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American Gangster Extended Edition [2007]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin
directed by: Ridley Scott

March 10, 2008
American Gangster is a solid piece of entertainment featuring two standout performances from Washington and Crowe who are well supported by an ensemble of fine character actors. Incidental music, costumes and sets effectively recreate the New York of the 1970s, a time of Vietnam, racial tension and police corruption.

It may not stand comparison with the very best examples of the genre, but can certainly hold its own against recent crime flicks such as The Departed.

Definitely worth a watch to see the two lead actors breathing life into two rather clichéd characters (Crowe's world-weary cop and Washington's ruthless drug baron) but you might want to try it out as a rental before buying.

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Stargate - The Ark Of Truth [2008]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
starring: Ben Browder, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black
directed by: Robert C. Cooper

April 28, 2008
Basically its just like a normal episode, but longer, with, I thought, rather too many enemies to vanguish in one go. Being a big fan of the series, I watched every single episode ever, some of of them are very good and I watched them a few times. As a movie though, I didn't feel it was worth watching twice, you could watch it once though and it still is a lot better than a plenty of movies out there. However, I did feel the whole thing was simply put together for the money. which is fair enough I suppose, but should not be that obvious. Make me feel I bought a movie with something to say! Unfortunately - it did not.

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Doctor Who - The Complete BBC Series 2 Box Set

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
starring: David Tennant, Billie Piper

November 20, 2006
after being amazed by series 1,series 2 steps it all up a gear and provides some stunning episodes(and a couple duds)Tennant steps into the role nicely and is definately the best doctor EVER!!!.
eppy guide-
the christmas invasion-4/5-awesome episode...highly anticipated and really paid off...a great experience.
New Earth-4/5-a fun start to series 2 with the stretched flesh that is lady Cassandra(Zoe Wanamaker)and some grotesque zombies.
Tooth and Claw-4.5/5-wow!!!a werewolf doc who episode...amazingly oozing with cool...Russel T.Davies has written a mini horror film.
School Reunion*-5/5-fantastic,one of my favourite episodes and on my list of top ten(#9)sees the return of Sarah-Jane Smith,Micky,and Anthony Head(Giles from Buffy ... Read More:

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The Wire: Complete HBO Season 4

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
starring: Dominic West, Michael K. Williams, Sonja Sohn

March 10, 2008
In its 4th season, The Wire continues to deserve its oft given title of "best show on TV".

This season concentrates on the school system, adding it to The Wire's already complex mix of crime, politics, trade unions and more. Teachers deal with growing violence and also have to fight against a school system that is more focused on meeting targets than actually helping the children in their care. Sounds familiar...

All the (surviving) favourites are back, but the real plaudits should go to the new "corner kids" who seem to be doomed to end up as drug dealers. The child actors are all astonishingly good, and fit in well with the stellar cast.

Highly recommended.

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Russia - A Journey With Jonathan Dimbleby : Complete BBC Series

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
by: Jonathan Dimbleby

June 16, 2008
Ignore the poor reviews! Jon Foster's review for Amazon is spot on.To say that JD needs a psychiatrist is very childish.

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Life On Mars : Complete BBC Series 1 [2006]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
starring: John Simm, Philip Glenister, Ashley Pharoah, Bharat Nalluri, Claire Parker (IV)

May 15, 2006
The title says it all.Anyone who,at the end of the series,does not want it to go on and on does not appreciate brilliant drama.If only the rest of the world could get within miles of the Poms when it comes to television drama.I forgive you for borrowing the Ashes in 2005 and putting up such a pathetic fight for them in 2006-2007.But then again,may you forever keep on giving us such brilliant dramatic films,and awful cricket teams.

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In The Valley Of Elah [2008]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
starring: Charlize Theron, Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon, Josh Brolin, James Franco
directed by: Paul Haggis

May 26, 2008
I have just watched this movie. I had been waiting eagerly for a few months for the release of the DVD and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I thought the acting from all the leads was excellent but the story was deprressing - obviously the subject matter wasn't going to be one of laughs but even so, I thought it may have been a bit more uplifting. Very slow and quite boring up to half way through. At least I rented the DVD and didn't pay full price at the cinema. Shame - could have been better in my opinion.

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Jumper [Blu-ray] [2008]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Hayden Christensen, Diane Lane
directed by: Doug Liman

June 16, 2008

I don't care what anyone says about this movie...it's nothing if not entertaining. The special effects are great and it certainly has the cool factor. OK, so there's the odd hole in the plot...but so long as you can overlook that then you should enjoy the movie. It's obvious there's going to be a sequel...

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3:10 To Yuma [2007]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
starring: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol, Dallas Roberts
directed by: James Mangold

January 28, 2008
I think the ending to this film was excellent and believable in the circumstances.

There was a certain level of redemption throughout the film, very much triggered by the strong morals that Dan possessed.
A lack of self esteem and poverty were what most people saw, and Dan was terrified of that... Ben Wade was the only man who saw Dan for what he actually was - True to his own belief, uncontradictory and with an untouchable strength of character. Probably attributes that he sees himself as possessing, albeit from the complete opposite end of the moralistic spectrum.

One thing that no-one has commented on is the fact that Charlie Prince knows Ben Wade better than most. He trusts him as a leader of a gang that is solely about making money (Ben ... Read More:

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The Bucket List [2008]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > DVD
starring: Sean Hayes, Jack Nicholson, Beverly Todd, Morgan Freeman
directed by: Rob Reiner

July 07, 2008
If you've read this far, then you'll have already seen the other reviews of "The Bucket List". So I won't bore you with another synopsis. However, this is the most moving film I have ever seen - and over the years, I have seen quite a few!

When this film first came out at my local cinema, I had intended to go and see it then, but didn't quite get round to it. So I was pleased to note that it was one of the films on offer on the plane at the start of my recent holiday to New York.

Although billed as a comedy, I found that "The Bucket List" was more entertaining than hilarious. That may be, in part, because the underlying premise of the story (two ageing men being told that they have terminal cancer and only a matter of months to live) is in itself intrinsically ... Read More: