May 6
First Sunday
African American Lives 2
Oprah Winfrey Presents Mitch Albom's for One More Day
P.S. I Love You
The 4400 - The Complete Fourth Season
I'm Not There
Love's Unfolding Dream
Bewitched - The Complete Sixth Season
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Crossing Jordan: Season 1

May 13
Mad Money
A Raisin in the Sun
Sergeants 3
Two and a Half Men: The Complete Third Season
Mission Impossible - The Fourth TV Season
Untraceable
Saturday Night Live The Complete Third Season - Limited Edition Boxed Set
Lovejoy - The Complete Season 3
Indiana Jones - The Adventure Collection (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark / Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom / Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

I AM LEGEND
DVD Release Date: March 18, 2008
$15.99 Grade: B
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Will Smith, star of such films as “I, Robot,” “Independence Day” and “Men in Black,” is no stranger to sci-fi flicks and has long had an affinity for Richard Matheson’s timeless novel I Am Legend.  So when filmmakers learned of his interest in the movie they naturally offered him the part.  Smith is Robert Neville, a military scientist based in Manhattan who unsuccessfully spearheads the government’s attempt to find a vaccine to combat a deadly virus. Once the virus ravages the city all non-infected residents are evacuated, but during the process Neville tragically loses his wife (Salli Richardson) and daughter Marley (played by Smith’s real life 7-year-old daughter Willow).

Uniquely immune from the virus and determined to find a cure he remains in the deserted city with only his dog Samantha for companionship. By day, he and Samantha struggle to keep ahead of the infected creatures whilst scavenging for supplies, working in the lab and broadcasting daily radio messages in hopes of finding other survivors. By night, they barricade themselves in a building monitoring the creatures as they hunt and forage through the streets for prey.  The creatures, a bunch of bloodthirsty, hairless sub-humans -- mutant victims of the plague with semi transparent skins created with CGI and visual effects makeup are zombie like, nocturnal and feed on other human beings.

Complex, intense and provocative, “Legend” is a modern day quintessential story of one man against the world. Smith does a great job of carrying “Legend” all by himself for about two-thirds of its running time and isn't helped by additional characters in the opening and closing sequences. Heavily relying on various forms of expression to portray the emotional range of his characters journey, he wins our sympathy with his eyes and body language when there's no one else on the screen. Samantha, his ever faithful and doting German shepherd embodies comfort and companionship in times of loneliness and insecurity and Neville clings to her for emotional support talking to man’s best friend as though she was his girlfriend.

The movie's power and effect center on the deserted city as Neville makes each lesson in survival an intense one. With awe inspiring visuals and fascinating sweeping shots of an isolated New York with its cessation of water, power and excessive vegetation growth it’s effective in creating the overall powerful feeling of eeriness and abandonment.

101 DALMATIANS
DVD Release Date: March 4, 2008
$15.99 Grade: B
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This two-disc platinum edition features great sound and incredibly bright, intense colors thanks to the restoration process, but its most impressive selling point is the huge assortment of bonus features designed to delight children, families, and the most serious Disney fans. Kids will have fun caring for their very own puppy in the virtual Dalmatian game for television or on DVD ROM and can find out just what kind of puppy they're most like and which human Disney character they're most compatible with in the puppy profiler game. The fun with language game is geared toward the very young preschooler and teaches numbers and the names of common household items. A modern Selena Gomez music video of "Cruella DeVil" will appeal to tweens and teens. The whole family will enjoy the "101 Pop Up Facts For Families" option which prints various movie facts like the name and author of the original book and how specific scenes differ between the book and the movie right on the screen during the movie and Disney fans will love the similar "101 Pop Up Facts For Fans" feature which supplies a wide variety of film trivia about featured voice talents, famous Disney animators that worked on the film, technical devices employed like multi-pane shots and the Xerox process, and which artists directed specific scenes in the movie. Eleven separate Backstage Disney featurettes interview a host of animators, writers, historians, producers, and story men regarding the film's contemporary feel and the groundbreaking technical processes like the then-new Xerox process utilized in making 101 Dalmatians. Also highlighted is Bill Pete's amazing storytelling contribution to the film, the technical and mechanical innovations of Ub Iwerks, the songwriting process, and the animation prowess of famous Disney animators like Woolie Reitherman, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Marc Davis, Ken Anderson, and Walt Peregoy. The 12-minute dramatization of the longstanding correspondence between author Dodie Smith and Walt Disney is intriguing and the trailers and radio and television spots provide fun historical reference for the film and its various releases. Finally, the "Music and More" feature presents a variety of deleted and abandoned songs as well as many alternate versions and takes of songs used in the final film.

AMERICAN GANGSTER
DVD Release Date: Feb. 19, 2008

$18.99 Grade: A
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It’s the late ‘60s in Harlem, New York and Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) is the quiet unassuming chauffeur and confidante to one of the city's leading black crime bosses “Bumpy” Johnson (Clarence Williams III).  When Johnson suddenly dies of a heart attack, Lucas quickly takes over his operation seizing the opportunity to build his own empire by cutting out the middleman and importing pure heroin directly from Southeast Asia and selling at below-market prices.  As his reputation grows, Narcotics lawman Richie Roberts (Crowe) becomes obsessed and determined to bring Lucas to justice through any means necessary.

A fact-based drama about one of the most complex and contradictory figures of the ‘70s,  “American Gangster” heads straight for the jugular with a violent opening as Lucas pours petrol over a  drug rival, sets him alight and finishes him off with several rounds of ammunition.  With its poetically heightened dialogue, its fascination with the mechanics of crime and corruption, it’s a likeable and entertaining flick which teeters on the brink of being a classic but is bogged down by unwarranted scenes and excessive story telling.  The first hour is spent jumping between Lucas’ life which is far more exciting to Robert’s mundane one which consists of divorce proceedings and custody battles with his wife. One’s a charismatic killer and drug peddler and the other is an honest and moralistic law enforcer who turns in a million dollars of drug money discovered in the trunk of a car but thinks nothing of cheating on his wife.  Even though both are on opposite sides of the spectrum there are huge similarities between the pair as they seem to share a special code of work ethics and honor.  “AG” picks up steam once again as the net closes in for Lucas and continues to the final act and showdown when the two adversaries finally occupy screen time together.  With talents like Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Lucas’ brother and Idris Elba, a rival drug dealer “AG” also suffers from a case of cast over load with both actors and others such Common, T.I. and RZA given little opportunity to aptly display their acting chops.

Despite its minimal flaws, it brilliantly weaves in elements of other mob crime flicks such as “Scarface,” “Serpico,”  “Godfather” and “The Untouchables” and should easily earn Washington an Oscar nod for his phenomenal and mesmerizing portrayal of Lucas. There are also powerful performances by Ruby Dee as Lucas' mother and Cuba Gooding Jr., who audiences last saw lolling on the grass with a bunch of 5^th graders in “Daddy Day Camp.” Gooding plays a fellow Harlem drug dealer called ‘Mr. Untouchable’ Nicky Barnes who, like Lucas, was eventually prosecuted for federal and state drug violations but testified against several cohorts and corrupt officers in order to reduce his sentence.

With an excellent depiction of the seediest aspects of the American underworld, the perils of drug trafficking and graphic scenes of substance abuse “AG” isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s definitely engrossing and entertaining and comes exceptionally close to being a classic.

BEOWULF
DVD Release Date: Feb. 26, 2008
$18.99 Grade: B
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Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalized by Crispin Glover, River's Edge), Beowulf--lured by the promise of heroic glory--comes to rescue them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of Grendel's mother, played by Angelina Jolie... and as Jolie's pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we're leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since The Polar Express; while the characters' eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the most vivid character is Grendel, whose grotesqueness ends up making him far more sympathetic than any of the mannequin-like human beings. The meant-to-be-titillating images of a naked Jolie resemble an inflatable doll more than a living, breathing woman (or succubus, as the case may be). But the fights--particularly Grendel's initial assault on the celebration hut--pop with lushly animated gore and violence.

On the DVD the process of creating Beowulf was more interesting than the movie itself--though many of the movie's fans will be disappointed that the "making-of" featurette does not include Angelina Jolie in her skin tight motion-capture suit. We do, however, get to see Ray Winstone (who admits he has a less than heroic physique), live horses bedecked with plastic dots, a "Robo-Grendel," wire props painted fluorescent pink and orange, and a poor production assistant whose job is scooping up horse poop. Other featurettes discuss the monster design (including giving a sea monster a single eye because, apparently, cyclopean creatures have mythological street cred); how excited the filmmakers were to combine Winstone's gruff voice with a preposterously burly bod; and a brief bit discussing the original epic poem, how much director Robert Zemeckis hated it, and the various liberties the screenwriters took with it. But for anyone interested in computer animation, the most interesting extra feature may be the deleted scenes. Because they were cut long before the animation was finished, they show the process at a variety of different stages--at some points the faces don't even move, making Beowulf look like a Thunderbirds-style puppet movie.

Gone Baby Gone
DVD Release Date: Feb. 12, 2008
$16.99 Grade: A+
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Based on the Dennis Lehane novel, Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan star in one of the best movies of the year about two young private detectives hired to take a closer look at the mysterious disappearance of a little girl and soon discover that nothing is what it seems. Ultimately, they will have to risk everything – their relationship, their sanity, and even their lives – to find a little girl-lost in this edge-of-your-seat thriller. Ben Affleck, makes a strong directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Aaron Stockard. “Gone Baby Gone” is powerful film that whose plot is driven by twists and moral conundrums instead of narrative sleight of hand.

DVD Features:
Thought-provoking extended ending
Deleted scenes with optional commentary
Going Home: Behind the scenes with Ben Affleck
Capturing Authenticity: Casting Gone Baby Gone
Audio commentary by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard

Twitches Too
DVD Release Date: Jan. 29, 2008
$17.99 Grade: B+
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Life is settling into an almost normal routine for twin witches Camryn (Tamera Mowry) and Alex (Tia Mowry) following their heroic efforts to save the magical realm of Coventry from the evil warlock Thantos (Patrick Fabian) and the invading darkness in Twitches . The two sisters are learning to use and control their magical powers and getting used to living as one family while they explore collegiate life at Waverly University and get to know their real mother Miranda (Kristen Wilson). Unexpectedly, the darkness returns to threaten Coventry once again and this time it follows Camryn and Alex into the mortal world. Protectors Karsh (Pat Kelly) and Ileana (this time played by Leslie Seiler) interrupt their nuptial planning to bring the girls back to Coventry at Miranda's command, but Camryn and Alex find themselves questioning their mother's decision to deprive her people of their magical powers as well as her insistence that the girls perform a spell to vanquish the darkness in two days time. Even more confusing is Alex's inexplicable conviction that her father Aron (Kevin Jubinville) is alive and residing in the very Shadow lands her and Camryn are set to destroy. In the end, Camryn and Alex must find a way to collaboratively use their powers to preserve Coventry without sacrificing their own convictions. Like the first film, an alternate ending leaves viewers with a shred of doubt, opening the door for another sequel. Also included is a 6-minute behind the scenes featurette.

The Game Plan

DVD Release Date: Jan. 22, 2008
$16.99 Grade: B-
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Top Boston Rebels football star, Quarterback Joe Kingman (The Rock), has an unknown 8-year old daughter (Madison Pettis) from a former marriage show up on his doorstep. In this by-the-numbers Disney daddy-day-care flick. Madison Pettis, the precocious youth, transforms Kingman’s life from a egotistical, promiscuous bachelor to a loving father. Instead of decreasing his popularity, his daughter makes the athlete even more popular among fans and teammates. Kingman admires Elvis Presley (The King) and fills his life with Elvis memorabilia and actions. Little Madison steers her Dad away from his exotic, blonde Russian girlfriend, Tatianna, towards her wholesome ballet teacher, Monique Vasquez. A turn of events ends with a happy ending for both the football and romance sides of this Disney family big-budget film. The Game Plan does in try to please everybody, and fairly much succeeds.

DVD Features:
*Drafting The Game Plan
*The King in Search of a Ring
*ESPN's Sports Center: The Rock Learns to Play QB
*Bloopers With Marv Albert
*Deleted scenes
*Peyton's Makeover Madness

