This Weeks Pick:Green Zone Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass reteam ("The Bourne Supremacy," "The Bourne Ultimatum") on this action thriller set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission. Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth. Vitals: Director: Paul Greengrass. Stars: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla. 2009, CC, MPAA rating: R, 115 min., War Action Thriller, Box office gross: $34.218 million, Universal.  | | |
Avatar: The Last Airbender The Complete Book 1 Collector's Edition(2009) Seven-disc set, $57.99. Extras: Behind-the-scenes with the "Avatar" cast and crew, "Avatar" pilot episode, "The Making of Avatar -- Inside the Sound Studios," "The Making of Avatar -- Inside the Korean Animation Studios," "Avatar" documentary. (Paramount).
Bluebeard (2009 -- French) Dominique Thomas, Lola Creton. Based on Charles Perrault's grisly fairy tale, "Bluebeard" tells the story of young Marie-Catherine, child bride to an aristocratic ogre with a reputation for murdering his wives, who must employ all her cunning to outwit her husband and escape the most unpleasant of fates. Controversial director Catherine Breillat ("The Last Mistress," "Fat Girl") brings her personal touch to this classic tale, a favorite of good little French girls since the 1950s. (Strand Releasing).
The Children's War (2009) Documentary on the lost generation of Ugandan youth, the result of a 21-year civil war where a vicious rebel army leads a massive and coldly systematic child abduction machine. (Cinema Libre).
Circle of Pain (2010) Tony Schiena, Dean Cain, Ling Bai, Heath Herring. After an unfortunate mishap at the top of his game, mixed martials arts fighter Matt Chase retires for a life without glory, until he is forced back into the ring against the current undefeated champion, to kill or be killed. Extras: Behind the scenes interviews with the cast and crew; interviews with MMA fighters Heath Herring, Frank Mir and Roger Huerta; fight choreography on the set. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Lionsgate).
Close-Up (1990) Internationally revered Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has created some of the most inventive and transcendent cinema of the past 30 years, and "Close-up" is his most radical, brilliant work. This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event -- the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated well-known filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf -- as the basis for a stunning, multilayered investigation into movies, identity, artistic creation, and existence, in which the real people from the case play themselves. With its universal themes and fascinating narrative knots, "Close-up" continues to resonate with viewers around the world. Two-disc set with new, restored high-definition digital transfer. Extras: Commentary by Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa and Jonathan Rosenbaum, authors of "Abbas Kiarostami"; "The Traveler," a notable early feature by director Abbas Kiarostami; "Close-up Long Shot," a 45-minute documentary on "Close-up's" central figure, Hossein Sabzian, five years after Kiarostami's film; "A Walk With Kiarostami"(2003), a 32-minute documentary portrait of the director by Iranian film professor Jamsheed Akram; new video interview with Kiarostami; a booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Godfrey Cheshire. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Criterion Collection).
Death Race 2000 Special Edition (1975) David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Woronov, Roberta Collins, Martin Kove. Extras: "David on Death Race": A brief look back from star David Carradine recorded in 2008; commentary by Roger Corman and Mary Woronov; commentary by assistant director Lewis Teague and editor Tina Hirsch; "Playing the Game: Looking Back at Death Race 2000"; "Ready to Wear": In-depth interview with costume designer Jane Ruhm on her inventive work for this film and other Roger Corman classics; "Designing Dystopia!": A detailed look at the film's futuristic landscapes and now-classic race cars with co-art director B.B. Neel, car designer James Powers and car constructor Dean Jeffries; "Start Your Engine!": How the world of "Death Race 2000" came to life, interview with original story creator Ib Melchior; "Killer Score": An all-new interview with composer Paul Chihara on the creation of the film's eclectic score, which was also his first feature film composition; Leonard Maltin interviews Roger Corman about "Death Race 2000"; collectible 12-page booklet. (Shout! Factory: Roger Corman's Cult Classics)
Entourage: The Complete Sixth Season (2009) Three-disc set with 12 episodes, $39.98. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (HBO).
