New Blu-ray Reviews

Barb Wire Blu-ray Movie  

Universal Studios | 1996 | 98 min | Rated R | Feb 08, 2011 | Kenneth Brown

There's a joint in Steel Harbor. It's called the Hammerhead Bar and Grille. The place is legendary. So is its owner. Her name is Barb Wire. She's razor sharp. She's tough as nails. She won't take shit and she won't take sides. She lives in the not-too-distant future where biology is used to kill, not cure, in a country devastated by Civil War. Every man wants her. No man can have her. She's a woman with high standards in a world of lowest common denominators. She's not about to waste her time with a man unless he has a really big one and knows how to use it--a brain, that is. It's been a long time since Barb's been on anybody's side other than her own. But when she wants to, she can more than match any man. There's nothing she can't handle. You can blast her and beat her, slash her and shoot her, drag her and diss her. But, whatever you do, just don't call her "babe..."

Action / Sci-Fi / Comic book

Conviction Blu-ray Movie  

20th Century Fox | 2010 | 102 min | Rated R | Feb 01, 2011 | Casey Broadwater

Betty Ann Waters is a working-class single mother whose small-time troublemaker brother is falsely convicted of a violent murder in their home town near Boston and is sent to prison, where in his frustration and anger he attempts suicide. With no one to turn to and no money, Betty Ann decides to put herself through college and law school and qualify as a lawyer in an attempt to set her brother free.

Biography / Drama / Thriller

Still Walking Blu-ray Movie  

歩いても 歩いても / Aruitemo aruitemo

Criterion | 2008 | 115 min | Not rated | Feb 08, 2011 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

The Yokoyama family gathers for an annual commemoration of the eldest son Junpei, who drowned fifteen years ago while saving someone's life. Over the course of the day, suppressed tensions and resentments are gradually revealed amidst forced pleasantries and shared meals as second son Ryo endures feelings of inferiority in front of his curmudgeon father and passively judgmental mother, both of whom disapprove of his recent marriage to a widow with a 10-year-old son.

Drama / Foreign

48 Hrs. Blu-ray Movie  

Paramount Pictures | 1982 | 97 min | Rated R | Feb 22, 2011 | Martin Liebman

Jack Cates is a hard-nosed cop who is paired up with Reggie Hammond—a convict who is released from prison in Cates's custody for 48 hours in order to help Cates track down a pair of maniacal cop killers.

Action / Comedy / Crime

Ice Road Truckers: The Complete Season Four Blu-ray Movie  

A&E Home Video | 2010 | 720 min | Not rated | Feb 22, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

The Ice Road Truckers return to Alaska, hauling their biggest loads ever across the most dangerous terrain they've faced. But this year, trucking critically needed cargo north to the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay is just the beginning. The drivers… More will tackle frozen rivers and swamps out beyond the Dalton Highway, hauling supplies to some of the most remote towns of the Great White North. Reigning king Jack Jesse looks to defend his title, and Lisa Kelly, one of the only woman truckers on the haul road, fights to prove herself in the male-dominated profession. Rookie Ray Veilleux, who recently lost his business in the lower 48, has come north to run the road and keep his struggling family afloat. And, continuing their decades-long rivalry, veteran drivers Hugh Rowland and Alex Debogorski are back racing neck and neck. The stakes are high as the dash for cash is on again.

Documentary

Burlesque Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD

Sony Pictures | 2010 | 119 min | Rated PG-13 | Mar 01, 2011 | Martin Liebman

Ali is a small-town girl with a big voice who escapes hardship and an uncertain future to follow her dreams to LA. After stumbling upon The Burlesque Lounge, a majestic but ailing theater that is home to an inspired musical revue, Ali lands a job as a cocktail waitress from Tess, the club's proprietor and headliner. Burlesque's outrageous costumes and bold choreography enrapture the young ingenue, who vows to perform there one day.

Drama / Musical / Romance

The River Wild Blu-ray Movie  

Universal Studios | 1994 | 108 min | Rated PG-13 | Feb 08, 2011 | Kenneth Brown

When a former river guide arranges a white-water rafting trip to celebrate her son’s birthday and salvage her marriage, her skills and courage are soon put to the test when three mysterious strangers threaten to turn their vacation into a living hell.

Action / Adventure / Thriller / Psychological thriller

For Colored Girls Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

Lionsgate Films | 2010 | 133 min | Rated R | Feb 08, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Ntozake Shange's Obie Award-winning play brought to the screen, a poetic exploration of what is to be of color and a female in this world.

Drama

All the President's Men Blu-ray Movie  

Warner Bros. | 1976 | 138 min | Rated PG | Feb 15, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Washington Post reporters uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that set the stage for President Nixon's eventual resignation.

Biography / Crime / Drama / History / Mystery / Thriller

Unstoppable Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + Digital Copy

20th Century Fox | 2010 | 98 min | Rated PG-13 | Feb 15, 2011 | Casey Broadwater

Unstoppable is a drama about a runaway train carrying a cargo of toxic chemicals. Pits an engineer and his conductor in a race against time. They're chasing the runaway train in a separate locomotive and need to bring it under control before it derails on a curve and causes a toxic spill that will decimate a town.

Action / Drama / Thriller

Network Blu-ray Movie  

Warner Bros. | 1976 | 121 min | Rated R | Feb 15, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Newscaster Howard Beale has a message for those who package reports of cute puppies, movie premieres and fender benders as hard news: “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.” A satire (an Academy Award-winning screenplay) about the things people do for love…and ratings.

Drama / Dark humor

Waiting for "Superman" Blu-ray Movie  

Paramount Pictures | 2010 | 111 min | Rated PG | Feb 15, 2011 | Martin Liebman

Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education "statistics" have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing foundation of WAITING FOR SUPERMAN. As he follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth, Guggenheim undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, surveying "drop-out factories" and "academic sinkholes," methodically dissecting the system and its seemingly intractable problems.

Documentary

Uncle Buck Blu-ray Movie  

Universal Studios | 1989 | 100 min | Rated PG | Feb 08, 2011 | Kenneth Brown

John Candy stars in Uncle Buck, the outrageous comedy written and directed by John Hughes. As an idle, good-natured bachelor, Uncle Buck is the last person you would think of to watch the kids. However, during a family crisis, he is suddenly left in charge of his nephew and nieces. Unaccustomed to suburban life, fun-loving Uncle Buck soon charms his younger relatives Miles and Maizy with his hefty cooking and his new way of doing the laundry. His carefree style does not impress everyone though - especially his rebellious teenage niece, Tia, and his impatient girlfriend, Chanice. With a little bit of luck and a lot of love, Uncle Buck manages to surprise everyone in this heartwarming family comedy.

Comedy / Drama / Family

Memories of Matsuko Blu-ray Movie    

嫌われ松子の一生 / Kiraware Matsuko no Isshō / Life of Despised Matsuko

Third Window Films | 2006 | 130 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | Feb 14, 2011 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

When a bored college student learns that a long lost aunt has been found dead in a park, he begins piecing together her life to see if it had any value. What he finds is a revelation. Talented film director, Tetsuya Nakashima ("Kamikaze Girls" 04), wield a host of cinematic tools to make "Memories of MATSUKO" a memorably entertaining and emotionally powerful "fairytale tragedy," weaving together realistic human drama with offbeat comedy and spectacular (Bob Fosse-like) production numbers to tell the heartbreaking story of Matsuko Kawajiri, a starry-eyed woman who spends her entire life serching for a worthy "prince" capable of returning her limitless love. Versatile actress, Miki Nakatani, renders a virtuosic performance in the lead role of Matsuko.

Comedy / Drama / Musical / Mystery / Romance / Foreign

Kungfu Cyborg: Metallic Attraction Blu-ray Movie    

Kei hei hup

Mei Ah | 2009 | 102 min | Rated IIA | Oct 06, 2009 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

In 2046, high-tech cyborg cop K-1 is assigned to a remote town, his perfect design making him an excellent crime fighter. A female colleague has a crush on him and another cop is jealous of him. While gaining popularity among humans, he is seen as traitor by his kind.

Action / Comedy / Romance / Sci-Fi / Foreign

Game of Death Blu-ray Movie  

Sony Pictures | 2010 | 86 min | Rated R | Feb 15, 2011 | Martin Liebman

Secret Ops agent Marcus is sent to Detroit to take out an arms dealer and the head of the hedge fund that is financing him. His CIA backup has other plans and turns on him and it's a fight to survive in a hospital.

Action / Adventure

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol Blu-ray Movie  

BBC | 2010 | 62 min | Rated TV-PG | Feb 15, 2011 | Kenneth Brown

Individual release includes Doctor Who at the Proms 2010 (57m). The adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS. Along with a series of companions, the Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help people and right wrongs.

Adventure / Fantasy / Sci-Fi

Inside Job Blu-ray Movie  

Sony Pictures | 2010 | 109 min | Rated PG-13 | Mar 08, 2011 | Martin Liebman

'Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China.

Crime / Documentary

Stag Night Blu-ray Movie  

Lionsgate Films | 2008 | 83 min | Rated R | Feb 15, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

A group of guys from a bachelor party get off the subway at a station that shut down in the 1950s and, after watching a transit cop get brutally murdered, find themselves running for their lives beneath the streets of New York.

Horror / Thriller

Hatchet II Blu-ray Movie  

Unrated Director's Cut

MPI Media Group | 2010 | 86 min | Unrated | Feb 01, 2011 | Casey Broadwater

Marybeth escapes the clutches of the deformed, swamp-dwelling iconic killer Victor Crowley. After learning the truth about her family's connection to the hatchet-wielding madman, Marybeth returns to the Louisiana swamps along with an army of hunters to recover the bodies of her family and exact the bloodiest revenge against the bayou butcher.

Horror / Thriller