Library
Adam Betts
Collection Total:
519 Items
Last Updated:
Jul 6, 2009
A Scanner Darkly [Blu-ray]
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 04/10/2007 Run time: 100 minutes Rating: R
Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray]
Full Metal Jacket (Deluxe Edition) [Blu-ray]
V for Vendetta [Blu-ray]
Kill Bill - Volume 1 [Blu-ray]
* * * * - Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 09/09/2008 Run time: 111 minutes Rating: R
Iron Man [Blu-ray]
* * * * - Marvel Iron Man (2-Disc) (Blu-ray) Suit up for action with Robert Downey Jr. in the ultimate adventure movie you've been waiting for, "Iron Man"! When jet-setting genius-industrialist Tony Stark is captured in enemy territory, he builds a high-tech suit of armor to escape. Now, he's on a mission to savethe world as a hero who's built, not born, to be unlike any other. Co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges, it's a fantastic, high-flying journey that is "hugely entertaining" (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).
The Dark Knight [Blu-ray]
The follow-up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante. Heath Ledger stars as archvillain The Joker, and Aaron Eckhart plays Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as Rachel Dawes. Returning from Batman Begins are Gary Oldman as Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.
Let the Right One In [Blu-ray]
Tomas Alfredson Two weeks in the life of a fading hollywood producer whos having a rough time trying to get his new picture made. Studio: Magnolia Pict Hm Ent Release Date: 03/10/2009 Starring: Robert Deniro Stanley Tucci Run time: 82 minutes Rating: R Director: Barry Levinson
Casino Royale [Blu-ray]
Stuart Baird, Martin Campbell No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 13-MAR-2007
Media Type: Blu-Ray
Wanted [Blu-ray]
Timur Bekmambetov * * * * - Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 12/02/2008 Run time: 110 minutes Rating: R
Ratatouille [Blu-ray]
Brad Bird * * * * * Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 11/06/2007 Run time: 111 minutes Rating: G
Sunshine [Blu-ray]
Danny Boyle * * * * - Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 09/30/2008 Run time: 110 minutes Rating: R
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [Blu-ray]
David Fincher * * * * * Paramount The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (Blu-ray) "I was born under unusual circumstances." And so begins "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button", adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stoptime. We follow his story, set in New Orleans, from the end of World War I in 1918 into the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual asany man's life can be. Directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett with Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, EliasKoteas and Julia Ormond, "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" is a grand tale of a not-so-ordinaryman and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time.
Quantum of Solace [Blu-ray]
Marc Forster * * * * - 20th Century Quantum of Solace (Blu-ray) A devastating betrayal sends James Bond from Australia to Italy and South America on a mission of vengeance that pits the suave super-spy against a powerful businessman with diabolical intentions. Betrayed by Vesper, 007 (Daniel Craig) suppresses the urge to make his latest mission personal as he teams with M (Judi Dench) to interrogate Mr. White (Jesper Christensen). It soon becomes apparent that the organization behind the blackmailing of Vesper is more powerful than Bond and M had previously anticipated, and after discovering forensic evidence that links an MI6 traitor to a bank in Haiti, Bond immediately sets out to gather more intelligence. Once in Haiti, a case of mistaken identity leads Bond into the company of the ravishing Camille (Olga Kurylenko),a dangerous beauty with her own vendetta. It's Camille who leads Bond to a ruthless businessman named Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), who is soon revealed to be the mastermind of a powerful but clandestine organization. Greene is conspiring to corner the market on one of the world's most preciousnatural resources, and in order to make that happen he has forged a deal with an exiled general named Medrano (Joaquin Cosio). By enlisting the aid of his many associates and using his vast resourcesto force contacts within the CIA and the British government into bending to his will, Greene plans to overthrow the current regime of a Latin American country and hand control over to General Medranoin exchange for a parcel of land that appears barren on the surface, but actually houses a natural resource that will make Greene the most powerful man on the planet. But Bond's mission to uncover the culprit who blackmailed Vesper and prevent Dominic Greene from exerting his will on the entire world won't be easy, because now everyone from the CIA to the terrorists and even M are out to get him.
