Shannon

Len Wiseman Better action, a bit of sex, and gorier R-rated violence make Underworld: Evolution a reasonably satisfying sequel to 2003's surprise hit Underworld. Looking stunning as ever in her black leather battle gear, Kate Beckinsale is every goth guy's fantasy as Selene, the vampire "death dealer" who's now fighting to stop the release of the original "Lycan" werewolf, William (Brian Steele) from the prison that's held him for centuries. As we learn from the film's action-packed prologue, William and his brother Marcus (Tony Curran) began the bloodline of vampires and werewolves, and after witnessing centuries of warfare between them, their immortal father Corvinus (Derek Jacobi) now seeks Selene and the human vampire/lycan hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) to put an end to the war perpetuated by Victor (Bill Nighy), the vampire warrior whose betrayal of Selene turns Underworld: Evolution into an epic tale of familial revenge. This ambitious attempt at Shakespearean horror is compromised by a script (by Danny McBride and returning director Len Wiseman, Beckinsale's real-life husband) that's more confusing than it needs to be, with too many characters and not enough storytelling detail to flesh them all out. Aspiring to greatness and falling well short of that goal, Underworld: Evolution succeeds instead as a full-throttle action/horror thriller, with enough swordplay, gunplay, and CGI monsters to justify the continuation of the Underworld franchise. If you're an established fan, this is a must-see movie; if not, well... at least it's better than Van Helsing! —Jeff Shannon

Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Len Wiseman Better action, a bit of sex, and gorier R-rated violence make Underworld: Evolution a reasonably satisfying sequel to 2003's surprise hit Underworld. Looking stunning as ever in her black leather battle gear, Kate Beckinsale is every goth guy's fantasy as Selene, the vampire "death dealer" who's now fighting to stop the release of the original "Lycan" werewolf, William (Brian Steele) from the prison that's held him for centuries. As we learn from the film's action-packed prologue, William and his brother Marcus (Tony Curran) began the bloodline of vampires and werewolves, and after witnessing centuries of warfare between them, their immortal father Corvinus (Derek Jacobi) now seeks Selene and the human vampire/lycan hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) to put an end to the war perpetuated by Victor (Bill Nighy), the vampire warrior whose betrayal of Selene turns Underworld: Evolution into an epic tale of familial revenge. This ambitious attempt at Shakespearean horror is compromised by a script (by Danny McBride and returning director Len Wiseman, Beckinsale's real-life husband) that's more confusing than it needs to be, with too many characters and not enough storytelling detail to flesh them all out. Aspiring to greatness and falling well short of that goal, Underworld: Evolution succeeds instead as a full-throttle action/horror thriller, with enough swordplay, gunplay, and CGI monsters to justify the continuation of the Underworld franchise. If you're an established fan, this is a must-see movie; if not, well... at least it's better than Van Helsing! —Jeff Shannon

Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Boaz Yakin

Stephen Sommers

M. Night Shyamalan Even when his trademark twist-ending formula wears worrisomely thin as it does in The Village, M. Night Shyamalan is a true showman who knows how to serve up a spookfest. He's derailed this time by a howler of a "surprise" lifted almost directly from "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim," an episode of The Twilight Zone starring Cliff Robertson that originally aired in 1961. Even if you're unfamiliar with that Rod Serling scenario, you'll have a good chance of guessing the surprise, which ranks well below The Sixth Sense and Signs on Shyamalan's shock-o-meter. That leaves you to appreciate Shyamalan's proven strengths, including a sharp eye for fear-laden compositions, a general sense of unease, delicate handling of fine actors (alas, most of them wasted here, save for Bryce Dallas Howard in a promising debut), and the cautious concealment of his ruse, which in this case involves a 19th-century village that maintains an anxious truce with dreadful creatures that live in the forbidden woods nearby. Will any of this take anyone by genuine surprise? That seems unlikely, since Emperor Shyamalan has clearly lost his clothes in The Village, but it's nice to have him around to scare us, even if he doesn't always succeed. —Jeff Shannon

Michael D. Sellers

Wasp Track Listing of concert filmed at Key Club in Los Angeles, California, 22nd April 2000:

