The Book of Eli is a vastly underappreciated film that mixes martial arts swordsmanship, a post-apocalyptic setting, and a biblical narrative.

A war, over thirty years ago, killed off many people in the United States. Others were blinded from the blast. This creates an interesting disparity between those over thirty years of age who received an education and those under thirty who know nothing of the modern world (at one point, one of the thugs asks, "What's a television?").

This is an unpleasant world. Cannibalistic brigands ambush unwary travelers, identifiable by their shaking hands. Water is at a premium. Batteries are hard to find. The Book of Eli makes it clear that there's no currency, only barter.

Roaming the land is Eli (a subdued Denzel Washington), carrying a book with a cross on it. This book is greatly desired by Carnegie (a greasy Gary Oldman), who is also old enough to remember the power such a tome can have over the people. While Eli has been wandering for thirty years in pursuit of such a destination, Carnegie has been sending illiterate henchmen to retrieve every book he can find. The encounter between the two has all the fire and brimstone of a battle between heaven and hell.

Thrown into the mix is Solara (played beautifully by Mila Kunis, who finally sheds her trademark accent), a young, attractive girl who has grown up under Carnegie's protection but, as she flowers into womanhood, is about to become a bargaining chip, a piece of meat, and a lure. When there's no one left to protect her, she becomes a wanderer in Eli's footsteps.

From a religious point of view, it's educational to understand who Eli was in the Bible. In the Bible, Eli's children are cursed for behaving wickedly, a parallel for the war that destroyed civilization in the movie. God's curse assures that all men will "die by the sword" - in the movie Eli expertly cuts a bloody swath through his enemies with his machete. In the Bible, it was the job of Eli's sons to guard the Ark of the Covenant - the pact God made with man - just as Eli guards the holy book in the movie.

There's a twist ending that's not a twist of all if you read up about Eli in the Bible. But don't - watch the movie, then do some research, then watch the movie again. Like Eli's quest for spiritual fulfillment, the experience will be rather eye-opening.

Just wanted to inform you that the DVD (at least the disc I received) begins with the "Pilot" episode, and that the "Water Tower" episode has been omitted.

01: Pilot
02: The Keg
03: Prom Night
04: A New Hope
05: Garage Sale
06: The First Time
07: Moon Over Point Place
08: Radio Daze
09: Canadian Road Trip
10: It's A Wonderful Life

This DVD is really just 3 episodes that happen to have Peter fighting the Giant Chicken. If you already own the season DVD's, no need to purchase this.

Darren Aronofsky has been circling movie news sites pretty frequently as of late. He recently signed on to direct the stand-alone sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine (appropriately titled The Wolverine). He also developed a rather large and devoted fanbase over the course of directing fantastically surreal films such as Pi, Requiem for a Dream, and The Wrestler, but his psychological thriller Black Swan has also been gaining quite a bit of steam leading up to its December 3rd release. Despite Aronofsky's already well-established reputation and the rather high anticipation for the film, Black Swan still delivers a product that is even better than expected.

Like most ballerinas, Nina (Portman) lives, breathes, and is completely devoted to dance. Artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) is preparing a new spring production of his interpretation of Swan Lake. Nina is next in line to become prima ballerina after the former dancer to hold that spot, Beth Macintyre (Ryder), reluctantly retires. Everything seems to be shifting in that direction until a rather unorthodox, provocative, and unstable (in a dangerous kind of way) dancer named Lily (Kunis) arrives. Lily seems to have an eye for Nina's spot as soon as she walks through the door. Thomas begins to see Nina as the White Swan, which signifies innocence and perfection and Lily as the Black Swan, which is more sensual and deceptive. The problem is that one dancer is required to play both parts. Other than the stiff competition she has to deal with, The Swan Queen role begins to take its toll on Nina who begins to think Lily wants even more than her spot in the production. Nina's obsessive behavior leads to her releasing her dark side that she must now struggle to control.

