 | |
 | | 2. Frost/Nixon | | | Starring: Michael Sheen Frank Langella Director: Ron Howard | | Format: DVD Release Date: 8/11/2009 |  | Frost/Nixon - DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 4/10/2009 5:36 PM | |
If there's a single misstep in Ron Howard's expertly calibrated Frost/Nixon, it eluded me. Howard's spellbinding adaptation of Peter Morgan's Tony-nominated stage drama understands the politics that manipulate Washington and Hollywood. It comprehends how many interviews are won and lost long before the QandA begins. It figures out the best way to transition an airtight theatrical production to the roomier silver screen (giving the elements plenty of room to breathe). And -- most importantly -- it illustrates the intimidating power of television, which creates and destroys legacies on a daily basis. read the full review | |
|
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 6. Apocalypto (Blu-ray) | | | Starring: Dalia Hernandez Mayra Serbulo Director: Mel Gibson | | Format: Blu-Ray DVD Release Date: 1/10/2010 | User Rating: 4 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 |  | Apocalypto - DVD Review By: Ed Perkis - Cinema Blend DVD Reviews Published on: 5/20/2007 11:11 AM | | Mel Gibson presents an amazing recreation of the Mayan world for Apocolypto; at least, the viewer would have to think so, not really knowing much about that world. The obvious effort and skill that went into sets, hair, make-up, and costumes on what looks like thousands of lead and background characters is impressive. The technical and artistic crew has much to be proud about. They should also be a little pissed that Gibson-the-director turned their work into an uncensored episode of 'Cops: The Mayan Beat.' read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | | 8. Troy (2-Disc Widescreen) new! | | | Starring: Brad Pitt Eric Bana Director: Wolfgang Petersen | | Format: DVD Release Date: 11/10/2009 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 |  | Troy - DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 9/7/2007 4:44 PM | |
Troy leaves the talking to its triumvirate of Hollywood royalty – Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, and Peter O’Toole. The dying is left up to the chiseled and marketable studs – Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, and Brad Pitt. Whenever a member of the veteran trio interacts with a member of the other on screen, it creates a mismatch of talent not even a Trojan Horse could overcome.
read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 12. Defiance | | | Starring: Daniel Craig Liev Schreiber Director: Edward Zwick | | Format: DVD Release Date: 8/25/2009 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 |  | Defiance - DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 5/22/2009 5:40 PM | |
Decades after the last shot was fired, filmmakers continue to find intriguing narrative passages into WWII. The latest, Edward Zwick's Defiance, tells the true story of the Bielskis, three Jewish brothers who, in 1941, avoided capture by the Germans and fled to Poland's Lipicanzia Forest. Willing to help as many fellow exiles as possible, Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber), and Asael (Jamie Bell) formed what eventually came to be known as the Otriad, a mobile community that grew to encompass 1,200 Jewish refugees. The Otriad provided food, shelter, safety, and a moderate sense of stability. There were rules and guidelines, which bred harmony and conflict. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 20. Apocalypto | | | Starring: Dalia Hernandez Gerardo Taracena Director: Mel Gibson | | Format: DVD Release Date: 3/28/2008 | User Rating: 5 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 |  | Apocalypto - DVD Review By: Ed Perkis - Cinema Blend DVD Reviews Published on: 5/20/2007 11:11 AM | | Mel Gibson presents an amazing recreation of the Mayan world for Apocolypto; at least, the viewer would have to think so, not really knowing much about that world. The obvious effort and skill that went into sets, hair, make-up, and costumes on what looks like thousands of lead and background characters is impressive. The technical and artistic crew has much to be proud about. They should also be a little pissed that Gibson-the-director turned their work into an uncensored episode of 'Cops: The Mayan Beat.' read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | | 23. The Duchess | | | Starring: Ralph Fiennes Keira Knightley Director: Saul Dibb | | Format: DVD Release Date: 4/14/2009 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 |  | The Duchess - DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 12/12/2008 4:33 PM | |
The Duchess is an Oscar-worthy film. Now, they may be technical Oscars. It's too soon to catapult Saul Dibb's exquisite period biopic into the Best Picture race, what with 20 or 30 award-hungry competitors left to screen over the next three months. But you can book Dibb's handsome picture for the craft categories -- costume, art direction, makeup, and set design. And if there's any justice in this industry, Duchess will score nods for Rachel Portman's elegant score and for leading lady Keira Knightley, who delivers the most mature, versatile, and devastating performance of her young career (can you believe she's only 23?)
read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | | 25. Troy (2-Disc Full Frame) new! | | | Starring: Brad Pitt Eric Bana Director: Wolfgang Petersen | | Format: DVD Release Date: 11/10/2009 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 |  | Troy - DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 9/7/2007 4:44 PM | |
Troy leaves the talking to its triumvirate of Hollywood royalty – Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, and Peter O’Toole. The dying is left up to the chiseled and marketable studs – Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, and Brad Pitt. Whenever a member of the veteran trio interacts with a member of the other on screen, it creates a mismatch of talent not even a Trojan Horse could overcome.
read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 34. Waltz with Bashir | | | Director: Ari Folman | | Format: DVD Release Date: 6/23/2009 |  | Waltz with Bashir - DVD Review By: Chris Cabin - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 6/11/2009 5:39 AM | |
Despite its blaring phantasmagoria and hallucinatory nostalgia, the central image of Ari Folman's utterly spellbinding Waltz with Bashir is one of brilliant, serene calm. Bathed in street-lamp-yellow glow, three rail-thin soldiers emerge from a starless-black ocean, stark naked, and begin walking onto the shores of West Beirut. Accompanied only by the sustained synths and strings of Max Richter's ominous score, the image reemerges throughout the film, eventually leading to the film's shattering finale. read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | | 40. Troy (2-Disc Directors Cut) | | | Starring: Eric Bana Orlando Bloom Director: Wolfgang Petersen | | Format: DVD Release Date: 1/8/2008 | | Video Reviews Available: 1 |  | Troy - DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 9/7/2007 4:44 PM | |
Troy leaves the talking to its triumvirate of Hollywood royalty – Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, and Peter O’Toole. The dying is left up to the chiseled and marketable studs – Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, and Brad Pitt. Whenever a member of the veteran trio interacts with a member of the other on screen, it creates a mismatch of talent not even a Trojan Horse could overcome.
read the full review | |
|
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |