Maxim’s Movie Reviews and Opinions Blog

These movies and TV series come out on DVD and Blu-Ray disk the week of November 17-November 23, 2008:

WALL-E

(2008) G In a futuristic world, human beings have destroyed Earth and evacuated the planet, leaving the cleanup to an army of robots they’ve programmed to do their dirty work. Due to a mishap, the dutiful WALL-E is the only one left. But with the arrival of a female probe named EVE, the monotony of WALL-E’s existence is broken - and he experiences love for the first time. Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) directs this Pixar tale with a sci-fi twist. DVD | Blu-Ray | [Maxim's Review]

Tropic Thunder

(2008) R Drawing inspiration from films like Apocalypse Now and Platoon, this war movie send-up from director and star Ben Stiller follows a group of dimwitted actors forced to become real-life soldiers when they’re abandoned in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Stiller leads an all-star cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey and Nick Nolte, with Tom Cruise in an unforgettable cameo as a rude, crude movie mogul. DVD | Blu-Ray | [Maxim's Review]

The Who at Kilburn: 1977

(1977) In December 1977, rock gods the Who met at the Gaumont State Theatre in Kilburn, North London, to record a set for the film The Kids Are Alright, but the show would prove to be one of drummer Keith Moon’s final performances. The rare concert, shot in 35mm, features “I Can’t Explain,” “Substitute,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Dreaming from the Waist,” “Pinball Wizard,” “My Generation” and more. DVD | Blu-Ray | Music (CD)  Also coming out on DVD are:

• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
• Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series
• Hannah Montana: The Complete First Season
• Monty Python Holy Trinity (Monty Python and the Holy Grail / Monty Python’s Life of Brian / Monty Python’s the Meaning of Life) (6 discs)

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Hellboy II: The Golden Army

(2008) PG-13 The identities of Hellboy (Ron Perlman), Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) are exposed as they face a new threat: The Golden Army, assembled of long-hidden mythological creatures, is prepared to attack. As fantastic monsters and paranormal phenomena begin to take over, the trio races to destroy the army’s leader, the vengeful Prince Nuada (Luke Goss). John Alexander co-stars in Guillermo del Toro’s spellbinding sequel. DVD (Fullscreen, Widescreen, 3-Disk Special Edition) | Blu-Ray | [Maxim's Review] | Trailer | Soundtrack

Sukuyaki Western Django

(2007) R In a strange land where East meets West, two rival gangs, the Heike Reds and the Genji Whites, are locked in a deadly feud over a fortune in gold. A lone hero (Hideaki Ito) comes to town, meets the gangs’ various victims and tries to restore order to the chaos. Director Quentin Tarantino guest stars as a gunslinger in this visually stunning Japanese spaghetti Western from cult film director Takashi Miike. DVD | Blu-Ray

Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh

(1964) G Dr. Christopher Syn (Patrick McGoohan) is a brave priest in a rural area who courageously stands up to the king (Eric Pohlmann) in protest of unlawful taxes and indentured servitude in the Royal British Navy. Disguising his true identity, like Zorro or the Scarlet Pimpernel, Dr. Syn gallops across the countryside with a loyal band of rebels in tow and parries every thrust the evil king makes to eliminate him. DVD

Band of Brothers

(2001) NR Based on the bestseller by Stephen Ambrose, this Emmy-nominated miniseries profiles Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. These men parachuted into France on D-Day, fought the Battle of the Bulge, captured Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest and, amid extraordinary fear and extraordinary bravery, became heroes and legends. The drama, drawn from journals and letters, is punctuated with interviews with veterans. DVD | Blu-Ray

Scrubs: The Complete Seventh Season

(2007) TV-14 After pious nurse Laverne’s death, her elbow-bending twin, Shirley (Aloma Wright, who also played Laverne), arrives at Sacred Heart Hospital. Meanwhile, J.D. (Zach Braff) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) must decide whether to commit fully to their respective relationships with Kim (Elizabeth Banks) and Keith (Travis Schuldt). John C. McGinley returns as the caustic Dr. Cox in the seventh season of this Emmy-winning sitcom. DVD (0)

These movies come out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week:

Kung Fu Panda

(2008) PG When China’s Valley of Peace is threatened, lazy Po the panda (voiced by Jack Black) discovers his destiny as the “chosen one” and trains to become a kung fu hero. Master Monkey (Jackie Chan) and Master Viper (Lucy Liu) impart their knowledge to Po, but transforming this slacker into a brave warrior isn’t going to be easy. Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane and Michael Clarke Duncan also provide voices. DVD (Widescreen Edition | Two-Pack) | Blu-Ray

Get Smart

(2008) PG-13 When the identities of secret agents from Control are compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) promotes hapless but eager analyst Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) and teams him with stylish, capable Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), the only spy whose cover remains intact. Now, they must work together to thwart the evil plans of KAOS and its crafty operative Siegfried (Terence Stamp). Based on the classic television show, this comedy caper co-stars The Rock. DVD | Blu-Ray | [Maxim's Review]

Futurama: Bender’s Game

(2008) NR Matt Groening’s Emmy Award-winning sitcom blasts into the realm of feature film in this animated adventure that traps the Planet Express crew in a fantastical world where anything can happen — and does. Billy West is back as the voice of hapless pizza delivery boy Philip J. Fry, with John DiMaggio and Katey Sagal reprising their roles as Bender the potty-talking robot and Cycloptic captain Turanga Leela. Rich Little and George Takei guest star. DVD | Blu-Ray (0)

On Thursday Netflix and TiVo are expected to announce partnership to deliver Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” movie streaming service to TiVo digital video recorders with HD capability. Netflix has recently gained significant ground in streaming video services via numerous partnerships hardware and content providers. For example, the alliance with LG and Samsung has resulted in firmware upgrades and even new model lineups of their Blu-Ray players and possibly upcoming TV sets with Netflix movie streaming capabilities. Likewise, on November 19 Microsoft expands its Xbox Live network to stream Netflix movies to XBox 360 consoles (also HD-capable !) and gives a new name to the new expanded service:  “New Xbox Experience” (NXE). The users of DVRs from TiVo partners such as Comcast or Time Warner Cable will not be able to use the new Netflix streaming feature - these boxes have networking disabled. However the new partnership may help TiVo to sell more of their own brand’s boxes, which already are capable of playing content from Amazon.com, Disney and others. (0)