 | | 1. Up (4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack) new! | | | Director: Peter Docter | | Format: Blu-Ray DVD Release Date: 11/10/2009 |  | Up - Blu-Ray DVD Review By: Dusty Somers - Blogcritics.org Reviews Published on: 11/10/2009 4:23 PM | | With the kind of winning streak that Pixar’s got going for it, it’s almost impossible to temper expectations before experiencing their latest film. As of yet, it’s also unnecessary; the studio’s combination of technical wizardry and masterful storytelling has produced a remarkable string of films that have achieved commercial success and critical acclaim with equal universality. Far be it from Pixar’s tenth feature, Up, to break the mold, and indeed, it’s one of the studio’s most touching and accomplished works to date. Not many could’ve spun gold from a story with a cranky octogenarian as its protagonist, but Pixar never panders with its storytelling, and that ends up creating a piece of art that effectively touches all ages on different emotional levels. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 7. Schoolhouse Rock (30th Anniversary Edition) | | | Director: Tom Warburton | | Format: DVD Release Date: 7/5/2005 | User Rating: 5 |  | Schoolhouse Rock! - DVD Review By: Christopher Null - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 9/12/2008 3:28 PM | |
"But I know I'll be a law someday / at least I hope and pray / that I will / but today / I am still / just a bill..." Man, I love that song. And boy does listening to it again on this 30th Anniversary DVD brings the memories back. (Ya know, 1973 to 2002 isn't quite 30 years, but who's counting? Er, counting? Wait a sec...) . As you might expect, this long-anticipated two-disc DVD set includes all 46 original songs made for ABC's Schoolhouse Rock! For the uninitiated, Schoolhouse Rock! was not quite a TV show, not quite a commercial. I was all of two years old when it got started, and frankly I'm not quite sure what these music videos were all about, when they were aired, or why. read the full review | |
|
|
 | | 8. Ice Age 3-Dawn of the Dinosaur | | | Director: Carlos Saldanha | | Format: DVD Release Date: 10/27/2009 |  | Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - DVD Review By: Bill Gibron - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 10/16/2009 5:10 PM | |
The third installment of Fox’s startlingly successful Ice Age series suggests that this coldly calculated animated franchise may have finally run out of steam. Perhaps even the studio has realized this, since the new film moves away from the earlier ones’ drab frozen tundra setting and replaces their geniality with too much spectacle and slapstick. Feeling left out of the birth plans of his mammoth friends Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah), Sloth Sid (John Leguizamo) stumbles upon a collection of giant eggs in an underground cave and decides to raise them as his own. Imagine Sid’s surprise when the eggs hatch to reveal a trio of baby T-Rexes -- and he discovers that their angry mother wants them back. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 20. Santa Buddies new! | | | Starring: George Wendt | | Format: DVD Release Date: 11/24/2009 |  | Santa Buddies - DVD Review By: MommyBKnowsBest - Blogcritics.org Reviews Published on: 11/23/2009 12:48 PM | | Just in time for this holiday season Disney presents Santa Buddies, a mischievously merry Christmas movie that will not only bring laughter to your home but also touch your heart. Santa Buddies follows a list of fun predecessors including Air Bud, Air Buddies, and Space Buddies, to name a few. Santa Buddies is a live action film featuring the familiar faces of George Wendt as Santa Claus, Christopher Lloyd as grumpy Stan Crudge, and Danny Woodburn as the lovable Head Elf Eli. Zachary Gordon does the voice-over for the main character, Puppy Paws. Stan is the character you love to hate. read the full review | |
|
|
 | | 21. Coraline | | | Starring: Dakota Fanning Teri Hatcher Director: Henry Selick | | Format: DVD Release Date: 1/3/2010 |  | Coraline - DVD Review By: Chris Cabin - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 7/10/2009 4:48 PM | |
Remember The Nightmare Before Christmas? The holiday classic is invariably credited to its producer and story writer Tim Burton, but the film was actually directed by New Jersey native Henry Selick, an animator on Pete's Dragon and The Fox and the Hound who met Burton when they both worked at Disney in the '80s. Selick finally returns to the world of stop-motion animation once again, which he used solely in both Nightmare and the 1996 Roald Dahl adaptation James and the Giant Peach, with Coraline, another adaptation of a cryptic children's fable, this one written by literary goth overlord Neil Gaiman. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 30. Hannah Montana the Movie | | | Starring: Miley Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus Director: Peter Chelsom | | Format: DVD Release Date: 8/18/2009 |  | Hannah Montana: The Movie - DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 8/7/2009 7:48 PM | |
Hannah Montana: The Movie acted as my official introduction to the identity crisis that is Miley Cyrus and her pop-music-powered alter ego. I have two boys, after all. The farthest we've ventured down Disney's empowered-female food chain is Kim Possible (which, for the record, deserves its own live-action film adaptation in the vein of Tomb Raider, yet better). But now, at least, I understand the hoopla surrounding this spunky, cool, and charismatic young performer. Her overly produced musical anthems aren't my cup of tea, but I get why so many people line up to drink what she's serving. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | | 33. Tale of Despereaux | | | Director: Rob Stevenhagen | | Format: DVD Release Date: 8/11/2009 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 |  | The Tale of Despereaux - DVD Review By: Jesse Hassenger - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 3/27/2009 5:36 PM | |
The Tale of Despereaux began life as a children's book, and the animated film version does its best to reproduce the sounds of a storybook: The characters, especially the brave little titular mouse, are earnest rather than wisecracking, and Sigourney Weaver speaks in soothing, empathetic tones as the narrator, just like mom. The movie might have looked a bit more like a lush picture book, though, if it had been hand-drawn rather than computer-generated. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 37. Powerpuff Girls-10th Anniversary | | | | Format: DVD Release Date: 1/20/2009 | User Rating: 5 |  | The Powerpuff Girls: The Complete Series - 10th Anniversary Collection - DVD Review By: The Masked Movie Snobs - Blogcritics.org Reviews Published on: 11/15/2009 3:30 PM | | In celebration of its 10th anniversary, The Powerpuff Girls - The Complete Series has been released on DVD. The 1998 television debut on Cartoon Network was the highest-rated premiere in the channel’s history and it was consistently highly rated during its six-season run. Boomerang began re-running episodes in 2008. Professor Utonium (Tom Kane) mixed together sugar, spice and everything nice in an effort to create the perfect little girl. In the process, he accidentally added in an extra substance known as Chemical X. This mystery ingredient granted his three new creations super powers such as the ability to fly, super speed, and super strength. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 42. Kung Fu Panda (Widescreen) | | | Director: John Stevenson Mark Osborne | | Format: DVD Release Date: 8/25/2009 | User Rating: 5 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 |  | Kung Fu Panda - DVD Review By: Chris Barsanti - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 10/31/2008 3:31 PM | |
It's surprising that Hollywood has taken until 2008 to come up with Kung Fu Panda. Taking your factory-issue period-piece martial arts plot -- wherein schlubby protagonist finds his inner warrior as a means of expressing filial piety and ensuring the harmonious survival of his village -- and combining it with supercharged computer animation, PG-friendly combat, and a flurry of cute animals just makes good business sense. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | | 44. Star Wars-Clone Wars (Single Disc) new! | | | Director: Dave Filoni | | Format: DVD Release Date: 11/10/2009 |  | Star Wars: The Clone Wars - DVD Review By: Rich Knight - Cinema Blend DVD Reviews Published on: 11/17/2008 11:52 PM | | While watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars, I pitied today's youth. It's not that this film is entirely terrible. But if this is what today's youth is growing up with-one lightsaber battle too many-then how could they ever possibly find interest in the far superior original trilogy of Episodes 4, 5, and 6 read the full review | |
|
|
 | | 45. Speed Racer (Widescreen) new! | | | Starring: Emile Hirsch Director: Andy Wachowski Larry Wachowski | | Format: DVD Release Date: 11/10/2009 |  | Speed Racer - DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 1/30/2009 4:47 PM | |
Speed Racer currently leads a race it won't want to win. Right now it's the summer's most irrelevant blockbuster, the first missed opportunity of a still-developing season that hasn't yet entered turn one. Even worse, Racer now sits in the pole position for the undesirable title of Year's Goofiest Movie. Andy and Larry Wachowski, creators of the Matrix trilogy, contradict themselves from the start. The brothers have written and directed a live-action adaptation of the 1960s anime series that fails to keep a foot in reality. Speed Racer doesn't break new ground; it clings to cartoonish boundaries established by Wile E. Coyote as he pursued that pesky Road Runner. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |