Movie Night with Dave & Stinky: THE ANGRY RED PLANET (1959)

DOUBLE INDEMNITY and the High Cost of Living

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)

Starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson. Directed by Billy Wilder. (107 min)

Essay by D.M. ANDERSON💀

Though fairly late to the party, I love classic film noir. There’s something inherently fascinating about shady characters living on the fringes of society who aren’t likely to die of old age, largely due to their own misguided life choices. In the hands of the right director, it’s a world you never want to leave.

Great film noir is dark and unpredictable, with stories that generally preclude a happy ending and characters who, despite being morally questionable at best, we’re completely invested in. Narratives are seldom simply good vs. evil. It’s often bad guys vs. worse guys, or more intriguingly, a basically decent fellow coerced into making monumentally terrible decisions…usually for the sake of a woman who doesn’t have his best interests in mind.

If I had to pick a favorite, it would be 1944’s Double Indemnity, which brilliantly sums-up everything great about film noir with the line, “I killed him for the money…and a woman. And I didn’t get the money and I didn’t get the woman.”

The events leading up to that confession unfold in flashback. Cynical insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) swings by the swanky L.A. home of a client, Mr. Dietrichson, to renew his car insurance. Instead, he’s immediately twitterpated by the man’s sultry wife, Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck), who none-to-subtly inquires about taking out an accident insurance policy on her husband. Phyllis practically oozes sexuality the second she first appears at the top of the stairs, so it doesn’t take much effort for her to talk Walter into killing Mr. Dietrichson to collect on the policy.

Walter meticulously plans the entire crime, which involves killing Dietrichson, then later boarding a train disguised as him. Meanwhile, Phyliis drives to a specified point on the train’s route with the body in her trunk. Walter jumps from the train and the two put the body on the tracks to make it look like an accident. It seemingly goes off without a hitch and is assumed to be a suicide. However, Walter’s boss, claims adjuster Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), ain’t buying it. He suspects murder, but has no actual proof. Meanwhile, Dietrichson’s daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), tells Walter she’s convinced Phyllis is behind it all. She also reveals Phyllis was the nurse of Dietrichson’s first wife, who also died under suspicious circumstances. Though he talks her out of going to the police, Walter realizes he can no longer trust Phyllis and now fears for Lola’s life.

"I remembered the coupons this time."

The premise is classic noir, stylishly directed by Billy Wilder, who co-wrote it with none other than Raymond Chandler (adapting James M. Cain’s novel). But what really makes it pop are the performances, which were sort of a revelation when I first watched the film. I grew up on MacMurray as a Disney dad and inventor of Flubber, as well as the wholesome family man in My Three Sons. Who knew he had it in him to convincingly play a conniving killer? Then there’s Stanwyck, the matriarch of The Big Valley, as one of the most smoking hot femme fatales in film noir history. It turns out she's great at being a bad girl.

Whenever I watch Double Indemnity, I almost always see something I never paid much attention to before, like the inherent sexiness of anklets, or that Edward G. Robinson can be damn funny when given the opportunity. Aided by witty dialogue, Robinson is often hilarious - the closest thing the film has to comic relief - delivering such deceptively clever throwaway lines that you might not catch them the first time.

But as much as I love its timeless story and themes, I recently noticed an aspect of Double Indemnity that's monumentally depressing, especially now that I have a mortgage…

Early in the film, Walter is pulling into Mr. Dietrichson’s driveway, his house located in the hills overlooking Los Angeles. In classic noir fashion, MacMurray’s character provides voiceover narration, setting up the scenario. That’s when he lays this sad little tidbit on us: “It was one of those California Spanish houses everyone was nuts about 10 or 15 years ago. This one must have cost somebody about thirty-thousand bucks…that is, if he ever finished paying for it.”

Thirty-thousand bucks.

$30,000 for a huge Spanish-style villa - practically a mansion - located in the Hollywood Hills (some of California’s most expensive property). The house is still there today, and after doing a bit of checking, I learned that it’s 3,077 square feet and is currently listed by Zillow at over $2 million. One might naturally assume the exorbitant price is because the place could be considered a famous landmark. However, $2 million is actually on the low end of property values in that area.

The $30,000 Double Indemnity house...now and then. Yours for only $2 million.

Thirty-thousand bucks. Granted, 1944 was almost eighty years ago, but it still means the house’s value has increased 6666% since. In that same time span, the average cost of a gallon of gas was twenty cents and has since gone up 1904%. The average cost of a new car was around $800. According to Kelly Blue Book, it’s now $49,000, an increase of 6129%. 

Not all cars, of course. I used to collect Hot Wheels cars when I was a kid. They only cost a buck back then, so convincing Mom to let me throw one in the shopping cart was fairly easy.

Do you know how much Hot Wheels go for these days? Still a BUCK! Ironically, they’re more expensive at Dollar Tree than anywhere else because everything in that store is now $1.25. Even after all these years, Hot Wheels remain among the biggest selling toys in the world…probably because they’re still a fucking dollar. So I guess inflation hasn't affected everything. If so inclined, I could buy 30,000 of 'em for the mere price of a 1944 Spanish villa.

But I digress. Hot Wheels notwithstanding, I understand things ain’t the way they used to be and won't unleash my inner Boomer by ranting about how cheap everything was back in the day. Still, sometimes old movies are a sobering reminder of just how expensive everything’s gotten. You can find another sad example in the 1968 film, Yours, Mine & Ours, in which a widowed man (Henry Fonda) with 10 kids marries a woman (Lucille Ball) with eight of her own. One particularly depressing scene has them buying the weekly groceries and loading up four carts, which comes to a grand total of $123…for 20 people. To put that in perspective, there are four people in my household - five if you include the cat - and we’re lucky to get away with spending less than $200 a week at our local WinCo. Probably the cat’s fault.

As a more recent example, there’s an early scene in 1988’s Die Hard where Sgt. Powell pulls into an AM/PM. The price for a gallon of regular gas is seventy-four cents. I saw the movie in a theater when it was first released, and distinctly remember nudging my wife and commenting on how expensive L.A. gas prices were. Today, seventy-four cents might get half my lawn mowed.

When gas was still cheaper than Twinkies.

Getting back to Double Indemnity…Walter is willing to commit murder for $100,000, the value of the insurance policy Phyllis took out on Mr. Dietirchson, and obviously a shitload of money back then, enough to buy three Spanish villas and a half-dozen cars. Not that I’ve ever considered it, but I don’t think that amount (which would barely pay off my school loans) is murderworthy anymore. I might punch my brother-in-law for that much, and God knows he has it coming. However, if I’m gonna be persuaded to risk my freedom for money, it would take more than a hundred grand and Barbara Stanwyck wearing a sexy anklet…maybe ten million bucks and Ann-Margret wearing a sexy anklet…

…and Super Bowl tickets.  

For me, movies will always be the ultimate escape. Film noir, in particular, allows us a voyeuristic glimpse at society’s seedy underbelly from the relative safety of our homes (or a theater, if you ever get a chance). Double Indemnity is arguably the greatest film noir ever made, with unforgettable characters and a timeless story. Only the high cost of living really dates it, and unfortunately, sometimes classics like this end up being an unwelcome reminder of that reality.

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER: Very Pretty, Very Long

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER (Digital Review)

2022 / 193 min

FROM 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😼

If I were a betting man, I’d never have wagered on Avatar: The Way of Water being another gazillion-dollar juggernaut, to say nothing of getting another Oscar nomination for Best Picture…which, like the original 2009 film, it did not deserve. 

Not that it’s a bad film or anything. But it had been 13 years since Avatar knocked everyone’s socks off in theaters with its groundbreaking visuals and, for once, justifiable use of 3D. I was initially blown away, too, but unlike James Cameron’s other films (of which I’m a big fan) never gave the film another thought after leaving the theater. In fact, when I later tried watching it at home, I had forgotten most of the plot and eventually fell asleep. Ultimately, Avatar was more of a virtual theme park ride than a movie and far less engaging at home.

Despite Cameron’s endless self-confidence in his own world-building abilities and the blank check handed to him for Avatar: The Way of Water, original storytelling and complex characters were never among the director’s strengths. That the new film would be another visual wonder was never in doubt, but I’ve been on this ride before and didn’t feel particularly compelled to revisit Pandora in a theater. Just as the current slate of MCU movies no longer wow audiences like they did when the iron was hot, I assumed the general consensus meeting this one would be “been there, done that,” especially in this post-COVID era when theater attendance is down everywhere. 

I was wrong about that, of course. Apparently, more of the same is exactly what people wanted.

"I thought you were bringing the weenies."

But having finally seen it at home, my overall assessment of Avatar: The Way of Water is similar to that of the original: Pretty to look at, with impeccable special effects and first-rate action (especially the climax), but waaaay too long when you consider the derivative plot and - Stephen Lang as Miles Quaritch notwithstanding - lack of interesting characters. Adding a batch of rebellious teenagers to the mix - Sully & Neytiri’s new family - only serves to pad the running time, with a great deal of the meandering middle act focusing on them. Cameron does introduce a new Pandora clan who, as water dwellers, are different from the blue Na’vi, but other than creating a gorgeous new setting for them - alongside beautifully-rendered sea creatures - they’re given little to do but provide exposition and fight alongside Sully.

Only Lang manages to transcend the inherent limitations of motion capture to deliver a memorably vicious (and often amusing) performance. Despite much of the original cast returning for this one, their roles could have been played by anybody. Storywise, The Way of Water never pushes the envelope - the primary plot being Quaritch’s Ahab-like obsession with destroying Sully - but in typical Cameron fashion, the film is driven more by aesthetics than narrative complexity. 

And in that respect, I suppose it works well enough. Though undoubtedly jawdropping in theaters, the visual impact of Avatar: The Way of Water is severely diminished at home (even in HD), which tends to exacerbate its aforementioned shortcomings. But like the original, the film’s technical aspects and exciting action sequences are probably enough to make it worth enduring the bloated length (at least once, anyway).

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - “Acting Underwater for Avatar: The Way of Water”; “Building the World of Pandora”; “Capturing Pandora”; “The Undersea World of Pandora”; “The Challenges of Pandora’s Waters”; “Pandora’s Returning Characters”; “Pandora’s Next Generation”; “Spider’s Web”; “Becoming Na’vi”; “The Reef People of Pandora”; “Bringing Pandora to Life”; “The RDA Returns to Pandora”; “The New Characters of Pandora”; “The Sounds of Pandora”; “New Zealand: Pandora’s Home.”

“MORE FROM PANDORA’S BOX” - Casting (screen tests); stunts; “The Lab”; “The Troupe.”

2 TRAILERS

MUSIC VIDEO

CALAMITY OF SNAKES: Reptilian Snuff

CALAMITY OF SNAKES (Blu-ray)

1982 / 86 min

FROM UNEARTHED FILMS

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

“A percentage of all profits from CALAMITY OF SNAKES in all formats will be donated to Save the Snakes in continuation of their mission to protect snake populations around the world.”

Some things you just can’t unsee…

I generally love horror movies where nature strikes back, even a lot of the bad ones. There’s always been something supremely enjoyable in watching killer critters wreak havoc on a hapless cast lining up to be clawed, bitten and devoured. However, Calamity of Snakes was more than I bargained for. It’s essentially a reptile snuff film.

Throughout its running time, literally hundreds of real snakes are killed on-screen in just about every violent, cruel and agonizing way you can imagine. These sequences are voyeuristically shot, unsettling and seem to go on forever. In fact, there’s so much snake slaughter that this disc offers a “cruelty free” version, which runs a full ten minutes shorter. I even considered reviewing the film with that version, but then I wouldn’t really be doing my job, would I?

At any rate, these scenes pretty much sucked all the fun out of the movie for me. Which is too bad, because elsewhere, Calamity of Snakes is the kind of nature-run-amok flick that has the potential to be terrific entertainment by virtue of its sheer goofiness. The story sees a greedy building developer ordering his crew to kill a big batch of snakes blocking the construction of his newest highrise. But he apparently doesn’t get ‘em all, because after the building is completed, thousands more snakes - including a few giant pythons - burst from the ground to get revenge, attacking the residents.

