Law Abiding Citizen

• LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (DVD MOVIE)

Gerard Butler stars as Kable, condemned criminal and globally famous super-soldier in the ultimate multiplayer game, "Slayers.” Human controllers direct each thought and move of real-life prison inmates battling in hyper-intense environments â€" where the goal is freedom and the penalty is death. But when Kable suddenly decides he wants out, his rebellion threatens the twisted plans of game creator Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall, TV’s "Dexter”), who will stop at nothing to crush the renegade commando in this taut, adrenaline-packed action-thriller.Frenzied and relentlessly aggressive, Gamer seeks to translate the sensory barrage of violent video games into movie form--and does a pretty successful job. In a dystopic future, prisoners on death row are given a slim chance of survival as flesh-and-blood avatars for shoot-'em-up game players who control th! eir very brains. The mastermind behind this game (played by Michael C. Hall, Dexter) has secret ambitions worthy of a James Bond villain, but his schemes are threatened by John Tillman (Gerard Butler, 300), the only living avatar who's survived more than a few games--so Tillman's already dangerous life turns even more deadly. Gamer revels in overkill: visual tricks abound as the action speeds up or slows down, skittering to and fro with jump cuts and flashes of light. The dialogue is a catalog of macho posturing or melodramatic exposition. The performances--from a surprising cast that includes Alison Lohman (Drag Me to Hell), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Chris "Ludacris" Bridges (Crash), and supermodel Amber Valletta--play cartoonish characters with exuberant gusto and commitment. By conventional standards, Gamer is a terrible movie… but the movie's creators don't care, because they aspire to step beyond conventional standar! ds. As with their previous adrenaline-driven flick Crank, the w riter-director team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor want viewers to plug in, turn off their rational minds, and immerse themselves in sheer sensation. --Bret Fetzer

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Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 01/19/2010 Run time: 95 minutes Rating: RGerard Butler stars as Kable, condemned criminal and globally famous super-soldier in the ultimate multiplayer game, "Slayers.” Human controllers direct each thought and move of real-life prison inmates battling in hyper-intense environments â€" where the goal is freedom and the penalty is death. But when Kable suddenly decides he wants out, his rebellion threatens the twisted plans of game creator Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall, TV’s "Dexter”), who will stop at nothing to crush the renegade commando in this taut, adrenaline-packed action-thriller.

Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), a hotshot young Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Over his objections, Nick is forced by his boss to offer one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. Fast forward ten years. The man who got away with murder is found dead and Clyde Shelton admits his guilt. Then he issues a warning! to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system, or key players in the trial will die. Soon Shelton follows through on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly diabolical assassinations that can be neither predicted nor prevented. Only Nick can stop the killing and finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead.The legal thriller meets the serial-killer shocker in Law Abiding Citizen. The story begins when home invaders kill Clyde Shelton's wife and daughter. The bereaved father (played by a thoroughly unsympathetic Gerard Butler) looks to slick Philly prosecutor Nick Rice (a low-key Jamie Foxx) to see that they receive the maximum sentence. Instead, the murderer, Ames, testifies against his accomplice, Darby, who gets the chair, while he gets 10 years. Upon his release, Ames' mutilated body turns up in an abandoned warehouse, and all roads lead to Shelton. Rice attempts to defend! him, but his client makes it impossible--Shelton wants to go ! to priso n--so he does time, but then members of Rice’s legal team start to die. The attorney suspects Shelton, but can't connect him to the crimes, so he races against the clock to save the lives of his assistant, Sarah (Leslie Bibb), D.A. Jonas (Bruce McGill), and his own wife and child. The movie may sound like a Yank reboot of the Japanese chiller Cure, in which an inmate kills from inside institutional walls, but plays more like a mash-up between The Silence of the Lambs, without the psychological complexity, and The Devil's Advocate, without the cynical giggles. F. Gary Gray got his start with hip-hop videos and urban action flicks, like Set It Off, until he hit the big time with his remake of The Italian Job. Law Abiding Citizen is a disappointing muddle from a director who's done better in the past and will surely do better in the future. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Stills from Law Abiding Citizen (Click for larger image)

