Blu-ray 23rd September Release

Sex and the City (Blu-ray)

New Line Home Entertainment / 2008 / Rated R
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Genres: Comedy, Romance

Starring: Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker
Director: Michael Patrick King

Disc Features:
• Audio Commentary with director Michael Patrick King
• 3 Featurettes
• Alternate Scenes

HD Exclusive Content:
• Featurettes: "Sex and the City: The City," "Dish It!"


Run Fatboy Run (Blu-ray)

Universal Studios Home Entertainment / 2008 / Rated R
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Genres: Comedy, Sport

Starring: Hank Azaria, Thandie Newton, Simon Pegg
Director: David Schwimmer

Disc Features:
• Audio Commentary with Director David Schwimmer and star Simon Pegg
• Deleted Scenes
• Bloopers: "Thandie's Goof"
• Digital Copy

Deception (Blu-ray)

Fox Home Entertainment / 2008 / 107 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Genres: Thriller

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams
Plot Synopsis: Leave your inhibitions at the door as Hugh Jackman (X-Men Trilogy) and Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) lure Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge) into a tangled web of lust and lies in this scorching erotic thriller. Lonely, timid accountant Jonathan McQuarry (McGregor) lives only for his work – until a chance meeting with suave, charismatic corporate lawyer Wyatt Bose (Jackman) introduces him to “The List.” Suddenly, the right cell-phone number and the words, “Are You Free Tonight,” launch Jonathan on a decadent journey of sexual conquests and self-discovery amidst New York’s power elite. But an affair with a ravishing and mysterious stranger (Williams) will expose him to another world he never imagined: one of betrayal, treachery and murder!

Disc Features:
• Audio Commentary with director Marcei Langenegger
• Featurettes: "Exposing Deception: The Making Of Deception," "Club Sexy"
• Deleted Scenes


Leatherheads (Blu-ray)

Universal Studios Home Entertainment / 2008 / Rated PG-13
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Genres: Drama, comedy, sports

Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski

Plot Synopsis: Academy Award® winners George Clooney and Renée Zellweger team up in this fun-filled comedy set against the beginnings of pro football. Dodge Connelly (Clooney), captain of a struggling squad of barroom brawlers, has only one hope to save his team: recruit college superstar Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski, The Office). But when a feisty reporter (Zellweger) starts snooping around, she turns the two teammates into instant rivals and kicks off a wild competition filled with hilarious screwball antics! Critics are cheering Leatherheads as “a real winner”

The Godfather Collection (Blu-ray)

Paramount Home Entertainment / 1971 / 550 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Overall Grade A masterpiece that no one can avoid! Compulsory to have!





Genres: Mob drama.

Starring: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, and Andy Garcia
Directors: Francis Ford Coppola

Plot Synopsis:
THE GODFATHER: Popularly viewed as one of the best American films ever made, the multi-generational crime saga The Godfather (1972) is a touchstone of cinema: one of the most widely imitated, quoted, and lampooned movies of all time. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino star as Vito Corleone and his youngest son, Michael, respectively. It is the late 1940s in New York and Corleone is, in the parlance of organized crime, a "godfather" or "don," the head of a Mafia family. Michael, a free thinker who defied his father by enlisting in the Marines to fight in World War II, has returned a captain and a war hero. Having long ago rejected the family business, Michael shows up at the wedding of his sister, Connie (Talia Shire), with his non-Italian girlfriend, Kay (Diane Keaton), who learns for the first time about the family "business." A few months later at Christmas time, the don barely survives being shot by gunmen in the employ of a drug-trafficking rival whose request for aid from the Corleones' political connections was rejected. After saving his father from a second assassination attempt, Michael persuades his hotheaded eldest brother, Sonny (James Caan), and family advisors Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) and Sal Tessio (Abe Vigoda) that he should be the one to exact revenge on the men responsible. After murdering a corrupt police captain and the drug trafficker, Michael hides out in Sicily while a gang war erupts at home. Falling in love with a local girl, Michael marries her, but she is later slain by Corleone enemies in an attempt on Michael's life. Sonny is also butchered, having been betrayed by Connie's husband. As Michael returns home and convinces Kay to marry him, his father recovers and makes peace with his rivals, realizing that another powerful don was pulling the strings behind the narcotics endeavor that began the gang warfare. Once Michael has been groomed as the new don, he leads the family to a new era of prosperity, then launches a campaign of murderous revenge against those who once tried to wipe out the Corleones, consolidating his family's power and completing his own moral downfall. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards and winning for Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay, The Godfather was followed by a pair of sequels.

