MUST READ for all fans of The Shield.

Crimespree Cinema contributor Rev has an excellent Shield article on his blog.

Nothing left to lose looks at the various characters of the show. A very nice peice that offers some pretty solid analysis.

Read this article!

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NBC expands second season of Chuck.

NBC has decided to expand the second season of Chuck from thirteen to twenty-two.

Word came out on Tuesday that, after seeing the first six episodes, NBC execs decided the show deserved a full season.

There appear to be big plans for the second season, as the show has a lot of guest appearances planned.

Jordana Brewster, John Larroquette, Michael Clarke Duncan, Tony Hale and Nicole Ritchie have all signed on for appearances.

Chuck returns on Sept 29th.
Check out our complete rundown on the season premiere dates and times of all shows.

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Some tidbits for season three of DEXTER.

Zap2It did an interview with Dexter's exec producer Clyde Phillips. Mr. Phillips gave folks some idea as to what to expect this season on Dexter.

Here are some of the tidbits:
*The code Dexter got from Harry is evolve and change.
*James Remar (Harry) will still make appearances. Instead of being in flashbacks, it sounds like he will be a part of Dexter’s sub conscious, with Dexter debating things with him.
This makes me happy, as I am a fan of Remar’s work in general and have really enjoyed him on Dexter.
*Jimmy Smits character, Miguel Prado takes a liking to Dexter and they become friends. This relationship will play a big role in the continued evolution of Dexter as a person, much like his relationship with Rita has changed him in the first two seasons.
*Deb will have a solid relationship.
*Batista also gets a relationship. Can I say it is about time? We saw his marriage collapse in season one, he got a little somesome in season two, but at a terrible price. He deserves some happiness.
*Masuka will continue to be a crude, foul mouthed perv, but a more successful one.

In addition to Jimmy Smits and Valerie Cruz (Who plays Jimmy's wife), Dexter will see a few other fresh faces:
Desmond Harrington will play Joe Quinn, Doakes replacement. Quinn is a former narcotics officer that is also being investigated by Internal Affiairs. Harrington has spent time on Rescue Me (Troy), Sons and Daughters (Wylie) and the short-lived remake of Dragnet.
David Ramsey comes on board as a confidential informat. The only other tidbit mentioned is that he is also a musician and, though he starts out as an informant for Quinn, ends up as an informant for Deb...hmmmm. David has been on a number of television shows, including Ghost Whisperer, Criminal Minds, CSI and NCIS.
Anne Ramsay is Ellen Wolfe, a defense attorney that becomes friends with Lt. Laguerta. Ramsay was a regular on Mad About You (Lisa) and has had recurring roles on Six Feet Under, The L Word and Dharma and Greg.

Season three of Dexter starts, on Showtime, on September 28th.

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A look at the complete series of The Shield.

As the final season of The Shield is about to air (Sept 2nd), Rev decided it might be appropriate to offer up a look at the series so far.

Much like Burn Notice, Rev will be providing us with a summary of each episode of season seven of The Shield.

So below is an excellent summary of each season to prepare you for the end of The Shield.

As the most macho - no make that MACHO (is that macho enough?)- show on television is returning for it's final season next week I thought that this would be a good time to take advantage of all the watching those DVD reviews involved and recap the show before it grabs it's viewers by their nether regions and twists until it's all over. If you've not watched the show at all I'd recommend you don't read beyond the link as it's going to be exceedingly spoiler heavy, instead check out my 'Why You Should Watch... The Shield' feature and if you like the sound of the show play catch up by watching the DVDs instead (first season here for £9.99, sorry I don't know enough American stores to be able to suggest a good place to start over the pond). The show is so good that you really don't want to go spoilering events in it before watching.

For those of you who have watched the show up to the end of season six, here is a refresher to get you ready for season seven.

Starring:Michael Chiklis as Detective Vic Mackey
Walton Goggins as Detective Shane Vandrell
Kenny Johnson as Detective Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemansky (Seasons 1 to 5)
Benito Martinez as Captain David Aceveda
CCH Pounder as Detective Claudette Wyms
Catherine Dent as Officer Danielle "Danny" Sofer
Jay Karnes as Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach
Michael Jace as Officer Julien Loweand
David Rees Snell as Detective Ronnie Gardocki
Guest starring:
Glenn Close as Captain Monica Rawlings (Season 4)
Forest Whitaker as Lt. John Kavanaugh (Season 5 + 6

Season One:
The first season introduced us to the LA district of Farmington, it's police headquarters - nicknamed 'the Barn' and the radical anti-drug squad called 'The Strike Team'. The Strike Team consisted of the team leader Vic Mackey, his number two Shane Vandrell, Curtis "Lemonhead/Lem" Lemansky, Ronnie Gardocki and Terry Crowley (Reed Diamond). In the pilot episode the first important plot point occurs, Terry is covertly investigating into the Strike team for Captain Acevada on accusations of corruption. But at the climax of the episode Terry is shot by Vic (who was tipped off by Assistant Chief Gilroy) with only Shane as witness to the murder.

The remainder of the season deals with the fallout from Terry's death and Aceveda's suspicions. While Detectives 'Dutch' and Wyms track down a serial killer and Officer Sofer is assigned new recruit Julien Lowe to train, training which is complicated by Julien's struggle against latent homosexuality.

The season ends with riots breaking out and Acevada forced to co-operate with Mackey (a theme which reoccurs often in later seasons) both to quell the riots and to deal with Gilroy's attempts to pit them against each other.

Season Two:
The main thrust of Season two deals with the Armenian Money Trail Heist, this is the second of the major events to occur in the show and it plays out over multiple episodes. While the Armenian's appeared in the first season it's the appearance of the shows first kingpin - a sadistic feet loving individual by the name of Armadillo - who positions them into a serious place in the storyline. Armadillo directly attacks the existing drug trade in Farmington which has a knock on effect on the Strike Team, who support certain members of the local drug trade to supplement their income. As they investigate into the Armenians they discover the existence of the money train and the plan begins to fall into place, but it doesn't run entirely smoothly - especially after Vic burn's Armadillo's face and as a consequence get's Ronnie's face burnt in retaliation.

After this an additional member is brought into the Strike Team, one Tavon Garris and he remains part of the team until events in the third season hospitalise him (well Shane does).

Eventually Armadillo is caught, but he escapes...

Elsewhere in the Barn Gilroy skips out on bail after illegal estate scamming and is smuggled out to Mexico by Vic, Dutch and Claudette continue to investigate cases and some of them begin to take their toll on Dutch's strength of character, Acevada continues to struggle between proving Mackey's corruption and working with him while Sofer and Lowe continue to patrol the streets and deal with more domestic cases.

The season ends with the heist going off successfully and the Strike Team making it away with a huge amount of cash.

Season Three:
But no-one can expect to steal that amount of cash and not have consequences. In this case the Armenian response is visceral and the body count in Farmington begins to spiral out of control. This is a serious problem for the Strike Team who have decided to play things by the book from now on as they're sat on a massive amount of cash and set for life if they play things right. This is a problem for Tavon who feels that he's not a part of the team and they're excluding him from something. It's a shame because Tavon is ideal 'real' Strike Team material and if he'd joined them earlier the team would have had another co-conspirator to share the burden. Eventually Shane and his shrew of a wife Mara seriously injure Tavon and hospitalise him, ending his role in the series... Actually, that's not the case - I can reveal that Tavon will be returning for the seventh season in some way.

Acevada brings in the Decoy team - another specialist task force - with the intent of replacing or reducing the influence that the Strike Team have and begins to make maneuvers towards a place on the city council. Armadillo realises that the Strike Team will eventually find and kill him, so he surrenders to the police instead, but Vic arranges for a prisoner to get a shiv and Armadillo is killed. Which has a major impact on Sofer's career, because she was the one who searched the prisoner and as such is held responsible.

Wyms and Dutch discover that a D.A. was a heavy drug user; information which makes all of her cases questionable and while Dutch is willing to suppress this Wyms isn't, which puts her in the s**thouse and really compromises her chances of further promotion. But this is typical of Wyms who is one of the straightest characters in the show, she follows the letter of the law and to heck with the consequences.

There is also another event which has major repercussions along the way, during a raid on a drug house Acevada remains behind alone and is attacked by two gangers, Juan and Ricky. Juan forces Acevada to perform oral sex on him at gun point and the pair are set to kill him when the Strike Team arrive and save him. He covers up the facts of the rape immediately.


By the end of the third season poor Lem's nerves have had enough with all the pressure and the final episode ends with him taking the only action he can think of to save his only family (the Strike Team) from both the Armenians and any investigations; he cracks and burns most of the money in a furnace that the Strike Team had used earlier in the season. The rest of the Strike Team fail to stop him in time.

Season Four:

This season brings major changes to the landscape, not does Acevada leave the position of Captain and become a councilman but the Strike Team has disbanded and Vic is left a shadow of his former self in his job. This season introduces Detective Billings (who is an underhanded yes man) and Captain Monica Rawlings (Glen Close) who is determined to turn things around in Farmington. Meanwhile Acevada continues to try and deal with being a rape survivor by taking revenge on the two who were involved (killing Ricky in a shoot out robbery and arranging for Antwon to kill Juan after he's arrested and attempts to blackmail Acevada).

On the street the One-Niners have risen back up to the top of the pile with the help of one Antwon Mitchell. Who has Shane (now in Vice) and his partner 'Army' over a barrel, potentially in the frame for murder as Antwon used their guns to kill a young girl named Angie.

The main important events of this season are based around the reforming of the Strike Team and Lem going the extra mile for Shane but putting himself into a seriously bad situation when doing it. He illegally confiscates a block of heroin while trying to lever information about the location of Angie's body and it's noted and swapped with a fake by an investigating officer sent by Rawlings.

Eventually Antwon is brought down and imprisoned; Shane is in the clear (but Lem has a price to pay for this), Rawling's controversial search and seizure plans end her career, Dutch passes up a chance to become Captain of the Barn out of loyalty to Wyms and things appear to be looking solid for the Strike Team in the future.
Season Five:
After Captain Rawlings retired Billings rose up to fill the Captaincy after Dutch refused to become the 'yes man'. Throughout the season it becomes clear that Billings is not the right man for the job, so eventually Claudette Wyms is given the position she deserves and the Barn gets it's second female Captain.

The major thrust of this season returns to two things; Lem's confiscating of the heroin without handing it into evidence control and Terry Crowley's death. Both of which are being investigated by Internal Affairs Detective John Kavanaugh, who intends to use Lem's charges as leverage to break him and get Mackey over Crowley's death. But Lem is completely loyal to his family and genuinely ignorant of the truth in Crowley's death (as is Ronnie). As the season progresses Kavanaugh grinds into Lem and mounts more and more pressure towards the Strike Team. The season is very much a charting of the fall from grace of Kavanaugh as it is the downfall of Lem. One of the major points in this is Lem actually saves Kavanaugh's life from a stray grenade, showing how good a person Lem actually is - because if Kavanaugh had died the invesigation would have been over. Eventually Kavanaugh realises that Lem would never crack and is somewhat ashamed over his actions, he comes to like and respect Lem.

In the midst of all this Julien becomes the training officer for a pretty young policewoman named Tina Halon - who flirts with Dutch all season and Danny is pregnant but won't reveal who the father is.

The final episode of The Shield is the single most tragic episode in the entire run; at the climax of the episode a harried and stressed out Lem is blindsided by Shane, who kills him with a grenade as he's afraid Lem has turned on the team (something Lem would never do). This holds all kinds of irony, Lem saved Kavanaugh from a similar fate earlier in the season (if Kavanaugh had died Lem would have been in the clear and safe) and also even more tragically Shane has killed Lem because Lem saved Shane's career. If Shane hadn't screwed up so badly in the fourth season Lem would never had moved outside the lines and would still be alive.

Vic's snarled words to Shane and Ronnie set the tone for the next season:

"We're gonna find whoever did this, and we're gonna kill 'em."

Season Six:
Season Six was originally intended to be the second part of season five, but it was broken up and turned into a separate season. It deals mostly with the fallout after Lem's death and charts the final fall of Kavanaugh, who becomes corrupt himself in his rabid pursuit of Mackey. Something that he confesses to Claudette Wyms, who despite her misgivings about Vic remains true to her morals and arrests Kavanaugh for planting fake evidence. Wyms remains the pillar of morality in this show (and is a serious candidate for toppling Mackey in the end)

The rest of the season deals with Vic and Ronnie's tireless pursuit of Lem's killer and Shane's attempts to at first conceal his actions and then later set things up to avoid Vic taking vengeance on him. (I think Shane might do well to watch out for Tavon coming in from the left field as well...) There is a new detective brought in to replace Vic (who's facing retirement still) and Julien is promoted into the Strike Team as well. Billings continues to manipulate things while working with Dutch, twisting the knife into both his now partner Dutch's back and the Barn.

Vic discovers about Acevada's rape and uses it to form an uneasy alliance between the pair, with the intent of allowing Vic to keep his job.

Worst of all, Shane continues to act in a stupid fashion that endangers everyone around him as he gets into bed with the Armenian mob.

That's it, you should be entirely up to speed with everything that matters in The Shield and you should be ready to get going for the final season's gut wrenching fallout...

Check out the other writings of Rev at Rev-Views.

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DVD Review: DEXTER: season two.

Paramount Home Entertainment
Release date: August 19th, 2008

MSRP: $42.99

Four-disc set with 12 episodes

Stars: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, James Remar, Keith Carradine, Jaime Murray

Michael C Hall returns as everyone's favorite serial killer. Well, I suppose
some of you sickos might prefer Hannibal, but Dexter is, in my opinion, the
man.

In season two, Dexter's dumping grounds are discovered, which leads the local press and police dubbing him the "Bay Harbor Butcher." As a result of this, the FBI sends a profiler to work the case.

Enter Keith Carradine as FBI special agent Lundy. Carradine takes this character and really gives it depth with a nuanced performance that is worthy of an Emmy nomination.

Dexter has Sgt. Doakes following him around all the time. Out of an entire building full of cops, Doakes is the only one that senses something is odd about Dexter. He is determined to find out what Dexter is hiding. This prevents Dex from letting the dark passenger out to play.

Dexter also has issues on the domestic front; because of his impulsive behavior in lashing out against her ex-husband, Rita becomes suspicious, and ends up thinking Dexter is a drug addict. As a result of which, she forces him to seek treatment.

While attending meetings, he meets Lila, a rather unusual woman who, while not knowing exactly what Dexter is, senses the darkness within him. She agrees to be his sponsor.

The discussion of drug addiction serves as an excellent metaphor for Dexter’s darker side. One particular scene where Dexter and Lila talk about the hole inside that needs to be filled is especially strong.

Initially Lila seems good for Dexter, but she ends up fueling his “dark passenger”, putting everything he has worked to protect at risk.

I won’t go any further because some things should be a surprise, but the producers do an excellent job building various storylines over the course of the season to some rather explosive crescendos.

Now we come to the negative part of this review: Where in the hell are the extras? Paramount often fails to give extra features. These have become the norm in the home entertainment field and thus, most of their releases feel incomplete. While not have an interview with author Jeff Lindsay? I would be curious to hear what he thinks about the series and the actors that have brought his characters to life.

Dexter is a very unusual show, why not have some segments looking at its unlikely success? I want to hear what Hall thinks about playing a serial killer.

I have always thought the opening was wonderfully original. Why not give us a segment talking about how it was thought up?

Solid storylines, excellent characters, and good dialogue…once again, Dexter delivers the goods.

While I don’t know that season two reaches the level of excellence of season one, it holds up quite nicely.

Fans of Dexter will not feel short changed in anyway shape or form.

Order season two of Dexter from Amazon.

Read the review of season one.

Jeremy Lynch

For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.

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Complete rundown of season premiere dates.

Below is a list of the premiere dates for the upcoming television season. I am not including reality shows as I have to draw the line somewhere.

All times are shown in EST.
New shows in bold.

