Jackie Chan's First Strike

• 1999 - New Line - DVD - Jackie Chan's First Strike
• Jackie Chan, Jackson Lou, Chen Chun Wu
• PG-13 - Widescreen & Standard Versions
• 85 Minutes - Bonus Features - Multiple Languages
• Collectible

Reach fell, and when hope seemed lost, humanity stood face-to-face with the possible extinction of all life in the galaxy and lived to tell the tale.

But that was just one epic battle, and the war rages on . . .

The Covenant shows no mercy as they continue to assault every human world they can find, but in their way lies humanity’s great champion, Spartan-117, the Master Chief.  Together with his AI companion Cortana and the last remaining Spartans, the fight continues on two fronts.

One takes a crew of Spartans to the charred surface of Reach, the only planet they’ve ever known as home.  But beneath the surface, Dr. Halse! y has discovered an ancient secret…one that could alter the course of the war.  

Meanwhile, Master Chief and Cortana head towards a gathering of Covenant warships because the UNSC’s worst nightmare has come true:  the Covenant has discovered the location of Earth and is forming a massive fleet to destroy it…and all who oppose the will of the Prophets.  

In post-soviet Russia nothing is as it seems. When members of the Russian mafia pose as KGB agents to steal a nuclear missile the CIA calls on martial arts master Jackie Chan to stop them. Jackie treks the globe from the icy glaciers of the Ukraine to the pristine beaches of Australia. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 02/03/2004 Starring: Jackie Chan Jackson Lou Run time: 85 minutes Rating: PG13 Director: Stanley TongAction-god Jackie Chan does his best James Bond impression with this ecstatic sequel to the classic Supercop. The bare-bones plot has Chan in pursuit of inter! national terrorists, but the narrative quickly gives way to an! unceasi ng barrage of insane stunt work (including a nitro-fueled ski chase and a grandiose fight scene set inside a functioning shark tank). As with most of the aging star's recent films, there is more of an emphasis placed on big, impersonal (albeit impressive) stunts rather than the close-up combat that made him famous; but the end result is still a must-see rush for longtime fans, and a great introduction for newcomers eager to see what all the well-deserved fuss is about. The scene where Jackie takes on multiple goons while armed only with a ladder is one of his most jaw-dropping set pieces ever--and that's saying quite a lot. Be sure to stick around for the closing credits of gags gone awry, which graphically prove that Chan is truly the hardest working man in show business. --Andrew Wright

Civil Brand

• DVD Details: Actors: LisaRaye, N'Bushe Wright, Mos Def, Monica Calhoun, Clifton Powell
• Directors: Neema Barnette
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
• Number of discs: 1; Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: January 27, 2004; Run Time: 95 minutes

CIVIL BRAND - DVD Movie

My Sweet Mexico: Recipes for Authentic Pastries, Breads, Candies, Beverages, and Frozen Treats

• ISBN13: 9781580089944
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

After years spent traveling and sampling sweets throughout her native Mexico, celebrated pastry chef Fany Gerson shares the secrets behind her beloved homeland’s signature desserts in this highly personal and authoritative cookbook. Skillfully weaving together the rich histories that inform the country’s diverse culinary traditions, My Sweet Mexico is a delicious journey into the soul of the cuisine.
 
From yeasted breads that scent the air with cinnamon, anise, sugar, fruit, and honey, to pushcarts that brighten plazas with paletas and ice creams made from watermelon, mango, and avocado, Mexican confections are like no other.
 
Stalwarts like Churros, Amaranth Alegrías, and G! aribaldisâ€"a type of buttery muffin with apricot jam and sprinklesâ€"as well as Passion Fruitâ€"Mezcal Trifle and Cheesecake with Tamarind Sauce demonstrate the layering of flavors unique to the world of dulces. In her typical warm and enthusiastic style, Gerson explains the significance of indigenous ingredients such as sweet maguey plants, mesquite, honeys, fruits, and cacao, and the happy results that occur when combined with Spanish troves of cinnamon, wheat, fresh cow’s milk, nuts, and sugar cane.
 
