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Kill Bill: Volume 1
Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, Vol. 1, is trash for connoisseurs. From his opening gambit (including a “Shaw-Scope” logo and gaudy ’70s-vintage “Our Feature Presentation” title card) to his cliffhanger finale (a teasing lead-in to 2004’s Vol. 2), Tarantino pays loving tribute to grindhouse cinema, specifically the Hong Kong action flicks and spaghetti Westerns that fill his fervent brain–and this frequently breathtaking movie–with enough cinematic references and cleverly pilfered soundtrack cues to send cinephiles running for their reference books. Everything old is new again in Tarantino’s humor-laced vision: he steals from the best while injecting his own oft-copied, never-duplicated style into what is, quite simply, a revenge flick, beginning with the near-murder of the Bride (Uma Thurman), pregnant on her wedding day and left for dead by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (or DiVAS)–including Lucy Liu and the unseen David Carradine (as Bill)–who become targets for the Bride’s lethal vengeance. Culminating in an ultraviolent, ultra-stylized tour-de-force showdown, Tarantino’s fourth film is either brilliantly (and brutally) innovative or one of the most blatant acts of plagiarism ever conceived. Either way, it’s hyperkinetic eye-candy from a passionate film-lover who clearly knows what he’s doing. –Jeff Shannon

Kill Bill: Volume 2
“The Bride” (Uma Thurman) gets her satisfaction–and so do we–in Quentin Tarantino’s “roaring rampage of revenge,” Kill Bill: Volume 2. Where Vol. 1 was a hyper-kinetic tribute to the Asian chop-socky grindhouse flicks that have been thoroughly cross-referenced in Tarantino’s film-loving brain, Vol. 2–not a sequel, but Part Two of a breathtakingly cinematic epic–is Tarantino’s contemporary martial-arts Western, fueled by iconic images, music, and themes lifted from any source that Tarantino holds dear, from the action-packed cheapies of William Witney (one of several filmmakers Tarantino gratefully honors in the closing credits) to the spaghetti epics of Sergio Leone. Tarantino doesn’t copy so much as elevate the genres he loves, and the entirety of Kill Bill is clearly the product of a singular artistic vision, even as it careens from one influence to another. Violence erupts with dynamic impact, but unlike Vol. 1, this slower grand finale revels in Tarantino’s trademark dialogue and loopy longueurs, reviving the career of David Carradine (who plays Bill for what he is: a snake charmer), and giving Thurman’s Bride an outlet for maternal love and well-earned happiness. Has any actress endured so much for the sake of a unique collaboration? As the credits remind us, “The Bride” was jointly created by “Q&U,” and she’s become an unforgettable heroine in a pair of delirious movie-movies (Vol. 3 awaits, some 15 years hence) that Tarantino fans will study and love for decades to come. –Jeff Shannon

View More about Kill Bill - Volumes 1 & 2 [Blu-ray] (Amazon.com Exclusive)

Michael Bay

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cafeblu-ray.com says: More than meets the eye!

“I bought a car. Turned out to be an alien robot. Who knew?” deadpans Sam Witwicky, hero and human heart of Michael Bay’s rollicking robot-smackdown fest, Transformers. Witwicky (the sweetly nerdy Shia LaBeouf, channeling a young John Cusack) is the perfect counterpoint to the nearly nonstop exhilarating action. The plot is simple: an alien civil war (the Autobots vs. the evil Decepticons) has spilled onto Earth, and young Sam is caught in the fray by his newly purchased souped-up Camaro. Which has a mind–and identity, as a noble-warrior robot named Bumblebee–of its own. The effects, especially the mind-blowing transformations of the robots into their earthly forms and back again, are stellar.

Fans of the earlier film and TV series will be thrilled at this cutting-edge incarnation, but this version should please all fans of high-adrenaline action. Director Bay gleefully salts the movie with homages to pop-culture touchstones like Raiders of the Lost Ark, King Kong, and the early technothriller WarGames. The actors, though clearly all supporting those kickass robots, are uniformly on-target, including the dashing Josh Duhamel as a U.S. Army sergeant fighting an enemy he never anticipated; Jon Voight, as a tough yet sympathetic Secretary of Defense in over his head; and John Turturro, whose special agent manages to be confidently unctuous, even stripped to his undies. But the film belongs to Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and the dastardly Megatron–and the wicked stunts they collide in all over the globe. Long live Transformers! –A.T. Hurley

View More about Transformers (Two-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray]

Henry Selick

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cafeblu-ray.com says: Nightmare Before Christmas on Blu ray is reason enough to buy a Blu-ray player if you do not already have one! “Jaaaack! I’m just an elected official! I can’t make decisions on my own!”

Now digitally restored and remastered with state-of-the-art technology, The Nightmare Before Christmas: Collector s Edition is deeper, darker and more brilliant than ever as Tim Burton originally envisioned. Can Christmas be saved? Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere! This new version comes with DisneyFile Digital Copy, a full-length version of the movie you can transfer and watch on your PC, Mac, and video-enabled compatible portable players.

