The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Three-Disc Collector's Edition+ Digital Copy and BD Live) [Blu-ray]
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment / 2008 / Rated PG-13
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Starring: Ben Barnes, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley
Director: Andrew Adamson
Plot Synopsis: The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian.
Disc Features:
• Audio Commentary with Director Andrew Adamson
• The Bloopers of Narnia
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes: "Inside Narnia: The Adventure Returns," "Sets of Narnia: A Classic Comes to Life," "Big Movies Comes to a Small Town," "Previsualizing Narnia," "Talking Animals," "Walking Trees: The Magical World of Narnia," "Secrets of the Duel," "Becoming Trumpkin," "Warwick Davis: The Man Behind Nikabrik"
HD Exclusive Content:
• Circle-Vision Interactive: Creating the Castle Raid
• BD-Live
Wanted [Blu-ray]
Universal Studios Home Entertainment / 2008
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Action
Starring: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman
Director: Timur Bekmambeto
Plot Synopsis: As the impresario behind gravity-defying Russian blockbuster Night Watch, it's inevitable that Hollywood would come calling for Timur Bekmambetov. With a studio budget and an international cast, including two Oscar winners, Timur cooks up a Hong Kong-styled actioner bursting with fast cars and big guns. Our unlikely hero is mild-mannered Chicago accountant Wesley Gibson (Atonement's James McAvoy), whose father died when he was a tot. Wesley never learned to stand up for himself, and his girlfriend, boss, and best buddy all take advantage until the seductive Fox (Angelina Jolie) rescues him from a sharpshooter named Cross (The Pianist’s Thomas Kretschmann). After which, she whisks him away to a mansion on the edge of town to meet the other members of the Fraternity, where leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman) informs Wesley that Cross, a rogue agent, executed his father. Sloan believes Wesley has the goods to take him out, so he undergoes the Fraternity's brutal training regimen (Marc Warren and Common dish up some of the abuse). When he's ready, Sloan sends him out to fulfill his duty, but matters become complicated when Wesley finds out someone isn't telling the truth, leading our former milquetoast to exact an elaborate revenge. For those who've been following McAvoy's career to date, Wanted will surely come as a surprise. In adapting Mark Millar's comic series, Timur offers buckets of blood and a smidgen of depth, but fans of The Matrix and Mr. and Mrs. Smith will want to give this one a look.
Disc Features:
• Featurettes: "Cast and Characters," "Stunts on the L Train," "Special Effects: The Art of the Impossible," "Groundbreaking Visual Effects: From Imagination to Execution," "The Origins of Wanted: Bringing the Graphic Novel to Life," "Through the Eyes of Visionary Director Timur Bekmambetov," "Wanted: Motion Comics"
HD Exclusive Content:
• Motion Comics (U-Control)
• Scene Explorer (U-Control)
• Assassin Profiles (U-Control)
• Picture in Picture (U-Control)
• My Chat (BD-Live)
• My Wanted Commentary (BD-Live)
• My Scenes Sharing (BD-Live)
Step Brothers (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray]
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2008 / Rated R
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Comedy
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly
Director: Adam Mckay
Plot Synopsis: Crude, juvenile, and proud of it, Step Brothers stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as two 40-year-old men, both living at home and leading the lives of 13-year-old boys, who are thrown together when their single parents (Mary Steenburgen, Parenthood, and Richard Jenkins, Six Feet Under) get married. Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly) start out hating each other as only teenage boys can--but things get even worse for their long-suffering parents when they become best friends. Step Brothers gets most of its mileage from very lowbrow humor, but hidden among the farts and masturbation jokes is the suggestion that while these guys may be emotionally arrested, so are Brennan's hotshot business executive brother (Adam Scott, Tell Me You Love Me) and his high-fiving frat-boy pals, just in a way that's condoned because it makes money. Also crucial is that Ferrell and Reilly capture adolescence in all its gruesome glory--the awkward insecurity but also the egomaniacal, arrogant self-centeredness. Mind you, this isn't the American version of The 400 Blows or anything--one of the movie's setpieces features Brennan tea-bagging Dale's drum set (and if you don't know what tea-bagging is... well, you will after seeing this movie). All in all, Step Brothers combines the adolescent humor of producer Judd Apatow (Superbad, Knocked Up) and the comic chemistry of Ferrell and Reilly (who previously costarred in Talladega Nights)--fans of either will find plenty to enjoy.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]
