While Japan undergoes tumultuous transition to a more Westernized society in 1876-77, The Last Samurai gives epic sweep to an intimate story of cultures at a crossroads. In America, tormented Civil War veteran Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is coerced by a mercenary officer (Tony Goldwyn) to train the Japanese Emperor's troops in the use of modern weaponry. Opposing this "progress" is a rebellion of samurai warriors, holding fast to their traditions of honor despite strategic disadvantage. As a captive of the samurai leader (Ken Watanabe), Algren learns, appreciates, and adopts the samurai code, switching sides for a climactic battle that will put everyone's honor to the ultimate test. All of which makes director Edward Zwick's noble epic eminently worthwhile, even if its Hollywood trappings (including an all-too-conventional ending) prevent it from being the masterpiece that Zwick and screenwriter John Logan clearly wanted it to be. Instead, The Last Samurai is an elegant mainstream adventure, impressive in all aspects of its production. It may not engage the emotions as effectively as Logan's script for Gladiator, but like Cruise's character, it finds its own quality of honor. -Jeff Shannon.

Albert Lamorisse's whimsical follow-up to his Academy Award®-winning short film The Red Balloon takes viewers of all ages on a fantastic, aerial tour of 20th-century France. An adventurous grandfather and his stowaway grandson (the director's.

Young Libby Parsons (Ashley Judd) is happy as a clam, and why not? She's got a loving, successful husband (Bruce Greenwood), an adorable son, and an island home to die for. One morning, after a romantic sailing expedition with her husband, Libby finds herself covered in blood. Her husband's missing, the boat resembles a murder scene, and there's a knife on the deck. One might stop right there and call for help; Libby, however, takes matters-or, more specifically, the knife-into her own hands, and the moment she does, there's the Coast Guard. Faster than you can say frame-up, Libby's been charged with murder and jailed, with her young son stripped from her custody. It's all cut-and-dried, except for one thing: Libby's husband isn't dead, and she's about to track him down. And thanks to the Fifth Amendment's double jeopardy rule, she can't be charged twice for his murder. Double Jeopardy has a singularly seductive revenge premise and, in Judd, one of the most seductive leading ladies to grace the silver screen in recent years. So then why does this thriller feel like it came from the bottom of the Lifetime television movie barrel? Instead of taking a gritty, hard-boiled approach, the film plays up all of Libby's mushy emotions-tellingly, the director here is Bruce Beresford, whose best film, Driving Miss Daisy, is as far from thriller territory as you can get. No matter how stoically or deviously Judd plays her, Libby comes across as a soccer mom with a slight taste for blood. [+]

Taijiquan, Classical Yang Style-The Complete Form and Qigong, by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. This two hour long instructional video is the perfect tool for building a strong foundation for a lifetime of practice. Yang family style, passed down from Yang, Pan-Hou, is one of the most popular styles of Tai Chi, and is known and studied throughout the world. Filmed entirely in Hungary during Dr. Yang's annual Taiji summer camp, this video has rarely taught qigong exercises for developing a deeper feeling for the internal aspects of Yang style Tai Chi. Also taught is the entire Yang style long form, piece by piece, and in a continuous demonstration by Master Yang. •Rare opportunity to learn from a world-renowned master of Tai Chi. •Nearly two hours of instructional footage, so well-produced it is considered a living document to preserve the art. •Qigong exercises to enhance overall health. [+]