Zombies of Eureka

Zombies of Eureka Review

Taking advantage of Humboldt County's dynamic local music scene, filmmaker Jon Olsen spent two and a half years shooting music videos for rock bands in the remote northern town of Eureka, California. The fifteen completed videos have one thing in common: zombies!

With a thin narrative premise loosely based on actual events (the unaccountable disappearance of uranium fuel rods from Humboldt County's deactivated nuclear power plant) the videos in Zombies of Eureka combine, Voltron-style, into an epically low-fi apocalyptic musical motion-picture event. In fact, Zombies of Eureka may just be THE ultimate underground musical motion-picture event.

Featured bands include The Ian Fays, The Invasions, The Buffy Swayze, The Monster Women, Dynamite Sweater, The Ravens, The Professional Superheroes, and Von Richter.

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Une Femme Mariee (Masters Of Cinema) (Special Edition) [Blu-ray]

Une Femme Mariee (Masters Of Cinema) (Special Edition) [Blu-ray] Review

1964. Jean-Luc Godard has had another success with his fifth film "Bande a part" (Band of Outsiders) and began his sixth feature film "Une femme mariée: Fragments D'un Film Tourne En 1964 en Noir et Blanc" (A Married Woman: Fragments from a film from 1964 in Black and White). The film which he began in June 1964 was shot in a four weeks, edited within five weeks and shown at the Venice Film Festival in early September.

Among the few early '60s Godard titles that have not been released in the U.S., fortunately EUREKA!'s Masters of Cinema (based in the UK) have heeded the call of cinema fans worldwide and have decided to release most of their Blu-ray's ala non-region (with the exception of a title or two that were released in the US by the Criterion Collection).

"Une femme mariée: Fragments D'un Film Tourne En 1964 en Noir et Blanc" is rather an interesting, entertaining and profound film by Jean-Luc Godard. Quite different than "Band of Outsiders" which preceded it and "Alphaville" which came after, this film is a film that can be seen as a sign of the times but still as relevant today.

Although I have not seen every Godard film made let alone any films he released after 1970 but I have seen a good number of his '60s films and I have to say that ""Une femme mariée" is his most erotic film. We see many shots of a naked back, a stomach, thighs as hands are seen caressing a woman's body. Visually poetic, Godard's film uses fade outs instead of his familar jump cuts. We see the negative utilized in Godard's video (which would be explored in "Alphaville") and more.

"Une femme mariée: Fragments D'un Film Tourne En 1964 en Noir et Blanc" revolves around a woman named Charlotte (played by Macha Méril, "Belle de Jour") who is a married but having an affair with theatre actor Robert (played by Bernard Noël, "La Ronde", "Trois Femmes"). She enjoys her time with Robert and loves him.

But she is married to Pierre (played by Philippe Leroy, "Le Trou", "La vita di Leonardo Da Vinci"), a pilot who provides her with what she needs financially, and she also raises her step son with him. Pierre is truly in love with his wife Charlotte, even though he discovered her affair three months earlier to Robert via a private investigator.

For Charlotte, she has balanced her days with Pierre and Robert and for her, she obsesses with what is shown in the women's magazines. Enhancing her breast size, wearing the best panties and bras, she is a very shallow woman.

But she starts to see life differently. When she meets her husband's philosopher friend Roger Leehardt, then seeing how young women discuss their attraction to men and losing their virginity, seeing how women do things to attract men and then trying to find out if she is a pregnant woman. She knows that both men would love to have a baby with her or they say that. But she is undecided on who she wants to be with and thus she interviews her husband and her lover.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Une femme mariée: Fragments D'un Film Tourne En 1964 en Noir et Blanc" is featured in 1080p AVC encode with the original aspect ratio of 1:37:1 and looks absolutely wonderful in HD. Picture quality for this film is absolutely beautiful. Detail from Méril's eyes and her hair, to the beauty of her skin, this is seen quite beautifully on Blu-ray. No trace of DNR and just an overall magnificent transfer on HD.