Fox Home Entertainment / 2008 / Rated PG-13
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller
Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Piper Perabo
Director: Chris Carter
Plot Synopsis: The feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a satisfying if unspectacular installment in the X-Files series, taking place an unspecified time after the show's nine-year television run. Former agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is now a doctor, while Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is being hunted by his former agency and living in seclusion. He and Scully are summoned back by a case involving a missing agent and a former priest (Billy Connolly) who claims to be able to see clues to the agent's whereabouts psychically, though his initial search turns up only a severed limb. Don't expect the usual cast of characters; the FBI has completely turned over (except for the George W. Bush portrait), and the only reason Scully and Mulder are back is because agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) remembers his success on similar cases involving the unexplainable. Don't expect the same rogues' gallery either; unlike the previous X-Files feature film, which was inextricably linked to the series' convoluted mythology arc (and served as a bridge between the fifth and sixth seasons), I Want to Believe is a stand-alone piece that makes use of the series' roots in horror/sci-fi and moody Vancouver, B.C., locales. Also unlike the previous film, which was almost self-consciously shot for the big screen, this film is on a smaller scale, like a double-length episode of the series. But it's still a good reminder of the creepy vibe that hooked fans for years. And the relationship between Mulder and Scully? It seems to have resumed pretty much where it left off, at least when you take into account the long period of separation. But stick around for the end-credit sequence to take in all the possibilities for the future.
The Shawshank Redemption (Blu-ray Book) [Blu-ray]
Warner Home Video / 1994 / 142 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Overall Grade 
Strongly recommendedGenres: Drama/ thriller
Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman
Director: Frank Darabont
Plot Synopsis: When this popular prison drama was released in 1994, some critics complained that the movie was too long (142 minutes) to sustain its story. Those complaints miss the point, because the passage of time is crucial to this story about patience, the squeaky wheels of justice, and the growth of a life-long friendship. Only when the film reaches its final, emotionally satisfying scene do you fully understand why writer-director Frank Darabont (adapting a novella by Stephen King) allows the story to unfold at its necessary pace, and the effect is dramatically rewarding. Tim Robbins plays a banker named Andy who's sent to Shawshank Prison on a murder charge, but as he gets to know a life-term prisoner named Red (Morgan Freeman), we realize there's reason to believe the banker's crime was justifiable. We also realize that Andy's calm, quiet exterior hides a great reserve of patience and fortitude, and Red comes to admire this mild-mannered man who first struck him as weak and unfit for prison life. So it is that The Shawshank Redemption builds considerable impact as a prison drama that defies the conventions of the genre (violence, brutality, riots) to illustrate its theme of faith, friendship, and survival. Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Actor, and Screenplay, it's a remarkable film that signaled the arrival of a promising new filmmaker--a film that many movie lovers count among their all-time favorites.
Disc Features:
- Audio Commentary
- Documentary: "Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at The Shawshank Redemption" (SD, 32 minutes) - The first of two docs on the disc, "Hope Springs Eternal" was newly-produced by Warner for the DVD. It features then-new interviews with Darabont and most of the cast, including Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, Gil Bellows and more.
- Documentary: "Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature" (SD, 48 minutes) - Originally produced for the BBC, "The Redeeming Feature" takes an even closer look at the lasting legacy of 'The Shawshank Redemption.' The same basic roster of talent is interviewed (recorded separately from the Warner-produced doc), with an eye towards explaining 'Shawshank's continued resonance with modern audiences. There is also more detail on the pre-production process, as well as a visit to the real prison locations seen in the film.
- TV Excerpt: "The Charlie Rose Show" (SD, 24 minutes)
- Short Film: "The Sharktank Redemption" (SD, 24 minutes) - This enjoyable spoof does not so much skewer 'Shawshank' as Hollywood. It stars Morgan Freeman's son Alfonso as an assistant to a Hollywood agent, while Andy is forced to "do time" at the agency.
- Still Galleries (HD, 16 minutes)
- Theatrical Trailer (HD)
Austin Powers Collection: Shagadelic Edition Loaded With Extra Mojo (BD) [Blu-ray]
New Line Home Entertainment / 2004 / Rated PG-13
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Comedy
Starring: Beyonce, Heather Graham, Elizabeth Hurley, Mike Myers
Director: Jay Roach
Plot Synopsis: Contains 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,' 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,' 'Austin Powers in Goldmember'
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc [Blu-ray]
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2000 / 158 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Periodic Drama/ action
Starring: Milla Jovovich,
Director: Luc Besson
Plot Synopsis: The year is 1429 France is in political and religious turmoil as members of the royal family battle for rule. But one peasant girl arrives beating a message that wins the hearts of her countrymen and the throne for her king. Features: talent files animated menus isolated music score and much more.
La Femme Nikita [Blu-ray]
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 1990 / Rated R
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Crime, Drama
Starring: Jean Reno, Jean-Hughes Anglade, Anne Parillaud
Director: Luc Besson
Plot Synopsis: Rescued from death row by a top-secret agency, Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is slowly transformed from a cop-killing junkie into a cold-blooded bombshell with a license to kill. But when she begins the deadliest mission of her careeronly to fall for a man who knows nothing of her true identityNikita discovers that in the dark and ruthless world of espionage, the greatest casualty of all...is true love.
Home Alone [Blu-ray]
Fox Home Entertainment / 1990 / Rated PG
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Comedy, Family
Starring: Joe Pesci, John Heard, Macauley Culkin
Director: Chris Columbus
Plot Synopsis: Now and forever a favorite among kids, this 1990 comedy written by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club) and directed by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire) ushered Macaulay Culkin onto the screen as a troubled 8-year-old who doesn't comfortably mesh with his large family. He's forced to grow a little after being accidentally left behind when his folks and siblings fly off to Paris. A good-looking boy, Culkin lights up the screen during several funny sequences, the most famous of which finds him screaming for joy when he realizes he's unsupervised in his own house. A bit wooden with dialogue, the then-little star's voice could grate on the nerves (especially in long, wise-child passages of pure bromide), but he unquestionably carries the film. Billie Bird and John Candy show up as two of the interesting strangers Culkin's character meets. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are entertainingly cartoonish as thieves, but the ensuing violence once the little hero decides to keep them out of his house is over-the-top.
Jingle All the Way [Blu-ray]
Fox Home Entertainment / 1996 / Rated PG
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Comedy, Family
Starring: Phil Hartman, Sinbad, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Director: Brian Levant
Plot Synopsis: It's Christmas Eve, and Arnold needs to find a Turbo Man action figure, the craze of the season. Only they're sold-out, of course. So the race is on, and Arnold does fierce battle with other shoppers and merchants alike, all for the prize toy with which to purchase his son's affections. His chief rival and nemesis is Sinbad, a mailman who's always going--you guessed it--postal. (Must have looked good on paper.) All of which is unwittingly very sad, on the content level. But the film supposes itself to be amiable enough, on its own shabby terms, even when it climbs out of the screen and starts gnawing at your furniture. If the humor were to get broader it would make HDTV obsolete. The tone can only be termed good-naturedly mean-spirited. Goofy carnival music runs continuously in the background so we never forget that what we're seeing is, er, um, funny. All the action is composed of comic violence, like an unhip Warner Bros. cartoon. Do the filmmakers actually consider this cynical foray to be indicative of the Christmas spirit? Apparently so, because the resolution has Arnold winning quite inadvertently, and offers no clear alternative to the competitive commercialism that drives the film's attempts at humor. In a key scene that's meant to be touching, Arnold and Sinbad sit down for a heart-to-heart in which we learn that receiving much-wanted Christmas presents in our formative years is responsible for our success in adulthood. You get that Turbo Man, you'll be a billionaire; don't get it, you'll be a loser. Such is the formidable challenge of parenthood, to cater to the child's whims while it can still make a difference. This is what's wrong with this country.
