Women With Weapons

Season two of Xena: Warrior Princess is noteworthy for several reasons, though two of these stand out above all the rest. The first was the promotion to full "regular" status of the series' principal comedy-relief character, a bumbling wannabe warrior named Joxer (Ted Raimi), who had previously shown up in the first-season installment "Callisto." The second occurred during the two-part adventure "Destiny"/"The Quest," in which heroine Xena (Lucy Lawless) actually died and was brought back to life -- one of several termination-resurrection scenarios which would proliferate in the seasons to come. A potential series-threatening crisis occurred in October 1996, when star Lucy Lawless fell from a horse during a publicity stunt staged for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Suffering a broken pelvis, the actress was forced to sit out several weeks of shooting, necessitating the hastily written episodes "Intimate Stranger" and "Ten Little Warlords," in which Xena's mind and soul was briefly "possessed" by the body of her arch-enemy Callisto (Hudson Leick). Deftly balancing dead-serious episodes (especially those wherein the usually pacifistic Gabrielle [Renee O'Connor] would toy with the notion of learning how to kill her enemies) with delightful excursions into comedy and whimsy (notably "Here She Comes? Miss Amphipolis" and "A Comedy of Eros"), Xena: Warrior Princess wrapped up its second season with 22 highly-rated installments. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

What if virtual reality wasn't just for fun, but was being used to imprison you? That's the dilemma that faces mild-mannered computer jockey Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) in The Matrix. It's the year 1999, and Anderson (hacker alias: Neo) works in a cubicle, manning a computer and doing a little hacking on the side. It's through this latter activity that Thomas makes the acquaintance of Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), who has some interesting news for Mr. Anderson -- none of what's going on around him is real. The year is actually closer to 2199, and it seems Thomas, like most people, is a victim of The Matrix, a massive artificial intelligence system that has tapped into people's minds and created the illusion of a real world, while using their brains and bodies for energy, tossing them away like spent batteries when they're through. Morpheus, however, is convinced Neo is "The One" who can crack open The Matrix and bring his people to both physical and psychological freedom. The Matrix is the second feature film from the sibling writer/director team of Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, who made an impressive debut with the stylish erotic crime thriller Bound. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

40-Year-Old Virgin star Steve Carell steps into the telephonic shoes of television's most beloved bumbling detective in this big-screen adaptation of the hit 1960s-era comedy series created by Mel Brooks. The evil geniuses at KAOS have hatched a diabolical plot to dominate every living man, woman, and child on the planet, and their plot gets under way as they attack the headquarters of the U.S. spy agency Control. As a result of the attack, the identity of every agent working for Control has been compromised. Realizing that the only way to thwart KAOS' evil plan is to promote eager but inexperienced Control analyst Maxwell Smart (Carell) to the rank of special agent, the Chief (Alan Arkin) reluctantly teams Smart with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) -- a veteran super-spy whose beauty is only surpassed by her lethality. With no real field experience to speak of and nothing but sheer enthusiasm and a handful of fancy spy gadgets to help him accomplish his deadly mission, Maxwell Smart his new partner, Agent 99, will be forced to faces malevolent KAOS head Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his loyal army of minions in a decisive fight that will determine the fate of the free world. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, David Koechner, Terry Crews, and Ken Davitian co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this adaptation of the Top Cow comic book, Witchblade is the story of a New York detective, Sara "Pez" Pezzini, whose search for justice brings her into contact with the Witchblade, an ancient, intelligent, living weapon so powerful it can battle Earth's darkest evil forces. Week in and week out, "Pez" employs her skills as a police detective to fight crime. She finds she must employ the Witchblade to combat a much greater and frighteningly organized conspiracy of evil that threatens the very soul of humanity. As Sara tries to keep the secret of the Witchblade, do her job and have a personal life, she finds that her most formidable adversary may be the Witchblade itself.

Witchblade: The Complete Series stars Yancy Butler (As the World Turns), John Hensley (Nip/Tuck), and David Chokachi (Baywatch) and features guest star Roger Daltrey (The Who). This seven-disc collector's set includes all 23 episodes from seasons 1 and 2, the original made-for-TV movie and never-before-seen bonus features.

