Sylvester Stallone is here to obliterate the Burmese Army in Rambo, the brutal return of an 80's action icon. Bring an umbrella for all the bloodshed. Even more horrifying, the creators of Epic Movie and Date Movie have been financed again, back with the loathsome Meet the Spartans. Brendan Fraser and Sarah Michelle Gellar battle the mighty forces of fate in The Air I Breathe, a picture critic Jamie S. Rich calls, "yet another hearts-and-flowers affirmation of how the good will out." Also in theaters this week: a frequently soaked Diane Lane battles the internet in Untraceable, step-dancing boogies out again in the jovial How She Move, and Bono and the boys slip right into your arms in the glorious concert experience, U2 3D. Be sure to catch reviews of other recent Theatrical Films!

Some great TV shows have made their way onto DVD this week including:  Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition) - a gutsy show that successfully translates Charles Schulz' conflicted feelings about love and romance within the standard Peanuts TV special framework; A Tale of Two Cities - a sweeping saga of intrigue, retribution and ultimate redemption and salvation; Persuasion - wildly different in approach than the typical Jane Austen movie, this version is a fast-paced, nakedly emotional breath of fresh air.  Other shows include:  Hannah Montana - One in a Million, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch - The Third Season,  and Swamp Thing - The Series.  Want more?  Check out all of the TV on DVD reviews in the DVDTalk database.

This week the DVD Savant has a number of new reviews including: El Cid Limited Collector's Edition - It's Big, Colossal, Stupendous -- and good, too. Charlton Heston cleaves half of Spain with his broadsword with his best girl by his side. Umpteen zillion extras and a quivering Sophia Loren crowd the 70mm frame.; Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton: The Man in The Shadows - Kent Jones' feature documentary on the famous RKO producer is one of the best film bios ever; El Bruto (The Brute) - Luis Buñuel examines the class struggle in Mexico city, discovering that it's all about greed, sex and predatory landlords. Pedro Armendáriz and Katy Jurado are the illicit lovers trapped in a deadly triangle; Automatons - Robot wars of the future, rendered in a clever but visually limited micro-production that received glowing reviews; and No Regrets for Our Youth & I Live in Fear - Two powerful films in Eclipse's Postwar Kurosawa collection trace Akira Kurosawa's take on Japan's recent history of militarism, and his mid-fifties approach to the nuclear arms issue.; Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

George Peppard is Thomas Banacek. As Boston's leading freelance investigator, when a crime proves too difficult for insurance investigators to solve, Banacek is called on in this classic TV show from the early '70s. Season Two contains eight action-packed episodes that feature guest appearances by Dick Van Patten, Richard Jordan, Dick Gautier, Sue Ane Langdon, Linda Evans, Victoria Principal, Cesar Romero, Pat Harrington and more! Contains the 2 hour PILOT EPISODE Never Before Seen on DVD (View a Clip).

Another banner week for DVDs with the studios releasing some great films and boxed sets:  Torchwood - Season One [review] a spin-off from the new Doctor Who series that is recommended for genre fans; This Sporting Life - Criterion Collection [review] - a dazzling, smartly structured story of a footballer--played with primal fury by Richard Harris--trying to escape the drudgery of factory life, and Saw IV.  Other releases of note include:  Barney Miller: The Complete Second Season [review], Banacek - The Second Season [review],  Hawaii Five-O - The Third Season, The Game Plan, Moliere [review], and The Kingdom - Series Two. Be sure to check out our DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.

HD Talk continues to grow each week with new releases. Ian Jane takes a look at one of the most anticipated HD DVD releases, The Bourne Ultimatum [Review] and finds that this spy adventure is even more exciting than the last two. Daniel Hirshleifer and new reviewer Ryan Keefer both agree that Zodiac [Review/Review] is one of the best HD DVDs to come out lately, and worth your time. Ryan Keefer also gives a nod to The Rock [Review] on Blu-ray, saying, "the audio and video definitely are worth the upgrade." John Sinnott was even more impressed with Pan's Labyrinth [Review] on Blu-ray, awarding the disc with the coveted DVD Talk Collector Series label. John also went nuts for SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers: The Next [Review], calling it "easily the best thing that Bandai Visual has released in the US." And while Adam Tyner didn't think much of White Noise [Review] on HD DVD, he did feel that its sequel, White Noise 2 [Review] was a "a dramatic improvement in just about every conceivable way." And for you music fans, we've got coverage of Queen: Rock Montreal & Live Aid [Review/Review] on both formats. We've got all this and more in our reviews section. And don't forget to visit the HD Talk Forum to chat with us about all these great discs, and much more besides.

With over 20K DVD reviews in the DVD Talk Review Database, it's easy to overlook some of the great reviews. Recent DVD reviews include: When Harry Met Sally... - One of the best romantic comedies of the past 30 years, this film is a modern-day classic that just gets better with repeated viewings; El Cid - Two-Disc Deluxe Edition - one of the great film epics, this DVD gives the film the special treatment it deserves; Postwar Kurosawa - These five films represent an important segment of the filmography of one of cinema's greatest storytellers, they not only represent a decade of work in the Japanese auteur's life, but also his questioning of the Japanese identity following World War II; and Payday - one of the most effective, searing dramas of the 1970s, it's hard to call this movie a forgotten gem, because nobody saw it in the first place.; Other recent reviews include: Kaspar Hauser, The Sasquatch Gang, Miss Julie - The Criterion Collection, Moliere, and 42nd Street Forever Vol. 3: Exploitation Explosion.  Visit the DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week and the ability to browse reviews by studio.

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