THE GODFATHER PART II: This brilliant companion piece to the original The Godfather continues the saga of two generations of successive power within the Corleone family. Coppola tells two stories in Part II: the roots and rise of a young Don Vito, played with uncanny ability by Robert De Niro, and the ascension of Michael (Al Pacino) as the new Don. Reassembling many of the talents who helped make The Godfather, Coppola has produced a movie of staggering magnitude and vision, and undeniably the best sequel ever made. Robert De Niro won an Oscar®; the film received six Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1974.

THE GODFATHER PART III: One of the greatest sagas in movie history continues! In this third film in the epic Corleone trilogy, Al Pacino reprises the role of powerful family leader Michael Corleone. Now in his 60's, Michael is dominated by two passions: freeing his family from crime and finding a suitable successor. That successor could be fiery Vincent (Andy Garcia)... but he may also be the spark that turns Michael's hope of business legitimacy into an inferno of mob violence. Francis Ford Coppola directs Pacino, Garcia, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Eli Wallach, Sofia Coppola, Joe Montegna and others in this exciting, long-awaited film that masterfully explores the themes of power, tradition, revenge and love. Seven Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture.

Disc Features:

• Featurette: "The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't" (HD, 29 minutes) - This excellent new doc isn't so much about the making of 'The Godfather' films, as contextualizing the American cinematic landscape that produced it. An impressive line-up of talent has been interviewed -- including Coppola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Walter Murch, and Paramount executives Peter Bart and Robert Evans, amongst others -- who paint a picture of a Hollywood on the verge of collapse, one skittish to produce a lavish epic on the scale of 'The Godfather.' Coppola's subsequent troubles in convincing the studio to sign off on Mario Puzo's epic, which incredulously was deemed at the time to be an uncommercial prospect, is examined at length. This is a fascinating and incredibly slick doc, especially the excellent use of vintage still material. A must-watch.
  
• Featurette: "Godfather World " (HD, 12 minutes) - Boy, Coppola sure has a lot of friends. This featurette is a totally fawning piece, with an incredible roster of interviewees -- Alec Baldwin, Guillermo Del Toro, William Friedkin, Joe Mantanga, Trey Parker -- all waxing on the importance and legacy of 'The Godfather' films. For once, such hyperbole is warranted, and there is no denying anything anyone here says.
  
• Featurette: "Emulsional Rescue: Revealing 'The Godfather'" (HD, 19 minutes) - Another excellent piece, with Coppola and more luminaries (Spielberg again, Paramount chief Brad Grey, film archivist Robert A Harris) letting us in on the extensive work that went into rescuing and restoring 'The Godfather' films. What's amazing is that the original negatives for 'The Godfather' were thought to be lost(!), and the effort to cobble together elements was nothing short of Herculean. And to critics of Coppola's aesthetic choices on this Blu-ray restoration, your questions are all answered here. Another must-see.
  
• Featurette: "...And When the Shooting Stopped" (HD, 14 minutes) - Kudos to Coppola -- for once, a cinematic auteur gives full due to his post-production team. The sometimes-contentious relationship between Coppola and Paramount is shred apart here, which saw Coppola needing to break his contract (which required a much shorter cut of the film) to truly do justice to the epic he had created. The resultant process was arduous for Coppola's crew, many of whom share their war stories here. Also dissected are some key sequences, including the infamous "horse head" scene. Great stuff.
  