Fireball (2009) Ian Somerhalder, Lexa Doig, Aleks Paunovic. Former football star turned convict, Tyler "The Fuse" Draven, discovers in jail that he has the ability to create fire by mere thought alone, and he uses his new-found power to wreak havoc and get revenge on everyone that's ever done him wrong ... which means the entire world. (MTI Home Video).
Fuel (2009) Award-winning documentary film about alternative energy, a comprehensive and entertaining look at energy in America: a history of where we have been, our present predicament and a solution to our dependence on foreign oil. The film flows seamlessly through scientific data, facts, history and personal narrative, and like any good narrative, it has intrigue, conspiracy, greed ... and murder. Directed by Josh Tickell and featuring Barbara Boxer, Richard Branson, Sheryl Crow, Larry David, John Paul DeJoria, Larry Hagman, Woody Harrelson, Jim Hightower, Robert Kennedy Jr., Vinod Khosla, Willie Nelson, Julia Roberts and Neil Young. $24.95. Extras: "Sustainable Biodiesel Extra With HERObx (How agricultural waste can be turned into biofuels)"; "Building a Green Bottom Line With John Paul Dejoria (The greening of Paul Mitchell Systems and Patron Spirits Company)"; "How to Get 150MPG from Your Prius"; "How to Save Thousands Through Energy Efficiency"; director and creative team commentary; DVD-ROM content. (Cinema Libre: EarthNOW!)
The Good Guy (2010) Alexis Bledel, Anna Chlumsky, Andrew McCarthy, Bryan Greenberg, Scott Porter. Ambitious young Manhattanite and urban conservationist Beth (Bledel) wants it all: a good job, good friends, and a good guy to share the city with. Of course that last one is often the trickiest of all. Beth falls for Tommy (Porter), a sexy, young Wall Street hot-shot. But just as everything seems to be falling into place, complications arise in the form of Tommy's sensitive and handsome co-worker Daniel (Greenberg). Beth soon learns that the game of love in the big city is a lot like Wall Street -- high risk, high reward and everybody has an angle. Extras: Commentary by writer-director-actor Alexis Bledel. (Lionsgate).
Green Zone (2010) Dir.: Paul Greengrass. Stars: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla. Extras: "Matt Damon: Ready for Action" featurette, "Inside the Green Zone" behind-the-scenes featurette, commentary by Matt Damon and Director Paul Greengrass, deleted scenes, digital copy. Also available on two-disc Blu-ray, which adds BD-Live, pocket BLU app, social Blu and U-Control interactive features. (Universal).
Hung: The Complete First Season (2009) Three-disc set with 10 episodes, $39.98. Extras: Commentary, featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (HBO).
The Last Station (2009) : Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Paul Giamatti, Kerry Condon. Extras: Deleted scenes, "A Tribute to Christopher Plummer" featurette; commentary by Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren and director Michael Hoffman; outtake. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Sony).
Night Train to Munich (1940) A twisting, turning, cloak-and-dagger delight, "Night Train to Munich" is a gripping, occasionally comic confection from writers Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat (Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes") and director Carol Reed ("The Fallen Idol," "The Third Man"). Paced like an out-of-control locomotive, "Night Train" takes viewers on a World War II-era journey from Prague to England to the Swiss Alps, as Nazis pursue a Czech scientist and his daughter (Margaret Lockwood), who are being aided by a debonair British undercover agent, played by Rex Harrison. This captivating, long-overlooked adventure -- which also features "Casablanca's" Paul Henreid -- mixes comedy, romance, and thrills with enough skill and cleverness to give the master of suspense himself pause. New, restored high-definition digital transfer. Extras: New video conversation between film scholars Peter Evans and Bruce Babington about director Carol Reed, screenwriters Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and the social and political climate in which "Night Train to Munich" was made; a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Philip Kemp. (The Criterion Collection).
Red Desert (1964) Michelangelo Antonioni's 1960s panoramas of contemporary alienation were decade-defining artistic events, and "Red Desert," his first color film, remains one of his greatest. This provocative look at the spiritual desolation of the technological age -- about a disaffected woman, brilliantly portrayed by Antonioni muse Monica Vitti ("L'avventura"), wandering through a bleak industrial landscape beset by power plants and environmental toxins, and tentatively flirting with her husband's co-worker, played by Richard Harris ("This Sporting Life") -- continues to exert force over viewers. With one startling, painterly composition after another -- of abandoned fishing cottages, electrical towers, overwhelming docked ships -- "Red Desert" creates a nearly apocalyptic image of its time, and confirms Antonioni as cinema's preeminent poet of the modern age. New, restored high-definition digital transfer. Extras: Commentary by Italian film scholar David Forgacs; archival video interviews with Antonioni and actress Monica Vitti; outtakes from the film's production; original theatrical trailer; a booklet featuring an essay by film historian Mark Le Fanu, an interview with Antonioni by Jean-Luc Godard, and a reprinted essay by Antonioni on his use of color. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Criterion Collection).
Remember Me (2010) Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin. A romantic drama about two new lovers: Tyler, whose parents have split in the wake of his brother's suicide, and Ally, who lives each day to the fullest since witnessing her mother's murder. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Summit Entertainment).
Riverworld (2010) Alan Cumming, Tahmoh Penikett, Laura Vandervoort, Peter Wingfield, Jeananne Goossen. Four-hour Syfy channel original movie. Matt, an American journalist, and his fiancee Jessie are killed in an explosion, but reawaken in a very unusual afterlife -- a mysterious planet with an endless river terrain. Everyone who has ever lived on Earth has been resurrected simultaneously in this strange new world. Separated from Jessie, Matt joins forces with an intrepid crew including a 13th century female warrior and riverboat captain Mark Twain to find her, all the while tracked by the watchful eye of a mysterious alien force. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (RHI Entertainment/Vivendi Entertainment).
She's Out of My League (2010) Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, Mike Vogel, Nate Torrence, T.J. Miller Extras: Deleted scenes, extended ending, Blooper Reel, "Devon's Dating Show" do's & don'ts guide to dating for guys, commentary by director Jim Field Smith. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Paramount).
A Star Is Born (1954) Dir.: George Cukor; Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford. Available as a two-disc book format with 40 pages of photographs, film history and more. Also available as a standard two-disc Deluxe Special Edition. Extras: Introduction; additional takes: "The Man That Got Away" -- Pink Dress, "The Man that Got Away" --Brown Dress #1, "The Man that Got Away" -- Brown Dress #2, "The Man that Got Away"-- Brown Dress #3, "The Man That Got Away" -- Brown Dress #4, "Here's What I'm Here For," "Lose That Long Face," "Trinidad Coconut Oil Shampoo," "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street," suicide scene; film effects reel; "A Report by Jack L. Warner" vintage featurette; "Huge Premiere Hails 'A Star Is Born' Newsreel Montage" vintage featurette; "'A Star Is Born" premiere in Cinemascope; Pantages premiere TV special vintage featurette; "A Star Is Bored" (1956 WB Cartoon); A Star Is Born trailers from 1937, 1954, 1976; Audio Vault: Oliver on the phone with the director discussing Norman -- Outtakes; Audio Vault: Norman and Esther on the roof of the Hotel Lancaster -- Outtakes; Audio Vault: 12/28/1942 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast with Judy Garland and Walter Pidgeon; Audio Vault: Judy Garland radio interview; Audio Vault: "Born in a Trunk"; Audio Vault: "Someone at Last" rehearsal; Audio Vault: "Someone at Last"; Audio Vault: "My Melancholy Baby"; Audio Vault: "Black Bottom"; Audio Vault: "Swanee." Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Warner).
Tom & Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection. Two-disc set with 30 classic cartoons, $26.99. Features seven shorts that became Oscar winners for Best Short Subject, Cartoons: "Yankee Doodle Mouse," "Mouse Trouble," "Quiet Please!," "The Cat Concerto," "The Little Orphan," "Johann Mouse" and "Two Mousketeers." Also included is an excerpt from the 1945 live-action film "Anchors Aweigh," in which Jerry performs a dance routine with Gene Kelly. Another featured excerpt is from the 1953 musical film" Dangerous When Wet," in which Tom and Jerry appear with Esther Williams in a dream sequence where they perform a synchronized swimming routine. (Warner).
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