Roger Rees

DVD-Gods Outlaw by Vision Video

“One of new music’s truly free spirits” and a “remarkable experimentalist,” Eve Beglarian is a composer and performer whose music has been described as “an eclectic and wide-open series of enticements.” Tell the Birds is her latest sampler plate of ideas, a set of pieces both cohesive and pleasingly eclectic. Four of the six pieces here deal with texts, from such disparate writers as William Blake, Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz, and American poets Linda Norton and Stanley Kunitz. Musically, Beglarian charts her progress in finding ways to combine her use of samplers and electronics with breathing, real-time musicians, extant new music ensembles and an orchestral showpiece for good measure. The compositions contained here represent a range of ideas and vintages in the Beglarian oeuvre, from the mid-nineties forward, with some revision of older works and a generally gleaming account of her continuing artistic saga. Beglarian continues to carve out a path in music not quite like any other in contemporary music, not so much breaking rules as ignoring the ones she has no use for, and nurturing ideas or combinations she finds useful and appealing.

Unlike Disney's other sequels to their classic films, this follow-up to the 1953 version of Peter Pan debuted in theaters. World War II has turned Wendy's preteen daughter, Jane, into a realist, a girl who insists there's no need for stories and fun while London is crumbling. Hook kidnaps Jane (thinking she's Wendy) and returns to "the second star to the right" to foil Pan. Alas, the film doesn't build on this new story line (the London scenes have the most emotional impact), and what follows is a thin reworking of the original. On the plus side, a clever octopus takes over from that old crocodile, and Jane turns out to be a solid--and modern--role model. Those from ages 4 to 9 who have been brought up on the original should enjoy these adventures, even if the story, like Peter himself, "hasn't grown up." The 72-minute film is shown with the delightful 1948 short "Pluto's Fledgling." --Doug Thomas

The magical enchantment of Peter Pan is back in RETURN TO NEVER LAND, "a charming successor to the classic" (Julie Washington, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland). Moviegoers of all ages were dazzled by this all-new adventure full of as much fun, fantasy, and flight as the original! Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, and Smee return -- and you'll meet Jane, Wendy's skeptical daughter, who has outgrown her mother's childhood tales of Peter Pan. Jane no longer believes in magic or fairy tales. But when Captain Hook's pirate ship swoops down upon London and carries Jane off to Never Land, her imagination is set free by Peter Pan himself! The crafty pirate sets a trap for Peter Pan and Tink and only Jane can help. It is up to her to call upon "faith, trust, and pixie dust" to take flight to save Peter and all of Never Land. Featuring marvelous animation, all-new music, and high-flying adventure from start to finish, RETURN TO NEVER LAND is fantastic Disney fun for the young and young at heart. You'll want to return to Never Land again and again!

A soapy backstage melodrama originally produced for network broadcast, Double Platinum downplays show biz verisimilitude to turn on the tears. With '60s soul queen Diana Ross and '90s pop princess Brandy sharing production credit as well as billing, this formulaic tearjerker focuses on its stars' dramatic chops more than their musical prowess, a choice that won't deter their respective audiences, even as it disappoints less partisan music fans who might have hoped for a stronger musical component. Olivia King (Ross) is the former St. Louis housewife who abandoned her family for pop stardom, only to return 18 years later determined to meet, and reconcile with, her daughter, Kayla (Brandy), now nurturing her own footlight fantasies. But when the prodigal mom finally does reveal herself to the bright, feisty teen, Kayla is outraged and then hard-boiled. Olivia's offer to help the undeniably talented girl make industry contacts is accepted, with the bitter caveat that the superstar should abandon any hopes of a true maternal bond with her embittered daughter. The usually imperious Olivia meekly accepts those terms, while the secretly yearning Kayla keeps up her tough-cookie cover, but the plot telegraphs its ultimate destination, even as the tears flow. Both stars acquit themselves well in the story's stormier clashes, and the emotional tug of the story is well engineered to soak hankies. Less credulous viewers will be hampered by the original songs--when Ross steps on-stage, her regal demeanor and flashy (if occasionally silly) gowns support her supposed status as a legend, but the utterly forgettable, generic songs she mouths deflate that image. That said, viewers less interested in the actual music than the glitzy idea of the two characters may well be content to wallow in the waterworks of a story that could as easily have been titled Divas: The Next Generation. --Sam Sutherland