• The Family Tree/The Crime Organization (SD) - This is a rather nifty, if simple, way to present basic cast and character biographies and filmographies. Trace each character's lineage across a tree graphic, as well as additional filmographies and bios on the actors who played them. The "Crime Organization" takes a similar approach to the key crime element seen in the films, with more fake bios and dossiers. (Note: This feature was also included on the original 2001 DVD set, but has been reformatted and updated here. It is also listed on the Blu-ray's packaging as a new supplement, so I've included it here.)
  
• Montage: "'The Godfather' on the Red Carpet" (HD, 4 minutes) - This is a throwaway -- a montage of red carpet interviews at the 'Cloverfield' premiere(!) with various B-list stars (sorry) waxing how great 'The Godfather' films are. Overkill.
  
• Four Short Films on 'The Godfather' (HD, 7 minutes) - Something of a misnomer, these are not actually "short films" on the 'Godfather' films. Rather, they are just four outtakes reels of various interviews and stories that, apparently, didn't fit anywhere else in the supplements. Another parade of stars (John Turturro! Richard Belzer! Sarah Vowell!) share amusing little jokes or riff on various pop culture elements of the franchise. Decent stuff, though the "short film" tag lead me to expect something different.

• Also included on disc four is the entire "2001 DVD Archive," which compiles all of the bonus materials found on the previous 'Godfather Collection' four-disc box set:

• Audio Commentaries - The only extras not on the fourth bonus disc are three screen-specific audio commentaries with Francis Ford Coppola, one per film. It must have been a tough task -- Coppola has to fly solo here and hold our interested for well over eight hours of screen time. I sampled each track extensively, and often found his recollections to be quite moving in talking about the films that will, undoubtedly, go down as his masterworks. He recalls glories past, what worked and what didn't, and the wealth of stories lodged in his formidable memory banks. Coppola is also candid, and rarely pulls a punch, commenting at length on the various tensions and difficulties in mounting such expensive, epic motion pictures. (Indeed, how many people wanted a piece of the pie.) Coppola detractors will also find ample ammunition here, as he can be a bit arrogant and rather dry. Funny enough, for being the weakest film of the three, I actually enjoyed his commentary for 'Part III' the most, because he almost sounds humbled. He also takes the brunt of the blame for the reaction to the casting of Sofia Coppola, but also vigorously defends it and some of the mixed reactions to his trilogy-capper in general. Given the length of material he had to comment on, it's no surprise that there are some dull patches and dead space, and it's possible judging by his reactions that he is being prompted by an off-screen interviewer. But no matter, these are very fine commentaries.
  
• Documentary: "The Godfather Family" (SD, 75 minutes) - Still the centerpiece of the supplements, owners of the previous laserdisc and DVD sets of 'The Godfather' will undoubtedly be familiar with this extended look at the making of all three films (it was also shorn of some content and broadcast on various television outlets). Produced at the time of the production of 'The Godfather Part III,' "A Look Inside" is a rather plotty and thus sometimes frustrating piece that attempts to cover a great many bases, not always successfully. Constantly contrasting the making of the first two installments with the concluding chapter of the trilogy, it jumps back and forth in time with a mix of film clips, production meetings with Coppola and his staff, rare rehearsal and production footage from all three films, and then-recent interviews with Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Talia Shire, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Andy Garcia, and of course, Coppola and his crew. As a look at the development of the first two films, this is fascinating, though the editing can distract. Also, as this was produced as production on 'Part III' was concluding, it lacks a truly cohesive narrative arc, as well as a sense of reflection on the trilogy as a whole. Still, it remains a good, if dated, doc.
  
• "Behind the Scenes" Featurettes (SD) - There are no less than seven featurettes, each on a different aspect of the production.
  
