Avatar

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After 12 years of thinking about it (and waiting for movie technology to catch up with his visions), James Cameron followed up his unsinkable Titanic with Avatar, a sci-fi epic meant to trump all previous sci-fi epics. Set in the future on a distant planet, Avatar spins a simple little parable about greedy colonizers (that would be mankind) messing up the lush tribal world of Pandora.

A paraplegic Marine named Jake (Sam Worthington) acts through a 9-foot-tall avatar that allows him to roam the planet and pass as one of the Na’vi, the blue-skinned, large-eyed native people who would very much like to live their peaceful lives without the interference of the visitors. Although he’s supposed to be gathering intel for the badass general (Stephen Lang) who’d like to lay waste to the planet and its inhabitants, Jake naturally begins to take a liking to the Na’vi, especially the feisty Neytiri (Zoë Saldana, whose entire performance, recorded by Cameron’s complicated motion-capture system, exists as a digitally rendered Na’vi). The movie uses state-of-the-art 3D technology to plunge the viewer deep into Cameron’s crazy toy box of planetary ecosystems and high-tech machinery. Maybe it’s the fact that Cameron seems torn between his two loves-awesome destructive gizmos and flower-power message mongering-that makes Avatar’s pursuit of its point ultimately uncertain. That, and the fact that Cameron’s dialogue continues to clunk badly. If you’re won over by the movie’s trippy new world, the characters will be forgivable as broad, useful archetypes rather than standard-issue stereotypes, and you might be able to overlook the unsurprising central plot. (The overextended “take that, Michael Bay” final battle sequences could tax even Cameron enthusiasts, however.) It doesn’t measure up to the hype (what could?) yet Avatar frequently hits a giddy delirium all its own. The film itself is our Pandora, a sensation-saturated universe only the movies could create. -Robert Horton

The Marines

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For longer than the United States has been an independent nation there has been a Marine Corps. Tested in battle from t he Revolutionary War to the bloody back alleys of Iraq Marines consider themselves the very best America has to offer. Embodying fierce patriotism extraordinary courage and innovative weapons and tactics they have a reputation for better of for worse as the go to force when trouble breaks out. The Marines will be a one-hour documentary destined to become PBS s definitive account of the Corps. With the support of the new to-be-established Marine Corps museum this film will have unprecedented access to the vast wealth of information and stunning material in this permanent collection. This is a unique opportunity to highlight major events from the USMC s inception to the present day weaving key moments into a legendary tale worthy of a military force so rich in history and traditions. Our timing couldn’t be better to do this story justice.

A Girl’s Life With Rachel Simmons 

From Amazon.com
Girls entering adulthood in the next decade will see more opportunities than today’s women ever imagined. Will these girls stride confidently through newly opened doors, or are they destined to be stunted by societal messages that tell them females should be constantly agreeable, impossibly thin, and sexy above all else? Researcher and author Rachel Simmons examines the challenges facing young women as they surf the waves of 21st century adolescence. Simmons interviews parents, psychologists, teachers, and social workers who are helping nurture girls into capable, resilient adults. She also talks with four very special girls who tell their own deeply personal tales of dealing with issues like cyber bullying, body image, and violence. With courage and determination, these girls reveal their hopes and dreams for a powerful future.

30 Rock: Seasons 1-3 

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Re-experience all of your favorite moments in this 58-episode box set of the Primetime Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning show 30 Rock. Hailed by Entertainment Weekly as “Simply the Best TV” and by your grandparents as “confusing” and “too fast.” Executive producer and writer Tina Fey stars as TV writer Liz Lemon alongside brash network executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin). Together they tackle the everyday chaos of a live variety TV show with unpredictable lead actors, Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney (Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski), and naïve NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer). Use money to buy the complete first three seasons of 30 Rock and enjoy all the corporate intrigue, sexual espionage, sandwich-eating, inbred royalty, singing puppets and wigs! Plus special bonus features…

Second Skin

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Second Skin takes an intimate, fascinating look at computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by the emerging, hugely popular genre of computer games like World of Warcraft, Second Life, and Everquest, which allow millions of users from around the world to simultaneously interact in virtual spaces. We meet couples who have fallen in love without meeting, disabled players whose lives have been given new purpose, those struggling with addiction, Chinese gold-farming sweatshop workers, wealthy online entrepreneurs and legendary guild leaders- all living in a world that doesn t quite exist.

