Babylon 5 - The Complete Television Series (5-Pack) (1994) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a lover of sci-fi series, it's great to see such a saga sold as a set. The reality for the B5 connoisseur is that this isn't the Full Monty. You should also purchase "Babylon 5 - The Movie Collection" and the B5 spin-offs "Crusade - The Complete Series" and "The Legend of the Rangers". The reasons are indicated below in my recommended viewing order.
1. Watch the B5 movie "The Gathering"
The Babylon 5 pilot movie The Gathering was originally broadcast in 1993 a full year ahead of the regular show.
2. Season 1
3. Season 2
4. Season 3
5. Watch Season 4 up to episode "The illusion of truth"
6. Watch the B5 movie "Thirdspace"
7. Season 4: continue with episodes 9-22
8. Watch Season 5 up to episode "Objects at Rest"
9. Watch the B5 movie "River of Souls"
10. Watch the B5 movie "In the Beginning"
This is a prelude set 10 years before Babylon 5. Against the logic of the title, I would strongly recommend seeing it at this stage. Should one see it before Season 1, much of the suspense in the main series would be ruined.
11. Watch the B5 movie "A Call to Arms"
This movie lays the groundwork for the spin-off TV series "Crusade".
12. The Lost Tales - Thanks to Eric Pregosin for his comments to build on the original list
13. Season 5: watch final episode "Sleeping in light"
14. Watch Crusade Series
The question which is debated in several other reviews is: Despite the release dates of the material produced, in what order should it be seen? In particular, if the viewer is a total new comer to the series. The above is an attempt to give some structure to great content so it is more enjoyable as a complete work.
PS - It is astounding that the Warner marketing dept. gives no official recommendation on how these products should be best enjoyed.
PS 2 Update - As "The Legend of the Rangers" was released long after I finished watching Babylon 5, I'm not sure where to place this. Any comments would be appreciated.

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Own all five seasons of the award-winning series about the space station that's the tumultuous center of the 23rd century's bid for peace among humans and aliens.

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Dances with Wolves - Extended Cut (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (1990) Review

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(More customer reviews)When Dances With Wolves first came out, I had some doubts about seeing it. All of my life I had seen movies that either presented my tribe (the "Sioux" or more accurately the "Lakota") as a bunch of savages, or used non-Native American actors to portray "Indian" roles. The book, Dances with Wolves was dumb (they were Comanches???). The movie surprised me. If it hadn't been for Kevin Costner's acting, I would give this five stars. He did a great job of directing the movie, but he came across as a total idiot in the movie ( in my opinion). What I liked most about the film was the accuracy, and use of the language (which was my first tongue), as well as the Native American cast. The extended version is even better, filling in a few gaps, and expanding on a few scenes that needed it. Overall, a very good movie; I can't count how many times I have seen it.

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A "truly spectacular" (The New York Times) film that combines action, romance and breathtaking adventure, Dances With Wolves is "a cinematic masterpiece" (American Movie Classics) that is nothing short of "a triumph" (Roger Ebert)!Sent to protect a US outpost on the desolate frontier, Lt. John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) finds himself alone in the vast wilderness. Befriending the very people he's sent to protect the outpost from, the Sioux Indians, Dunbar slowly comes to revere those he once feared. But when the encroaching US Army threatens to overrun the Sioux, he is forced to make a choiceone that will forever change his destiny and that of a proud and defiant nation.

