"Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up."
Was The Dark Knight Rises the finale that Batman deserved and needed? On the new TDKR DVD/Blu-ray release (on shelves today), Christopher Nolan and his collaborators wax poetic about their Batman saga and shed light on what made Bruce Wayne's rise, fall, and redemption such compelling material.
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If you thought Japanese animation was all horny teens and laser guns and rocketships, prepare to have your mind blown by a tragic tale of wartime and lost youth (Grave of the Fireflies). And if you thought French star Alain Delon was known only for his work for art-house directors like Luchino Visconti and Jean-Pierre Melville (and for appearing on the cover of The Smiths’ The Queen is Dead album), get ready to watch him buckle his swash (Zorro).
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I'll give Ridley Scott this much: Despite leaving us all with a thousand unanswered questions at the end of Prometheus, he's seemingly packed a multitude of answers into the upcoming Blu-ray, DVD, and 3D Blu home video release. Count down the days — mere days! — until October 8, when the secrets of Prometheus are yours to devour, with a tantalizing look at the spoilery Blu-ray/DVD trailer.
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Before she was cast in Gary Ross's The Hunger Games as District 5's elusive Tribute — known only by the nickname "Foxface," per her wily dexterity and appearance — actress Jacqueline Emerson was a devoted fan of the YA series. Big time. "I was obsessed!" she told Movieline ahead of this week's Hunger Games DVD/Blu-ray release. "It was my new book series that I was in love with."
Upon getting the part (a connection to Ross's daughter put her in the director's sights), the high schooler had to keep her secret from friends and concerned teachers for months — and now, over a year and $684 million in Hunger Games box office receipts later, the one-time child rocker (Devo 2.0, anyone?) is looking to her next adventure with college and a Spike Lee project on the horizon.
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A long time ago in a culture far removed from this one — 1987 to be exact — cinematic satirist Mel Brooks took on box-office game changer George Lucas' Star Wars franchise and didn't end up in the Hollywood equivalent of a Sarlacc Pit. Substituting the Schwartz for the Force, Yogurt for Yoda and Pizza The Hutt for Jabba, Brooks gave us Spaceballs and made us laugh harder (intentionally) than Jar Jar Binks ever did. To celebrate the movie's 25th anniversary, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has released a commemorative Blu-Ray edition that mostly does justice to this comedy gem. more »
A caped crusader. A city wiped clean of criminals. A madman with a doomsday device who terrorizes the populace until average citizen heroes step forward to help save the day. Batman? Nope! On the heels of The Dark Knight Rises, Movieline takes a look back at 1999's Mystery Men, new to Blu-ray, in the latest installment of Inessential Essentials.
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Now that there's no need to dance around spoilers (because everyone in the world saw it in theaters) we finally have an official Hunger Games trailer reel that includes the best scenes and plot turns of Katniss Everdeen's journey from District 12 huntress to The Girl on Fire. Revisit highlights from Lionsgate's mega-franchise adaptation with the Hunger Games Blu-ray trailer and see what's in store in the jam-packed bonus features on for the August 2-disc Blu-ray and DVD release.
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Good news for anyone who couldn't get enough of Kenneth Lonergan's flawed, fearless, possibly cursed epic Margaret: The forthcoming DVD will feature a 186-minute cut — 36 minutes longer than the version all but buried last year by Fox Searchlight before a cadre of critical supporters rallied on its behalf. The not-so-good news, if high-definition transfers of talky moral dramas are of particular importance to you: The 150-minute version will reportedly be the only one available on Blu-ray when it goes on sale July 10. But hey. We take what we can get in this world. [Amazon]
The film: Jeremiah Johnson (1972), newly available on Blu-ray via Warner Home Video.
Why it's an Inessential Essential: The audio commentary on the new Blu-ray of Jeremiah Johnson suggests that director Sydney Pollack's time helming the serio-comic 1972 Western mirrored his inexperienced protagonist's uphill struggle to survive in pioneer America. Before making Jeremiah Johnson, Pollack directed episodes of such western tv shows as Frontier Circus and The Tall Man and even a feature-length western called The Scalphunters (1968). Still, Pollack is not normally associated with Westerns. And after hearing him talk about some of the travails he had filming Jeremiah Johnson, it's easy to see why the film was the late filmmaker's only Western.
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Heads up, romantic drama die-hards: Movie theaters will be awash with tears in the next couple of weeks. Three epic — well, two epics and one epic-lite — love stories are being re-released for various questionable reasons, and in these challenging economic times it might not make sense to rush out and see all three. Here, then, are some points to consider before buying a ticket and travel-size tissues for Casablanca, The Bodyguard or Titanic.
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Movieline is pleased to introduce Inessential Essentials, a regular feature about some of the most intriguing — if not necessarily most obvious — new home-viewing options on the market. We begin today with a film practically doomed by controversy a quarter-century ago, resurrected for DVD and finally given the treatment it truly deserves this week on Blu-ray. — Ed.
What's the Film: The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), new on Blu-ray via Criterion Collection
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Every director who's gone through the whirlwind circus that is filming and releasing a Twilight movie eventually gets to relax and breathe a sigh of relief, but Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Dreamgirls) still has miles and miles to go. Fans and critics will finally see what the Oscar-winner brings to the YA vampire franchise when The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 hits theaters Nov. 18, but if they find themselves displeased with his treatment of Stephenie Meyer's beloved novel, it could be a tough year's wait until Condon's simultaneously-shot series ender (Breaking Dawn - Part 2) concludes the series next fall.
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Another week, another chance to play guest critic at Movieline and earn a cool prize. This time, our giveaway is Blue Velvet-themed in honor of the 25th anniversary Blu-ray release of David Lynch's twisted, symbolism-laden, profanity-heavy masterpiece. So crack a Pabst Blue Ribbon and click ahead to begin the fun! [UPDATE: The contest is now closed! Thank you to everyone who participated. We will now sort through your submissions and notify you of a winner shortly.]
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As delightful as it is to watch Audrey Hepburn flitting about New York in Breakfast at Tiffany's, gazing adoringly at jewels and pretty things and falling in love as party girl Holly Golightly -- the original Carrie Bradshaw -- a shadow has loomed over that film for decades: Namely, Mickey Rooney's cartoonish turn as Mr. Yunioshi, the buck-toothed, bespectacled and slightly pervy Japanese man who lives upstairs. The good news, circa 2011, is that after years of not knowing exactly how to address that ugly, embarrassing moment in classic Hollywood cinema -- hindsight and all that -- Paramount Pictures, releasing the 50th Anniversary Blu-ray this week, offers a concerted effort to make amends.
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Here's a treat for all of you out there who squealed in your seats when Ron and Hermione engaged in their passionate first kiss in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2. After the jump, watch as director David Yates explains how adorably nervous Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were when their big smooching scene came up, then behold, the sight of two young actors -- "they're like brother and sister," says Yates -- jumping into action, face-first.
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