Gerard Photo

Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) adult feeding, Kenya.

Camargue Horse, two adults, biting, splashing in wetland, Saintes Maries de la Mer, Camargue, France.

Domestic Chicken, White Leghorn, cockerel, close-up of face.

This interesting Belgian film from 1994 has a surface subject that might make a few guys wince: an 18th-century castrato, or castrated male opera singer. A superstar in Europe, Farinelli the vocalist--despite compromised equipment--gets his share of groupies and is showered with attention and gifts from rich patrons. Meanwhile, his brother--a so-so composer whose career and fortunes are inextricably linked to his sibling, as per their father's wishes--feels like a sham for enjoying the fruits of another's success. For director Gérard Corbiau, the real story is that of the forced bond between the two men, and their unspoken awareness that their separate destinies have been slowed by the arrangement. Corbiau gives us the best of two worlds: a costume drama with an unusual, even exotic, story line, and a tender, universal tale of real love. The opera sequences are a kick: the breathless crowds, Farinelli's hammy control over the drama, and his stunning castrato voice (manufactured by Corbiau via synthesized merger of male and female voices) and all make for great fun. --Tom Keogh

Tells the story of Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli, one of the most famous castrati of the 18th century.Genre: Foreign Film - ItalianRating: RRelease Date: 22-AUG-2000Media Type: DVD

16 track CD & DVD set of two full live shows. NTSC. STILL SEALED with small drill hole into title spine.

James Newton Howard reportedly got the King Kong gig as a last-minute replacement for Howard Shore (who of course had worked on King Kong director Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings series). The good news is that Howard still managed to write an honorable score; the bad news is that it's no more than honorable. For some, the biggest disappointment may be that Howard didn't find more inspiration in the film's 1930s setting. Once in a while he inserts a vaguely jazzy flourish (the brief clarinet passages in "Defeat Is Always Momentary" for instance) but the period detail is kept to a minimum. Having more may have helped give the score a shot of much-needed individuality. Action scenes, for instance, are set to the opulently orchestrated, frantic percussive rumble that is Hollywood short-hand for, well, action scenes. "Head Towards the Animals" and "Beauty Killed the Beast III" are just the most typical examples of that style: Howard gives these bravura numbers the requisite pounding intensity, but can we be blamed for feeling that we've heard them dozens of times before? Similarly, the composer sticks to the expected when he needs to get more contemplative, as on "A Fateful Meeting" (soothing strings, soothing clarinet) or "Beautiful" (flutes to suggest the exotic locale). In short, this album is everything you expect it to be. Which sometimes isn't quite enough. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

SOUNDTRACK KING KONG

Arthur the bespectacled Aardvark--quite like any ordinary 8-year-old boy--has a loose tooth and tries (in classic comic form) all kinds of inventive ways to pull it out. What's the urgency? Well, he's still got lots of baby teeth and is getting teased about it. Can he possibly go through life with his first set of chompers forever intact? Also on this video is an episode called "Sick as a Dog," in which Arthur's dog Pal has to spend a night at the vet's. Maybe he's just got a bug--or maybe it's all the junk food Arthur's been feeding him. Clever and accessible for kids (and adults), the ongoing Arthur saga has a couple of nice chapters here. --Tom Keogh

Anjelica Huston meant only to direct this working-class fairy tale, but took on the titular role when the original lead dropped out. Adapted from stand-up comic Brendan O'Carrol's first novel, The Mammy, the story of Agnes Browne takes place in 1960s Dublin, where the newly widowed Browne bravely deals with too little money and too many (seven) kids. She's supported through her troubles by her best friend (Marion O'Dwyer); a goofy-faced, adoring French baker (Arno Chevrier); the aforementioned brood--and her dream of one day meeting Tom Jones (materializing conveniently to belt out "She's a Lady"). Ray Winstone (superb in Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth) plays local loan shark as nasty ogre, the one rotten spot in a neighborhood so whimsically benign it makes Capra's Bedford Falls look downright unfriendly. Having grown up in Galway, Huston should be no stranger to Gaelic life. And her first film, Bastard Out of Carolina, showed a willingness to plumb the darkest recesses of the human heart. But Agnes Browne, all unearned sweetness and light, is feel-good soap opera tricked up as an Irishwoman's "feminist" bid for independence. Too often, Huston generates smiles out of quaint-Irish caricature: giggling over "organisms"--orgasms!--Agnes and her benighted pal later wonder whether breast cancer comes from having had two in a lifetime. After a surfeit of "Jaysuses" and pub sing-alongs, you yearn for the sharp comedy of Roddy Doyle's reality-based Dublin stories, such as The Snapper or The Commitments. If you fell for the ethnic hilarity of Waking Ned Devine, you'll love Agnes Browne's Hollywood hokum about an Ireland that never was. --Kathleen Murphy

The epic graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) assaults the screen with the blood thunder and awe of its ferocious visual style faithfully recreated in an intense blend of live-action and CGI animation. Retelling the ancient Battle of Thermopylae it depicts the titanic clash in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his massive Persian army. Experience history at swordpoint. And moviemaking with a cutting edge.Running Time: 116 min.System Requirements:Running Time: 116 Mins.Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 085391161035 Manufacturer No: 116103

Like Sin City before it, 300 brings Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's graphic novel vividly to life. Gerard Butler (Beowulf and Grendel, The Phantom of the Opera) radiates pure power and charisma as Leonidas, the Grecian king who leads 300 of his fellow Spartans (including David Wenham of The Lord of the Rings, Michael Fassbender, and Andrew Pleavin) into a battle against the overwhelming force of Persian invaders. Their only hope is to neutralize the numerical advantage by confronting the Persians, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), at the narrow strait of Thermopylae. More engaging than Troy, the tepid and somewhat similar epic of ancient Greece, 300 is also comparable to Sin City in that the actors were shot on green screen, then added to digitally created backgrounds. The effort pays off in a strikingly stylized look and huge, sweeping battle scenes. However, it's not as to-the-letter faithful to Miller's source material as Sin City was. The plot is the same, and many of the book's images are represented just about perfectly. But some extra material has been added, including new villains (who would be considered "bosses" if this were a video game, and it often feels like one) and a political subplot involving new characters and a significantly expanded role for the Queen of Sparta (Lena Headey). While this subplot by director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) and his fellow co-writers does break up the violence, most fans would probably dismiss it as filler if it didn't involve the sexy Headey. Other viewers, of course, will be turned off by the waves of spurting blood, flying body parts, and surging testosterone. (The six-pack abs are also relentless, and the movie has more and less nudity--more female, less male--than the graphic novel.) Still, as a representation of Miller's work and as an ancient-themed action flick with a modern edge, 300 delivers. --David Horiuchi

Hilary Swank stars in this charming and poignant seriocomedy as a young woman who finds her life has stalled in the wake of her husband's (Gerard Butler) untimely death. Her only hope at getting back on track lies with a series of unexpected letters, written by Butler before he died, that serve as Swank's guide on a fascinating journey of self-rediscovery. Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, James Marsters, and Kathy Bates also star. 127 min. Standard and Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1; Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish, French; deleted scenes; interview; music video.

For those who believe true love lasts beyond this physical plane, P.S. I Love You is a jewel in the romantic-movie crown. With elements of Ghost, Heaven Can Wait, and My Life, the film is an unabashed valentine to the notion of lasting (everlasting?) love. Hilary Swank is Holly, a deeply happy lass married to the most impossibly adorable Irishman on the planet, Gerry (Gerard Butler). When an illness takes him from her, Holly spirals into depression. Then, as if from beyond the grave, communications, gifts, and remembrances from Gerry begin to appear--gestures he'd planned knowing his death was coming. The "communications" with her dead husband could threatened to keep Holly in past, yet they begin to pave a path into her future. Swank, not a traditional romantic actress, is quite moving as Holly, whose grief and confusion is palpable. Butler will win new continents of fans, largely female, as the yummiest honey one could wish for. Special kudos to the supporting cast, including Lisa Kudrow as a Holly pal, and James Marsters and Kathy Bates, always breaths of fresh air onscreen. Under the sure hand of director-writer Richard LaGravenese, P.S. I Love You is touching, sad (have tissues on hand), and heartbreakingly lovely. --A.T. Hurley

Pack of 12 gift tags printed onto heavy photo paper and hand produced.

Photo Puzzle, Grey Crowned-crane (Balearica regulorum) adult, Kenya. Chosen by FLPA. 10x14 Photo Puzzle with 252 pieces. Packed in black cardboard box of dimensions 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/5. Puzzle image 5x7 affixed to box top. Puzzle pieces printed on RA4 paper at 300 dpi. This item is shipped from our American lab.

Photo Puzzle, Domestic Dog, Cane Corso, adult, close-up of face. Chosen by FLPA. 10x14 Photo Puzzle with 252 pieces. Packed in black cardboard box of dimensions 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/5. Puzzle image 5x7 affixed to box top. Puzzle pieces printed on RA4 paper at 300 dpi. This item is shipped from our American lab.