Blu-ray Movie Reviews

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/seabiscuit.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on the best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand, <i>Seabiscuit</i> tells the true story of the horse that could and the three men who made him a winner&#151;owner Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), trainer Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), and jockey Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire). With the nation suffering from the effects of the Great Depression, the undersized racehorse gives America something to cheer for.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/fallingdown.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>D-FENS (Michael Douglas) is a recently laid-off defense worker who's having a bad day. Stuck in the mother of all traffic jams, he abandons his car and sets out on foot to his daughter's birthday party. When a Korean store owner charges an insane price for a can of Coke, he snaps and trashes the store with a newly confiscated baseball bat. Now armed and dangerous, he sets out toward Venice, California with a severe case of road rage and leaves a trail of destruction in his wake.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/taken.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>One of the best action movies I've seen in a long time offers a great picture and kick-ass audio. The AVC encode reveals phenomenal shadow detail and offers a razor-sharp image. The audio is just as impressive with an enveloping surround stage, first-rate frequency response, and pervasive ambience.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/trek6.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Since <i>Star Trek</i>'s debut on NBC in 1966, it has become one of the most indelible franchises in entertainment history. Although the original series only lasted three years on network TV, Roddenberry's universe spawned five more TV shows&#151;<i>The Animated Series</i>, <i>The Next Generation</i>, <i>Deep Space Nine</i>, <i>Voyager</i>, and <i>Enterprise</i>&#151;and 11 feature films, the most recent being the wildly successful reboot by J.J. Abrams.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/trueblood.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) is a sweet and innocent waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana, who has the ability to read minds. When we first meet her, she has difficulty tuning out her various customers and their crude thoughts, but when Bill Compton enters the restaurant one night, she's instantly attracted to him for one reason&#151;she can't hear his thoughts because he's a vampire, and for once in her life, she can get through a date without knowing how badly the guy wants to sleep with her.

The Criterion Collection Movie ••••½Disc ••••½

The increased visual resolution of the Blu-ray Disc format isn't only there to bo

Video: 3/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 3.75/5
Runaway lovers Clarence and Alabama 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.