Buzby Breakin' All The Rules Hermie and Friends

• Join Hermie and friends in an interactive adventure based on the hit video, BUZBY the Misbehaving Bee. In five engaging activities, children help Lucy match flowers, load the Ferris wheel with the right type of bugs, add scores in the bowling alley, sort items from the Roach Coach, and spell words in Buzby's honeycomb. They'll also collect seeds for an art garden where they can color scene

A HYSTERICAL ROMANTIC COMEDY ABOUT A MAN WHO, AFTER BEING DUMPED BY HIS FIANCEE, PENS A 'HOW-TO' BOOK ON BREAKING UP &BECOMES A BEST-SELLING AUTHOR ON THE SUBJECT. NOT WANTING HIS MALE FRIENDS TO SUFFER THE SAME FATE, HE GIVES THEM ADVICE ON DUMPING THEIR MATES. WHAT ENSUES IS A HIARIOUS COMEDY OF ERRORS.Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/29/2009Join Hermie and friends in an interactive adventure based on the hit video, BUZBY the Misbehaving Bee. In five engaging activities, children help Lucy! match flowers, load the Ferris wheel with the right type of bugs, add scores in the bowling alley, sort items from the Roach Coach, and spell words in Buzby's honeycomb. They'll also collect seeds for an art garden where they can color scene

Absolute Power

• ABSOLUTE POWER (DVD MOVIE)

He was where he shouldn’t have been and saw what he shouldn’t have seen. Now, who will believe the word of a career thief and ex-con? Who will trust Luther Whitney when he says he saw a woman killed â€" and that the man responsible for her death is the President of the United States? Clint Eastwood portrays Whitney and directs this crisp, finely acted caper based on David Baldacci’s bestseller. Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney and more top-drawer acting talents create well-rounded characters that intensify a constantly spiralling game of cat-and-mouse between Whitney, local police and the highest levels of Oval Office power. Eastwood is a master at steadily raising the stakes in thrillers. Here his mastery is absolute.Director Clint Eastwood's 1997 box-office hit stars himself as Luther Whitney, a highly skilled thief who finds himself in the wrong place ! at the wrong time, witnessing the murder of a woman involved in a secret tryst with the U.S. president (played by Gene Hackman). Determined to clear his name, Whitney cleverly eludes a tenacious detective (Ed Harris) while investigating a corruption of power reaching to the highest level of government. Adapted by veteran screenwriter William Goldman from David Baldacci's novel, this thriller balances expert suspense with well-drawn characters and an intelligent plot that's just a pounding heartbeat away from real White House headlines. Absolute Power features the great Judy Davis in a memorable supporting role as the White House chief of staff who desperately attempts to cover up the crime. --Jeff Shannon

Dreamgirls (Widescreen Edition)

• Actors: Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé Knowles.
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC.
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1).
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
• DVD Release Date: May 1, 2007. Run Time: 130 minutes.

Director Bill Condon brings Tom Eyen's Tony award-winning Broadway musical to the big screen in a tale of dreams, stardom, and the high cost of success in the cutthroat recording industry. The time is the 1960s, and singers Effie (Jennifer Hudson), Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose), and Deena (Beyoncé Knowles) are about to find out just what it's like to have their wildest dreams come true. Discovered at a local talent show by ambitious manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx), the trio known as "the Dreamettes" is soon offered the once-! in-a-lifetime opportunity of opening for popular singer James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). Subsequently molded into an unstoppable hit machine by Taylor and propelled into the spotlight as "the Dreams," the girls quickly find their bid for the big time taking priority over personal friendship as Taylor edges out the ultra-talented Effie so that the more beautiful Deena can become the face of the group. Now, as the crossover act continues to dominate the airwaves, the small-town girls with big-city dreams slowly begin to realize that the true cost of fame may be higher than any of them ever anticipated.The spirit of Motown runs through the long-awaited film adaption of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, which centers around a young female singing trio who burst upon the music scene in the '60s, complete with bouffant hairdos, glitzy gowns, and a soul sound new to the white-bread American music charts. Sound familiar? You aren't the first one to draw comparisons to ! the meteoric rise of the Supremes, and despite any protests to! the con trary, this is most definitely a thinly veiled reinterpretation of that success story. The Dreamettes--statuesque Deena (Beyonce Knowles), daffy Lorell (Anika Noni Rose) and brassy Effie (Jennifer Hudson)--are a girl group making the talent-show rounds when they're discovered by car salesman and aspiring music manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx). Sensing greatness (as well as a new marketing opportunity) Curtis signs the Dreamettes as backup singers for R&B star James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). But when Early's mercurial ways and singing style don't mesh with primarily white audiences, Curtis moves the newly-renamed Dreams to center stage--with Deena as lead singer in place of Effie. And that's not the only arena in which Effie is replaced, as Curtis abandons their love affair for a relationship with star-in-the-making Deena.