  First up is "The Locations Of The Godfather," a 6-minute guided tour of the series' many New York City locations with production designer Dean Tavoularis. Returning to the "scene of the crime" for the first time since the making of the films, Tavoularis gives good background on how he chose the various locations and contrasts storyboards with the final shots, and there are some nice stills and rough production footage thrown in for good measure.
  
  "Francis Coppola's Notebook" (10 minutes) is Coppola discussing his extensive notation of the original novel and the screenplay, and the construction of his Godfather "master notebook." He then contrasts his working notes with the finished product, the complex design and blocking of four sequences, and the influence of the work of Hitchcock and other directors on the finished film.
  
  "The Music Of the Godfather: features two separate featurettes, one on Francis' father Carmine Coppola, and the other on Nino Rota. The Coppola segment runs 4 minutes and features narration by Francis and rare footage of Carmine during scoring sessions for 'The Godfather Part III.' A nice, heartfelt remembrance, if somewhat slight. The Nino Rota segment is an audio taping of Coppola's first meeting with Rota in preparation for the score of the first Godfather, and it's quite a find. Rota plays Coppola some ideas for the score on the piano, which I doubt has ever been heard before by many. Though their conversation is hard to discern due to the rough quality of the audio, it is laid under a nice montage from the film, and runs just shy of 6 minutes.
  
  "Puzo and Coppola on Screenwriting" features interviews shot during the making of 'The Godfather Part III,' and is a more straight-ahead "talking heads" discussion on the development of all three of the screenplays. This featurette runs and also includes rare audio of script meetings between Puzo and Coppola, and a great collection of stills
  
  "Gordon Willis on Cinematography" is just that, an all-too-brief 4-minute chat with Willis on his highly-acclaimed and influential work on The Godfather series, and how many of the stylistic choices were born out of necessity. In addition to comments from Willis, we get interview tributes from other renowned cinematographers highly influenced by Willis' work, including Michael Chapman, William A. Fraker, and Conrad Hall.
  
  Finally, we have 'The Godfather's original "1971 Making-Of Featurette, which runs about 8 minutes. It's in pretty bad shape. Also amusing is that, while many complain about today's EPK fluff pieces, just watch this one -- it's just as terrible.
  
• Storyboards (SD) - Next up we have two sections of storyboards, for 'The Godfather Part II' and 'The Godfather Part III.' Each includes about 20-odd storyboards and can be advanced manually. Unfortunately, there is no descriptive text provided and little additional insight, and there are no storyboard-to-screen comparisons, either.
  
• Additional Scenes/Historical Timeline (SD) - As these two sections are linked together in content, I've grouped them together here. Both are divided into five sections - "1892-1930," "1931 - 1945," "1946 - 1955," "1956 1997." The "Historical Timeline" offers simple text lists of events for the three films, while the additional scenes comprise no less than 34 segments and runs nearly an hour. The quality is a mix and match of full frame and widescreen aspect ratios, and the audio is rather weak-sounding mono. Fans of the early 'Godfather' re-edits and television versions will undoubtedly be familiar with many of these scenes - some worthwhile, some rightly cut - and also notable is an alternate beginning to 'The Godfather Part III' that recalls the opening of the first film. Annoyingly, all of 'The Godfather Part III' clips have a burned in "property of Paramount" logo that distracts.
  

Shrek the Third (Blu-ray)

Paramount Home Entertainment / 2007 / 92 Minutes / Rated PG
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Overall Grade Guaranteed satisfaction!





Genres: Animated, Comedy, Family

Starring: Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett
Directors: Chris Miller

Plot Synopsis: When Shrek married Fiona the last thing he had in mind was becoming the next King of Far Far Away. But when Shrek’s father-in-law, King Harold, suddenly croaks, that is exactly what he faces. Recruiting Donkey and Puss In Boots for a new quest, Shrek sets out to bring back the rightful heir to the throne. Meanwhile back in the kingdom, Fiona's jilted Prince Charming storms the city with an army of fairy tale villains to seize the throne. Fiona and a band of princesses must stop him to ensure there will be a kingdom left to rule!

