28 Days Later : Limited Edition (2 Disc Set) [2002]
Happyslapped by a Jellyfish: The Words of Karl Pilkington
The Age of Reason
The Rights of Man
Ratatouille [2007]
Ratatouille tells the story of wannabe-chef Remy The Rat, who becomes drawn into the mantra of legendary cook Gusteau, that anyone can cook. The deceased Gusteau's ghostly image appears to Remy, and guides him to his restaurant, whose standards have been slipping since his death. Remy, through the manipulation of a lowly restaurant worker called Linguini, soon starts secretly cooking the food, and this unusual set up proves to be a trove of treasures that Pixar carefully picks through. Ratatouille's trick is to tie its cutting edge animation techniques to old-school essentials. At times harking back to the frenetic style you'd expect of Chuck Jones, it threads an original narrative through its story, which itself is packed with memorable characters (none more so than Peter O'Toole's superbly-voiced restaurant critic). It perhaps runs a little too long, but it's so well-written and so lavishly entertaining that it's a churlish complaint to have. For in an era of cynically-produced family movies, Ratatouille is really something special. With an appeal that spreads across generations, and a quality that puts it right up there with Pixar's finest, it's an outstanding piece of cinema, and one set to be enjoyed for many, many years. Unmissable. —Simon Brew Karlology
The Temporal Void
SOE: An Outline History of the Special Operations Executive
The SOE spent much time engaged in diversionary activity. It was said that each day Hitler spent at least half an hour considering Abwehr reports on SOE activities and that he was never entirely sure of their place in the overall framework of Allied plans. But perhaps the greatest success of the SOE was the way it managed to foster a mentality of resistance in all areas of Nazi occupation. Populations that might otherwise have settled for an easy life were galvanised into a permanent state of mini-rebellion, thereby ensuring that the occupying forces could never relax for a moment. Foot is the ideal guide to walk you through this outfit of which much has been spoken but little is known, sorting out the fact from the fiction but he still finding ample room for storytelling. Your perspective on World War Two will never be quite the same again after reading this. — John Crace Secret War Heroes: The Men of Special Operations Executive
Common Sense
Bad Science
Neuromancer
Toy Story - 10th Anniversary Edition [1995]
Lasseter's story is universal and magical: what do toys do when they're not played with? Cowboy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Andy's favourite bedroom toy, tries to calm the other toys (some original, some classic) during a wrenching time of year—the birthday party, when newer toys may replace them. Sure enough, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is the new toy that takes over the throne. Buzz has a crucial flaw, though—he believes he's the real Buzz Lightyear, not a toy. Bright and cheerful, Toy Story is much more than a 90-minute commercial for the inevitable bonanza of Woody and Buzz toys. Lasseter further scores with perfect voice casting, including Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Wallace Shawn as a meek dinosaur. The director-animator won a special Oscar "For the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film." In other words, the movie is great. —Doug Thomas Wii Fit
Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip -Wii Fit Compatible
WALL-E (2 Disc Special Edition) [2008]
Family Guy - Series 7 - Complete
The show, for those new to it, follows the wonderful Griffin family, headed up by the daft but loveable Peter and the happily oblivious Lois, through to their teenage kids Chris and Meg. But as any seasoned Family Guy viewer will happily tell you, the gold of the show lies with the two characters who are the brains of the family. On the one hand there’s Brian the dog, and then on the other is the little baby Stewie. He, surely, is the absolute highlight, a maniacal evil genius of a child, who in this season seven set finally manages to kill Lois. Insert your own evil laugh here. The 12 episodes on offer in the Family Guy season 7 boxset aren’t all vintage, but there are some cracking inclusions. The 100th episode special is a good place to start, and then there’s the small matter of President Bush’s underwear going walkabout. Throw in a bit of time travel for Peter, and it’s the usual oddball mix that helps make the show so strong. With plenty of rewatch value and a continued ability to generate laughs, Family Guy is a show that’s still thriving on the evidence with this set. And frankly, the next collection of episodes on DVD can’t come quickly enough. —Jon Foster Futurama - Bender's Game [2008]
Extras - The Special
Unlike the finale of The Office, this super-duper-sized episode really has no loose ends to tie up. In Andy's humiliating comeuppance (he sinks to portraying an alien on Dr. Who and joins the desperate housemates on Celebrity Big Brother), Gervais has the perfect vessel with which to rail against soul-sucking celebrity, degrading tabloid culture, and "the gutter press." As for Andy and Maggie, those longing for some kind of Tim/Dawn hookup may not get exactly what they want, but they will get what they need in the lovely final scenes. A-listers having a laugh at their own images have always been one of Extras' special treats. The finale features jaw-dropping cameos by Clive Owen and George Michael, performing community service yet again. —Donald Liebenson Operation Avalanche: The Salerno Landings 1943
