Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Appleseed Ex Machina [Blu-ray]

  • The next installment in the Appleseed franchise, Appleseed: Ex Machina,available on DVD! Produced by John Woo and Directed by Shinji Aramaki,and featuring next generation CG technology, Appleseed: Ex Machina isback bigger and badder! Based on the manga from reknown creator Shirow Masamune, in this movie,Deunan and Briareos are both partners and lovers. As members of ESWAT,the elite forces servi
Synopsis:
Item Type: BLU-RAY DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 05/18/10
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products de! livered by Christmas.The 2004 Appleseed feature is a reworking of the earlier video based on the manga by Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell). In 2131, most of humanity has withdrawn to the glittering city of Olympus after a devastating war. When the curvaceous Deunan Knute comes to Olympus, she encounters her former comrade Briareos, now a cyborg, and the lovely android Hitomi. The fate of Hitomi, Olympus, and humanity rest on the lost "Appleseed" technology that Deunan's mother helped to develop. A standard series of chases, mecha battles, and confrontations leads to a predictable ending. When the original Appleseedappeared in 1988, it felt like a summary of anime's past, while Akira pointed the way to the future. This new version feels like a mishmash of Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Jin-Roh, Evangelion, and other, more exciting works. The motion-capture CG is typically weightless, and the mecha look odd! ly squat. (Rated R: violence) --Charles SolomonWorld Wa! r III is over, and nomad soldier Duenan Knute and her cyborg partner Briareos struggle to survive in the abandoned cities and demilitarized zones of the post-war wasteland, the "Badside." Matters appear on the upswing, however, when they are found and brought to Olympus, an urban utopia and centerpiece for the reconstruction of civilization. Duenan and Bri join the Olympus' police, a force that seems hardly necessary in such a paradise. But, like in most pretty pictures, perfection is an illusion, and Olympus' peaceful facade hides a dark secret, a violent struggle between human and cyborg that could once again plunge the world into war... and genocide.Earth's last city, Olympus, rose from the ashes of a global war on the backs of Bioroids, artificial clones who make up half the city's population. Under the strict guidance of a supercomputer, humanity's last survivors enjoy an idyllic peace, but only on the surface Human terrorists within the military seek a return to power and! clash with the government's ESWAT forces lead by the legendary soldier, Deunan Knute, and her boyfriend who is 75% machine. Retrieving the Appleseed will end the conflict, and Deunan alone holds its secret. The outstanding feature film based on the manga by SHIROW Masamune (Ghost In the Shell), directed by Shinji ARAMAKI (Bubblegum Crisis), and produced by SORI (Ping Pong) features a soundtrack by Boom Boom Satelites, Paul Oakenfold, Basement Jaxx and more and will be available from TOFU records. The DVD will feature high quality video encoded directly from the HD master in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 English Dolby Digital and DTS audio as well as the original Japanese 2.0 stereo and 5.1 DTS Dolby Digital soundtracks! This DVD also features commentary from both the director and the producer!The 2004 Appleseed feature is a reworking of the earlier video based on the manga by Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell). In 2131, most of humanity has withd! rawn to the glittering city of Olympus after a devastating war! . When t he curvaceous Deunan Knute comes to Olympus, she encounters her former comrade Briareos, now a cyborg, and the lovely android Hitomi. The fate of Hitomi, Olympus, and humanity rest on the lost "Appleseed" technology that Deunan's mother helped to develop. A standard series of chases, mecha battles, and confrontations leads to a predictable ending. When the original Appleseedappeared in 1988, it felt like a summary of anime's past, while Akira pointed the way to the future. This new version feels like a mishmash of Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Jin-Roh, Evangelion, and other, more exciting works. The motion-capture CG is typically weightless, and the mecha look oddly squat. (Rated R: violence) --Charles SolomonThe next installment in the Appleseed franchise Appleseed: Ex Machinaavailable on DVD! Produced by John Woo and Directed by Shinji Aramakiand featuring next generation CG technology Appleseed: Ex Machina isback! bigger and badder!Based on the manga from reknown creator Shirow Masamune in this movieDeunan and Briareos are both partners and lovers. As members of ESWATthe elite forces serving Olympus they are deployed everywhere troublestrikes. The two fighters find their partnership tested in a new way bythe arrival of Tereus who uncannily resembles Briareos before thewartime injuries that led to his becoming a cyborg. At the same timeOlympus finds itself under a stealth attack . Cyborg terrorism deadlynanotech zealots and rioting citizens are just some of the threats thatDeunan must contend with as she fights to save Olympus.System Requirements:Running Time: 104 minutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085391200666 Manufacturer No: 120066Produced by John Woo and directed by Shinji Aramaki, Appleseed Ex Machina (2007) ranks as the most elaborate, stylish, and violent of the three adaptations of Masamune Shirow's manga. When it was relea! sed in 1988, the original Appleseed felt like a summary! of anim e's past, while Akira pointed the way to the future. The second Appleseed (2004), also directed by Aramaki, was an unimpressive motion-capture CG feature that borrowed elements from other sci-fi anime. In this latest incarnation, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus of the E.S.W.A.T. team are charged with preserving the peace of the city-state of Olympus, a hi-tech paradise on a largely ruined Earth. Screenwriters Kiyoto Takeuchi and Todd W. Russell have given the story a contemporary twist, adding attacks by "cyborg terrorists" and an effort by the ruler of Olympus to control a world-wide satellite surveillance system. When cyborgs and human launch coordinated attacks on the government headquarters in Olympus, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus swing into action against a mysterious enemy. The plot has little in common with the earlier films: the Appleseed technology that was at the core of the story isn't even mentioned. The look, tone, and characters in Ex Machina ! recall Shirow's Ghost in the Shell, rather than the original Appleseed. Not surprisingly, the elaborately choreographed fight scenes reflect Woo's signature style, with slo-mo martial-arts combat, close-ups of falling shells, dynamic camerawork, and all-out gun battles. But the weightless movements of the motion-capture characters and the limited rendering of the skin textures gives Appleseed Ex Machina the feel of an extremely elaborate computer game. Despite the limits of the mo-cap technology, Appleseed Ex Machina is a fast-past, take-no-prisoners cinematic adventure that will delight action-movie fans as well as anime lovers. (Rated PG-13: violence, violence against women, profanity, grotesque imagery, potentially offensive religious imagery.) --Charles Solomon