A remake of the popular 1970s fantasy/adventure series of the same name, NBC's Bionic Woman starred Michelle Ryan as Jaime Sommers, the character originally played by Lindsay Wagner. In the earlier series, Jaime was a professional athlete; in the new version, she was a bartender and soon-to-be unwed mother. No matter: In both instances, Jaime was involved in a terrible accident which required emergency surgery--and a complete electronic overhaul. At the behest of her boyfriend Dr. Anthros (Chris Bowers), the first of several characters created for the remake, Jaime was rushed to a secret research lab, where she was outfitted with a pair of bionic legs and a bionic right arm, both of which provided super-strength and the ability to run in slow motion (representing extraordinary speed). She also was endowed with super-hearing skills--and, in an improvement over the original series, a new bionic eye (needless to say, the bill for all this retooling was considerably higher than the six-million-dollar price tag in the earlier show). Whereas the 1970s edition of Bionic Woman was, for all its gimmickry, a fairly straightforward action-adventure offering, the remake bore the heavy influence of 24 and Lost, accommodating a plethora of mysterious conspiracies and sinister secrets which weaved their way through the proceedings, with bits and pieces of vital information revealed on a "need-to-know" basis. There was also a soupcon of the Spiderman movie formula, with a dash of Smallville folded in, as Jamie slowly, awkwardly and sometimes painfully adjusted to her new and awesome powers, and to the responsiblities and consequences attached to them. The cast of characters in the new Bionic Woman included Jonas Bledsoe (Miguel Ferrer), the enigmatic (and slightly satanic) head of the Bionics research program; Ruth Truewell (Molly Price), Bledsoe's slightly more scrupulous assistant; maverick "program advisor" Antonio Pope (Isaiah Washington), the resident "I know more than I'm letting on" guy; and Jaime's computer-hacker sister Becca (Lucy Hale), who was always in trouble with the cops. This Bionic Woman joined NBC's Wednesday-night lineup on September 26, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Russell Mulcahy takes over for the third chapter in the Resident Evil film franchise, which finds genetically altered Alice (Milla Jovovich) joining forces with Carlos (Oded Fehr) and L.J. (Mike Epps) to take down the Umbrella Corporation once and for all. Upon emerging from her hideout in the Nevada desert, Alice is quickly joined by old friends Carlos and L.J., as well as survivors Claire (Ali Larter), K-Mart (Spencer Locke), and Nurse Betty (Ashanti). Now instilled with super-human strength, senses, and dexterity as a result of the biogenetic experimentation conducted on her by the Umbrella Corporation, Alice and the rest of the survivors set out to eliminate a virus that threatens to turn every living human undead, and ensure that the mysterious organization pays the price for their horrific crimes against humanity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

To Kill, To Live, To Love, To Die... The destiny of the Witchblade continues...

Based on the popular comic book by Top Cow Productions: Masane Amaha is a woman on the fringe of society, but her strange destiny was written ages past. She has been chosen from the anonymous depths of history, a fresh host for the coveted artifact known as the Witchblade. The raw power of conquering armies courses through her veins, the taste of death sweet on her lips. Naked aggression with brutal birth in the fires of eternal lust for battle. Struggling to build a life her daughter, with no memory of the past and no clue as to her future, Masane Amaha will be forever scarred by her salvation... And many will step forward to see it.

DVD Extras:
-A Tour of Top Cow Studios with Marc Silvestri
-Japanese Cast Interview - Voice of Masane Amaha (Mamiko Noto)
-Promotional Video
-Textless Songs (Opening: XTC, Closing: Ashitano-te)
-Easter Egg (can you find it?)

Rejoin sci-fi's most action-packed TV series as Battlestar Galactica 2.5 flies on to DVD in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. Featuring an extended version of the cliffhanger episode "Pegasus," this continuation of the epic second season follows the ongoing battle of President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) in their heart-pounding crusade to save humanity from the deadly robot Cylons. Packed with special features, including deleted scenes, podcasts and producer David Eick's video blog, Battlestar Galactica 2.5 is an explosive thrill-ride that's not to be missed!

This three disc collection includes the final ten episodes from the second season of Battlestar Galactica!

