He was once the last son of Krypton. Some fragments of Superman's home planet remain, not the least of which is the reluctant heroine Supergirl, a cousin until recently he never knew he had. A fistful of crystals, assorted ...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=60752 Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:25:54 PDT Highly Recommended

The Movie:

Vitaphone, a company that Warner Brothers purchased in the1920's, wasn't only responsible for making the movies "talk" with thesound-on-disc system that they invented, but they were also the firsttorelease an all-talking feature in full color, 1929's Onwith the Show. As TheJazz Singer started a trend towardsfull-sound features a couple of years earlier, On with theShow had studios scrambling to release movies inglorious Technicolor. This early talkiedoes still survive, but unfortunately only as a black and white dupe (a10-second fragment of the film in color surfaced in 2005, but that'sall thatstill exists). Luckily the lack of colorhasn't stopped The Warner Archives from distributing the movi...Read the entire review

]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=60743 Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:52:51 PDT Recommended

The Movie:

Although I've never been a fan of sports (I would rather watch a test pattern on TV than any sporting event, and being in Sacramento I simply don't care whether the Kings stay or go), I usually find movies about sports entertaining. I can't quite explain it myself, but it could be that I find enough interesting elements outside of the featured sport, or maybe in the movie world I can get caught up in the excitement in a way that I can't in the sporting world- usually sports movies have the game-playing scenes punctuated with energetic music, quick cutting and crowd noise that you don't hear in real life. Whatever the reason, Thunderstruck caught my attention enough to check out, and sure enough I enjoyed it.

Our hero is 16-year-old Brian (Taylor Gray),...Read the entire review

]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=60732 Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:30:52 PDT Recommended

THE FILM:

Click an image to view Blu-ray screenshot with 1080p resolution.

Despite its all-star cast, shoot-'em-up action, and Hollywood noir trappings, Gangster Squad is a largely forgettable - if entertaining - motion picture. Set in Los Angeles right after World War II, Gangster Squad follows the lawmen who dared to fight organized crime, led by gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn, acting up raging storm), and keep the mob out of L.A. Josh Brolin leads the Gangster Squad as Sgt. John O'Mara and is joined by Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) and officers played...Read the entire review

]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=60422 Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:12:51 PDT Rent It

The Movie:

When one takes a cops vs. gangsters genre film and sets it in the post-World War II era, it seems that the resulting list of those films which have succeeded with viewers and critics are remarkably short. There's L.A. Confidential and...that's it? Other films have borne out to be more fascinated with the dialogue and the clothes than an actual story, and almost all of the films have included a talented if not supremely recognizable ensemble no matter the circumstance. With Gangster Squad, Warner Brothers gives us the latest attempt into this hallowed ground.

Will Beall Castle wrote a screenplay based on the Paul Lieberman book, and Ruben Fleischer 30...Read the entire review

]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=58091 Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:08:30 PDT Recommended

The Show:

While I was peripherally familiar with the TNT show Men of a Certain Age, I (and most everyone else) was familiar with the work of its three stars. The dramatic work featured Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap), Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Street) and in a twist, Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) as the aforementioned men. The show's first season was aired to rave reviews and award nominations, yet its rapid decline in viewership led to its 2011 cancellation days after its second s...Read the entire review

]]> Theatrical http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=60713 Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:05:59 PDT Recommended

When it comes to making a film about sports, it can go one of two ways. The narrative could either focus on the game, or it could simply use the sport as a backdrop for a deeper story. Depending upon which path a filmmaker wishes to embark on, the target audience might be a little bit different. I don't usually find myself enthralled by all-out sports flicks, but 42 explores a lot more than the game of baseball. It follows a true legend, who will always be seen as being much bigger than a bat-and-ball player. His strength changed countless people around the world. Writer/director Brian Helgeland's approach might be found to be slightly corny at times, but it ultimately gives justice to the man behind the number that will never be forgotten in the world of baseball. Read the entire review

]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=59917 Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:29:35 PDT Rent It

[click on the thumbnail to enlarge]

40 minutes isn't a lot of time to explore a documentary subject, but most fans of IMAX are just in it for the eye candy. To The Arctic is no different than most of these super-sized productions, serving up a crystal-clear view of a climate that most audiences wouldn't ever dream of traveling to (heck, most of us Northerners are angry because it snowed yesterday). At its core, To The Arctic is a fuzzy-wuzzy tale of three polar bears---a mother and her twin cubs---and their struggle for survival against predators and the harsh, snowy lands...Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=60043 Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:32:33 PDT Recommended The Movie: Written and directed by the Coen Brothers shortly before they'd go on to mass critical acclaim with 1996's Fargo, 1994's The Hudsucker Proxy is an amusing parable about the pitfalls of greed set in the New York City of old, the Manhattan of the 1950's, a very different time for the city. The story begins when a man named Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning), the man in charge of the massive powerhouse of industry that is Hudsucker Industries takes his own life. This leaves Sidney Mussberger (Paul Newman) and everyone else on the board of directors in a bit of a bind but they soon see a devious way to profit from Waring's demise. Their scheme? To hire a buffoon to replace Waring, the theory being that they'll bring in someone so completely incompetent that the company's stock will surely tumble, allowing them to buy up as much of it as they want at ridiculously low...Read the entire review ]]> Theatrical http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=60011 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:58:14 PDT Rent It In the world of Las Vegas shows and magical illusions, Burt Wonderstone has becomes famous for performing the same exhibit day after day. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is very similar to the man's show itself, as they're both filled to the brim with gimmicks. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially given the film's silly tone. Despite the fact that Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, and Jim Carrey will draw the viewers' attention, it doesn't mean anything if the script isn't up to par. While the initial story concept has potential, it heads down the same forgettable road that countless others have. This screenplay doesn't do nearly enough to pull itself across the finish line. While there are some laugh-out-loud moments, they are far and few apart. T...Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=58067 Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:09:50 PDT Skip It THE FILM: Thunderstruck at first glance seems to have all the pieces necessary to make a successful family film. Down-and-out boy acquires mad basketball skills from NBA baller Kevin Durant. Boy gets the girl, gets cocky, loses the girl, and finds redemption. And what the hell is Jim Belushi doing in this? It's too bad Thunderstruck is so damn boring. Sure, it's completely innocuous and might teach your kids the value of humility and hard work, but there's not a bit of edge or excitement to be found. To say that Durant is the "star" is also a joke, as his performance is little more than an extended cameo. At a scant 94 minutes, Thunderstruck is slow going. Sixteen-year-old Brian (Taylor Gray) is stuck being the ball boy s...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=59392 Wed, 06 Mar 2013 04:41:38 PST Rent It THE MOVIE: I was a little wary of The Factory, a direct-to-video serial killer thriller starring John Cusack. Sure, the presence of Cusack gave me hope but then there was that whole 'direct to video serial killer thriller' aspect that could have gone either way. Having seen it, I can confirm that writer/director Morgan O'Neill's movie is a lot better than I expected while still falling short of being something that I could whole-heartedly recommend to a fan of the genre. Cusack plays Mike Fletcher, a weary cop who has been on the trail of a potential serial killer with little success. I say potential because none of the victims have ever been found, dead or alive. For three years, prostitutes have been snatched off the streets of Buffalo, N.Y. never to be heard from again. In the absence of any well-wishers, the only people who truly remember them are Cusack and his p...Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=58660 Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:02:20 PST Highly Recommended Irving Berlin's EasterParade is one of the greatest film musicals. The film stars JudyGarland,Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford, and Ann Miller and each performer bringssome oftheir greatest work to this "parade" of shows, featuring Academy Awardwinningmusic through adapted music score arranged by Johnny Green and RogerEdens. Easter Parade is one of the mostravishing and delightful experiences in musicals w...Read the entire review ]]> Theatrical http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=59975 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:08:21 PST Rent It When you think about it, it's kind of funny that traveling the middle of the road has become the clich for the "safe" option. Because if you're in your car and you position yourself to take a straight line down the center of the highway, a terrible crash is sure to come. While Jack the Giant Slayer, the latest from X-Men and Usual Suspects-director Bryan Singer, doesn't exactly turn into the cinematic equivalent of a multi-car pile-up, it does suffer from trying too hard to be centrist, to maintain a position between two different things, and ends up not being as good as it should be for it. What Singer has come up with is a ...Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=58683 Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:58:58 PST Highly Recommended In 10 Words or Less Blue-ribbon comedy Reviewer's Bias* Loves: Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, most of the main cast, dogs Likes: Improv movies Dislikes: Hates: That it's been seven years since the last Guest movie The Movie It was late one night in college when Ricky Roxburgh changed my life. As we were hanging with friends in a dorm room, he produced a pair of VHS tapes I had never seen before. One was Clerks, which would introduce me to Kevin Smith, the writer/director I would grow to idolize as a fellow hockey-loving, Prince-enjoying chronicler of suburban life. The other, Waiting for Guffman, reconnected me with a longtime favorite, Christopher Guest, star of This is Spinal T...Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=58468 Fri, 22 Feb 2013 04:13:10 PST Recommended The third of three versions of the same basic story, the 1976 A Star Is Born, the one starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, was the highest grossing but least interesting of the three by far. I'd seen it for the first time on laserdisc about 20 years ago and didn't care for it then, but thought nevertheless I should give it another try, especially as I'd recently reviewed Blu-rays of the 1937 Janet Gaynor/Frederic March original and the 1954 Judy Garland/James Mason remake. But alas, no, the picture still just doesn't work at all. While it follows the same basic plot as the first two versions, especially during the third act, it subtly changes its two leads into unappealing and/or uninteresting people the audience has no reason to care about. One ar...Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=58954 Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:34:53 PST Recommended Released between 2009 and 2012, five animated adaptations of Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel's most celebrated books made their Blu-Ray debut courtesy of Warner Bros., who also did wonderful restoration work on Charles Schulz' beloved Peanuts animated shorts. Presented as either regular or deluxe editions, these five stand-alone releases have recently been collected in Hats Off to Dr. Seuss, a five-disc Blu-Ray set in slimmed-down packaging. For obvious reasons, the main content, A/V quality and extras are exactly the same, except without separate DVD copies th...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=59418 Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:59:12 PST Highly Recommended Whooooooaaaaa! Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. have released Regular Show: Party Pack 3 (although it doesn't say "3" anywhere on the packaging), a single-disc, 16-episode collection of Cartoon Network's hit cartoon (and my current favorite toon on television). A fairly good cross section of episodes from the series, most of Regular Show: Party Pack 3's toons will amuse...and the sight of Pops singing Footloose alone may be worth the price of admission here. No extras for these digitally perfect anamorphic transfers. The show's set-up is simple. 23-year-old, six-foot tall blue jay Mordecai (voice talent of J.G. Quintel), a former art school student, now works as a groundskeeper at a city park. His best friend, 23-year-old raccoon, Rigby...Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=59223 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:33:43 PST Highly Recommended *Click on all images for full 1080p screenshots. Regardless of personal taste, there's no denying the market is consistently flooded with an insufferable amount of crap. Every year, studios show off their shallow shells of CGI driven entertainment, and every year I find myself avoiding the sanctuary of my local movie house that much more. There's nothing wrong with poi...Read the entire review ]]> Theatrical http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=59952 Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:11:12 PST Rent It Warner Bros. is trying to appeal to a very specific demographic with Beautiful Creatures. Writer/director Richard LaGravenese's newest motion picture targeted teenage girls when deciding to adapt the novel to the big screen. While it will inevitably be compared to The Twilight Saga for its supernatural romance, this is a very different type of movie. The love shared between the lead characters is a crucial portion of the picture, but it's also a coming-of-age film. Beautiful Creatures will surely be well-received by teenage girls, and could perhaps entertain those who are willing to have an open mind. Even though I'm not part of the picture's target audience, it kept me relatively amused. Based on the novel by the same name, Beautiful CreaturesRead the entire review ]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=59951 Tue, 12 Feb 2013 01:48:21 PST Recommended Gossip Girlis a television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz andStephanieSavage (who worked together on The O.C.).Originally based upon a series of young adult novels from AmericannovelistCecily von Ziegesar, the show focuses in on the lives of young adultswho li...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=58476 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:35:03 PST Highly Recommended THE SHOWS: As I watched the first DVD collection of the second season of Young Justice, the DC Comics-based cartoon featuring the sidekicks to more famous superheroes, all I could keep thinking was, "Of course Cartoon Network cancelled this. How could they not? It's just too damn good. Of course it had to die. Why does everything I love go away?" Young Justice: Season Two, Part One--or, if you prefer, Young Justice: Invasion - Destiny Calling--gathers the first ten episodes of the 2012/2013 season on two discs. From the premiere and straight through the shows collected here, it's obvious that Season Two is already looking at Season One disappearing in its rearview mirrors. Though not quite a reset or reboot, Young Justice: Invasion ...Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=58475 Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:52:43 PST Highly Recommended THE FILM: Like any bit of iconography, the image -- a woman dressed in quasi-fetish fishnets and black bodice, adorned with heavy makeup and sporting a bowler hat as she prepares to spring into action and strut her stuff on the stage -- often seems taken out of context; it suggests something brassy and strutting, selling much too short the multifaceted, turbulent, exceptionally dark stuff of which Cabaret, the 1972 Bob Fosse film from which this fascinating, suggestive figure is taken, is made. But its appearances have never before been misleading to quite this extent: Those responsible for the packaging design of the new Blu-ray version of Cabaret are apparently bound and determined to evoke the neutered, Fosse-lite likes of Read the entire review ]]>