The Wire: Complete HBO Season 5
As with every season of The Wire, there’s an underlying theme running alongside the exploration of both sides of Baltimore’s drug problem, and this time it’s the media. Fighting cutbacks, yet trying to maintain quality, the staff of The Baltimore Sun prove to be a compelling addition to the mix. On top of that, there’s also Mayor Carcetti’s battles at City Hall with the budget, a stretched police force looking for easy statistics, and fractions among the city’s main drug dealers. Desperate times, ultimately, call for desperate measures, and it turns to McNulty to come up with a plan that threads through each of the city’s factions. That The Wire has maintained its standards for five straight seasons is surely something to be celebrated all by itself. Yet what’s even more remarkable is the way that it leaves our screens, seemingly forever. No character is safe and nothing is black and white, right up to the quite wonderful final episode. And what a way to go that last instalment proves to be. Giving nothing away, it’s a superb fanfare to a genuinely stunning—and unequalled—piece of television drama. If you’ve not already, you really should find out what all the fuss about. —Simon Brew Severian Of The Guild: The Book Of The New Sun: With Shadow of the Torturer AND Claw of the Conciliator AND Sword of the Lictor AND Citadel of the Autarch
The Diamond Age
Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan
Anathem
Carnivale: Complete HBO Season 1 [2003]
Carnivale: Complete HBO Season 2
Vive La Revolution
Amazing...but False!: Hundreds of Facts You Thought Were True, But Aren't
An Utterly Impartial History of Britain:
Ice, Mud and Blood: Lessons from Climates Past
In the Beginning...Was the Command Line
No one could read a Stephenson novel and not recognise his frighteningly powerful grasp of social and political history, and of technology that underpins all his stories. Read the liner notes on Snow Crash and you'll realise this is a man who probably considers Apple's Human Interface Guidelines to be soothing bedtime reading. In the Beginning...Was the Command Line gives Stephenson an opportunity to flex his own non-fictional muscles. Part memoir, part developer's history of operating systems, it trawls through CLIs (command line interfaces) such as MS-DOS to GUIs (graphical user interfaces), the then-as now—revolutionary Macintosh OS, and everything since: Windows 98 (note: purist Stephenson doesn't even consider this an OS), Unix and Linux. By the end of his enlightening, exhaustive elucidation of these and other TLAs, you too may suffer the subject of one of the book's final chapters: "geek fatigue". Not to worry—if there's one thing of which you can be certain it's that Stephenson never takes himself, or his subject, too seriously, and anything that cites Dilbert cartoons and H. G. Wells as source material has got to be a giant step forward. —Liz Bailey Netherland
"Bones, Rocks and Stars": The Science of When Things Happened
Stargate - Continuum [2008]
Stargate: Continuum follows on from the earlier feature-length The Ark Of Truth, and it focuses on a staple storyline of science fiction television, the alternate timeline. In this instance, it's an Earth where the Stargate simply hasn't been discovered, and nobody has any knowledge of the crew's adventures. Wisely using this story mechanic as a basis rather than the main thrust of Stargate: Continuum, the action soon focuses on a well-realised attempt by the Ba'al to conquer Earth. It's exciting stuff, and while the credits arguably roll a little too early, it's very welcome work from the SG-1 favourites that builds up to a strong outing for all concerned. And in the midst of them is the returning Richard Dean Anderson as O'Neill, and very welcome he is too. Stargate: Continuum makes good use of both the extended running time that a feature offers, as well as the extra resources that were clearly available in front of and behind the camera. It's inevitably going to be enjoyed most of all by SG-1's fanbase, but there's plenty in here too for the casual science-fiction enthusiast. —Jon Foster Between Silk and Cyanide
The History of Hampshire County Cricket Club
Misspent Youth
The rejuvenation treatment, developed by federal Europe to impress laggard America, is so complex and expensive that only one person every 18 months can receive it. Jeff is the first because he's a celebrity inventor, father of the "datasphere" which superseded the Internet. Family upheavals follow. An "arrangement" with his much younger, still beautiful wife Sue lets her enjoy lovers while the aged Jeff turns a blind eye: now things are different. Meanwhile their 18-year-old son Tim is struggling ineptly with teenage sexual pangs and the impossibility of understanding girls. All part of growing up, but Jeff's renewed youth brings farcical complications. It's not just that Jeff now fancies Sue again. He can't resist even younger women. An early one-night stand is publicised all over the datasphere. Embarrassment escalates when he's seduced by the granddaughter of a long-time pub companion. Worse, several of Tim's ravishing female schoolmates are interested in Jeff the celebrity stud. The dishiest of all is Tim's latest, most hopelessly adoring girlfriend. Can it be coincidence that the action mostly happens in Rutland? This comedy of embarrassments and revelations has a darker background: Europe is plagued by separatist movements whose terrorist habits make the old IRA look like pussycats. The turning point in Jeff's tangled relationships comes when he attends a London conference surrounded by protest that breeds riot—with Tim among the protesters. A foreshadowed twist leads to a finale that mixes cynicism with sentiment. En route Misspent Youth is a lot of fun. —David Langford Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The Brawl comes to your Wii Brawl with old friends . Or new ones like Pit from "Kid Icarus." . The Smash Ball is the key to success. . Battle to your hearts content. . Characters: More Than Just Mario and Friends The lifeblood of the Super Smash Bros. series has always been the depth of the character line-up that each instalment has been able to bring and Brawl not only keeps with tradition, but does it one better. Just as in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros Melee, players can expect to pit their favourite Nintendo characters against each other in head-to-head and multiplayer battles, but instead of insisting on characters exclusively from the Nintendo universe, Brawl adds variety in the form of superstars Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake from Konami's Metal Gear franchise. This is a first-time addition and one that will delight veteran players and newbies alike. But these two characters are only a sampling of the new additions to the game's line-up. The other ten come from classic Nintendo titles and bring the complete line-up of playable characters to a whopping 25. See the full list on combatants below: New Comers: Pit from the Kid Icarus series, Wario, Zero Suit Samus, Ike from the Fire Emblem series, Meta Knight and King Dedede from the Kirby series, Pokémon Trainer, Diddy Kong, Lucas from the Earthbound/Mother series, Pikimin and Olimar from the Pikmin series and of course Sonic and Solid Snake. Returning Veteran Fighters: Mario, Link, Kirby, Pikachu, Fox McCloud, Samus, Zelda/Sheik, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Princess Peach and Ice Climbers from the NES title Ice Climber. The Rules of the Brawl As in previous releases in the series, Brawl places players within a different, but easy to use fighting system. Players choose a character, select one of the numerous stages—which are levels based in the game worlds represented in Super Smash Bros.— and try to knock their opponents off the screen using a range of standard techniques and combos as well as a variety of special attacks and `Smash Moves' specific to their chosen character. A Smash Move can only be performed after securing a `Smash Ball.' These precious items, marked with the Smash Bros. logo, fall randomly and can be used by either player, but they must be cracked open before they can be used. To keep things interesting they can also can be stolen if not used right away, so when a player sees one it must be grabbed quickly and cracked to avoid an unfortunate turn of events. Also, keeping with the game's "E" rating and player's affection for the characters, instead of displaying health bars the game uses a percent system to indicate character status and strength. The more damage done to a character, the higher the percentage and the farther back he/she is knocked back when struck by an opponent. Many Ways to Play: Multiplayer and Single Player Options Just as in previous instalments of Super Smash Bros. there is fun to be had whether you choose to fight in multiplayer or single player mode, but Brawl again pushes the envelope even further by providing additional ways to play within these areas and the possibility of others added later. Here are just a few of the modes that you can expect to see: MultiplayerStandard Multiplayer Brawl - A standard battle between 2-4 players.Special Brawl - Take down your friends in matches which you can customize with as many rules as you would like.Tourney - Choose the number of players and rules you want and have at it in a round-robin battle against many foes.Online Multiplayer - For the first time play against registered friends or randomly selected opponents from anyplace in the world via a Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.Single PlayerTraining - Start on the path to Brawling like a pro as you learn to string standard moves together into combos.Classic - Fight your way through semi-randomly generated battles where each match features an arena or opponent from a particular game series and may feature unique battle conditions.Stadium: Target Smash - Practice your aim as you break ten targets within a set time limit."Subspace Emissary" - The world of Smash Bros. is invaded by an entity called the Ancient Minister and his army, called "The Primid. As this villain starts turning characters into trophies to harness their power, declare a peace with your quarrelsome companions and work together to defeat the invaders in an engrossing side-scrolling adventure.Stay in Control Because the Super Smash Bros. series has a huge following and an even larger list of characters from the Nintendo catalogue, it only makes sense that players may have a preference for a particular Nintendo controller from the era of their favourite game. Because of this the game's creators have incorporated all four of the major Nintendo controllers into the mix. Whether you prefer the Wii Remote, the Wii Remote with Nunchuck, the Wii Classic Controller or GameCube Controller it makes no difference. All four are fully compatible with all the features of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, although the handling of each is a little different. Choose the one you are most comfortable with, or explore all your options. The choice is yours. A Barrel Full of Customization Finally, created with an eye towards providing year's worth of fun, Brawl comes with extensive built-in customization possibilities. Dive into the game's seemingly endless list of game modes/mini-games, battle stages, in-game items and musical playback options to make the game your own and Brawl the way you want to. Futurama - The Beast with a Billion Backs [2008]