Helldorado
Inside the Electric Circus
Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)
Wild Child
L.O.V.E. Machine
Animal (F*** Like A Beast)
Sleeping in the Fire
Damnation Angels
Dirty Balls
The Real Me
I Wanna Be Somebody
Blind in Texas

Steven Spielberg Despite super effects, a huge budget, and the cinematic pedigree of alien-happy Steven Spielberg, this take on H.G. Wells's novel is basically a horror film packaged as a sci-fi thrill ride. Instead of a mad slasher, however, Spielberg (along with writers Josh Friedman & David Koepp) utilizes aliens hell-bent on quickly destroying humanity, and the terrifying results that prey upon adult fears, especially in the post-9/11 world. The realistic results could be a new genre, the grim popcorn thriller; often you feel like you're watching Schindler's List more than Spielberg's other thrill-machine movies (such as Jaws or Jurassic Park). The film centers on Ray Ferrier, a divorced father (Tom Cruise, oh so comfortable) who witnesses one giant craft destroy his New Jersey town and soon is on the road with his teen son (Justin Chatwin) and preteen daughter (Dakota Fanning) in tow, trying to keep ahead of the invasion. The film is, of course, impeccably designed and produced by Spielberg's usual crew of A-class talent. The aliens are genuinely scary, even when the film—like the novel—spends a good chunk of time in a basement. Readers of the book (or viewers of the deft 1953 adaptation) will note the variation of whom and how the aliens come to Earth, which poses some logistical problems. The film opens and closes with narration from the novel read by Morgan Freeman, but Spielberg could have adapted Orson Welles's words from the famous Halloween Eve 1938 radio broadcast: "We couldn't soap all your windows and steal all your garden gates by tomorrow night, so we did the best next thing: we annihilated the world." —Doug Thomas, Amazon.com

David Dobkin The surprise comedy smash of 2005, Wedding Crashershas a resolutely simple set up. You take Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, cast them as a pair of thirtysomethings who spend their weekends gatecrashing weddings, and put them in search of female company while they're there. The clue really is in the title.

Yet there are several elements that make the film a little bit special. First and foremost, there's the cast. Vaughn and Wilson are clearly having a whale of a time here, and it's on screen for all to see. Even in the moments where the script doesn't quite measure up, the duo have the energy and presence to keep the film ticking over. It's great too to see them backed up well by the likes of Jane Seymour and Christopher Walken, both of whom are on fine form here.

The film is also not shy of significant belly laughs, with plenty of comedic moments of note to enjoy. Granted, you'd be hard-pushed to call it high brow comedy, but that's missing the point. Wedding Crashersis an accessible, highly entertaining way to spend a couple of hours, and has no pretensions otherwise. And that's its strength. In short, good, funny, energetic entertainment, and it's got healthy rewatch potential too.—Simon Brew

Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, David Dobkin The surprise comedy smash of 2005, Wedding Crashers has a resolutely simple set up. You take Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, cast them as a pair of thirtysomethings who spend their weekends gatecrashing weddings, and put them in search of female company while they’re there. The clue really is in the title.

Yet there are several elements that make the film a little bit special. First and foremost, there’s the cast. Vaughn and Wilson are clearly having a whale of a time here, and it’s on screen for all to see. Even in the moments where the script doesn’t quite measure up, the duo have the energy and presence to keep the film ticking over. It’s great too to see them backed up well by the likes of Jane Seymour and Christopher Walken, both of whom are on fine form here.

The film is also not shy of significant belly laughs, with plenty of comedic moments of note to enjoy. Granted, you’d be hard-pushed to call it high brow comedy, but that’s missing the point. Wedding Crashers is an accessible, highly entertaining way to spend a couple of hours, and has no pretensions otherwise. And that’s its strength. In short, good, funny, energetic entertainment, and it’s got healthy rewatch potential too.—Simon Brew

Wes Craven

Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Nancy Meyers

Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Lasse Hallstrom

Masterplan 4250079731831, Recorded: 1984, Released: 2007.