In chapters devoted to breads and pastries, candies and confections, frozen treats, beverages, and contemporary desserts, Fany places cherished recipes in context and stays true to the roots that shaped each treat, while ensuring they’ll yield successful results in your kitchen. With its blend of beloved standards from across Mexico and inventive, flavor-forward new twists, My Sweet Mexico is the only guide you need to explore the delightful universe of M! exican treats.

Edge of Darkness

• The bullet that killed his daughter was meant for Boston cop Thomas Craven. That s what police brass and Craven himself think, but that s not what the investigation finds. Clue after clue and witness after witness, the search leads him into a shadowy realm where money and political intrigue intersect. If Craven wasn t a target before, he and anyone linked to his inquiry now is. Mel Gibson stars in

The bullet that killed his daughter was meant for Boston cop Thomas Craven. That’s what police brass and Craven himself think, but that’s not what the investigation finds. Clue after clue and witness after witness, the search leads him into a shadowy realm where money and political intrigue intersect. If Craven wasn’t a target before, he--and anyone linked to his inquiry--now is. Mel Gibson stars in his first screen lead in eight years, making Craven’s grief palpable and his quest for paybac! k stone-cold and relentless. Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) directs from a screenplay co-written by The Departed’s William Monahan. Gibson is back, taking us to the edge…and into the sinister darkness.The good news is that Edge of Darkness (no relation to the fine 1943 war picture of that name) brings back Mel Gibson in front of the camera for the first time in nearly a decade. Although he's grown creased and leathery and his thatch has thinned, the movie star who was Mad Max still has the charisma and gravitas to center a dodgy suspense tale and propel it to the finish line. Gibson plays veteran Boston police detective Tom Craven, who welcomes home daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) for a rare visit, then sees her shot down at his front door. Because the gunman shouted "Craven!" and because a cop makes enemies, Tom assumes Emma took a bullet meant for him, which adds considerably to his grief and pain. But as he looks into the life of a daughter he loved y! et scarcely knew, he discovers she'd been preparing to turn wh! istleblo wer on her employer, a corporation doing unsavory clandestine things for the government. Craven starts having oblique chats with a philosophical Brit named Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), who keeps turning up unexpectedly--in Craven's backyard at night, say--always giving the distinct impression that he could just as well kill a fellow instead of schmoozing. Their strange rapport, like Craven's tendency to mutter ironical asides as if in ongoing conversation with the departed Emma, is more intriguing than the conspiracy involving corporate skullduggery and a rogue assassination bureau. The bar for that sort of thing was set in post-Watergate days by Alan J. Pakula's The Parallax View, and we're nowhere near its cinematic elegance or pervasive paranoia. Edge of Darkness, based on a British miniseries from 1985, was directed by Martin Campbell, who also handled the six-hour original (and more recently the successful James Bond reboot Casino Royale). Campbell does! decent-enough work--the occasional bursts of "shocking action" do shock even as we know they're coming--but rarely exceeds generic requirements. For killing comparison among contemporary suspense films, catch Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer, in which every frame unsettlingly conveys a world where disquiet is the natural order of things. --Richard T. Jameson

First Kid

• Sinbad plays wisecracking Secret Service agent Sam Simms, assigned to protect the President's rebellious 14-year-old son Luke (THE MIGHTY DUCKS' Brock Pierce). Simms would much rather be protecting the President, and Luke would prefer to be just a regular kid without a watchdog trailing him everywhere he goes. But a genuine friendship develops between the two when Simms volunteers to teach

