New Blu-ray Reviews

The Jayhawkers Blu-ray Movie  

Olive Films | 1959 | 100 min | Unrated | Apr 24, 2012 | Jeffrey Kauffman

In the maelstrom of Pre-Civil War Kansas, a government agent infiltrates the vigilante group called the Jayhawks.

Western

La Haine Blu-ray Movie  

Criterion | 1995 | 98 min | Not rated | May 08, 2012 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.

Crime / Drama / Foreign

Great Expectations Blu-ray Movie  

PBS | 2011 | 176 min | Not rated | Apr 03, 2012 | Brian Orndorf

Young Pip expects no more from life than to join his brother-in-law Joe at the blacksmith's forge. But fate intervenes when the neighboring rich eccentric Miss Havisham seeks Pip out as a playmate for her adopted daughter, Estella. This sets Pip on a course that sees him tested in many ways, not least in being thrown into a wish-fulfillment paradise for a young man, where he has the pleasures of London at his disposal and true love - and great expectations - in his future.

Drama

Late Spring Blu-ray Movie  

晩春 / includes "Tokyo-ga" (1985)

Criterion | 1949-1985 | 2 Movies | 108 min | Not rated | Apr 17, 2012 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

A widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter.

Documentary / Drama / Foreign

Shogun Assassin Box Set Blu-ray Movie  

AnimEigo | 1980 | 5 Movies | 425 min | Rated R | Apr 24, 2012 | Jeffrey Kauffman

In a time of evil and tyranny, a stone-faced ronin wanders the countryside with his young son (and a weapon-filled baby cart), hunted by the merciless minions of an evil Shogun. Once a noble samurai, he is now the most feared assassin in Japan, known only as Lone Wolf.

Action / Adventure / Martial arts

Walking Tall: The Trilogy Blu-ray Movie  

Walking Tall / Walking Tall Part 2 / Final Chapter: Walking Tall

Shout Factory | 1973-1977 | 3 Movies | 347 min | Rated R | May 15, 2012 | Martin Liebman

...And he carries a big stick. See individual titles for their synopses.

Action / Biography / Crime / Drama / Thriller

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Blu-ray Movie  

Bolshoi Ballet

Bel Air Classiques | 2010 | 103 min | Not rated | Apr 24, 2012 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Live from the Bolshoi Theatre. This 1978 remake is a truly spellbinding version of this Christmas classic. Tchaikovsky's beloved melodies combine with superb dancing to create pure delight.

Music / Foreign / Holiday

Littlerock Blu-ray Movie  

Kino Lorber | 2010 | 83 min | Not rated | Apr 10, 2012 | Casey Broadwater

Japanese siblings Rintaro and Atsuko are visiting the United States for the first time. They are headed for San Francisco when their rental car breaks down in the California desert town of Littlerock. Despite the cultural and language barriers, they soon fall in with a group of aimless young locals, including an awkward outcast named Cory who is clearly taken with Atsuko. She finds a fumbling romance...

Drama

Camelot Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + CD

Warner Bros. | 1967 | 180 min | Rated G | Apr 24, 2012 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Based on T.H. White's The Once and Future King, this lavish film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical celebrates a fleeting, mythical time of love and chivalry--the reign of King Arthur and the Knights of The Round Table. Although torn apart by the conflicts between passion, love, honor and duty, it was a golden era that could have been... and could yet be.

Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Musical / Romance

Jerusalem Countdown Blu-ray Movie  

Pure Flix Entertainment | 2011 | 85 min | Not rated | Apr 17, 2012 | Jeffrey Kauffman

When nuclear weapons are smuggled into America, FBI Agent Shane Daughtry is faced with an impossible task -- find them before they are detonated. The clock is ticking and the only people who can help are a washed up arms dealer, a converted Israeli Mossad Agent and a by- the-book CIA Deputy Director.

Drama

Don Juan DeMarco Blu-ray Movie  

Warner Bros. | 1994 | 97 min | Rated PG-13 | Apr 10, 2012 | Kenneth Brown

Days before his scheduled retirement, a clinical psychiatrist treats a young man who believes he is the legendary lover Don Juan. During the sessions that ensue, the doctor is forced to rethink his beliefs about life, love and passion, and whether or not Don Juan's alive and well--and sitting in his office.

