Spartacus: Blood and Sand - The Complete First Season

• SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND: 1ST SEASON (DVD MOVIE)

Betrayed by the Romans. Forced into slavery. Reborn as a Gladiator. The classic tale of the Republic’s most infamous rebel comes alive in the graphic and visceral new series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are primetime entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands. Treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures will constantly test Spartacus. To survive, he must become more than a man. More than a gladiator. He must become a legend.The "sword and sandals" genre isn't exactly known for its subtlety and restraint, but even by those standards, Spartacus: Blood and Sand is deliriously, delightfully over the top. Viewers familiar with the 1960 film starring Kirk Douglas and directed b! y Stanley Kubrick, the best-known version of the Spartacus tale, will recognize the basic outline of the story: a Thracian warrior with a beautiful, loving wife is betrayed by his Roman "allies" and forced into slavery, whereupon he distinguishes himself as a gladiator nonpareil and, after enduring countless indignities, leads his brethren and others in a rebellion against their oppressors. But there's a lot more Caligula than Kubrick in the 13 first-season episodes (each a bit less than an hour long) of this Starz television series, which stars Andy Whitfield in the title role and also features Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) as the wicked wife of Spartacus's owner. The fight scenes are highly stylized (the entire production seems to have taken a cue from the surreal, painterly look of 300) but extraordinarily brutal, featuring multiple dismemberments and decapitations amidst seas of slow-motion, CGI-generated blood; a gladiatorial battle in epis! ode 5 pitting Spartacus and his rival-turned-ally Crixus (Manu! Bennett ) against a monster named Theokoles is definitely not for the squeamish, but that's only one of many such scenes. There's also ample sex and nudity, as the couplings involving various studly gladiators and lustful Roman noblewomen are like salacious combat between Chippendales dancers and Victoria's Secret models. Meanwhile, the personal relationships are the stuff of soap operas, with the Romans in particular depicted as relentlessly decadent, duplicitous, and power-hungry.

If this all sounds outrageously entertaining, it is, though perhaps not for everyone. And although the future of the show (which was executive produced by Spider-Man director Sam Raimi) is in doubt due to Whitfield's ongoing battle with cancer, we'll always have this season to revel in. Bonus material in the four-disc set includes audio commentary on a variety of episodes and a batch of featurettes, most prominently a 15-minute "making of" documentary. --Sam Graham

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My Sister's Keeper

• What keeps a family together? Nick Cassavetes, the director of The Notebook and John Q, again demonstrates his sure hand with tales of deep human emotion in this inspiring film about a loving family challenged and united by a child s illness. Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin and others in an exceptional cast bring sensitivity to the story of 11-year-old Anna Fitzgerald, conceived to be

CHRISTINA'S LOVE LIFE IS STUCK IN NEUTRAL. AFTER YEARS OF AVOIDING THE HAZARDS OF A MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP, ONE NIGHTWHILE OUT WITH HER BEST GIRLFRIENDS, SHE MEETS PETER, HER PERFECT MATCH. FED UP WITH PLAYING GAMES, SHE FINALLY GETS THECOURAGE TO LET HER GUARD DOWN AND FOLLOW HER HEART.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 ShannonElizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) is a foulmouthed, ruthless, and inappropriate teacher. She drinks, gets high, and can’t wait to marry! a meal ticket to get out of her bogus day job. When she’s d! umped by her fiancé, she sets her sights on a rich, handsome substitute (Justin Timberlake) while shrugging off the advances of the school gym teacher (Jason Segel). The consequences of her wild and outrageous schemes give her students, coworkers, and even herself an education like no other! As any kid who's ever forcibly shot milk through their nasal passages can testify, the key to a great gross joke isn't so much the content as it is the delivery. The proudly crass Bad Teacher certainly has great big gobs of greasy, grimy potential, chief among them its central performance by an exceedingly game Cameron Diaz, but it occasionally fails to nail the dismount. This film from director Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) is exactly what the title says: after getting dumped by her rich boyfriend, a lying, cheating, and perpetually boozing middle-school teacher (Diaz) hatches a scheme to con her school out of enough money to pay for cosmetic surgery, while squari! ng off against the aggressively cheerful teacher across the hall (a very funny Lucy Punch). Lessons are not learned, thankfully. Although the title and attitude recall the effortlessly filthy Bad Santa, Bad Teacher feels more like a spiritual sequel to Diaz's earlier Sweetest Thing, a women-can-be-gross-too comedy that spent more time congratulating itself on how far it was willing to go instead of actually going there. While Bad Teacher certainly has its number of belly laughs and worthy outrages (particularly during a hilariously awkward love scene between Diaz and a nerded-up Justin Timberlake), it's hard not to end up with a general feeling of missed opportunities. Too often, it toes the bad-taste line, when it should be jumping over it with a rocket cycle. --Andrew WrightIn Nancy Meyers' The Holiday, a romantic comedy from the director of Something's Gotta Give and What Women Want, two women trade homes only to find that a change of a! ddress can change their lives. Iris (Winslet) is in love with ! a man wh o is about to marry another woman. Across the globe, Amanda (Diaz), realizes the man she lives with has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6000 miles apart, find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the holiday. Iris moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris' handsome brother Graham (Law) and Iris, with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur (Wallach), mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles (Black).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 do! wnside of a failing relationship. --Jeff Shannon

Extras from The Holiday

First Look Featurette high bandwidth

Film Clip: "Sushi for Two" high bandwidth

Film Clip: "Oh Brother" high bandwidth

Stills from The Holiday (click for larger image)

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Beyond The Holiday on Amazon.com

On Blu-ray

CD Soundtrack

The Films of Nancy Meyers

After the wildest party night of their lives, two mismatched strangers, Jack (Ashton Kutcher) and Joy (Cameron Diaz), wake up in Vegas to discover they not only got lucky â?" they got married! The road to annulment takes a hilarious turn after Jack wins a three-million-dollar jackpot while playing Joyâ??s quarter and a no-nonsense judge (Dennis Miller) sentences them to six months â??hard marriage.â? What follows is an all-out war of the sexes as Jack and Joy go to outrageous lengths to try and cheat each other out of the money. But in the end, they may learn that when you gamble on love, you just might win, against all odds!What Happens in Vegas is a comedy waiting to happen. It take! s an old premise (drunk strangers regretting their decision to! get mar ried in Las Vegas) and adds in a dilemma (a $3 million slot machine win) that could've been easily resolved. But then again, there would've been no movie if the unhappily wedded couple figured out that splitting the money in half and getting their marriage annulled would've been quick and effective. Cameron Diaz plays uptight clean-freak Joy, who has just been dumped by her fiance. Ashton Kutcher is Jack, a slacker furniture maker who has been fired--by his own dad. Each goes to Vegas to let off some steam. And while they have nothing in common (except being exceptionally good looking) they make out, get married, and fight over the money Jack wins with Joy's quarter. Instead of letting the couple get divorced, a judge sentences the odd couple to half a year of marriage. What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, but extends into New York where Jack and Joy live. Both actors have fared well in comedies, especially Diaz in My Best Friend's Wedding. And while Kutcher s! till has to live down Dude, Where's My Car?, he showed a lot of comedic flair and charm in A Lot Like Love. But the two face an uphill battle here with inane dialogue and a premise that not only is unbelievable, but unlikeable. The two are so incompatible (and immature) they can't even control bathroom time and, in Jack's case, his bladder. --Jae-Ha Kim

Beyond What Happens in Vegas on DVD

Stills from What Happens in Vegas (Click for larger image)

27 Dresses on DVD

Juno on DVD

D! odgeball â€" A True Underdog Story on DVD

Big screen superstars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz come together in this fun, action-packed thrill-ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat. When a small-town girl named June (Diaz) meets a mysterious stranger, she thinks she's found the man of her dreams. But she soon discovers he's a fugitive super-spy, who thrusts her into a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase that spans the globe. As the bullets and sparks fly, June must decide if her "Knight" in shining armor is a dangerous traitor or the love of her life. Knight and Day has action by the boatload, cheeky wit, unexpected double-crossing, sexual tension, and the blinding smile of its star, Tom Cruise. In short, what more could you ask of a rollicking good-time movie? Knight and Day, which also stars the irresistible Cameron Diaz as Cruise's superspy's ultimate foil, channels the best elements of earlier film! s like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mission: Impossible, ! the B ourne films, and even a little of Duplicity's sophistication. Mostly, though, Knight and Day is about moving things along merrily, if not completely coherently, as the two stars tangle, and tussle with trust issues, in a completely believable, compulsively watchable way. Cruise plays Roy, an on-the-lam spy (who may have had some kind of psychotic break--or who may in fact be the only person telling the truth); he runs into the winsome June (Diaz), who gets caught up in Roy's mad dash to escape the cabal of federal agents on his tail. "No one follows us," Roy announces to a terrified diner crowd as he moves to make his escape with June, "or I kill myself--and then her." While Knight and Day, directed by James Mangold, has more than its share of high-speed chases, hails of bullets, and explosions, it works far better as a romantic comedy--for the chemistry between Diaz and Cruise is delicious, palpable, and believable. So grab a date and an extra-large! popcorn, and get ready for a sweet and fun Knight and Day. --A.T. HurleySARA AND BRIAN FITZGERALD'S LIFE WITH THEIR YOUNG SON AND THEIR TWO-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, KATE, IS FOREVER ALTERED WHEN THEY LEARN THAT KATE HAS LEUKEMIA. THE PARENTS' ONLY HOPE IS TO CONCEIVE ANOTHER CHILD, SPECIFICALLY INTENDED TO SAVE KATE'S LIFE.Grab a box of tissues and settle in for a heart-wrenching exploration of illness, morality, and familial bonds in this excellent screen adaptation of bestselling author Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. When parents Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian Fitzgerald (Jason Patric) find out that their daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) has leukemia, they make the difficult choice to utilize the advancements of modern medicine and impregnate Sara with a child genetically ensured to be a donor match for Kate. Throughout the many years of dealing with Kate's illness, the needs of individual family members--including Kate's parents, her brother Jesse (Eva! n Ellingson), and her sister Anna (Abigail Breslin)--are large! ly ignor ed in light of Kate's more serious needs. Still, Kate's sister Anna rarely complains about helping Kate, even when it involves undergoing painful bone marrow aspirations. Recently, however, Anna has had a change of heart and has decided to stand up for her right to have a say in medical procedures involving herself: she's enlisted a lawyer, Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin), to help her sue her parents for medical emancipation. The issue is highly emotional and the familial strife is further compounded by the fact that Kate is quickly failing and needs an immediate kidney transplant for even a chance of continued survival. The emotional struggle of dealing with serious illness while trying to meet one's own needs permeates the film, as do the staggering moral dilemmas inherent in the advances of modern medicine. While Picoult's readers may be disappointed that the film doesn't delve as deeply into Anna's and Jesse's characters as the book does, My Sister's Keeper is n! onetheless an intensely powerful film bursting with emotion and moral quandary that leaves viewers pondering what lengths they might go to in a similar situation. --Tami Horiuchi

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