Blu-ray Movie Reviews

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/tmnt.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>The quartet of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael emerge from the New York City sewers to rescue their ninja mentor Splinter. The live-action characters go on to deal with their evil nemesis, Shredder, in the second film and time travel in the third. The last film in the series, <i>TMNT</i>, is an animated affair with our heroes dispensing justice to an army of monsters.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/bsg.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>The Cylons were created by man to make life easier in the Twelve Colonies, but things didn't work out so well for the humans. The "toasters" turned on their masters by orchestrating a sneak attack to eradicate the human race. Although the show is mostly a dialog-driven drama, there are a lot of intense action scenes that offer many demo-worthy audio moments throughout its four seasons.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/racewitch.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Las Vegas taxi driver Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) sets off on the adventure of a lifetime when two mysterious teens ask him to drive them deep into the Nevada desert. But his young passengers are no ordinary teens&#151;siblings Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) are aliens from another universe with astonishing supernatural abilities. Jack becomes a reluctant hero as he expertly evades the authorities while trying to infiltrate Witch Mountain, a shadowy government outpost devoted to studying UFOs.

Is he or isn't he? That's the question at the heart of Series 1 (2006-07) of the highly stylized British cop drama Life on Mars (later adapted for a 17-episode U.S. run). Is Detective Sam Tyler (John Simm) mad, bad, or dangerous to know - which is to say, is he delusional, disjointed, or actually in a coma imaging Manchester circa 1973?

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/coraline.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>From the director of <i>The Nightmare Before Christmas</i> comes another visually stunning, stop-motion animated feature&#151;the first to be shot using stereoscopic 3D. Although the 3D experience doesn't translate well to Blu-ray, the 2D feature is amazingly clear with inky blacks and phenomenal contrast. The detail on the miniature sets looks surprisingly lifelike, from the fabric used for curtains to the textures of the characters' clothing and even their expressions. The audio track doesn't take a back seat to the video, either, featuring demo-worthy surround imaging.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/coraline.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Eleven-year-old Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) has just moved with her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) to a new home in Oregon. With her parents distracted by work and no one to play with except an annoying boy, Wybie Lovat (Robert Bailey Jr.), she spends her time visiting her older neighbors. When she convinces herself that her new home is the most boring place on earth, she uncovers a secret door that leads to a parallel world much like her own&#151;but much better. Is the grass greener on the other side or is it all an illusion?

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/watchmen.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>Someone's killing our super heroes. The year is 1985 and super heroes have banded together to respond to the murder of one of their own. They soon uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger. The super heroes fight to stop the impending doom only to find themselves a target for annihilation. But, if our super heroes are gone, who will save us? </i>