*BUUUURRRRRP!*

The silly premise is compounded by histrionic performances, daffy dialogue, slapstick humor and attack scenes that feature snakes literally flying at their victims (obviously being thrown at the actors…sometimes in bunches). But despite the comic tone of the story, I couldn’t get past the violence inflicted on these animals for the sake of entertainment, and found myself wishing I’d chosen the “cruelty free” version after all.

But apparently, killing critters was an acceptable part of Hong Hong horror cinema back when this was made, which is discussed at-length - and often defended - in a documentary that comes with the disc. One interviewee even pretentiously suggests that modern viewers offended by on-screen animal killing are culturally ignorant…even racist. Contextualize it all you want, buddy…it doesn’t make this stuff any easier to watch. 

Still, I’m sure there are plenty of thrill seekers who'll indeed find the wonton snake slaughter very enjoyable. For everyone else, you’ve been warned.

EXTRA KIBBLES

“FROM SHAW TO SNAKES: THE VENOM AND VIOLENCE OF EARLY CHINESE LANGUAGE HORROR CINEMA” - The best of the bonus features, this includes interviews with various film historians, though I could do without some of them mansplaninig why I shouldn’t be offended by filmmakers killing animals.

“REPTILIAN RECOLLECTION” - Lin Kuang-Yung interviews actor Chui-Yi Chung.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Nathan Hamilton and Brad Slaton.

ALTERNATE VERSION

ALTERNATE CREDITS

“CRUELTY FREE” VERSION - All the real snake carnage removed.

ENGLISH DUB OPTION

GALLERY

THE POOP SCOOP: Guilty Pleasures Edition

🚛MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE arrives May 30 as a Blu-ray + Digital SteelBook from Lionsgate.

Written and directed by legendary horror author Stephen King, Maximum Overdrive arrives as a Blu-ray + Digital SteelBook available May 30 from Lionsgate. With music from iconic rock band AC/DC, this release marks the first time this film will be available as a collectible SteelBook. Get ready for the ultimate battle of man vs. bloodthirsty machine in this terrifying Stephen King classic! For three horrifying days, the Earth passes through the tail of a mysterious comet. The skies glow an eerie green as humanity waits to see what the fallout will be. But what they imagine is nothing like the nightmare they find — the comet’s magnetic fields cause all the machines on Earth to suddenly come to life and terrorize their human creators in a horrific killing spree. Now, it’s up to a small group of people trapped in a desolate truck stop to defeat the killer machines — or be killed by them!

😺CREED III Coming to 4K, Blu-ray and DVD May 23 from Warner Bros.

Michael B. Jordan’s box office record-breaking directorial debut Creed III, from Metro-Goldwyn Mayer will be released on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on May 23. Directed by Jordan, from a screenplay by Keegan Coogler and Zach Baylin, the film recently set a franchise record and scored the biggest domestic box office opening for a sports film in history.  The film is produced by Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Elizabeth Raposo, Jonathan Glickman and Sylvester Stallone. Creed III stars Michael B. Jordan (“Just Mercy”, “Black Panther”), Tessa Thompson (“Thor: Love and Thunder”, TV’s “Westworld”), Jonathan Majors (“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”, “Devotion”), Wood Harris (TV’s “Winning Time”), Mila Davis-Kent, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad. Synopsis: After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian – a fighter who has nothing to lose.

🐻COCAINE BEAR arrives on Blu-ray and DVD July 1 from Universal.

Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood. Cocaine Bear stars Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson, Jr., Christian Convery-Jennings, Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Brooklynn Prince , Isiah Whitlock Jr., Kristofer Hivju, Hannah Hoekstra and Aaron Holliday, with Emmy winner Margo Martindale and the late, great Ray Liotta. Directed by Elizabeth Banks from a screenplay by Jimmy Warden, Cocaine Bear is produced by Oscar winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman for Brownstone Productions, Brian Duffield for Jurassic Party Productions and Aditya Sood for Lord Miller. The film is executive produced by Robin Mulcahy Fisichella, Alison Small and Nikki Baida.

😺CRANK returns May 23 as a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital SteelBook from Lionsgate.