Tribes of vampires and werewolves battle for supremacy among the undead in this follow-up to the horror hit Underworld. Tracing the bloody history of the ongoing war between the Death Dealers, a gang of upper-crust vampires, and the Lycans, a pack of scruffy werewolves, Underworld: Evolution finds beautiful Death Dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and hunky Lycan Michael (Scott Speedman) exploring their own pasts as well as those of their comrades in hope of uncovering the secrets of this centuries-old conflict. As Selene and Michael deal with their bloody legacy as well as their forbidden romance, the violence between the Death Dealers and the Lycans escalates in what may be the final face-off between them. Directed by Len Wiseman, who also helmed the first film, Underworld: Evolution also stars Shane Brolly, Bill Nighy, Tony Curran, and Derek Jacobi. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on the animated series by Peter Chung, Aeon Flux imagines a future in which 99 percent of the world's population is killed through industrial disease, and the survivors live in a single city that, despite utopian appearances, is quite totalitarian. Disinclined to embrace any particular ideology outside of a hatred for Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas), the leader of the council that governs the walled city, hyper-sexualized assassin Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) seeks to bring about a revolution. Retaining the title character's trademark jet-black hair and sleek, revealing clothing, this film adaptation fleshes out the story behind the sexual and romantic tension between Aeon and Trevor. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

This cold, stylish erotic-thriller grossed over $100 million at the box-office despite vigorous protests at its depiction of gays and women. The shocking opening sequence features a graphic sexual encounter involving a rock-star bound with a white Hermes scarf by an unidentified blond woman. Despite the fact that the scene ends with a bloody icepick murder (horrifyingly realized by makeup artist Rob Bottin), Hermes scarves quickly sold out at stores nationwide. This seeming paradox is at the heart of the film's appeal, as it mixes perverse sexuality and erotic bloodshed in a manner common to European thrillers (director Paul Verhoeven had done it himself in 1979's marvelous De Vierde Man) but mostly taboo in America. The plot concerns Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a successful bisexual mystery writer who may also be a ruthless murderer. Everyone close to Catherine dies, and troubled policeman Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) must find out why. In the process, Nick becomes sexually involved with both Catherine and police psychiatrist Beth Gardner (Jeanne Tripplehorn), while the bodies begin piling up and Catherine turns the cat-and-mouse game around on Nick. Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas -- who was paid $3 million for the script -- keep the tension ratcheted up throughout, even during the frequent sex scenes, which carry a violent edge reminiscent of the Italian thrillers of Dario Argento. The film's most notorious scene, a police interrogation in which Catherine makes drooling idiots out of her captors by revealing that she is not wearing underwear, became a cultural touchstone and was widely imitated and parodied. Sharon Stone, meanwhile, was embarrassed to the point that she claimed Verhoeven had aimed lights on strategic locations without her knowledge. George Dzundza and Dorothy Malone co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

The (mostly) true story of a Hollywood princess turned bounty hunter is told in this witty action-drama from director Tony Scott. Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley) was the daughter of famed actor Laurence Harvey (played by Jesse Pate) who passed on when Domino was only eight years old. Domino's mother, former fashion model Paulene Stone (played by Jacqueline Bisset and renamed (%Sophie Wynn) in the film), strove to give her daughter a comfortable life, but Domino was naturally rebellious, and after a contentious stint in boarding school, a brief career as a runway model, and a fling with the fashion business, Domino was looking for something more exciting. She found it when he met Ed Mosbey (Mickey Rourke), an ex-con who had gone on to a successful career as a "bail recovery agent" -- in short, a bounty hunter. Ed also taught others how to join his profession, and Domino took his course and joined his team, along with Choco (Edgar Ramirez), a headstrong bail agent who took an immediate fancy to Domino. Domino, Ed, and Choco became a successful team -- successful enough that television producer Mark Heiss (Christopher Walken) asked them to become the subject of a television reality series. However, it was after the cameras were turned on Domino that her life got truly crazy. Bail bondsman Claremont Williams III (Delroy Lindo) had hired Domino and her friends for a risky case, and soon Domino, Ed, and Choco were chasing missing men and money while landing in hot water with both the FBI and the Mafia. Domino was loosely based on Domino Harvey's real life story; sadly her personal life was as reckless as her career, and Domino died as a result of drug abuse on June 27, 2005, after this film was completed. The film also features Lucy Liu, Mena Suvari, Macy Gray, and Dabney Coleman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi