Dummy

• Portishead - Dummy

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Universal. 2008.The collaboration of studio whiz Geoff Barrow and singer Beth Gibbons, Dummy was made at the same time as a short film noir called "To Kill a Dead Man," and the same approach--gloomy, tormented, and wildly melodramatic--permeates the album. "Sour Times" (the hit in which Gibbons cries, again and again, "Nobody loves me, it's true") and the more cryptic "Glory Box" are the linchpins of the album, defining its sound: dark flashes of old soul and film music, dehumanized electronic bleeps, Gibbons emoting like she's consumed by shame, and a bass-and-beat pulse derived from the slow bump and grind of the Bristol scene that spawned Barrow's old collaborators, Massive Attack. --Douglas Wolk

Mezco Hellboy 2 The Golden Army Series 2 Action Figure Princess Nuala

• Made by Mezco in 2008
• Size: 7 inch
• For ages 8+

HELLBOY II:GOLDEN ARMY - Blu-Ray MovieThe feverish Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a very busy sequel that might have looked unhinged in the hands of a less visionary director than Guillermo del Toro. Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, aka "Red," the Dark Horse Comics demon-hero with roots in the mythical world but personal ties in the human realm. Still working, as he was in Hellboy, for a secret department of the federal government that deals (as in "Men In Black") with forces of the fantastic, Red and his colleagues take on a royal elf (Luke Goss) determined to smash a longtime truce between mankind and the forces of magic. Meanwhile, Red's relationship with girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), who can burst into flames at will, is going through a rocky stage observed by Red's fishy friend Abe (Doug Jones), himself struc! k by love in this film. Del Toro brilliantly integrates the ordinary and extraordinary, diving into an extended scene set in a troll market barely hidden behind the façade of typical city streets. He also unleashes a forest monster that devastates an urban neighborhood, but then--interestingly--brings a luminous beauty to the same area as the creature (an "elemental") succumbs to a terrible death. Del Toro's art direction proves masterful, too, in a climactic battle set in a clockworks-like stronghold tucked away in rugged Irish landscape. But it's really the juxtaposition of visual marvels with not-so-unusual relationship issues that gives Hellboy II a certain jaunty appeal hard to find in other superhero movies. --Tom Keogh




Stills from Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Click for larger image)

Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 11/11/2008 Run time: 120 minutes Rating: Pg13 The feverish Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a very busy sequel that might have looked unhinged in the hands of a less visionary director than Guillermo del Toro. Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, aka "Red," the Dark Horse Comics demon-hero with roots in the mythical world but personal ties in the human realm. Still working, as he was in Hellboy, for a secret department of the federal government that deals (as in "Men In Black") with forces of the fantastic, Red and his colleagues take on a royal elf (Luke Goss) determined to smash a longtime truce between mankind and the forces of magic. Meanwhile, Red's relationship with girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), who can burs! t into flames at will, is going through a rocky stage observed! by Red' s fishy friend Abe (Doug Jones), himself struck by love in this film. Del Toro brilliantly integrates the ordinary and extraordinary, diving into an extended scene set in a troll market barely hidden behind the façade of typical city streets. He also unleashes a forest monster that devastates an urban neighborhood, but then--interestingly--brings a luminous beauty to the same area as the creature (an "elemental") succumbs to a terrible death. Del Toro's art direction proves masterful, too, in a climactic battle set in a clockworks-like stronghold tucked away in rugged Irish landscape. But it's really the juxtaposition of visual marvels with not-so-unusual relationship issues that gives Hellboy II a certain jaunty appeal hard to find in other superhero movies. --Tom Keogh




Stills from Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Click for larger image)

After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures. Now, it's up to the planet's toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it's time to call Hellboy. Along with his expanding team in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense - pyrotechnic girlfriend Liz Sherman, aquatic empathy Abe Sapien, and protoplasmic mystic Johann - the BPRD will travel between the surface strata and the unseen magical one, where creatures o! f fantasy become corporeal. And Hellboy, a creature of two worlds who's accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons him.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 11-NOV-2008
Media Type: DVDThe feverish Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a very busy sequel that might have looked unhinged in the hands of a less visionary director than Guillermo del Toro. Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, aka "Red," the Dark Horse Comics demon-hero with roots in the mythical world but personal ties in the human realm. Still working, as he was in Hellboy, for a secret department of the federal government that deals (as in "Men In Black") with forces of the fantastic, Red and his colleagues take on a royal elf (Luke Goss) determined to smash a longtime truce between mankind and the forces of magic. Meanwhile, Red's relationship with girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), who can burst into flames ! at will, is going through a rocky stage observed by Red's fish! y friend Abe (Doug Jones), himself struck by love in this film. Del Toro brilliantly integrates the ordinary and extraordinary, diving into an extended scene set in a troll market barely hidden behind the façade of typical city streets. He also unleashes a forest monster that devastates an urban neighborhood, but then--interestingly--brings a luminous beauty to the same area as the creature (an "elemental") succumbs to a terrible death. Del Toro's art direction proves masterful, too, in a climactic battle set in a clockworks-like stronghold tucked away in rugged Irish landscape. But it's really the juxtaposition of visual marvels with not-so-unusual relationship issues that gives Hellboy II a certain jaunty appeal hard to find in other superhero movies. --Tom Keogh




Stills from Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Click for larger image)

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Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/27/2009 Rating: Pg13 The feverish Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a very busy sequel that might have looked unhinged in the hands of a less visionary director than Guillermo del Toro. Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, aka "Red," the Dark Horse Comics demon-hero with roots in the mythical world but personal ties in the human realm. Still working, as he was in Hellboy, for a secret department of the federal government that deals (as in "Men In Black") with forces of the fantastic, Red and his colleagues take on a royal elf (Luke Goss) determined to smash a longtime truce between mankind and the forces of magic. Meanwhile, Red's relationship with girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), who can burst into flames at will, is going t! hrough a rocky stage observed by Red's fishy friend Abe (Doug Jones), himself struck by love in this film. Del Toro brilliantly integrates the ordinary and extraordinary, diving into an extended scene set in a troll market barely hidden behind the façade of typical city streets. He also unleashes a forest monster that devastates an urban neighborhood, but then--interestingly--brings a luminous beauty to the same area as the creature (an "elemental") succumbs to a terrible death. Del Toro's art direction proves masterful, too, in a climactic battle set in a clockworks-like stronghold tucked away in rugged Irish landscape. But it's really the juxtaposition of visual marvels with not-so-unusual relationship issues that gives Hellboy II a certain jaunty appeal hard to find in other superhero movies. --Tom Keogh




Stills from Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Click for larger image)

Princess Nuala includes map cylinder, a book, and a piece of the elf king?ÇÖs legendary Crown of Bathmora. Mezco produced this line of action figures based on the hit film ""Hellboy II: The Golden Army"" starring Ron Perlman. Each figure is 8 inches in scale and is an incredible sculpt and likeness of the character. Collect them all, each sold separately.

Easy

• Jamie Harris (Marguerite Moreau) is a 25-year-old self-proclaimed jerk magnet. After determining not to spend the rest of her life as the easy chick, she gets involved in a romantic triangle with 2 great guys (2004 Tony winner Brian F. O Byrne and Lost s Naveen Andrews), only to discover that love is anything but easy. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR Age: 025192

Jamie Harris (Marguerite Moreau) is a 25-year-old self-proclaimed "jerk magnet." After determining not to spend the rest of her life as "the easy chick," she gets involved in a romantic triangle with 2 great guys (2004 Tony winner Brian F. O'Byrne and "Lost's" Naveen Andrews), only to discover that love is anything but easy.

The House of Yes

• Valse June / Love's Hesitation Waltz

This outrageous comedy was cheered for its edgy humor and hot young cast! All Marty (Josh Hamilton -- ALIVE) wants is a normal life, but nothing goes as planned when his fiancee (Tori Spelling -- SCREAM 2) meets his far-from-normal family. His beautiful but crazy twin sister, "Jackie-O" (Parker Posey -- DAZED AND CONFUSED), becomes dangerously jealous ... and their younger brother (Freddie Prinze, Jr. -- I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER) puts the moves on Marty's new love! Soon, Mother's hiding the kitchen knives ... but she can't hide the family's shockingly hilarious secrets! One of Hollywood's most talked about releases in years -- this offbeat motion picture is wild entertainment fun!Parker Posey was the It Girl of independent film in early 1997, the year this film (along with three or four others in which she starred) all played at the Sundance Film Fe! stival. This film was the toughest of the bunch to embrace, based as it was on a self-consciously quirky off-Broadway play about Thanksgiving at the home of a particularly strange family. Oldest son Josh Hamilton comes home from college for the holidays, with fiancée Tori Spelling in tow. What he hasn't told her is that his twin sister, Jackie-O (played by Posey), thinks she's Jackie Kennedy--or that he and Jackie-O have shared more than, shall we say, filial affection. Posey is wonderfully edgy and she and Hamilton spar with entertaining vigor, but you still have to cope with writer-director Mark Waters's pretentious script. --Marshall Fine

