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Languages: Burmese, English, Thai

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: If you've been wondering what ever happened to ex–Green Beret superwarrior John Rambo since he singlehandedly shot up a Pacific Northwest town ("First Blood", 1982), returned to the jungles of 'Nam to free U.S. POWs held long after war's end ("Rambo: First Blood Part II", 1985), and interrupted the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan long enough to blow lots of stuff up and rescue his old commandant from the Reds ("Rambo III", 1988), then "Rambo" (2008) is for you. Without so much as a "IV" to dilute the brand name, "Rambo"--which is what most of us called the second, most iconic film in the series--may aspire to open a new era for a pop legend. But it's a thoroughly mechanical attempt to reanimate a franchise that, absent the anger, frustration, and self-loathing of the post-Vietnam years, has no meaning or purpose. For some time now Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has been putt-putting along the Thai-Burmese border in a longboat, catching exotic snakes to sell. As for the 60-year civil war in Burma between the brutal government and the Karen independence movement, he ignores it. Enter a party of American missionaries whose dewy blond spokeswoman ("Dexter"'s Julie Benz) asks Rambo to haul them upriver so that they can bring medical aid to the insurgents. After the requisite number of monosyllabic refusals, he does. Soon afterward the do-gooders are in a world of hurt, and he's summoned to lead a squad of mercenaries on a rescue mission.
As storytelling, the latest "Rambo" is the most bare-bones of the bunch. Rambo has little to say, so it's especially galling that Stallone, as director and co-writer, obliges him to have essentially the same conversation at three different points (the final distillation: "Live for nothing or die for something"). The Burmese army goons seem in competition to commit the most hideous atrocity (e.g., child skull-crushing underfoot), the better to justify the eventual, lovingly protracted spectacle of them being eviscerated by high-powered weaponry. Although shot in Thailand, the movie has mostly been photographed in brown, reducing any particular sense of place but, perhaps, perversely increasing our gratitude for the splashes of purple whenever hot metal tatters flesh. "--Richard T. Jameson"
Beyond "Rambo"
Complete list of Rambo movies on DVD and Blu-ray
Soundtrack
"Rambo: The Complete Collector's Set" Stills from "Rambo" (click for larger image)

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: One war against one man.

Summary: John Rambo is a disoriented Vietnam Vet. He is hitchhiking from town to town to see friends from the war. A sheriff tries to make him leave town and when he refuses, arrests him for vagrancy. While in jail, a deputy takes delight in abusing him. Rambo escapes showing his old Vietnam fighting skills and takes to the woods as the sheriff and deputies try and find him in his element. Things get out of hand as Colonel Trautman Rambo's old commander appears to shed light on the situation.

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: After "Rocky" and its sequels, Sylvester Stallone cast about for another character that would bring him the same kind of box-office hit--and found it in disillusioned Vietnam vet John Rambo in "First Blood", a solid little action thriller. So when all else failed, Stallone went back to the same well in hopes of recapturing the same commercial success. Which this film did. But where "First Blood" was a no-nonsense thriller that pitted Stallone against a worthy (and not necessarily bad) Brian Dennehy, this one is a sadistic chest-thumper in which Rambo gets to go back to Vietnam: ostensibly, he's there to rescue missing POWs, but in fact the movie was a lame excuse for him to refight the Vietnam War--and win. Audiences ate up the cruel Vietcong (and their Russian manipulators) and Stallone's bogus heroics, but it was strictly by-the-numbers action. "--Marshall Fine"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Comments: God would have mercy John Rambo won't!