No Country for Old Men [Blu-ray]
Roderick Jaynes, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen * * * * * Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 03/11/2008 Run time: 122 minutes Rating: R
A Bug's Life [Blu-ray]
Andrew Stanton;John Lasseter * * * - - Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 05/19/2009 Run time: 95 minutes Rating: G
I Am Legend [Blu-ray]
Francis Lawrence * * * * - Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 03/18/2008 Rating: Pg13
Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1 [Blu-ray]
Bud Luckey, Alvy Ray Smith, Andrew Jimenez, Brad Bird, Dan Scanlon * * * - - Disney and Pixar invite you to discover these masterpieces of storytelling from the creative minds that brought you TOY STORY MONSTERS INC. FINDING NEMO and many more — now on Blu-ray Disc(R) for the ultimate high definition experience! With revolutionary animation unforgettable music and characters you love these dazzling short films have changed the face of animation and are sure to delight people of all ages for years to come. Experience them now — for the first time on Disney Blu-ray — in remarkable clarity that boasts up to six times the picture quality* and spectacular audio enhancement. Disney Blu-ray is magic in High Definition.*May vary with display.System Requirements:Running Time: 54 Mins. Genre: ANIMATION/ADULT SWIM Rating: NR UPC: 786936737820
Gattaca [Blu-ray]
Andrew Niccol * * * * * Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 03/11/2008 Run time: 106 minutes Rating: Pg13
Batman Begins [Blu-ray]
Christopher Nolan
Akira [Blu-ray]
Katsuhiro Ôtomo A secret military project endangers neo-tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of psionics can stop. Studio: Infinity Resources Inc Release Date: 02/24/2009 Starring: Mitsuo Lwata Run time: 124 minutes Rating: R Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Incredible Hulk [Blu-ray]
Rick Shaine, John Wright, Vincent Tabaillon, Louis Leterrier * * * - - Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 10/21/2008 Run time: 113 minutes Rating: Pg13
The Simpsons Movie [Blu-ray]
David Silverman * * * * - Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 09/30/2008 Run time: 87 minutes Rating: Pg13
300 [Blu-ray]
Zack Snyder * * * * * Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 07/31/2007 Run time: 116 minutes Rating: R
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Blu-ray]
Steven Spielberg * * - - - Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 122 minutes Rating: Pg13
Wall-E [Blu-ray]
Andrew Stanton * * * * * Disney WALL-E (Blu-ray) Even for Pixar, this might be a first: an animated film that contains not only afully realized world as photorealistic as it is full of wonder, but also the Gargantuan themes and visuals of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, the stripped-down sad-clown pathos found in classic Buster Keaton comedies, and one of the most moving and simply unique love stories in a long time. Director Andrew Stanton kicked up the visual acuity of an already-stellar Pixar Animation Studios in 2003 with a reflective, refractive, color-shimmery realization ofthe oceanic world of FINDING NEMO, which genuinely felt as though it spanned the entire earth. WithWALL-E, Stanton replaces an apprehensively fishy estranged journeyer with a love-struck and curiousrobotic one, allowing the quest for eternal love to expand from a desolate, dust-covered, palpably polluted future Earth and into an even more mysterious abyss: the far reaches of outer space.
Kill Bill - Volume 2 [Blu-ray]
Quentin Tarantino * * * * * Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 09/09/2008 Run time: 137 minutes Rating: R
There Will Be Blood [Blu-ray]
Dylan Tichenor, Paul Thomas Anderson * * * * * Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 06/03/2008 Run time: 158 minutes Rating: R
The Ultimate Matrix Collection [Blu-ray]
Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Mission Impossible III [HD DVD]
J.J. Abrams * * * * - Special agent ethan hunt faces the mission of his life. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/30/2006 Starring: Tom Cruise Kerri Russell Run time: 125 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: J.j. Abrams
Children of Men [HD DVD]
Alfonso Cuaron * * * * * Universal Pictures Children of Men (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) In 2027 as humankind faces the likelihood of its own extinction a disillusioned government agent agrees to help transport and protect a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea where her childs birth may help scientists to save the future of mankind.
The Bourne Supremacy [HD DVD]
Paul Greengrass * * * * - Good enough to suggest long-term franchise potential, The Bourne Supremacy is a thriller fans will appreciate for its well-crafted suspense, and for its triumph of competence over logic (or lack thereof). Picking up where The Bourne Identity left off, the action begins when CIA assassin and partial amnesiac Jason Bourne (a role reprised with efficient intensity by Matt Damon) is framed for a murder in Berlin, setting off a chain reaction of pursuits involving CIA handlers (led by Joan Allen and the duplicitous Brian Cox, with Julia Stiles returning from the previous film) and a shadowy Russian oil magnate. The fast-paced action hurtles from India to Berlin, Moscow, and Italy, and as he did with the critically acclaimed Bloody Sunday, director Paul Greengrass puts you right in the thick of it with split-second editing (too much of it, actually) and a knack for well-sustained tension. It doesn't all make sense, and bears little resemblance to Robert Ludlum's novel, but with Damon proving to be an appealingly unconventional action hero, there's plenty to look forward to. —Jeff Shannon
King Kong [HD DVD]
Peter Jackson * * - - - Movies don't come any bigger than Peter Jackson's King Kong, a three-hour remake of the 1933 classic that marries breathtaking visual prowess with a surprising emotional depth. Expanding on the original story of the blonde beauty and the beast who falls for her, Jackson creates a movie spectacle that matches his Lord of the Rings films and even at times evokes their fantasy world while celebrating the glory of '30s Hollywood. Naomi Watts stars as Ann Darrow, a vaudeville actress down on her luck in Depression-era New York until manic filmmaker Carl Denham (a game but miscast Jack Black) entices her with a lead role. Dazzled by the genius of screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), Ann boards the tramp steamer S.S. Venture, which she—and most of the wary crew—believes is headed for Singapore. Denham, however, is in search of the mythic Skull Island, hoping to capture its wonders on film and make a fortune. What he didn't count on were some scary natives who find that the comely Darrow looks like prime sacrifice material for a mysterious giant creature....