Aronofsky has always had an exceptional eye for cinematography in his films. His use of micro-photography in The Fountain made the entire film a visually stunning spectacle that will stand the test of time while something like a someone's pupil dilating or a drug deal gone bad in Requiem for a Dream is memorable because of the way and angle Aronofsky shot it rather than relying on its disturbing content to make the scene a classic. Black Swan is no different. Being placed behind Nina whenever she heads to the dance venue gives the viewer a rather unique third person perspective that also gives the impression that you're walking right behind the main character of the film. The intense dream sequences are also shot in a way that flawlessly blur the line between reality and hallucination. Is this really happening or is it all a figment of Nina's deteriorating imagination? Figuring that out is half the film's charm.

The extraordinary main cast is the main ingredient to the film being as great as it is though. The key players all seem to have this twisted side to them that is nearly the exact opposite of the way they first appear to be, which coincides with the Swan Lake theme. Winona Ryder steals most of the screen time she's given whether she's trashing her dressing room, yelling obscenities in Portman's face, or sitting in a hospital room. Even though Mila Kunis seems to play nothing more than her role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall to the most extreme degree on the surface, it's the edge she's given that results in unpredictability for her character. While Vincent Cassel's performance is strong thanks to his sensual reputation with his dancers and Barbara Hersey is both charming and disturbing as Nina's mother who seems to secretly be trying to live in her daughter's dance shoes after a missed opportunity in her past, it's no surprise to hear that Natalie Portman is the heart of the film. Nina is so consumed with dance that she keeps pushing herself even when her mind and body begin to show her that she's had enough. Her breakdowns are heartbreaking and engaging to watch while her transformation by the end of the film can best be described as a monstrous beauty. It's all thanks to Portman's powerful, phenomenal, tour de force performance.

While some might not be surprised that Aronofsky has created yet another masterpiece, this may be his most solid and well-rounded film to date. Black Swan is a beautiful, disturbing, and captivating work of art that features gorgeous camera work, an excellent and mindbending story, and what is perhaps the performance of Natalie Portman's career. It's hard to argue with Black Swan being the best film of the year.

Ordered this on the premise of Mila Kunis possibly carrying a film, and they were advertising this as the "unrated" version. But in the end, you are left with feeling disappointment and watching bad storytelling.

Mila plays a troubled young lady who is sent to an island work camp by her parents. The isolated layout of this camp in Fiji could make for a beautiful filming location, but it really only gets used once or twice (coral, white sand beaches, etc.). Peter Stormare (I always remember him the most as Satan in Constantine) fills the role as the camp creator and leader of this paramilitary counseling group. The idiot boyfriend who finds a way to get himself committed to the same camp (yeah right) is played by Gregory Smith (he has a much better role in Closing the Ring).

As more unlikely events occur and an intermittent writing mess unfolds in virtually every scene, the movie strives to falter. Mila tried very hard here, and I have to give her props for taking a somewhat different role. There are plenty of important themes attempted here, including the topics of physical abuses and illegal activities that occur at these camps, but the short paragraph statement in the credits is all we are given as an extra. No supplements. The sound was average as was the picture quality. Regarding the unrated quip, everything that could give it an R happens off camera or is edited out (Mila's shower scenes and abuses towards one female character). Almost feels like a made for TV movie, but even then so much is not explained or elaborated on, that it misses the mark on being an informative film. It becomes more of a brief passion piece film about these camps.

Both Timberlake and Kunis have recently broken up with their partner. Kunis plays a recruiter for GQ magazine, and Timberlake is someone she "stalked" to head up their Art department. Timberlake's ex-gf is Emma Stone. What is interesting is that Kunis' character is the laid back type of person we would expect Emma Stone to play, while Stone (what little we see of her) plays an emotional character we would expect Kunis to play. I don't know if the producers did this by design, or they just lucked into it, but knowing this made the movie funny on a different level. Kunis is savvy enough to realize she has been ruined by romantic movies as she awaits her Prince to sweep her off her feet. You know at the end of the movie, come running to her as she is about to leave, and pour his heart out to her.

Kunis gives Timberlake a fast paced tour of NY, perhaps one of the best sells for Manhattan I have seen in a long time. The movie verbally condemns Hollywood's romantic comedies while ironically creating one identical to it. With some quick character build up, the film goes to a scene where Timberlake and Kunis decide that they will have sex without the emotional baggage while swearing on a Bible app. No complications, just sex. Guess how that turns out?

Woody Harrelson plays a gay sports editor who is not shy about being gay. Woody gives Timberlake love advice, "It's not who you want to spend Friday night with, but who you want to spend all day Saturday with."

The sex scenes between Kunis and Timberlake are more comical than romantic. Timberlake likes to keep his socks on and sneezes after an orgasm, and Kunis is a screamer. Patricia Clarkson plays Kunis' super hip mother, who has never really told her daughter who her father was. In her first few minutes he was Greek, Puerto Rican, or Russian...she is sure he was Eurasian.

The dialoge is fast and witty. Kunis did a background check on a guy she dated.

Timberlake responds: "Did you do a background check on me?"

Kunis:"How could you possibly max out an Old Navy card?"

Timberlake: "I was just out of college and really into cargo pants."

In spite of the adult themes, the movie has a lighthearted chick flick Disney quality to it. The acting was good. The movie was very clever. If you liked "No Strings Attached" you might find this one on par or slightly better.

F-bomb,sex, brief nudity, deals with Alzheimer's. 5 star chick flick

I've been a fan since January 31, 1999.. Bought every DVD including the random DVD's they release so Seth MacFarlane could make some extra cash (like he needs it). But now I'm starting to get a little upset with these half season DVD releases.. I really feel scammed. I almost feel like not buying anymore. Between netflix, hulu, and amazon prime I'm starting to realize that people like Seth MacFarlane cant hold my arm behind my back in order to have their shows on demand.. Let alone the fact that family guy has kinda gone downhill the past 3 years... Maybe a handful (2-3) are memorable. Lets take a stand and maybe they will go back to trying to make us happy instead of filling their pockets :)

Ordered this on the premise of Mila Kunis possibly carrying a film, and they were advertising this as the "unrated" version. But in the end, you are left with feeling disappointment and watching bad storytelling.

Mila plays a troubled young lady who is sent to an island work camp by her parents. The isolated layout of this camp in Fiji could make for a beautiful filming location, but it really only gets used once or twice (coral, white sand beaches, etc.). Peter Stormare (I always remember him the most as Satan in Constantine) fills the role as the camp creator and leader of this paramilitary counseling group. The idiot boyfriend who finds a way to get himself committed to the same camp (yeah right) is played by Gregory Smith (he has a much better role in Closing the Ring).

As more unlikely events occur and an intermittent writing mess unfolds in virtually every scene, the movie strives to falter. Mila tried very hard here, and I have to give her props for taking a somewhat different role. There are plenty of important themes attempted here, including the topics of physical abuses and illegal activities that occur at these camps, but the short paragraph statement in the credits is all we are given as an extra. No supplements. The sound was average as was the picture quality. Regarding the unrated quip, everything that could give it an R happens off camera or is edited out (Mila's shower scenes and abuses towards one female character). Almost feels like a made for TV movie, but even then so much is not explained or elaborated on, that it misses the mark on being an informative film. It becomes more of a brief passion piece film about these camps.

I am reviewing this, like I did with Partial Terms of Endearment, from a free rental I received before street date through my employer. Perhaps the lone perk of working in a video store!

'It's a Trap' opens with your typical Star Wars style scroll in which Seth admits that he really didn't want to do this one, but with the success of the previous two Fox had demanded it. He does ask for viewers to suspend their expectations and promises a better product on their next venture, however I think this is largely tongue-in-cheek because this one was every bit as enjoyable as Blue Harvest, and in my opinion better than Something, Something. A few gags do drag a bit too long, and seem like they are just filler, but the laughs more than make up for the lags.

Return of the Jedi is arguably the easiest of the Star Wars films to pick apart, and they do a great job with it. I didn't feel that the material was tired. It actually had some great moments. True fans of the show will enjoy it.