Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Series 1 and 2 (Blu-ray Review)
February 9th, 2012 by Sean Ferguson
Newly remastered and restored to their original U.K. broadcast order, Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Series 1 and 2 debuts on Blu-ray and arrives on DVD from Acorn Media on January 31, 2012. These 10 full-length mysteries per set star fan-favorite and BAFTA nominee David Suchet as the brilliant Belgian detective. Based on the novels by Agatha Christie, these lavish adaptations capture every splendid detail of the Art Deco era. ITV Studios’ Poirot has aired on ITV1 in the U.K. since 1989 and on PBS and A&E in the U.S. The 2-disc Blu-ray sets and the 3-vol. DVD sets include all 20 mysteries from the first two series, now with SDH subtitles. Continue reading ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Series 1 and 2 (Blu-ray Review)’
Everyone’s favorite chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore, and their female companions, The Chipettes, have the time of their lives during a family vacation they’ll never forget in Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, debuting on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on March 27 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. The Chipmunks, Chipettes and their caretaker Dave Seville (Jason Lee; “My Name is Earl”) embark on a trip of a lifetime aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship. Seeking fun and excitement, the Chipmunks turn the luxury cruise liner into their own personal playground. But the ultimate vacation quickly becomes a disaster when the Chipmunks, Dave and Carnival cruise pelican mascot, who turns out to be the chipmunks’ old manager, Ian Hawke (David Cross; Megamind), accidentally fall overboard and find themselves ‘chipwrecked’ on a remote island. Stuck in an unfamiliar territory, the six furry castaways are separated from Dave and must figure out a way to survive on their own for the first time in their lives. 
For his first American film, Alfred Hitchcock teamed up with producer David O. Selznick (Gone With the Wind) to create a “spine-tingling” (LA Weekly) romantic thriller that Won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Based on Daphne Du Maurier’s timeless novel, this dark, atmospheric tale of fatal obsession features Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson, as well as a “haunting score by Franz Waxman” (Leonard Maltin). After a whirlwind romance, mysterious widower Maxim de Winter (Olivier) brings his shy, young bride (Fontaine) home to his imposing estate, Manderley. But the new Mrs. de Winter finds her married life dominated by the sinister, almost spectral influence of Maxim’s late wife: the brilliant, ravishingly beautiful Rebecca, who, she suspects, still rules both Manderley and Maxim from beyond the grave! 
From legendary director Alfred Hitchcock comes this “torrid, tense, tinglingly suspenseful” (Cosmopolitan) film that ranks as one of his best. Academy Award winner Ingrid Bergman “is literally ravishing” (Pauline Kael), and Cary Grant and Claude Rains give “excellent performances” (Variety) in this “taut spy movie that delivers a romantic punch” (The New Yorker). When troubled beauty Alicia Huberman (Bergman) is recruited by American agent Devlin (Grant) to infiltrate a German spy ring in postwar Rio, she accepts…but soon finds herself falling in love with Devlin. And when she receives orders to seduce a Nazi kingpin (Rains), Alicia must sacrifice the only happiness she’s ever known for a perilous mission that could ultimately cost her and Devlin their lives. 
Forty-two-year-old Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates, a seventeen-year-old girlfriend, Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), he doesn’t love, and a lesbian ex-wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), who’s writing a tell-all book about their marriage…and whom he’d like to strangle. But when he meets his best friend’s sexy intellectual mistress, Mary (Diane Keaton), Isaac falls head over heels in lust! Leaving Tracy, bedding Mary and quitting his job are just the beginnings of Isaac’s quest for romance and fulfillment in a city where sex is as intimate as a handshake – and the gateway to true love…is a revolving door. Nominated for two Academy Awards, Manhattan is a wry, touching and finely rendered portrait of modern relationships set against the backdrop of urban alienation. Sumptuously photographed in black and white and accompanied by a magnificent Gershwin score, Manhatten is one of Woody Allen’s finest movies. 
Alvy Singer (Allen) is one of Manhattan’s most brilliant comedians, but when it comes to romance, his delivery needs a little work. Introduced by his best friend, Rob (Tony Roberts), Alvy falls in love with the ditzy but delightful nightclub singer Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). When Alvy’s own insecurities sabotage the affair, Annie is forced to leave Alvy for a new life – and lover (Paul Simon) – in Los Angeles. Knowing he may have lost Annie forever, Alvy’s willing to go to any lengths – even driving L.A.’s freeways – to recapture the only thing that ever mattered…true love. Annie Hall won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and established Allen as the premier auteur filmmaker. Thought by many critics to be Allen’s magnum opus, Annie Hall set the standard that all other Woody Allen films are compared to. 
Balancing gritty action and emotional heart, Real Steel is an inspiring and visually stunning film that takes audiences on an action-packed journey. Set in the not-so-distant future where boxing has gone high-tech and 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots have taken over the ring, the film stars Hugh Jackman (X-Men franchise, Australia) as Charlie Kenton, Evangeline Lilly (TV’s Lost, The Hurt Locker) as Bailey Tallet, Dakota Goyo (Thor) as Max Kenton, Kevin Durand (I Am Number Four, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Ricky, and Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau, The Hurt Locker) as Finn. Real Steel tells the tale of a washed-up boxer named Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), who scrapes by as a small-time robot-fight promoter as he tries to make a comeback both as a fighter and as a father. 