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The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)So the commercials all promote Jackie Chan and Jet Li. What they neglect to do is mention, I dunno, the **main character** of the film, a young Boston kid named Jason Tripitikas (played by Michael Anganaro).
So the movie's basically a kid film. You have a reluctant hero who gets sent to a fantasy version of China, and along the way he learns martial arts and Eastern philosophy.
What did I like about it? The fight scenes are, for the most part, fantastic. They start off a little weak, get better over time, and then get absolutely fantastic when you have both Jet Li and Jackie Chan in the film. The fight scenes are weakest when there's too much CGI in them -- but most of them are purely physical, and quite good.
The Chinese fantasy aspects are authentic, if not accurate (much in the same way the HBO series Rome is not a completely accurate recounting of events, but an authentic recreation of the tone of ancient Rome). They throw in things like The Monkey King and his golden staff, soldier monks, drunken immortals and even The Bride With White Hair. And the Chinese philosophy, for those familiar with it, is spot on.
Jackie Chan and Jet Li are fantastic not only as fighters, but comedically as well. (There's a scene involving rain that had absolutely everyone in the theater laughing hard.) Anganaro puts in a surprising turn physically -- he looks like he got a lot of martial training. Yifei Liu is heartbreakingly lovely.
It's probably a little scary for young kids -- there is some intense violence in the beginning, for instance. And there are sappy moments, as you would expect for a kid's film. But it means well. I have to say that I had a bit of trouble making out the English of some of the Chinese actors sometimes, tho -- and I'm Chinese-American! I worry others might have even worse problems.
Still, overall, I liked it.

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Individually, they've starred in the most adrenaline-pumping martial-arts adventures ever.Together for the first time, Jet Li and Jackie Chan join forces to create the greates epic of them all- THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM.As ancient Chinese warriors, they must train and mentor a 21st century kung-fu fanatic who's been summoned to fight a centuries-old battle and free the imprisoned Monkey King.If you're a fighting fan, the wait is over.The team is ready.The Kingdom has arrived.

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Hero (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)I feel like I have been waiting a long time to see this movie and that the trailer for "Hero" ("Ying xiong") has been teasing us for at least a year. I have to admit that I fully expected to see an epic full of battle scenes and massed armies of men. My mistake. This film from China is a pointed fable, distilled from legend that may well be myth, and with a point that may well be lost on Western audiences. This is clear from those viewers who are unwilling to accept the conventions of wire work in Chinese martial art pictures and whose standard of realism refuses to allow for the poetic ballet of combat.
The prologue makes it clear that this story takes place in China before it was China, when the land was made up of seven warring provinces and the King of Qin (Chen Dao Ming) dreamt of conquering the other six provinces and uniting the land. For years the king has been unable to have a peaceful night of sleep because there are three assassins who are out to kill him. Now comes a nameless warrior (Jet Li), who has come to the imperial court to be rewarded for killing the three unbeatable assassins. He is warned that he may not approach within 100 paces of the king or he will be killed. But because he has bested the assassin Sky (Donnie Yen) in combat, he is allowed with 20 paces to tell his story.
Most of the story of "Hero" is told in flashback as Nameless tells his stories and the king questions him. We also learn of the fates of Broken Sword (Tony Leung) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), two assassins who were also a pair of lovers. But there is more than one truth and more than one tale to be told in this film. Director Zhang Yimou, improving on the artistry we first enjoyed in "Raise the Red Lantern," color codes the stories that we see. First the story is told in lush shades of red, then in cool blue, again in white, and finally in green. Drops of water and swirling yellow leaves all become parts of the dances of death during the fight sequences, captured by cinematographer Christopher Doyle. "Hero" is a gorgeous film that uses its saturated colors better than any film of recent memory. There is a code to the colors, but that is something you need to come to terms with on your own.
Another strength of this film is that the fighting (choreographed by Wei Tung) and special effects do not overwhelm the actors who are required to play what is on some level the same scene as slightly different characters. I know there are computer generated effects in this film, especially since there are more arrows shot in "Hero" than any film in history, but for once I did not get the feel that what I was seeing was not real. That is become this film keeps coming back to questions of aesthetics, from the breathtaking use of color to the eloquent idea that swordsmanship and calligraphy are intrinsically awaited.
Special mention has to be made of the music, composed by Dun Tan and featuring violin solos and fiddling by Itzhak Perlman along with drumming by the Japanese group Kodo. I have never really seen one of those Hong Kong kung fu movies where everyone screams while they fight and I might never get around to it given the silent eloquence of the fights in movies like "Hero" (not to mention "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), where the moments are underscored by the sound of clashing swords, pounding drums, and a violin. "Hero" is an art film, albeit one made on a larger and more colorful canvas.
"Hero" may be sold as being a big film but it is really about something relatively plain and simple. I disagree with the idea that either the style or substance of the film is beyond our Western sensibilities. Apparently the reason the film has the "Quentin Tarantino Presents" tag at the start was so that Miramax would not cut 20 minutes of the film out on the pretext that it too Asian/confusing for Western audiences. Indeed, I have seen some critics who professes to be confused about the complex plot and I can only wonder if they were equally confused by "Rashomon," an obvious reference point to this one (in many ways Yimou owes more to Akira Kurosawa's classic film than to Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). Certainly after a century of cinema we are capable to looking at the same thing from multiple perspectives and enjoying this gem of a film that has finally made its way to our shores.