Domino Express Racing

• The Racing pack has everything you need to turn knocking over dominoes into an incredible event
• Includes 100 dominoes, 50 speed dominoes, 2 loop de loops, 2 race cars, a ring of fire and 1 launching bridge
• Players can start together and race to see whose car goes through the ring of fire first
• Provides hours building fun that can be played alone or with others

This domino racing pack has everything you need to turn knocking over dominos into an incredible event. Includes 100 dominoes and 50 specially crafted speed dominos that fall at lightening speed. In addition there are two loop de loops, two domino racecars, a ring of fire, custom domino tracks, and one tall launching bridge. Players can start together and race to see whose car goes through the ring of fire first.For ages 6 and up.

The Baby-Sitters Club #1: Kristy's Great Idea

• ISBN13: 9780545174756
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

The first of the new Collector's Club Editions features a new logo, bright new cover, and fill-in pages to personalize as Kristy comes up with the idea for the Baby-sitter's Club with friends Claudia, Stacey, and Mary Anne. It all began with a great idea ... and the inspiring original story of the Baby-sitters Club is back! Kristy Thomas's brilliant business plan gets off to a great start with the help of Claudia Kishi (vice-president), Mary Anne Spier (secretary), and Stacey McGill (treasurer).

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Amazon Exclusive Inteview with Author Ann M. Martin

Q: It's been a decade since the last Baby-sitters Club books came out, and 24 years since the first book was published. What was it like to come back to the BSC after so many years away?

Martin: I had a great time re-visiting the characters. It was fun to explore their lives in the prequel, “"The Summer Before," and to figure out what led the girls to form The Baby-sitters Club, something that would eventually change their lives. It was like a reunion with friends--friends who haven’t changed a bit.

Q: Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey are very different characters, which is in part why the series was and is still so popular. Every reader can relate to at least one of the characters. So, we have to ask you--which character are you most like?

Martin: I am most like Mary Anne who is the shy and quiet one. Like me, Mary An! ne enjoys more solitary pursuits such as reading and needlewor! k. My fa vorite character, however, is Kristy. I think she's my alter ego.

Q: Were you allowed to baby-sit when you were twelve? If so, were they any funny or awful stories you'd like to share?

Martin: Yes, I did a lot of baby-sitting when I was twelve. One of the worst and also funniest things that ever happened was when I was baby-sitting for our neighbors and the kids wanted to wash their parents' car. They started the job with much enthusiasm--using Brillo pads.

Q: More than 200 BSC books were published in the eighties and nineties. Are there any that you are particularly fond of and why?

Martin: My favorite Baby-sitters Club book is "Kristy's Great Idea," which is the first book and sets the series in motion. I also like the more serious books such as "Claudia and the Sad Good-bye," which deals with the death of Claudia’s grandmother. This book was written sh! ortly after my own grandmother died. My other favorite BSC books include “Kristy and the Secret of Susan,” in which the members of the BSC baby-sit for a child with autism, and "Jessi's Secret Language" in which the girls learn American Sign Language in order to communicate with a sitting charge with profound hearing impairment.

Q: Why do you think that the series is so well-loved and has endured over so many years?

Martin: I think the characters in the BSC books are easily relatable. The books deal with timeless topics including friendship, family, and school. Also, the books tackle serious issues including racism, bullying, kids with disabilities (physical and mental), and death of a loved one. These issues were relevant to kids in the 1980s and 1990s, and are still relevant to kids today. In addition to being relatable, these are characters readers can aspire to. The kids run a business--in this case, a baby! -sitting business. They are entrepreneurial, independent, crea! tive, an d confident. And at the heart of the series is the friendship--the "glue" that binds these characters. Sure, they have fights, but they're loyal and they support one another. I think a lot of us--even adults--can relate to that.

