On DVD and Blu-ray: The Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:25:00 PST

Ethan Coen: "You know, it's our Tony Scott, Bourne Identity kind of movie."
Joel Coen: "Yeah, sort of."
Ethan: "Without the explosions."

By this time next year Coen Brothers Ethan and Joel will be celebrating their 25th year as independent filmmakers. They started with a stylish neo-noir epic and…

On DVD: White Dog (The Criterion Collection)

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:26:00 PST

One of cinema's most intense, compelling examinations of racism that you've never seen has finally come to DVD. Samuel Fuller's great 1982 film White Dog, withheld from release in the U.S. due to ignorant misunderstanding about its subject matter, has gotten the full Criterion Collection treatment, and it's a smart addition to their catalog. It's also a movie that you need to see.

In her only adult film role, Kristy McNichol plays Julie Sawyer, an actress who accidentally hits a white German…

Something New, Something Blu at The Criterion Collection

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:51:00 PST

There have been some big changes this month over at the home of The Criterion Collection, the prestige DVD company that's been every film buff's best friend since the days of Laserdiscs.

First, there's the new website. Along with the sleek new design, this "online cinematheque" now offers a "try before you buy" option with online versions of Criterion DVD and Blu-ray titles,

Catch Up With The Latest Award Nominees on DVD - Pt. 1: The Indies

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:24:00 PST

December can feel overwhelming for movie watchers with all the awards contenders flooding the arthouses -- if you're in New York and Los Angeles -- and multiplexes this holiday season. But it's always true, too, that films from earlier in the year manage to get notice from critics in the pre-Oscar-nomination territory. Here, I begin a two-part look at how you can catch up with those contenders that are already available on DVD and, in some cases, Blu-ray. Today: the indies. Up next: the studio…

Mom on Film: Mamma Mia! The Movie - I Cannot Resist You!

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:23:00 PST

When asked if I wanted to review the DVD release of Mamma Mia!: The Movie, I wavered. Laremy's review describing it as "clearly a terrible film," and Erin's, in which she professed to "really, truly enjoy (herself) at this movie" left me conflicted. Mamma Mia! What to do? I decided to go for it, and am I glad I did: Mamma Mia! -- released this week from Universal -- was loads of fun for my entire family.

For those unfamiliar with the storyline, allow me to give you a brief synopsis: Sophie (Am…

On DVD: Kidulthood Is a Harrowing Day in the Life of London Teens

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:19:00 PST

Before he was Mickey "the idiot" Smith on Doctor Who -- though not long before -- actor Noel Clarke wrote a script for a movie about how urban London teenagers really live. As Clarke explains in the making-of featurette on the DVD of the film (out now from Image Entertainment), Kidulthood was based partly on his own adolescence and partly on how much worse it seems to him things are, just a few years later, for the kids who came after him.

"I'd grown up in the area where the film is set," in…

On Blu-Ray: Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket (The Criterion Collection)

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:40:00 PST

It's probably essential to watch Bottle Rocket if you're going to get into serious Wes Anderson study. Of course, if you're that passionate about the man behind The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and Rushmore then you've probably already seen Bottle Rocket. Point you. But have you seen it on Blu-ray? Exactly.

The movie itself is a collection of the awkward and surreal -- combined with a hip soundtrack and crisp dialogue. The brothers Wilson, Luke

…

TV on DVD: Catch Up With Lost: The Complete Fourth Season - The Expanded Experience

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:36:00 PST

If there's a TV series better suited for DVD than Lost, I'm not sure I know what it is. And I don't just mean on the basis of individual episodes, and all the stuff that sneaks by in the background, things that might be clues as to what the hell the Dharma Initiative was up to, or what's going on with Jack's tattoos, or where those six numbers -- 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 -- might keep showing up. I mean on a full-season basis too, and even across seasons, because sometimes we don't even know the…

On DVD and Blu-ray: The Dark Knight

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:27:00 PST

An interesting little movie came out earlier this year. The Dark Knight. You might have heard of it. Today it's available on DVD and Blu-ray in various editions, including a pricey "Bat Pod Collectible Special Edition" that augments the Blu-ray disc with a hand-painted model of Bruce Wayne's latest ride. If you're a fan of the film (and there were quite a few), no matter which edition you choose, you're going to be satisfied. Not joking. No two-face about it.

It's no stretch to predict that…

On DVD and Blu-ray: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:58:00 PST

Hollywood has finally dared to remake what is probably the most revered science-fiction film of the Golden Era. Newly released in beautifully mastered DVD and Blu-ray editions, the original 1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still has gripping suspense courtesy of director Robert Wise and a riveting music score by Bernard Herrmann. Neither its excitement nor its pacifist message has diminished in the slightest. But is it still relevant today?

Screenwriter Edmund H. North used the sci-fi genre as…

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