Disc Features:

• Meet the Cast (11 minutes) - First up is a fun little featurette that introduces us to all of the main voice talent. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Eddie Murphy and Justin Timberlake all contribute a few comments, and there is some nice behind-the-scenes footage of the voice recording sessions. No great shakes here, but fairly informative nonetheless.
• Shrek Tech (10 minutes) - Dissecting the film's basic animation approach and techniques, this one features lots of quick cuts of all of the main characters in various stages of rendering, but little that goes beneath the surface. At least the snappy pace keeps things from getting boring.
• Lost Scenes (25 minutes) - There are four "lost scenes" in all, although the title of this feature is a bit misleading as these are not actual scenes but actually excerpts from "pitch meetings" with filmmakers Dave Smith and Hamish Grieve. They describe each scene, and there are some pencil sketches shown via split-screen, but no final renderings were ever produced.
• Big Green Goofs(2 minute) - This one's your standard blooper reel. Of course, all of this material is animated, so it's hardly "spontaneous," with various forced gags and intentionally "missed" lines. The animation is also all over the place, with most clips not up to the quality of the finished film, but rather rough renderings and the like.
• Shrek's Guide to Parenthood - Comprised of four 1-minute segments, this one provides exactly what the title suggests -- acerbic child-rearing tips that no parent would actually follow. Strangely, Shrek himself doesn't even participate. Instead, we get only Donkey, Puss in Boots, Pinocchio and Gingy.
• Donkey Dance (1 minute) - This mock music video features Donkey doing a routine to the old '80s chestnut "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats. Super slight, and not as cute as it sounds.
• DreamWorks Animation Jukebox - This isn't even really a feature -- it's just a commercial machine. Select from among six other DreamWorks titles ('Flushed Away,' 'Shrek,' 'Shrek 2,' 'Over the Hedge,' 'Shark's Tale' or 'Madagascar') and watch a musical clip from the movie. Presented in full 1080p video, all look great, so at least we have something to look forward to. (Note that as of this writing, none of the above titles except 'Madagascar' have yet been announced for high-def release.)
• Theatrical Trailers - Sadly, there are none provided for any of the 'Shrek' movies, only two DreamWorks Animation releases, 'Bee Movie' and 'Kung Fu Panda.'
• Merlin's Magic Crystal Ball - Although it's dubbed as an interactive "game," this one's essentially an electronic magic 8-ball. Activate it, and you're asked to think of a Yes or No question. Then hit enter, and Merlin will give you one of a few canned responses. That's it.
• Learn the Donkey Dance - Builds upon the aforementioned faux-music video, only adding instructions on how to learn all of Donkey's red-hot moves.
• How to Be Green (4 minutes) - This one's essentially a PSA for kids, with about a dozen tips on how to combat global warming, and other environmentally-conscious ideas.
• My Menus - This one's actually pretty neat. Here, you can select between six different menu designs: the default menu, or five alternates each based around a particular character in the movie (Shrek, Donkey, Boots, Gingy and the Gingerbread Man). Nifty.

Madagascar (Blu-ray)

DreamWorks Home Entertainment / 2006 / Rated G
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Genres: Animated, Comedy, Family

Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith
Directors: Tom McGrath, Eric Darnell

Plot Synopsis: From the studio that brought you Shrek and Shark Tale! Move it! Move it! for Madagascar, the #1 Family Comedy of the Year, from the studio that brought you Shrek and Shark Tale. When four pampered animals from the New York's Central Park Zoo accidentally find themselves shipwrecked on the exotic island of Madagascar, they discover it really IS a jungle out there! Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith headline an all-star cast of hilarious animals, including a quartet of mischievous penguins and legions of lemurs, led by the outrageous King Julien, Madagascar is a roaring good family film that you'll go wild for again and again!

L.A. Confidential (Blu-ray)

Warner Home Video / 1997 / Rated R
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Genres: Crime, thriller

Starring: Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kim Basinger
Director: Curtis Hanson

Plot Synopsis: In a time when it seems that every other movie makes some claim to being a film noir, L.A. Confidential is the real thing--a gritty, sordid tale of sex, scandal, betrayal, and corruption of all sorts (police, political, press--and, of course, very personal) in 1940s Hollywood. The Oscar-winning screenplay is actually based on several titles in James Ellroy's series of chronological thriller novels (including the title volume, The Big Nowhere, and White Jazz)--a compelling blend of L.A. history and pulp fiction that has earned it comparisons to the greatest of all Technicolor noir films, Chinatown. Kim Basinger richly deserved her Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a conflicted femme fatale; unfortunately, her male costars are so uniformly fine that they may have canceled each other out with the Academy voters: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, and James Cromwell play LAPD officers of varying stripes. Pearce's character is a particularly intriguing study in Hollywood amorality and ambition, a strait-laced "hero" (and son of a departmental legend) whose career goals outweigh all other moral, ethical, and legal considerations. If he's a good guy, it's only because he sees it as the quickest route to a promotion.

Disc Features:
• Audio Commentary by Andrew Sarris
• Music Only Track
• Featurettes: "Whatever You Desire: Making L.A.Confidential," "Sunlight and Shadow: The Visual Style of L.A.Confidential," "A True Ensemble: The Cast of L.A.Confidential," "L.A.Confidential: From Book to Screen Off the Record"
• Photo Pitch
• The L.A.of L.A.Confidential Hollywood Center Motel
• Deleted Scenes
• L.A.Confidential [2000 TV Pilot]
• Theatrical Trailers
• Promo Reels
• TV Spots
• Soundtrack Promo


Cirque du Soleil: Corteo (Blu-ray)

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2007 / Unrated
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Genres: Music, Theater

Plot Synopsis: Bring home the magic, artistry and phenomenal acrobatics of Corteo, the latest Cirque du Soleil show, captured in hi definition! Corteo, which means "cortege" in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth. The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us. The music, by turns lyrical and playful, carries Corteo through a timeless celebration in which illusion teases reality.

Disc Features:
• 4 Featurettes: "Filming of Corteo," "Teatro Intimo," "Through the Curtain," "A Day in the Life of Corteo Artists"• Still Montage

Blow (Blu-ray)

New Line Home Entertainment / 2001 / 123 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: September 23, 2008

Genres: Crime, Drama

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Paul Reubens
Director: Ted Demme

Plot Synopsis: This story of the real-life cocaine dealer George Jung-a Massachusetts man who sold the Medellín cartel's dope to mainstream America in the seventies-would seem to offer a perfect star vehicle for Johnny Depp, but the unconvincing narrative doesn't allow him to shape a performance. The director, Ted Demme, and the screenwriters, David McKenna and Nick Cassavetes, tell the story of George's rise as a series of semi-comic riffs on his unwittingness-how casually he operated, how oblivious he was to risk and treachery on all sides. Apart from one scary episode with Pablo Escobar, the scenes are flimsily staged-thin and underdone. Now and then Demme throws in the towel and resorts to a rapid montage of shots meant to convey the giddy drug life, but this isn't directing, and it isn't evocation, either; it's more like flinging a loosely pasted scrapbook onto the floor and asking the audience to sort it out.
Disc Features:
• Audio commentary with director Ted Demme and George Jung
• Deleted scenes
• Character outtakes
• Featurettes: "Production diary," "Behind the Scenes"
• Trivia subtitle track with direct access to additional features
• Theatrical Trailers

HD Exclusive Content:
• Focus Points: picture-in-picture (Bonus View)