Friday, March 2, 2012

The True Story of Charlie Wilson (History Channel)

  • No one suspected that playboy Congressman Charlie Wilson and his partner Gust Avrakotos--an aggressive CIA agent nicknamed Dr. Dirty --would mastermind the covert arming of the Afghan Mujahideen in what became the largest and most successful campaign in CIA history. THE TRUE STORY OF CHARLIE WILSON profiles this unorthodox alliance, and chronicles the epic journey the two men undertook to guara
Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this compelling and witty film from Oscar®-winning director Mike Nichols and Primetime Emmy®-winning writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing). Based on the outrageous true story, Charlie Wilson's War shows how one congressman who loved a good time, one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one renegade CIA agent who loved a good fight conspired to bring about the largest covert operation in history.Academy Award® w! inners Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this compelling and witty film from Oscar®-winning director Mike Nichols and Primetime Emmy®-winning writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing). Based on the outrageous true story, Charlie Wilson's War shows how one congressman who loved a good time, one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one renegade CIA agent who loved a good fight conspired to bring about the largest covert operation in history.
A gripping and vibrant book soon to be released as a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and directed by Mike Nichols, Charlie Wilson’s War was a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times best seller when it was published in 2003. Crile’s book is the true story of how a Texas Congressman and a rogue CIA agent conspired to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful CIA campaign ever â€" the operation to fund the mujahideen in their fight aga! inst the Soviet army that had invaded Afghanistan. Moving from! the bac k rooms of the Capitol to secret chambers at Langley, from arms dealers’ conventions to the Khyber Pass, Charlie Wilson’s War presents an astonishing chapter of our recent past, and the key to understanding what helped trigger the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and ultimately led to the emergence of a brand-new foe in the form of radical Islam.
Crile's book is the true story of how a Texas Congressman and a rogue CIA agent conspired to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful CIA campaign ever -- the operation to fund the mujahideen in their fight against the Soviet army that had invaded Afghanistan. Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol to secret chambers at Langley, from arms dealers' conventions to the Khyber Pass, Charlie Wilson's War presents an astonishing chapter of our recent past, and the key to understanding what helped trigger the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and ultimately led to the emergence of a brand-new foe in the for! m of radical Islam.Crile's book is the true story of how a Texas Congressman and a rogue CIA agent conspired to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful CIA campaign ever -- the operation to fund the mujahideen in their fight against the Soviet army that had invaded Afghanistan. Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol to secret chambers at Langley, from arms dealers' conventions to the Khyber Pass, Charlie Wilson's War presents an astonishing chapter of our recent past, and the key to understanding what helped trigger the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and ultimately led to the emergence of a brand-new foe in the form of radical Islam.TRUE STORY OF CHARLIE WILSON - DVD Movie
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