Casablanca (Ultimate Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]
Warner Home Video / 1942 / 102 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall
Director: Michael Curtiz
Disc Features:
Disc 1
• Behind the Story
- Introduction by Lauren Bacall
- Audio commentary by film critic Roger Ebert
- Audio commentary by film historian/author Rudy Behlmer
- 1988 TCM special: Bacall on Bogart [Laurel Bacall's candid and moving reminiscences about her husband's life and career]
- You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca [Bacall hosts this spellbinding backstage tour]
- As Time Goes By: The Children Remember [Stephen Bogart and Pia Lindstrom remember their parents, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman]
- Production history gallery
• Additional Footage
- Deleted scenes
- Outtakes
- Who Holds Tomorrow? Premiere episode from the 1955 Warner Bros. Presents series, starring Charles McGraw
- 1995 WB Cartoon: Carrotblanca
• Audio
- Scoring Stage Sessions
- Knock on Wood Alternate Version, Wilson with Piano
- As Time Goes By Part One Alternate Take, Wilson with Piano
- As Time Goes By Part One Film Version, Wilson with Piano
- Rick Sees Ilsa Instrumental Medley
- As Time Goes By Part Two Alternate Take, Wilson with Piano
- As Time Goes By Part Two Film Version, Wilson with Piano
- At La Belle Aurore Instrumental Medley
- Dat's What Noah Done Outtake, Wilson with Piano
- April 26,1943 Screen Guild Players Radio Broadcast
• Trailers
- Theatrical trailer
- 1992 re-release trailer
Disc 2
• 1993 documentary: Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul
Assault on Precinct 13 (Restored Collectors Edition) [Blu-ray]
Image Entertainment / 1976 / Rated R
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Action, Crime
Starring: Nancy Kyes, Charles Cyphers, Darwin Johnson
Director: John Carpenter
Plot Synopsis: Before making the original Halloween into one of the most profitable independent films of all time, John Carpenter directed this riveting low-budget thriller from 1976, in which a nearly abandoned police station is held under siege by a heavily armed gang called Street Thunder. Inside the station, cut off from contact and isolated, cops and convicts who were headed for death row must now join forces or die. That's the basic plot, but it's what Carpenter does with it that's remarkable. Drawing specific inspiration from the classic Howard Hawks Western Rio Bravo (which included a similar siege on disadvantaged heroes), Carpenter used his simple setting for a tense, tightly constructed series of action sequences, emphasizing low-key character development and escalating tension. Few who've seen the film can forget the "ice cream cone" scene in which a young girl is caught up in the action by patronizing a seemingly harmless ice cream truck. It's here, and in other equally memorable scenes, that Carpenter demonstrates his singular knack for injecting terror into the mundane details of daily life, propelling this potent thriller to cult favorite status and long-standing critical acclaim.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Special Edition) [Blu-ray]
Fox Home Entertainment / 1951 / 92 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: December 02, 2008
Genres: Science Fiction
Starring: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe
Director: Robert Wise
Plot Synopsis: An alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.
Disc Features:
• Audio Commentary by Robert Wise and Nicolas Meyer
• Audio Commentary by Film & Music Historians John Morgan, Steven Smith, William Stromberg and Nick Redman
• Isolated Score Track
• The Mysterious, Melodious Theremin
• The Day The Earth Stood Still Main Title Live Performance by Peter Pringle
• Documentary: "The Making of The Day the Earth Stood Still"
• Featurettes: "Decoding 'Klaatu, Barada, Nikto': Science Fiction as Metaphor," "A Brief History of Flying Saucers," "The Astounding Harry Bates," "Edmund North: The Man Who Made the Earth Stand Still"
• "Race To Oblivion: A Documentary Short" Written and Produced by Edmund North
• " Farewell To The Master": A Reading By Jamieson K. Price of the Original Harry Bates Short Story
• Still Galleries: "Advertising Gallery," "Behind-The Scenes Gallery," "Portrait Gallery," "Production Gallery," "Spaceship Construction Blueprints," "Shooting Script," " Interactive Pressbook"
• Fox Movietonews from 1951
• Theatrical Trailer
HD Exclusive Content:
• Interactive Thermin: Create Your Own Score
• Gort Command: Interactive Game
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