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Bond Girls

  • Title: Bond Girls are Forever
  • IMDB: link

Maryam d’Abo (The Living Daylights) hosts this look at what it means to be a Bond Girl, talking with former Bond Girls, in this limited edition DVD of the made-for-television documentary.

Starting with Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike (Die Another Die), host Maryam d’Abo discusses what it means to be a Bond Girl and how the experience differed for the women who are part of this select sorority that began the moment Ursula Andress walked out of the water in Dr. No.

Including clips from past Bond films and interviews with several Bond girls the special is an interesting look at this select group of actresses.  There aren’t huge surprises or revelations, and truth be told, some of the girls haven’t aged well over the years, but there’s something intriguing about each of these women describing their experiences.

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Reaper

  • Title: Reaper – The Complete First Season
  • tv.com: link

“I’m a bounty hunter for Hell.”

On his 21st birthday Sam (Bret Harrison) learns a troubling fact which will change his life forever.  It seems before he was born his parents (Andrew Airlie, Alison Hossack) sold his soul to the Devil (Ray Wise) who has come to collect.

Now Sam is forced to work as the Devil’s bounty hunter and capture escaped souls and return them to Hell through a portal in the DMV (also referred to as Hell on Earth).

Helping Sam on his missions are his two best buds Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben (Rick Gonzalez) who work with Sam, along with the lovely Andi (Missy Peregrym), at the Work Bench (think Home Depot mixed with Cosco and Wal-Mart).

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Chaplin

  • Title: Chaplin
  • IMDb: link

“What do we do now Charlie?”
“Smile.”

It is impossible to discuss Chaplin without first mentioning the singular performance by Robert Downey Jr. There are many biopics where the star does a passable job and others where movie magic truly happens and the actor, to an almost eerie extent (think Jim Carey in Man on the Moon, only better), embodies the subject on film.

Downey may have failed to take home the Oscar (Anthony Hopkins, also in this film, spirited it away for his performance as a cannibal), but there is nothing here to be ashamed of.  From the recreation of Chaplin’s famous scenes to the more intimate moments far from the cinema, Downey gives us a Chaplin that lives and breathes, and a magic that makes us want to go out and buy all of the Tramp‘s films.

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Hulk Smash on DVD

  • Title: The Incredible Hulk
  • IMDB: link

“Don’t make me hungry.  You wouldn’t like me when I’m hungry.”

Athough not a sequel to Ang Lee‘s Hulk the film, after a brief introduction,  picks up with Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) on the run trying to control his condition and find a cure.  His search will lead him back home into the arms of Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and the sights of Gen. Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) and his new protege (Tim Roth) who has agreed to be enhanced by process which created the Hulk.  For more on the film read December’s original review.

Learning from the mistakes of Hulk this film stays truer to the characters and amps up the action.  This comes with the cost of replacing what worked Lee’s film (the actors), and although this version is a better representation of the character it lacks some of the style of Lee’s film.

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30 Rock – Season 2

  • Title: 30 Rock – The Complete Second Season
  • tv.com: link

“I like when a woman has ambition; it’s like seeing a dog wearing clothes.”

When 30 Rock originally aired I wasn’t impressed.  To me the first season which was slightly less fun than staring at color bars, was painfully unfunny.  So it was with more than a little trepidation when I sat down to watch the second season on DVD.  Imagine my surprise when it turned out that while I wasn’t watching the show it began to find the funny.

The show takes place in NBC Universal headquarters inside the GE Building at 30 Rockerfeller Plaza (thus the title).  Tina Fey stars as the head writer for a comedy series which stars Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowsi.

The main focus of 30 Rock is the behind the scenes antics of those who work in the building from the other writers on the show (Scott Adsit, Frank Friedlander, Keith Powell), to the loyal page (Jack McBrayer) and the studio suit (Alec Baldwin).

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