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
Some play the game. He changed it! Stuck as a dead-end grocery clerk Cord Christopher (Snoop Dogg) is down on his luck broke and frustrated. And while he doesn't have much he has a way with the ladies. Cord realizes his true calling when Orange Juice (Hawthorne James) a legendary veteran of the pimp game pays an unexpected visit and shows him the ropes. With Orange Juice as his guide and the girl of his dreams Chardonnay Allen (Shillae Anderson) on his arm Cord embrac
After his capture in the wilderness the legendary bloodthirsty creature 'Chupacabra' escapes into the city creating mayhem and panic. As they pursue the deadly beast an animal control officer and scientist realize that a vigilante with his own suspicious motive is also tracking the elusive killer for a mysterious research facility run by Dr. Goodspeed...
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
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Voluptuous nymphets young studs the last virgin in school a bald nutcase and an obsessed detective are all plagued by the return of the infamous 'Lawnmower Killer' in this comedy that satirises scenes from such films as 'Alien' 'Saturday Night Fever' 'Grease' and 'The Exorcist'!
Sloan is back.... Sasha Mitchell triumphantly returns to the ring as David Sloan fighting not just for his survival but for his beautiful wife who has become the sexual captive of the despicable world champion Tong Po. Framed forgotten and furious Sloan has been wasting away in prison but the Feds agree to release him if he will lead them inside Tong Po's impenetrable Mexican fortress protected by its deadly guards and adorned by its sexual slaves. Sloan reluctantly teams up
The second series of Farscape expands upon and develops the characters introduced in the ambitious first series. 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 Farscape the most original-looking SF show on TV. The witty scripts, peppered with postmodern pop-culture references and movie in-jokes, are also a breath of fresh air. Despite some wildly erratic shifts in tone, this is exceptional TV science fiction that continually pushes the accepted boundaries of the genre. --Mark Walker
The second series of Farscape expands upon and develops the characters introduced in the ambitious first series. 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 Farscape the most original-looking SF show on TV. The witty scripts, peppered with postmodern pop-culture references and movie in-jokes, are also a breath of fresh air. Despite some wildly erratic shifts in tone, this is exceptional TV science fiction that continually pushes the accepted boundaries of the genre. --Mark Walker
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Five handsome bachelors. One lucky woman! When Lucy's seemingly perfect boyfriend dumps her she just wants to hide away in her apartment - but her friends set her up with a series of blind dates: a shy entomologist (John Hannah) a sensual playwright (Gael Garcia Bernal) a hunky doctor (David Boreanaz) a self-centred baseball player (Anthony LaPaglia) and a bickering businessman (Henry Thomas). But which man is Mr Right?
Poor Rosanna Arquette ended up in this Van Damme potboiler about an escaped convict who moves onto the farm of a widow (Arquette) and her two kids. Stuff happens: a cop who likes her gets jealous and beats up the Muscles from Brussels (but only after handcuffing him), there's a fire in the barn, bad guys are trying to drive her away, etc. The story was first developed by screenwriter Joe Eszter has (Basic Instinct) and the late director Richard Marquand (Eye of the Needle). Eszter wrote the script but who knows what direction this story was originally going? Van Damme's best film is still Timecop and this is a long way from the quality of that. --Tom Keogh
Set early in the 22nd century 'Enterprise' focuses on a history of the galactic upheaval that leads to the formation of The Federation. Its compelling stories of team bravery and individual heroism are sure to answer countless questions for both die-hard fans of the series and neophytes to the 'Star Trek' universe. Starring a fresh young cast this exciting new chapter continues to push the edge of the visual envelope with the kind of state of the art special effects that have made
Under intense scrutiny, the debut season of Enterprise earned a passing grade from critics and Star Trek fans alike. Voyager ended its seven-season run just four months earlier, and fans were skeptical when Enterprise premiered (on Sept. 26, 2001, on UPN) with a theme song ("Where My Heart Will Take Me," composed by Diane Warren and performed by Russell Watson) that defied Trek's revered theme-music tradition. This and other early reservations were dispelled when "Broken Bow" got the series off to a satisfying start, beginning in the year 2151 and establishing a pre-Federation focus on humanity's delicate relationship with the Vulcans, the controversial launch of the NX-01 Enterprise on an exploratory mission, and the potentially devastating consequences of the mysterious Temporal Cold War involving a time-traveling splinter group of the Suliban, a nomadic alien race. While establishing a testy relationship between Enterprise Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his smart-and-sexy Vulcan Sub-Commander, T'Pol (Jolene Blalock, in a short-banged wig and form-fitting "cat-suit" that were later redesigned), the series introduced engineer "Trip" Tucker (Connor Trineer), whose surprise pregnancy in "Unexpected" made him a fan favorite; communications officer Hoshi Sato (Linda Park); helmsman Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery); weapons expert Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), and chief surgeon Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley), a well-mannered Denobulan recruit from Earth's Interspecies Medical Exchange. As a "prequel' series that predates the original Star Trek by 150 years, Enterprise built upon established Trek lore with episodes involving Vulcans ("Breaking the Ice"), Klingons ("Sleeping Dogs"), the blue-skinned Andorians ("The Andorian Incident," "Shadows of P'Jem"), and the Ferengi ("Acquisition") while offering stand-alone episodes (notably "Dear Doctor," "Fortunate Son," and "Shuttlepod One") that further acquainted fans with the Enterprise regulars. Early Trek technology is also introduced (including "phase pistols" and the rarely-used, still-risky transporter), and the series drew strength from what many felt would be its primary weakness: unwritten history and the initial indecisiveness of Archer's bold foray into the unknown. Ending with a dazzling "Shock Wave" cliffhanger that leaves Archer stranded in a decimated Temporal Cold War future, Enterprise set a strong foundation for the events of Season Two. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
The seventh and final season 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 counselor 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), in which 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 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/supervillain 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
On the verge of the breakthrough of his career an ambitious young journalist learns that his mother is dying. The discovery forces him to re-evaluate his life and responsibilities; particularly when he inherits he care of his younger sister Roberta who has Down's Syndrome and has always lived at home. At first he protests but gradually these mismatched siblings achieve a hard-won kind of rapprochement one which transforms all of their lives in unexpected ways...
Set early in the 22nd century 'Enterprise' focuses on a history of the galactic upheaval that leads to the formation of The Federation. Its compelling stories of team bravery and individual heroism are sure to answer countless questions for both die-hard fans of the series and neophytes to the 'Star Trek' universe. Starring a fresh young cast this exciting new chapter continues to push the edge of the visual envelope with the kind of state of the art special effects that have made
Federal Service Agent Justin Vanier has been assigned to infiltrate the Virtual Arts Academy in search of another operative Eric. In this high-tech facility controlled by Warbeck a new generation of assassins trains for actual killings in a virtual reality arena. Penetrating the organization as a new recruit Justin finds Eric and joins forces with the idealistic Vicki. Together they must bring down Warbeck before another assassination is committed. Combatting holographic programs of limitless power Justin and Eric combine their skills to escape the computer generated world and confront Warbeck in an explosive battle where the pain is very real.
Tsui Hark's triumphant return to making a film set in the present day, Time and Tide, is so fast-moving and kinetically stylised that at times the plot's coherence has to be taken on trust. Young barman Tyler (Nicholas Tse) gets a lesbian cop pregnant after a drunken one-night stand when she fell out with her lover. He feels an obligation to raise money to help her and takes a job in the third-rate bodyguard company of Uncle Li (Anthony Wong), showing a real flair for the job, but not for Li's over-organised system. Coincidentally, he befriends Jack (Wu Bai), husband of the daughter of Li's main client, but also a retired mercenary, whose former allies are in town and up to no good. The two friends find themselves intermittently co-operating and opposed as they pursue their separate agendas; the violence, the bodycount and the special effects all escalate continually. Highlights include some spectacular scenes of grappling down skyscrapers and Tyler's delivering the baby of his friend's wife while she shoots one of her husband's enemies over his shoulder--Tsui Hark's take on the post-John Woo thriller is entertainingly exaggerated and semi-parodic. On the DVD: The DVD has a choice of English, German and Cantonese dubbing and subtitles in 18 languages from Hindi to Icelandic, and comes with filmographies and theatrical trailers. The soundtrack, full of loud music and explosions, is presented in an abrasively loud Dolby Sound. The film is presented in widescreen letterbox in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio; the digital format brings out its deliberately garish colours and use of shadows. --Roz Kaveney
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