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Master filmmaker Quentin Tarantino presents HERO -- starring martial arts legend Jet Li in a visually stunning martial arts epic where a fearless warrior rises up to defy an empire and unite a nation! With supernatural skill ... and no fear ... a nameless soldier (Jet Li) embarks on a mission of revenge against the fearsome army that massacred his people. Now, to achieve the justice he seeks, he must take on the empire's most ruthless assassins and reach the enemy he has sworn to defeat! Acclaimed by critics and honored with numerous awards, HERO was nominated for both an Oscar® (2002 Best Foreign Language Film)and Golden Globe!

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Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay, a four hour gangster movie is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, especially when the pacing is absolutely glacial and DeNiro and Woods aren't on-screen for about half that time because of a childhood flashback that's longer than some full movies. But, if you take this movie on the terms director Sergio Leone sets, it's a richly rewarding cinemeatic experience. I've heard the film described as "an opium dream of a gangster movie" and the pacing seems to justify such a response. But it's slow and richly detailed, and a little odd at times, for very good reasons that pay off in spades by the film's emotionally titanic (though slightly anti-climactic} finale.
Despite what can seem like turgidness on first viewing, this film is likely to stick to your ribs and merit repeat screenings. DeNiro smolders throughout, while James Woods delivers a teriffic scenery-chewing performance. The story is friendship (and betrayal, of course)--or is it Romulus and Remus? Greek tragedy, perhaps? Godfather parts 1 and 2 rolled into one film? Yes, and more. And viewers familliar with Leone only through his spagetti westerns are in for a surprise: Leone is a world-class film-maker here, capable of stunning beauty and cruelty, often within the same frame.
Does it really need to be this slow? Does the flashback to childhood need to be almost and hour and a half long (don't worry--it's absorbing enough in its own right to keep you from noticing)? Does the the chronology need to be so screwy? Does that darn phone need to ring so long? Absolutely.

Fans of Woods, DeNiro, Leone, or gangster movies in general canot afford to pass this film up. The supporting cast, especially the young actors playing the gang members in thier childhood, is also consistently stellar. Best viewed on a cold wintry afternoon when you've got plenty of time. Opium not provided.

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Studio: Warner Home VideoRelease Date: 01/11/2011Run time: 229 minutesRating: R

