<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/whenrome.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Beth (Kristen Bell) takes a whirlwind trip to Italy for her sister's wedding and finds herself pursued by the most unlikely group of men who have fallen madly in love with her. When she returns the love with one of them she questions whether it's real or if he's under the same mystical spell that has infected the others.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/shutter.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>When two U.S. marshals (Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo) investigate a mysterious disappearance of an inmate from a hospital for the criminally insane, the pair uncover an intricate web of deception where nothing may be as it seems. As the mystery unravels, Teddy (DiCaprio) uncovers some shocking truths about the island that will change his life forever.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/eli.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Eli (Denzel Washington) walks alone in post-apocalyptic America. He heads west on a mission he doesn't fully understand but knows he must complete. In his backpack is the last copy of a book that could become the wellspring of a revived society or in the wrong hands, the hammer of a despot.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/noname.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>In <i>A Fistful of Dollars</i>, Clint Eastwood stars as a drifter who manipulates two rival gangs with the ultimate goal of destroying both. In the second installment, our hero takes on El Indio (Gian Maria Volonte), the territory's most ruthless bandit. The best film of the three concludes the series with Eastwood partnering with two gunslingers in order to obtain a fortune in gold. He discovers that teamwork isn't one of their better personality traits and staying alive isn't guaranteed.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/caddyshack.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Caddy Danny Noonan (Michael O'Keefe) hefts bags around the prestigious Bushwood Country Club doing his best to earn the caddy scholarship so he can pay his college tuition. He attempts to kiss-up to the club's owner, Judge Smails (Ted Knight), but Smails is more concerned with maintaining the prestigious image of his club than helping the young man fulfill his dream.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/life.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT><i>Planet Earth</i> is one of the best documentaries of the new millennium and The Discovery Channel and the BBC join forces to bring us closer to how life begins on our planet with a view from every continent and habitat. Witness 130 stories in fabulous high-definition.
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) races to keep his family safe from an invading army of aliens who have come to conquer the Earth. Based on the classic novel by H.G. Wells, superstar director Steven Spielberg takes the 19th-century story and contemporizes it with some success.
While the special effects are well done, the over-the-top action gets a bit tiresome after nearly two hours. The video encode is serviceable with adequate depth and detail, but it's the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack that is the star of the show. It features very intense bass, a plethora of discrete effects, and reference-quality dynamics.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/wolfman.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) is an aristocratic Englishman who returns to his family estate after the mysterious death of his brother (Simon Merrells). Once home he is attacked by a werewolf under the light of a full moon and is cursed with a fate worse than death.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/dearjohn.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on the bestselling novel from Nicholas Sparks ("The Notebook"), <i>Dear John</i> is the story of two young lovers, John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried), who are separated from each other two weeks after falling in love. They pass their time apart by writing a series of love letters until they can finally be together again. Complications arise after 9/11, when John reenlists in the military despite promising Savannah he would get out to be with her.
Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now 19 years old, returns to the mysterious world she first entered as a child and embarks on a journey to discover her true destiny. Along the way, she meets the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), and many others who help her complete her quest.
I'm a huge fan of director Tim Burton and was eager to see his take on the classic tale. The theatrical reviews were mixed, but the box-office take ($332 million) makes it Disney's fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. Despite the bizarre second act, it's very entertaining, and the amazing sets and costumes certainly helped draw me in. While not perfect, the 1080p encode boasts some amazingly detailed scenes, and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is just as impressive with a plethora of discrete effects.