<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/theint.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>With an intelligent script but sour ending, <i>The International</i> is another outstanding video encode from Sony. Using a mixture of 35mm and 65mm film, it showcases how great Blu-ray can look with meticulous attention to detail. The audio isn't as good as the video, but one scene in particular stands out in this regard and features one of the best gun battles I've viewed in the past couple of years.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/theint.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) is determined to expose an arms-dealing ring responsible for facilitating acts of terrorism around the globe. But as his investigation leads Salinger and his partner, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), deeper into the secret world of greed, corruption, and murder, they become targets of a deadly conspiracy so vast, they soon find the only people left to trust are each other.</i>
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/cinderellaman.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Seeking a second chance to provide for his family and for his own personal redemption, professional boxer Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) turns a fortuitous chance into a bout against legendary boxer Max Baer (Craig Beirko). With the nation knee deep in the Great Depression, Braddock gives the folks someone to cheer for.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/johnadams.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography <I>John Adams</I> by David McCullough, this Emmy-winning HBO miniseries focuses on the life of the second president of the United States, from the Boston Massacre, where he defended the accused British troops, until his death on July 4, 1826. With his vision of a nation of liberty and justice for all, Adams (Paul Giamatti) guided his peers—George Washington (David Morse), Benjamin Franklin (Tom Wilkinson), and Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane)—in setting the values and plans upon which our country was founded. His steadying force was his wife Abigail (Laura Linney), whose life-spanning partnership became one of the most moving love stories in American history.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/greatest.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Amateur golfer Francis Ouimet (Shia La Beouf) has a dream—he wants to compete against the world's greatest player and his hero, Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane). With his poor background, this doesn't seem likely until a member of the prestigious country club where he caddies notices his talent and gives him the opportunity to play. When he qualifies for the 1913 US Open, his dream comes true as he battles his hero in one of the most defining moments in US golf history.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/johnadams.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>HBO's Emmy-winning series is fabulous from a historical perspective, but it's also a demo showpiece in audio design, and at times, it's beautiful to look at. While most of the 501-minute runtime is dialog driven, there are many instances when you're transported to the 18th century during the Boston Massacre, crossing the Atlantic, or attending a swanky French party.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/truerom.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>Runaway lovers Clarence (Christian Slater) and Alabama (Patricia Arquette) play a dangerous game when they come to possess a suitcase of mob contraband. They head for Los Angeles, where they'll sell the goods and begin a new life. But both sides of the law have other ideas.</i>
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/lost1.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>On a flight from Sydney, Australia, to Los Angeles, California, Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on a mysterious island in the South Pacific. The ensemble cast is outstanding, but the true star of the show is The Island. Why did Flight 815 crash there? Did The Island have anything to do with the crash? What is the mysterious beast roaming the forest? Why are the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 so special? Where did the hatch come from? Who are "The Others" and where do they come from? What is the Dharma Initiative? What happens if you don't push the button?
Video: 3/5
Audio: 3/5
Extras: 3.5/5 At a carnival, young Josh Baskin wishes he was big - only to awake the next morning and discover he is! With the help of his friend Billy, Josh lands a job at a toy company. There, his inner wisdom enables him to successfully predict what children want to buy, making the awestruck, naive Josh irresistible to a beautiful ladder-climbing colleague. But the more he experiences being an adult, the more Josh longs for the simple joys of childhood.
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.75/5 Based on the bestseller by Richard Yates, this mesmerizing and moving story follows the lives of a passionate young couple living in suburban Connecticut who decide to risk everything to pursue their dreams. They're willing to break away from the ordinary - but can they do it without breaking apart?
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 4/5 Ten years ago in the town of Harmony, an inexperienced coal miner caused an accident that trapped and killed five men and sent the only survivor, Harry Warden, into a coma. When Harry awoke, exactly one year later on Valentine's Day, he wanted revenge and brutally murdered 22 people with a pickax before being killed himself. Now, after years of peace, something from Harmony's dark past has returned. Wearing a miner's mask and armed with a pickax, an unstoppable killer is on the loose. As his footsteps come ever closer, the townspeople realize in terror that it just might be Harry Warden who has found his way back.
Video: 5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Extras: 3.5/5 Interpol agent Louis Salinger is determined to expose an arms dealing ring responsible for facilitating acts of terrorism around the globe. But as his investigation leads Salinger and his partner, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman, deeper into the secret world of greed, corruption and murder, they become targets of a deadly conspiracy so vast, they soon find the only people left to trust are each other.
Video: 3.25/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2/5 A man wakes up deep inside a cave. Suffering amnesia, he has no recollection of how he came to be here or of what happened to the man whose body he finds beside him. Tailed by a mysterious creature, he must continue through this strange and fantastic world.
Video: 5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3.5/5 "Defiance" is a riveting adventure that showcases the extraordinary true story of the Bielski brothers, simple farmers - outnumbered and outgunned - who turned a group of war refugees into powerful freedom fighters. Tuvia, along with his unyielding brother, Zus, motivate hundreds of civilians to join their ranks against the Nazi regime. Their "Inspirational story" is a true testament to the human spirit.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/robinhoodpot.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>Kevin Costner triumphs as the legendary Sherwood Forest outlaw leader in this epic adventure bringing a 12th-century medieval world to spectacular screen life. Enhancing the fun are 12 added minutes of footage not seen in theatres, especially more juicy malevolence of Robin Hood's archenemy, the Sheriff of Nottingham. Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio also star in this lavish production lensed in Britain and France, where historic structures, majestic forests, and vividly realistic recreations of Olde England combined to create a world at once ancient and ageless.</i>