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Ralph Fiennes: The Unauthorized Biography

by York Membery

Average customer rating: 3.5 ISBN: 0233992901

The English Patient

by Michael Ondaatje, Ralph Fiennes

$15.61

Average customer rating: 4.0 ISBN: 0739343947

Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as World War II ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal, and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of heat lightning. In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.

A book that binds readers of great literature, The English Patient garnered the Booker Prize for author Ondaatje. The poet and novelist has also written In the Skin of a Lion, Coming Through Slaughter and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid; two collections of poems, The Cinnamon Peeler and There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do; and a memoir, Running in the Family.

Damita Jo

$10.99

On her eighth studio album, Damita Jo--the title lifted from her middle name--Janet Jackson teams up with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis once again on what is perhaps the most feverish album in her two decade long career. Whether she's taking the listener on a torrid excursion in the four song island suite, or boasting of her sexual prowess on "Sexhibition's" word games lyrics, where she tells fans "relax, it's just sex," the singer tries hard--maybe too hard--to establish herself as a sexual avatar with portfolio. But in "Strawberry Bounce," she seems more like a pole dancer in stilettos than a social revolutionary, as she catalogs the way she plans to make her inamorato lose control, and she just sounds silly on "Moist," which extols the female orgasm. Instead, the best moments on the album are when Jackson comes off as saucy and winsome instead of a heavy breather, like on the down-tempo "Thinkin' Bout My Ex," her collaboration with Babyface, which seems lifted right out of her autobiography, and on the athletic Prince clone "Just A Little While." The title track is Jackson's own version of J-Lo's "Jenny On the Block," and she sounds just as insincere as Lopez when she tried to convince us that she was just an ordinary neighborhood diva. Instead, Janet’s much more persuasive when she joins up with hip-hop savant Kanye West on "My Baby," pairing her breathy, little girl vocals to his sharp, focused rap. Then and only then does Damita Jo sound like love can actually trump sex. --Jaan Uhelszki

NBA Dynasty Series - Chicago Bulls - The 1990s

$44.99

Over the course of 15 hours on four double-sided DVDs, Chicago Bulls: The 1990s documents the Bulls' incredible run of six NBA championships in eight years led by the game's greatest-ever player, Michael Jordan. Like the earlier DVD release Ultimate Jordan, it collects a number of programs originally released on VHS, in this case the yearly highlight videos that summarized each of the six championship seasons, plus a five-minute introduction that covers the franchise starting in the 1960s and ending with its drafting of Jordan.

Where the NBA Dynasty series (the other initial entry is the slightly meatier Los Angeles Lakers: The Complete History) outdoes Ultimate Jordan is in the six playoff games--one for each year--as they were originally broadcast, minus halftime and commercials. Having the nearly complete game (usually running 90-100 minutes, from the TV introductions to post-game interviews) means you can skip straight to John Paxson's clutch basket or what was expected to be the final shot of Jordan's career. Or you can savor each game in its entirety, all the better to appreciate the artistry of Jordan in his three-pointer barrage against Portland or his "flu game" against Utah. You can see other great players too, of course, including Jordan's teammates--Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman--and those opponents unfortunate enough to face the Bulls--Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Karl Malone, and others. Because these are all NBA Finals games, you won't see Jordan's shot over Craig Ehlo or his 63-point coming-out party against Boston, but the 1990s Chicago Bulls were a team for the ages, and merely having their games--some of them all-time classics--available for home viewing is a major milestone in archived sports. --David Horiuchi

NBA - 100 Greatest Plays

$11.99

Perhaps more than any other sport, basketball is a star-driven event: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O'Neal--the list could go on and on. But it's not necessarily these athletes' overall careers that we remember as much as the breathtaking individual plays these illustrious men have given us. Is it possible to break down a hundred of these greatest moments in NBA history? The NBA's 100 Greatest Plays certainly tries.

While last-minute heroics tend to be the standard by which we define excellence, there are many other moments that have left an indelible impression, many of them highlighted here. The video clips fall into 10 categories: Dunks, Alley-oops, Assists, Steals, Blocks, Teamwork, the Clutch Shot, Moves, Hustle, and Buzzer-Beaters. At the beginning of each section is a brief introduction. Before showing the top 10 dunks of all time, for example, we learn about the evolution of the dunk--from the first slam to the man who could fly, Michael Jordan--and we hear background commentary from NBA legends such as Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Dr. J, and Bill Russell. This video recalls familiar moments of NBA lore that you will want to own for countless repeat viewings. --Jeremy Storey

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