Monday, September 1
8 p.m.
Prison Break (FOX) 2 hours
Gossip Girl (The CW)
9 p.m.
One Tree Hill (The CW)
10 p.m.
Raising the Bar (TNT)

Tuesday, September 2
8 p.m.
90210 (The CW)
10 p.m.
The Shield (FX)

Wednesday, September 3
8 p.m.
Bones (FOX) 2 hours
9 p.m.
Sons of Anarchy (FX)

Sunday, September 7
9 p.m.
True Blood (HBO)
10 p.m.
Entourage (HBO)

Tuesday, September 9
8 p.m.
Fringe (FOX) 2 hours
9 p.m.
Privileged (The CW)

Wednesday, September 10
9 p.m.
'Til Death (FOX)
9:30 p.m.
Do Not Disturb (FOX)

Tuesday, September 16
8 p.m.
House (FOX)
Lincoln Heights (ABC Family)
9 p.m.
Fringe (FOX)

Thursday, September 18
8 p.m.
Smallville (The CW)
9 p.m.
Supernatural (The CW)
10 p.m.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

Saturday, September 20
9 p.m.
Primeval (BBC America)

Sunday, September 217 p.m.
In Harm's Way (The CW)
8 p.m.
Valentine (The CW)
9 p.m.
Easy Money (The CW)

Monday, September 22
8 p.m.
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
8:30 p.m.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
9 p.m.
Heroes (NBC) 2 hours
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
9:30 p.m.
Worst Week (CBS)
10:00 p.m.
Boston Legal (ABC)
CSI: Miami (CBS)

Tuesday, September 23
8 p.m.
Opportunity Knocks (ABC)
NCIS (CBS)
9 p.m.
The Mentalist (CBS)
10 p.m.
Without a Trace (CBS)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC)

Wednesday, September 24
8 p.m.
Knight Rider (NBC)
The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
8:30 p.m.
Gary Unmarried (CBS)
9 p.m.
Criminal Minds (CBS)
10 p.m.
CSI: NY (CBS)
Lipstick Jungle (NBC)

Thursday, September 25
8 p.m.
Ugly Betty (ABC)
My Name Is Earl (NBC) 1 hour
9 p.m.
Greys Anatomy (ABC) 2 hours
The Office (NBC) 1 hour
10 p.m.
ER (NBC)

Sunday, September 28
8 p.m.
The Simpsons (FOX)
8:30 p.m.
King of the Hill (FOX)
9 p.m.
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Cold Case (CBS)
Family Guy (FOX)
Dexter (Showtime)
9:30 p.m.
American Dad (FOX)
10 p.m.
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
The Unit (CBS)
Californication (Showtime)
10:30 p.m.
Life and Times of Tim (HBO)
11 p.m.
Little Britain (HBO)

Monday, September 29
8 p.m.
Chuck (NBC)
10 p.m.
Life (NBC)

Wednesday, October 1
8 p.m.
Pushing Daisies (ABC)
9 p.m.
Private Practice (ABC)
10 p.m.
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)

Friday, October 3
8 p.m.
Ghost Whisperer (CBS)
Everybody Hates Chris (The CW)
8:30 p.m.
The Game (The CW)
9 p.m.
The Ex List (CBS)
Sanctuary (Sci Fi)
10 p.m.
NUMB3RS (CBS)

Monday, October 6
9:30 p.m.
Samantha Who? (ABC)

Thursday, October 9
8:30 p.m.
Kath & Kim (NBC)
9 p.m.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)
10 p.m.
Life on Mars (ABC)
Eleventh Hour (CBS)
10:30 p.m.
Testees (FX)

Friday, October 10
9 p.m.
Stargate Atlantis (Sci Fi)
10 p.m.
Sancuary (Sci Fi)
The Starter Wife (USA)

Monday, October 13
9 p.m.
My Own Worst Enemy (NBC)

Tuesday, October 14
10 p.m.
Eli Stone (ABC)

Friday, October 17
8 p.m.
Crusoe (NBC) 2 hours
10 p.m.
Crash (Starz)

Thursday, October 30
9:30 p.m.
30 Rock (NBC)

Sunday, November 2
7:30 p.m.
Surviving Suburbia (The CW)

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Ritchie comments on upcoming Sherlock Holmes project.

Director Guy Ritchie recently talked to USA Today and gave some comments regarding his upcoming Sherlock Holmes film.

There are plans for a love interest based on Irene Alder

Casting should be done in the next six weeks.

Ritchie's thoughts on Sasha Baron Cohen's upcoming Sherlock Holmes project: "They don't even have a script yet. We are way ahead."

As previously mentioned, it will focus on Holmes' physical skills as well as his mental abilities.

Ritchie describes the project as "a very big production, visceral and intellectual."

On Robert Downey jr.'s English accent: "It's flawless."

Personally, I am of mixed thoughts on this. If done right, it could be something special. I just pray we don't end up with the Sherlock Holmes version of Van Helsing.

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Burn Notice - 207 - Rough Seas.

"This weeks Burn Notice features the return of a client from the first season, an ex-Navy Seal called Virgil. It seems that a shipment of anti-viral medication destined for some children has been stolen while it was being shipped in and it's up to Michael, Virgil, Fi and Sam to retrieve it. Virgil previously appeared in the episode "Unpaid Debts" and had a bit of a thing for Madeline, but he managed to put her in danger. So Virgil isn't Michael's favourite person.

Meanwhile Michael continues to investigate into the rifle that his makeshift x-ray revealedl ast week and he's turned to an arms dealer named Seymour (played by Silas Weir Mitchell - most famously known as Haywire from Prison Break) for the information. But it seems that Seymour is more interested in using Michael's skills to save his own hide.

This weeks episode is a lighter one than some of the previous ones (relatively speaking of course) and is more in like the first season in it's style and tone. There is plenty for everyone to do - even Sharon Gless (Madeline) and the guest stars have plenty of screen time with some great lines - and it's a fun episode that has some classic lines in it. Only the performance of the actress playing Marcela (the client) is a little ropey, everyone else is superb.

It's classic Burn Notice delivered in the fun and frantic style that you'll come to love and enjoy. Hopefully it'll be enough to tide you over during the hiatus, which lasts until the end of the US Open."

Read Rev's more extensive review.

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DVD Info: Art, details for 300 Limited Collector's Edition.

Warner Home Entertainment has announced they will release a Limited Collector's Edition of 300on November 18th with a MSRP of $49.92.

This release will contain everything from the previous two-disc version, plus To The Hot Gates: A Legend Retold - A comprehensive and dynamic description of the ancient legend, from Frank Miller’s graphic novel to the creation of Zack Snyder’s epic movie.

In addition to the new documentary, this set will also contain

A bonus Digital Copy of the film
A 52-page hardcover art book with a personal message from Snyder
A lucite display with motion film image
Six collectible photo cards

An ideal gift for the bloodthirty warmonger in your life.

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DVD Review: NCIS - The Fifth Season.

Paramount Home Entertainment

Release Date: August 26th, 2008

Five-disc set with 18 episodes

MSRP: $64.99

Stars: Mark Harmon, Pauley Perrette, Lauren Holly, Michael Weatherly, Sean Murray, Cote de Pablo

Amid rumors of a rift with series star Mark Harmon, creator Don Bellisario stepped back after Season 4, leaving the day-to-day showrunning duties to his longtime collaborator Chas. Floyd Johnson and head writer Shane Brennan. The success of the show's fifth season attests to its work environment and to the depth and chemistry of its characters.

Season 5 picks up with Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) finally meeting La Grenouille (Armand Assante), the elusive arms dealer he tracked undercover throughout Season 4. While DiNozzo deals with lingering feelings for La Grenouille's daughter Jeanne, the episode "Ex-File" introduces viewers to Gibbs's third ex-wife (played by Kathleen York), and "Requiem" delves further into the past as Gibbs's daughter's best friend Maddie Tyler (Cameron Goodman) seeks his help with a stalker.

Resuming production after the hundred-day writers' strike, a threat to Director Shepard's (Lauren Holly) health was written into the final seven episodes. Following an FBI investigation into La Grenouille's death, Shepard goes on leave. Assistant Director Leon Vance (Harmon's fellow Chicago Hope castmate Rocky Carroll) steps in. The two-part finale "Judgment Day" ends with the disbanding of Gibbs's team, leaving viewers in suspense for Season 6.

This five-disc set includes eighteen episodes and four cast commentaries--notably the first-ever commentary with Mark Harmon on "Requiem". There's also a feature on the making of "Requiem" (the series' highest-rated episode to date), the usual season overview, a feature on the wardrobe of NCIS, and one about how Pauley Perrette transforms into Abby Sciuto.

Order season five of NCIS from Amazon.

--Gerald So

For more of Gerald's thoughts and observations, check out his blog: If you want to know about my Life...

For more reviews from Gerald, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.

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Appaloosa trailer, new poster online (plus changes in release dates).

A couple months ago, I said that Appoloosa was landing in limited cities on Sept 17, then going nationwide on the 19th.

That is no longer the case.

The Ed Harris directed western will land in Toronto, NYC and L.A.on Sept 19th, with a national release on October 3rd.

Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker, Appaloosa is about two friends that have been hired to protect a town from a ruthless rancher. Things get more complicated when a lovely widow arrives in town.

Appaloosa also stars Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises, History of Violence and some fantasy trilogy about little guys and a ring), Renee Zellweger (Cold Mountain, Bridget Jones Diary), Oscar winner Jeremy Irons (French Lieutenant's Woman, Lolita) and Lance Henriksen (Aliens, televisions amazing Millennium).

Check out the official web site.

For those of you that have been wondering what to expect from Appaloosa, feast upon this bit o' western goodness.

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Anyone interested in a movie about a young investigator named Veronica?

A rather interesting report has come from EW.com

Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas met with the show's former star Kristen Bell about the possibility of making a film based on the cult series. In addition to confirming that meeting, Thomas said he has had some conversations with former VM exec producer Joel Silver.

Thomas is currently a busy man, with a reworking of his 1998 series Cupid in the works, and he recently wrote/produced the pilot for the upcoming 90210 series and is developing another television series based on a show from New Zealand (Outrageous Fortune).

But Thomas said "But as soon as I have any free time, that's my top priority."

This is cool news. Veronica Mars was a very fun, very well made series. Granted, the last season was not quite as good as the first, but the overall quality was still heads and tails above most things that we are subjected to.

When the show was on the bubble, the fans launched a massive campaign to save the series.

Thomas developed a rather interesting proposal to revamp the show: It would jump forward in time a few years, with Mars a new FBI agent.

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DVD Review: The Racing Game

Acorn Media

Release date: Aug 12th, 2008

MSRP: $39.99

Two-disc set with six episodes

Stars: Mike Gwilym, Mick Ford, and Susan Wooldridge

I was surprised by The Dick Francis Thriller-The Racing Game in that it has a lot more action than I would expect from a British series. If it weren't for the accents I'd think they were American PI tales. They open with his wife leaving him, not generally the start of a good day, because 'You love those horses more than me' (he's a Steeple Chase Jockey) and from there to a fall in his next race and a horse stepping on his hand (Ouch hardly seems to cover that). He's out of the game. A jockey could use three hands, one is not enough.

A few months later, as our hero is having a large whiskey with his breakfast, or for his breakfast, his soon to be ex father-in-law, an upper crust gentleman, showing that our boy Sid Halley married ! above his station, invites himself in and tells Sid not to be a twit all his life, there's some dirty business at a track ol' Dad is on the board of and he wants Sid to look into it because who knows a racetrack better than a jockey?

Thus a PI is born, but not a super cool one. He's new and makes mistakes. Partnered with Chico, ex jockey and Judo Instructor, he gets caught photographing documents, searching offices, and one of the real Baddies decides to extract the whereabouts of the negatives by whacking his bad hand with a steel bar (see ouch parentheses above) resulting in a prosthesis that he has trouble controlling, breaking wine glasses and destroying a dozen eggs trying to make brunch , although it comes in handy (no pun intended) for self defense.

These are good, solid if somewhat formulaic stories that mystery fans should find pleasing, especially if they are race fans.

Included here is a biography of author Dick Francis, a former jockey himself.

Order The Racing Game from Amazon.

Lee Crawford

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Fishburne offically joining CSI.

The last month or so has seen a lot speculation and vague comments floating around, but today it was made official:

Laurence Fishburne is joining the cast of CSI. He will be filling the void made by the upcoming departure of star William Petersen.

According to the CBS press release, Fishburne will play "a former pathologist who is now working as an itinerant college lecturer, teaching a course in criminalistics. His focus is on understanding criminal behavior, how and why people commit acts of violence – tendencies he disturbingly sees within himself."

Prior to LF being cast, it was revealed that this character would have some of the same characteristics found in serial killers.

I am stoked about this. Fishburne is a fantastic actor. His portrayal of Walter Mosley's Socrates Fortlow in HBO's Always Outnumbered was amazing.

Laurence was nominated for an Oscar for What's Love Got to Do with It, and picked up an Emmy and Cable Ace award for Miss Evers' Boys.

Mr. Fishburne will appear in two episodes with the departing Petersen and should first appear in early 09.

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DVD Review: Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Vol. 1

Warner Home Entertainment

Release Date: July 29th, 2008

MSRP: $44.98

I can remember the first time I saw the Tiny Toons: I was still in college. I had no afternoon classes on Thursdays and was sitting home. I started flipping through the channels, looking for something worthy of my attention. To my delight, I came across what appeared to be a modern version of the cartoons I grew up on! I loved the original Looney Tunes, so it was with some trepidation that I watched these new ones (teenagers may have no time for cartoons, but kids and college students dig them mightily). I worried more than a little that these newbies would fall short and perhaps even tarnish my cherished memories. My fears proved to be unfounded.

Warner had done it again.

Tiny Toons is part reworking, part sequel, of the Looney Tunes so many of us watched as children. What we get here are characters that are similar to the original crew (Buster Bunny is close to bugs, Montana Max= Yosemite Sam).

While it would have been easy to offer up cheap imitations, these new characters are worthy heirs to the Warner Animation throne. The new crew is full of spunk and energy. The voices are outstanding and the music is great (Like the originals, a full orchestra is used).

The Tiny Toons debuted in 1990 and were the start of an impressive revival of the Warner Studios animation department. After TTs came Pinky and the Brain, the Animaniacs as well as Batman, Superman and several other DC superhero series.

Volume one contains 35 episodes, each 22 minutes in length, and the quality is solid all the way through. There are a few that seem dated, but most hold up very nicely.

One gripe I do have is the use of two-sided DVDs. These are a pain to handle and seem more likely to become scratched over time, especially considering children will almost certainly handle them.

Extras: We get one featurette: From Looney Tunes to Tiny Toons: A Wacky Evolution. This runs twenty-two minutes and offers comments from the creative team, as well as some from the children and other relatives of the Looney Tunes crew. It features some wonderful vintage clips that will tickle anyone old enough to remember the originals. A nice piece, I only wish it were longer.

With the Tiny Toons, Warner embraces its past while moving into the future. Children and adults alike will be delighted with Babs and Buster Bunny, Plucky Duck and the rest of the gang.

Order Tiny Toon Adventures, season one, volume one from Amazon.

Jeremy Lynch

For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.

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DVD Review: Law and Order: Special Victims Unit - The Seventh Year

Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Release Date: July 29th, 2008

Five-disc set with 22 episodes

MSRP: $59.98

Stars: Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Richard Belzer, Dann Florek, Ice-T, BD Wong

Generally speaking, I avoid L&O shows. While I like the actors they use, I have found the original show to be too bloodless (or lacking character and emotion).

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit is, too my surprise, full of solid characters and often puts emotions front and center.

SVU features Chris Maloni (Detective Elliot Stabler) and Mariska Hargitay (Detective Olivia Benson) as the lead investigators. They work on Sex Crimes, not a delicate subject and certainly one that could send some viewers scrambling for the remote. It would be their loss since both Maloni and Hargitay do excellent jobs. I first saw CM on HBO’s Oz, so I knew he had skills, but MH was a pleasant surprise.

Also featured is Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch and Ice-T as Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola. Belzer has played Munch on six different shows, starting with Homicide: Life on the Streets (A must watch for any true fan of crime television).

As I mentioned, the character development often helps the show from feeling stale. Lets be honest here, most crime shows are pretty formulaic. The evolution of the characters and the relationships between them goes a long way towards keeping the show fresh.

Some of the episodes seem to be your basic cops and robbers, but others deliver serious emotional punch and dance around in moral shadows. Robert Patrick makes an appearance in one such episode as Ray, a newly released con that was locked up for raping a teenage girl.

Shortly after his release, a girl is found raped and murdered. After focusing on Ray, the crew use undercover work to get close to him and not only all but entrap him, they also seem to undo all fo the rehab he went through in prison.

We see the cops affected by their work and that made the show, at least for me, very enticing. Seeing these characters struggle with their choices, and the affects of their work, helps build a bond with the viewers.

Folks looking for a good police procedural but want a little humanity, should check out SVU.

Order Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Seventh Year from Amazon.

Jeremy Lynch

For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.

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Burn Notice 206: Bad Blood.

Heys kids!
It's time for Rev to give us the 4-1-1 on last weeks episode of Burn Notice.

"In this weeks Burn Notice Michael has to assist an agent called 'Victor' with a job while also helping a family friend who has a problem. The second season of the show has managed to juggle two storylines per episode with great ease, but this is the first episode where one of the stories suffers as a consequence.

Ricky is being set up for embezzlement by one Eddie, currently it looks like Ricky has stolen around two million dollars from an account owned by the hip-hop mogul Valentine (played by Method Man) and Valentine has noticed the loss. Method Man's performance in this is superb, he's clearly learnt a lot from his time as Cheese Wagstaff on The Wire and it's a shame he's put into such a short story. It would be wise of the writers to bring him back, the conference room scene where he repremands his people and the scene where he banters briefly with Sam/Bruce are the two best scenes in the episode. It would be great too see Valentine back on screen in a later episode.

In contrast the new agent 'Victor' was less palatable, he's clearly set up as a loose cannon and is irritating, both for Michael and the viewer. He's clearly more hands on than Carla, but also more reckless. The storyline involving him interfaces nicely with the Ricky one, especially when he directly interferes - just to show Michael who's boss - but the scenes are not as strong as the ones from the other storyline. Ultimately it's hard to see why he's been introduced instead of Carla and it seems likely that he's going to end up in a body bag soonish.

Overall it's a pretty solid episode that has its good moments, but feels like there is too much crammed in. While Michael is clearly overloaded with demands from clients and the agents at the same time the viewer also feels somewhat overloaded as the episode runs at such a scorching pace it never lets up. This does mean it never has a dull moment, but it also means that neither story gets the full treatment it deserves.

It's a great episode, but there have been better so far this season."

Read Rev's entire review at Rev-View.

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DVD Review: THE WIRE: Season five

Warner Home Entertainment

Release date: August 12th, 2008
MSRP: $69.98

Stars: Dominic West, Wendell Pierce, Clarke Peters, Sonja Sohn, Lance Reddick, Seth Gilliam, Andre Royo, Michael K. Williams, Delaney Williams, John Doman, Aidan Gillen, Jamie Hector, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Felicia Pearson, Chad Coleman, Tristan Wilds

Each season of The Wire focuses on something, in the past it has been unions and ports, government, police and education. This time around, David Simon and co take a closer look at the print media. Like in the past, this examination reveals more than a few warts.

Simon comes from a newspaper background and as such, has some special insight into the problems that plague reporters, editors and publishers of today. We see a once great newsroom struggling to cover everything with only a fraction of the staff. We see reporters cutting corners to deliver a killer story, with the powers that be overlooking (or simply missing) the telltale signs in hopes of drawing more readers to a possible award-winning series of stories.


It is interesting watching the older journalists, the ones that came up under a very different set of standards, struggle with the loosening of standards as well as the brutal budget cuts.

The overall feel of season five is different from the others. Over the course of four seasons, we have some to know a wide variety of characters. In the final season, the show takes on the difficult task of wrapping up many storylines and giving and overall feeling of closure.

Some characters rise into the sunset, while others have rather violent departures. I can promise you that some of the endings will surprise you and one should bring tears to your eyes.

Perhaps the most fascinating storyline of the season is the journey of Bubs from a mealy junkie informant whose only desire was to score his next high, to a man that wanting to pull himself out of the gutters. Season four saw his actions result in the death of somebody close to him.

This season, Bubs is dealing with his demons and attempting to sober up. Watching this one character struggling to stay clean is extremely compelling and will almost certainly touch anyone with a heart.

Watching this again (the first time was it's run on HBO), I am more impressed with it. As the season rolls on, we see virtually every character forced to make tough choices that will determine their future and, in some cases, their very soul.

Extras:

Of the ten season five episodes, six get commentary tracks. Listening to Simon talk about the newsroom is quite interesting. These tracks include cast and crew as well as Simon.

We also get The Wire Odyssey: this featurette looks back at the entire series, with comments from everyone. It is clear just how much the show meant to those involved. Every season is talked about and we hear where they wanted to go with each one.

It is also interesting to hear that many of the cast actually read for other roles. It goes to show that the actors were picked not simply because they read well, but because they seemed to be the right fit for the characters.

The Last Word talks about season five and the newsroom. It is pretty clear that this was important to Simon. I can't help but wonder if it was a little too close to home for Simon. While they do a good job examining the media, I don't think it was as good as the focal points of the previous seasons.

But The Last Word itself really does an excellent job looking at the problems of the print media today. Honestly, I got a lot out of it and recommend that even those that don't normally watch extras take a gander at this one.

One gripe: Prior to the start of season five, three prequels were filmed. These gave us a quick look into the past of Bunk/McNulty, Omar and Prop Joe. Why weren't these included??

Overall, I would say that season five is the weakest of the bunch, but it still stands well above the majority of the television out there.

Anyone reading this that has not already purchased The Wire really should do so. You are depriving yourself of one of the finest dramas in the history of television, and that is not simply hyperbole.

Order Season five of The Wire from Amazon.

Read our review of season four.

Jeremy

For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.

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Red band trailer for Righteous Kill online.

There is a new trailer for the Pacino/De Niro flick Righteous Kill online. It is a redband (not for all ages) and contains language that may not be suitable for all ages.

"After 30 years as partners in the pressure cooker environment of the NYPD, highly decorated Detectives David Fisk and Thomas Cowan should be ready for retirement, but aren’t. Before they can hang up their badges, they are called in to investigate the murder of a notorious pimp, which appears to have ties to a case they solved years before.

Like the original murder, the victim is a suspected criminal whose body is found accompanied by a four line poem justifying the killing. When additional crimes take place, it becomes clear the detectives are looking for a serial killer, one who targets criminals that have fallen through the cracks of the judicial system."

Check out the new trailer.

Righteous Kill was written by Russell Gerwitz, the writer of Inside Man and was directed by Jon Avnett. As I mentioned before, Avnet has inflected some seriously wretched turkeys on filmgoers in the past. Here is hoping he makes amends with this one.

In addition to Pacino and De Niro, RK stars , Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, 50 cent and John Leguizamo. A pretty solid supporting cast.

The trailer makes me want to see it, but that is the job of the trailer.

Here is hoping RK delivers the goods.

Righteous Kill will be released on Sept 12th.

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Swierczynski's Severance Package heading to Lionsgate.

Variety is reporting that Lionsgate has purchased the film rights to Duane Swierczynski's novel Severance Package.

"Jamie DeBroux’s boss has called a special meeting for all “key personnel” at 9:00 a.m. on a hot Saturday in August.

When Jamie arrives, the conference room is stocked with cookies and champagne. His boss smiles and tells his employees, “We’re a cover for a branch of the intelligence community. And we’re being shut down.” Jamie’s boss then tells everyone to drink some champagne, and in a few seconds they’ll fall asleep---for good. If they refuse, they’ll be shot in the head.

Escape is not an option. Jamie’s boss has shut down the elevators and rigged the fire towers with chemical bombs. Panic sets in, chaos erupts, and no one is sure whom to trust. Jamie quickly realizes that there’s only one way he’s ever going to see his family again: the hard way."

SP is a delightfully over-the-top action novel with crazy violence that would make Tarantino proud.

Brett Simon has been hired to direct, and co-write with Duane.

Simon's first full length film, Assassination of a High School President, will land in theaters on Sept 12th. It has been getting generally positive reviews from it's screenings at Sundance and South by Southwest.

Swierczynski's The Blonde is currently in development with Michelle Monaghan.

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New Body of Lies trailer online.

There is a new trailer for Body of Lies online.

Based on the novel by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, BoL stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe.

Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) is one of the CIA's soldiers in the war on terrorism. He has come out of Iraq with a shattered leg and an intense mission—to penetrate the network of a master terrorist known only as "Suleiman." Ferris's plan for getting inside Suleiman's tent is inspired by a masterpiece of British intelligence during World War II: He prepares a body of lies, literally the corpse of an imaginary CIA officer who appears to have accomplished the impossible by recruiting an agent within the enemy's ranks.This scheme binds friend and foe in a web of extraordinary subtlety and complexity, and when it begins to unravel, Ferris finds himself flying blind into a hurricane. His only hope is the urbane head of Jordan's intelligence service—a man who might be an Arab version of John le Carré's celebrated spy, George Smiley. But can Ferris trust him?

Crowe and DeCaprio are not two of my fav actors, but this trailers have me interested in the film.

Check out the new trailer.

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DVD Info: Details, cover art for Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull DVD/Blu-ray.

Paramount has announced that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be released, on both DVD and Blu-ray, on October 14th.


Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull two-disc Special Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with THX Certified Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc set includes the following special features:

Disc 1:
The Return of a Legend—The evolution of the new film and a tribute to the legendary hero and his creators.

Pre-Production—Follows Steven Spielberg as he creates animatic sequences, Shia LaBeouf as he learns to swordfight and captures the reunion of filmmakers and cast on the soundstage.

DVD Disc 2:
Production Diary: Making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull—Join filmmakers, cast and crew for a complete look at the making of the film.
1)Shooting Begins: New Mexico
2)Back To School: New Haven, Connecticut
3)Welcome to the Jungle: Hilo, Hawaii
4)On-Set Action
5)Exploring Akator
6)Wrapping Up!

Warrior Makeup
The Crystal Skulls
Iconic Props
The Effects of Indy
Adventures in Post Production
Closing: Team Indy
Pre-Visualization Sequences
1)Area 51 Escape
2)Jungle Chase
3)Ants Attack

The following photo Galleries:
The Art Department
1)The Adventure Begins
2)Cemetery and Jungle
3)Akator

Stan Winston Studio
1)Corpses, Skeletons & Mummies
2)Aliens & Crystal Skulls
Production Photographs
Portraits
Behind-the-Scenes Photographs

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull also will be available as a single disc DVD presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with THX Certified Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Blu-ray

The Special Edition Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition with THX Certified English 5.1 Dolby True HD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles.

Blu-ray contains High def versions of all of the previously mentioned extras, plus three intereactive timelines:
1)Story Timeline: Showcases the key events of the “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” storyline.
2)Production Timeline: A Making-of chronology for “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”.
3)Historical Timeline: Dives into the real-world historical influences that are referenced in the film.

MSRP:
Single DVD: $29.99
Two Disc set: $39.99
Blu-ray: $39.99

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DVD Releases for August 12th.

We have some dandy titles this week. The third set (season) of Blue Murder is out, as is a box set of the fantastic British series Hu$tle.

But the true gem is the fifth and final season of The Wire. If you don'ty know the series, climb out of your cave and buy all five seasons ASAP!

Blue Murder, Set 3 Caroline Quentin, Ian Kelsey. Two-disc set, $39.99. (Acorn Media).

"When strangers ask Janine Lewis what she does for a living, she tells them, “crisis management.” And she’s not kidding. As detective chief inspector, she supervises a squad of cops investigating some of Manchester’s most brutal, highly publicized crimes. Janine and her team employ refreshingly low-tech investigative techniques to sort through the multiple suspects and motives in these three all-new mysteries. Meanwhile as a single mom, she wrestles with soccer practices, field trips, and schoolwork for her four children. She handles her daily crises with energy and aplomb, protecting her kids as well as the detectives under her command with a fierce maternal affection.

Award-winning actress Caroline Quentin (Jonathan Creek, Men Behaving Badly) portrays Janine with the perfect combination of toughness and tenderness. And Ian Kelsey (Casualty) brings a subtle vulnerability to his role as DI Richard Mayne, the lead detective on Janine’s team.

These tense, tightly plotted mysteries show the everyday trials and triumphs of a woman balancing career and family."
The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game Mike Gwilym, Mick Ford, and Susan Wooldridge. Two-disc set with six episodes.; $39.99. (Acorn Media).

"Sid Halley, a star steeplechase rider, suffers a career-ending injury that leaves him crippled in body and spirit. He finds new life as a private detective and returns to the track to investigate all manner of misdeeds, from conniving bookies and blackmail to murder. A great literary gumshoe emerges as Halley regains his dignity, faces his vulnerability, and finds new meaning in life.

This absorbing series stays true to the down-and-dirty thrills of Francis’s novels and adds its own irresistible swagger and charm."


Felon (2008) Val Kilmer, Stephen Dorff, Harold Perrineau, Sam Shepard, Anne Archer. Extras: "The Shark Tank: An Inside Look at Felon" featurette. (Sony).

"A loving family man with a promising future, Wade Porter (Stephen Dorff) suddenly loses everything when he accidentally kills the burglar who broke into his home. Convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Wade is sentenced to spend the next three years inside a maximum security facility where the rules of society no longer apply. Forced to share a cell with a notorious mass murderer (Val Kilmer) and subjected to brutal beatings orchestrated by the sadistic head prison guard (Harold Perrineau), Wade soon realizes he's in for the fight of his life and must become the toughest FELON of them all if he's to survive the block. For what doesnt kill you only makes you stronger. And in state prison, only the strongest will survive."


Hustle: Complete Seasons 1-4 Eight-disc set, $99.98. (BBC/Warner).

"If you're rich, greedy, a taker... then beware!

This team is driven to extract the cash from the amoral and the undeserving. They don't just con anyone and they aren't interested in your life savings. They have one golden rule: you can never con an honest man. They are con artists with a conscience. The marks are people we love to hate and can't wait to see being taken down a peg or two.

The art of the con is not dead. You merely can't see it. If you do see it, then it is inevitably always too late. It is an invisible crime built on the premise of finding some one who wants something for nothing and then giving them nothing for something. Choose the mark, reel them in, play on their desires and set them up. It doesn't matter whether they're black or white, male or female but they must be strictly major league. There are no quick fixes. Patience is truly a virtue in this game. All you have to do is make them believe..."

Prison Break: Season Three Four-disc set with 13 episodes, $49.98. Available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Extras: "Orientation" and "Breakout Episode" featurettes, directors' takes, behind-the-scenes with the cast. (Fox).

"Michael Scofield (Miller) finds himself once again imprisoned – but this time at SONA, a Panamonian Prison without rules and without guards. Along with fellow inmates T-Bag (Knepper), Mahone (Fichtner) and Bellick (Williams) and with the outside aid of brother Lincoln (Purcell), Michael not only must fight to survive, but is also tasked with breaking out of prison…again. "


The Wire: The Complete Fifth Season Four-disc set with all 10 episodes from the final season, $59.99. Extras: "The Wire: The Last Word" featurette, "The Wire Odyssey" retrospective, commentaries. (HBO Video).

"In the projects. On the docks. In City Hall. In the schools. And now, in the media. The places and faces have changed, but the game remains the same.

Times are tough for the detail. Mayor Carcetti has slashed the departments budget to the bone. Police are operating without overtime some without cars and radios. Angered, McNulty is off the rails again and headed down a dangerous path of deception and lies that will ally him with an unscrupulous reporter. The drug trade still rules the corners, all you have to do is read between the lines."

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DVD Info: Casablanca:Ultimate Collector’s Edition to be released on December 2nd.

And the nifty Christmas gifts just keep coming.

Warner Home Entertainment has announced Casablanca: Ultimate Collector's Edition will be released on December 2nd.

This set will contain the previously released Casablanca: Special edition as well as some nifty new stuff:
*Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul, a 1993 documentary covering the life of the legendary studio head.
*A branded passport holder
*Luggage tag
*photo book
*Memo from Hal Wallis that “Casablanca” is the new title
*Memo from Wallis to Jack Warner strongly urging casting of Bogart over George Raft
*Letter from Publicity head Charles Einfeld to publicist Marty Weiser to “sell” Bogart as a romantic lead
*Victor Laszlo’s “letter of transit."
*A mail in offer for a movie poster (You mean everybody doesn't already have one? Does this mean I am a total film geek?)

The packaging is pretty nice, with a Morrocan motif.

Retail is $59.98. There will also be a Blu-ray release, but I don't have the price on that.

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Barry Levinson to ride Peter Dexter's Train.

Peter Dexter’s Train will be riding on the rails of Lakeshore Entertainment, with Barry Levinson as conductor.

Wow, what a crappy analogy. Sorry about that. I generally avoid those things, but it came out of me before I could stop it.

Oscar winner Barry Levinson has signed on to direct the film version of Peter Dexter’s noir classic. Levinson is best known for Diner, Good Morning Vietnam and Rain Man.

"Train is a 18-year-old black caddy at an exclusive L.A. country club. He is a golf prodigy, but the year is 1953 and there is no such thing as a black golf prodigy. Nevertheless, Train draws the interest of Miller Packard, a gambler whose smiling, distracted air earned him the nickname “the Mile Away Man.” Packard’s easy manner hides a proclivity for violence, and he remains an enigma to Train even months later when they are winning high stakes matches against hustlers throughout the country. Packard is also drawn to Norah Still, a beautiful woman scared in a hideous crime, a woman who finds Packard’s tendency toward violence both alluring and frightening. In the ensuing triangular relationship kindness is never far from cruelty."

The screenplay is from Allison Burnett. Allison is currently writing the screenplay for the upcoming remake of Fame (yuck). His previous credits include the Samuel L. Jackson/Josh Hartnett film Resurrecting the Champ as well as the Richard Gere/Winona Rider romance Autumn in New York…hopefully having such strong source material will result in something more promising then those films.

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Burn Notice 205 review

"In this weeks Burn Notice Michael Western has to juggle helping out a client who wants to get out from pulling a heist with a serious crew and tracking Carla to her headquarters before infiltrating them. He has to decide which is more important to him - helping others or helping himself and either choice could cost him.

'Scatter Point' is a solid little episode that is strong, especially considering it's position as the fifth episode in the season (the middle parts of a season in most shows tend to lag a little) and it manages to be fast paced, engaging, exciting and funny. You get everything you expect from an episode of Burn Notice; guns, explosions, spy tech, witty dialog and Bruce Campbell just being the amazing scene stealing man that he is.

It provides just about the right balance between the two storylines and manages to interlace them very well, it's refreshing that this season has been willing to deal with it's metaplot and story of the week with equal doses - but this episode takes it one stage further by having them interact (indirectly) with each other. It's not a perfect episode - there are some unusual choices in the editing cuts during one particular scene that are a little 'off' - but this lapse doesn't hurt the episode too much.

Burn Notice continues to be a great show; one that fans of action, spies or Bruce Campbell should watch without fail."


Read Rev's entire review at Rev-View.

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DVD Review: BIRDS OF PREY: The complete series

Warner Home Entertainment

Release date: July 15th, 2008

MSRP: $39.98

Stars: Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Ian Abercrombie

When my Editor asked, "How was Birds of Prey?"I said,"Better than I expected". Come on, it's a six year old Super Hero TV series. You do the math. It struck me that while true this was a bit lukewarm in the review department.

I had enjoyed it more than that. For one thing I watched it all, something I don't always do with a series (keep that under your hat) and found a lot to like about it. The characters are a cut or two above what you would expect as is the dialogue, with Alfred the Butler (Ian Abercrombie) emerging as my hands down favorite. In the final battle he snaps a shotgun closed and tells the villainess (Mia Sara, looking VERY different in close cropped blond hair) to; "Buttle this."

The story arc of the Huntress (Ashley Scott), daughter of Batman and Catwoman, and the cop (Shemar Moore) is nicely handled, although it sometimes felt as if the writers had just gotten a new Psychology book and wanted to get their moneys worth tagging everyone's foibles. Oracle (Dina Meyer) formerly Batgirl, and Dina ((Rachel Skarsten) round out the Birds.

This is a better than decent series that will not overtax your grey matter but will entertain. You could do way worse.

Order Birds of Prey from Amazon.

Lee Crawford

For more reviews from Lee, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.

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Bunk, Lester will be joining David Simon for Treme.

Some casting news, as well as some info about the overall content, on Treme.

'Treme is David Simon's next project. The planned series (HBO has ordered a pilot, but I can't imagine the show not getting picked up) is about the City of New Orleans and how it goes about picking up the pieces after Katrina.

The series will reportedly focus on the muscians and give us a look, through their eyes, at how the city is coping.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Wire veterans Wendell Pierce (Bunk Moreland) and Clarke Peters (Lester Freeman) have signed on, with Khandi Alexander (News Radio, CSI:Miami) in negotiations.

All three have worked with Simon before. As noted, Pierce and Peters worked on The Wire, but Alexander was on the HBO mini-series The Corner.


Pierce will be playing a Antoine Batiste, "an accomplished jazz trombonist who is now scratching for gigs, trying to support a live-in girlfriend and a new baby"

Alexander will play his ex-wife, a bar owner.

Peters will play "Albert Lambreaux, a big chief of the White Feather Nation trying to bring the tribe's members home."

In an article in a New Orleans paper, Simon was quoted as saying: "It's basically a post-Katrina history of the city. It will be rooted in events that everybody knows...What it's not going to be is a happy stroll through David Simon's record collection. It should not be a tourism slide show. If we do it right, it (will be) about why New Orleans matters."

The article also said the show would " reach beyond the music scene to explore political corruption, the public housing controversy, the crippled criminal-justice system, clashes between police and Mardi Gras Indians, and the struggle to regain the tourism industry after the storm."

As I said, I can't see the show not going to series. Simon has done three previous projects with HBO, The Corner, The Wire and the current mini-series Generation Kill.

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Release date for Shutter Island appears to be set.

A few weeks back, I had heard a potential date for Shutter Island, but since it was so far off, I wanted to wait until I had some confirmation.

Today, I got a list of release dates from a P.R. firm and there it was:
Shutter Island will land in theaters on October 2nd of 2009.

With the date so far off, I seriously fear for Ali's mental well being.

For all of our coverage on Shutter Island, click here.

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French Tell No One doing just fine in U.S.

Yesterday morning, I was drinking coffee while checking out various author sites. I happened upon that of Harlan Coben and discovered that the French film version of Tell No One had landed here in the states. I realize I am supposed to know this, but I don’t always check up on the foreign films.

Not only is it in the U.S., but also is actually doing pretty good numbers. As of Aug 3rd, Tell No One had done 2.3 million dollars on 94 screens.

Upon doing some research, the film has gotten good reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal (Who looks to the WSJ for advice on what films to see?) as well as The New York Times and the L.A. Times. I would imagine a fair amount of that money has come from L.A. and NYC.

Last time I checked, it was screening in 19 states. You can check on IMDB to see if it is showing near you.

I can’t help but imagine that either an English dubbed version, or simply a complete remake will be forthcoming.

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Reich's Rules of Deception purchased by Paramount.

Paramount Pictures has purchased the film rights to Christopher Reich’s bestseller Rules of Deception, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura producing.

"Dr. Jonathan Ransom, world-class mountaineer and surgeon for Doctors Without Borders, is climbing in the Swiss Alps with his beautiful wife, Emma, when a blizzard sets in. In their bid to escape the storm, Emma is killed when she falls into a hidden crevasse.

Twenty-four hours later, Jonathan receives an envelope addressed to his wife containing two baggage-claim tickets. Puzzled, he journeys to a remote railway station only to find himself in a life-and-death struggle for his wife’s possessions. In the aftermath of the assault, he discovers that his attackers—one dead, the other mortally wounded—were, in fact, Swiss police officers. More frightening still is evidence of an extraordinary act of betrayal that leaves Jonathan stunned.

Suddenly the subject of an international manhunt and the target of a master assassin, Jonathan is forced on the run. His only chance at survival lies in uncovering the devastating truth behind the secret his wife kept from him and in stopping the terrifying conspiracy that threatens to bring the world to the brink of annihilation. Step by step, he is drawn deeper into a world of spies, high-tech weaponry, and global terrorism—a world where no one is whom they appear to be and where the end always justifies the means. "

Lorenzo di Bonaventura got into films in the early 00s, but became a major name with the success of Transformers. He now has about ten thousand titles in development, including Vince Flynn's Protect and Defend and James Siegel's Deceit.

Adam Cozad has been hired to handle writing duties. Cozad learned writing from his uncle, a playwright, and his first screenplay, Dubia, has actor Eric Bana attached as an exec producer as well as di Bonaventura working as a producer.

Cozad is currently writing the screenplay for David Morrell’s The Brotherhood of the Rose.

If successful, Paramount would likely follow up with a sequel. Riech is currently writing a follow-up novel.

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DVD Review: Shine A Light

Paramount Home Entertainment

Release date: July 29th, 2008

MSRP: DVD $34.99, Blu-ray $39.99

Director: Martin Scorsese

Stars: The Rolling Stones, Darryl Jones, Bernard Fowler, Buddy Guy, Jack White, Christina Aguilera

Martin Scorsese is no stranger to rock and roll. Not only is it unusually an integral part in his films, but he was the man behind the camera for what is considered by many to be THE rock and roll documentary: The Last Waltz.

Credit must be given to the Stones as they appear to be comfortable with themselves at their current ages. The swagger is still there, but it seems to be a matter of the kind of confidence that comes with years of playing rather than the brash arrogant swagger of youth.

The chosen setting is the Beacon Theater. The result is a performance that makes this a more intimate performance.

While doing some research on this film, I found out that Scorsese put together a crew of camera workers whose resumes include The Lord of the Rings movies, Almost Famous, Children of Men, Michael Clayton and more. All of the aforementioned films featured visual styles that played major roles in their success.

The result here is a fantastic performance, with every magic moment captured just right. Quick Note: If you thought Keith looked rough before, you really should see him in High Definition.

The scary sight of Blu-ray Richards aside, this is the kind release that just begs to be seen in high definition. The previously mentioned exceptional camera work deserves it, and the sound is simply amazing.

This is a release that REQUIRES a home theater set-up. Anything less than 5.1 surround sound is criminal. You are put in the middle of the show, with fans cheering behind you. Very cool stuff.

When a band has been around as long as the Stones, any set list will leave some fans bemoaning the absence of a personal favorite. This is no exception.

While I was entranced by Shattered, Brown Sugar (introduced to me by an 80s commercial for a local classic rock station) and Tumbling dice, I was saddened by absence of Honky Tonk Woman and Waiting on a friend. If only they were able to play all of their classics. Of course this would mean a concert about five hours long, and that just might kill Mick, Ron and Charlie (Keith is like a cockroach, ain’t nothing gonna kill him). Of course bassist Darryl Jones is, at age 46, a mere pup and would likely survive.

This release also contains four songs that were not used in the theatrical release. Paint It Black, I’m Free, Undercover of the Night and A Little T&A. Prior to this, I was really only familiar with I'm Free as a cover done by The Soup Dragon, nice to hear the original fianlly. Also included are various bits that idd not make the cut.

Is Shine a Light the best Stones film? Probably not, but it is still a good time. Any fans will have a blast, and non-fans just might find themselves converted.

Order Shine a Light from Amazon on DVD.

Order Shine a Light from Amazon on Blu-ray.

Jeremy Lynch (with Blu-ray help from Scott Calvin).

For more reviews from the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.

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DVD Info: Collector's Edition of Casino Royale has another date.

I know I reported this previously, but there appears to be a release date for the Collector’s Edition of Casino Royale (The Daniel Craig version).
It will be released both on DVD (Three discs, MSRP $29.95) and Blu-ray (Two disc, $38.96) on October 21st.

This is coming from a reliable James bond website.

Extras will include:
Becoming Bond documentary
James Bond: For Real Documentary
Bond Girls are Forever (2006)
Chris Cornell Music Video
The Road to Casino Royale
Crew Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Paying Taxes
Rescue & Recovery
Old Boyfriend?
James Bond in the Bahamas
The Art of the Freerun
Death in Venice
Catching a Plane: From Storyboard to Screen
Filmmaker Profiles
Storyboard Sequence: Freerun Chase
Ian Fleming: The Secret Road to Paradise

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TNT orders pilots for two new shows.

A few months back, I mentioned that TNT had four crime dramas in development, well they have green lighted one of those shows, and ordered a pilot for a previously unmentioned drama.

First up is Night and Day.

N&D is "a fast-paced, gritty drama about the life of an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms."

Joel Surnow and Todd Robinson are producing. Surnow is a co-creator and former producer for 24, while Todd Robinson has worked on various television and film projects in the last couple of decade. He served as a director for America's Most Wanted, and will be directing Last Full Measure, a war drama starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Laurence Fishburne.

Second: Time Heals. TH is about "Nancy Hawthorne, the strong but caring director of nursing at Charlotte Mercy Hospital in North Carolina, a single mother who always puts the pain of others first."

TH comes from John Masius. Masius has a pretty impressive resume: St. Elsewhere, Dead Like Me, L.A. Law, The White Shadow and Touched By an Angel. Masius has won two Emmy awards and was nominated thirteen other times.

Time Heals will be the cable networks third drama with a female protagonist. Both The Closer and Saving Grace have extrodinarily strong female leads at the heart of them.

No word on casting for either show.

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Burn Notice 204 review

Starting this week, Rev will be giving us a summary of what happened on each week's episode of Burn Notice. Now to anyone that is unfamiliar with the show: START WATCHING IT! USA Network on Thursday nights. Get with the program folks!

In this week's Burn Notice Michael's brother Nate returns with a problem for him to solve. A friend of Nate's; a young Russian woman named Katya, has discovered her sister was kidnapped and is being held for ransom by the Russian Mafia. Meanwhile the file on Carla that Michael acquired in the previous week's episode has revealed that she may be posing in Miami as an irrigation consultant and it's up to Sam Axe to find out more.

Will Michael and the gang locate the girl and rescue her in time? Find out in another exciting episode featuring Russians, fights, guns, interrogations, disguises and expensive dinners.

Just another day in the world of "Burn Notice".

Read Rev's entire review (1500 words) at Rev-View.

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DVD Review: The Mummy vs. The Mummy

The Mummy Vs The Mummy
(or 1932 Vs 1999)

(or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)

I know what you’re thinking. I do. You’re thinking, “Well, there is no comparison The Mummy 1999, kicks The Mummy 1932 in the ass!” As a lover of old movie I would like to say, “Screw you! The Mummy 1932 is classic!” …But I can’t. You’re right. The Mummy 1999 kicks The Mummy 1932 in its mummified ass. You can say “Yeah, but that’s only because it had tons of special effects, tons of action, a lot of jokes and Rachael Weisz!” To which I would say, “Yeah, but…..um…. The Mummy 1932 had Zita Johan wearing almost nothing…and Boris Karloff!”

The Mummy 1932 was not a good film even from the eyes of someone who loves old movies. If I were 10 and watched in a theater, and had to walk home afterward MAYBE it might scare me a little. No, I can’t even say that. Being 10 years old, and having to walk home, pedophiles would scare me more. I liked the original Dracula; I liked the original Frankenstein, but the original Mummy? Not so much. If you say vampire to someone, they will immediately start talking like Bela Lugosi, whether they know it or not. Why? Because he ROCKED as Dracula. If you say Frankenstein, they will put their arms straight out and go “Arrrrrr…Errrrrrr!” Why? You guessed it, Boris Karloff ROCKED as The Monster. You say, Wolfman to someone and they’ll say, “Oh, yeah. Wasn’t Michael J. Fox in that?” To which you’d have to slap them. The Mummy 1932 was just boring.

What I DID like about this edition of the Mummy 1932 was all the extras that came with it. Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed looks at the film, as well as what was happening in 1932, Universal Horror, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, about all the classic universal monster movies. At an hour and a half, it was a bit long, but VERY interesting. Did you know that the guy who played Major Stasser (Conrad Veidt) in Casablanca was a huge monster movie star when he was younger? I didn’t! Some of the scenes they showed from his early work made me want to go out and get them, very creepy!

We also get a featurette on the legendary make-up artist Jack Peirce. In addition to the Mummy, he worked on films featuring Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein and The Phantom of the Opera, as well as having done some work on the television series Mr. Ed….seriously. I suppose a man has to feed his family.

Also included is a pair of commentary tracks, some posters and stills, as well as trailers for the various Mummy films.

Speaking of extras The Mummy 1999 comes with TONS of them including a whole extra disc of them. Included on disc one are Deleted Scenes, a trio of commentary tracks featuring Director/Writer Stephen Sommers and Editor Bob Ducsay, Brendan Fraser going solo and finally actors Oded Fehr, Kevin O' Conner Arnold Vasloo.

Disc twp gives us a sneak peek of Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, as well as a piece that goes over the Pharaoh lineage (Very interesting!), a handful of segments going over the effects, make-up and so forth. Also included are a Storyboard Comparison, Photo Montage and the Theatrical Trailer.

But ignoring the extras, The Mummy 1999 was simply more entertaining. It was The Mummy as inspired by Indiana Jones (I am talking Indy circa Raiders, not Crystal Skull) and was a lot of fun. Brendan Fraser was believable as the leading man, an adventurer with a twinkle in his eye. John Hannah provided comic relief as brother to Rachael Weisz.

Was The Mummy 1999 a remake of the Mummy 1932? Not really. It used the same basic story. An Ancient Egyptian Priest is mummified alive, because he tried to resurrect his lover. Then thousands of years later we “modern” men (modern for the 1920s where both movies are set) dig him up, and let him escape. People die, and he again tries to resurrect his lost love.

To recap: The Mummy 1932: a suck fest; The Mummy 1999: fun for the whole family.

Order The Mummy (1932) or The Mummy (1999) from Amazon.

Randy Otteson
For more reviews from Randy, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.

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