Blu-Ray Movies

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 01/13/2009 Rating: Pg13

Writer-director Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom has a lot going for it, like an excellent cast doing good work, fabulous locations, a sumptuous look, and some interesting ideas in a genre that’s rife with possibilities. Somehow, though, the film is a whole that’s less than the sum of its parts. We meet siblings Stephen and Bloom, the products of numerous foster homes, at ages 13 and 10, respectively, as they’re starting to develop the skills and savvy that will help them become the full-blown scam-meisters they are when we meet up with them in their thirties (with Mark Ruffalo taking over as Stephen and Adrien Brody as Bloom). It seems Bloom wants to pack it in and live “an unwritten life” free of his brother’s elaborate schemes. But Stephen, who is now accompanied by a sidekick named Bang Bang (Babel’s Rinko Kikuchi, in an amusing, mostly silent performance as what Stephen refers to as “our fifth Beatle”), convinces his younger brother to take part in one last swindle, this one targeting the filthy rich Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz), who lives alone in what’s described as the biggest house on the eastern seaboard. Penelope’s an oddball, to say the least, having overcome a sickly childhood and become a master hobbyist whose skills rage from origami and playing six or eight instruments to riding a unicycle while balancing two chainsaws. Posing as antiquities dealers, the brothers pull her into a scheme that takes the trio all over the world (Greece, Prague, Montenegro, St. Petersburg, Mexico). Needless to say, complications ensue. Penelope turns out to be pretty good at the con game herself; what’s more, we know from the moment Stephen warns Bloom not to fall in love with her that he’ll quickly do exactly that. For sure, The Brothers Bloom has its high points, with surreal touches and amusing moments that help counterbalance its fairly arch overall tone. But in the end, it feels as if Johnson is trying too hard, sacrificing character for cleverness, and it’s the audience–even those who enjoy and are adept at sorting through the various clues and red herrings to figure out what’s supposedly really happening–that feels conned, or at least finds it difficult to care. –Sam Graham

A frantic call for help from a remote research station on Mars sends a team of mercenary Marines into action. Led by The Rock and Karl Urban, they descend into the Olduvai Research Station, where they find a legion of nightmarish creatures, lurking in the darkness, killing at will. Once there, the Marines must use an arsenal of firepower to carry out their mission: nothing gets out alive. Based on the hugely popular video game, DOOM is an explosive action-packed thrill ride!

Bring the world’s most beautiful sights & sounds into your home with Digital Environments’ series of Blu-ray scenic DVDs, featuring full high definition and 5.1 surround sound.

Contents Include: * Canyonlands National Park * Bali * Pacific Coast * National Wildlife Refuges * Tropical Beaches Highlights: Sunrise On The Marsh Delight in the sights and sounds of thousands of migratory birds filling the crimson skies of the great Pacific Flyway at daybreak.

Sunrise At Mesa Arch Experience the magic of the first morning light filling the sandstone hollow of Utah’s sacred Mesa Arch as it illuminates the stunning desert landscape of Canyonlands National Park.

Tropical Beach Sunsets Relax in the soft tropical air as brilliant hues and glorious sky-painting form over the warm waters of the world’s most beautiful beaches.

Academy Award® Nominee Amy Adams, Golden Globe® Winner Emily Blunt, and Academy Award Winner®Alan Arkin find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in this “colorful, refreshingly quirky comic drama” (Leah Rozen, People). Desperate to get her son into a better school, single mom Rose (Amy Adams) persuades her slacker sister Norah (Emily Blunt) to join her in the crime scene cleanup business to make some quick cash. With the help of their ill-fated salesman father (Alan Arkin), they climb the ranks in a very dirty job, finding themselves up to their elbows in murders, suicides, and… specialized situations. But underneath the dust and grime they also come to discover a true respect for one another, and create a brighter future for the entire Lorkowski family.

Experience the awe and magic of America’s wild, beautiful Rocky Mountains in stunning High Definition widescreen video with 5.1 surround sound and original music.

Grand Tetons
Feel the crisp air as it caresses the towering spires of America’s most majestic mountains. Experience the peace and tranquility of Tetons reflected in the pristine lakes.

Sawtooth
With serrated edges rising as if to cut the sky itself, the snow-capped Sawtooth Mountains stand as timeless sentinels amidst Idaho’s high meadows.

Wildlife
Move unnoticed through undulating fields among deer, elk, moose, and wild bison that roam the highland valleys. Wings beat the air at sunset as waterfowl come home to mirrored marshes.

Yellowstone
The power of roaring waterfalls buffets the senses. Smell the tiny spring flowers adorning Yellowstone River. Glide along crystal clear lakes, transparent ponds, and shimmering streams.

Star Trek I: The Motion Picture
Paramount Home Entertainment / 1979 / 132 Minutes / Rated PG
Additional Features
Commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Daren Dochterman
Library Computer
Production: The Longest Trek: Writing the Motion Picture
The Star Trek Universe: Special Star Trek Reunion; Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 001: Mystery Behind Voyager
Deleted Scenes Trailers and TV Spots
BD-Live–Star Trek I.Q
(This import edition has the same content as the North American release. The package design is slightly different, but is English-only and this blu-ray disc is for Region 1 U.S./Canada use. Includes multiple language options at disc insertion including English and various Asian languages and choices and subtitle/no subtitle options within the setup menu.)

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 11/17/2009 Run time: 139 minutes Rating: R

This imaginative summer comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty) is a lot of fun, largely on the strength of Will Smith’s engaging performance as the rookie partner of a secret agent (Tommy Lee Jones) assigned to keep tabs on Earth-dwelling extraterrestrials. There’s lots of comedy to spare in this bright film, some of the funniest stuff found in the margins of the major action. (A scene with Smith’s character being trounced in the distance by a huge alien while Jones questions a witness is a riot.) The inventiveness never lets up, and the cast–including Vincent D’Onofrio doing frighteningly convincing work as an alien occupying a decaying human–hold up their end splendidly. –Tom Keogh

The famous stage where Jimi Hendrix, the Who, and Crosby, Stills and Nash played before a half-million people in 1969 is never closer than a mile or so away in Taking Woodstock. Similarly, some of the familiar live music in Michael Wadleigh’s Oscar-winning, 1970 documentary Woodstock is never louder than a distant echo in this period film by Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain). That’s because Taking Woodstock is not really about the music, but about a little-known figure who had everything to do with making the Woodstock concert festival happen. Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin) is the very young president of a chamber of commerce in the Catskills town where he grew up. Burdened with the failure of his parents (amazing performances by Imelda Staunton and Henry Goodman) to make a go of a crummy motel, Elliot is making himself crazy trying to be a dutiful son and civic leader.

His trials are both lightened and intensified by an accident of history. Elliot sees a newspaper article explaining how the organizers of an outdoor rock concert have lost the use of a nearby field they were counting on. In short order, he makes contact with the promoters, putting them together with dairy farmer Max Yasgur (Eugene Levy), who has plenty of available pasture for rent. He also sets up the groovy but cryptic boss of the whole enterprise, Michael Lang (astute work by Tony Award-nominated Jonathan Groff, a talent to watch), as well as Lang’s movers and shakers, at the motel. In no time, the Tibers’ life becomes a three-ring circus, while a steady stream of young people clog the roads on their way to a legendary concert. Lee, a master at creating precise milieus for the varied stories he tells (Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), gets the look and texture and energy of a counterculture Happening in 1969 close to perfect. He also makes Taking Woodstock look vintage, bleaching colors to approximate the tones of many a big movie from that era, and using a split-screen to challenge the idea of the camera’s singular perspective. In the end, Taking Woodstock is itself a pretty far-out version of a heartwarming coming-of-age tale–Elliot’s coming-of-age, that is, as the excellent Martin’s boy-man looks beyond that motel and discovers a big, wide world out there, just waiting for him. –Tom Keogh