The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

DVD $39.99 Amazon



Amazing special effects shine in this tale of a man (Brad Pitt) who ages backward through the 20th century. When he meets the woman with whom he wants to share his unusual journey (Cate Blanchett), he must deal with the fact that he’s destined to get younger as she gets older. Bonus features on this Blu-ray edition include commentary by Pitt and Blanchett, plus a documentary on the innovative makeup techniques and computerized wizardry that earned the movie three Academy Awards earlier this year.

—Neil Pond, American Profile





Escape From the Deep

By Alex Kershaw

Softcover, 270 pages ($15.95)Amazon



Now available in paperback, this true WWII story puts you inside the decorated U.S. submarine Tang, sent to the bottom of the sea by a its own misfired torpedo during a battle off the coast of Japan. Nine survivors miraculously escaped death in a watery tomb—only to face an even more harrowing ordeal at the hands of their angry enemy captors. A tale of courage, survival and heroism beyond what most of us can even imagine, it’s got the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. So read it now and be ready to tell everyone, “Oh, the movie was good—but the book was better!”

—Neil Pond, American Profile





Peyton Place—Part One

DVD ($39.99)Amazon



It seems quaint today by comparison, but when it first hit the airwaves back in 1964, “Peyton Place” was an instantly addictive twice-weekly rush of provocative spice—and a cornerstone of what would become a landmark series for ABC. See what all the fuss was about as Ryan O’Neal, Mia Farrow, Dorothy Malone and the rest of the cast bring the scandalous and sexy best-selling novel and its juicy characters to prime time in all 31 episodes of season one.

—Neil Pond, American Profile