Audio is in Dolby Digital 1.0 (LPCM) and presented in French with English subtitles. Audio is clear and understandable, as with the music but for those with a modern home theater receiver, for a more immersive soundtrack, one may want to select stereo on all channels or stay with the monaural soundtrack.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Une femme mariée: Fragments D'un Film Tourne En 1964 en Noir et Blanc" contains the following special features in 1080i:

* Original Theatrical Trailer - (3:25) The original theatrical trailer in 1080p created and edited by Jean-Luc Godard.
* 80-Page Booklet - A new "overture" by legendary French critic and filmmaker Luc Moullet (Les Contrebandières, A Girl Is a Gun, Les Sièges de l'Alcazar, Le Prestige de la mort). A lengthy roundtable discussion between Luc Moullet; writer/critic and American correspondent for Cahiers du cinéma, Bill Krohn; and MoC's Craig Keller -- on the film, and its relationship to Godard's oeuvre from the 1950s through the 2000s. A concentrated investigation into the film by Bill Krohn. A new statement about the film by star Macha Méril. A transcript of Godard's late-'70s lecture on Une femme mariée, originally presented in Introduction à une véritable histoire du cinéma, translated here into English for the first time. Relevant excerpts from Jean Racine's Bérénice, in the original French, accompanied by a new parallel English translation. And many notes on the film, Godard, and modern DVD production.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Une femme mariée: Fragments D'un Film Tourne En 1964 en Noir et Blanc" is an interesting film. As mentioned, this is his most erotic film as we see hands caressing Macha Méril's body. Her back, her arms, her thighs, her waist... it's a very creative way of how it was filmed. Focusing on the body parts and showcasing sexuality without having to show its participants full bodies taking part in sex.

Of course, the film is seen differently by many people. For some, this is Godard's life with Anna Karina and his marriage going downhill. Is this why Godard exploring marriage and the obsession of what his hot in pop culture and women's fashion courtesy of advertising and how it corrupts women. While men are not as easily pulled into it but yet they are hooked on the women that do so. Shallowness has been explored in Godard's "2 or 3 Things I Know About Her" and also in "Masculin Feminin". In this case, Charlotte is being told about why they were in Auschwitz, but what happened during WWII is not important as it's passe to her, while a magazine article about breast enlargement is more intriguing. She is not an intellectual, she is a woman of faults and is not afraid to admit it. She is a product of mindless consumerism, a woman who lives for the now and wants to experience for the thrill of what happens "now".

But I enjoyed this film because it was so visually creative. The erotic shots were well-done. Improvisational use of questions being asked a question by Charlotte (which I'm guessing similar to "Masculin Feminin", questions are being told to Macha Méril by Godard) to actor Bernard Noel who is answering as himself but also in character as Robert about if his love for Charlotte is real or is he acting. Even certain mistakes as Charlotte is running and falls flat on the road is kept in the film. This is Godard using spontaneous moments and using it for his film.

As for the Blu-ray release, the fact that EUREKA! ala The Masters of Cinema are releasing the majority of their Blu-rays ala non-region is very important. For one, the main way for people to watch Godard releases were primarily from The Criterion Collection. But here we have The Masters of Cinema releasing a quality product on Blu-ray but also making sure that those who enjoyed those Criterion releases, get the same quality with MoC releases and it's not just for those living in Europe, now all of us all over the world can enjoy this Blu-ray release.

This release of "Une femme mariée: Fragments D'un Film Tourne En 1964 en Noir et Blanc" is simply the best looking version out there and I don't know if we'll get anything that will look this magnificent of the film for a long while. Although, the film does not have any featurettes, for cinemaphiles, the 80-page booklet is just full of content and information about the film. This is a film that many people have wanted released in the US and now it's available. Now hopefully, a company releases Godard's 1967 film "Week End" remastered on Blu-ray or DVD as many have waited years for a release of the film.

Overall, I know I keep saying that nearly every Godard film is a masterpiece. But I do feel that "Une femme mariée: Fragments D'un Film Tourne En 1964 en Noir et Blanc" is indeed a masterpiece and shows that an auteur such as Godard can craft something so quickly and yet making sure the film is witty, humorous and also tragic in some way.

Highly recommended! Import Blu-Ray/Region All pressing.