The Women

• TESTED

Three sisters bond over their ambivalence toward the approaching death of their curmudgeonly father, to whom none of them was particularly close.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 23-MAR-2004
Media Type: DVDYou've got to admire a movie that embraces womanhood as so few mainstream movies do, and Hanging Up deserves credit for combining issues of sisterhood and elderly parent care while relying on neuroses to carry its unconventional plot. But you've also got to lament this botched "dramedy" from screenwriting sisters Nora and Delia Ephron (adapting the latter's novel) and director Diane Keaton, who lack a coherent plan for illuminating their trio of female siblings. Despite a sharp focus on Meg Ryan as the middle sister Eve--a capable Los Angeles event planner--the movie never quite seems to know where it's going, and ! you feel like the best scenes are merely happy accidents. In exploring the foibles of family, Keaton fared better with her earlier film Unstrung Heroes.

In addition to directing, Keaton plays the eldest sister Georgia, a celebrity magazine editor, and Lisa Kudrow is kid sister Maddy, a soap-opera actress who's nearly as self-absorbed as Georgia. They leave it to Eve to care for their declining father (Walter Matthau), a retired screenwriter who slips in and out of lucidity and is, at best, a cantankerous curmudgeon whose estranged wife (Cloris Leachman) has long since severed all family ties. This is potent material--at least it could have been--and Ryan admirably struggles to hold the film together. But it's ultimately a losing battle as the movie, so full of cell phones and disconnected people (hence the title), becomes disconnected itself, offering hollow humor and a few memorable moments with characters whose problems are too minimal to worry about. --Jeff ! ShannonYou've got to admire a movie that embraces womanhoo! d as so few mainstream movies do, and Hanging Up deserves credit for combining issues of sisterhood and elderly parent care while relying on neuroses to carry its unconventional plot. But you've also got to lament this botched "dramedy" from screenwriting sisters Nora and Delia Ephron (adapting the latter's novel) and director Diane Keaton, who lack a coherent plan for illuminating their trio of female siblings. Despite a sharp focus on Meg Ryan as the middle sister Eve--a capable Los Angeles event planner--the movie never quite seems to know where it's going, and you feel like the best scenes are merely happy accidents. In exploring the foibles of family, Keaton fared better with her earlier film Unstrung Heroes.

In addition to directing, Keaton plays the eldest sister Georgia, a celebrity magazine editor, and Lisa Kudrow is kid sister Maddy, a soap-opera actress who's nearly as self-absorbed as Georgia. They leave it to Eve to care for their declining father (Wa! lter Matthau), a retired screenwriter who slips in and out of lucidity and is, at best, a cantankerous curmudgeon whose estranged wife (Cloris Leachman) has long since severed all family ties. This is potent material--at least it could have been--and Ryan admirably struggles to hold the film together. But it's ultimately a losing battle as the movie, so full of cell phones and disconnected people (hence the title), becomes disconnected itself, offering hollow humor and a few memorable moments with characters whose problems are too minimal to worry about. --Jeff ShannonYou've got to admire a movie that embraces womanhood as so few mainstream movies do, and Hanging Up deserves credit for combining issues of sisterhood and elderly parent care while relying on neuroses to carry its unconventional plot. But you've also got to lament this botched "dramedy" from screenwriting sisters Nora and Delia Ephron (adapting the latter's novel) and director Diane Keaton, who ! lack a coherent plan for illuminating their trio of female sib! lings. D espite a sharp focus on Meg Ryan as the middle sister Eve--a capable Los Angeles event planner--the movie never quite seems to know where it's going, and you feel like the best scenes are merely happy accidents. In exploring the foibles of family, Keaton fared better with her earlier film Unstrung Heroes.

In addition to directing, Keaton plays the eldest sister Georgia, a celebrity magazine editor, and Lisa Kudrow is kid sister Maddy, a soap-opera actress who's nearly as self-absorbed as Georgia. They leave it to Eve to care for their declining father (Walter Matthau), a retired screenwriter who slips in and out of lucidity and is, at best, a cantankerous curmudgeon whose estranged wife (Cloris Leachman) has long since severed all family ties. This is potent material--at least it could have been--and Ryan admirably struggles to hold the film together. But it's ultimately a losing battle as the movie, so full of cell phones and disconnected people (hence the title)! , becomes disconnected itself, offering hollow humor and a few memorable moments with characters whose problems are too minimal to worry about. --Jeff ShannonMothers, daughters, wives, friends: These are the women of The Women. Based on Clare Boothe Luce's Broadway success and the hit 1939 movie, this sparkling update (from Murphy Brown creator Diane English) set in Manhattan and featuring an all-star, all-female cast says a lot about what it means to be today's woman and all of it's funny! The story starts with beautiful, smart, accomplished Mary Haines (Meg Ryan) discovering her husband is cheating on her. It's a time when friends are needed, so Mary's gal pals (Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith and Debra Messing) and mother (Candice Bergen) rally round with advice, cocktails and shopping. The Wife vs. the Other Woman (Eva Mendes): Sharpen your claws for a timeless and wonderfully witty battle.For fans of some of America's finest actresses, seeing a film with even! one of the cast members of The Women would be a treat.! But thi s remake of George Cukor's famed girl-trouble ensemble film features Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Cloris Leachman, Bette Midler, Carrie Fisher, Joanna Gleason, and Candice Bergen--whew!--making it a film that fans of these terrifically talented women can savor. The remake may not have the cat-itude or camp factor of the original, but so what? The cast's chemistry really shines; friendship is thicker than water, it turns out--even stronger than the ties that bind women to their men. Ryan is the good-girl Mary Haines, whose husband, she and her friends learn, is cheating on her with the stunning femme fatale Crystal (Mendes, in the Joan Crawford role)--"a spritzer" at the perfume counter. Quelle horreur! The other women rally around the hapless Mary, staging interventions, offering snappy advice, and plotting battles on behalf of their friend. But it turns out that Ryan's Mary isn't quite as fragile as she seems. Gimlets and g! irl talk--lots of both--go a long way toward getting our heroine through her crisis, and onto a new stage in her life that surprises her husband and more than one of her pals. And the laughs by the appearances of Midler and Bergen, especially, are worth watching the whole film for. --A.T. Hurley

America's Sweethearts

• DVD
• JULIA ROBERTS
• BILLY CRYSTAL

FOR KIKI, BEING THE PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO BEAUTIFUL MEGASTARGWEN ISN'T EASY. IN FACT, IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE SINCE THE MANOF HER DREAMS IS EDDIE. GWEN'S ESTRANGED HUSBAND. KIKI IS GIVEN THE MONUMENTAL TASK OF HELPING GWEN AND EDDIE MAKE IT THROUGH A PRESS JUNKET ORGANIZED BY PUBLICITY EXEC LEE PHILLIPS.America's Sweethearts is just the kind of romantic froth that makes for pleasant viewing on a lazy, rainy day. While Julia Roberts, John Cusack, and Catherine Zeta-Jones offer high-wattage marquee value, costar and cowriter Billy Crystal reworks Singin' in the Rain for latter-day Hollywood, where estranged superstars Gwen (Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (Cusack) reluctantly promote their latest movie by pretending their messily disputed relationship is still going strong. The studio chief (Stanley Tucci) is desperate for a hit, so he hires ! a seasoned publicist (Crystal) to orchestrate a press junket that will cast everyone in a profitable light. The catch: The director (Christopher Walken) has abducted his own film in an act of artistic extortion, and Gwen's sister and longtime assistant Kiki (Roberts) is the true object of Eddie's desire.

Chaos ensues at the luxury hotel where the junket is scheduled, and America's Sweethearts pokes easy fun at the cynical machinery that keeps Hollywood running. Quotable quips are delivered in abundance, and while Zeta-Jones is readily convincing as a bitchy narcissist, Roberts effortlessly steals the show with her trademark charms. All of which makes America's Sweethearts lightly entertaining, even though it never rises (like Roberts's earlier Notting Hill) to the level of classic romantic comedy, hampered by a script that too often substitutes easy laughs for ripe satirical invention, flashing a phony grin when it should be baring its fangs. --J! eff Shannon

Dreamlights - Magical Flickering Lights Jar

• For ages 9 and up.
• Solar powered.
• Uses 2 AA batteries(batteries not included)
• Measures approx. 5.5"x3.75"x3.75".
• Not a toy.

