Marvel's The Avengers (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) Robert Downey Jr. (Actor), Chris Evans (Actor), Joss Whedon (Director) | Format: Blu-ray 
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Release Date: September 25, 2012
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Marvel makes cinematic history as it unites the super hero team-up of a lifetime. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Captain America (Chris Evans) assemble together for the very first time ever in this epic, action-packed blockbuster alongside Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Director Joss Whedon creates an unprecedented universe that has become a global phenomenon. Packed with spectacular visual effects, and exclusive bonus features, including Marvel's first-ever gag reel, never-before-seen Marvel short, and an interactive second screen experience, Marvel's The Avengers will blow your mind!
Blasphemy? Perhaps. But the best thing about what may be the most rousing and well-crafted superhero movie since
The Dark Knight is not the boffo action scenes that culminate in a New York City-destroying finale that rivals Michael Bay's obliteration of the Chicago skyline in
Transformers: Dark of the Moon. No, the real appeal of
The Avengers comes from the quiet moments among a group of decidedly unquiet humans, extra-humans, mutants, and demigods. In no particular order those are Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), S.H.I.E.L.D. world-government commander Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and indispensable functionary Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg). That's a superstar lineup both in and out of character, and
The Avengers brilliantly integrates the cast of ensemble egos into a story that snaps and crackles--not to mention smashes, trashes, and destroys--at breakneck pace, never sacrificing visual dazzle or hard-earned story dynamics. Writer-director Joss Whedon is no slouch when it comes to being a comic geek and he handles the heavy duty reins with efficient panache. The effects are of course spectacular. They include a monstrous flying aircraft carrier that is home base to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury's Avenger Initiative; Tony Stark's gleaming skyscraper in midtown Manhattan; off-world scenes of malignant evil; as well as blindingly apocalyptic fights and the above-mentioned showdown that leaves New York a virtual ruin. Yet it's the deeply personal conversations and confrontations among the very reluctant team of Avengers that makes the movie pop. Full of humor, snappy dialogue, and little asides that include inside jokes, eye rolls, and personal grudge matches, the script makes these superhumans real beings with sincere passion or feelings of disillusionment. The conviction of the actors as they fully commit to their clever lines gives credibility to what comes off as more than simple banter, even during the more incredible moments among them (of which are many). The plot involves the appearance of Loki, disgraced villain and brother of Thor, who was also a key player in his eponymous movie. Loki has come to Earth to retrieve the Tesseract, a blue-glowing energy cube that is valuable beyond compare to forces good and evil throughout the universe. As Loki, Tom Hiddleston is supremely, yea gloriously appealing as the brilliantly wicked regal charmer who captures minds from S.H.I.E.L.D. and attempts to conquer Earth with the hideous army at his command. To say he is foiled is an understatement. His face-off with the Hulk is one of the giddiest moments in a movie filled with lightheaded mayhem, and is a perfect example of Whedon's throwaway approach to translating the mythic mystique of the Marvel comics universe. Though at times deadly serious (as deadly serious as an outrageous superhero destructo/fight-fest movie can be, that is),
The Avengers is best when it lightens up and lets the fun fly alongside the powerhouse punches. By the way, a single blink-and-you'll-miss-it powerhouse punch is another moment that makes Hulk the most loveable underdog of a smashing green rage monster ever. That spirit of fun and pure adventure makes
The Avengers the greatest kind of escapist Hollywood fantasy $250 million can buy. A blockbuster in the most literal sense.
--Ted Fry Related Products
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Prometheus (Blu-ray/ DVD + Digital Copy) Noomi Rapace (Actor), Michael Fassbender (Actor), Ridley Scott (Director) | Format: Blu-ray 
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Release Date: October 11, 2012
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Legendary director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) returns to his sci-fi origins in this epic adventure bursting with spectacular action and mind-blowing visual effects. A team of scientists and explorers travels to the darkest corners of the universe searching for the origins of human life. Instead they find a dark, twisted world that hides a terrifying threat capable of destroying them...and all mankind!You want an alien world created anew, with wonders and horrors lurking in its furrows? You go to Ridley Scott, of course, spectacle maker and pictorialist par excellence. So Prometheus is bound to be eye filling, with fully wrought planetary vistas and occasionally jaw-dropping visual coups. And did we use the word alien back there? Yes, folks, Prometheus is a prequel, in a sideways sort of fashion, to Scott's 1979 Alien original--or at least it's a long-distant stage setter for that story. This one begins with a space mission that could reveal the extraterrestrial roots of Earth, although what's buried out on the planet turns out to be much more complicated than expected. In the midst of suspenseful episodes (and a few contrived plot turns), Prometheus reaches for Big Answers to Big Questions, in a grand old sci-fi tradition. This lends the movie a hint of metaphysical energy, even if Scott's reach extends well, well beyond his grasp. The hokier moments are carried off with brio by Michael Fassbender (the robot on board), Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba, and then you've got Noomi Rapace entering the badass hall of fame for a long, oh-no-they-didn't sequence involving radical surgery, which might just induce the vapors in a few viewers. Even if Prometheus has its holes, the sheer size of the thing is exciting to be around. Because this movie is gigantic. --Robert Horton.
