What It’s About: Can’t wait for the Superbowl this weekend? Get yourself hyped up with this football themed box set from Sony. It features three of the best football movies ever: Radio, Jerry Maguire and Rudy. Each one is a little different and takes a different angle, but still focuses on the big game.
This box set is perfect not only for football lovers, but for those who love a great story. These aren’t just your typical rah-rah go team, type of movie, they have depth and something for the ladies as well as the guys.
Synopsis: RUDY: Rock-solid, immensely entertaining, based-on-fact account of Rudy Ruettiger (Sean Astin), a working-class boy intent on realizing his dreams of playing football at Notre Dame. RADIO: The inspiring true story of the real life friendship between Robert "Radio" Kennedy and coach Harold Jones and the thirty-year legacy of victory they created. JERRY MAGUIRE: Tom Cruise is in top form as a sports agent who suddenly discovers his scruples in this romantic comedy, which co-stars Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Technical Stuff: All three movies are featured in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen which looks great. Rudy suffers from a touch of grain but it is an older film.
The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 for all and does truly sound great. “Jerry Maguire” also has a French, Spanish and Portuguese track. “Rudy” has Spanish and “Radio” has only French and English.
Extras?
Radio:
· Tuning In: The Making of Radio
· Writing Radio
· The 12-Hour Football Games of Radio
· Deleted Scenes
· Director’s Commentary
Rudy:
· Rudy: The Real Story
· Original Featurette
· First Down With Sean Astin
· Filmographies
· Isolated Music Score
Jerry Maguire:
· Audio Commentary with Director and Cast
Final Verdict: The perfect movie-marathon for this weekend. After all, what else are you going to do on Saturday?

What It’s About: Nicholas Cage is a supremely talented actor but he hasn’t made a really good movie in a while. To be honest, we liked him best in things like “Face Off” so we were pretty excited to see him in another action role. We were a little disappointed.
Don’t get us wrong, Nic is great as is most of the movie, it’s just missing a spark. You know—that little something that makes the difference between you loving a movie and telling people it was entertaining. The writing is great, the acting is great, the cinematography is great…it just doesn’t come together properly. So, while we weren’t in love, we were mildly in lust and do hope Nic tries another type of movie like this one very soon.
Synopsis: Based on actual events, this black comedy/drama stars Nicholas Cage as international arms smuggler Uri Orlov. The story follows Uri from his humble beginnings as a Soviet immigrant in 1970s Brooklyn and peaks with his involvement in selling off the stockpiled arsenal of post-Cold War Ukraine to--among other top clients--the sadistic African dictator Andre Baptiste, Sr. (Eamonn Walker). Jared Leto costars as Uri's little brother Vitaly, whose conscience and a burgeoning cocaine problem get in the way of business. Ethan Hawke is good as a sanctimonious Interpol agent with a vendetta against Uri, but the film's biggest dose of onscreen gravitas comes from Walker, whose Baptiste seethes with a heavy, serpent-like malevolence. Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, the film makes fine use of the brisk stream-of-consciousness narration style that Martin Scorcese brought to the true crime genre with GOODFELLAS (1992), and a near constant flow of action and classic rock songs that ensure a speedy, riveting ride through three decades of global carnage. Cage, who coproduced, lets his patented oddball magnetism slowly change polarity, until viewers realize they've been led into a moral quagmire by falling for his self-delusory spiels about supply and demand, making this one of the bravest and most jet-black comedies of its decade.
Technical Stuff: Amazing picture. The 16x9 anamorphic widescreen is sharp, bright and has accurate tone. It’s stellar.
The explosions sounded like they were happening right beside me. Seriously. The 5.1 Dolby Digital is amazing.
Extras?
· "Making a Killing: Inside the International Arms Trade" featurette
· "The Making of Lord of War" featurette
· director's audio commentary
· deleted scenes
· "Weapons of the Trade" featurette
Final Verdict: While it’s not Cage’s best work, “Lord of War” is fascinating and very well done. It’s just not perfect.

What It’s About: Another movie that sort of got the shaft in terms of box office popularity, “Flightplan” is surprisingly watchable and engaging. In it, Jodie Foster does the “Panic Room” thing and plays a frightened woman with a child.
We were expecting a mediocre thriller but this film left us quite satisfied with its plot twists, constant suspense and satisfying ending. Between this and Red Eye, we’re not going to want to get on a plane any time soon!
Synopsis: Touchstone Home Entertainment and Imagine Entertainment present FLIGHTPLAN, the nail-biting suspense thriller starring Academy Award(r) winner Jodie Foster (winner Best Actress "Silence of the Lambs" 1991), available on DVD and for PSPTM January 24. A gripping action-thriller that debuted at #1 at the box office in theaters, FLIGHTPLAN features Foster as Kyle Pratt, a widow who faces every mother's worst nightmare, when her 6-year old daughter vanishes mid-way through a trans-Atlantic air flight. When neither the flight crew nor the other passengers believe that her daughter even exists, it's up to Kyle to solve the sinister mystery - before time runs out!
Technical Stuff: Video is perfect. Touchstone does a beautiful and clean 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer here.
The sound also rocks. We listened to the DTS but 5.1 is also available. It was smooth and sassy. It’s mostly a dialogue flick but you can sure hear that plane zipping through the air perfectly.
Extras?
· "The In-flight Movie: The Making of Flightplan" 5-part making-of featurette
· "Cabin Pressure: Designing the Aalto E-474" featurette
Final Verdict: An impressive movie that didn’t get the recognition it should have. “Flightplan” is a smart thriller that’ll keep you on the edge of your couch.

What It’s About: Hustle and Flow was one of those films that people said was great and got good reviews but just didn’t seem all that interesting. The whole rapper trying to make it thing seemed so stale. And then you watch it. And you love it.
This movie is real, it’s genuine and it’s original. The acting is fantastic and the dialogue and storyline aren’t Hollywood’s version of what rap and hip hop are like.
Terrence Howard is spectacular in the movie and does a stellar job singing and rapping in the film. We were absolutely surprised to have gotten so wrapped up in this movie but so, so glad we finally watched it.
Synopsis: The redemptive story of a Memphis street hustler who struggles to break out of his gritty world to fulfill his life long dream of becoming a respected rap musician. He teams up with his middle class friend who is stuck in an office routine having missed the opportunity of becoming the music producer he always wanted to be. Together they have one last chance to follow their dream.
Technical Stuff: Paramount does an impressive job with this DVD and releases it in 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic transfer. The picture is gritty and grainy but it works for the movie. The film was shot in 16mm and blown up to 35. It looks great.
The 5.1 Dolby soundtrack does the music and dialogue justice, is well-balanced, clear and dynamic when needed. Thumbs up.
Extras? Woo-eee, someone loved this movie! There is a ton of extras here!!
· Commentary by: writer-director Craig BrewerUnknown Format
· Behind the Hustle
· By Any Means Necessary
· Creatin' Crunk
· Memphis Hometown Premiere
· Six promotional spots
Final Verdict: No way would we have thought it, but this was one of the best movies we’ve watched in a long time. If you were like us and thought it looked boring—you’re missing out!!!

What It’s About: Really…who didn’t love this movie? It’s a classic and probably Matthew Broderick’s most famous role (probably to his chagrin). I remember watching this when I was young and thinking Bueller was the coolest thing ever. While I might not think that anymore, the movie is still just as fun to watch now as it was then. The themes are still relevant and who doesn’t want a sunny day off now and then? This new dvd is wonderful and fans of the film will want to get their little paws on it as fast a possible.
Synopsis: Ferris Bueller. Larger than life. Blessed with a magical sense of serendipity. He's a model for all those who take themselves too seriously. A guy who knows the value of a day off. Ferris Bueller's Day Off chronicles the events in the day of a rather magical young man, Ferris (Matthew Broderick). One spring day, toward the end of his senior year, Ferris gives into an overwhelming urge to cut school and head for downtown Chicago with his girl (Mia Sara) and his best friend (Alan Ruck), to see the sights, experience a day of freedom and show that with a little ingenuity, a bit of courage and a red Ferrari, life at 17 can be a joy!
Technical Stuff: For an older movie it looks just fine. The new 2.35.1 Anamorphic Widescreen transfer is clear and sharp and while there is some grain, that must be expected for an older film. Nothing to complain about here.
Ooooh….Yeeeahhhh……the sound rocks. The 5.1 Dolby Digital is well-mixed with good use of rear speakers and great kick to the music. Paramount has also included Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound tracks in both English and French, subtitles in English and Spanish, and an English closed captioning option.
Extras?
· Getting the Class Together - The Cast of Ferris Bueller
· The Making of Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Production Stories
· Who is Ferris Beuller?
· The World According to Ben Stein
· Vintage Ferris Bueller: The Lost Tapes
· Class Album
Final Verdict: A classic and still hilarious movie with a terrific new DVD release. How can you go wrong?

What It’s About: A surprisingly clever and enjoyable suspense flick about Lisa (Rachel McAdams), a hotel manager who gets on a plan and wishes she’s taken Greyhound. You see, beside is a psycho who wants her to help him arrange a murder of an official staying at her hotel.
She can’t ask for help since he tells her he’s holding her father hostage. Cillian Murphy is super-creepy as the psycho and McAdams shows that she can do movies other than comedy. It’s a quick (86 minutes), scary movie that will keep you in suspense from start to finish.
Synopsis: Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) hates to fly, but the terror that awaits her on the night flight to Miami has nothing to do with a fear of flying.
Upon boarding the plane, Lisa is pleasantly surprised to find that she is seated next to Jackson (Cillian Murphy), the seemingly charming man with whom she had shared a drink—and perhaps even a brief flirtation—in the airport terminal. But moments after takeoff, Jackson drops his façade and menacingly reveals the real reason he's on board: He is an operative in a plot to kill the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security...and Lisa is the key to its success. If she refuses to cooperate, her own father will be killed by an assassin awaiting a call from Jackson.
Trapped within the confines of a jet at 30,000 feet, Lisa has nowhere to run and no way to summon help without endangering her father, her fellow passengers and her own life. As the miles tick by, Lisa knows she is running out of time as she desperately looks for a way to thwart her ruthless captor and stop a terrible murder.
Technical Stuff: DreamWorks presents the dvd in an anamorphic widescreen 2.40:1 ratio and it looks really nice. The colours are accurate and rich and the picture is nice and clear with good detail.
The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 and works great. Since the movie is mostly dialogue, there aren’t a lot of spectacular sound effects to look for but what does happen sounds great. It’s nicely balanced and crisp.
Extras?
· Commentary by: Director Wes Craven, Producer Marianne Maddalena and Editor Patrick LussierUnknown Format
· The Making of Red Eye
· Wes Craven: A New Kind of Thriller
· Gag Reel
· Previews
Final Verdict: It’s fast and furious with a very satisfying ending. Suspense at its best.

What It’s About: The original Transporter was a bang-bang extravaganza of explosions and shoot-outs with minimal story or character development. It was super-entertaining and a lot of fun. The sequel is more of the same and lives up to the original.
Jason Statham is the Transporter and he’s great in the role—dead-pan and serious with some amazing action scenes. Sure, the film’s pretty cheesy but it’s a hoot and a great mindless time.
Synopsis: Jason Statham returns in his signature role: ex-Special Forces operative Frank Martin, aka "The Transporter." Now retired in Miami, Martin makes a living driving for a wealthy family, including twin brothers with whom he has unexpectedly bonded. But when the boys are abducted, Martin must use all his skills to bring them to safety and discover the kidnapper's master plan.
Technical Stuff: The movie is presented in 2:35.1 anamorphic widescreen and looks awesome. The colours were purposely manipulated by the cinematographer and both the really bright and the washed out look crisp and clear.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound does the movie good with its clear booming explosions and easy to hear dialogue. I felt like I was at the movies!
Extras? All we had on our screener were deleted and extended scenes that total 21 minutes but don’t really add anything to the viewing experience. The "missing" bonus features include a pair of featurettes ("Behind the Scenes" and "Making the Music").
Final Verdict: A fun piece of fluff that will entertain those of you who like some action. And don’t we all like some action every once in a while?