Long out-of-circulation and unavailable on home-video, Jean-Luc Godard's 1964 masterpiece Une femme mariée, fragments d'un film tourné en 1964 en noir et blanc [A Married Woman: Fragments of a Film Shot in 1964 in Black and White] has, until now, represented the ostensibly 'missing' key work from the first, zeitgeist-defining phase of JLG's filmography. The feature which bridges the gap between Bande à part and Alphaville, Une femme mariée is, nevertheless, a galaxy, or gallery, unto itself - a lucid, complex, profoundly funny series of portraits, etched with Godardian acids, of the wife that represents either a singular case, or a universal example, of "a"/"the" married woman, and the men in her orbit.

Macha Méril (later of Pialat's Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble, and Varda's Sans toit ni loi) plays Charlotte - the title character. She's married to aviator Pierre (Philippe Leroy, of Becker's Le Trou). She sleeps with thespian Robert (Bernard Noël). She talks "intelligence" with renowned critic-filmmaker Roger Leenhardt, and takes part in a fashion-shoot at a public pool. The "fragments" of the film's subtitle are chapters, episodes, vignettes, tableaux; Une femme mariée is a pile of magazines made into a film, and a film turned into a magazine - the table of contents reading: Alfred Hitchcock. Jean Racine. La Peau douce. A Peruvian serum. Nuit et brouillard. The "Eloquence" bra. The quartets of Beethoven. Madame Céline. Fantômas. Robert Bresson. A Volkswagen making a right turn. - A film shot in 1964, and in black and white.

Designed with Raoul Coutard's breathtaking cinematography, Godard's picture captures a moment in time - but all its mysteries, its truths, its beauty, comedy and grace, serve to resolve into a work of art for the ages. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Jean-Luc Godard's classic, Une femme mariée, in a magnificent new Gaumont restoration for the first time on blu-ray

Eureka Seven, Volume 3 (Episodes 11-14)

Eureka Seven, Volume 3 (Episodes 11-14) Review

You know how it is when you find a book, movie or TV show almost by accident and it like turns out to be one of your favorite forever more.

Well Eureka is one such gem. Since I don't watch TV per say(don't have cable or even the basic channels) the only way I find shows is online. And I almost missed one the best shows on Sci-Fi channel or on TV in general.

Eureka, plain and simple a fun show with great acting and great writing. It is the fish out of water story but done in a refreshing way.

Basic premise is While Federal Marshall Jack Carter is taking his runaway daughter back home, they get run off the road and end up in small town Eureka. While there Jack finds out that Eureka is home to the worlds brightest minds and who work at a secret scientific facility Global Dynamics. The Sheriff gets hurt when a experiment goes wrong and the town needs Jack to save them. So with the Sheriff unable to continue his duties Carter gets promoted to Sheriff.

So each week Jack has to solve the problems that these ultra secret experiments can cause with only his common sense.

But he isn't alone, there is Henry Deacon mechanic and all around fixer and Jacks' best friend. There is Allison Blake who is the go between for the government and GD and possible love interest for Jack. Nathan Stark head of GD and ex-husband of Allison(so we get a love triangle there). Douglas Fargo, assistant to Stark and kind of a clumsy guy who gets into all sorts of trouble. And Deputy Jo Lupo gungho ex military who at first doesn't trust Jack but later becomes to respect what he does.

Is Eureka a TV show that will change the way you look at the world? No. It is a fun sci-fi show that never fails to entertain. The interaction with the character is what drives this show each week(and what should drive every show but sadly it doesn't). Though it is fun to see each week what scientific gizmo or theory that gets the town in trouble but it is the character that drive the show.

Season 3 is well off to a great run. So great that Universal has asked for 21 episodes this season instead of the usual 13.