Q: "The Summer Before" takes place during the summer before the girls enter the seventh grade--where suddenly there's a ton of pressure to fit in. The months leading up to it can be filled with anxiety, excitement, and anticipation. Do you remember how you spent the summer before seventh grade?

Martin: I was nervous that summer because in the fall I would be going to a new school â€" the junior high (this was in the time before middle schools). Even the words "junior high" seemed terribly grown-up. My friends and I would be attending school with eighth-graders, who were one step away from high school. I spent that summer reading, going to the community pool, taking a family trip to Cape May! , New Jersey, doing some baby-sitting, and also recovering from surgery. But the knowledge that I would soon be in junior high school colored every day and every activity and did lend the summer an air of both anxiety and anticipation.

Q: Despite the fun the girls have together in "The Summer Before," they're all dealing with pretty tough problemsâ€"moving away, an absentee father, a first crush. How did you choose the issues you wanted to focus on?

Martin:  One of my favorite things about writing a series was that the characters themselves generated plot ideas for later books. One of the themes that developed as the series progressed was that of Kristy's relationship with her father. It was an idea I enjoyed exploring, and when I had the opportunity to write the prequel I realized that this summer would be a charged time for Kristy, and that I could introduce the issues she had with her father here; then they could! unfold in the later books. The same applied to Stacey. Her re! asons fo r moving to Stoneybrook had been revealed in later books, but I realized that during this particular summer the reader could actually watch the events take place. The other issues â€" a first crush, wanting more independence yet still feeling like a kid--are themes that I felt would resonate with most "tween" readers.

Q: Even though the books have been out of print for ten years there are still some very devoted fans. Surely you must have received a ton of letters about the series over the years. Are there any that stick out in your mind?

Martin: The most memorable are stories of girls who have written to me and told me that I’ve made an impact on their lives, that The Baby-sitters Club books have turned them into readers. Some have also said that the BSC books made them aspire to become writers. I’ve also heard from a lot of the original fans who grew up to become teachers, librarians, editors, journalists, entre! preneurs, etc. To know that this series inspired a generation of readers and writers is very humbling.

Q: There’s been a lot of speculation in the blogosphere about where Claudia, Kristy, Mary Ann, and Stacey would be now, in 2010, had they grown up. Do you have any thoughts on what path each would have taken?

Martin:  I understand the fascination of the older BSC fans who would like to know what happened with the characters when they got older. It’s thrilling to realize that after all these years the fans remain passionate about the books and the characters in The Baby-sitters Club. I can see Kristy running a business--I can also see her being in politics. I think Mary Anne became a teacher. I imagine Stacey went into fashion--not as a designer, but maybe on the business side. And Claudia became an artist. I think fans can fill in for the rest of the characters!

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Bright Future

• Acclaimed director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Pulse) departs from the horror genre for this mystical story of urban ennui. Friends Mamoru and Yuji, played by Tadanobu Asano (Zatoichi, Last Life In The Universe) and Joe Odagiri (Out Of This World, Azumi) are aimless young men stuck in dead-end jobs in a dreary factory in Tokyo. Mamoru, the more antisocial of the two, is obsessed with his pet project o

Friends Mamoru and Yuji are aimless young men stuck in dead-end jobs in a dreary factory in Tokyo. Mamoru, the more antisocial of the two, is obsessed with his pet project of acclimating a poisonous jellyfish to fresh water by gradually changing the water in its tank. One night, he inexplicably murders his boss’ family and is sentenced to death. Yuji, left to continue the jellyfish experiment, befriends Mamoru’s estranged father, and the two form a bond. But Yuji’s attachment to the jellyf! ish is even stronger, and problems arise when he accidentally releases the poisonous creature into the canals of Tokyo

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 [Blu-ray]

• GHOST IN THE SHELL 2.0 BLU-RAY (BLU-RAY DISC)

A film that has spawned a thousand imitations but never been bettered â€" Mamoru Oshii’s legendary anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL returns in a stunning new edition remastered by Oshii himself. For this definitive Version 2.0 release, all the original animations are re-produced with latest digital film and animation technologies, including 3D-CGI. Set in a re-imagined Hong Kong at a time when cyberspace is expanding into human reality, the story follows top cyberwarrior Major Motoko Kusanagi as she hovers on the border of total immersion in the digital world.