Sinbad plays wisecracking Secret Service agent Sam Simms, assigned to protect the President's rebellious 14-year-old son Luke (THE MIGHTY DUCKS' Brock Pierce). Simms would much rather be protecting the President, and Luke would prefer to be just a regular kid without a watchdog trailing him everywhere he goes. But a genuine friendship develops between the two when Simms volunteers to teach Luke how to deal with a school bully (HOME IMPROVEMENT'S Zachery Ty Bryan), and to untie his tongue so that he can win ! over a cute girl in class. But when Luke's mysterious Internet buddy convinces him to ditch his bodyguard in a crowded mall, the fun and games suddenly become a matter of life and death! The votes are in from both audiences and critics -- "Sinbad is hilarious" (KNX Radio/CBS Radio) in this "laugh-a-minute" comedy (Sneak Previews).An underrated actor, Sinbad is very good in this comedy-drama about a Secret Service agent who gets the thankless detail of guarding the president's bratty son. In time, the two become touchingly close, with Sinbad's character providing the kind of surrogate fathering the boy's ultra-busy dad can't give. The plot takes an inevitable turn toward greater drama when the young man is kidnapped, but director David Mickey Evans handles the whole thing very well, and the resolution makes for fairly satisfying action. But Sinbad's presence is an agreeably warm one--though he is also quite funny and original in early sequences when the prez's son is torment! ing him--and makes this film surprisingly watchable. --Tom! Keogh

Delorean Back To The Future, Part III

• 1:24 Scale Diecast Metal
• Opening Doors and moving parts

Genre: Family
Rating: PG
Release Date: 10-FEB-2009
Media Type: DVDShot back-to-back with Back to the Future II, this final chapter in the series is less hectic than that film and has the same sweet spirit of the first, albeit in a whole new setting. This time, Michael J. Fox's character ends up in the Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd at the hands of a gunman. Director Robert Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western, and comes up with something original and fun. --Tom Keogh This highly realistic 1:24 scale diecast metal replica from the Universal Studios movie Back To The Future Part 3 is 7 inches long and comes with fine details such as opening doors and adjustable steering.

Basic

• DVD

An ex-Army ranger and DEA agent is brought in to investigate the disappearance of an Army Ranger Drill Instructor and a group of cadets.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: R
Street Date: 02/03/04
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: SleeveIf you thought The Recruit was full of surprises, Basic will spin your head around. Assuming that cleverness is its own reward, this military mystery shares many of The Recruit's strengths and weaknesses, offering multi-layered deception as its dramatic raison d'etre. Copping plenty of machismo attitude befitting a semi-effective thriller from Die Hard director John McTiernan, John T! ravolta stars as an ex-Army Ranger-turned-DEA agent, recruited by an Army investigator (Connie Nielsen) to solve the fratricide of a reviled Sergeant (Samuel L. Jackson) who was allegedly killed while commanding a Special Forces training mission in the hurricane-swept rainforests of Panama. Two survivors (Giovanni Ribisi in a showboat role, and Brian Van Holt) recall the ill-fated mission as the truth unfolds, Rashomon-style, in a series of repetitive flashbacks. Tricky enough to hold one's attention as it grows increasingly irrelevant, Basic is so enamored of its bogus ingenuity that its ultimate twist is a letdown. A second viewing might prove rewarding, if only to confirm that it all holds together. --Jeff Shannon

50 First Dates (Widescreen Special Edition)

• Bonus: Director and Cast Commentary
• Bonus: Deleted Scenes
• Bonus: The Dating Scene The Making of 50 First Dates
• Bonus: Music Videos
• Bonus: Comedy Central Reel Comedy Special

Bring home the UNRATED DVD that lets you go all the way on the first date! With outrageous extras and footage not shown in theaters, here's the ruder, cruder version of the no-holds-barred comedy from two of the twisted minds behind Scary Movie.

Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan from the American Pie series) is looking for love in ALL the wrong movies, until she snags the man of her dreams! But now, a devious ex, a farting feline and eccentric in-laws threaten her perfect Hollywood wedding!Bring home the UNRATED DVD that lets you go all the way on the first date! With outrageous extras and footage not shown in theaters, here's the ruder, cruder version of the no-holds-barred comedy from two o! f the twisted minds behind Scary Movie.

Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan from the American Pie series) is looking for love in ALL the wrong movies, until she snags the man of her dreams! But now, a devious ex, a farting feline and eccentric in-laws threaten her perfect Hollywood wedding!Steve Carell and Tina Fey are “a match made in comedy heaven” (Ben Lyons, E!) in this uproarious adventure about an ordinary couple in the right place...on the wrong night. Phil and Claire Foster are a sensible, suburban husband and wife slogging through their daily lives and marriage. But a case of mistaken identity sets off a n outrageous chain of events involving small-time thieves, big-city mobsters, corrupt cops and a crazed cabbie, as the Fosters’ “date night” turns into a wild ride they’ll never forget! Tina Fey and Steve Carell are two of the most charming performers in entertainment today. Their goofy attractiveness makes them a perfect couple in Date Night: an un! remarkable husband and wife from New Jersey, they get mistaken! for cro oks in Manhattan, sending them on a wild night replete with snooty wait staff, crooked cops, glitter-specked strippers, a shirtless superspy (Mark Wahlberg, as buff as ever), and a preposterous car chase. The movie makes no effort to be remotely plausible and the last third really goes off the rails, and it would probably be better served by less familiar faces in minor roles (bit parts are played by Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig, Common, James Franco, Mila Kunis, William Fichtner, and Ray Liotta). It's disappointing that the dialogue doesn't crackle the way it does on 30 Rock or The Office. But Fey and Carell carry the movie along through sheer nerdy pluck. Rarely does a couple in a movie seem genuinely devoted to each other, not out of wild passion, but for all the things that a real marriage is built on: patience, shared humor, a willingness to deal with day-to-day annoyances, and simple affection. Fey and Carell seem like a couple you'd actually enjoy going ou! t to dinner with. In today's world, that's more romantic than sunsets and bouquets of roses. --Bret Fetzer From The Hangover director Todd Phillips, Due Date throws two unlikely companions together on a road trip that turns out to be as life-changing as it is outrageous. Expectant first-time father Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) looks forward to his new child’s due date five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at his wife’s side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when an encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan on a cross-country trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, many friendships and Peter’s last nerve.Due Date is such a broad comedy, it needs the width of the whole United States in which to play out. Director Todd Phillips (The Hangover) lets the gross-out comedic charms of his fr! equent star Zach Galifianakis run wild, which is exactly what ! Galifian akis fans want. And Robert Downey Jr. reminds viewers of his appealing straight-man comic talents, too. Due Date is like Planes, Trains and Automobiles meets Nine Months with a little of The Odd Couple thrown in. The writing of Due Date is uneven--perhaps a result of its having had a minimum of six screenwriters working on it. And run time, at only 100 or so minutes, seems much longer. But Due Date gets its energy and charge from its two stars and from Phillips's slaphappy direction. Galifianakis plays Ethan, who's a version of every character Galifianakis has played to date--slovenly, irresponsible, and uncensored. Downey is Peter, a straitlaced new father-to-be, who through an improbable series of unfortunate events can find no other way to get across the country for the birth of his first child than to hitch a ride with Ethan. If the situation is somewhat predictable, the comedic moments are not--though by halfway though the trip,! viewers may wonder if Peter will be able to resist strangling Ethan with his own scarf, or worse. The deft supporting cast includes Michelle Monaghan as Peter's wife, Jamie Foxx (in kind of a throwaway role), and Juliette Lewis, appealing and not too ditzy. Viewers who love Phillips's and Galifianakis's trademark slapstick shtick will find plenty to laugh about on this long, strange trip. --A.T. HurleyFrom The Hangover director Todd Phillips, Due Date throws two unlikely companions together on a road trip that turns out to be as life-changing as it is outrageous. Expectant first-time father Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) looks forward to his new child’s due date five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at his wife’s side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when an encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan on a cross-country trip tha! t will ultimately destroy several cars, many friendships and P! eter’s last nerve. Due Date is such a broad comedy, it needs the width of the whole United States in which to play out. Director Todd Phillips (The Hangover) lets the gross-out comedic charms of his frequent star Zach Galifianakis run wild, which is exactly what Galifianakis fans want. And Robert Downey Jr. reminds viewers of his appealing straight-man comic talents, too. Due Date is like Planes, Trains and Automobiles meets Nine Months with a little of The Odd Couple thrown in. The writing of Due Date is uneven--perhaps a result of its having had a minimum of six screenwriters working on it. And run time, at only 100 or so minutes, seems much longer. But Due Date gets its energy and charge from its two stars and from Phillips's slaphappy direction. Galifianakis plays Ethan, who's a version of every character Galifianakis has played to date--slovenly, irresponsible, and uncensored. Downey is Peter, a straitlaced new father-to! -be, who through an improbable series of unfortunate events can find no other way to get across the country for the birth of his first child than to hitch a ride with Ethan. If the situation is somewhat predictable, the comedic moments are not--though by halfway though the trip, viewers may wonder if Peter will be able to resist strangling Ethan with his own scarf, or worse. The deft supporting cast includes Michelle Monaghan as Peter's wife, Jamie Foxx (in kind of a throwaway role), and Juliette Lewis, appealing and not too ditzy. Viewers who love Phillips's and Galifianakis's trademark slapstick shtick will find plenty to laugh about on this long, strange trip. --A.T. HurleyDebra Messing (TV's Will & Grace) shines in this hilarious romantic comedy about the surprising road to finding true love. Kat Ellis (Messing) is determined to attend her younger sister's wedding with a date. Rather than face the ridicule of her family and in order to show up her ex-fiance, sh! e resorts to the Yellow Pages to find a last-minute escort, Ni! ck (Derm ot Mulroney, My Best Friend's Wedding). His dashing good looks and quick-witted charm may win over her family. But will they win over Kat? Filled with unexpected twists and endless laughs, The Wedding Date is the one date that you'll want to keep!If you're a fan of the frazzled comic rhythms Debra Messing plies on Will & Grace, or if you're pre-sold on the concept of Dermot Mulroney as the world's most dashing heartthrob--an idea given ample evidence here--this escapist romance may provide just enough distraction. The Wedding Date's Pretty Woman-in-reverse plot finds Kat Kat Ellis (Messing) hiring expensive male escort Nick Mercer (Mulroney) to fly to London and pose as her dashing new boyfriend at her sister's wedding so she can face the best man, an ex-fiancé who broke her heart. Non-fans of the stars or romantic comedies in general beware: there's no real chemistry or conflict, and you should alert the media if you can determine exactly when and w! hy Kat and Nick fall in love. Mulroney has nothing to do but be sensitively suave--the film's entire running time is spent waiting for Kat to realize that Nick, hooker or no, is the best thing that ever happened to her (her father may be cinema's first dad to ever encourage his daughter to snare a gigolo while she still can). This is a relatively painless but forgettable first Date; you probably won't need a second assignation.--Steve WieckingAdam Sandler and Drew Barrymore star together for the first time since The Wedding Singer in one of the funniest romantic comedies in years. Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) lives an enviable life in a Hawaiian paradise, spending every night with a beautiful tourist in search of an island fling. It is a sweet life with no strings attached, until he meets Lucy (Drew Barrymore). He and Lucy hit it off from the get go, but the next day she acts like she does not know him. Has his karma come around to kick him in the butt or what? A! ctually, Lucy has short-term memory loss, so every night all m! emory of her day is erased. But a man in love will go to any lengths to win over the girl of his dreams, and if that means having to find imaginative ways of doing it over again every day, then Henrys up for the challenge. Rob Schneider (Big Daddy) and Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) co-star in 50 First Dates, which will win you over every time you watch it!With generous amounts of good luck and good timing, 50 First Dates set an all-time box-office record for the opening weekend of a romantic comedy; whether it deserved such a bonanza is another issue altogether. It's a sweet-natured vehicle for sweet-natured stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, and their track record with The Wedding Singer no doubt factors in its lowbrow appeal. But while the well-matched lovebirds wrestle with a gimmicky plot (she has no short-term memory, so he has to treat every encounter as their first), director Peter Segal (who directed Sandler in Anger Management) ignores ! the intriguing potential of their predicament (think Memento meets Groundhog Day) and peppers the proceedings with the kind of juvenile humor that Sandler fans have come to expect. The movie sneaks in a few heartfelt moments amidst its inviting Hawaiian locations, and that trained walrus is charmingly impressive, but you can't quite shake the feeling that too many good opportunities were squandered in favor of easy laughs. Like Barrymore's character, you might find yourself forgetting this movie shortly after you've seen it. --Jeff Shannon