<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/werewolf.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When two American tourists are attacked by a strange creature in the English countryside, only one survives. While recovering in a London hospital, he starts to have strange and vivid dreams about the attack. Out of the blue, his deceased friend visits him from the afterlife and lets him know they were attacked by a werewolf, and by surviving, he is now one himself. In order to end the deadly cycle, he must kill himself before transforming during the next full moon.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/TOS2.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and crew are back for the second season of <i>Star Trek</i>, and unlike season one, this is the first we've seen these episodes in glorious 1080p. Season two has several strong episodes that tackle heavy social issues and offer up planet-eating monsters, a murder mystery, and those wonderful tribbles.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/hotfuzz.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Simon Pegg's and Edgar Writt's ode to buddy-cop films was one of the best-looking HD DVDs ever released, and Universal has actually improved things on Blu-ray. Both VC-1 encodes are flawless, but the audio is improved with a kick-ass DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray version. The surround channels are extremely active, the bass rocks, and the dialog sounds as if the actors are sitting in the room.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/hotfuzz.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>London police officer Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is too good for his own good. His arrest record is tops in the department, which makes everyone else look bad, so his supervisor arranges a promotion and he's transferred to Sanford, a small, quiet town in the country. The crime rate is very low, but something is amiss because there are so many fatal accidents, so Nicholas and his bumbling new partner Danny (Nick Frost) are on the case.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/office5.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>In the fifth season of this workplace comedy, the employees of Dunder Mifflin are enmeshed in surprise office hook-ups, break-ups, romantic triangles, and new business ventures. Insensitive regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) still thinks he's the best boss ever—despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. As he leaves the security of Dunder Mifflin, Andy (Ed Helms) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) do battle for the affections of Angela (Angela Kinsey), and Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) finally plan their long-awaited nuptials.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/fringe.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>A young, beautiful, and determined FBI agent (Anna Torv) forms an unlikely alliance with a brilliant scientist (John Noble), who's spent the last 17 years in a mental institution, and his sarcastic son (Joshua Jackson) to investigate a series of bizarre deaths and disasters known as "the Pattern." They suspect someone is using the world as a laboratory, and all clues lead back to a powerful corporation called Massive Dynamic.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/earth.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>This is the story of three animal families on a journey across our planet—polar bears, elephants, and humpback whales. Follow a mother bear and her two cubs as they search for food, a herd of elephants as they trek to water-rich lands, and a whale and her calf as they journey to the Antarctic.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/heroes3.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Due to the WGA (Writers Guild of America) strike in 2007, season two of <i>Heroes</i> included only 11 episodes, and its tepid start and hasty finale left fans with a glimmer of hope that the series would rediscover the mojo it had during its first season. One complaint was its season-long story arc frustrated viewers, so executive producer/creator Tim Kring decided to split the season into two parts, "Villains" and "Fugitives."
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/fighting.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>This is a gritty story of a small town boy, Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum), who becomes a street-fighting star in New York City's underground circuit thanks to the help of scam artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard). The first act showed some promise, but ultimately, continuity issues and poor plot choices knock out what could have been an interesting story. What kept me intrigued was the excellent VC-1 encode, with deep blacks, amazing dimensionality, and revealing shadow detail.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/adventureland.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Recent college graduate James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has his European summer vacation canceled when his parents tell him they can't afford to help him with grad school. Instead, he's forced take a job at Adventureland, a local Pennsylvania amusement park. His co-workers are an eclectic bunch and include Em (Kristen Stewart), a beautiful yet reclusive co-ed who catches his eye. And despite the "help" of the park handyman (Ryan Reynolds), James may yet get the girl.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/duplicity.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Former MI-6 spy Ray Koval (Clive Owen) is hired by a CEO (Paul Giamatti) to help steal industry secrets from a rival corporation. To Ray's surprise, the mole inside said corporation is none other than Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts), who's duplicitous behavior five years earlier cost him his career. How did he get himself into this mess?
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/state.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Washington, D.C., reporter Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe) stumbles into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation's power structure when a congressman's aide dies in an apparent suicide and buried secrets come out in the investigation.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/hmtm.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Being a superstar as well as a normal teenager is getting even more complicated for Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus). Her hectic double life as pop-sensation Hannah Montana is taking its toll on her and her family, so her father, Robby Ray Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus), decides that a visit to the family farm in Tennessee is just the thing to bring the celebrity teen back down to earth. Away from the spotlight, Miley reconnects with a childhood friend (Lucas Till) and discovers a new perspective on life.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/loseguy.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Columnist Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) agrees to write a first-hand account of what drives a man out of a relationship. Her case study turns out to be Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey), an ad-agency bachelor who just happened to make a bet with coworkers that he can get a woman to fall in love with him in—you guessed it—exactly 10 days.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/loveyou.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd), a successful Los Angeles real-estate agent, is engaged to the girl of his dreams (Rashida Jones). When he overhears her talking with some friends about his lack of any male friends to be his best man, Peter goes in search of a "bromance" in order to alleviate his fianc's concerns.