He finds a boat and sails to a distant land where fuzzy monsters are raising a rumpus in the forest. Since his wolf suit allows him to fit right in, he joins the fray, catching the eye of Carol (James Gandolfini, excellent), who notes, approvingly, "I like the way you destroy stuff. There's a spark to your work that can't be taught."

With that, they pronounce the diminutive creature king, hoping he can bring cohesion to their fractured family. After Max comes across Carol's scale-model town, he decides they should build a real one, but the project stalls as Alexander (Paul Dano) and Douglas (Chris Cooper) mope, Judith (Catherine O'Hara) browbeats Ira (Forest Whitaker), and Carol pines for K.W. (Lauren Ambrose), who prefers the company of owls Bob and Terry.

Max realizes he has to make a choice: stay with the wild things or return home, where he has to keep his aggressive impulses in check. For readers of Sendak's slim tome, his decision won't come as a surprise, but Jonze ends the story on a lovely grace note.

Until that time, the squabbling is a bit much--these monsters never stop talking--but Jonze, cowriter Dave Eggers, the Jim Henson Company, and singer/songwriter Karen O. have gone all-out to re-create the inner world of a child with as much empathy as was mustered for the inner adult world of Jonze's Being John Malkovich. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Platoon put writer-turned-director Oliver Stone on the Hollywood map; it is still his most acclaimed and effective film, probably because it is based on Stone's firsthand experience as an American soldier in Vietnam. Chris (Charlie Sheen) is an infantryman whose loyalty is tested by two superior officers: Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), a former hippie humanist who really cares about his men (this was a few years before he played Jesus in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ), and Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), a moody, macho soldier who may have gone over to the dark side.

The personalities of the two sergeants correspond to their combat drugs of choice--pot for Elias and booze for Barnes. Stone has become known for his sledgehammer visual style, but in this film it seems perfectly appropriate. His violent and disorienting images have a terrifying immediacy, a you-are-there quality that gives you a sense of how things may have felt to an infantryman in the jungles of Vietnam. Platoon won Oscars for best picture and director. --Jim Emerson

Of course, this isn't the only issue affecting the Strike Team... there's never only one thing, is there? Kavanaugh is recklessly trying to bring down the team, and has propelled himself into a one-way path of destruction, taking drastic measures to try to get Mackey locked up. Will it succeed, or what will stop him?

Claudette is running the barn, and with the Strike Team in shambles, a new guy is brought in who will eventually replace Vic, who is going to be forced to retire. But Vic leaving the police force... that won't happen without a fight.

The sixth season of The Shield on DVD is another classic, and when you're done with it you'll be ready to dive into the final season of the series. Whether you just want to re-watch everything for pure entertainment, or you've never seen them before, the Shield season 6 DVDs will be a fantastic addition to your personal collection.

There's somebody new that's gunning for Vic and the guys, this time it's Lt. Jon Kavanaugh, played by Forest Whitaker. But his passion for the job soon grows into obsession for catching his man, and Vic and Kavanaugh play a dangerous game of cat and mouse with one another. Things look like they are finally going to collapse on The Strike Team, and they are going to turn on one another in order to survive.

The season finale of season 5 is an absolute shocker! It's one of the episodes of a television series that you're always going to look back on and talk about. By the time you see what's coming... it's too late, not just for you watching, but for the characters acting it. At the end of The Shield season 5 DVDs there is no turning back, and the last two seasons of the show are set up and waiting to play out.