DVD Report Staff

The conversion of book to cinema has never ceased to be a difficult feat for filmmakers ranging from problems to whittling down the story into something that appeases the average audience member’s attention span, to replicating the imagery that the author invokes on the reader. Some of the most difficult ones are the books that have an entire series rather than serving as a standalone story, and a lot that have been converted into movies find themselves unfortunately unable to continue due to lack of interest. The Chronicles of Narnia, a series rich with over a half dozen books, has been one of the few franchises that has thrived in its movie adaptations; this being the third in the series. SynopsisPrecocious siblings Lucy (Georgie Henley, The Chronicles of Narnia series) and Edmund Pevensie (Skandar Heynes, The Chronicles of Narnia series), along with their cousin Eustace (Will Poulter, Son of Rambow), are swallowed into a painting and transported back to Narnia. They join King Caspian (Ben Barnes, Dorian Gray) and a

Living in a present in which most political leaders’ messages go vastly ignored by a cynical public, it’s hard to imagine an era in which a leader’s effectiveness actually hinged on his speaking ability. The King’s Speech, directed by Tom Hooper, takes us back to an uncertain time with inner turmoil among England’s Royal family while political distress with some of history’s most despicable leaders brewed elsewhere. Certainly a unique take on the genre by focusing on a single character’s strive to overcome a specific flaw in a particular span of their life rather than serving as a chronology of their complete life, which most films that depict the Royal family tend to do. This is perhaps one of the reasons as to why this film found such a wide audience, given that whether or not you’re fascinated by England’s Royals, chances are you will find a reason a reason to watch this film. SynopsisWhen England’s throne is suddenly thrust upon him, amidst royal family scandal and impending world war,

The live-action directorial debut of Rob Letterman, previously having dabbled in directing the less than favored CG-animated “Shark Tale” and “Monsters vs. Aliens,” brings the cinematic audiences yet another rendition of the Jonathon Swift classic, Gulliver’s Travels. It’s a story, or rather the most common portion, that’s been manifested on the big and small screens over the last century. Of course, this time around it’s been adapted to present day, starring Jack Black and more or less Jason Segal. The movie is wrought with some of the most blatant drops of pop culture references that are only a mere iota of creativity above painfully awful creations such as those of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. However, if your life philosophy is that lazy plagiarism is the way to succeed in life, then you should appreciate this movie’s ultimate message. SynopsisJack Black (Kung Fu Panda, School of Rock) brings his irreverent humor to this adventure-comedy based on the classic tale. To impress the pretty newspaper travel editor Darcy (Amanda Peet, Something’s

How Do You Know had tremendous buzz when it first hit theatres last year, due to the pedigree of the cast and crew behind it. Directed by James L. Brooks and featuring a whopping cast that included Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson, this was set to be on of Sony Picture’s big holiday movies. No matter how good the cast and crew may seem, if the story doesn’t work, especially for a romantic comedy such as this, then it just won’t work. And, sadly, for the most part, this film just doesn’t work. The film just doesn’t seem to be able to make up its mind on what it wants to be – the typical fluffy romantic comedy we see time and time again, or a more serious approach to the whole romantic movie genre – and we end up with uneven story that seems to stumble along until its finally finds it footing….at the end of the movie. Synopsis:From legendary director/writer James L. Brooks comes

The classic animated film is something that Disney has slowly been attempting to become reacquainted with ever since abandoning its failing endeavors at churning out direct-to-DVD sequels based on their catalog of classics. So far this has given us two films, PRINCESS AND THE FROG, which didn’t do nearly as well as they had hoped but managed to capture peoples’ fascination regardless. And now there is TANGLED, their first foray into 3D animation outside of their partnership with Pixar. Fortunately for Disney, despite this being their second most expensive film ever made it managed to be their highest grossing animated film. Certainly a feat that nobody would have predicted after the disappointment in PRINCESS AND THE FROG’s tenure at the box office. SynopsisWhen the kingdom’s most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider (voice of ZACHARY LEVI) hides out in a mysterious tower, he’s taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of MANDY MOORE), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn’s curious captor, who’s looking for her

