The Office: Season Four

A truncated, but great season
It's that time of year again - a magical time when television studios release their most successful shows from the previous season in deluxe and frequently expensive DVD sets. But this last seasons was, of course, different. The writers strike cut the season down to 16 episodes and, as expected, many are starting to complain that the price hasn't been discounted. Paying the same price for less product does seem unfair. That is, to everyone but the media industry. As for me, I'm not surprised in the slightest. I expect to be exploited by the media - it's nothing new. The real question is, with all Office season four episodes already available on NBC's website, will people feel cheated enough to forgo this collection altogether?

Season four seemed like something of a departure from the usual style. Earlier seasons featured many episodes with a more-or-less self-contained story that came to some sort of resolution within 21 minutes. Season four seemed to be mainly episodes...

Target version with 5th disc Q&A
Disappointing season compared to 1,3, and especially 2? Probably. Overpriced box set considering the shortened season due to the writer's strike? Definitely. Still one of the best shows on tv and still worth owning? Ye-esh. So should you buy it now or discounted later?

Well, i'm a fan of The Office and have all 4 seasons on dvd(recently addicted so i had to play catch-up). This was a day-1 purchase for me only because i love the show; and because i had a gift card and some discounts coming to me. I bought the special edition at Target with the bonus 5th disc being The Office Q&A convention in Scranton, PA with the supporting cast. If you don't know what to expect(i didn't), above all else don't expect professionalism or anything fancy. The convention looked huge and was packed with Office fans! The camera-work had a very "we coulda done this with a camcorder"-look to it. It has the standard host/audience's questions format. It lasts about an hour and is fun if...

Great Show! Terrible service!
First off, let me say I am completely in love with The Office, and it is one of my favorite TV shows in recent history. The plot is engaging, the story entertaining and the characters very memorable. Even people who have not seen the first few seasons would not miss much if they start with the fourth season.

However, my review is more of the Unbox Amazon player and service than the TV show itself.

I write episode recaps and review of the office for a small fan website and even though I watch the show on TV when it first airs, I like to have a copy of it to rewatch again while I am writing. Last season I used the iTunes season pass to accomplish this, but since the Office is not available on iTunes this year, I decided to download the video from Amazon instead.

My first impressions were very good! It was very easy to plug in my current account information into their one-click shopping and buy the episode. However, I then had to download their...

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The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Testosterone Overdrive
Lucas Black (the kid from the "American Gothic" TV series and the "X-Files" movie) has matured into a charismatic young actor with a brooding screen presence. He does a terrific job picking up the franchise torch from Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in this killer sequel, a well crafted guilty pleasure that delivers the Fast and Furious goods.

Sexy, colorful, edgy, expertly paced, with a great opening sequence and a knockout ending, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" is formula genre filmmaking at its absolute finest. The movie has a beautiful female lead (Nathalie Kelley), cool sidekicks, wonderfully over the top villains, and a great setting (the filmmakers do a great job utilizing the Tokyo locations).

This movie is a real rush of adrenaline. A wicked guilty pleasure that lives up to its title.

won't win any awards, but quite entertaining and well put together
The cast in this movie was extremely well chosen, and they all acted very well. Sean is a reckless, charming, somewhat troubled teenager, but he doesn't come across as stupid and careless--despite his angst and frequent bungles, he is immediately likable. When a car race with a peer at his school results in two wrecked cars and extensive damage to a local construction site, the only alternative he has to jail is to move to Tokyo and live with a relative (his father, I thought, but maybe his uncle...).

In Tokyo, Sean quickly discovers the racing scene. After trashing a race car, he has no choice but to work for Han, the car's owner, as compensation. Han is by far the best character in this movie, to the point that he seems out of place--you just don't expect a character THAT good in this sort of action flick. Han is a whimsical, philosophical and intense character. He completely upstages Sean and almost from the first moment you see him, calmly eating his chips while...

Revved Up
Loud, Brash, Noisy, Sexy, Morally Murky, Bursting with Energy and Guts, Justin Lin's (the terrific "Better Luck Tomorrow") take on episode 3 of the "Fast and Furious" franchise is a great way to spend a hot Summer afternoon along with a gallon size soft drink and a tub of Popcorn.

Here Lin is in Tokyo with the stoic, deadpan line reading Lucas Black (as the booted out of the US to avoid Juvenile detention, Shane Boswell...a car nut addicted to driving fast and grinning like a Cheshire cat) who, of course finds the local car culture and its inhabitants by way of a school pal, Twinkie played by the appealing Bow-Wow. And he just as quickly falls in with the "wrong crowd" consisting of Han, a sort of Sensei to Shane (the enigmatic and excellent Sung Kang from "Face" and "Better Luck Tomorrow"), and the villain of the piece, Yamata played with his face crunched and a constant sneer by Sonny Chiba. Then there is the lovely Neela (Nathalie Kelley...a dead ringer for FFI's...