Besides the Supremes comparison, one can't talk about Dreamgirls now without revisiting its notorious Oscar snub; though it receive! d eight nominations, the most for any film from 2006, it was shut out of the Best Picture and Director races entirely. Was the oversight justified? While Dreamgirls is certainly a handsomely mounted, lovingly executed and often vibrant film adaptation, it inspires more respect than passion, only getting under your skin during the musical numbers, which become more sporadic as the film goes on. Writer-director Bill Condon is definitely focused on recreating the Motown milieu (down to uncanny photographs of Knowles in full Diana Ross mode), he often forgets to flesh out his characters, who even on the Broadway stage were underwritten and relied on powerhouse performances to sell them to audiences. (Stage fans will also note that numerous songs are either truncated or dropped entirely from the film.) Condon has assembled a game cast, as Knowles does a canny riff on the essence of Diana Ross' glamour (as opposed to an all-out impersonation) and Rose makes a peripheral ! character surprisingly vibrant; only Foxx, who never gets to p! our on t he charisma, is miscast. Still, there are two things even the most cranky viewers will warm to in Dreamgirls: the performances of veteran Eddie Murphy and newcomer Jennifer Hudson. Murphy is all sly charm and dazzling energy as the devilish Early, who's part James Brown, part Little Richard, and all showman. And Hudson, an American Idol contestant who didn't even make the top three, makes an impressive debut as the larger-than-life Effie, whose voice matches her passions and stubbornness. Though she sometimes may seem too young for the role, Hudson nails the movie's signature song, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," with a breathtaking power that must be seen and heard to believe. And for those five minutes, if not more, you will be in Dreamgirls' thrall. --Mark Englehart

Above the Rim

• A hot prospect threatens his college career by playing in a high stakes street basketball tournament. Starring Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur and Marlon Wayans. Year: 1994 Director: Jeff Pollack Starring: Duane Martin Leon, Tupac Shakur, Marlon WayansRunning Time: 99 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R Age: 794043613524 UPC: 794043613524 Manufacturer No: 

HIGHER LEARNING - DVD MovieThis ambitious 1995 film by John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) doesn't quite succeed at painting the illuminating, collective portrait of college life in the '90s that the director seeks. But Singleton does do a fine job of defining some conflicting impulses for young people on the cusp of adulthood, particularly the desire to broaden horizons on the one hand and circle the wagons with like-minded allies on the other. Students in the film's Columbus University divide themselves along lines of race, ! sexual preferences, ideology, and, most dangerously, levels of paranoia. Among the fine cast is Michael Rapaport, who portrays a loner drawn to a local community of neo-Nazis. His resultant problems with the school's African-Americans takes over the story at the expense of other, parallel dramas, but Singleton's insights into race hatred on campus--a microcosm of the surrounding culture--is not to be dismissed. --Tom KeoghThis ambitious 1995 film by John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) doesn't quite succeed at painting the illuminating, collective portrait of college life in the '90s that the director seeks. But Singleton does do a fine job of defining some conflicting impulses for young people on the cusp of adulthood, particularly the desire to broaden horizons on the one hand and circle the wagons with like-minded allies on the other. Students in the film's Columbus University divide themselves along lines of race, sexual preferences, ideology, and, most danger! ously, levels of paranoia. Among the fine cast is Michael Rapa! port, wh o portrays a loner drawn to a local community of neo-Nazis. His resultant problems with the school's African-Americans takes over the story at the expense of other, parallel dramas, but Singleton's insights into race hatred on campus--a microcosm of the surrounding culture--is not to be dismissed. --Tom KeoghHIGHER LEARNING, BOYZ N THE HOOD, POETIC JUSTICEBoyz N the Hood
John Singleton, at the age of 23, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his debut film, Boyz N the Hood. The film stars Laurence Fishburne, Angela Basset, Ice Cube, and Academy Award-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. in his first starring role in a feature film. Gooding plays Tre Styles, a teenager growing up in South Central Los Angeles. His father, Furious (Fishburne), is divorced and living away from Tre and his mother (Basset), but he's still involved in Tre's upbringing, teaching him the values of right and wrong and responsibility. Meanwhile, Tr! e's childhood buddies Ricky (Morris Chestnut) and Doughboy (Ice Cube) are living their lives in terms of the epidemic of violence and poverty that has plagued their neighborhood. Ricky, a talented football player, strives to get a full athletic scholarship to college. If only his SAT scores were higher. Doughboy lives a life full of crime but still remains true to his friends. The obstacles that these three young men come across result in dire consequences, devastatingly avoidable and inevitable at the same time. Boyz N the Hood is a landmark film beyond its commercial success, presenting a portrait of South Central in the late '80s and early '90s as painted by Singleton (who grew up in that neighborhood), achieving accuracy and dramatic resonance in this story of at-risk youth. --Shannon Gee