Possibly one of the most unexpected things that could be done in Hollywood as of late is to cast the charming Johnny Depp in a movie that is directed by someone other than Tim Burton; in this case it’s far from common with director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck at the helm. This is only the second film under his directorial vision, the first being “The Live of Others” from 2006 which I only vaguely recall hearing about – but it apparently did well. I’m honestly not surprised. I didn’t know what to expect from The Tourist as the only rumblings I’ve been able to gather about it simply damned it with no detailed reasoning given. Given that disappointing impression I simply expected to be bored throughout its entire run, but not long into the movie it managed to intrigue me – even before I even realized that it had. SynopsisFrank (Johnny Depp), a mild-mannered American on vacation in Venice, Italy, is befriended by Elise (Angelina Jolie), a breathtakingly beautiful woman

Even among some of her most negative critics, Christina Aguilera is agreed to have an unique vocal talent that truly lets her stand out from her painfully-obvious manufactured peers in pop stardom. Unexpectedly, however, that talent eventually led her to a stagnant career and despite much attempt she hasn’t quite managed to come back out on top. So, it struck me as odd when I started seeing trailers for this movie. Not that she was doing a musical, but rather that the whole point of it seemed to act as a showcase of her real, nearly surreal, talent given the average quality of pop music. Seeing as how it’s almost a decade too late, though, it actually comes off as something of a memorial for her career. SynopsisA small town singer, Ali (Christina Aguilera), moves to the big city for her chance at stardom where she is enchanted by Burlesque, a glamorous nightclub packed with dancers, sizzling music, and an owner (Cher) in need of a star. Jam-packed with visually

In recent years there has been something of an expectation that no movie can be left alone, whether it garners high success or is even practically laughed out of the box office. Either way, it’s a sure bet that it’s going to get a sequel, which tends to be most unfortunate – especially for the latter. The direct-to-video, or direct-to-DVD, market has become quite notorious for releasing sequels to movies that may not have garnered the success for them or could have even stood alone. Sometimes there just doesn’t need to be a franchise. Granted, there have been a handful of decent direct-to-video sequel releases that really weren’t -that- bad, but more often than not you’ll get something that also manages to be not -that- good. SynopsisAn expert in anti-terrorism tactics, hotshot LAPD officer Paul Cutler (GABRIEL MACHT, Behind Enemy Lines) is ordered to Detroit to train its S.W.A.T. team in the latest hostage rescue techniques. But everything changes when their botched response to a domestic dispute ends with a

Red (or R.E.D.) is such a breath of fresh air. It’s fun, it’s light, it’s well-acted and just a joy to watch. A great ensemble cast with remarkable chemistry, a nifty little plot, cool action, there’s really no stone left unturned in terms of what this movie has done right. It’s so rare to see an action/comedy that balances both the action and comedy in such a perfect manner. One doesn’t overbear the other, nor does it ever tire out or feel unnecessary at any given time. It just flows. Red finds that perfect balance between the two and is a film that not only is fun, and looks like it was a blast to make, but it’s good-natured spirit will surely rub off on the audience. Alright, let’s get that synopsis out the way! Synopsis:Based on the cult D.C. Comics graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, Red is an explosive action-comedy starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman),

When it comes to Disney Classics, most of us work from memory from seeing them in childhood and carrying our fondness through adulthood. We really don’t remember them as well as we think, but we remember to be entertained. Alice in Wonderland is a bit of a different beast, however, in that it was one of the few Disney classics that I didn’t care for as a kid – mostly because I could never understand it. It’s been a long time since I last saw it and only remembered the portions of the movie that had left me most dumbfounded in the past, so this opportunity to see if I could finally appreciate the movie was much anticipated. SynopsisALICE IN WONDERLAND is a story about a young girl who grows bored listening to her older sister read aloud from a history book about William I of England. While dozing off, she dreams about falling down a rabbit hole (“Wonderland”) that is populated by a peculiar series of misadventures. The always