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Transformers: The Complete Series

What You Should Know Before You Buy!
Transformers: The Complete Series is a new 15-DVD collection featuring all 98 remastered original Transformers episodes (and respective special features) from the following:

Transformers: The Complete First Season (25th Anniversary Edition)
Transformers: Season Two, Volume One (25th Anniversary Edition)
Transformers: Season Two, Volume Two (25th Anniversary Edition)
Transformers: Seasons Three & Four (25th Anniversary Edition)

Touted as an "unlimited" general retail release to replace the limited Transformers: The Complete Series (25th Anniversary Matrix of Leadership Edition), this 15-disc...

The Original Transformers Generation One Series!
I can't say enough about this cartoon! If you remember the original Transformers : Generation One cartoon from the 1980s, This is must have animated DVD set! The Transformers The complete series dvd set (1984-1987) is the original version. This is not the Michael Bay/Steven Spielberg live-action movies. Peter Cullen is the voice of Optimus Prime and Ironhide. Frank Welker is the original voice of Megatron and many other Decepticons. This set includes all 98 episodes of the original Transformers series. Bonus features include:
Rare Public Service Announcements
Archival Toy Commercials
Art Galleries
Retrospective Features
From the Secret Files of Teletran 2
PSAs
Toy Commericals
Art Galleries and many more features
A++++++Buy the Transformers the complete series DVD set Today!

Autobots Transform And Roll Out
This is a awesome show probably one of the best i've seen in a long time. it's not called a classic for nothing. if you have not seen this show then i recommend you do. the best episodes in this show are the following

Season 1

1. More Than Meets The Eye Part 1
2. More Than Meets The Eye Part 2
3. More than Meets The Eye Part 3
4. Transport To Oblivion
5. Roll for It
6. Divide and Conquer
7. Fire In The Sky
8. S.O.S. Dinobots
9. Fire On The Mountain
10. War Of The Dinobots
11. The Ultimate Doom Part 1: Brianwash
12. The Ultimate Doom Part 2: Search
13. The Ultimate Doom Part 3: Revival
14. Countdown To Extinction
15. A Plague Of Insecitcons
16. Heavy Metal War

Season 2 vol 1

1. Autobot Spike
2. The Immobilizer
3. Dinobot Island Part 1
4. Dinobot Island Part 2
5. Traitor
6. Enter The Nightbird
7. Changing Gears
8. A Prime Problem...

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Futurama: Volume 7

Here Are the Bonus Features!
As of now, Amazon is not listing the many bonus features in this set. So here they are!
(1) Crazy commentary on all episodes (as usual)
(2) FUTURAMA KARAOKE: Sing along with numerous classic Futurama musical numbers, with or without the original vocals.
(3) ALTERNATE ENDING: View episode 7ACV05, "Zapp Dingbat", with either the as-broadcast ending, or the original, never-before-seen ending that was changed before broadcast.
(4) Christopher Tyng's Big Score: Meet Futurama's brilliant composer Chris Tyng in his Studio
(5) FUTURAMA INFINITE LOOPS - Turn your TV into a Futurama Aquarium or Terrarium with Futurama-inspired wildlife.
(6) "TOO GOOD FOR TV" - A Treasury of Deleted Scenes

"It's Tragedy on a Bun!"
I've been anticipating this set for a long time and it's great to finally have these episodes to watch over and over again. Each volume has been stronger than the last and this is arguably my favorite of the new seasons. This time around we get to see Bender become a father (with surprising results), Leela get involved in the political process, Bender exploring free will, Hermes replacing his body with robot parts, and the entire crew as wild animals. Like any season, some episodes are stronger than others but there are laughs to be found in every one. We really get to see Fry and Leela's relationship on a deeper level and we learn more about the Professor's upbringing, as well as Zoidberg's affection for Hermes, who hates him in return. It's sweet, it's hilarious, and it's creative, all trademarks of the show we've known and loved for years.

The set itself is designed just the like the others, with the fold-out design and colorful images of the characters. I prefer to have...

THE GREATEST SHOW IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!
Futurama is my favorite show, I cannot believe they are cancelling it. That is why I am posting this review, so I can be a supporter of the show and say "KEEP THE SHOW GOING!"

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Great Adaptation
Milos Forman has always had a knack for assembling great ensemble casts. This is particularly true in his most critically acclaimed releases (Taking Off, Amadeus and this film). It would be difficult indeed to come up with actors and actresses who were better suited to fill the roles in OFOTCN. This is true in terms of both the stars, Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher, and the secondary characters. Who could have been a better Harding than William Redfield? A better Billy Bibbit than Brad Dourif? A better Cheswick than Sydney Lassick? And most especially, a better Chief Bromden than Will Sampson?

I rank this movie as the best of the best of what I consider to be American Cinema's golden decade, the 70s. It certainly won the widest acclaim, with its sweep of the major Oscars for 1975 (Nicholson also won best actor from the New York Film Critics voters that year).

Not to be overlooked is the fantastic job performed by the film's adaptors, Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben, who...