The story of The Beast With The Billion Backs follows, as you may have guessed from the title, the arrival of a strange creature on Earth. Said creature then takes control of Fry, who becomes the Pope of a brand new religion that soon begins to exert its grip on the planet. And without giving too much away, the panic and paranoia becomes just one part of an ambitious animated adventure, that makes a fair few points among its many, many laughs. The good news for fans of Futurama is that The Beast With The Billion Backs really delivers, with more guffaws and a better all-round script than the mightily enjoyable Bender's Big Score. It's not without the odd problem, and still doesn't quite manage to match the highs of the TV show at its finest, but it's a very welcome fresh addition to the Futurama universe. Two further direct-to-DVD movies are in the works at the time of this review being written, and with them comes continued hope for a full-on revival of one of the funniest animated programmes of the past ten years. It may not make suitable family viewing, but Futurama is brilliant television, and The Beast With A Billion Backs offers plenty of evidence as to why. Strongly recommended. —Jon Foster Peep Show Series 5 [2008]
Mark and Jeremy are entering their 30s with failed marriages behind them, few prospects, and a sense of impending crisis. Time is running out for them to sort out their lives. Jeremy's mother appears on the scene and it soon becomes clear why he's ended up as he is. Mark goes speed dating, and discovers money can buy you love. Jeremy and Superhans (Matt King) play at a Christian Rock Festival; the flat suffers multiple burglaries and the boys endure their worst ever night out - at the theatre. Extras: BEHIND THE SCENES with Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong guiding you through the production process, from how they get ideas for the series, read throughs and rehearsals with cast, to shooting on set and on location to the final product! PEEP SHOW RELATIONSHIP TREE - your guide to whose slept with whom throughout all the Peep Show series'… this is a trip through Mark and Jeremy's love lives throughout series 1-5, with clips and graphics to explain the various connections! DELETED SCENES SOPHIE'S POV - existing scenes from episode 6 written by Sam and Jesse from Sophie's point of view. Weezer
Sin City (Collector's Edition) [2005]
Juno [2007]
But Juno is much more than its plot; the stylised dialogue (by screenwriter Diablo Cody) seems forced at first, but soon creates a richly textured world, greatly aided by superb performances by Page, Cera, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the prospective parents, and J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man) and Allison Janney as Juno's father and stepmother. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) deftly keeps the movie from slipping into easy, shallow sarcasm or foundering in sentimentality. The result is smarter and funnier than you might expect from the subject matter, and warmer and more touching than you might expect from the cocky attitude. Page's performance is deceptively simple; she never asks the audience to love her, yet she effortlessly carries a movie in which she's in almost every scene. That's star power. — Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com Pommies: England Cricket Through an Australian Lens
Weezer
The Tide And Its Takers
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing
Trick or Treatment?: Alternative Medicine on Trial
The Mismeasure of Man
Boom Blox (Wii)
Stargate - The Ark Of Truth [2008]
The Ray Bradbury Theater (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Cop in the Hood My Year Policing Baltimores Eastern District: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District
Dead Men Scare Me Stupid
Futurama - Bender's Big Score (with Limited Edition Lenticular Sleeve)
A Sense Of Purpose + DVD
Pinkerton
Maladroit
Weezer
Make Believe
Phil Tufnell: What Now? - The Autobiography
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare (Twentieth Century Classics)
Five Days in London: May 1940 (Yale Nota Bene)
Housekeeping Vs. the Dirt: Fourteen Months of Massively Witty Adventures in Reading Chronicled by the National Book Critics Circle Finalist for C
The Mirror's Truth
The Wire: Complete HBO Season 4
Mere synopsis does not do The Wirejustice. The series deftly juggles its myriad storylines and characters, all of whom make an impression, from Marlo's cold-blooded enforcers, Snoop (Felicia Pearson) and Chris (Gbenga Akinnagbe), to boxing instructor "Cutty" (Chad L. Coleman), determined to keep his young charges off the corners. There is not a false note in the performances or the writing. Richard Price (Clockers) and Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) again contributed episodes. That this series has only been nominated for only one Emmy (for writing) is a travesty. As engrossing as the finest novels and in a class by itself, this isn't television; it's The Wire. —Donald Liebenson As Our Army Grows
Basingstoke Boy: The Autobiography
Intellectual Impostures
Basil D'Oliveira: Cricket and Controversy
Red Strangers (Penguin Modern Classics)
The Dirk Gently Omnibus
Dawn of the Dumb: Dispatches from the Idiotic Frontline
The Origin of Species
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