A team of scientists journey through the universe on the spaceship "Prometheus" on a voyage to investigate Alien life forms. The team of scientists becomes stranded on an Alien world, and as they struggle to survive it becomes clear that the horrors they experience are not just a threat to themselves, but to all of mankind. - WellardRockard
Synopsis
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
Meet the Characters
Elizabeth Shaw View larger
Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw captured the eyes of the international entertainment community with her commanding, unnerving and critically acclaimed portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the film adaptations of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. Rapace began her acting career at the age of seven, in Iceland's In the Shadow of the Raven. She has since gone to appear in over twenty films and television shows. Born in Sweden, Rapace is the daughter of Flamenco singer Rogelio Duran. Shaw, an archaeologist, discovers a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading her and a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey, aboard the spaceship Prometheus, to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. Shaw and her team aboard the Prometheus are on nothing less than a journey to discover answers to some of life’s most profound questions. She is a scientist filled with faith and hope, but who transforms into a warrior when faced with the danger she encounters at her destination.
Michael Fassbender as David View larger
Michael Fassbender as
David enjoyed a phenomenal run of critically acclaimed performances in 2011 and 2012, garnering numerous accolades and awards. The National Board of Review awarded Fassbender the Spotlight Award, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association named him Best Actor for his performances in
Shame and Davide Cronenberg’s drama
A Dangerous Method, in which Fassbender plays Carl Jung opposite Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen. Fassbender was also recently seen in Matthew Vaughn’s
X-Men: First Class, as Erik Lehnsherr, better known as super-villain Magneto; as Rochester in Cary Joji Fukunaga’s
Jane Eyre; and as an assassin opposite Ewan McGregor and Gina Carano in Steven Soderbergh’s
Haywire. Fassbender is a graduate of London's prestigious Drama Centre. His breakthrough role came as Sgt. Burton "Pat" Christenson in HBO's epic, award-winning miniseries
Band of Brothers. David is an android creation of Weyland Industries. While David possesses extraordinary intelligence and other capabilities, his principal tasks aboard the Prometheus are servile. David is however far more “human” than one might expect of a synthetic person. He is jealous and arrogant because he realizes that his knowledge is all-encompassing and therefore he is superior to the human crew members. David’s allegiances are unclear, and he can be very bold in the decisions he makes.
Meredith Vickers View larger
Charlize Theron as
Meredith Vickers demands the audience’s full attention as soon as she appears on screen. This South African captivated audiences as female serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the independent gem
Monster. Charlize’s feature film debut was MGM’s 2
Days in the Valley, with Jeff Daniels. In 2001, Theron starred in the Warner Bros. tearjerker
Sweet November alongside Keanu Reeves, as well as in Woody Allen’s
Curse of the Jade Scorpion. In 2002 Theron starred opposite Patrick Swayze and Billy Bob Thornton in
Waking Up in Reno, and opposite Kevin Bacon, Courtney Love, and Dakota Fanning in the feature film
Trapped, directed by Luis Mandoki. Vickers is a “suit” representing the interests of the mega-corporation funding the Prometheus’ journey to a distant, foreboding world. Her perspective on the mission is at odds with the rest of the crew’s. For Vickers, this epic, two-year journey to a distant planet has been boiled down to economics. But as with so much else about the mission, there are deeper layers and mysteries to Vickers’ ultimate goals.
Logan Marshall-Green as Charlie Holloway View larger
Logan Marshall-Green as
Charlie Holloway ) appeared on the big screen in
Devil, produced by M. Night Shyamalan. He is best-known to film audiences for playing radical activist Paco in Julie Taymor’s
Across the Universe. He has also co-starred in the films
Brooklyn’s Finest,
The Kindness of Strangers and
The Great Raid. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch Graduate Acting Program and a prolific stage actor, Marshall-Green earned a Drama League nomination for his work in
King Lear with Kevin Klein at the Public Theatre, and Greg Kotis'
Pig Farm at the Roundabout Theatre off-Broadway. He earned Lortel Award nominations for his performances in
Dog Sees God and Neil LaBute's
The Distance from Here, the latter also earning him a Drama Desk Ensemble Award. Holloway is Shaw’s partner, both personally and professionally, in a quest for answers to some of humanity’s most important questions. Like Shaw, Holloway is a scientist with a thirst for answers, but he thinks the end of their search will yield very different results from those Shaw expects. While Shaw is the heart of the search, Holloway is its guts. He is constantly pushing the envelope, going to the extreme in everything he does. He is driven by the thrill of the quest.
Mission: Impossible--Ghost Protocol (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo +Digital Copy) Tom Cruise (Actor), Jeremy Renner (Actor), Brad Bird (Director) | Format: Blu-ray (376)
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No plan. No backup. No choice. Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his elite team (Jeremy Renner, The Avengers and Simon Pegg, Star Trek) go underground after a bombing of the Kremlin implicates the IMF as international terrorists. While trying to clear the agency's name, the team uncovers a plot to start a nuclear war. Now, to save the world, they must use every high-tech trick in the book. The mission has never been more real, more dangerous, or more impossible.The second half of the first decade of the 21st century has been kind of tough for Tom Cruise. That's tough in a way over and above the hardship of living the legacy of one of history's top movie stars--a job more demanding than any mere mortal could imagine. But after two fruitful collaborations with Steven Spielberg (Minority Report and War of the Worlds), his stature took a beating from the one-two hits of those wacky PR gaffes and that string of relative box-office disappointments (Lions for Lambs, Valkyrie, Knight and Day), which seemed to start with the third installment of his Mission: Impossible franchise in 2006. It's hard to say with a straight face that taking in only $398 million worldwide is a disappointment, but it was a low for the series, which some later saw as a prelude to his potentially dimming stardom. But on the cusp of turning 50, it looks like Tom Cruise has put the licking behind him and entered a new phase of self-conception with an upcoming array of roles, starting with a more maturely controlled version of superspy Ethan Hunt in the sleek and supercharged Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. The things Cruise has done right in M: I part four include toning down his youthful, arrogant preening and letting his castmates share more of the spotlight (Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg all have some terrifically shiny moments). He also lets the unique creative vision of director Brad Bird shine through in a first live-action outing for the acclaimed helmer of Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. Still looking much younger than his years (that hair! those pecs! those abs!), Cruise is playing more age-appropriately, letting a little wisdom and grace seep into his charisma so the wattage of his mere presence smolders a little deeper. It's a nice nod to a graying generation that says you can get older and still be cool. All that is not to say he doesn't play up his action-star chops to the max. In a mostly inconsequential narrative arc that has something to do with purloined nuclear launch codes, an important metal briefcase, satellite uplinks, and global annihilation that leaps from Moscow to Dubai to Mumbai, Cruise is as dangerously nimble as he has ever been. He dangles one-handed from the tallest building in the world, bounds off ledges, springs out of speeding vehicles, tumbles and careens up and down the levels of an automated parking garage, and generally sprints and jumps his way across the movie with only a scratch or bruise to show for it. Also on the outlandish upside is a happily stereotypical villain straight out of Connery-era Bond and as many bleeding-edge gadgets as the art department techno-geeks could dream up. A running gag is that many of these electronic fantasy tools fail at just the wrong moment, which is part of a larger wink acknowledging how utterly preposterous yet ingeniously conceived this behemoth of a movie really is. The gadgetry is not limited just to the miraculous props. Ghost Protocol employs CGI fakery of the highest order from the sub-industry of effects contractors that ratchet up the standard of computing power and software design, one-upping each successive action-adventure extravaganza. The loving detail that goes into blowing up the Kremlin or rendering a photo-realistic sandstorm erupting across the enhanced skyline of an Oz-like desert city is nothing short of miraculous. What's more astonishing is that Tom Cruise closes the deal with a selling power that's as new and improved as the laminates on his multi-million-dollar teeth. --Ted Fry Read more
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