The Kingdom
DVD Release Date: Dec. 26, 2007
$16.99 Grade: B+
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Not to be dismissed as simply another generic action flick loaded with explosives and several rounds of ammunition, “The Kingdom” has a message and with the Middle East turmoil serving as a backdrop and an all-star ensemble it’s a significant and disturbing message. When a deadly bombing attack targets Americans in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh region, a counterterrorism squad is dispatched to find the culprits in five days. Once they arrive in the desert, the U.S. agents (an ensemble that includes Oscar winner Jamie Foxx as the group's leader) learn that in these parts, they are the true enemy. With their investigation hampered by local bureaucracy, the team soon realizes they may be the terrorists' next target. Politics and religion serve as two major themes in “The Kingdom” which aptly explores the political climate in the Middle East without supplying an educational tirade. Director Peter Berg (The Rundown) conceived the idea whilst watching news coverage of the infamous 1996 Khoba Towers terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia which killed 19 Americans and claims to be the only American filmmaker ever to be granted a visa to film in Saudi Arabia. “The Saudi culture is not designed to accommodate Westerners, particularly FBI agents, and I was reading about the FBI’s frustrations and attempts and I thought it was an interesting idea for a film which I then went and discussed with Michael Mann [producer]. I wanted to make a film that dealt with religious extremism and a thriller which people will be scared, pumped, thrilled and emotional over,” says Berg. “The Kingdom” at its core is about FBI agents trying to investigate a series of homicides in a complicated environment and despite its stance, it maintains a balanced political perspective given the one-sided view of human terrorists in the Middle East.  Berg does a remarkable job in presenting Saudi Colonel Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom) who is assigned to protect the FBI agents as humanized and without political judgment nor affiliations. “It’s important to me to present a moderate Arab and someone who is interested in battling religious extremism as we appear to be and it’s my experience that the great majority of Saudis that I encounter are moderate and I try to make him as balanced as I could,” Berg says. There’s a lot of improvisation in “Kingdom” particularly by the Oscar winner Foxx as Special Agent Ronald Fleury who injects his brand of quick wit humor with several catchy oneliners including a jab at Lakers athlete Kobe Bryan and a shout out to his hometown of Terrell, Texas. In one scene when Foxx is introduced to a Saudi official who allegedly knows Osama Bin Laden he quips that if he could find Osama it would mean a huge promotion for him back home. Despite being an explosive action thriller, “The Kingdom” is not perfect and has that unrealistic Hollywood action edge where the hero saves the day plus the jumpy camerawork injected to enhance the viewing experience boarders on over kill spoiling the actual viewing experience, but it is the fusing of action and its politically neutral message that makes it work. “The film very much says we are all the same and that is what I love about it,” claims Garner who plays Janet Mayes, the FBI forensics examiner and the sole female cast. Well researched and balanced, this is an intense action flick where the best thing isn't necessarily the action but the overall portrayal of American and Arab cultures – both targets of religious violence sharing a common interest in battling religious extremism and politics together.

DVD Features:
*Deleted Scenes
*Character by Character: The Apartment Shootout
*Constructing the Freeway Sequence
*Creating The Kingdom
*History of The Kingdom: An Interactive Timeline
*Commentary with Peter Berg

Lost: The Complete Third Season
DVD Release Date: Dec. 11, 2007
$38.99
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"Lost" ended its second season with a bang... literally. The hatch violently imploded, and Kate, Sawyer and Jack were captured by the Others.

Enter Season Three: a must have for all fans of the two-time Best Drama honoree. Though rescue still eludes the Flight 815 crash survivors, suspense, action and danger are found everywhere on the mysterious island. The island’s power to both heal and destroy come into sharp focus, the lines between good and evil are blurred.

Season Three of LOST, lost a huge number of viewers during its break, popular serial dramas should be to broadcast in uninterrupted hunks. That being said, here’s your chance to get caught up and ready for the highly anticipated Season Four broadcast.

Season Three started giving us concrete answers:
*We found out all about the others.
*The lay out of the island.
*The facilities on the island
*Plus the introduction of many new characters.

The seven-disc DVD includes
*The World of the Others
*Lost Flashbacks
*Deleted Scenes
*Bloopers
*Audio Commentaries

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
DVD Release Date: Dec. 4, 2007
$22.99
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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a rollicking voyage in the same spirit of the two earlier Pirates films, yet far darker in spots (and nearly three hours to boot). The action, largely revolving around a pirate alliance against the ruthless East India Trading Company, doesn't disappoint, though the violence is probably too harsh for young children. Through it all, the plucky cast (Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush) are buffeted by battle, maelstroms, betrayal, treachery, a ferocious Caribbean weather goddess, and that gnarly voyage back from the world's end--but with their wit intact. As always, Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow tosses off great lines ; he chastises "a woman scorned, like which hell hath no fury than!" He insults an opponent with a string of epithets, ending in "yeasty codpiece."!

In the previous Dead Man's Chest, Sparrow was killed--sent to Davy Jones' Locker. In the opening scenes, the viewer sees that death has not been kind to Sparrow--but that's not to say he hasn't found endless ways to amuse himself, cavorting with dozens of hallucinated versions of himself on the deck of the Black Pearl. But Sparrow is needed in this world, so a daring rescue brings him back. Keith Richards' much ballyhooed appearance as Jack's dad is little more than a cameo, though he does play a wistful guitar. But the action, as always, is more than satisfying, held together by Depp, who, outsmarting the far-better-armed British yet again, causes a bewigged commander to muse: "Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?" As far as fans are concerned, it matters not.

