Forbidden Kingdom On Blu-ray 9th Sept.Release

The Forbidden Kingdom (Blu-ray)

Lionsgate Home Entertainment / 2007 / 104 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Action, martial arts

Starring: Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Jackie Chan
Director: Rob Minkoff

Plot Synopsis:
Individually, they've starred in the most adrenaline-pumping martial-arts adventures ever. Together for the first time, Jet Li and Jackie Chan join forces to create the greates epic of them all- THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM. As ancient Chinese warriors, they must train and mentor a 21st century kung-fu fanatic who's been summoned to fight a centuries-old battle and free the imprisoned Monkey King. If you're a fighting fan, the wait is over. The team is ready. The Kingdom has arrived.

Disc Features:

• Audio Commentary -- Director Rob Minkoff (‘The Lion King,’ ‘Stuart Little’) and writer John Fusco (‘Young Guns,’ ‘Hidalgo’) provide a rather bland commentary that covers the genesis of the project, the casting, location scouting, the shoot itself, Yuen Woo-ping’s fight choreography, and the editing process.
• The Kung Fu Dream Team (HD, 11 minutes) -- The first featurette on the disc focuses on Jackie Chan and Jet Li’s long awaited pairing, how it came to be, and why they chose ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ as their first project together.
• Dangerous Beauty (HD, 8 minutes) -- Up next is a somewhat pointless look into the contributions of actresses Yifei Liu and Bingbing Li (who plays second-tier villainess Ni Chang). I appreciated the material presented in this short, but I do wish it covered the entire supporting cast rather than focus on two performers.
• Discovering China (HD, 8 minutes) -- A decent location featurette that explores the various Chinese locales used in the film.
• Filming in Chinawood: Hengdian World Studio (HD, 8 minutes) -- Likewise, this fairly innocuous behind-the-scenes quickie covers the studio shooting and set design.
• Monkey King and the Eight Immortals (HD, 9 minutes) -- Whatdaya know? ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ was first a bedtime story Fusco told to one of his kids. Unfortunately, this standard featurette drags on a bit too long and never really digs into many of the decisions that led from the story to the screenplay.
• Storyboards and PreViz (HD, 6 minutes) – Animated storyboards the filmmakers used to prepare key shots.
• Deleted Scenes and Bloopers (HD, 8 minutes) -- This collection of eight wisely-cut deletions doesn’t add a lot of value to the supplemental package, but still offers fans a few additional character exchanges and optional commentary bits from the director. However, I’d recommend skipping the blooper reel since it’s dry, boring, and repetitive.

Baby Mama (Blu-ray)

Universal / 2008 / 99 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Comedy

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey
Director: Michael McCullers

Plot Synopsis:

Disc Features:
• Audio Commentary with writer/director Michael McCullers and cast members Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
• Featurettes: "From Conception to Delivery: The Making of Baby Mama," "Saturday Night Live: Legacy of Laughter"
• Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending

Then She Found Me (Blu-ray)

Image Entertainment / 2007 / 100 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Comedy, Drama

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, Bette Midler
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Plot Synopsis: An all-star cast with memorable performances by Helen Hunt, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler and Colin Firth powers this smart, funny drama about love and destiny. Desperate to start a family, schoolteacher April Epner (Hunt) is thrown into confusion when she is unexpectedly abandoned by her husband (Broderick). She gets another shock when she meets her unusual birth mother (Midler), a self-centered talk show host who's not exactly the ideal mom. At first she rejects her, along with the attentions of a divorced dad (Firth), until she finds her life opening up in ways she had never imagined.


Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fourth Season - Expanded (Blu-ray)

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment / 2007 / Unrated
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Drama, Medical, Romance

Starring: T.R. Knight, Katherine Heigl, Patrick Dempsey



Smallville: The Complete Seventh Season (Blu-ray)

Warner Home Video / 2007 / Unrated
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Action, Romance, Science Fiction, Television

Starring: Michael Rosenbaum, Kristen Kreunk, Tom Welling
Disc Features:
• 2 Featurettes
• Web-i-Sodes

Day Watch (Blu-ray)

Fox Home Entertainment / 2007 / Rated R
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Action, Foreign, Science Fiction

Starring: Konstantin Khabensky
Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Plot Synopsis: Only one thing stands between peace and Armageddon: the supernatural agents of Day Watch, who fight to control the armies of light and darkness. When the son of a senior Day Watch officer turns to the darkness, forces beyond the imagination are unleashed and the fate of the world hangs in the balance! Like The Matrix, Day Watch combines cutting-edge digital effects and mind-blowing action to create a stunningly original world. This Unrated Edition takes you on an even wilder ride with more intense thrills and incredible effects.


Night Watch (Blu-ray)

Fox Home Entertainment / 2006 / Rated R
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Action, Foreign, Science Fiction

Starring: Vladimir Menshov
Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Plot Synopsis: The forces of Light and Darkness have co-existed in a delicate balance for hundreds of years...until now. Even as the Night Watch polices the Dark Others - among them vampires, witches and shape-shifters - a chain of mysterious events triggers a dreaded, age-old prophecy: An immortal with special powers will come to switch sides, shattering the balance and unleashing an apocalyptic war unlike any the world has ever known!


Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Blu-ray)

Buena Vista Home Entertainment / 2004 / Rated R
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Action, Crime

Starring: Lucy Liu, David Carradine, Viveca A. Fox, Uma Thurman
Director: Quentin Tarantino

Plot Synopsis: Having dispensed with former colleagues O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), the Bride (Uma Thurman) resumes her quest for justice. With those two down, she has two remaining foes on her "Death List" to pursue — Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) — before moving on to her ultimate goal... to kill Bill (David Carradine).

Disc Features:
• Documentary: "The Making of Kill Bill: Vol. 2"
• "Damoe" Deleted Scene
• "Chingon" Musical Performance

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Blu-ray)

Buena Vista Home Entertainment / 2003 / Rated R
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Action, Crime

Starring: Lucy Liu, David Carradine, Viveca A. Fox, Uma Thurman
Director: Quentin Tarantino

Plot Synopsis: Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding, The Bride (Uma Thurman) emerges from a coma and decides it's time for payback... with a vengeance! Having been gunned down by her former boss (David Carradine) and his deadly squad of international assassins, it's a kill-or-be-killed fight she didn't start... but is determined to finish.

Disc Features:
• Documentary: "The Making of Kill Bill: Vol. 1"
• The "5, 6, 7, 8'S" Musical Performances
• Trailer Gallery

The Fall (2006) (Blu-ray)

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2008 / 117 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Fantasy

Starring: Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru
Director: Tarsam Singh

Plot Synopsis: From the director of The Cell comes a visually stunning epic fantasy about a bedridden man who entertains a curious little girl by telling her a fantastical story of exotic heroes and far off places which reflects his state of mind. The central story takes place in a remote 1920's hospital where a small girl named Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) is recovering from a severe looking shoulder injury incurred in a fall while trying to pick oranges. One day she happens to meet Roy (Lee Pace) - a stunt or "gag" man for the "flickers" or moving pictures - who seems to have injured himself out of a future in a particularly reckless stunt, even for those times. He is a clearly unhappy man who - through his own carelessness - unwittingly leads Alexandria to believe that he intends to entertain her with a lavish, epic story of exotic heroes and far off places. As the stuntman's health reaches to the point of peril - so does the story he is telling her...with potentially fatal consequences.


Rudy (Blu-ray)

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 1993 / 114 Minutes / Rated PG
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Sports, Drama

Starring: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau
Director: David Anspaugh

Plot Synopsis:
All his life, people have told Rudy he's not good enough, not smart enough, not big enough. But nothing can stop his impossible dream of playing football for Notre Dame. From the time he's a young boy, Rudy (Sean Astin) is determined to join the Fighting Irish. But his blue collar family only laughs at his ambitions - they know Rudy will follow his father and brothers to the local steel mill. And, for four long years after high school, he does just that. But some dreams won't die, as Rudy proves when he goes to heroic, occasionally hilarious, lengths to win admission to Notre Dame. Once there, he becomes a walk-on player, serving as little more than a human tackling dummy against the starting players. Bloodied but unbeaten, Rudy wins the respect of legendary coach Ara Parseghian and the other Irish players, who give him one shot at gridiron glory. An incredible true story from the creators of Hoosiers, Rudy is an unforgettable testament to the power of dreams and the triumph of the common man.

Disc Features:

• The Real Story (SD, 13 minutes) -- This short bio EPK takes a brief look at the production of the film, offers a truncated interview with Daniel Ruettiger, and fails to live up to its potential. In fact, I was left with so many unanswered questions that this featurette was little more than an annoying tease.
• Production Featurette (SD, 3 minutes) -- An aptly titled bore that features a group of talking heads (including director David Anspaugh) quickly praising the film and tossing out a few tidbits about the production.
• First Down with Sean Astin (SD, 1 minute) -- A dated interview with Astin about his portrayal of the title character.

Cool Hand Luke (Blu-ray)

Warner Home Video / 1967 / Unrated
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Crime, Drama

Starring: George Kennedy, Paul Newman
Director: Stuart Rosenberg

Disc Features:
• Audio Commentary with Paul Newman biographer Eric Lax
• Documentary: "A Natural-Born World-Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke"
• Theatrical Trailer


How the West Was Won (Blu-ray)

Warner Home Video / 1962 / 162 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: September 09, 2008

Genres: Western, Western

Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, John Wayne
Director: John Ford

Disc Features:
• Film Historian Audio Commentary
• Documentary: "Cinerama® Adventure"
• Vintage Featurette: "Making of How the West Was Won"
• Theatrical Trailer

HD Exclusive Content:
• "SmileBox" version of the film