There's no point in rehashing the entire plot, as every movie aficionado is more than familiar with the trajectory of King Kong; the challenge facing Jackson, his screenwriters, and the phenomenal visual-effects team was to breathe new life into an old, familiar story. To that degree, they achieve what could be best called a qualified success. Though they've assembled a crackerjack supporting cast, including Thomas Kretschmann as the Venture's hard-bitten captain and young Jamie Bell as a plucky crewman, the first third of the movie is rather labored, with too much minute detail given over to sumptuous re-creations of '30s New York and the unexciting initial leg of the Venture's sea voyage. However, once the film finds its way to Skull Island (which bears more than a passing resemblance to LOTR's Mordor), Kong turns into a dazzling movie triumph, by turns terrifying and awe-inspiring. The choreography and execution of the action set pieces—including one involving Kong and a trio of Tyrannosaurus Rexes, as well as another that could be charitably described as a bug-phobic's nightmare—is nothing short of landmark filmmaking, and a certain Mr. Spielberg should watch his back, as Kong trumps most anything that has come before it.

Despite the visual challenges of King Kong, the movie's most difficult hurdle is the budding romance between Ann and her simian soulmate. Happily, this is where Jackson unqualifiedly triumphs, as this unorthodox love story is tenderly and humorously drawn, by turns sympathetic and wondrous. Watts, whose accessibility balances out her almost otherworldly loveliness, works wonders with mere glances, and Andy Serkis, who digitally embodies Kong here much as he did Gollum in the LOTR films, breathes vibrant life into the giant star of the film without ever overplaying any emotions. The final, tragic act of the film, set mostly atop the Empire State Building, is where Kong earns its place in movie history as a work that celebrates both the technical and emotional heights that film can reach. —Mark Englehart
The Bourne Identity [HD DVD]
Doug Liman * * * * - Universal The Bourne Identity - HD-DVD
Academy Award Winner Matt Damon stars in this explosive, action-packed hit filled with incredible fight sequences. Found with two bullets in his back, Jason Bourne discovers he has the skills of a very dangerous man and no memory of his violent past. Racing to unlock the secret of his own identity, he discovers the deadly truth: he's an elite government agent, a 30 million dollar weapon the government no longer trusts. Now this top operative is the government's number one target in this super-charged, thrill-a-minute spectacular loaded with "Non-stop action!" (Bill Zwecker, FOX-TV).
The Bourne Ultimatum [HD DVD]
Christopher Rouse, Paul Greengrass * * * * - Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 12/11/2007 Run time: 116 minutes Rating: Pg13
Superman Returns [HD DVD]
Bryan Singer * * - - - He's back. A hero for our millennium. And not a moment too soon because during the five years (much longer in movie-fan years!) Superman sought his home planet things changed on his adopted planet. Nations moved on without him. Lois Lane now has a son a fiance and a Pulitzer for "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." And Lex Luthor has a plan that will destroy millions - no billions - of lives. Filmmaker Bryan Singer (X-Men) gives the world the Superman it needs honoring the legend everyone loves while taking it in a powerful new direction. Brandon Routh proves a perfect choice to wear the hero's cape leading a top cast that includes Kate Bosworth as Lois and Kevin Spacey as Lex. And the thrills - from a sky-grapple with a tumbling jumbo jet to a continent-convulsing showdown - redefine Wow. "I'm always around" Superman tells Lois. You'll be glad he is.Running Time: 154 min.Format: DVD HD Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 085391181170
Beowulf [HD DVD]
Robert Zemeckis * * * - - Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalized by Crispin Glover, River's Edge), Beowulf—lured by the promise of heroic glory—comes to rescue them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of Grendel's mother, played by Angelina Jolie... and as Jolie's pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we're leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since The Polar Express; while the characters' eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the most vivid character is Grendel, whose grotesqueness ends up making him far more sympathetic than any of the mannequin-like human beings. The meant-to-be-titillating images of a naked Jolie resemble an inflatable doll more than a living, breathing woman (or succubus, as the case may be). But the fights—particularly Grendel's initial assault on the celebration hut—pop with lushly animated gore and violence. Also featuring the CGI-muffled talents of Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), Robin Wright Penn (The Princess Bride), and John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons). —Bret Fetzer