Science Fiction - Page 12

Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox

Ten years after the invasion of Naboo, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), now twenty years old, is an apprentice to Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). With the galaxy on the brink of civil war, an assassination attempt is made on Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), former Queen of Naboo. Anakin is assigned to protect her and in the course of his mission, the young Jedi falls in love with Padmé, while also discovering his own darker side. Anakin, Padmé and Obi-Wan Kenobi are ultimately drawn into the escalating galactic conflict and the beginning of the Clone Wars. Bonus Features:**Audio Commentary with George Lucas and Crew**Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Brand: BUENA VISTA-MARVEL Model: 28443971

Suit up for action with Robert Downey Jr. in the ultimate movie adventure, IRON MAN! When jet-setting genius-industrialist Tony Stark is captured in enemy territory, he builds a high-tech suit of armor to escape. Now, he's on a mission to save the world as a hero who's built, not born, to be unlike any other. Co-starring Terrance Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow, it's a fantastic, high-flying journey that is "hugely entertaining" (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).

Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Brand: TCFHE Model: 28125353

Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before. In 2013's summer of superheroes, The Wolverine breaks a lot of rules of the genre and comes out a winner for the most unexpected of reasons. Both the movie and the man (make that super-man) are driven by vengeance, anger, and the existential angst of the whole "with great power comes great blah, blah, blah" thing. But The Wolverine has a sense of higher responsibility and a quietude that distinguishes it from the likes of Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, and even the numerous X-Men movies that forged its legacy. With Hugh Jackman reprising the role (for the sixth time) that made him a movie star, The Wolverine is the least like any of its predecessors for the way it prefers subdued tension and real dramatic buildup of character rather than all-out frenzied action. There are plenty of elegantly realized set pieces that make visual sense and have direct bearing on the story (not necessarily things that are a priority in other mega-budget actioners), but the moments of talk and gentler sense of introspection that director James Mangold carefully oversees are more important and equally as satisfying. The events of The Wolverine take place in the aftermath of 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, with Wolverine/Logan's grief over the death of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) still raw. He's become a hermit somewhere in the frozen north, still seething with inward rage. The appearance of a lethal Japanese pixie named Yukio (Rila Fukushima) distracts him with a message from an old friend who wants to say good...

Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Brand: TCFHE Model: 2287863

Meet Joe Bowers (Luke Wilson). He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. But when a government hibernation experiment goes awry, Bowers awakens in the year 2505 to find a society so dumbed-down by mass commercialism and mindless TV programming that he's become the smartest guy on the planet. Now it's up to an average Joe to get human evolution back on track. Given that Office Space is a bona fide cult classic, it comes as some surprise that Mike Judge's follow-up wasn't more heavily promoted. Granted, this live-action comedy is a darker, more pointed proposition, but it's unfortunate that few theater patrons got the opportunity to, well, judge for themselves. In Idiocracy, the King of the Hill creator visualizes what would happen if Devo's proposition--that mankind is in the process of devolution--came to pass. The catalyst: the overeducated start having fewer children while the undereducated have more. Enter Joe (Luke Wilson), a military librarian with no family and even less ambition. The Pentagon chooses him for a top-secret hibernation project due to his extreme "average-ness." They select Rita (SNL's Maya Rudolph), a prostitute, for the same reason. When the experiment goes haywire, the two emerge 500 years later--rather than one. Now it's 2505 and they're the brightest people in the over-polluted land. Everyone else is, basically, Beavis and Butt-head. Yes, the satire couldn't be less subtle, but the premise gives Judge license to make as much fun of junk food pop culture as dystopian classics like 1984 and Planet of the Apes. Wilson wisely plays it straight, even if the actors who surround him sometimes succumb to excess. And the effects may be cheesy, but that just adds to the fun. Idiocracy features former footballer Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) as President Camacho and Dax Shepard (Punk'd) as Joe's futuristic friend Frito. --Kathleen C. Fennessy