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Milk (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Gus Van Sant has always been an excellent if somewhat eclectic director. Although I have enjoyed his previous efforts, I was somewhat apprehensive when I heard he was undertaking a film biography of Harvey Milk. A gay figure of this importance, I thought, should be handled by someone a little more mainstream. Like many gay people, I am weary of gay-themed films that reach no one beyond a gay audience, and the message I would want to emerge from a film about Harvey Milk should be heard by everyone.
As if reading my mind, Mr. Van Sant has fashioned a film that is accessible to all, while approaching his subject with sharp focus and a singleness of purpose that is at once definitive and topical. A stunning achievement, MILK manages to make its point without ever being preachy or trite, while remaining as true to the facts as any film bio could ever hope to be.
The film opens with snippets of gay history that many young gay people, let alone a straight audience, may be shocked to discover. During the opening credits, a barrage of vintage film clips remind us that a scant 50 years ago, gay men, lesbians and transsexuals were subjected to violence, harassment, physical abuse, arrest and humiliation by the very people that most citizens look to for protection; i.e. the police and judicial authorities. The newsreel images of gay bar raids that open MILK project a surreal yet somehow eerily familiar atmosphere that seems to alternate between the bizarre and the barbaric. Many people today are not aware that, in the 1940's and 1950's, right here in the USA, gay people were arrested for simply patronizing a gay bar (newspaper headline: "Den of Perverts Busted"). Many of those arrested had their names and employers published in the morning paper (!), and often found themselves unemployed and unemployable, branded with the label of "deviate". It is this chilling fact of social injustice that clears the way for the film's swing into a very important piece of gay history.
Skillfully telling us the story of Milk's rise as a leader in the Castro Gay Community of San Francisco, Harvey Milk is seen throughout the film as a living, breathing flesh and blood person. Van Sant adroitly propels Sean Penn through a warts-and-all portrayal of a frail human being with an idealistic bent and a politician's savvy. As with any good film, it is difficult, if not impossible, to discern which is more impressive - the balance of a perfect cast and lovingly detailed direction weave their way through a seamless portrait of an important historical figure, yet we are somberly reminded that many people remember Harvey Milk solely for the "Twinkie" defense of his star-crossed killer. The end result is that gay audiences emerge from seeing this film with a sense of pride and purpose, while straight audiences leave with a better knowledge of who we (gay people) are, what we want, and what we are struggling for. By word of mouth I expected a thrilling cinematic experience; what I got was a surprisingly near-perfect motion picture and some of the best acting I've ever seen. I heartily recommend MILK to any straight person who wants to get a grasp on what the last 30 years of gay history were really all about, and any gay person who wants to feel good about themselves. MILK is a triumph. See it.