Garfield Fat Cat Volume 1

• ISBN13: 9780345464552
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Wild Fun!
 
It’s a safari of fun when Garfield, the fat cat with the elephantine appetite, gets wild and crazy in this all-new collection of comics. Let the adventures begin!Witty, urbane, sassy, and downright delightful, here are the first three original books of pure Garfield collected in one packed volume. They tell the story of the feisty feline's birth, adoption, and growth into general wonderfulness---just in case you've forgotten --and remind us why we loved him like we do.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Single-Disc Widescreen Edition)

• Format: Widescreen, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

When Harry Potter's name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, he becomes a competitor in a grueling battle for glory among three wizarding schools - the Triwizard Tournament. But since Harry never submitted his name for the Tournament, who did? Now Harry must confront a deadly dragon, fierce water demons and an enchanted maze only to find himself in the cruel grasp of He Who Must Not Be Named. In this fourth film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, everything changes as Harry, Ron and Hermione leave childhood forever and take on challenges greater than anything they could have imagined.The latest entry in the Harry Potte! r saga could be retitled Fast Times at Hogwarts, where finding a date to the winter ball is nearly as terrifying as worrying about Lord Voldemort's return. Thus, the young wizards' entry into puberty (and discovery of the opposite sex) opens up a rich mining field to balance out the dark content in the fourth movie (and the stories are only going to get darker). Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) handily takes the directing reins and eases his young cast through awkward growth spurts into true young actors. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, more sure of himself) has his first girl crush on fellow student Cho Chang (Katie Leung), and has his first big fight with best bud Ron (Rupert Grint). Meanwhile, Ron's underlying romantic tension with Hermione (Emma Watson) comes to a head over the winter ball, and when she makes one of those girl-into-woman Cinderella entrances, the boys' reactions indicate they've all crossed a threshold.

But don't worry, there's ! plenty of wizardry and action in Goblet of Fire. When t! he deadl y Triwizard Tournament is hosted by Hogwarts, Harry finds his name mysteriously submitted (and chosen) to compete against wizards from two neighboring academies, as well as another Hogwarts student. The competition scenes are magnificently shot, with much-improved CGI effects (particularly the underwater challenge). And the climactic confrontation with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, in a brilliant bit of casting) is the most thrilling yet. Goblet, the first installment to get a PG-13 rating, contains some violence as well as disturbing images for kids and some barely shrouded references at sexual awakening (Harry's bath scene in particular). The 2 1/2-hour film, lean considering it came from a 734-page book, trims out subplots about house-elves (they're not missed) and gives little screen time to the standard crew of the other Potter films, but adds in more of Britain's finest actors to the cast, such as Brendan Gleeson as Mad-Eye Moody and Miranda Richardson a! s Rita Skeeter. Michael Gambon, in his second round as Professor Dumbledore, still hasn't brought audiences around to his interpretation of the role he took over after Richard Harris died, but it's a small smudge in an otherwise spotless adaptation. --Ellen A. Kim

Hide And Seek Safari -Monkey

• No limit to the number of wands and animals that can be used together
• Hide the animal and use the wand to locate it
• 21st century version of "Hotter, Colder"
• Ages 5 and up
• Batteries included

Introducing the Hide & Seek Safari Monkey. The folks at R & R Games have brought the childhood classic "Hotter, Colder" into the 21st Century. An all new animal for use alone or with the other Hide & Seek animals. Use the Seeker wand to track down and catch this elusive Monkey. Lights flash to show you're getting warmer and the Seeker will sound when the Monkey is near! Requires one 9V and two "AA" batteries, included.