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Here’s a look at the latest DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases:
BLU-RAY DISC:
The Code (First Look)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (Disney)
Dragon Hunters (Peace Arch)
Inkheart (warner)
Last Year at Marienbad (Criterion)
Mr. Troop Mom (Warner)
Pink Panther 2 (MGM)
Waltz with Bashir (Sony)
DVD:
Bob Funk (Magnolia)
Catlow (Warner)
The Code (First Look)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (Disney)
Dragon Hunters (Peace Arch)
Inkheart (warner)
Last Year at Marienbad (Criterion)
Mr. Troop Mom (Warner)
My Dinner with Andre (Criterion)
Pink Panther 2 (MGM)
Phoebe in Wonderland (Image)
Table for Three (Anchor Bay)
Waltz with Bashir (Sony)
TV-on-DVD:
Reba: Season 6 (Fox)
Tom and Jerry: Chuck Jones Collection (Warner)
HIGHLIGHTS:
The Code – Two universal cinematic truths make this one worth at least a rental. First, Morgan Freeman can do no wrong. Second, there’s nothing like a twist-filled heist movie. The Code co-stars Antonio Banderas and the lovely Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black) while delivering an attractive high def presentation with albeit a minimal feature set.
Confessions of a Shopaholic – Talk about terrible timing. Is ANYONE spending gobs of money right now? Still, despite the nation-wide spending freeze and an impossibly-irresponsible central character (Wedding Crashers‘ Isla Fisher), Confessions does have its charms and that’s largely due to Fisher’s zestful turn as advice columnist/closet shopaholic, "The Girl in the Green Scarf." And like the rest of the colors in the film, that green scarf pops off the screen thanks to an excellent 1080p transfer. Extras are on the fluffy side, but you do at least get a Digital Copy plus a half dozen deleted scenes presented in HD.
Inkheart - Based on a popular series of young adult novels by Cornelia Funke, Inkheart is a great premise in search of a great movie. "Silvertongues" are humans with a unique gift – the ability to bring to life characters and events from the books they read aloud. As you can imagine, it’s an exciting and dangerous proposition. Unfortunately, the film version is saddled with Brendan Fraser in the lead role. I’m not sure how or why Fraser became synonymous with FX-laden, family-friendly adventure films but he brings absolutely nothing to the table here. A fine supporting cast (including Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis and Paul Bettany) help pick up the slack, but Inkheart definitely warrants a rental before you buy. Warner’s BD Live-enabled disc does offer a resptectable assortment of HD extras and you also get a Digital Copy on Disc Two.
Pink Panther 2 - Why, Steve, why? No, I’m not on a first-name basis with Mr. Steve Martin, but if I were, I’d simply ask him, "Why?" Peter Sellers is Inspector Clouseau. End of story. Moving beyond that incontrovertible fact, if you’re looking for slapstick shenanigans, mildly entertaining physical humor and a ridiculous moustache, look no further. In addition to a Digital Copy of the film, MGM also gives us 27 classic Pink Panther cartoons, which turns out to be an unexpected treat. The film looks and sounds great, but definitely rent first.
Greg’s Pick of the Week:
Waltz with Bashir (Blu-ray)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | Rated R | 90 mins | $39.98
Visually striking and emotionally engaging, Waltz with Bashir revolves around Ari Folman, a veteran of the Israeli Defense Force. Told with a documentary style and delivered using a unique brand of animation, Waltz with Bashir is a startlingly good film that is absolutely worth your time.
Blu-ray Disc is the perfect vessel for Sony’s Waltz with Bashir. Although the animation is purposefully choppy and disjointed at times, this 1080p presentation seems to perfectly capture the unique vision of the filmmaker. Audio is equally good with a dynamic Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack, available in either English or Hebrew.
Although the feature list isn’t long, it’s quality not quantity here. Folman’s commentary, Q&A session and a well-made making-of featurette are all worth perusing. In short, don’t miss this one.
EVALUATION SYSTEM:
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 projector
Carada Masquerade screen system (92")
Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-ray Disc player
Oppo DV-983H DVD player
Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V receiver
Noble Fidelity L-55 LCRS speakers
Datacolor SpyderTV PRO 2007 video calibration
Monster Power HTS5100 power center
BetterCables interconnects
UltraLink speaker wire
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