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Chris Carter The feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a satisfying if unspectacular installment in the X-Files series, taking place an unspecified time after the show's nine-year television run. Former agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is now a doctor, while Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is being hunted by his former agency and living in seclusion. He and Scully are summoned back by a case involving a missing agent and a former priest (Billy Connolly) who claims to be able to see clues to the agent's whereabouts psychically, though his initial search turns up only a severed limb.

Don't expect the usual cast of characters; the FBI has completely turned over (except for the George W. Bush portrait), and the only reason Scully and Mulder are back is because agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) remembers his success on similar cases involving the inexplicable. Don't expect the same rogues' gallery either; unlike the previous X-Files feature film, which was inextricably linked to the series' convoluted mythology arc (and served as a bridge between the fifth and sixth seasons), I Want to Believe is a stand-alone piece that makes use of the series' roots in horror/sci-fi and moody Vancouver, B.C., locales. Also unlike the previous film, which was almost self-consciously shot for the big screen, this film is on a smaller scale, like a double-length episode of the series. But it's still a good reminder of the creepy vibe that hooked fans for years. And the relationship between Mulder and Scully? It seems to have resumed pretty much where it left off, at least when you take into account the long period of separation. But stick around for the end-credit sequence to take in all the possibilities for the future. —David Horiuchi, Amazon.com

Robert Mandel This release consists of two episodes—"This is Not Happening" and "Deadalive"—of the eighth series of The X-Files spliced together into a feature-length story. With David Duchovny contracted only to do a certain percentage of shows this year, Robert Patrick was brought in as Agent John Doggett, partnering Gillian Anderson's Agent Scully while Duchovny's Mulder is off being tortured by alien-abductors in what looks like an industrial dentist's chair. This story comes about two-thirds of the way through the arc and sets up Duchovny's return to the show—though he literally has to die and come back to get back on the case. It's an unfortunate paradox that most X-Files stand-alone releases concentrate on the dreary alien-abduction/conspiracy episodes which carry the greater storyline of the show, giving the misleading impression that the series is a drearily solemn, badly plotted, straight-faced but stupid sci-fi soap opera. Always skipped over are the far more interesting, entertaining and impressive stand-alone supernatural mysteries or strange comic exercises. Though Duchovny is mostly lying in a hospital bed with oatmeal all over his face, Anderson—whose character is pregnant this series, another dull sub-plot—still gives an amazingly committed performance and gets terrific support from Patrick, whose character has shaken up a lot of what was settled or stale about the show, and the always-underrated Mitch Pileggi as Assistant Director Skinner. The story features several wild-eyed UFO guru types (including Roy Thinnes, once star of The Invaders) and returned abductees transformed into un-killable alien zombies. It's as well made as ever, with ominous shadows and the odd smart line, but you need to have been paying very close attention for seven years to understand what's going on. With Duchovny a potential escapee and Anderson perhaps in line to follow, this episode brings on the excellent Annabeth Gish as Agent Monica Reyes, a specialist in bizarre rituals, who is being effectively set up to partner Patrick in a post-Mulder-and-Scully X-Files that might well keep the franchise going on forever Star Trek-fashion. —Kim Newman

Robert Mandel It has become traditional for The X-Files to kick off each new season with a humourless conspiracy two-parter, and Season 9 is no exception: in The X Files: Nothing Important Happened Today David Duchovny's Mulder is gone, along with everything in his apartment, and Gillian Anderson's Scully is mostly at home with her perhaps-telekinetic baby, which leaves the bulk of the investigation to promising new characters Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Reyes (Annabeth Gish).

The A-plot features Lucy Lawless as a water-breathing terminatrix who could be an alien, a government experiment or a mermaid without it making any difference, but too much time is spent on impossible-to-follow subplots about internal FBI politics and everyone's intricate backstory (if ever a release needed a "previously..." prologue, this is it). Usually, the series gets over these heart-sinking openers and livens up a bit, but this time there's a feeling that this is the end of the line for a thoroughly battered premise.

Chris Carter joins Gene Roddenberry in the exclusive category of producer-creators who turn in the worst scripts for their own shows, and all the strengths of The X-Files (shivers, wit, provocative ideas) are missing in action here as the engine grinds on empty.