Summary: The battle rages on as superstar Sylvester Stallone detonates the third and most explosive blast in the action-packed RAMBO trilogy. Combat has taken its toll on John Rambo (Stallone) but he has finally begun to find inner peace inside a monastery--until his friend and mentor Col. Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna) shows up to ask for his help on a top-secret mission in Afghanistan. A war-weary Rambo declines but when Trautman is captured Rambo erupts into a one-man firestorm to rescue his former commanding officer and decimate the enemy. It's an intense pulse-pounding adventure that boasts unrelenting action and suspense from start to finish!Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/HEROES Rating: R UPC: 031398233015 Manufacturer No: 23301

Sound: DTS

Comments: Trust. Betrayal. Deception. In the C.I.A. nothing is what it seems.

Summary: "Nothing is as it seems" in "The Recruit", a guessing-game thriller that employs plot twists and conflicting loyalties as its primary raison d'etre. Surrounded by potential deception, a newly recruited CIA officer (Colin Farrell) must determine if his manipulative instructor (Al Pacino) is being honest when he identifies Farrell's fellow recruit and love interest (Bridget Moynihan) as an enemy "mole" assigned to steal a dangerous computer virus from CIA headquarters. While claiming to offer an insider's look at CIA training methods, this engrossing yet ultimately predictable plot is pure Hollywood fantasy; any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental, leaving the perpetually unshaven and scruffily coiffed Farrell to fend for himself in Pacino's cynical arena while tracing his familial roots in the spy game. Wearing its cleverness on its sleeve, "The Recruit" is an adequately elaborate puzzle of perceptions. "Everything is a test", as Farrell soon realises, and attentive viewers will enjoy piecing it all together.--"Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: "The Road Warrior" meets "Dragonslayer" in the briskly entertaining post-apocalyptic action thriller "Reign of Fire". "Reign of Fire" exists primarily to give us a bigger and better dragon than the Vermithrax Pejorative of 1981's classic "Dragonslayer", and in that regard, the special effects are mightily impressive; the reptilian fire-breathers are stupendously convincing. While the earlier film offers a richer, more whimsical medieval adventure, "Reign of Fire" is a fast-moving tale of man versus dragon that takes place in the charred England of 2020, after Earth has been scorched by rapidly multiplying dragons and the aftermath of a futile nuclear counterstrike. Mixing high-tech gadgetry with primitive survivalism, "X-Files" alumnus Rob Bowman makes the most of his midlevel budget, establishing a lavish castle base for the rugged, adversarial teaming of Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey as dragonslayers on the brink of extinction. With a steady supply of crowd-pleasing highlights, "Reign of Fire" is a pyrotechnical treat. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: One of the first films to examine the aftermath of post- 9/11 New York City, "Reign Over Me" shows how much even indirect contact with those who lost loved ones in the tragedy can greatly affect. Like rings of debris spiraling out from an explosion, Charlie Fineman's (Adam Sandler) loss also devastates his in-laws, who he refuses to speak to, and ex-college roommate, Alan Johnson. "Reign Over Me" stars Johnson, a successful dentist with a gorgeous wife, Janeane (Jada Pinkett Smith) and two kids, who finds Charlie reverted back into a teenage wasteland, unable to face his unbearable sadness. Sandler as Charlie looks like Bob Dylan and acts like Dustin Hoffman in his great dramatic performance. Listening to The Who and The Boss through headphones, playing video games, and continually remodeling his kitchen, Fineman's escapism disturbs Johnson, who, in turn, feels squelched by his stiflingly normal lifestyle. As the two reacquaint, Johnson is the only person who can help save Fineman from self-obliteration. The story analyzes Post Traumatic Stress with some accuracy, though excess sentimentality undermines emotional scenes. Survivor's guilt, assessing mental illness, and absolute incapacitation due to grief are all topics covered within the bounds of the enduring friendship forged between these two men. Ultimately, "Reign Over Me's" message is one of compassion, as a reminder to treat victims of loss with patience and care. But interestingly, it also pays heed to smaller human tribulations, which are obstacles to healing when left untreated. --"Trinie Dalton"
Stills from "Reign Over Me" (click for larger image)