The Prestige attempts a hat trick by combining a ridiculously good-looking cast, a highly regarded new director, and more than one sleight of hand. Does it pull it off? Sort of. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play rival magicians who were once friends before an on-stage tragedy drove a wedge between them. While Bale's Alfred Borden is a more skilled illusionist, Jackman's Rufus Angier is the better showman; much of the film's interesting first half is their attempts to sabotage--and simultaneously, top--each other's tricks. Even with the help of a prop inventor (Michael Caine) and a comely assistant (Scarlett Johansson), Angier can't match Borden's ultimate illusion: The Transporting Man. Angier's obsession with learning Borden's trick leads him to an encounter with an eccentric inventor (David Bowie) in a second half that gets bogged down in plot loops and theatrics. Director Christopher Nolan, reuniting with his Batman Begins star Bale, demonstrates the same dark touch that hued that film, but some plot elements--without giving anything away--seem out of place with the rest of the movie. It's better to sit back and let the sometimes-clunky turns steer themselves than try to draw back the black curtain. That said, The Prestige still manages to entertain long after the magician has left the stage--a feat in itself. --Ellen A. Kim

Robert & alfred are rival magicians. When alfred performs the ultimate magic trick robert tries desperately to find out the secret of the trick. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 05/30/2008 Starring: Hugh Jackman Michael Caine Run time: 130 minutes Rating: Pg13

This item comes with a certificate of authenticity from LCG Signatures.

Signed 8x10 comes with powers collectibles coa and matching holograms

Likened to a "young Muhammad Ali," Alex Cross, the Porsche-driving profiler, doctor, detective, and father of two has seen his fair share of vicious killers. From a bloodthirsty butcher who came after his family (Cat and Mouse) to a devilish duo working cross-country (Kiss the Girls), Cross has managed to outmaneuver all of his enemies. Until he meets the Weasel. A series of killings in the forgotten, crime-infested ghettos of southeast D.C. has sent Cross and his 6'9" 250-pound partner, John Sampson, in search of the "Jane Doe" killer. However, their racist, tyrannical boss George Pitman orders them to stay out of the southeast and investigate the high-profile murder of a wealthy white man. Cross already has suspicions that the murders are linked, but when Sampson's ex turns up in an abandoned southeast warehouse kicked to death, the two detectives carry on with their original investigation. Meanwhile, Cross's longtime love, Christine (Cat and Mouse), has taken prominence in his life, and it looks as if the two will finally get hitched--with one glitch: Cross puts everything he loves in jeopardy as he obsessively goes after the Weasel. Akin to a slick Hollywood action flick, Pop Goes the Weasel doesn't have time for meaningful character development or thoughtful moral analysis. And it doesn't need to. Its winning formula is based on short scenes (chapters average about 3 pages), addictive plot progression, and mean dialogue: "Sampson sighed and said, 'I think her tongue is stapled inside the other girl. I'm pretty sure that's it, Alex. The Weasel stapled them together.' I looked at the two girls and shook my head. 'I don't think so. A staple, even a surgical one, would come apart on the tongue's surface.... Crazy glue would work." --Rebekah Warren

Detective Alex Cross is in love. But his happiness is threatened by a series of chilling murders in Washington, D.C., murders with a pattern so twisted, it leaves investigators reeling. Cross's ingenious pursuit of the killer produces a suspect-a British diplomat named Geoffrey Shafer. But proving that Shafer is the murderer becomes a potentially deadly task. As the diplomat engages in a brilliant series of surprising countermoves, in and out of the courtroom, Alex and his fiancee become hopelessly entangled with the most memorable nemesis Alex Cross has ever faced. Pop Goes the Weasel reveals James Patterson at the peak of his power. Here is a chilling villain no reader will forget, a love story of great tenderness, and a plot of relentless suspense and heart-pounding pace. To read Pop Goes the Weasel is to discover why James Patterson is one of the world's greatest suspense writers.

From the bestselling author of Fatherland and Imperium comes an extraordinary thriller of power, politics, corruption and murder. Dashing, captivating Adam Lang was Britain's longest serving -- and most controversial -- prime minister of the last half century, whose career ended in tatters after he sided with America in an unpopular war on terror. Now, after stepping down in disgrace, Lang is hiding out in the wintry ghost town of Martha's Vineyard to finish his much sought-after, potentially explosive memoir. But the project runs aground when his ghostwriter suddenly disappears and later washes up, dead, on the island's deserted shore. Enter our hero -- Lang's new ghostwriter -- cynical, mercenary, and quick with a line of deadpan humor. Accustomed to working with fading rock stars and minor celebrities, he jumps at the chance to be the new ghost of Adam Lang's memoirs, though it doesn't take long to realize he has made a fatal error in judgement. When the Ghost begins to unearth the bone-chilling circumstances of his predecessor's death he discovers that the ex-prime minister is a dark, tortured man with haunting secrets in his past -- secrets with the power to alter world politics. Secrets with the power to kill. The Ghost is yet another brilliant Robert Harris tour de force that will compel, captivate, and excite listeners to the very end.

Getting behind the wheel of a Caterham Seven is one of the most exhilarating experiences imaginable for a keen driver. Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Lotus Seven, the second edition of this informative book includes details of the models produced in the five years since the first edition was published, and gives full model descriptions, specifications and driving impressions for every model of Lotus and Caterham Seven ever produced.