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You know you’re going to get a different kind of superhero when you cast Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. And Iron Man is different, in welcome ways. Cleverly updated from Marvel Comics’ longstanding series, Iron Man puts billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (that’s Downey) in the path of some Middle Eastern terrorists; in a brilliantly paced section, Stark invents an indestructible suit that allows him to escape. If the rest of the movie never quit hits that precise rhythm again, it nevertheless offers plenty of pleasure, as the renewed Stark swears off his past as a weapons manufacturer, develops his new Iron Man suit, and puzzles both his business partner (Jeff Bridges in great form) and executive assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow). Director Jon Favreau geeks out in fun ways with the hardware, but never lets it overpower the movie, and there’s always a goofy one-liner or a slapstick pratfall around to break the tension. As for Downey, he doesn’t get to jitterbug around too much in his improv way, but he brings enough of his unpredictable personality to keep the thing fresh. And listen up, hardcore Marvel mavens: even if you know the Stan Lee cameo is coming, you won’t be able to guess it until it’s on the screen. It all builds to a splendid final scene, with a concluding line delivery by Downey that just feels absolutely right. –Robert Horton

View More about Iron Man (Ultimate 2-Disc Edition) [Blu-ray]

Steven Spielberg

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Nearly 20 years after riding his last Crusade, Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as archaeologist/relic hunter Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an action-packed fourth installment that’s, in a nutshell, less memorable than the first three but great nostalgia for fans of the series. Producer George Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds) set the film during the cold war, as the Soviets–replacing Nazis as Indy’s villains of choice and led by a sword-wielding Cate Blanchett with black bob and sunglasses–are in pursuit of a crystal skull, which has mystical powers related to a city of gold. After escaping from them in a spectacular opening action sequence, Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young greaser (Shia LaBeouf) whose friend–and Indy’s colleague–Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured for his knowledge of the skull’s whereabouts. Whatever secrets the skull holds are tertiary; its reveal is the weakest part of the movie, as the CGI effects that inevitably accompany it feel jarring next to the boulder-rolling world of Indy audiences knew and loved. There’s plenty of comedy, delightful stunts–ants play a deadly role here–and the return of Raiders love interest Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, once shrill but now softened, giving her ex-love bemused glances and eye-rolls as he huffs his way to save the day. Which brings us to Ford: bullwhip still in hand, he’s a little creakier, a lot grayer, but still twice the action hero of anyone in film today. With all the anticipation and hype leading up to the film’s release, perhaps no reunion is sweeter than that of Ford with the role that fits him as snugly as that fedora hat. –Ellen A. Kim

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Alex Proyas

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The critically-acclaimed triumph from visionary director Alex Proyas (I Robot The Crow) is back with a brand new directors cut featuring enhanced picture and sound never-before-seen footage and three commentary tracks that take you deeper than ever before into the world of one of sci-fis most exciting and revered tales. When John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes with no memory at the scene of a grisly murder he soon finds himself hunted by the police a woman claiming to be his wife and a mysterious group of pale men who seem to control everything and everyone in the city.Starring Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist) Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) William Hurt (A History of Violence) and Kiefer Sutherland (TVs 24).System Requirements:Running Time: 111 minutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: NR UPC: 794043122927 Manufacturer No: 1000040376

View More about Dark City (Director’s Cut) [Blu-ray]

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cafeblu-ray.com says: Not on Blue Ray but Entourage one of the best shows of the 2000s and this is a great deal!

View More about Entourage: The Complete Seasons 1-3 a and B

J.J. Abrams

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Paramount Mission: Impossible 3 (Blu-ray)
Tom Cruise returns as Special Agent Ethan Hunt, who faces the mission of his life in Mission: Impossible III.” Director J. J. Abrams (”Lost”, “Alias”) brings his unique blend of action and drama to the billion-dollar franchise.

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Antoine Fuqua

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Paramount Shooter (Blu-ray)
Get ready for edge-of-your-seat thrills as Mark Wahlberg ignites the screen in his most compelling role yet: the “Shooter.” When respected former Marine scout sniper Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg) is pressed into service to stop an assassination attempt against the President, the unthinkable occurs: he’s double-crossed and framed for the attempt. Determined to prove his innocence,the rogue shooter is now in a high-tension race from every law enforcement agency in the country and a shadowy organization that wants him dead. From”Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua comes a gripping film co-starring Danny Glover (”Lethal Weapon 4″) and Michael Pena (”World Trade Center”). Joel Siegel of Good Morning America proclaims that “‘Shooter’ is a thriller …with a ton of white-knuckle action.”.

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Yasuhiro Aoki

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Acclaimed screenwriters including David Goyer (Batman Begins) Josh Olson (A History of Violence) and Alan Burnett (Batman The Animated Series) join forces with revered animation filmmakers on six spellbinding chapters chronicling Batman s transition from novice crimefighter to Dark Knight. These globe-spanning adventures pit Batman against the fearsome Scarecrow the freakish Killer Croc and the unerring marksman Deadshot. Using an arsenal of high-tech gadgetry from Wayne Industries Batman s ethical boundaries exist only where he chooses to place them leaving some fearful of his power. The sharp storytelling complemented by stylish art from some of the world s most visionary animators masterfully depicts the blurred lines of Batman as man myth and legend.Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085391179511 Manufacturer No: 117951

View More about Batman - Gotham Knight [Blu-ray]