On the DVD: The X-Files: Nothing Important Happened Today on disc arrives with two three-minute filler featurettes, focusing on Gish's character and the making of this show. The good news is that this anamorphic widescreen release is the best The X-Files has ever looked in a television format, showing that however dramatically exhausted it might be, the show remains technically impressive. —Kim Newman

Robert Mandel As with earlier releases, The X-Files: Providence splices together two episodes, "Provenance" and "Providence", into a pseudo-movie. Again, the results fall way below the series average as the long-dead alien conspiracy business is flogged, with a lot of running around and ominous rumbling still not adding up to anything like an actual story. FBI agent Neal McDonaugh (of Minority Report) inexplicably survives a flaming motorcycle crash, leaving behind brass rubbings taken from an alien spaceship, then shows up and tries to murder Scully's psychokinetic baby, who is promptly kidnapped by a UFO cult.

In Part 2, Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Reyes (Annabeth Gish) fend off enemies and friends within the bureau as they track down the cultists, who are having trouble with a spaceship they've dug up, and a typical pointless climax has things happen without the characters doing anything to contribute. Even at this late, post-Duchovny stage in the game, The X-Files has turned out some fine stand-alone episodes, but these dreary wallowings go a long way towards explaining why only diehards are still watching. After the child says "I made this" at the end of the credits, it's becoming very hard not to shout "well, clean it up then".

On the DVD: The X-Files: Providence, as with Nothing Important Happened Today, arrives in a great-looking anamorphic widescreen transfer. There are two slight promotional "featurettes"—three-minute clips/talking heads promos focusing on the episode "Providence" and actor Cary Elwes' character. —Kim Newman

Robert Mandel In the first season of The X Files, creator Chris Carter was uncertain of the series' future, so each of the episodes is a self-contained suspense story; they do not delve deep into the ongoing X Files mythology or turn to self-parody and humour as do episodes in later seasons. Yet, these episodes display the elements for which the show would become famous: the cinematic production values and top-notch special effects, the stark lighting of the Vancouver sets, the atmospheric halo of Mark Snow's score, and the clever plots dealing with subjects ranging from the occult, religion, and monsters to urban legends, conspiracy theories and science fiction. Most importantly, Season 1 introduces FBI agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox "Spooky" Mulder (David Duchovny), two of the most attractive government officials around. Scully is the serious-minded medical scientist assigned to join Mulder on the X Files, a division of the FBI dealing with the paranormal. Mulder is the intuitive thinker with a dry wit, a passionate believer in the existence of paranormal phenomena and one of the few characters on television smart enough to figure out who the bad guy is before the audience does. Their muddled relationship, a deep friendship laced with sexual tension, provides the human heart in a world where the bizarre and horrible lurk in everyday society.

The materials on the bonus disc provide some interesting trivia and background, but it is the 24 episodes themselves that make this seven-disc boxed set a true find. Those unfamiliar with The X Files often view all the fuss with the same scepticism with which Scully first regards her new partner's ideas. But just as she comes to realise the uncanny accuracy of Mulder's outlandish theories, newcomers to The X Files who sample a few episodes in this boxed set will likely find themselves riveted to their television late into the night. And undoubtedly, the shadows and creaking noises in the house that evening will seem more menacing than usual. —Eugene Wei, Amazon.com

Robert Mandel Season Two, the 1994-95 run, of The X Files was the one where creator Chris Carter, having had a surprise hit when he expected a one-season wonder, started trying to make sense of all the storylines he had thrown into the pile in the first year. Moreover, he had to cope with Gillian Anderson's maternity leave by having Scully get abducted by aliens (back then, a pretty fresh device) for a few episodes and come back strangely altered. The season also inaugurated the tradition of opening ("Little Green Men") and closing ("Anasazi") with the show's worst episodes, both pot-boiling attempts to keep the alien infiltration/government conspiracy balls up in the air while seeming to offer narrative forward-thrusts or revelations.