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: With only one major star (Denzel Washington), an appealing cast of fresh unknowns, and a winning emphasis of substance over self-indulgent style, Boaz Yakin's "Remember the Titans" is, like "Rudy" before it, a football movie that will be fondly remembered by anyone who sees it.
Set in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971, the fact-based story begins with the integration of black and white students at T. C. Williams High School. This effort to improve race relations is most keenly felt on the school's football team, the Titans, and bigoted tempers flare when a black head coach (Washington) is appointed and his victorious predecessor (Will Patton) reluctantly stays on as his assistant. It's affirmative action at its most potentially volatile, complicated by the mandate that the coach will be fired if he loses a single game in the Titans' 13-game season. The players represent a hotbed of racial tension, but as the team struggles toward unity and gridiron glory, "Remember the Titans" builds on several subplots and character dynamics to become an inspirational drama of "Rocky"-like proportions.
Yakin--whose debut, "Fresh", was one of the best independent films of the 1990s--understands the value of connecting small scenes to form a rich climactic payoff. Likewise, Washington provides a solid dramatic foundation (his coach is obsessively harsh, but for all the right reasons) while giving his younger co-stars ample time in the spotlight. The result is a film that achieves what it celebrates: an enriching sense of unity that's unquestionably genuine. (Ages 9 and older) "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, Italian, French, Hungarian

Subtitles: Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Hebrew, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Summary: The director of Chow Yun-fat's first Hollywood outing, music-video veteran Antoine Fuqua, seems to be trying to squeeze the charismatic Asian superstar into a conventional American action-hero mold, and the results are dispiriting. Fuqua never lets this high-spirited actor smile, fetishizing him as a gunslinging clotheshorse in a series of garish, scenery-smashing battle scenes. As a paid assassin whose former employers turn against him, Chow enlists the help of an illegal documents specialist played, with surprising grit, by Mira Sorvino, and then spends most of the time fending off squads of killers in mirror shades. The movie is art-directed and photographed fit to kill (even the most routine incidents are eye-gougingly colorful) and edited to a hip-hop beat. It's garishly superficial. The frequent gunplay duels may keep action fans riveted, but they'll hate themselves in the morning. "--David Chute"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: In the tradition of "The Great Escape" and "The Deer Hunter", "Rescue Dawn" is Werner Herzog's take on the pulse-pounding POW genre. Unlike most such efforts, however, his isn't just based on a true story, it's a remake of his 1997 documentary "Little Dieter Needs to Fly". German-born Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale, who first made his mark in Steven Spielberg’s prison camp drama "Empire of the Sun") has longed to pilot a plane since he was a boy. When he joins the Navy during the Vietnam War, he gets his wish. Then he's shot down over Laos. Though he survives, Dengler is captured by the Pathet Lao. Through his internment, he meets Duane Martin (Steve Zahn in his finest performance), with whom he becomes fast friends. While Dengler is arrogant and resourceful, Martin is patient and humble. With Dengler's assistance, the prisoners escape, but the untamed wilderness turns out to be just as dangerous (cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger ably captures its cruel beauty). Those who've seen "Little Dieter" know how this tale ends. Suffice to say, Herzog's reenactment makes for rousing entertainment. If the film has a flaw, it's that the rah-rah finale plays like something from out of a mainstream sports movie. That quibble aside, the actors, including Jeremy Davies as a delusional campmate and Toby Huss as a fellow flyer, are aces. And Herzog, who's been concentrating on nonfiction, like "Grizzly Man", proves he can direct a Hollywood-style action epic with the best of 'em. --"Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Beyond "Rescue Dawn"
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
Christian Bale Films
More from MGM


Stills from "Rescue Dawn"

Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Summary: The third installment in the massively popular film series based on Capcom's zombie horror/science fiction games, "Resident Evil: Extinction" brings the world to an end, not with a whimper but a bang, as Milla Jovovich's Alice pits her bio-organic superskills against armies of the undead in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas. Also on hand is a more grown-up version of the games' Claire Redfield (played by "Heroes"' Ali Larter), who leads a convoy of humans (among them "Resident Evil" vets Oded Fehr and Mike Epps, who reprise their roles as Carlos and LJ, as well as newcomers Ashanti and Spencer Locke) in search of sanctuary; meanwhile, sinister Umbrella Corporation scientist Dr. Sam Isaacs (Iain Glen) seeks a cure for the zombie virus outbreak via Alice's blood, which he taps via a lab full of clones. Subtlety has never been the "Resident Evil" series' strong suit, but it's hard to argue against "Extinction"'s breakneck pace and impressive CG special effects; director Russell Mulcahy (the "Highlander" series) lends a lot of verve to the proceedings, and the script by producer Paul W.S. Anderson pulls in agreeable touches from "The Road Warrior" and "Day of the Dead". A hit during the summer of 2007, "Extinction" should please series devotees and action-horror fans alike; the DVD includes commentary by Mulcahy, Anderson, and co-producer Jeremy Bolt, as well as several making-of featurettes, and a glimpse at the next entry in the "Resident Evil" franchise, the CG-only "Degeneration". "-- Paul Gaita"

Languages: English, Spanish

Summary: When it comes down to naming the best Western of all time, the list usually narrows to three completely different pictures: John Ford's "The Searchers", Howard Hawks's "Red River", and Hawks's "Rio Bravo". About the only thing they all have in common is that they all star John Wayne. But while "The Searchers" is an epic quest for revenge and "Red River" is a sweeping cattle-drive drama ("Take 'em to Missouri! Yeeee-hah!"), "Rio Bravo" is on a much more modest scale. Basically, it comes down to Sheriff John T. Chance (Wayne), his sobering-up alcoholic friend Dude (Dean Martin), the hotshot new kid Colorado (Ricky Nelson), and deputy-sidekick Stumpy (Walter Brennan), sittin' around in the town jail, drinkin' black cofee, shootin' the breeze, and occasionally, singin' a song. Hawks--who, like his pal Ernest Hemingway, lived by the code of "grace under pressure"--said he made "Rio Bravo" as a rebuke to "High Noon", in which sheriff Gary Cooper begged for townspeople to help him. So, Hawks made Wayne's Sheriff Chance a consummate professional--he may be getting old and fat, but he knows how to do his job, and he doesn't want amateurs getting mixed up in his business; they could get hurt. This most entertaining of movies also achieved some notoriety in the '90s when Quentin Tarantino (director of "Pulp Fiction", "Reservoir Dogs", and "Jackie Brown") revealed that he uses it as a litmus test for prospective girlfriends. Oh, and if the configuration of characters sounds familiar, it should: Hawks remade "Rio Bravo" two more times--as "El Dorado" in 1967, with Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan; and as "Rio Lobo" in 1970, with Wayne, Jack Elam, and Christopher Mitchum. "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English

Summary: A strong candidate for the designation of most thrilling action movie ever made (the turbo-charged exhilaration of its full-throttle highway chases has never been equaled), the second part of George Miller's post-apocalyptic trilogy is also a magnificently imagined movie myth. Like the "Star Wars" trilogy (by that other George) the "Mad Max" films draw their inspiration from the works of mythologist Joseph Campbell. In the 1979 original, Max (Mel Gibson) is a policeman, the last guardian of civilization and order in a devastated world reduced to chaos. But when a leather-clad gang of sadomasochistic speed demons mows down Max's family, his remaining connections to humanity are also permanently severed. After brutally exacting his revenge, Max wanders off into the wasteland alone, "a burned out shell of a man" who (to paraphrase "The Searchers") is destined to wander forever between the winds. In "The Road Warrior", Max rediscovers a sliver of his shattered humanity, and a spark of redemption, when he helps an embattled colony of pioneers fight off the savages who are after that most precious of all commodities: "guzzline." Max is transformed into a legendary hero, just as Mel Gibson was catapulted to international movie stardom. With its final stirring images, "The Road Warrior" transcends its genre (whatever that may be--science fiction? Western? action adventure?) and becomes something timeless. It's a great movie. "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: Cantonese, French, Korean, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: When it arrived on the big screen in 1987, Paul Verhoeven's "RoboCop" was like a high-voltage jolt of electricity, blending satire, thrills, and abundant violence with such energized gusto that audiences couldn't help feeling stunned and amazed. The movie was a huge hit, and has since earned enduring cult status as one of the seminal science fiction films of the 1980s. Followed by two sequels, a TV series, and countless novels and comic books, this original "RoboCop" is still the best by far, largely due to the audacity and unbridled bloodlust of director Verhoeven. However, the reasons many enjoyed the film are also the reasons some will surely wish to avoid it. Critic Pauline Kael called the movie a dubious example of "gallows pulp," and there's no denying that its view of mankind is bleak, depraved, and graphically violent. In the Detroit of the near future, a policeman (Peter Weller) is brutally gunned down by drug-dealing thugs and left for dead, but he survives (half of him, at least) and is integrated with state-of-the-art technology to become a half-robotic cop of the future, designed to revolutionize law enforcement. As RoboCop holds tight to his last remaining shred of humanity, he relentlessly pursues the criminals who "killed" him. All the while, Verhoeven (from a script by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner) injects this high-intensity tale with wickedly pointed humor and satire aimed at the men and media who cover a city out of control. --"Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Between his high-octane debut, "Bad Boys", and 1998's wannabe blockbuster "Armageddon", hotshot director Michael Bay forged his dubious reputation with this crowd-pleasing action extravaganza. In it a psychotically disgruntled war hero (Ed Harris) seizes the island prison of Alcatraz and threatens to wage chemical warfare against nearby San Francisco unless the government publicly recognizes the men who were killed under Harris's top-secret command. Nicolas Cage plays the biochemist who teams up with the only man ever to have escaped from Alcatraz (Sean Connery) in an attempt to foil Harris's terrorist scheme. As one might expect, what follows is an action-packed barrage of bullets, bodies, and climactic confrontations, replete with enough plot contrivances to give even the most jaded action fan cause for alarm. It's a load of hooey, but the cast is obviously having a grand old time, and there's enough wit to make the recycled action sequences tolerable. If you're ordering this movie on Blu-ray, be careful with the volume knobs on your home-theater sound systems, because "The Rock" could cause partial hearing loss and structural damage to your home. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Comments: His whole life was a million-to-one shot.

Summary: The only remaining evidence that Sylvester Stallone might have had a respectable career, this 1976 Oscar® winner (for Best Picture, Director, and Editing) is still the quintessential ode to an underdog and one of the best boxing movies ever made. After writing the script about a two-bit boxer who gets a "million-to-one shot" against the world heavyweight champion, Stallone insisted that he star in the title role, and his equally unknown status helped to catapult him (and this rousing film) to overnight success. The story is familiar, but it's handled with such vitality and emotional honesty that you can't help but leap and cheer for Rocky Balboa, the chump-turned-champ who stuns the boxing world with the support of his timid girlfriend Adrian (Talia Shire) and grizzled trainer Gus (Burgess Meredith). Oscar nominations went to all the lead actors (including Burt Young as Adrian's hot-tempered brother), but four sequels could never top the universal appeal of this low-budget crowd pleaser. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The sixth installment of the "Rocky" series picks up the story of the Italian Stallion 16 years after the morose "Rocky V". And sure, at his advanced age, Sylvester Stallone now looks like one of those sides of beef his character used to pound on. No matter. Somehow you buy the premise after all these years, even if it takes forever for "Rocky Balboa" to stop wallowing in self-pity (Adrian is dead, his old haunts are demolished) and get down to the business of drinking raw eggs and running up staircases. The business at hand is an unlikely exhibition fight with champeen Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver), which the near-sexagenarian Mr. Balboa has no business accepting. Of course, just as sure as the horns of Bill Conti's theme music are even now trumpeting through your head, the ol' Rock might have a punch or two left in him. Stallone wrote and directed, and there isn't much to say except that the movie steps in its pre-determined paces with a canny sense of what has come before (it's practically an homage to all the previous "Rocky" pictures, complete with fleeting flashbacks). Burt Young is around again, and Geraldine Hughes makes an appealing, rather chaste female companion for Rocky. Stallone's Rocky has gotten suspiciously articulate over the years, but he still knows how to slouch. If Stallone never forgets that, he can probably keep the franchise rolling. "--Robert Horton"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese

Sound: AC-3

Comments: She's a girl from the big city. He's a reckless soldier of fortune. For a fabulous treasure, they share an adventure no one could imagine... or survive.

Summary: Director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump", "Contact") had a hit with this 1984 comedy that first teamed Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito. Turner steals the show from the guys, however, playing a pushy romance novelist who gets stuck among some dangerous figures in Colombia and has only a rumpled guide (Michael Douglas) as an ally. The chemistry between the stars is infectious (the trio went on to make a sequel, "Jewel of the Nile", and then an interesting, dark comedy directed by DeVito, "The War of the Roses"). Zemeckis--whose specialty at the time was creating set pieces of raucous action (as in his "Back to the Future")--keeps things hopping with lots of kinetic material. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Jim Morris, the real-life hero of "The Rookie", has an inspirational story all but guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face. Happily, this G-rated Disney drama, based on Morris's published memoir of the same title, is suitable for an all-ages audience. Blessed with an awesome fastball, Morris nursed dreams of pitching for Major League Baseball during his 20s; injuries and bad luck, however, forced him to give up hope and become a teacher and coach. Years later, pressed by students and colleagues to try out for "the Show" one more time, Morris discovered he still had a powerful arm, and he was signed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. "The Rookie" is at its best throughout this first chapter in Morris's midlife adventure, though the rest of the film finds fresh angles on more familiar baseball-movie conventions. Dennis Quaid is soulful and charismatic as Morris, perfect in his depiction of a man both thankful and startled that destiny has given one of the good guys his due. Appropriate for ages 4 and up. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French, Japanese

Summary: Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker head for the City of Lights in the somewhat threadbare but sporadically exciting "Rush Hour 3", the second sequel to director Brett Ratner's 1998 cop-buddy hit. Chan's Inspector Lee and Tucker's Detective Carter hop from Los Angeles to Paris in pursuit of a Chinese triad only to find a mixed reception, including a brutal warning from a French cop (Roman Polanski) and anti-American sentiments from a cab driver (Yvan Attal) who eventually becomes an important and funny ally. Lee and Carter, when not fighting their way out of rooms full of martial arts gangsters and crazed assassins (Sun Ming Ming), follow a trail to a beautiful woman (Noemie Lenoird) who literally carries a vital clue on her person. Lee also holds secret meetings with a United Nations authority (Max Von Sydow), but his personal struggles with a criminal mastermind (Hiroyuki Sanada)--who happens to be an important figure in his life—are at the heart of this movie.
The aging Chan still seems to defy the laws of physics with some of his more spectacular stunts. But it's true those stunts take a little more time than they used to, and judicious editing makes Chan look spry as ever. He frets charmingly in "Rush Hour 3", while Tucker revives his brash character's motormouth guile and whiny womanizing. There isn't a lot left to be discovered about Lee and Carter's compatibility, and even with a minor crisis over their loyalty to one another in "Rush Hour 3", their all-important relationship is almost too easy to take for granted now. Fortunately, the film's biggest thrills come from several wild fight scenes, especially a climactic battle on the Eiffel Tower that is rich in imagination. "--Tom Keogh"