Comedy / Drama / Romance

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD + UV Digital Copy

Paramount Pictures | 2011 | 133 min | Rated PG-13 | Apr 17, 2012 | Martin Liebman

The IMF is shut down when it is implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Action / Adventure / Thriller

Robot Chicken: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie  

Warner Bros. | 2010-2011 | 220 min | Rated TV-MA | Oct 25, 2011 | Michael Reuben

Old-school stop-motion animation and fast-paced satire are the hallmarks of this eclectic show. Action figures find new life as players in frenetic sketch-comedy vignettes that skewer TV, movies, music, and celebrities. It's television especially formulated for the Attention Deficit Disorder generation.

Animation / Comedy / Dark humor

Lifeboat Blu-ray Movie    

Masters of Cinema / Blu-ray + DVD

Eureka Entertainment | 1944 | 97 min | Rated BBFC: PG | Apr 23, 2012 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

After their ship is sunk in the Atlantic by Germans, eight people are stranded in a lifeboat. Their problems are further compounded when they pick up a ninth passenger — the Nazi captain from the U-boat that torpedoed them. With powerful suspense and emotion, this legendary classic reveals the strengths and frailties of individuals under extraordinary duress.

Drama / War

Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress Blu-ray Movie  

BBC | 2010 | 140 min | Not rated | Jan 31, 2012 | Jeffrey Kauffman

The celebrated John Cox - David Hockney production of Stravinsky's opera is revived in this 2010 presentation at the Glyndebourne Festival.

Music

American Pie 2 Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

Universal Studios | 2001 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 111 min | Rated R | Mar 13, 2012 | Brian Orndorf

One year after the prom-night misadventures immortalized in American Pie, the entire gang has reunited for the summer. Now, an innocent-looking beach house will be transformed into the ultimate party central. Five guys will discover the powerful bonds of friendship...and Super Glue. Five girls will explore the mysteries of love...and the Rule of Three. And from late-night band camp encounters to some very accommodating next-door neighbors, this will be one summer vacation none of them will ever forget!

Comedy / Romance / Teen / Coming of age

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin Blu-ray Movie  

Opus Arte | 2011 | 151 min | Not rated | Apr 24, 2012 | Jeffrey Kauffman

ORCHESTRA: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra CONDUCTOR: Mariss Jansons ARTISTS: Krassimira Stoyanova, Bo Skovhus, Mikhail Petrenko, Nina Romanova

Music

Bell, Book and Candle Blu-ray Movie  

Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT

Twilight Time | 1958 | 102 min | Not rated | Apr 10, 2012 | Jeffrey Kauffman

After teaming memorably in Alfred Hitchcock's haunting Vertigo, James Stewart and Kim Novak are together again in the whimsical Bell Book and Candle (1958), a spellbinding romantic comedy directed by Richard Quine and based on John Van Druten’s Broadway hit. Stewart plays a New York publisher entranced by a mysteriously bewitching young woman (Novak); mesmerizing supporting performances by the likes of Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Hermione Gingold, Elsa Lanchester, and Janice Rule lend quirky comic charm to the proceedings. Cinematographer James Wong Howe gives us a glamorous vision of Manhattan, enhanced by George Duning’s sophisticated score (available here as an isolated track).

Comedy / Fantasy / Romance

Wuthering Heights Blu-ray Movie    

Artificial Eye | 2011 | 129 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | Mar 26, 2012 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

The story of Heathcliff, an orphaned outsider found on the streets of Liverpool and given a home by a benevolent farmer, Mr. Earnshaw. Heathcliff develops a passionate romantic relationship with the farmer's teenage daughter, Catherine, inspiring the distrust and envy of her volatile brother, Hindley. Years later, when the elder Earnshaw dies, Heathcliff, Catherine, and Hindley, now adults, must at long last confront the intense feelings and destructive rivalries which have developed between them.

Drama / Romance / Period

Mother's Day Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD

Starz / Anchor Bay | 2010 | 112 min | Rated R | May 08, 2012 | Martin Liebman

A psychotic mother encourages her children to torture the new inhabitants of their former residence. After a bank robbery has gone wrong, three brothers on the run from the law head for home, only to discover that their mother lost the house in a foreclosure. The new owners and their guests, gathered for an ill-timed birthday party, become the brothers' unwitting hostages. Their mother and sister arrive, and it soon becomes obvious that Mother will do absolutely anything to protect her children.

Comedy / Horror / Thriller