So if you want just a good, fun show to watch. Eureka is the one. Since Renton's arrival, Eureka's relationship with the Nirvash has been changing. More mysteries await, however, as the Gekko has discovered a mysterious phenomenon called a Coralian. Although she's not really up to the task Eureka goes out in the Nirvash and flies inside. Once inside, she is attacked by a new LFO. Renton, meanwhile, has fallen unconscious, and has a dream about Eureka and the girl she's fighting. But is it really just a dream, or is he somehow connected to Eureka and the Nirvash in this state? Meanwhile, the Gekko has come under fire by the Federation warship Izumok, and the members of Gekkostate will have their hands full escaping from both the warship and the Coralian, especially without the Nirvash to assist them. Winner of Top Honors at the 2006 Tokyo International Anime Fair. From Studio BONES! Mecha designs by Shoji Kawamori, script by Dai Sato. Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Mecha.

Graduate First ( Passe ton bac d'abord ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ]

Graduate First ( Passe ton bac d'abord ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] Review

Graduate First ( Passe ton bac d'abord ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] Feature

• THIS DVD WILL NOT WORK ON STANDARD US DVD PLAYER

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.66:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Booklet, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Documentary, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: The world sometimes seems divided into two camps: those who recall their teenage years as having been an exhilarating dream, and those who remember them as having been an infernal, nightmarish hell. With all this in mind, it might do to describe Passe Ton Bac D'Abord as Maurice Pialat's "The Best Years Of Our Lives", while bearing in mind all that such a description might suggest. It's an elastic, unsparing portrait of teenage life in the suburbs of France from an era when the phrase "sixteen candles" still might have conjured the image of flames. A group of young actors including several local unknowns - Philippe Marlaud, Bernard Tronczyk, Patrick Lepczynski and Sabine Haudepin (once the little girl of Truffaut's Jules et Jim), among others - make up the cluster of friends adrift beneath the twilight of their school years. There's drama, violence, and pot-induced laughs - group holidays, indiscriminate sex, advances from teachers twenty-five years their seniors, attempted moves to Paris, and few prospects of passing the bac, the final set of exams French students take before embarking into the world to... do what? Marking the last work of Pialat's turbulent cycle of films made in the 1970s, Passe Ton Bac D'abord... is the brilliant spiritual sequel to the great filmmaker's feature-debut L'Enfance-nue - picked up again from a vantage ten years on from the lives of the earlier film's protagonists.

Yurîka

Yurîka Review

After three and a half slow paced, sepia toned hours experiencing emotional pain and anguish I still watched the credits roll. This film starts off with a man hijacking a bus and killing most everyone on it for no apparent reason. The driver and two middle school kids survive, and we spend the rest of the film watching them live with it. We watch them fall asleep watching television and other mundane matters but there is not a wasted frame in this film. There are a remarkable number of plot points to keep things moving forward but it still feels like suspended animation, like time is moving inward instead of along. Koji Yakusho is sublime and Aoi Miyazaki, at like twelve years old--and without saying a word for nearly the entire runtime--is mesmerizing. This film is a masterpiece, a journey exploring the myriad layers of trauma, of metaphorical death, and what three people endure on a path to renewal and emergence from a world of silent suffering. It will take your breath away. As the mecha-fantasy Eureka Seven begins building to its finale, the story grows increasingly metaphysical. Norb, the laconic monk, is calling the shots aboard the Gekkostate: even Holland listens to him. After pausing for an incongruous soccer game, the crew heads for the Vodarac temple where Eureka and Renton meet Sakuya, a Coralian who dwells within a giant lotus blossom. After conferring with Eureka, Sakuya decides the duo will be allowed to pass through the barrier of the Great Wall to the Zone and beyond: "the genuine promised land." No one seems to know what Renton and Eureka will find there, but everyone believes the fate of the planet depends on their journey. Preparations for the trip are complicated by Colonel Dewey's maniacal attempts to destroy the Coralians: he sends Dominic and Anemone in a desperate race to overtake Eureka and Renton. The Special Edition comes with a T-shirt and the first volume of Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys & Lifting Girls, a manga by Miki Kizuki and Dai Sato that serves as a prequel to the series, the original PS2 game, and the manga by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Konduo. (Rated 13 and older: violence, risqué humor, alcohol and drug use) --Charles Solomon

Eureka Seven, Volume 1 (Episodes 1-5)

Eureka Seven, Volume 1 (Episodes 1-5) Review

A great start to what promises to be a great anime. Thus far it is pretty light hearted. We get a fairly light hearted introduction to the characters and the basic story elements.