But it's also a show noticeably surer of itself than Season One, with its stars reading from the same page in terms of their characters' relationship and attitudes to the wondrous. Scully's no-longer-workable scepticism finally starts to erode in the face of Mulder's increasingly cracked belief. There are fewer marking-time leftover-monster-of-the-week shows—although we do get a human fluke ("The Host"), vampires ("3"), an invisible rapist ("Excelsius Dei") voodoo ("Fresh Bones")—and the flying-saucer stories at last seem to be going somewhere. The powerful two-episode run ("Duane Barry", "Ascension") features Steve Railsback as Mulder's possible future, an FBI agent burned out after a UFO abduction who has become a hostage-taking terrorist, which climaxes with Scully's disappearance into the light. The standout episode is also a stand-alone—"Humbug"—the first and still most successful of the show's self-parodies (written by Darin Morgan, who had played the Flukeman in "The Host"), in which the agents investigate a murder in a circus freakshow, allowing the actors to make fun of the mannerisms they have earnestly built up in a run of solemn, even somnolent, explorations of the murk. Other worthy efforts: "Aubrey", about genetic memory; "Irresistible", a rare (and creepy) straight psycho-chiller with little paranormal content; and "The Calusari", a good ghost/mystery. Rising deputy characters include Nicholas Lea as the perfidious Krycek and Brian Thompson as the shapeshifting alien bounty hunters. Notable guest stars: Charles Martin Smith, C.C.H. Pounder, Leland Orser, Terry O'Quinn, Bruce Weitz, Daniel Benzali, John Savage, Vincent Schiavelli, Tony Shalhoub. —Kim Newman

On the DVD: The individual episode discs have a small selection of deleted scenes, foreign language clips and behind-the-scenes footage, but the bulk of the extra material is on the final disc. There's not a lot to get to grips with, but what there is consists of a 14-minute documentary about the making of Season Two, with contributions from Chris Carter, various directors, writers and actors (but not the two principals); Carter talking briefly about each episode in turn; a series of short TV spots and pieces about the show's FX and secondary characters; and three very short behind-the-scenes glimpses, one of which has the self-explanatory title "Gillian eats a cricket". There's also a DVD-ROM utility with Web links and a game. —Mark Walker

Robert Mandel Focused lightning bolts, stigmata, possession, and ancient curses become secondary in Season 3 of The X-Files as more episodes are devoted to pursuing the increasingly complex story threads. "The Blessing Way" is an explosive start, introducing the Syndicate's well-manicured man (John Neville), while Scully's sister Melissa is shot and Mulder experiences Twin-Peaks-like prophetic visions. We learn of medical records of millions, including Scully, who have been experimented upon ("Paper Clip"): the fast-paced train-bound two-parter "Nisei" and "731" suggests the experiments are about alien hybridisation. Krycek turns out to be hosting an alien in the next double-act, "Piper Maru" and "Apocrypha", in which Skinner is shot by Melissa's killer. Two great one-offs outside the arc are "Clyde Bruckman's "Final Repose", a bittersweet tale of foreseeing death (featuring an Emmy-winning performance from Peter Boyle) and Jose Chung's " From Outer Space", a spoof of alien conspiracy theories through an author's investigations into abductees. —Paul Tonks

Robert Mandel In Season 4 of The X-Files, Scully is a bit upset by her on-off terminal cancer and Mulder is supposed to shoot himself in the season finale (did anyone believe that?), but in episode after episode the characters still plod dutifully around atrocity sites tossing off wry witticisms in that bland investigative demeanour out of fashion among TV cops since Dragnet. Perhaps the best achievement of this season is "Home", the most unpleasant horror story ever presented on prime-time US TV. It's not a comfortable show—confronted with this ghastly parade of incest, inbreeding, infanticide and mutilation, you'd think M & S would drop the jokes for once—but shows a willingness to expand the envelope. By contrast, ventures into golem, reincarnation, witchcraft and Invisible Man territory throw up run-of-the-mill body counts, spotlighting another recurrent problem. For heroes, M & S rarely do anything positive: they work out what is happening after all the killer's intended victims have been snuffed ("Kaddish"), let the monster get away ("Sanguinarium") and cause tragedies ("The Field Where I Died"). No wonder they're stuck in the FBI basement where they can do the least damage.