Netherlands released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Dutch ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN, SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Academy Award-winning short filmmaker Dennis Lee (Jesus Henry Christ) expands into feature-length territory with this semi-autobiographical tale about a family struggling to see their way through a devastating and unforeseen tragedy. Julia Roberts, Ryan Reynolds, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Emily Watson star. ...Fireflies in the GardenAudio in English(Original) or Portuguese (Dubbed). Optional subtitles in English or Portuguese.

Academy Award-winning short filmmaker Dennis Lee (Jesus Henry Christ) expands into feature-length territory with this semi-autobiographical tale about a family struggling to see their way through a devastating and unforeseen tragedy.What happens when the House of Yashica, the great Japanese camera manufacturer, is faced with a sagging economy, dwindling sales, increased competition from other national companies and the need to reduce its workforce in order to survive? This story juxtaposes Old Japan thrust up against the New Japan. It describes how company honor and employee loyalty painfully evolve into internal and external human conflict leading to a new but foreign way of life. Based upon true characters, this historical novel explores the world of Japanese business and industry as it gravitates toward the American model and, with it, the decline of the middle class.What happens when the House of Yashica, the great Japanese camera manufacturer, is faced with a sagging ec! onomy, dwindling sales, increased competition from other national companies and the need to reduce its workforce in order to survive? This story juxtaposes Old Japan thrust up against the New Japan. It describes how company honor and employee loyalty painfully evolve into internal and external human conflict leading to a new but foreign way of life. Based upon true characters, this historical novel explores the world of Japanese business and industry as it gravitates toward the American model and, with it, the decline of the middle class.

As we see exotic plants becoming "invasive exotics," gardeners are seeking native plants for their gardens. Plants that withstand regional conditions and weather patterns deliver a hardier garden and require less maintenance.

A pioneering book when first published in 1999, this revised edition is a classic reference that meets the requirements of a changing, tougher landscape. Lorraine Johnson provides a fail-safe guide to be! autiful low-maintenance plants native to many regions of the U! nited St ates. The features include:

Handy profiles of each native plant

Maintenance requirements

Creative suggestions for plant pairings

Propagation and cultivation tips

Index of plants by botanical name

Ethical guidelines for gardeners

Updated list of sources.

Especially useful are the quick-reference charts that show plants grouped by region, habitat and conditions, for example plants that tolerate dry soil in shade and plants that attract butterflies. A color photograph of each plant makes it easy to compare options and choose the right plant.

(200905)CHAOS THEORY - DVD MovieRyan Reynolds’ exceptional performance as an efficiency expert off his game is the best reason to see Chaos Theory, a drama-comedy full of surprises. Reynolds plays Frank, a compulsive list-maker and paragon of punctuality who gets behind schedule one day by a mere ten minutes and watches his world fall down a! round him. Arriving late for one of his own seminars, the rattled Frank becomes vulnerable to a serial seducer (Sarah Chalke) of married men, and drawn into a baby-delivery emergency. The ensuing confusion causes a rift between Frank and his suspicious wife (Emily Mortimer), which is nothing compared to what happens after Frank--trying to resolve his problems--discovers he’s not the father of his daughter, Jesse (Elisabeth Harnois). Daniel Taplitz’s screenplay feels a little random in its first act, though there is a lot to enjoy, particularly a preface that finds Frank around age 50, a wily observer of human nature advising his future son-in-law on how to survive tough times in marriage. (The film’s story proper is actually told in flashback.) Reynolds co-stars, including Stuart Townsend as Frank’s best friend, are all very good. But Reynolds has lately been perfecting such rising-toward-clarity roles as Frank (see also The Nines), and he is superb at convey! ing competing emotions under extreme stress. Equally ludicrous! and sym pathetic, Frank gives Chaos Theory an absurdist soul. --Tom KeoghBrighten your night and spirits with this Dreamlights jar. Made to resemble a jar full of fireflies, this magical lamp is features a solar powered lid. A must for those that like to feel the magic under the sky on a warm summer night!