From Amazon.com
EVERYTHING’S COOL is a toxic comedy about the most dangerous chasm ever to emerge between scientific understanding and political action – Global Warming. While industry-funded naysayers sing their swan song of scientific doubt and deception, a group of self-appointed global warming messengers are on a life-or-death quest to help the public go from understanding the urgency of the problem to creating the political will necessary to push for a new energy economy. DVD Extras include Directors Commentary, 50 minutes of Activist Extras and an Exclusive DVD-rom link to an Actual “Doctored” Congressional Summary.

An Education 

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A young girl seduced by an older man may be a common story, but An Education is no common movie. As Jenny, a precocious middle-class British schoolgirl charmed by a small-time criminal, newcomer Carey Mulligan is luminous; her face can be plain and beautiful at the same time, her eyes expressing a restless intelligence and a hungry soul. As David, the seducer, Peter Sarsgaard (Year of the Dog, Garden State) gives yet another rich, thoughtful performance. The script, adapted by Nick Hornby (whose novels High Fidelity and About a Boy have been made into movies), is full of unexpected details that bring every moment to life. Director Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners) has made sure that every character is vivid and real; even seemingly minor moments have texture and vitality. The supporting cast–including Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson, Cara Seymour (Adaptation), Dominic Cooper (The History Boys), and Olivia Williams (Rushmore)–is simply impeccable. In a small but memorable part, Rosamund Pike (Die Another Day) shows an unexpected (and marvelous) comic side. In short, An Education is a funny, smart, and compassionate movie that will launch a great career for Mulligan and be a jewel on the filmographies of everyone involved. See this movie. –Bret Fetzer

Julie & Julia 

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Julie & Julia is based on the book by Julie Powell, a frustrated New York bureaucrat who wants to be a writer. “But you’re not a writer until someone publishes you,” she moans. So she gives herself a challenge: to cook her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year, and to blog about it. As Powell (played with chirpy determination by Amy Adams), begins to find her groove as a cook, and her voice as a writer, the project takes on a life of its own–and in the end it does provide the struggling young woman with her life’s purpose, to her very pleasant surprise. But mostly, Julie & Julia is a valentine to Child, to Child’s amazing love affair with her dashing husband, Paul (Stanley Tucci, as divine as any soufflé in the film), and to her outlook on embracing life, and ordering seconds. Streep throws herself into the Child role with real affection for her character, and while certain of Child’s idiosyncrasies–including her warbly voice and unflappable haphazardness in the kitchen–are retained, it’s Child’s character and vision which form Streep’s portrayal, and which make the film so involving and rewarding.

Nora Ephron directs with deftness and a light touch, though she seems at times to be encouraging some of Meg Ryan’s onscreen tics in Adams (the self-conscious head tilt, for one). But mostly she simply allows Streep to channel Child and her love of food, her husband, and 1950s Paris. And that is a recipe for something truly sublime. –A.T. Hurley

Mad Men: Season 3

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Returning for its third season, the two-time Golden Globe®-winning series for Best TV Drama bursts with one scandalous surprise after another. Jon Hamm and the rest of the award-winning ensemble continue to captivate us as they contend with a world on the brink. Welcome to Mad Men – a shocking portrait of a time that was anything but innocent. Nothing is as sexy. Nothing is as provocative. Nothing is as it seems. Mad Men: Where the Truth Lies.

Bienvenue Chez Les Ch’tis

From Amazon.com
Post office manager Philippe Abrams lives in the quaint northern town of Salon-de-Provence with his perpetually depressed wife Julie. His bosses transfer him to Bergues in the frozen north. Leaving behind Julie and expecting the worst, Philippe is surprised to find that the people of Bergues are delightful and friendly, especially postman, who becomes a good friend. Returning home, Philippe regales Julie with stories of the warmth of people in the north but she refuses to believe him, convinced it is a ploy to stop her slip-sliding even further into her black mood. So Philippe tries some reverse psychology, saying that Bergues is, in fact, hell on earth.