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Dial M for Murder

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  • Title: Dial M for Murder
  • IMDB: link

dial-m-for-murder-blu-rayAlfred Hitchcock‘s 1954 classic stars Ray Milland as ex-tennis pro Tony Wendice who for a year has known about his wife Margot’s (Grace Kelly) affair with an American crime novelist (Robert Cummings). Wanting revenge, and the wealth his dead wife would bring, Tony blackmails a petty criminal (Anthony Dawson) into helping him pull off the perfect murder. When things don’t go to plan Tony rolls with the punches and tries to frame his wife for the first-degree murder of the would-be assassin.

Dial M for Murder delivers several of Hitchcock’s trademark touches including a charming sociopath – even though Milland’s character is trying to bump off Grace Kelly (in her first collaboration with Hitchcock) we somehow don’t begrudge him the opportunity. We also get the central role of a staircase to the plot, and the planning and boasting of a perfect murder.

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The Great Mouse Detective

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  • Title: The Great Mouse Detective
  • IMDB: link

the-great-mouse-detectiveThe 1980’s were lean years for Disney. Sure, the studio gave us The Fox and the Hound to begin the decade and The Little Mermaid to end it (and start a resurgence for Disney animated features), but the near decade in-between produced some very un-Disney-like choices for theatrical features including 1985’s The Black Cauldron and 1986’s The Great Mouse Detective.

The concept may sound a bit goofy (no pun intended), but The Great Mouse Detective centers around Basil of Baker Street (Barrie Ingham), the world’s foremost mouse detective. As the film opens Basil and a doctor recently returned from Afghanistan, Dr. David Q. Dawson (Val Bettin), are approached by young Olivia Flaversham (Susanne Pollatschek) whose father (Alan Young) has been kidnapped by the evil Professor Ratigan (Vincent Price). Ratigan wants the toy maker to create a clockwork version of the Queen (Eve Brenner) which he can use to rule all of England.

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The Mentalist – Season Four

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  • Title: The Mentalist – The Complete Fourth Season
  • wiki: link

the-mentalist-season-fourConsultant, and former fake psychic and con man, Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) returns for another season of helping the California Bureau of Investigation solve crimes. After dealing with last season’s cliffhanger that saw Jane shoot the man he believed to be Red John in cold blood, a crime for which he’s found not guilty in the season opener, things get back to business as usual.

Season Four of The Mentalist is highlighted by Jane burying a man alive, Jane working a case with another CBI team, a murder investigation involving Lisbon’s (Robin Tunney) former fiance, Jane’s nervous breakdown and relationship with a disciple (Emmanuelle Chriqui) of Red John, a new serial killer (David Paymer), an attack which leaves Jane with temporary amnesia, a case involving one of Jane’s old clients (Kelli Williams), Jane helping an old friend  (Andrew Rothenberg) rob a casino, and the return of both cult leader Bret Styles (Malcolm McDowell) and Morena Baccarin as the manipulative and seductive relationship guru turned murderer Erica Flynn.

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The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1

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  • Title: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
  • IMDB: link

batman-dark-knight-returns-pt1-blu-rayI love Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Originally released as a four-issue mini-series back in 1986 Returns gave us a look at the future of Gotham City, ten years after the last appearance of Batman (Peter Weller). So when DC Animated announced their plans for not one but two animated features I held my breath and hoped for the best. Much like last year’s Batman: Year One, this adaptation of Frank Miller’s work is, at best, a mixed success.

Ten years to the day after the Batman’s last recorded appearance, and one month before the retirement of Commissioner Gordon (David Selby), Bruce Wayne is lured out of retirement by a vicious new gang known as the Mutants who are slowly taking over the city. Part 1 gives us Batman’s return, Two-Face‘s (Wade Williams) short reign of terror, and the always jabbering talking heads who continue to debate whether Gotham is better or worse off with Batman’s return.

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Hawaii Five-0 – The Complete Second Season

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  • Title: Hawaii Five-0 – Season Two
  • tv.com: link

hawaii-fivd-0-season-two-dvdThe rebooted Hawaiian police task force returns for a second season. Over the course of the year Commander Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) will continue to track down the notorious Wo Fat (Mark Dacascos) and search for the mysterious Shellburne. The Second Season returns CIA Agent Jenna Kaye (Larisa Oleynik) and Captain Fryer (Tom Sizemore) in recurring roles and introduces two important new supporting characters in McGarrett’s former commander and surrogate father figure Joe White (Terry O’Quinn) and Lori Weston (Lauren German) as the new Governor’s (Richard T. Jones) self-appointed member to the Five-o task force.

The first episodes of the season deal with proving McGarret wasn’t responsible for the death of the Governor (Jean Smart) and Kono’s (Grace Park) undercover work to take down a former cop (William Baldwin). By the sixth episode of the season the team is back together (when McGarret isn’t off on his own searching for old friends and new enemies).

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