The 2009 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival was held this past weekend in Durham North Carolina and DVDTalk Reviewer Chris Neilson was there to cover the event. With over 100 films screened in just four days, running from 10 AM till midnight, he had his work cut out. Read all about some of the stand-out documentaries including: Unmistaken Child, the story of a young Tibetan Buddhist monk charged with finding the reincarnation of his recently-deceased teacher; Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country which chronicles the efforts of Burmese citizen-journalists to document their regime's brutal repression of non-violent protests; and Sons of Cuba, a gripping chronicle of 12-year-old Havana boys training for the Olympics. Be sure to read DVDTalk's complete coverage of the 2009 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

Seth Rogen wades into Paul Blart waters with the particularly acidic mall cop comedy Observe and Report. Miley Cyrus attempts to conquer the big screen with her popular Disney Channel character in Hannah Montana: The Movie. And Goku, Bulma, and Master Roshi jump from the page to the screen in Dragonball Evolution. Also in theaters: A Canadian heavy metal band finally gets their due in the superb documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil. And disco suburban woes with Alec Baldwin and Emma Roberts are amplified in the drama Lymelife. Be sure to catch reviews of other recent Theatrical Films: Fast & Furious, Adventureland, C Me Dance, Alien Trespass, Monsters vs. Aliens, Sugar, Taken, The Haunting in Connecticut, Best Worst Movie, Knowing, I Love You, Man, and Watchmen. As always, we invite you to share your thoughts on films In Theaters in our Movie Talk Forum.

Some great TV shows have made their way onto DVD this week including:  The Invaders - The Second Season - a highly enjoyable, suspenseful, and generally intelligent and well-acted series; The Venture Bros.: Season Three [Blu-ray review]- another great year for an already great series, maybe its best yet; and One Foot in the Grave: Season 5 this British comedy is brilliantly funny and surreal, as well as touching and thoughtful at times. Other shows recently reviewed include:  Lost in Austen, The Founding of America Megaset, and TV on DVD reviews in the DVDTalk database.

The studios have announced some great shows and movies coming to DVD and Blu-ray including : Desperate Housewives: The Complete Fifth Season the dark comedy/drama returns for a fifth season this fall. It's scheduled to hit shelves on 9/1/09; Louis Malle's famous film about a dinner conversation gets the Criterion Treatment this June 23rd when My Dinner with Andre is released; and music fans will get to see one of the most famous concert events when Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music Director's Cut (40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition ) is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 6/9/09. Amazon will have exclusive versions of both format that include a bonus disc with "additional never-before-seen performance footage from Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Country Joe and the Fish plus three additional featurettes!" Keep track of all the upcoming DVDs with the DVDTalk Release List.

This week the DVD Savant has a number of new reviews including: Goldfinger [Blu-ray] - Savant takes this opportunity to go nuts over his favorite 007 adventure, the best of the Bonds, in its new 4k HD remaster. Heaven, with John Barry music; ll Generale Della Rovere - A powerful film from Roberto Rossellini. Vittorio De Sica is a con man who preys on his fellow Italians during the German occupation. Finally caught and exposed, the Germans force him to commit an even more heinous con -- posing as an Italian General to help entrap partisan patriots; and The Ghosts of Mars [Blu-ray] - John Carpenter's zombie siege movie looks great in Blu-ray, but can't escapes its own tired ideas. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

Another banner week for DVDs with the studios releasing some great films (and not so great remakes of great films) such as: The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) {1st DVD review, 2nd DVD review}- once the aura of the original wears off there will be more serious speculative fiction fans embracing this revamp than rejecting it; Doubt - an excellent film with a top-notch cast including Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams; and The Paper Chase: Season One [review]- surprisingly intelligent and warm, this show with a top notch ensemble cast comes with a very strong recommendation. Other releases of note include:  No Country For Old Men: Three-Disc Collector's Edition [review], Jim Carrey's latest Yes Man [DVD review, Blu-ray review], and The Tale of Despereaux [DVD review, Blu-ray review]. 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.

This week the DVD Talk Review Database has some great new entries, including some discs you may have overlooked. Recent DVD Reviews include: Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986 - the American Film Archives fourth collection focuses on experimental movies, the vast majority of which are engaging and even mesmerizing; The Loyal 47 Ronin (Chushingura) - an epic film that is very satisfying film and highly recommended; and Slumdog Millionaire [DVD review, Blu-ray review] - an arresting film that will have you glued to your seat for its whole two hour running time. Other recent reviews include: Il Generale Della Rovere - Criterion Collection, Special, and Stranded - I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains.  Visit the DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week

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