Ambition seduces and power corrupts in this look at politics from Academy Award nominated director George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck). Idealistic campaign worker Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) has sworn to give all for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), a wild card presidential candidate whose groundbreaking ideas could change the political landscape. However, a brutal Ohio primary threatens to test Morris’s integrity. Stephen gets trapped in the down-and-dirty battle, discovering himself caught up in a scandal where the only path to survival is to play both sides. The powerhouse cast includes Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling (Best Actor, Half Nelson, 2006), Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (Best Actor, Capote, 2005), Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti (Best Supporting Actor, Cinderella Man, 2005), Academy Award winner George Clooney (Best Supporting Actor, Syriana, 2005), Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei (Best Supporting Actress, My Cousin Vinny, 1992), and Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen, Across the Universe) in the story of a young, idealistic staffer who gets caught up in a political scandal during a presidential campaign. 
It was one of the most emotional documentaries ever aired on the Showtime Cable Network. Now, for the first time, on December 6, fans will have a chance to own The Love We Make, a look back at Sir Paul McCartney and his efforts to plan and perform a benefit concert in the aftermath of the worst day in the history of New York City. The film is directed by Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter) and Bradley Kaplan, the film was shot in stark 16 mm black and white, complete with color concert clips. The Love We Make juxtaposes dramatic images of “The Concert For New York City,” held mere months after 9/11, with scenes of McCartney himself as he walks the streets of the town that his former songwriting partner, John Lennon, loved so much. 
HBO Films’ critically-acclaimed Thurgood was nominated for three Emmy awards including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for star Laurence Fishburne (Oscar nominee, What’s Love Got to Do with It). Shot before a live audience at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater in Washington, D.C., the film is a one-man show that traces the personal and professional history of civil rights pioneer and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. From childhood stories of his family and home life in Baltimore, to his college days at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., Marshall recollects his triumphs over adversity to pursue a successful career in the judicial system fighting for human rights. Establishing benchmarks in civil rights advancement, Marshall tried the historic case of Brown vs. Board of Education before the Supreme Court, successfully challenging the unconstitutional segregation of black and white students in public schools. His achievements eventually led him to become the first African-American to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. 
For the first time in Blu-ray High Definition, Academy Award winner Robin Williams (Best Supporting Actor, Good Will Hunting, 1997) delivers a tour-de-force performance in the 25
The Tuskegee Airmen, winner of three Emmy awards, comes to Blu-ray disc this January. Debuting just days before the theatrical release of the George Lucas-produced film Red Tails, which was inspired by the story of the Airmen, the film is encased in a stunning 32-page hard-bound book featuring sweeping unit and historical photography. Featuring an outstanding cast lead by two-time Emmy award winner Laurence Fishburne (Miss Evers’ Boys, Tribeca), Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire) and Emmy nominee Malcolm-Jamal Warner (The Cosby Show), The Tuskegee Airmen tells the story of the first squadron of African-American pilots allowed to fight for their country. It is 1943 and the Germans are winning the Second World War as the U.S. suffers huge losses on the ground and in the air. Four newly recruited pilots are united by a desire to serve their country, at a time when African-American flyers are not welcomed in the Air Force. Now, through the brutal demands of their training, to the perils of flying over nations at war, the men they call “The Tuskegee Airmen” must undertake the riskiest mission of their lives – to prove to America that courage knows no color. 
When the staff of New York City’s most expensive and luxurious condominium discovers that the billionaire investment advisor living in the penthouse has plundered their retirement fund, they take matters into their own hands. Convinced that light-fingered Wall Street Titan Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) has stashed his ill-gotten millions in his apartment, building manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) rallies his troops and enlists the help of small-time thief Slide (Eddie Murphy) to make sure they get back what’s rightfully theirs. These rookie thieves—including high-strung concierge Charlie (Casey Affleck), broke ex-Wall Streeter Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), new bellhop Dev’Reaux (Michael Peña) and feisty maid Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe)—know the building better than anyone. It turns out they’ve been casing the place for years…they just didn’t know it. 
Two years after the release of its landmark Emmy-winning series WWII in HD, The History Channel shifts its focus to a new generation and one of the most controversial chapters in American history, the Vietnam War. Vietnam in HD will immerse viewers in the sights, the sounds and the stories of the Vietnam War as it has never before been seen. Thousands of hours of uncensored footage – much of it shot by soldiers in action – will detail every critical chapter of the conflict. The war will unfold onscreen through the gripping firsthand accounts of thirteen brave men and women who were forever changed by their experience in Vietnam. 
Kung Fu Panda 2, DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.’s popular follow up to the Academy Award-nominated original debuted on Blu-ray and DVD on December 13, 2011. Combining non-stop action, a fantastic cast, and stunning animation, this sequel delighted viewers of all ages with its engaging story and colorful visuals. Featuring an all-star cast of voice talent including Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride and Jean-Claude Van Damme, the film earned more than $650 million at the global box office, making it one of the top five films of the year worldwide. 