Poetic Justice
Director John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood, Rosewood) made an earnest effort in this, his second, film to say a great dea! l that is true and relevant about living and loving in a viole! nt, diff icult time in American history. Janet Jackson plays a beautician and poet who withdraws into herself after her boyfriend is murdered by gangsters. The late Tupac Shakur plays a postman who tries to get through to her, and the two travel on a course through urban America, connecting with family and community. Singleton has so much on his mind that the film comes out a terrible muddle, but there is a certain integrity peeking through the fog. Shakur makes a startlingly good impression in his film debut, and Jackson strips away her star veneer to play something like a real person--and entirely succeeds. Maya Angelou wrote the poems that pass as those penned by Jackson's character, and she also appears in the film. --Tom Keogh

Higher Learning
This ambitious 1995 film by John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) doesn't quite succeed at painting the illuminating, collective portrait of college life in the '90s that the director seeks. But Singleton does! do a fine job of defining some conflicting impulses for young people on the cusp of adulthood, particularly the desire to broaden horizons on the one hand and circle the wagons with like-minded allies on the other. Students in the film's Columbus University divide themselves along lines of race, sexual preferences, ideology, and, most dangerously, levels of paranoia. Among the fine cast is Michael Rapaport, who portrays a loner drawn to a local community of neo-Nazis. His resultant problems with the school's African-Americans takes over the story at the expense of other, parallel dramas, but Singleton's insights into race hatred on campus--a microcosm of the surrounding culture--is not to be dismissed. --Tom KeoghThis ambitious 1995 film by John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) doesn't quite succeed at painting the illuminating, collective portrait of college life in the '90s that the director seeks. But Singleton does do a fine job of defining some conflicting im! pulses for young people on the cusp of adulthood, particularly! the des ire to broaden horizons on the one hand and circle the wagons with like-minded allies on the other. Students in the film's Columbus University divide themselves along lines of race, sexual preferences, ideology, and, most dangerously, levels of paranoia. Among the fine cast is Michael Rapaport, who portrays a loner drawn to a local community of neo-Nazis. His resultant problems with the school's African-Americans takes over the story at the expense of other, parallel dramas, but Singleton's insights into race hatred on campus--a microcosm of the surrounding culture--is not to be dismissed. --Tom KeoghHIGHER LEARNING - 3? Mini DVD for PHThis ambitious 1995 film by John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) doesn't quite succeed at painting the illuminating, collective portrait of college life in the '90s that the director seeks. But Singleton does do a fine job of defining some conflicting impulses for young people on the cusp of adulthood, particularly the desire to broa! den horizons on the one hand and circle the wagons with like-minded allies on the other. Students in the film's Columbus University divide themselves along lines of race, sexual preferences, ideology, and, most dangerously, levels of paranoia. Among the fine cast is Michael Rapaport, who portrays a loner drawn to a local community of neo-Nazis. His resultant problems with the school's African-Americans takes over the story at the expense of other, parallel dramas, but Singleton's insights into race hatred on campus--a microcosm of the surrounding culture--is not to be dismissed. --Tom KeoghEnter the hallowed halls of higher learning, where there's a lot more to life, sex, and love than what these men can get out of a book. They'll give English a slip of the tongue, practice their Interpersonal Communication skills, and learn about the birds and the bees in Biology. Join them as they see why flexibility is important in Phys Ed, figure the odds of finding the perfect m! ate in Statistics, flirt and woo each other with poetry in Lit! erature, and discover why Chemistry is a double entendre.

Rainy Days and Star Charts by Ellen Holiday
Tutor Me, Love by Ellee Hill
Inspiration by Claire Russett
Second Beginnings by Leora Stark
Bug Boy by Jeanette Grey
Accismus by Cooper West
Men’s Shirts, Short Skirts by Amberly Smith
Learning After Hours by Jamie Lowe
Universally Gay by M. Lee
Literature and Lust by J.J. Levesque
Statistical Outliers by G.P. Keith
Surprise Me by Dawn Kimberly Johnson
Close Distance Education by Dar Mavison
Brazos Mud and Horn-Rimmed Glasses by Eve OcotilloEnter the hallowed halls of higher learning, where there's a lot more to life, sex, and love than what these men can get out of a book. They'll give English a slip of the tongue, practice their Interpersonal Communication skills, and learn about the birds and the bees in Biology. Join them as they see why flexibility is important in Phys Ed, figure the odds of finding ! the perfect mate in Statistics, flirt and woo each other with poetry in Literature, and discover why Chemistry is a double entendre.

Rainy Days and Star Charts by Ellen Holiday
Tutor Me, Love by Ellee Hill
Inspiration by Claire Russett
Second Beginnings by Leora Stark
Bug Boy by Jeanette Grey
Accismus by Cooper West
Men’s Shirts, Short Skirts by Amberly Smith
Learning After Hours by Jamie Lowe
Universally Gay by M. Lee
Literature and Lust by J.J. Levesque
Statistical Outliers by G.P. Keith
Surprise Me by Dawn Kimberly Johnson
Close Distance Education by Dar Mavison
Brazos Mud and Horn-Rimmed Glasses by Eve OcotilloA hot prospect threatens his college career by playing in a high stakes street basketball tournament. Starring Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur and Marlon Wayans. Year: 1994 Director: Jeff Pollack Starring: Duane Martin Leon, Tupac Shakur, Marlon Wayans This rousing basketball drama centers around Tommy "Shep" Sheppard (L! eon), a former high school basketball star now haunted by the! acciden tal death of his best friend, and Kyle Watson (Duane Martin), an arrogant high school player in danger of slipping into crime. Though Shep avoids commitment in his life as a security guard, his attraction to Kyle's mother (Tonya Pinkins) draws him out of his protective shell--but Kyle is more interested in mentorship from Shep's gangster brother Birdie (Tupac Shakur). Above the Rim is melodramatic but played with grit and energy by a solid cast, particularly Shakur. Writer-director Jeff Pollack keeps the story moving and gives the characters enough spin to rescue them from being clichés; the result is engaging despite its formulas. Also featuring Bernie Mac and Marlon Wayans. --Bret Fetzer

Pursuit of Honor

• ISBN13: 9781416595175
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Now in paperback, the pulse-pounding thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon Vince Flynn features counterterrorism hero Mitch Rapp as he wages a war against a new enemy with the help of a fellow soldier as dedicatedâ€"and as lethalâ€"as they come.

Time and again, Vince Flynn has captivated readers’ imaginations with his all-too-real portrayal of a secretive world where fearless men and women, bound by duty, risk their lives in a covert war they must hide from even their own political leaders. Now, in Extreme Measures, Mitch Rapp and his agency colleague, Mike Nash, may have met their match.

The CIA has detected two terrorist cells, but a third is feared to be o! n the loose. Led by a dangerous mastermind obsessed with becoming the leader of al-Qaeda, this determined and terrifying group is about to descend on America. Rapp needs the best on this assignment, and former marine officer Nash is his choice. Together, they have made careers out of meeting violence with extreme violence and have never wavered in the fight against the jihadists and their culture of death. But the one thing he never saw coming was that his own government was about to turn on him.

Using his insider knowledge of intelligence agencies and the military, Flynn once again delivers a smart, devastatingly intense, and jaw-droppingly realistic political thriller that will have fans on the edge of their seats until the last riveting page.

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM VINCE FLYNN

THE POLITICAL THRILLER OF OUR TIME

In the secretive world where fearless men and women wage a daily covert war, the CIA has intercepted two terrorist cellsâ€"but a! third, led by a dangerous mastermind, is feared to be on the ! loose. C ounterterrorist agent Mitch Rapp joins forces with a warrior as dedicatedâ€"and lethalâ€"as they come: ex-Marine and elite operative Mike Nash. Both Rapp and Nash have stared down the jihadist culture of death. Both have saved thousands of lives without accolades or acknowledgment of their personal sacrifices. But the political winds have changed on Capitol Hill, and certain leaders want Mitch Rapp put back on a short leash. And when a nightmare scenario descends on Washington, D.C., Rapp and Nash will follow new rules of engagement: their own.THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM VINCE FLYNN

THE POLITICAL THRILLER OF OUR TIME

In the secretive world where fearless men and women wage a daily covert war, the CIA has intercepted two terrorist cellsâ€"but a third, led by a dangerous mastermind, is feared to be on the loose. Counterterrorist agent Mitch Rapp joins forces with a warrior as dedicatedâ€"and lethalâ€"as they come: ex-Marine and elite operative Mike Nash. Both R! app and Nash have stared down the jihadist culture of death. Both have saved thousands of lives without accolades or acknowledgment of their personal sacrifices. But the political winds have changed on Capitol Hill, and certain leaders want Mitch Rapp put back on a short leash. And when a nightmare scenario descends on Washington, D.C., Rapp and Nash will follow new rules of engagement: their own.Dr. Eric Najarian. He's young, talented, and ambitious. He has all the qualities they're looking for at White Memorial Hospital. He doesn't know he's being watched. Judged. An elite clique of medical professionals thinks he has what it takes to join their secret club. All the young doctor has to do is agree to play by their rules.

But Eric has already seen too much. A missing corpse. An unspeakable mutilation. A brutal abduction. It's only the beginning of a plot of terrifying evil. A sinister plan the group will stop at nothing to hide. And if Eric refuses to become their c! olleague--he will be their next victim.Dr. Eric Najarian. He's! young, talented, and ambitious. He has all the qualities they're looking for at White Memorial Hospital. He doesn't know he's being watched. Judged. An elite clique of medical professionals thinks he has what it takes to join their secret club. All the young doctor has to do is agree to play by their rules.

But Eric has already seen too much. A missing corpse. An unspeakable mutilation. A brutal abduction. It's only the beginning of a plot of terrifying evil. A sinister plan the group will stop at nothing to hide. And if Eric refuses to become their colleague--he will be their next victim.


From the Paperback edition.Dr. Eric Najarian. He's young, talented, and ambitious. He has all the qualities they're looking for at White Memorial Hospital. He doesn't know he's being watched. Judged. An elite clique of medical professionals thinks he has what it takes to join their secret club. All the young doctor has to do is agree to play by their rules.
But Eric has already seen too much. A missing corpse. An unspeakable mutilation. A brutal abduction. It's only the beginning of a plot of terrifying evil. A sinister plan the group will stop at nothing to hide. And if Eric refuses to become their colleague--he will be their next victim.


From the Paperback edition.#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR VINCE FLYNN’S MOST EXHILARATING

POLITICAL THRILLER

When Washington, D.C.’s National Counterterrorism Center is struck by a series of devastating explosions, the results are catastrophicâ€"185 killed, including public officials and CIA employees. Such an act of extreme violence calls for extreme measuresâ€"and elite counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp, joining forces with trusted team member Mike Nash, finds himself in the frustrating position of having to illustrate the realities of national security to government officials up in arms over the agents who rushed in to save countless American! lives. Meanwhile, with three al Qaeda terrorists still at lar! ge and N ash traumatized by the horrors he witnessed during the attack, Rapp must help his friend while threading his way through the naysayers on Capitol Hillâ€"and silently, swiftly, do what he must for the sake of his country and the pursuit of honor.

The Encyclopedia of Small Business Forms and Agreements: A Complete Kit of Ready-to-Use Business Checklists, Worksheets, Forms, Contracts, and Human Resource Documents With Companion CD-ROM

• ISBN13: 9781601382481
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Those who wish they had a resource in which every possible small business form and agreement they have ever encountered was located can breathe a sigh of relief. The Encyclopedia of Small Business Forms and Agreements is the answer, as it will provide small business owners with ready-to-use checklists, worksheets, forms, contracts, and human resource documents. Inside these pages you will find over 250 essential documents for all your hiring, firing, intellectual property, Internet, technology, legal, merger, acquisition, money, fundraising, sales, marketing, and starting a business needs. In essence, this book is a small business survival kit packed with materials you can use for every aspect of yo! ur job.