The series has settled enough to play variations on earlier hits: following the liver vampire, we have a melanin vampire ("Teliko") and a cancer vampire ("Leonard Betts"), and return engagements for the oily contact lens aliens and the weasely ex-Agent Krycek ("Tunguska"/"Terma"). Occasional detours into send-up or post-modernism are indulged, yielding both the season's best episode ("Small Potatoes") and its most disappointing ("Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man"). "Small Potatoes", with the mimic mutant who tries out Mulder's life and realises what a loser he is (how many other pin-up series heroes get answerphone messages from their favourite phone-sex lines?), works as a genuine sci-fi mystery—for once featuring a mutant who doesn't have to kill people to live—and as character insight. —Kim Newman

Robert Mandel The fifth season of The X-Files is the one in which the ongoing alien conspiracy arc really takes over, building towards box-office glory for the inevitable cinematic leap in The X-Files Movie (1998). The series opener "Redux" begins with Mulder having been framed for everything going. Scully finally sees a UFO ("The Red and the Black") before being presented with a potential daughter (the two-part "Christmas Carol" and "Emily"). By "The End", there's an enormous tangle of threads for the big-screen adaptation to unravel (or not, as it turned out). Cigarette Smoking Man is being hunted, playing every side against the middle, as well as chasing after information on Mulder's sister. Krycek is back, too, as is an old flame for Mulder in the shape of Agent Diana Fowley.

If that wasn't enough to goad viewers into the cinema, there was the Lone Gunmen's 1989-set back story ("Unusual Suspects", with Richard Belzer playing his Homicide: Life on the Streets character), a musical number in the black and white Frankenstein homage "Post Modern Prometheus", and scripts co-written by Stephen King ("Chinga"), William Gibson ("Kill Switch"), and even Darren McGavin (who had inspired the show as Kolchak: The Night Stalker) in "Travellers".

On the DVD: The X-Files, Season 5 extras include Chris Carter's commentary over "Post Modern Prometheus", which reveals the decision making behind shooting in black and white as well as the problems it caused. A second commentary is from writer/coproducer John Shiban on "Pine Bluff Variant", where he openly admits the influence of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Across the six discs (only 20 episodes because of the movie of course) you get credits for every episode, their TV promo spots, deleted and international versions of several scenes (some with commentary from Carter), and a couple of TV featurettes. The best of these is "The Truth About Season 5", talking to an excited Dean Haglund (Langly) amongst other crew members.—Paul Tonks

Robert Mandel The sixth series of The X-Files picks up after the events of the big-screen movie. So it is that "The Beginning" attempts to fit the film into the TV chronology before moving on to tackle plot points left dangling from series five's "The End" (note the guard asleep at the nuclear power plant console is named Homer!). Between story arc threads are several pleasing one-off excursions: time travel to a Bermuda Triangle boatload of Nazis ("Triangle"); further temporal escapades akin to Groundhog Day ("Monday"); a demonic baby case featuring genre stalwart Bruce Campbell ("Terms of Endearment"); and "The Dreamland, Parts 1 and 2", in which David Duchovny gets to play someone else via personality switching. Back in the conspiracy scheme of things, Mulder chases "S.R. 819", a Senate resolution tying conspiracies together; "Two Fathers" and "One Son" indicates that the abductee experiments are intended to cure the black oil disease; and the year finishes with "BioGenesis", in which a beach-buried UFO has Scully and the audience wondering if we are from Mars. —Paul Tonks

Robert Mandel As with earlier releases, The X-Files: Providence splices together two episodes, "Provenance" and "Providence", into a pseudo-movie. Again, the results fall way below the series average as the long-dead alien conspiracy business is flogged, with a lot of running around and ominous rumbling still not adding up to anything like an actual story. FBI agent Neal McDonaugh (of Minority Report) inexplicably survives a flaming motorcycle crash, leaving behind brass rubbings taken from an alien spaceship, then shows up and tries to murder Scully's psychokinetic baby, who is promptly kidnapped by a UFO cult.

In Part 2, Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Reyes (Annabeth Gish) fend off enemies and friends within the bureau as they track down the cultists, who are having trouble with a spaceship they've dug up, and a typical pointless climax has things happen without the characters doing anything to contribute. Even at this late, post-Duchovny stage in the game, The X-Files has turned out some fine stand-alone episodes, but these dreary wallowings go a long way towards explaining why only diehards are still watching. After the child says "I made this" at the end of the credits, it's becoming very hard not to shout "well, clean it up then".

On the DVD: The X-Files: Providence, as with Nothing Important Happened Today, arrives in a great-looking anamorphic widescreen transfer. There are two slight promotional "featurettes"—three-minute clips/talking heads promos focusing on the episode "Providence" and actor Cary Elwes' character. —Kim Newman

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson The eighth season of The X-Files will always be remembered as the year of brave decisions. David Duchovny's increasing dissatisfaction with the role meant he'd only appear in a few episodes. The solution? Enter Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick) who basically stole the show within his first two minutes of screen time (and watch out for several Terminator 2 in-jokes too!). Scully (Gillian Anderson) switched roles to being the believer alongside Doggett's skeptic in a year that was more reliant on the background story arc than ever before.

Her pregnancy remained at the foreground, while a more prominent Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) joined in a hunt for the abducted Mulder that drew upon the black oil, cloning, and bounty-hunting aspects of the convoluted alien conspiracy story. A distinct lack of guest stars or writers indicated maturity beyond the need for ratings stunts: dedicated fans were pleased to see sinister Krycek, the reliable Lone Gunmen, and the return of the show's very first abductee.

The real strengths of the season came from new characters, including alternative female role model Special Agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), and some terrific standalone episodes. Investigations covered a man going backward in time, deaths aboard an oil rig, a contagion in the Boston subway tunnels, and creatures resembling bats and slugs. Agent Leyla Harrison (named after an X-Files fan who died of cancer) got to ask all the petty questions regular viewers want to know themselves. With season 9 promised to be the last, this year was a remarkable achievement so late in a show's life.—Paul Tonks

Kim Manners The guest cast list for The X-Files: The Truth runs almost to the first commercial break, suggesting how many plot strands this season-and-series finale needs to make room for, with many old characters (including ghostly appearances for the dead ones) popping up. Mulder (David Duchovny), teasingly absent for the final season, is suddenly back, accused of murdering a super-soldier who isn't supposed to be able to die. He faces a military tribunal, defended by AD Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), as guest stars trot out testimony that fills the double-length episode with explanations recapping nine years of confusion as creator Chris Carter tries to spatchcock his impromptu conspiracy theories into a real plot. Last-season regulars Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish are shunted aside as Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder get to dodge a last-scene explosion and wind up in a pretty silly clinch-with-philosophy in the face of vaguely imminent apocalypse. Seriously, if the franchise is to continue on the big screen, how about ditching the embarrassing alien conspiracy mess and doing a monster story?

On the DVD: The X-Files: The Truth comes to disc with a lovely widescreen transfer, a 13-minute "Reflections on the Truth" featurette that, though it hits the self-congratulation button a couple too many times, has a little more meat than the puff pieces included on previous releases, and a bonus episode ("William") that is unfortunately another of the maudlin ones, this time resolving the plotline about Scully's super-baby. —Kim Newman

Rob Bowman The definitive American television series of the 1990s. The X-Files comes to the big screen with an anticlimactic whimper. And how could it be otherwise? Why should material so perfectly realised in one medium necessarily translate well into another? The series is crisply and thoughtfully executed in just about every detail, but the heart of its appeal lies in the elegant handling of complicated and evolving ongoing story lines, which is not something movies are especially good at. The big-screen drive for closure cramps the creative style, though it may also help nonfans get a grip on the proceedings. We do get some invigorating thrills and chills, however, and a more satisfying sense of the scale of an all-enveloping human-alien conspiracy than ever before, but there's no more plot development here than in an average two-part season-ending. FBI black sheep Mulder and Scully have been temporarily transferred from the X-Files project to an anti-terrorist unit to investigate an Oklahoma City-style bombing. They uncover a new wrinkle in the Syndicate/Cancer Man conspiracy—basically an attempt to help one bunch of (benign?) aliens fight off another bunch who want to colonise Earth. A spectacular, ice-bound finale thrillingly staged by series-veteran director Rob Bowman offers Mulder (but not a conveniently unconscious Scully) his first clear look at a You Know What, which in some quarters qualifies as an epochal event. Martin Landau offers the agents some crucial clues, and several familiar TV faces (including the Lone Gunmen and Mitch Pileggi's indispensable Assistant Director Skinner) turn up briefly to wink knowingly at faithful fans. —David Chute