The crime thriller Crank returns as Best Buy will exclusively offer a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital SteelBook release available everywhere on May 23 from Lionsgate. Crank will be available in a SteelBook exclusively at Best Buy. There are a thousand ways to raise your adrenaline, and today hit man Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) will need every one! He has one hour to settle the score and say goodbye to his girl and go out with a little style. The only question is, will he stay alive long enough to see it happen?

THE NEXT GENERATION Upgraded

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 4-MOVIE COLLECTION (4K UHD)

1994-2002 / 445 min (4 movies)

FROM PARAMOUNT

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😺

Following last year’s 4K boxed set of the six Star Trek films with the original cast comes the inevitable upgrade for the Next Generation movies. Similarly, each of these films feature impressive new scans for a picture that is an overall improvement on the previously released Blu-rays, with sound quality that’s more-or-less on par with what we’ve heard before (meaning they still sound pretty great). 

This set doesn’t include any new supplementary material, but in true Star Trek fashion, each accompanying Blu-ray is loaded with a comprehensive selection of fan-friendly features carried over from other releases. At this point, it’s hard to imagine there’s much left to discover about these films that hasn’t already been well-documented. Adding anything more would probably be superfluous. 

As for the movies themselves, they run the gamut in terms of quality…

The first, Star Trek: Generations, is a narratively shaky but still entertaining transition to the big screen for the TNG cast. While the story itself doesn’t bear a whole lot of scrutiny and the much-ballyhooed union of Captains Kirk and Picard is fairly gratuitous (as is the former’s underwhelming sendoff), the film does continue the growing tradition of destroying the Enterprise in spectacular fashion. Despite some dated special effects - exacerbated by the 4K transfer - it remains the best sequence in the entire film. Data’s newly-installed emotion chip is also good for some genuine laughs.

Star Trek: First Contact is not only the best TNG film, it arguably ranks among the best entries in the entire Trek franchise. More focused, action-oriented and undeniably darker (though still sometimes quite funny), this one features the series’ most creatively malevolent antagonists - the Borg - marvelously personified by Alice Krige, who brings a weird touch of sexuality to the Borg queen. Like The Wrath of Khan, it tells a compelling story that draws inspiration from past episodes from the series.

"Maybe you should try turning it off and then on again."

If First Contact is TNG’s Wrath of Khan, then Star Trek: Insurrection is definitely its Final Frontier. The worst film by far, it suffers from a weak story, dull villain, cringe-worthy “cuteness” and comparatively low-wattage action. In fact, Insurrection often plays like a TV episode that didn’t make it past the script stage. Even the cast doesn’t appear to be all that enthused. 

Godawful wedding sequence notwithstanding, Star Trek: Nemesis is a wonderful return-to-form and much better than its maligned reputation suggests. The plot features a coup within the Romulan government led by Shinzon (a very young Tom Hardy), whose tragic history reveals a surprising connection (and obsession) with Picard, fueling his desire to annihilate the Federation with a deadly new super-weapon. This one also features the best action and special effects since First Contact, with the Enterprise once-again being gloriously sacrificed. Unfortunately, Nemesis severely underperformed at the box office, ringing the death knell for the TNG franchise.

Nicely packaged in a sturdy case and box with decent artwork, this 8-disc set is a solid technical upgrade for Trek fans, especially those who want to grab all the films in 4K at one time. Though this fan can’t imagine being compelled to revisit Insurrection again, at least it’s here should I ever change my mind. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES (all movies)

LIBRARY COMPUTER MODE (all movies) - Option to watch first film while accessing various bits of trivia, facts and glossary. 

STAR TREK: GENERATIONS

PRODUCTION FEATURETTES - “Uniting Two Legends”; “Stellar Cartography: Creating the Illusion”; “Strange New Worlds: The Valley of Fire”; “Scoring Trek.”

FX FEATURETTES - “Inside ILM: Models & Miniatures”; “Crashing the Enterprise.”

SCENE DECONSTRUCTION FEATURETTES - “Main Title Sequence”; “The Nexus Ribbon”; “Saucer Crash Sequence.”

“THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE” - “A Tribute to Matt Jeffries”; “The Enterprise Lineage”; “Captain Picard’s Family Album”; “Creating 24th Century Weapons”; “Stellar Cartography on Earth”; “Brent Spiner: Data and Beyond Part One”; “Roundtable: Generations”; “Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 007: Trilithium.”

3 COMMENTARIES - 1) Audio commentary by director David Carson & Manny Coto; 2) audio commentary by Brannon Braga & Ronald D. Moore; 3) Text commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda.

DELETED SCENES & ALTERNATE ENDING

STORYBOARDS & PRODUCTION GALLERY

2 TRAILERS

STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT

PRODUCTION FEATURETTES - “Making First Contact”; “The Art of First Contact”; “The Story”; “The Missile Silo”; The Deflector Dish”; “From ‘A’ to ‘E’”.

SCENE DECONSTRUCTION FEATURETTES - “Borg Queen Assembly”; “Borg Queen Demise”; “Escape Pod Launch.”

“THE BORG COLLECTIVE” - “Unimatrix One”; “The Queen”; “Design Matrix.”

“THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE” - “Jerry Goldsmith: A Tribute”; “The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane”; “First Contact: The Possibilities”; “Industrial Light & Magic: The Next Generation”; “Greetings from the International Space Station”; “SpaceShipOne’s Historic Flight”; “Brent Spiner: Data and Beyond Part Two”’; “Trek Roundtable: First Contact”; “Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 008: Temporal Vortex.”

4 COMMENTARIES - 1) Audio commentary by director Jonathan Frakes; 2) audio commentary by Brannon Braga & Ronald D. Moore; 3) Audio commentary by Damon Lindelof & Anthony Pascale; 4) Text commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda.

STORYBOARDS & PHOTO GALLERY

EASTER EGGS

3 TRAILERS

STAR TREK: INSURRECTION

PRODUCTION FEATURETTES - “It Takes a Village”; “Location, Location, Location”; “The Art of Insurrection”; “Anatomy of a Stunt”; “The Story”; “Making Star Trek: Insurrection”; “Director’s Notebook.”

“THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE” - “Westmore’s Aliens”; “Westmore’s Legacy”; “Star Trek’s Beautiful Alien Woman”; “Mirina Sirtis: The Counselor Is In”; “Brent Spiner: Data and Beyond Part Three”’; “Trek Roundtable: Insurrection”; “Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 008: The Origins of the Bak’U and Son’A Conflict.”

“CREATING THE ILLUSION” - “Shuttle Chase”; “Drones”; “Duck Blind.”

2 COMMENTARIES - 1) Audio commentary by director Jonathan Frakes & Mirina Sirtis; 2) Text commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda.

PROMOTIONAL FEATURETTE

DELETED SCENES & ALTERNATE ENDING

STORYBOARDS & PHOTO GALLERY

EASTER EGGS

3 TRAILERS

STAR TREK: NEMESIS

PRODUCTION FEATURETTES - “Nemesis Revisited”; “New Frontiers: Stuart Baird on Directing Nemesis”; “Storyboarding the Action”; “Red Alert! Shooting the Action of Nemesis”; “Build and Rebuild”; “Four-Wheeling in the Final Frontier”; “Screen Test: Shinzon.”

“THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE” - “A Star Trek Family’s Final Journey”; “ABold vision of the Final Frontier”; “The Enterprise-E”; “Reunion with the Rikers”; “Today’s Tech Tomorrow’s Data”; “Robot Hall of Fame”; “Brent Spiner: Data and Beyond Part Four”’; “Trek Roundtable: Menesis”; “Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 008: Thalaron Radiation.”

“THE ROMULAN EMPIRE” - “Romulan Lore”; “Shinzon and the Viceroy”; “Romulan Design”; “The Romulan Senate”; “The Scimitar.”

4 COMMENTARIES - 1) Audio commentary by director Stewart Baird; 2) audio commentary by producer Rick Berman; 3) Audio commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda; 4) Text commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda.

DELETED SCENES

STORYBOARD & GALLERIES

EASTER EGGS

3 TRAILERS