It has a great mix of comedy and action and definitely a hint of a greater story lingering beneath the surface. One of the best components of the series so far is the varied cast. It's a large cast, but doesn't suffer from many overdone character types or redundant personalities. Each character even has a unique look and you don't get much of the sibling effect in this show.

Another great element is the look of the rest of the show. It mixes a sci-fi/futuristic look with a retro 60s and 70s style. I'm usually not one for retro styles but it works quite well in this case. The animation itself is also well above average for an anime series and remains consistent with the quality set by the art itself. The soundtrack is quite diverse as well, but also seems to use a retro style at times, while other times it adopts a techno or even alternative style. The voice acting is great as well, both sub and dub. I prefer the dub myself, but sub fans certainly won't be disappointed either.

It is a mecha series at heart, but there's a lot to it at that. At this point there's not a whole lot of story, but what we've had so far has been great to watch and has done a wonderful job introducing the characters and themes.

The special edition comes with a free copy of the 1st manga, a 2-disc soundtrack release, an artbox and a brown size large t-shirt with the Gekkostate logo on the front and the Eureka Seven logo written vertically down the back. I felt the manga failed to live up to the style of the series, but the soundtrack is pretty diverse and impressive and the shirt is actually of pretty good quality.

The artbox opens and closes by removing the entire top piece, which is the bulk of the box. It's an interesting design, but the cardboard piece on the bottom portion that the top portion closes around when you put it back on is already showing wear on my artbox. It's still a great box though, and the artwork is a great example of the shows style. The image of Renton on the box seems a bit young compared to his age in the series, but that's only minor nitpicking. Eureka Seven tells the story of a young boy named Renton, whose life just plain sucks. That is until a giant robot crashes into his house. Piloted by a girl named Eureka, this encounter will lead Renton to be pursued by the military and pulled into a web of drama, intrigue, and non-stop action. Renton's time to daydream is over! The #1 Show in Japan, from Studio Bones. Genre: Action/Sci-fi/Mecha.

Eureka Seven, Volume 6 (Special Edition)

Eureka Seven, Volume 6 (Special Edition) Review

An amazing volume that really brings a great deal of the development in the series recently together. The series is obviously far from over(as I should hope considering this is only the 6th release of 12), but this was still obviously a pivotal volume for this series.

My only real complaint is that a few portions of the time Renton spends with Charles and Ray seems a little awkward. Not a big deal considering all the character development we see with Renton, and even more so with Eureka herself. We even get some hints at the greater storyline in the third episode on this volume along with a some "edge of your seat" moments in the last episode and an important battle of sorts.

The technical merits remain strong with the series and the performances and music all come together with their usual grandeur.

The shirt provided with this special edition is a light gray shirt in size large with the Eureka Seven logo printed on the upper corner of the front and the japanese segement of the logo printed large on the back. The manga remains true to itself, which is disappointing to me as I find it lacking the style and substance the series portrays so effectively.

Eureka Seven, Volume 6 (Special Edition) Feature

• Away from the Gekko, Renton has found a new home with a pair of enigmatic mercenaries: Charles and Ray Beam. And though the duo has opened both their ship and their hearts to Renton, their true agenda will force Renton once again to decide to choose between his new life or his old one. Meanwhile on board the Gekko, Eureka and Holland must come to terms and deal with their contrasting emotions towa

Away from the Gekko, Renton has found a new home with a pair of enigmatic mercenaries: Charles and Ray Beam. And though the duo has opened both their ship and their hearts to Renton, their true agenda will force Renton once again to decide to choose between his new life or his old one. Meanwhile on board the Gekko, Eureka and Holland must come to terms and deal with their contrasting emotions towards Renton. Eureka will her blossoming love, and Holland with his growing hate. Will Eureka's emotions be enough to bring spur search to Renton back to the Gekko? Or will a mysterious pair of mercenaries and a vast military fleet be enough to prevent Renton from discovering where his true home lies? Winner of Top Honors at the 200t Anime Expo SPJA Awards. Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Mecha. THIS ITEMS IS SPECIAL EDITION and includes Vol 6 DVD of Eureka Seven, the 4th issue of Bandai's Hit Eureka Seven Manga, and an exclusive T-shirt.

Shoah (4 Disc Set & 184 Page Book Special Edition Box Set) (UK PAL/Region 2)

Shoah (4 Disc Set & 184 Page Book Special Edition Box Set) (UK PAL/Region 2) Review

I have been reading and studying about the Holocaust for roughly 45 years. When I was young I couldn't understand how such a thing could occur and yet it did and on such a mammouth scale that comprehension still escapes us. I had heard about "Shoah" for anumber of years and would have watched it sooner except I could never find it on any available network or other outlet. Thus I bought my own copy and watched it over the course of a couple of months.

"Shoah" is a set of 4 DVDs that have approximately 125 "chapters" overall and a viewing time of 9 1/2 hours. It consists of a number of interviews with Holocaust survivors, witnesses and even a few participants. The series of interviews are generally in a loosely chronological order as far as the events they describe. This makes for a more orderly (if that is possible) and focused perspective. The overall cast of interviewees are somewhat limited (thanks largely to the SS and similar obstacles) yet they provide a great deal of detailed eyewitness accounts of their experiences. There are two or three German officials interviewed (one who was apparently unaware he was being recorded) and their information was also an important inclusion in the overall accounts. The interviews often took place indoors but the director used plenty of outdoor footage of the actual sites in which the events being described took place. The last part of the last DVD focuses on the Warsaw Ghetto and the subsequent uprising. The account of Simha Rottem, a survivor of the Warsaw Getto uprising, may have been the most impressive of the many soberly stunning accounts in the film.

There are some aspects of the movie that I found less absorbing than others but they were very few. I thought that the director, Claude Lanzmann, spent too much time talking to Raul Hilberg, an historian. Mr. Hilberg had some relevant things to offer but he was an outsider in a film made up of interviewers with insiders. There was also a Polish leader by the name of Jan Karski who had a real hard time getting himself up to talking about what he had witnessed in the Warsaw Ghetto. I thought that his reaction to the relatively "tame" events and observations he shared were also out of sinc with the rest of the film.

"Shoah" is essential viewing for serious students of the Holocaust. The greater monstrosities are all there as well as the day to day life and the acceptance that their survival may have been as incomprehensible as the events they survived. There were a number of times during "Shoah" when the survivor is relating his observations almost non-challantly only to come to a point where a sudden reminder of a person, a comment, or an incident emotionally overwhelms them completely. After a moment or two of sheer anguish, the speaker continues on with his account as though nothing had interrupted his "presentation". The mixture of Humanity and inhumanity is the ultimate greatness of "Shoah". * PAL/Region 2 pressing.

* Please note you will need a Multi-Region/Multi-Format DVD player to view. This will not play on standard US DVD players/drives. If you don't know what this means, don't order this!

UK only Director approved edition includes a new progressive transfer, improved English sub-titles along with a 184-page book featuring writing by Stuart Liebman and analysis by Claurde Lamzman.

Shoah is Claude Lanzmann's landmark documentary meditation on the Holocaust. Assembled from footage shot by the filmmaker during the 1970s and 1980s, it investigates the genocide at the level of experience: the geographical layout of the camps and the ghettos; the daily routines of imprisonment; the inexorable trauma of humiliation, punishment, extermination; and the fascinating insights of those who experienced these events first hand. Absent from the film is any imagery shot at the time the Holocaust occurred. There is only Lanzmann and his crew, filming in private spaces and now-dormant zones of eradication to extract testimony from a series of survivors, witnesses, and oppressors alike. Through his relentless questioning (aided on occasion by hidden camera), Lanzmann is able to coax out material of unparalleled emotional truth that constitutes both precious oral history and withering indictment. Shoah (the title is a common designation for the Holocaust, and a Hebrew word that can be translated as 'Catastrophe' or 'Annihilation') was the first of Lanzmann's films to analyse the effects of the death camps on individual lives and the world at large. It represents an aesthetic achievement in line with Alain Resnais's Night and Fog, combining inquiry, rage, and mourning to create a monumental portrait of shame and grief. Shoah locates within the present a direct line to the horrors of the past, and is widely regarded as one of the most powerful films of all time.

Traffic

Traffic Review

My personal feelings for `Traffic' as a whole have had quite the yo-yo effect. When I first saw the film I really loved it. Over time my adoration has dwindled but upon a recent viewing I have come to respect it more than I think I ever have. While it is still a flawed work and one that I don't consider a major triumph, I feel as though the ambitious nature of the film is worth applauding and consider it a very integral part of this past decade.

The film tells three separate stories that overlap telling a fuller story concerning the war on drugs here in the US. We have the newly appointed government drug czar, Robert Wakefield, who struggles with his new assignment as well as with his wayward daughter Caroline, who has a serious drug habit of her own. We also have Helena Ayala, the beautiful yet naïve wife of a recently incarcerated drug-kingpin. And then we have Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro in his Oscar winning role), the conflicted police officer who serves as the films moral center; one of shifting focus and impending consequence.

While at times it feels as though it bites off more than it can chew, there is so much going on here that it seems to more than make up for its faults.

The acting here is pretty much sensational. Del Toro is the standout, delivering a natural and completely inhabited performance, but he is not the only actor at the top of their game. Michael Douglas, who is not an actor I am overly fond of, delivers his best performance, in my humble opinion, as a concerned parent folding under the pressure or raising awareness as well as a daughter. Speaking of that daughter, Erika Christensen is simply brilliant here. The way she constructs her characters addiction is heartbreaking and sincere. This film is all about grit and realism and she masters that with her beautifully tragic performance.

Don Cheadle, Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace and Catherine Zeta-Jones only form a small fraction of this talented cast.

The true star of the show here is director Steven Soderbergh. With a film that tries to do so much, Soderbergh keeps throwing it at us, visually as well as thematically. Where the script may drop the ball or find itself (at times) bogged down, Soderbergh makes sure that the visual feast before us is captivating yet raw and unnerving. While I would not have handed him the director award myself, I totally understand why he got it. He takes each story and builds its own separate mood and feel yet ties each story in, creating a cohesive and complex portrayal of human interaction and suffering.

There is a universal `flow' that permeates this film and makes it work even when it technically shouldn't.

So, in the end I highly recommend this. My rating is back to an A because, despite its flaws, `Traffic' is a great film that works to its strengths and delivers in the end. It is a film that definitely understands its subject and it is something we can appreciate and glean from even now, ten years down the road. No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 22-MAY-2007
Media Type: DVD

Eureka Seven Music DVD w/Bonus CD

Eureka Seven Music DVD w/Bonus CD Review

I love listening to all of the opening and ending songs whenever I watch the show, and have wanted to get them on CD for the longest time. However, I didn't want to have to get two OSTs in order to own all of the OP/ED songs, especially if they are the TV versions (from what I've managed to find out). Luckily, this CD solves that problem, and more.

For those who are curious about what exactly this CD has:
the first disk, the CD, has the full-length (not TV-sized) version of ALL of the opening/ending songs, and also includes "REALIZE", the opening to the E7 video games, and the 10- minute version of "Niji", arguably one of the best songs in the entire series. (it's the song that played during the last episode, before the Epilogue.)
The second disk, the DVD, contains the TV intro/endings, the intro to both of the E7 games, and has a 10-minute special video of Niji.

If you wanted to hear the full versions of your favorite OP/ED song(s), and have them all on the same CD, then this CD/DVD set is well-worth your money.

Eureka Seven Music DVD w/Bonus CD Feature

• The Eureka Seven music DVD with bonus CD is a must have for any fan of the series! Unlike the Japanese release which only collected the edited versions of each song this collection takes it to the next level with full versions of some of the best music this side of the Scub Coral! Along with the bonus soundtrack the DVD does not disappoint with its compilation of textless opening and closing seque

The Eureka Seven music DVD with bonus CD is a must have for any fan of the series! Unlike the Japanese release which only collected the edited versions of each song this collection takes it to the next level with full versions of some of the best music this side of the Scub Coral! Along with the bonus soundtrack the DVD does not disappoint with
its compilation of textless opening and closing sequences from both the TV series and the PS2 games