Spider-Man 3
DVD Release Date: Oct. 30, 2007
$14.99
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The wow factor works overtime in this third Spider-Man installment as Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is transformed when an alien substance from outer-space bonds to his Spider-Man suit and turns it jet-black. This new suit enhances Spider-Man's powers and gives him the feeling of confidence and a new attitude. With state-of-the-art effects sequences that are as beautiful as they are astonishing the new suit feeds on evil thoughts and brings out the dark side of Spider-Man and makes him aggressive and feel conceited about how great he is as a superhero. An action-packed tale that will tickles your eyes.

Scrubs The Complete Sixth Season
DVD Release Date: Oct. 30, 2007
$27.99
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Fill your prescription for laughs with the sixth dose of the Emmy® award-winning Scrubs. The doctors of Sacred Heart make their rounds in the surreal comedy that GQ magazine hails as their "stealth nominee for sitcom of the decade." Expect big bundles of laughs this year as J.D and Kim, Turk and Carla, and Dr. Cox and Jordan are all expecting little bundles of joy, and the entire crew take an unforgettable road trip. Continue your Scrubs collection with all 22 episodes of the groundbreaking sitcom’s sensational sixth season. With a band of hilarious guest stars and exclusive bonus features, including alternate takes and bloopers, this 3-disc box set is the perfect cure for the entertainment blues.

Meet The Robinsons
DVD Release Date: Oct. 23, 2007
$16.99
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A brilliant young inventor named Lewis sets off on a time-traveling journey to find the family he never knew. In the fantastical world of 2037, hip-hoppin' frogs and dogs that wear glasses are as common as talking dinosaurs. In an amazing twist, Lewis discovers that the fate of the future rest in his hands, but he can’t save it alone, he’ll need every bit of help he can get from the wonderfully wacky Robinson family, who help him lean to keep moving forward and never stop believing in himself. Starring the voices of Angela Bassett, Jordan Fry, Tom Kenny, Harland Williams, Adam West.

Planet Terror
DVD Release Date: Oct. 16, 2007
$25.95
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Attention Boomers: “Planet Terror” the wickedly entertaining flesh eating zombie flick directed and written by Rodriguez is available on 2-disc set DVD.
"Planet Terror" starring Rose McGowan as a Cherry, a stripper stranded in a small Texas town that is invaded by flesh eating zombies, led by Bruce Willis, who manages to gnaw off one of her shapely gams. But fear not. Cherry’s ex-boyfriend Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), fits her up with a machine-gun leg that mows down zombies by the bushel.
When “Planet Terror” was released last spring as part of a double feature called “Grindhouse” – two full-length feature horror movies written by directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, the audience didn’t get the subtle humor unless they were a babyboomer.
The double-feature paid homage to 1970s "B" movies filmed with vintage lenses and old-style graphics punctuated by scrapes, scratches with fake movie trailers in between both movies. Younger moviegoers would either go to concession stand during the intermission, or leave the theater thinking the film was over.
So I’m sure it was a marketing decision to release “Planet Terror” and separately on DVD, which is a shame because it hurts the integrity of the original release.
DVD Features:
*Feature Length Audio Commentary By Writer/Director Robert Rodriguez*(Audience Screening Track
*10 Minute Film School
*Sickos, Bullets And Explosions:  The Stunts Of Planet Terror
*The Badass Babes Of Planet Terror
*Casting Robert Rodriguez’s Son RebelThe Guys Of Planet Terror
*The Friend, The Doctor And The Real Estate Agent
*International Poster Gallery and International Trailer

Roots - The Complete Collection (Roots / Roots - The Next Generations)
DVD Release Date: Oct. 9, 2007
$79.99
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The series that captivated a nation and made television history is brought to you in a complete box set that includes everything about Alex Haley's incredible family saga. The Complete Collection includes Roots which begins with Kunte Kinte's humble beginnings in Africa and continues in Roots: The Next Generations closing with Alex Haley's own life in the 1970's as he embarks on his research to unveil his roots. The Complete Collection also includes the Christmas movie Roots: The Gift as well as specially created special features to celebrate the legacy of Roots 30 years later.

Fantastic Four Rise of The Silver Surfer
DVD Release Date: Oct. 2, 2007
$14.99
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Light years better than the original “Fantastic Four” film, but still mainly for kids, enter the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer, who comes to Earth to prepare us for our destruction. As the Silver Surfer races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost. “Rise of The Silver Surfer” is enjoyable film starring Laurence Fishburne as the voice of Silver Surfer.