While 7th Heaven is certainly full of cheesy moments and some very bad acting, something about this show worms its way into your psyche and demands to be liked. The second season kicks off with the Camden’s celebrating their wedding anniversary by renewing their vows. Lucy is still, ahem, mooning over Jimmy Moon, Mary afraid to let go of her crutches, Matt stressed out about his relationship with Heather, Simon getting ready to move into his own room in the attic, and Ruthie being upset about Simon moving out of their shared room. As can be expected in a show with five kids, plenty of chaos ensues.
There are some weird plots in the show, for example, Eric Camden is approached by a woman whose husband was murdered, and she wants to meet face to face with his killer, who refuses to see her. Eric makes a visit to this murderer who is played oh so badly by some young unknown actor and the entire scene just makes you cringe. But as soon as the show reverts to the Camden’s family life and the trials and tribulations of the kids, you forgive and forget.
Yes, it’s a pleasing family drama that lacks violence, swearing or nudity but it works. There is enough humour and real-life connection to make the viewers come back season after season. And it’s not to say there is no sex, since this is also the season where it is discovered that Mary is pregnant. The show is still on today, many years later, despite the fact that it has no huge heartthrobs or risqué plotlines. Sometimes, the good guy still wins.
The DVD set includes all 22 episodes on six discs, and no special features whatsoever which is a little disappointing. Hopefully, the next season will include some extras.

Spike Lee's Malcolm X remains one of the greatest biographical films ever made. Denzel Washington gives an impressive performance as the fiery civil rights leader. If that isn't reason enough to catch this superbly acted and filmed movie, check out the new Malcolm X: Two-Disc Special Edition. It features a new transfer and remastering, Dolby 5.1 sound, and an impressive array of special features including a brand new documentary, By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Malcolm X, 10 additional scenes and the Oscar-nominated 1972 documentary Malcolm X, demonstrating just how perfectly Washington captured his character.

Are you offended if a person on the subway stubs their toe and yells out sh**? If a co-worker drops an f-bomb around you, do you immediately notify human resources because you are now in an uncomfortable work situation? If so, Deadwood might not be the best show for you. Everyone else, take heed: Deadwood is an engrossing, creative and original series that you don’t want to miss.
A re-invention of the Western, Deadwood takes place on a stretch of South Dakota soon after the 1876 Custer Massacre. Deadwood is a lawless, thriving town that attracts many fortune-seekers and entrepreneurs. The centre of the town is the Gem Saloon and its owner, the villainous and brilliant Al Swearengen. Played brilliantly by Ian McShane (who recently won a well-deserved Golden Globe) Swearengen is ruthless and violent and will stop at nothing to protect his money and power. Also making appearances in Deadwood is a former Montana lawman, Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) who arrives with his friend Sol Starr (John Hawkes) to open a successful hardware business. They encounter Wild Bill Hickok (Keith Carradine) and his doting companion, the coarse angel Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert). Calamity Jane is one of the most well-acted and compelling characters we have ever seen on television. Many other characters grace the streets of Deadwood and while the first couple of episodes are a little challenging in the sense of getting to know them all and learn their stories, once you make it past that hurdle it is all smooth sailing from there.
Deadwood arrived with less fanfare than some of HBO’s previous shows and is, in our opinion, one of their best. Don’t be put off by the violence and swearing, or by the fact that it is a Western. There are no self-aggrandizing Clint Eastwood-esque characters to be found here. Deadwood is real, raw and gripping. Grab this first season and watch all twelve episodes before the second season begins, if you get HBO, on March 6 at 9 pm.
You won’t be sorry.