This encyclopedia and companion CD-ROM focuses on the issues, situations, and tasks that you, as a small business owner, face every day when running your business, such as incorporation, board and shareholder resolutions, partnership agreements, business plans, insurance, employee applications, employment policies, termination, job descriptions, employee benefits, sales and service contracts, bills of sale, invoices, press releases, raising capital, venture capital, license agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, letters of intent, term sheets, domain names, e-commerce contracts, release forms, demand letters, litigation, and arbitration.

Included in this comprehensive book are hundreds of easy-to-implement tools, contracts, forms, and checklists that will help you organize your business and make it easier to manage while increasing your bottom line. With its professionally organized format, this book takes you step by step through t! he valuable forms, which may be easily printed out and customi! zed, tha nks to the convenient companion CD-ROM. <\p>

The Farmhouse: New Inspiration for the Classic American Home

• ISBN13: 9781561588749
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Farmhouses evoke nostalgic memories--real or imagined--of a simpler life and a deep, nourishing connection to the seasons and the land. While most of us don't live that way anymore, we all share a longing for the values that this classic American house form represents.
So what makes a true American farmhouse? A farmhouse is intimately connected to the land and all its seasons, dominates a community of buildings, and is built to last using natural, indigenous materials. These are the core qualities of the farmhouse style, whether old or new.
From a working farm on Martha's Vineyard to a horse ranch in Washington State, this remarkable collec! tion of 20 new and remodeled farmhouses celebrates the best American farmhouses built in the past five years. Over 300 photographs beautifully illustrate these homes, and the accompanying site and floor plans, historical sidebars, and up-close details add depth to this rich collection.
With this ground breaking book, America's quintessential house style is reinvented for the 21st-century family.

Legion [Blu-ray]

• Condition: New
• Format: Blu-ray
• AC-3; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; Subtitled; Widescreen

Two-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke plays Edward Dalton, a researcher in the year 2019, when an unknown plague has transformed the world’s population into vampires. As the human population nears extinction, vampires must capture and farm every remaining human, or find a blood substitute before time runs out. However, a covert group of vampires makes a remarkable discovery, one which has the power to save the human race.While Daybreakers presents vampiric traits that distinguish its vampires from others in the many films that have ridden 2009's vampire movie wave, there is a lack of humor here that makes this film sour compared to sweeter ones like Cirque du Freak: A Vampire's Assistant. Maybe that's because the plot in this horror feature from Peter and Michael Spierig! (Undead) is more akin to zombie films like 28 Days Later. The year is 2019, and nearly all humans are converted vampires searching in vain for blood during a blood shortage, as they drain remaining humans into extinction. Nightly, CNN airs segments about the Blood Crisis, while vampire citizens around the globe attack each other like cannibals. Humans are farmed like cattle while tied to blood-draining machinery in the top-secret pharmaceutical corporation run by evil CEO Charles Bromley (Sam Neill). Sound like a heavy-handed metaphor for our oil wars? Daybreakers can definitely be viewed in that light, as a story about greed and consumption. Stylistically, it looks like a cross between Alien and Batman, with its Giger-esque set design and blue-tinted hue to represent night fallen on society. The lead actors help to salvage this movie. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), chief hematologist at Bromley, straddles the vampire and human wo! rlds, with the aid of humans Lionel "Elvis" Cormac (Willem Daf! oe) and Lisa Barrett (Harriet Minto-Day), to search for a blood replacement to placate the starving masses. These three protagonists carry the film, though not well enough to call Daybreakers any sort of genre breakthrough. --Trinie Dalton

Stills from Daybreakers (Click for larger image)