Sights, Sounds and Images in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

The film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is adapted from a novel of the same name written by Ken Kesey. The movie carries with it symbolism through color, sounds, and images and the casting could not have been more proper. Jack Nicholson is cast in the lead role as Randle Patrick McMurphy, a ne'er-do-well who goes into a mental institution to finish off his jail sentence. He figures it will be more slack than the work farm. His nemesis is Nurse Ratched, cast and played extraordinarily by Louise Fletcher. The movie does well in incorporating feelings and colors that surround the viewer with the mental institution's atmosphere. And the sounds and images put forth by director Milos Forman add to that ambiance. One of the film's biggest successes lies in the cinematography (or lack thereof). Virtually all the scenes, even when the inmates go outside, are bleak and dreary. The lighting in the institution is the fluorescent,...

BAD HAIR, GREAT FILM
It has taken me nearly 30 years to get round to watching this film, and I genuinely think I appreciate it more for being that much older. It has had accolades for everything -- plot, direction, filming, casting, acting. It deserves them all. It is nothing short of compulsive. The bad guy who has not lost his soul (much less his spirit) is pitted against the embodiment of sanctimonious righteousness who never had a soul to lose.

I wonder whether Nicholson has even yet had full recognition for the truly great actor he is (how many people have even seen The King of Marvin Gardens, for instance?) His screen presence is enormous, magnetic and menacing. He combines outsize testosteronic individuality with the ability to get inside a character, and an electric sense of threat with a real power to tug at the heart-strings. Bad he may be, but unsympathetic never. He is a very big little guy, but he is still the little guy against the system. It must be impossible, surely, to upstage that...

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FIREPLACE: CLASSIC

The Star of this Movie Blazes on the Screen
This movie is a quiet tale of burning passion and smoldering longing. The star of this movie is just on fire! His dramatic flare does a great job of communicating the all consuming conflagation of his character's glowing existence. Not only does this flick's star set the screen ablaze with his talent, but he is also smokin' hot.

I know I may get some flames for this review, but if you don't get this on your Kindle Fire, you're really missing out.

THE BEST & MOST REALISTIC FIREPLACE DVD
Fast shipping for an excellent quality dvd that arrived
in great shape. The Fireplace for your Home - Classic Edition
looks and sounds like a real fireplace AND plays continously if
you choose, so you can have the fireplace playing for as long as you like, without having to fuss with your dvd player. This dvd is of a better quality than the other brand of fireplace dvd which I purchased. This one's a really good buy & a pleasure to use.

Finally, a Clean, Smoke Free Fireplace in my home
I love this video. What a wonderful idea. It looks and sounds like the real thing and the best part -it is without the work, smoke or soot. Now I want to build a fireplace around my TV!

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Whisper of the Heart

An unforgetable, heartwarming, coming of age film from Studio Ghibli
Whisper of the heart is one of the most sensitive, heartwarming and beautiful films ever made. Based on a shojo manga by Aoi Hiiragi, Written and produced by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Yoshifumi Kondo, whisper of the heart is a tale of self discovery and coming of age of a high school girl Shizuku who is not sure what she wants in life. A series of dramatic events bring her closer to a guy Seiji from her own school. Together they embark on a journey which will help them find their inner potentials, realize their dreams and also love for each other. Also featured in the movie is an old man who runs an antique shop stocked with amazing treasures, including a magnificient porcelain figurine "the baron" (also featured in "The cat returns). Both of these characters play an important role in the film. Though "The cat returns" is kind of follow up to "whisper" yet for some reason it was released on dvd before "whisper".

Rarely is a film as honest and realistic as whisper of...

A Gem
This movie, produced by Studio Ghibli (the same company that produces Miyazaki's movies) is a gem. Unlike all of Miyazaki's movies, this one tells in a very poetic way a story about credible young people, their coming of age, and their growing awareness on their dreams and aspirations. It is also a beatiful love story between two children who are discovering that they seem to be made for each other.

This is also one of those movies that will remind you of your school years, and I find amazing the accuracy with which children's emotions are depicted. Indeed, this is something I really appreciate about most of these Japanese directors: the ability of depicting children for what they are, rather than as cute mature and witty "little" adults, as much of Hollywood instead does.

As in virtually all of Studio Ghibli's movies, the drawings are beautiful, some of them breathtaking, and the characters are lovable and well constructed. One of the major "characters" is a cat...

An inspirational, beautiful coming-of-age film
I am so glad that this Studio Ghibli gem is finally getting a U.S. release, so that it can get an even wider audience.

Unlike some better known Ghibli productions such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Whisper of the Heart has very few fantasy elements; it's a story that is very 'real'. The setting of Whisper Of The Heart (original title: Mimi wo Sumaseba) is a typical Tokyo suburb, and the main protagonists are Suzuka and Seiji, a girl and a boy in junior high school. Suzuka is not quite sure yet what she wants to do with her life, but Seiji on the other hand has already found his lifes work. The themes this movie cover are universal, such as:

What does it mean to have, and pursue a dream? What is the use of education? What does it mean to love someone? And so on.

This is a perfect family movie also, for kids over age 10 or so and up. The pace may be a bit too leisurely for younger kids and they may not quite get the themes of ambition, etc as...

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