Considered one of the world’s greatest filmmakers, Martin Scorcese, is well known for movies like Goodfellas, The Colour of Money and, most recently, The Aviator. This new box set from MGM brings us four of his maybe a little lesser known but still equally brilliant films: Boxcar Bertha, Raging Bull, New York, New York, and The Last Waltz.
Boxcar Bertha is one of Scorcese’s earliest films, a low-budget Bonnie and Clyde type of story starring David Carradine and Barbara Hershey. You can see come of Scorcese’s attempts at a serious, deep, undertone but that should have been left out of this flick which works best as a fun, entertaining action romp.
New York, New York is a nearly three-hour composition starring the brilliant Robert DeNiro and surprisingly equally brilliant Liza Minelli. While a tad tedious at times, Scorcese’s attempt to recreate the musicals of his youth remains a classic, despite some critical opinions.
The Last Waltz is a record of The Band’s final 1976 performance and while it remains a great concert film, some of us don’t like concert films and found ourselves fast tracking through most of it. But any rock fan will love seeing Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan on stage together.
The crowing glory of this collection (in our humble opinion) is Raging Bull: Special Edition. This sad story of prize-fighter Jake La Motta, who rises quickly to become a God, then falls hard and watches his life crumble, is gripping for any movie fan and remains one of DeNiro’s greatest achievements (he won an Oscar for his performance).
Packed with extras and new sound and video, this collection is fantastic and a must-have for any film buff.

It's hard to imagine, watching Miami Vice: Season One on DVD (released February 8) that it was ever the epitome of cool. The clothes, the cars, the babes and the music all made Miami Vice a worldwide hit and had men everywhere donning pastel blazers with tight pink t-shirts and no socks. As cheesy at it seems to us today it was an incredibly forward show which brought the idea of popular soundtracks to television. Thankfully all the music rights have been obtained for this DVD set. Miami Vice still rocks...

Since the day the trailer for Ray was released there was Oscar Buzz for Jamie Foxx. Recently, that buzz was confirmed with his nomination as well as a Golden Globe win for Best Actor. Foxx is on a roll. But is all the hoopla true? Sure is.
In fact, Foxx is so good he isn't even playing Charles, he is Charles. This is especially difficult given that the memory of Ray Charles, who died early this year, is still fresh in everybody's mind. Everybody knows what he looks like, how he moves, and what he sounds like. It's a testament to Foxx that he slips so easily into the Charles role, and has the mannerisms and voice down pat (Charles, who had casting approval still sings while Foxx lip-syncs). Foxx even had his eyes sealed so he could experience Charles' lack of sight.
Ray, although it is an unflinching look at Ray Charles, treats its subject with utter reverence, as it should. Charles was the first to combine R&B and gospel to make soul music, and through the years hopped genres and sold millions of records. Director Taylor Hackford takes a straightforward approach to chronicling Charles' life, starting with his move from the South to Seattle, then hitting all of the high points. Hackford when flashes back to relevant episodes when Charles was a child. He lost his sight at age seven, but not before witnessing his brother's death. His mother (a very effective Sharon Warren) makes sure that he can take care of himself, since nobody will take care of him. He slowly earns respect from the people around him because he is smart (he insists on being paid in singles to avoid being ripped off), self-sufficient (he wears hard soled shoes so he can hear the echoes of his footsteps) and he is damn good at music.
Ray Charles Robinson adopted the stage name Ray Charles as to avoid confusion with 'Sugar' Ray Robinson. Since he could not see, he played by ear. This meant that he could imitate everybody really well. Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong) recognized Charles' raw talent, and signed him to Atlantic records. There, he nurtured Charles and encouraged him to experiment until he came up with his signature sound. At some point, he also graduated from marijuana to harder drugs like heroin. He married Della Bea (Kerry Washington) got his own band, and began having affairs with various women over the country. Hackford, who co-wrote the story with James L. White, hits most of the major points in Charles' personal and professional life. They spotlight hit songs, the birth of his son, his stint in rehab, and his refusal to play a segregated concert in Georgia, which earned him a lifetime ban.
The movie succeeds because it doesn’t try to do anything different or creative with the story. It’s pretty straightforward and while perhaps not incredibly innovative or brilliant, it’s still well done.
The DVD features extras like 14 deleted scenes, a look at Foxx’s transformation into becoming Ray Charles, and feature commentary.

Mulan was one of Disney's best movies, full of adventure, great animation and a strong female role model to boot. Along comes this straight-to-video sequel, Mulan II, which is less serious than the original and lacks the catchy songs but still manages to impress. A month after Mulan saves her country, she returns to her village and gets engaged to General Li Shang. Wedding plans are put on hold when she has to go on a secret mission with her fiance to protect the Emperor's three daughters. We love that Mulan is a healthy female lead and got a kick out of this film. Well done, Disney.

Charmed: The Complete First Season (5 out of 5 stars)
Paramount/ February 1, 2005

Something Wicca this way comes. That is not only the true of this stellar six-disc set finally being released to the jubilation of its numerous fans but it’s also the title of the pilot episode which gets the ball rolling.
The series Charmed debuted as all things spooky, magical and gloomy were trendy thanks to the success of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It centered around the three Halliwell sisters: Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) a funky, spunky troublemaker, Prue (Shannen Doherty) the oldest and very practical sister who very much dislikes Phoebe’s antics and Piper (Holly Marie Combs) who, like a true middle sibling, mediates between her sisters and almost acts like the mother-figure.
In the pilot episode, Phoebe arrives at the family home and find the Book of Shadows in the attic. She then recites a spell (because frankly, who wouldn’t if they found a book like that) and ends up giving the three sisters the powers that they were meant to have all along. She can see into the future, Prue gets the gift of telekinesis (which means she can move stuff around with her mind) and Piper is able to stop time. Exciting stuff. Just when you’ve started to think it might be pretty cool to be a witch and have these types of powers, it turns out they come with a wee catch: the sisters are now prey to all kinds of evil forces.
The series is incredibly entertaining with funny and touching moments. It never seems to take itself too seriously which allows us to enjoy it fully. This set does not include any extras, which will probably anger the show’s hardcore fans, but the truth is that the 22 episodes are more than enough entertainment for a long while.
You can actually watch the show mature and expand over the course of its first year on these DVDs and it progressively got better from there. We look forward to future seasons and are glad that the spell we cast on Paramount executives got them to finally release this gem to the public. We’re still waiting for the spell on Lion’s Gate to work so they release 90210.

Frasier: The Complete Fourth Season (4 out of 5 stars)
Paramount/ February 1, 2005

In a confusing move, the studio decided to release Frasier’s final season before most of the previous ones. But we were pleased to see that Frasier: The Complete Fourth Season could possibly be one of its best.
This four-disc set contains all of the episodes in a season that saw Marty meet a new lady who doesn’t really get along with the rest of the gang, Niles continuing to try and reconcile with Maris and pine for Daphne. The big story behind this season is behind-the-scenes and that is that Kelsey Grammar went in to rehab which caused the rest of the cast to pick up after him for a while.
This works to the show’s advantage for those who love Niles because it brought him to the forefront of more episodes and frankly, we hope he gets his own spin off show now that Frasier is off the air.
As always the humour on Frasier is intelligent and witty mixed in with a perfect blend of old-fashioned farce and physical comedy. Our favourite episode is the very first in the set, “The Two Mrs. Cranes” which is brilliantly written and executed by the cast. It’s an ideal example of why this show continues to be one of the best sitcoms every written.
With visits from Lilith and Frederick, and Frasier’s agent Bebe, this is one season to grab on to since we can guarantee you’ll come back to watch it over and over.

Being huge Aladdin fans we knew we wouldn't be all that impressed with The Return of Jafar or Aladdin King of Thieves. But surprisingly, they ended up quite watchable. Don't get us wrong, they have nothing on the original, but for a straight-to-video follow-up, they're not too shabby. Disney has now released them in this special box set (the format of which we're not too crazy about) but they're worth a look for any Disney fan.