Two-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke plays Edward Dalton, a researcher in the year 2019, when an unknown plague has transformed the world’s population into vampires. As the human population nears extinction, vampires must capture and farm every remaining human, or find a blood substitute before time runs out. However, a covert group of vampires makes a remarkable discovery, one which has the power to save the human race.Stills from Daybreakers (Click for larger image)
At a remote desert truck stop the fate of the world will be decided. Evils armies are amassing. Armed & united by the archangel michael a group of strangers become unitting soldiers on the frontlines of the apocalypse. Their mission: to protect a waitress & her unborn child from the demonic legion. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/11/2010 Starring: Paul Battany Lucas Black Run time: 100 minutes Rating: RAs pure ! check-your-head-at-the-door popcorn entertainment, the apocalyptic action-horror hybrid Legion delivers in nearly every frame--its story of a band of strangers fighting an army of angels and demons for the fate of mankind is proudly loud, bullet riddled, and knee-deep in gore and CGI. That doesn't mean it's particularly good or even coherent--the story has renegade angel Michael (a glum Paul Bettany) come to the aid of diner owner Dennis Quaid (equally glum) and his patrons (a cross-section of stereotypes embodied by a capable cast, which includes Lucas Black, Charles S. Dutton, Tyrese Gibson, Kate Walsh, and Jon Tenney) as a host of heavenly and diabolical beings, dispatched by an angry God, descend on the diner with the intent of killing waitress Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights), whose unborn child may be the salvation of humanity. The orgy of special effects--endless hails of bullets and a menagerie of unpleasant demonic creatures, the most unsettling! of which is the ice cream man (Doug Jones, Hellboy)--i! s eye po pping but ultimately repetitive, and since no character rises above a cipher in director Scott Stewart's script (cowritten with Peter Schink), the whole affair feels unwieldy and eventually tiresome under a barrage of hackneyed dialogue. Naturally, Legion ends with the possibility of a sequel, though one wonders where the story can go after Armageddon. --Paul Gaita


Stills from Legion (Click for larger image)

In this terrif! ying glimpse into the “American Dream” gone wrong, an unex! plainabl e phenomenon has taken over the citizens of Ogden Marsh. One by one the townsfolk are falling victim to an unknown toxin and are turning sadistically violent.  People who days ago lived quiet, unremarkable lives are now depraved, blood-thirsty killers. While Sheriff Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) and his pregnant wife, Judy (Radha Mitchell), try to make sense of the escalating violence, the government uses deadly force to close off all access and won’t let anyone in or out â€" even those uninfected.  In this film that Pat Jankiewicz of Fangoria calls “disturbing,” an ordinary night becomes a horrifying struggle for the few remaining survivors as they do their best to get out of town alive.This 2010 remake of a somewhat obscure 1973 George Romero picture injects a mysterious virus into the water supply of a small Iowa town, and the consequences are… well, you didn't expect the consequences to be positive, did you? The movie is called The Crazies, after all. So ! when local folk begin acting a mite peculiar, it just means they've gone to the well too often--literally. Borrowing the structure of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the remake gets off to a clumsy start, but as the noninfected rally around the sheriff (Timothy Olyphant) and his doctor wife (Radha Mitchell), the action becomes streamlined and reasonably inventive. Director Breck Eisner has a particular knack for finding ingenious ways of killing people (a knife through the hand becomes a useful tool for the sheriff in one turn-the-tables moment), and he's been wise enough to hire respectable actors for the top-lined duties; along with Olyphant and Mitchell, there's also Joe Anderson (Across the Universe) as a loyal, amped-up deputy. If the movie misses the tart social-context stuff that Romero does so well, it at least fills the bill when it comes to the chase-and-escape business of a contemporary horror picture. The spate of such 21st-century remakes of 1! 970s horror pictures misses the raw, raggedy unease of those l! ow-budge t projects, but if you're going to make a slick new update, The Crazies is the way to do it. --Robert Horton

Stills from The Crazies (Click for larger image)

Academy Award® winners Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) and Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) tear up the screen in this action-packed thriller. Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) is lured back to his family estate to investigate the savage murder of his brother by a bloodthirsty beast. There, Talbot must confront his childhood demons, his estranged father (Hopkins), his brother’s grieving fiancée (Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada) and a suspicious Scotland Yard Inspector (Hugo Weaving, The Matrix Trilogy). When Talbot is bitten by the creature, he becomes eternally cursed and soon discovers a fate far worse than death. Inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman brings the myth of a cursed man back to its iconic origins.The mist rising over the moors feels right, and so does the slan! t of moonlight coming over a Victorian village-scape. And if t! he moon is full, this must be The Wolfman, Universal's 2010 attempt to revive one of the crown jewels in its deservedly legendary horror stable. Benicio Del Toro takes on the old Lon Chaney Jr. role of Lawrence Talbot, an American visitor to his ancestral home in England. Talbot's brother has recently been torn to bits by a beast in the forest, leaving behind a grieving fiancée (Emily Blunt) and a not-visibly-grieving father (Anthony Hopkins). This central situation seems drained of blood even before the full-moon transfigurations begin to bloom, and Del Toro's Talbot--an actor by trade, which raises interesting possibilities for a story of a man divided by different personalities--is mystifyingly blank. The intriguing casting of Del Toro (what an opportunity for a cool werewolf!) comes to naught as Talbot seems to languish on the periphery of his own story. Hugo Weaving tries to generate some interest as the police inspector on the case, but he too is defeated by the combin! ation of mechanical storytelling and bland computer-generated werewolves. The script skips from one exposition scene to the next, but nothing registers long enough to create character, tension, or the slimmest desire to see what happens in the next scene. Every once in a while director Joe Johnston (Jumanji) finds a grand staircase or CGI fog that conjures up the atmosphere of the old Universal horror classics, but otherwise this is a clueless affair--not as bad as Van Helsing, but flat-out dull. The movie can't even find a way to get the old Gypsy lady (Geraldine Chaplin stepping into Maria Ouspenskaya's tiny shoes) to deliver a proper recitation of screenwriter Curt Siodmak's great "Even a man who is pure in heart" doggerel from the 1941 film. Instead, it's thrown away in a voice-over at the beginning--one hairy way to start the movie. --Robert HortonJames Reece (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), personal aide to the U.S. Ambassador to France, is secretly moonli! ghting as a low-level CIA operative. Looking for more action, ! Reece ac cepts a job that teams him with wise-cracking special agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta), a trigger-happy loose cannon sent to Paris on a mission of international importance. Now, Reece finds himself on the wildest ride of his life as the new partners pull out all the stops to annihilate the enemy in this explosive, white-knuckle, non-stop thriller.An uncomplicated, moderately entertaining action film, From Paris With Love offers an enthusiastic performance by John Travolta as a just-this-side-of-crazy agent and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) as the low-level operative newly partnered with him. Outwardly an aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France, James Reese (Rhys Meyers) is also a low-level CIA operative, tasked with generally mundane duties. Then his inside contact offers him a high-level assignment that could lead to a promotion to full agent. All Reese has to do is drive CIA agent Charlie Wax (Travolta) around Paris on an undisclosed mission. ! But Wax is a shoot first, don't bother with questions kinda guy, and the straitlaced Reese quickly finds himself riding shotgun to a killing-spree through Paris' underground drug sub-culture. The drugs lead the obviously opposite duo to a hidden terrorist cell, and they race to stop the suicide bombers' plot. Wax's wise-cracking, one-on-many fight scenes are adequately entertaining--especially when he flings bad guys down a curving staircase, as Reese tries to avoid getting hit by the bodies--but the action generally leaves you wanting more. An undesirable characteristic in an action movie. Based on a story by Luc Besson, (The Fifth Element and The Transporter movies), one can't help wonder if the complexity of the story and characters could have been improved if he'd written the screenplay himself. However, the simplistic story offers a few surprises and laugh-worthy one-liners. The climactic final chase scene--Agent Wax hanging out the window of! a speeding Audi, armed with heavy artillery and a driver with! nerves of steel, as he attempts to stop one phase of the planned attack--is as impossible as one could hope for in this kind of movie. And hearing Travolta call his burger a “royale with cheese” is almost worth the rest of the movie. --Jill Corddry

Stills from From Paris with Love (Click for larger image)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/11/2010 Run time: 109 minutes Rating: Pg13As pure check-your-head-at-the-door popcorn entertainment, the apocalyptic action-horror hybrid Legion delivers in nearly every frame--its story of a band of strangers fighting an army of angels and demons for the fate of mankind is proudly loud, bullet riddled, and knee-deep in gore and CGI. That doesn't mean it's particularly good or even coherent--the story has renegade angel Michael (a glum Paul Bettany) come to the aid of diner owner Dennis Quaid (equally glum) and his patrons (a cross-section of stereotypes embodied by a capable cast, which includes Lucas Black, Charles S. Dutton, Tyrese Gibson, Kate W! alsh, and Jon Tenney) as a host of heavenly and diabolical bei! ngs, dis patched by an angry God, descend on the diner with the intent of killing waitress Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights), whose unborn child may be the salvation of humanity. The orgy of special effects--endless hails of bullets and a menagerie of unpleasant demonic creatures, the most unsettling of which is the ice cream man (Doug Jones, Hellboy)--is eye popping but ultimately repetitive, and since no character rises above a cipher in director Scott Stewart's script (cowritten with Peter Schink), the whole affair feels unwieldy and eventually tiresome under a barrage of hackneyed dialogue. Naturally, Legion ends with the possibility of a sequel, though one wonders where the story can go after Armageddon. --Paul Gaita


Stills from Legion (Click for larger image)

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