Blu-ray 24th June Release

The Spiderwick Chronicles (Blu-ray)

Paramount Home Entertainment / 2008 / 101 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: June 24, 2008

Overall Grade Recommended





Genres: Mystery, adventure, family

Starring: Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Nick Nolte, and Mary-Louise Parker
Director: Mark Waters (VIII)

Plot Synopsis: From the beloved best-selling series of books comes an extraordinary fantasy adventure revealing the unseen world that exists all around us. From the moment the Grace family moves into a secluded old house peculiar things start to happen. Unable to explain the accidents and strange disappearances the Grace children Jared Simon and Mallory start to investigate and find the unbelievable truth of the Spiderwick Estate and the amazing creatures that inhabit it.

Disc Features:

• Featurette: "It's All True!" (HD, 7 minutes) - Director Mark Waters introduces us to the extras on the disc, as well as the world of 'Spiderwick,' with this overview of the source novels and the formidable challenges faced by the filmmakers in translating this beloved world to the big screen. And in a whimsical touch, Waters also provides us with a list of household items we'll need to "survive" the rest of the extras. Cute.
  
• Featurette: "Meet the Clan!" (HD, 14 minutes) - The first of the production-based featurettes, this introduces us to the cast of the film, featuring on-set interviews with Freddie Highmore and just about all of the rest of the main players (including some interesting tech info on shooting with the Grace twins). Some of the material is too surface and stated in future-tense ("This movie is gonna be great!") but it does offer a nice little overview of the key characters of 'Spiderwick.'
  
• Featurette: "Making 'Spiderwick'" (HD, 21 minutes) - A fairly straightforward look at the production, with better behind-the-scenes footage than the rest of the featurettes. Waters is also praised, and there is ample info on the impressive production design, sets and costumes.
  
• Featurette: "Magic of 'Spiderwick'" (HD, 14 minutes) - Here post-production is dissected, mainly the extensive CGI and other special effects required to put the magic in 'Chronicles.'
  
• "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guild" - This neat text- and graphics-based feature allows the user to click through the various creatures seen in the film, including Boggarts, Sprites, Ogres, and Goblins (and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) There are also some fun details on various "Protections" used to ward off these various creatures, so this should be a fun little extra for fans.
  
• Field Guild: In Movie Mode - A nifty extension of the previous feature, this pop-up trivia track delivers the usual making-of factoids, but with a twist. Throughout the track, prompts will appear that, if you hit Enter on your remote, will lead you to pages of the Field Guild above. It's a nice way to integrate the content into the disc in a more interactive way (even if, admittedly, it's probably easier just to access the content manually).
  
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 8 minutes) - Four scenes are included. None are all that revelatory (most are character bits with Highmore), and there no big cut action or creature setpieces. The quality is unusually high for deleted scenes, with all presented in full HD.
  
• Theatrical Trailers (HD) - Two are provided -- the teaser and full trailer -- and both in full 1080p.
  
• TV Spots (SD) - Nine spots, originally produced for Nickelodeon, are included. Due to their being produced for television, these are the only extras offered in 480p/MPEG-2 only.

10,000 B.C. (Blu-ray)

Warner Home Video / 2008 / 109 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: June 24, 2008

Genres: Action, Science Fiction

Starring: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle
Director: Roland Emmerich

Plot Synopsis: In a remote mountain tribe, the young hunter D'Leh (Steven Strait) has found his heart's passion -- the beautiful Evolet (Camilla Belle). But when a band of mysterious warlords raid his village and kidnap Evolet, D'Leh leads a small group of hunters to pursue the warlords to the end of the world to save her.

Disc Features:
• Deleted Scenes
• Alternate Ending
• Theatrical Trailer

HD Exclusive Content:
• Featurettes: "A Wild and Wooly Ride" and "Inspiring an Epic"


Persepolis (Blu-ray)

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2007 / Rated PG-13
Street Date: June 24, 2008

Genres: Animation

Starring: Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni
Directors: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud

Plot Synopsis: A fascinating and wholly unexpected take on Iran’s Islamic revolution beginning in the 1970s, Persepolis is an enthralling, animated feature about a spirited young woman who spends her life trying to deal with the consequences of her nation’s history. Based on an autobiographical comic book by Marjane Satrapi, the story concerns Marji (voiced as a teenager and woman by Chiara Mastroianni), whose natural fire and precociousness are slowly dampened by the rise of religious extremists. Marji grieves over the imprisonment and execution of a beloved uncle, then begrudgingly adapts to ever-tightening rules about dress, social mores, education for women, and expectations about marriage and divorce. Along the way, her grandmother (Danielle Darrieux) and mother (Catherine Deneuve) help keep Marji grounded during her rebellious teens and encourage her to find life beyond Iran’s borders, a decision that proves both a blessing and curse. An unique window onto a crucial chapter of 20th century history, Persepolis is graphically engaging with its black-and-white, bold lines and feeling of repressed energy, fit to burst. The emotional content is so strong that after awhile, one almost forgets the film is a cartoon. Satrapi co-wrote the screenplay and co-directed the film along with animator Vincent Paronnaud. - Amazon.com

Disc Features:
• English Language Version
• Audio Commentary on select scenes by Marliane Satrapi, Vincent Faronnald and Chapa Mastroianni
• Featurettes: "Hidden Side of Persepolis," "Behind the Scenes of Persepolis"
• 2007 Cannes Film Festival Press Conference
• Animated Scene Comparisons with Commentary by Marlianne Satrapi


Step Into Liquid (Blu-ray)

Lionsgate Home Entertainment / 2007 / 87 Minutes / Rated PG
Street Date: June 24, 2008

Genres: Sport

Director: Dana Brown

Disc Features:
• Audio commentary
• Featurettes
• Deleted scenes
• Outtakes
• Surf instructional


National Geographic: Sea Monsters (Blu-ray)

National Geographic Video / 2007 / 42 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: June 24, 2008

Genres: Documentary

Plot Synopsis: For nearly 200 million years while dinosaurs roamed the Earth the seas teemed with some of the most awe-inspiring ocean creatures of all time. Sea Monsters a National Geographic Giant Screen film is an entertaining journey into prehistoric oceans. Inter-cutting between the animated story and the reenactments of fossil discoveries combine the appeal of ?Indiana Jones? with the CGI that brings these prehistoric monsters to life. Perfect for the whole family.

Disc Features:
Interactive Timeline - Common to many National Geographic DVD releases, the interactive timeline is series of text screens that give basic background information on the sea creatures in the documentary. Unfortunately, all of this detail is basically regurgitated from the main program, so I really didn't learn anything new here.

ZZ Top: Live in Texas (Blu-ray)

Eagle Rock Entertainment / 2008 / 122 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: June 24, 2008

Genres: Musical, Concert

Disc Features:

• Featurette: "Dallas Show Day" (HD, 6 minutes) - This behind-the-scenes peek is just that -- a peek. Running barely 6 minutes, it's a montage of time-lapse footage of the stage set being built, the screaming (and aging) fans outside the venue, and a few brief interviews with the band and crew. Serviceable.
• Featurette: "Poker Game" (HD, 18 minutes) - A bit odd, this is the guys in the band playing a poker game, during which they recount some of their history, including playing with Jimi Hendrix. Some of this seems a bit staged, and as the band are not actors, I found it at times rather awkward.
• Featurette: "Photo Shoot " (HD, 5 minutes) - Another quickie, this is just a reel of behind-the-scenes footage of the band (in a surprisingly jovial mood) preparing for a photo shoot in the dusty desert.
• Bonus Performance (HD) - One extra track is included for the Jimi Hendrix tune "Foxy Lady," which was excised from the main concert.
  
• Collectible Booklet - Rounding it out is an 8-page, full-color booklet in the keepcase, which features some liner notes by ZZ Top biographer Tom Vickers.