Bryan Singer Although the superhero comic book has been a duopoly since the early 1960s, only DC's flagship characters, Superman and Batman (who originated in the late 1930s), have established themselves as big-screen franchises. Until now—this is the first runaway hit film version of the alternative superhero X-Men universe created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and others. It's a rare comic-book movie that doesn't fall over its cape introducing all the characters, and this is the exception. X-Men drops us into a world that is closer to our own than Batman's Gotham City, but it's still home to super-powered goodies and baddies.

Opening in high seriousness with paranormal activity in a WW2 concentration camp and a senatorial inquiry into the growing "mutant problem", Bryan Singer's film sets up a complex background with economy and establishes vivid, strange characters well before we get to the fun. There's Halle Berry flying and summoning snowstorms, James Marsden zapping people with his "optic beams", Rebecca Romijn-Stamos shape-shifting her blue naked form and Ray Park lashing out with his Toad-tongue.

The big conflict is between Patrick Stewart's Professor X and Ian McKellen's Magneto, super-powerful mutants who disagree about their relationship with ordinary humans, but the characters we're meant to identify with are Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Anna Paquin's Rogue. There are in-jokes enough to keep comics fans engaged, but it feels more like a science-fiction movie than a superhero picture. —Kim Newman

On the DVD: X-Men 1.5's two-disc set offers little more than the original X-Men release. The six extended scenes which can be incorporated into the feature on Disc 1 were already available on the initial DVD version (though they're cleaned up a bit here), and when played within the film's original cut they seem disjointed and tacked on, adding very little to the overall story.

Disc 2, meanwhile, will have little appeal to any but the most diehard of fans. The X-Men 2 Sneak Peak, the X-Men 2 trailer, the Daredevil trailer and the Activision Wolverine's Revenge trailer are little more than adverts. The four-part documentary, meanwhile, is impressively interactive (with multi-angle segments and two play modes), but unfortunately it's also a bit dull and self-congratulatory. —Robert Burrow

Bryan Singer X-Men 2 picks up almost directly where X-Men left off: misguided super-villain Magneto (Ian McKellen) is still a prisoner of the US government, heroic bad-boy Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is up in Canada investigating his mysterious origin, and the events at Liberty Island (which occurred at the conclusion of X-Men) have prompted a rethink in official policy towards mutants—the proposed Mutant Registration Act has been shelved by US Congress. Into this scenario pops wealthy former army commander William Stryker, a man with the President's ear and a personal vendetta against all mutant-kind in general, and the X-Men's leader Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in particular. Once he sets his plans in motion, the X-Men must team-up with their former enemies Magneto and Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos), as well as some new allies (including Alan Cumming's gregarious, blue-skinned German mutant, Nightcrawler).

The phenomenal global success of X-Men meant that director Bryan Singer had even more money to spend on its sequel, and it shows. Not only is the script better (there's significantly less cheesy dialogue than the original), but the action and effects are also even more stupendous—from Nightcrawler's teleportation sequence through the White House to a thrilling aerial dogfight featuring mutants-vs-missiles to a military assault on the X-Men's school/headquarters to the final showdown at Stryker's sub-Arctic headquarters. Yet at no point do the effects overtake the film or the characters. Moreso than the original, this is an ensemble piece, allowing each character in its even-bigger cast at least one moment in the spotlight (in fact, the cast credits don't even run until the end of the film). And that, perhaps, is part of its problem (though it's a slight one): with so much going on, and nary a recap of what's come before, it's a film that could prove baffling to anyone who missed the first instalment. But that's just a minor quibble—X-Men 2 is that rare thing, a sequel that's actually superior to its predecessor. —Robert Burrow

Brett Ratner

Lucio Fulci