ON DVD > WATCHING AT HOME.Byline: ROB LOWMAN > ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Rome> When season one of HBO's "Rome" ended, it was 44 B.C. and Julius Caesar Julius Caesar: see Caesar, Julius. (Ciaran Hinds) lay in a bloody heap on the Senate floor. Everyone connected to him didn't expect to be long for the world, either. But history tells us differently. His nephew and heir, the young Octavian (Simon Woods Simon Woods is an English actor. He read English at Magdalen College, Oxford. He is perhaps best known for his role as Charles Bingley in Pride & Prejudice. Filmography
Those who saw only the flash of the series (the sex and violence) missed a fascinating look at a culture that lived by a different sense of morality, a pre-Christian people who were political and sexual in nature. But that aside, "Rome" is compelling storytelling, interweaving relationships from different strata of society. The most sympathetic figure is Pullo (Ray Stevenson
Ray Stevenson (born December 17, 1919 near Virden, Manitoba [1], died August 24, 2004 [2] ), a simple, good-natured fellow whose only tradecraft is violence -- either as a soldier or assassin. He is unlikely friends with Lucius Vorenus Lucius Vorenus (given as L. Varenus in some translations) was one of the two soldiers of the 11th Legion (Legio XI prior to its demobilization and subsequent remobilization by Caesar Augustus - see also here) mentioned in the personal writings of Julius (Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born August 9, 1973) is a Scottish actor. McKidd was born and spent his childhood in Elgin, Moray, Scotland. He was a member of the local acting group the Moray Youth Theatre. ), a conflicted man -- a stone-cold killer, religious and grieving because of his wife's suicide. And both are connected to the rivals, then allies, then mortal enemies Mark Antony (a wonderfully arch James Purefoy James Brian Mark Purefoy[1] (born June 3 1964) is an English actor. Biography Early life & work Purefoy was born into a "upper-middle class family" in Taunton, Somerset. He was a boarder at Sherborne School which he left with only one O-level. ) and Octavian, whose mother, Atia (a delicious Polly Walker), is not only Antony's mistress but has a vicious rivalry with Servilia (Lindsay Duncan), the former lover of Caesar and the mother of Brutus (Tobias Menzies). And we haven't even thrown in the wild card here -- the tempestuous tem·pes·tu·ous adj. 1. Of, relating to, or resembling a tempest: tempestuous gales. 2. Tumultuous; stormy: a tempestuous relationship. Cleopatra (Lindsey Marshal). All this may have your head spinning, but "Rome" was ultimately far more interesting than HBO's other series with Italian roots, "The Sopranos." Unfortunately, "Rome" never reached the cultural buzz of "The Sopranos," and HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy cut the series short with 400 more years of the Roman Empire to go. new films> "Disturbia" starring Shia LaBeouf as a teen confined to his house under house arrest -- for punching a teacher -- complete with ankle bracelet. Not allowed to use his iPod or play video games, LaBeouf's Kale kale, borecole (bôr`kōl), and collards, common names for nonheading, hardy types of cabbage (var. starts monitoring his neighbor (David Morse), who he comes to believe is a serial killer serial killer Forensic psychiatry A person who commits serial murders Prototypic SK White ♂ age 30; 97% are ♂; 80% are sociopaths. See Dahmer, Depraved heart murder, Ice Man. Cf Megan's law, Son of Sam law. . Call it "Rear Window" lite, but it's helped by the solid direction of D.J. Caruso and LaBeouf's likability. Pity Chris Rock. He tries to move to a more mature form of comedy, and people stay away. "I Think I Love My Wife" -- a loose remake of "Chloe in the Afternoon" (1972), the sixth and last of French filmmaker Eric Rohmer's "Moral Tales" -- is a pleasant, funny film about a man bored in his marriage but who comes to some realizations about life. For the real thing -- a French film from an accomplished veteran of the New Wave -- try Alain Resnais' "Private Fears in Public Places," a sublime film about middle-age people's struggles with life and love. television> Has there ever been a bad season of "The Simpsons"? No. Season 10 (1998-99) is no different. Yes, some episodes are better than others, but who else but Homer would keep a lobster for a pet and then eat it when he got hungry? There is always something funny about America's family -- sort of like the Dallas Cowboys are "America's team." Speaking of that -- then Cowboys' quarterback Troy Aikman was one of the voices that season, along with Elton John, Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Ron Howard, Dolly Parton par·ton n. Any of the point particles believed to be a constituent of hadrons, now known as quarks. No longer in technical use. [part(icle) + -on1.] and John Madden. The box set contains the usual commentary from creator Matt Groening on every episode. Like the Simpsons, the Muppets are timeless. Season two of "The Muppet Show" (1976) was one of its best -- irreverent and witty, even touching. It was a season that included Kermit's lovely "It's Not Easy Being Green" and Judy Collins singing her poignant version of "Send in the Clowns." Guests that year included Steve Martin, Julie Andrews, Don Knotts, George Burns, Bob Hope, Bernadette Peters and Elton John, but the best part of the show was the Muppets themselves, who made everyone feel like a kid. It took a while for me to warm up to the Sci Fi Channel's "Dresden Files," but I eventually did. It stars Paul Blackthorne as a Chicago detective who's also a wizard (is it any coincidence his name is Harry?), who helps the police crack cases -- when he's not under suspicion himself. Though the series started slowly, it did pick up steam by the season's end. elvis> With the 30th anniversary of his death at hand, there's a ton of Elvis stuff available. Did the King ever make a great movie? No. A good movie? Not really, except for perhaps "King Creole." The best you can say is that some of his movies were agreeable diversions. But there were some fun musical numbers, and if you're about that, there are a couple of DVDs of live performances, including "Elvis -- That's the Way It Is." For the offbeat off·beat n. Music An unaccented beat in a measure. adj. Slang Not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional: offbeat humor. approach to Elvis, there's a special edition of "Bubba Ho-Tep," a fanciful tale of the King -- who has faked his death -- solving a mystery in a nursing home. also new this week> >out tuesday NEW FILMS "Disturbia" (Paramount-DreamWorks; $29.99 and $39.99 for Blu-ray) "TMNT TMNT Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (cartoon/movie) " (Warner; $28.98 and $34.95 for Blu-ray) "Are We Done Yet?" (Columbia; $28.95) "I Think I Love My Wife" (Fox; $29.99) "Unaccompanied un·ac·com·pa·nied adj. 1. Going or acting without companions or a companion: unaccompanied children on a flight. 2. Music Performed or scored without accompaniment. Minors" (Warner; $28.98) "Private Fears in Public Places" (IFC (Internet Foundation Classes) A class library from Netscape that provides an application framework and graphical user interface (GUI) routines for Java programmers. IFC was later made part of the Java Foundation Classes (JFC). See JFC, AFC and AWT. See also ICF. ; 24.99) "Salon" (Fox; $26.98) TELEVISION "Rome -- The Complete Second Season" (HBO; $99.98) "The Simpsons -- The Complete Tenth Season" (Fox; $49.98) "The Muppet Show -- Season Two" (Disney; $39.99) "The Hills -- The Complete Second Season" (MTV/Paramount $38.99) "Full House -- The Complete Seventh Season" (Warner; $29.98) "The Dresden Files -- The Complete First Season" ($39.98) "Home Improvement -- The Complete Seventh Season" (Buena Vista; $23.99) "Roseanne -- Season Eight" (Anchor Bay; $39.98) "The Tick vs. Season Two" (Disney; $34.99) "8 Simple Rules -- The Complete First Season" (Buena Vista; $23.99) "Soul Food -- The Second Season" ($50.99) "Inside the Actors Studio Inside the Actors Studio is the Emmy-nominated, longest-running original series on the Bravo cable television channel, hosted by James Lipton. It is produced and directed by Jeff Wurtz. : Barbra Streisand" (Universal; $14.99) "That Girl" (Shout Factory; $39.99) OLDER FILMS "Crime Story" (Dragon; $19.95) "Invasion of the Body Snatchers -- Collector's Edition" (MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. ; $19.99) "Flash Gordon -- Saviour of the Universe Edition" (Universal; $26.98) "Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection" ("Manhattan Melodrama"/"Evelyn Prentice"/"Double Wedding"/"I Love You Again"/"Love Crazy") (Warner; $49.98) "Brigitte Bardot Collection" ("Naughty Girl"/"Love on a Pillow"/"The Vixen vixen female fox. "/"Come Dance With Me"/"Two Weeks in September") (Lionsgate; $39.98) ELVIS RELATED "Elvis -- The Hollywood Collection" ("Charro"/"Girl Happy"/"Kissin' Cousins"/"Live a Little, Love a Little"/ "Stay Away, Joe"/"Tickle Me") (Warner; $49.98 and $12.98 individually) "Lights! Camera! Elvis! Collection" ("Blue Hawaii"/"Easy Come, Easy Go"/ "Fun in Acapulco"/"G.I. Blues"/"Girls! Girls! Girls!"/"King Creole"/"Roustabout"/"Paradise Hawaiian Style") (Paramount; $69.99) "This Is Elvis -- Two-Disc Special Edition" (Warner; $20.98) $15.69 "Elvis -- That's the Way It Is -- Two-Disc Special Edition (Warner; $20.98) "Viva Las Vegas -- Deluxe Edition" (Warner; $19.98) "Jailhouse Rock -- Deluxe Edition" (Warner; $19.98) "Bubba Ho-Tep -- Special Edition" (MGM; $22.98) also new this week> >video games Tomb Raider Anniversary Lara Croft's first adventure from 1996 is remade re·made v. Past tense and past participle of remake. to accommodate the smaller screen of the PSP (PlayStation Portable) See PlayStation. . $29.99. Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars Trade paint with other cabbies in this multiplayer duel for the best fares and pocket-swelling tips. $29.99. PSP. Boogie You create your own character, then use the Wii remote and a microphone to sing and dance on a virtual stage. $59.99. Lair You play a dragon-riding warrior, and it's up to you to use your dragon to annihilate an·ni·hi·late v. an·ni·hi·lat·ed, an·ni·hi·lat·ing, an·ni·hi·lates v.tr. 1. a. To destroy completely: The naval force was annihilated during the attack. the enemies that threaten your way of life. $59.99. PlayStation 3. Two Worlds This is an open-ended role-playing game for the Xbox 360 that places the path of the game solely on the choices the player makes throughout the story. $59.99. Xbox 360. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Polly Walker and Kevin McKidd star in HBO's "Rome." (2) "The Simpsons" (3) "The Muppet Show" |
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