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Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)...but considering the minimal budget (20 million dollars American) and the genuine Mongolian (some areas so isolated that new roads had to be built to get the film crews there) locations filmed, this was a fantastic movie that was well-paced for an introduction to the life of Temudjin, who would become the Genghis Khan.
Despite the low budget, nothing in the movie looks cheaply filmed; everything looks like that of a big budget film six times more expensive, from costumes to makeup (and the craggly dirt buildup on Temudjin during his time in captivity). I don't speak Mongolian, so I can't tell whether the accents spoken are accurately Mongolian, but for an American audience, it was great for authenticity (rather than having them speak Russian or Kazakh).The movie excels in two particular aspects which really make this one more than just a casual ancient-world flick; the battles and the people.While Genghis Khan is demonized in the West as a barbarous conqueror, he is seen like a hero in the East, and this movie serves to show him as both and neither, making him more than just black or white, but a fully fleshed out person with ambitions to uniting all the Mongol tribes as one beneath him. He is utterly believable as a human being, fallible, and seemingly very much driven by his love for his wife and children, whom he nevertheless must leave constantly to fulfill his dream.
There is also Jamukha, who manages to be both a piggish, slothy figure, and a noble, loyal friend to Temudjin, when their dreams conflict and they become enemies, with a very painful and realistic portrayal of just why Jamukha would betray Temudjin, and his lack of joy in facing his opponent on a field of battle.Then there's the battles. As any Ancient/Medieval war movie to be expected, it is bloody. My only annoyances in a puritanic-historian way were the suits of armor, which seemed not to be made of much metal as they would have been in Mongolian times.
Another minor thing that becomes a little excessive, and arguably rather like a recurring joke is shots of blood, showing them being spilled in thousands of thick drops rather than in fountains or bursts of liquid.The final battle sequence manages to both utilize the Mongolian expertise in archery and cavalry and innovate with something both insanely risky and never before seen in Medieval battle depictions. Likely seen in the trailer, as Jamukha sends the bulk of his cavalry force at Temudjin's center, he unleashes a very small number of thickly armored cavalry, armed with double curves swords, which then rush through the enemy cavalry, using the swords to slash at the enemy's sides like Scythed Chariots.
The armored cavalry is a kamikaze force, as after brutalizing the enemy cavalry, Temudjin has his archers unleash a flood of arrows on the force, killing the cavalry on both sides down to a man.Overall a great movie, which doesn't sacrifice the macro-story of Genghis Khan and his dream of a Mongol empire for the micro-story of Temudjin's love life. Of which I wrote virtually nothing about.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Widescreen Edition) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Peter Jackson has done what could not be done. Deemed unfilmable for decades (with the terrible cartoons as an example of why), "The Lord of the Rings" took the audiences by storm when "Fellowship of the Ring" premiered in 2001. In 2002, anticipation was even higher, dread was lower -- and "Two Towers" is an outstanding continuation of the epic fantasy tale.
The movie picks up where "Fellowship" left off: Merry and Pippin have been captured by Uruk-hai, and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are pursuing them. But they are sidetracked by an old friend: Gandalf, returned in a new form and with new powers, as Gandalf the White. He takes them to the kingdom of Rohan, whose king is bewitched by the evil Saruman. They barricade the people of Rohan in the fortress of Helm's Deep, for a final defiant stand against an army of Uruk-hai.
Sam and Frodo have left, to venture into Mordor alone so that Frodo can destroy the Ring in Mordor's Mount Doom. When the two hobbits become lost in Emyn Muil, Frodo realizes that someone is following them: Gollum, the tormented, twisted former owner of the Ring. They capture Gollum, who swears to serve "the master of the Precious." But even Gollum's shaky allegiance isn't enough for them to succeed, because the Ring has started to bend Frodo to its will.
While the first movie revolved around Frodo, the Ring and the Fellowship, here the focus widens. We get a better sense of the epic quality of the story and how it affects the whole world, not just our heroes. Gondor is crumbling, Rohan is beaten down by orcs, and even the forces of nature -- the tree-like ents -- are being attacked by Sauron and Saruman. It's nature versus the destructive machines, and the wild wrecking of Saruman's forges by these ancient tree shepherds is something to cheer for.
Elijah Wood blossoms in this film as Frodo Baggins, the little hobbit who could. In the first movie Wood played Frodo as an innocent who loses his innocence; here he takes it a step further, showing the darkness and violence that are swallowing Frodo up. Because we saw what a bright, sweet person Frodo was before, it's all the more horrible to see him starting to slide down (even attacking his best friend -- the look on Frodo's face as he comes to his senses is stunning). Sean Astin perfectly embodies Sam Gamgee -- increasingly desperate, trying to keep Frodo from going under. He serves as a reminder of what Frodo is fighting for, and Astin has perhaps the most powerful lines of the film, near the end: "But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer." These simply-worded lines will bring tears to your eyes.
But if Frodo is just starting to be addicted, Gollum is a junkie. Even if Andy Serkis doesn't appear in one frame in the entire movie, his motions and voice are heard and seen behind an exquisitely detailed CGI puppet. This is no Jar Jar or Dobby -- Gollum is detailed down to the last hair and wrinkle, believable in his appearance (I actually forgot he was animated for most of the movie), and has a multifaceted personality that reflects his own inner struggle -- Smeagol and Gollum, good and evil. The scene where Gollum's two halves argue is too amazing for words.
The other supporting actors shine almost as brightly. Viggo Mortensen turns his reluctant hero Aragorn into a leader and a warrior. Ian McKellen manages to make Gandalf more stately and majestic, yet keeps that little grandfatherly twinkle. John Rhys-Davies provides a bit of comedy as Gimli, mostly related to Gimli's stature, but never loses his dignity; Orlando Bloom is outstanding as ethereal elf archer Legolas once again. Liv Tyler captures Arwen's fear of mortality and loneliness. Billy Boyd's Pippin and Dominic Monaghan's Merry, the well-meaning goofballs of "Fellowship," are now forced to make their own decisions. And new cast members Miranda Otto and Bernard Hill also shine as the strong-willed Eowyn and tough old king Theoden, in roles that will bloom further in the third film.
Peter Jackson (who makes a few cameos) once again outdoes himself with camerawork and direction. His cameras as like living things: they swoop, dive, pull back for outstanding combat shots and then zoom in for exquisite close-ups. The battle scenes are dark, bloody, explosive, and full of chaos; only near the finale does any hint of glory shine through. He adds little human touches (the family split up by the war) that give a glimpse of what the non-heroic, ordinary people are suffering.
Of course "Two Towers" isn't as good as the book. Few movies are. But taken purely as a cinematic experience, and an adaptation, "Two Towers" is virtually without peer. Epic, majestic, action-packed and brimming with pathos, this is a treasure. And they say "Return of the King" will be the best of all...

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Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship continue their quest to destroy the One Ring and stand against the evil of the dark lord Sauron. The Fellowship has divided and now find themselves taking different paths to defeating Sauron and his allies. Their destinies now lie at two towers - Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupted wizard Saruman waits and Sauron's fortress at Baraddur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.DVD Features:DVD ROM Features:Exclusive online contentDocumentaries:2 in-depth programs that reveal the secrets behind the production of this epic adventure, including: "On the set - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (Starz/Encore special) "Return to Middle-earth" (WB special)Featurette:8 featurettes originally created for lordoftherings.net: Forces of Darkness Sounds of Middle-earth) Edoras & Rohan Culture Creatures Gandalf the White Arms & Armor Helm's Deep Gollum: Andy Serkis, Bay RaittInteractive MenusMusic Video:Emiliana Torrini "Gollum Song" music videoOther:Exclusive 10-minute behind-the-scenes preview of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Short film by Sean Astin "The Long and Short of It" + making of Preview of Electronic Arts' video game, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King An inside look at the Special Extended DVD Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersTheatrical Trailer:Original theatrical trailers and TV spots

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Avatar (Three-Disc Extended Collector's Edition) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm primarily interested in the storyline differences between special sets and their theatrical counterparts, so here are the differences between the two (NOTE: SPOILERS FOLLOW).
The extended collector's edition runs 16 minutes 28 seconds longer than the theatrical cut, and listed below are the major differences.
1) The opening scene is different, and starts with Jake in a wheelchair on Earth, in a Blade Runner-esque Earth city. The scene moves to scenes of Jake in his apartment, then taking liquid shots in a bar. Jake's narration of "I told myself I can pass any test a man can pass" and "They can fix the spinal if you got the money. But not on vet benefits, not in this economy" are inserted during this new opening scene.
Jake beats up a bar patron who is mistreating a woman, and then Jake and wheelchair are unceremoniously thrown outside by bouncers into an alley. While in the alley, Jake meets the two RDA representatives who bring him news of his brother's untimely death. Then the movie cuts back to the original theatrical cut where Jake sees his brother's body cremated, then awakes in space.
2) During Jake's initial flyover of Pandora in his avatar, they witness a herd of Sturmbeasts, buffalo-like creatures.
3) After seeing the Sturmbeasts, Grace, Jake, and Norm stop by Grace's old English school for the Na'vi. The school is now closed, abandoned, and some walls are riddled with bullet-holes. Norm finds a Dr. Seuss book, "The Lorax", on the ground. This scene explains how Neytiri knew English so well, and certainly gives some further backstory into Grace Augustine's character.
Interestingly, The Lorax can be seen as a metaphor for the Pandoran story. Recall that the seemingly simple Seussian book is actually a lesson on the plight of the environment and industrialization.
4) We see some other different Pandoran flora and fauna, particularly with scenes of the luminescent forest floor.
5) Jake's first dinner with Neytiri is longer and extended, and it's here that she tells him her full name.
6) When Jake, Grace, and Norm first visit the Hallelujah Mountains on the way to the remote uplink station, Grace explains (in a Jake voiceover) that the mountains are levitated [via the Meissner Effect], because Unobtanium is a superconductor. There's a pretty spectacular CGI shot as the characters look around in awe at the suspended mountains.
7) Pictures of Grace and Na'vi children at her previously functioning school. Dr. Augustine tells Jake that she previously taught Neytiri and her sister, Sylwanin. However, one day, Sylwanin and some hunters destroyed an RDA bulldozer, and RDA SecOps troopers killed them at the school, which explains why the school walls were previously seen pockmarked with bullet holes.
8) Sturmbeast hunting scene after Jake tames a Banshee. After Jake successfully kills a Sturmbeast with an arrow, he and Neytiri chortle a "Heck yeah!" and whoop.
9) Jake and Neytiri's love scene comprises them linking braids together. Some kissing, nothing explicit.
10) Tsu'tey leads a war party that destroys the RDA's autonomous bulldozers, as well as the RDA SecOps squad that was guarding them. Corporal Wainfleet leads the search party that uncovers the evidence, via real-time helmet cam footage. Not sure why they cut this scene from the theatrical cut, as it persuades Selfridge to attack the Home Tree.
11) Attack of Hammerhead Titanotheres on RDA forces has been extended slightly; additional scenes of AMP-Suits getting destroyed.
12) Fight between Colonel Quaritch in AMP Suit and Neytiri on Thanator slightly longer.
13) Tsu'tey's death scene; in the theatrical cut, he falls off the RDA shuttle's aft ramp to his death. In the Collector's Edition, he falls to the forest floor, mortally wounded. He passes on leadership to Jake, and asks Jake to ceremonially kill him e.g. hara-kiri, so that Jake will be the last shadow that Tsu-Tey sees. Jake does so.
I preferred the original Tsu'tey death scene, which was more dramatic. Jake, had afterall, already become the de facto clan leader by that point in the movie, so further formal transfer by Tsu'tey (a minor character) seemed unnecessary.

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Experience the spectacular world of James Cameron's Avatar as never before with this all-new three-disc extended collector’s edition. The journey begins with three movie versions: the original theatrical release, the special edition re-release, and the exclusive extended cut not shown in theaters. The set's bonus feature run more than three hours and include over 45 minutes of deleted scenes and a feature-length documentary on the film's groundbreaking production. The greatest adventure of all time just got bigger and better.Versions of Avatar on Blu-ray and DVD
Contents of the DVD Extended Collector's EditionReview of the Original Theatrical EditionHere's what we had to say about the original theatrical edition of Avatar after seeing it on the big screen:After 12 years of thinking about it (and waiting for movie technology to catch up with his visions), James Cameron followed up his unsinkable Titanic with Avatar, a sci-fi epic meant to trump all previous sci-fi epics. Set in the future on a distant planet, Avatar spins a simple little parable about greedy colonizers (that would be mankind) messing up the lush tribal world of Pandora. A paraplegic Marine named Jake (Sam Worthington) acts through a 9-foot-tall avatar that allows him to roam the planet and pass as one of the Na'vi, the blue-skinned, large-eyed native people who would very much like to live their peaceful lives without the interference of the visitors. Although he's supposed to be gathering intel for the badass general (Stephen Lang) who'd like to lay waste to the planet and its inhabitants, Jake naturally begins to take a liking to the Na'vi, especially the feisty Neytiri (Zoë Saldana, whose entire performance, recorded by Cameron's complicated motion-capture system, exists as a digitally rendered Na'vi). The movie uses state-of-the-art 3D technology to plunge the viewer deep into Cameron's crazy toy box of planetary ecosystems and high-tech machinery. Maybe it's the fact that Cameron seems torn between his two loves--awesome destructive gizmos and flower-power message mongering--that makes Avatar's pursuit of its point ultimately uncertain. That, and the fact that Cameron's dialogue continues to clunk badly. If you're won over by the movie's trippy new world, the characters will be forgivable as broad, useful archetypes rather than standard-issue stereotypes, and you might be able to overlook the unsurprising central plot. (The overextended "take that, Michael Bay" final battle sequences could tax even Cameron enthusiasts, however.) It doesn't measure up to the hype (what could?) yet Avatar frequently hits a giddy delirium all its own. The film itself is our Pandora, a sensation-saturated universe only the movies could create. --Robert Horton

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The Way Back (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Way Back" is a masterpiece, a must-see film for thinking people and for lovers of cinema as a serious art form. I was on the edge of my seat through the entire film, and was stifling tears. I could not resist applauding at the end. I couldn't wait to discuss it with friends. Several hours after I left the theater, I kept seeing everything - a meaty sandwich, clean water flowing from the tap - through the prism of "The Way Back." I'm a long-time fan of director Peter Weir, who gave us classics like "Picnic at Hanging Rock," "Witness" and "The Year of Living Dangerously." Weir has outdone himself.
"The Way Back" depicts a long walk that Gulag escapees took from Siberia to India. I've been lucky enough, under luckier circumstances, to travel some of the world the film references, from Poland to the Himalaya. The film's authenticity in language, costume, even hairstyles, swept me up into its world.
Both Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia attacked Poland in September, 1939, thus beginning World War Two. At first, the Communists killed and deported more people even than the genocidal Nazis. Over a million Poles were deported in cattle cars. Many died; many never returned. No one knows exact numbers. Many struggled to return home, traveling on foot through Eurasia, making shorter treks comparable to that depicted in "The Way Back;" I've met such people.
Janusz (Jim Sturgess) is a young Pole falsely accused by Soviets. His wife is tortured to force a confession. Without ceremony, he is shipped to hellish Siberian concentration camps and mines. Janusz determines to escape, with a ragtag, multilingual crew of followers.
Janusz is not particularly handsome, or muscular, or super intelligent. He doesn't have a commanding voice or swagger. His potentially fatal flaw, in this environment, is kindness. Jim Sturgess' Janusz is one of the best aspects of the film. In real life, true leaders usually are not like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Janusz grew up in the woods, and knows how to jerry-rig a compass to point his group south, and a mask to survive blizzards. In the world of Gulag escapees, that's enough to make him the big man. Indeed, Valka, (Colin Farrell), a very tough gangster, declares, or diagnoses, that Janusz is the leader, the man whom the other escapees must obey, both for their own individual benefit and the benefit of group survival.
Prison escapees traveling thousands of miles of the Eurasian landmass with minimal gear face multiple dangers, from malnutrition-caused blindness to mosquitoes to snakes to dehydration. Some succumb, and die en route. You can't help but bet the same horrible game of chance that Valka proposes: who will die next? And will his meat be tender - that is, will we resort to cannibalism? A crew member falls. Surviving companions, in stunning testimony to their own humanity, take the time, burn the calories, devote the effort, to fashioning makeshift graves, and funerals. And then they march on.
What looks very beautiful on a calendar - an unspoiled mountain forest of snow-dusted evergreens - is actually all but an execution chamber for a hungry fugitive with no tools and only rags for shoes. The last thing a good man sees after making the simple mistake of walking too far with a limited light source will not be a breathtaking natural vista but a comforting, wrenching, hallucination of home.
Weir's best choice as a filmmaker here was simply to get out of the story's way. "The Way Back" does not want to be your best friend. Weir makes no attempt to cozy up to the viewer, to sweeten the story with phony warmth or touching crescendos. Weir makes no attempt to juice the action with cinematic steroids. For much of the film, the viewer is watching one grueling step after another.
Guess what? This is what it's like to suffer for a goal, this is what it's like to be crushed, this is what it's like, purely by chance - not because you are a better person or because God likes you more - to survive. You go on, hour after hour after seemingly pointless hour toward your questionable, impossible objective. This film is an endurance test. It will separate the men from the boys. Folks who think a movie about fantasy, sexy ballerinas is "great" filmmaking, and who think that temporarily losing their cell phone service is a human rights violation, will probably walk right out of "The Way Back."
Characterizations come slowly and are not forced. We discover, in a ruined monastery, that one character had been a priest. We discover that a girl can get taciturn men to talk. Characters speak of food, as hungry people do. "Add more salt!" to a fantasy meal, one begs. Valka makes a decision that caused this viewer to cry. I never thought the film could make me care about this murderous thug, but it did. There is inevitable, and surprising, laughter, also not forced, but integral to the circumstances.
There are moments of high drama. The men must fight wolves. Weir could have lavished lengthy close-ups on those sharp teeth, snarling snouts and prickly pelts. He doesn't. The wolves are onscreen only long enough to establish what they are and what they are up to. And then the next deadly and impossible challenge rolls down the shoot at the viewer, just as it did for those who took this long walk, and the millions of other humans like them, who have survived life and death challenges under impossible conditions. "The Way Back" is, like those poignant grave-markers the marchers make en route, testimony to those who have lived anonymous and agonizing lives in this pitiless world. If you don't think about the big questions while watching this film, and if you're not grateful to the film for that, you don't deserve it.

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A small band of multicultural convicts stage a daring escape from a World War II-era Siberian gulag, and embark on a treacherous journey across five countries in a desperate race for freedom and survival. Adapted from author, Slavomir Rawicz's, gripping memoir The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom, writer/director Peter Weir's sweeping POW drama stars Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, and Saoirse Ronan.

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