From Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
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The Princess and the Frog

After the visual bombast of many contemporary CG and motion-capture features, the drawn characters in The Princess and the Frog, the Walt Disney Studio's eagerly awaited return to traditional animation, feel doubly welcome. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), The Princess and the Frog moves the classic fairy tale to a snazzy version of 1920s New Orleans. Tiana (voice by Anika Noni Rose), the first African-American Disney heroine, is not a princess, but a young woman who hopes to fulfill her father's dream of opening a restaurant to serve food that will bring together people from all walks of life. Tiana may wish upon a star, but she believes that hard work is the way to fulfill your aspirations. Her dedication clashes with the cheerful idleness of the visiting prince Naveen (Bruno Campos). A voodoo spell cast by Dr. Facilier (Keith David) in a showstopping number by composer Randy Newman initiates the events that will bring the mismatched hero and heroine together.

Directed by Jason Reitman
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Up in the Air

Up in the Air transforms some painful subjects into smart, sly comedy--with just enough of the pain underneath to give it some weight. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) spends most of his days traveling around the country and firing people; he's hired by bosses who don't have the nerve to do their layoffs themselves. His life of constant flight suits him--he wants no attachments. But two things suddenly threaten his vacuum-sealed world: his company decides to do layoffs via video conference so they don't have to pay for travel, and Bingham meets a woman named Alex (Vera Farmiga, The Departed), who seems to be the female version of him… and of course, he starts to fall in love. Writer-director Jason Reitman is building a career from funny but thoughtful movies about compromised people--a pregnant teen in Juno, a cigarette-company executive in Thank You for Smoking. George Clooney has a gift for playing smart men who aren't quite as smart as they think they are (Michael Clayton, Out of Sight).

Callanetics 10 Years Younger in 10 Hours

Callanetics 10 Years Younger in 10 Hours - Amazon.com Exclusive

Now you can actually look ten years younger in ten hours. Callan Pinckney, author of the revolutionary best-selling book Callanetics(a perennial New York Times Best-Seller), personally demonstrates her innovative deep muscle exercise technique that can literally shed years off your figure in hours without putting pressure on your back. Unlike other exercise programs that stress hard jerking motions, Callanetics is a series of small, gentle, precise motions consistently applied that activate the body's largest most powerful muscles to quickly tighten hips, buttocks, inner and outer thighs; flatten the tummy; lift the bust and firm underarms and tone the entire body. It will also dramatically improve your posture. You will feel the difference after one hour and most people actually see a difference after two hours. By following the simple 60 minute Callanetics workout twice a week, the body you always dreamed about is only hours away.

Directed by John Carpenter

Elvis (1979)

Just two years after Elvis Presley passed away, Kurt Russell brought him back to life in the original biopic about the King of Rock n Roll. Released through ABC in 1979, Elvis marked the first time director John Carpenter and actor Kurt Russell would work together in what would become a legendary pairing in film history (Escape From New York , Big Trouble In Little China, The Thing and Escape From L.A.).

Tracing Presleys life from his impoverished childhood to his meteoric rise to stardom to his triumphant return to Las Vegas, Elvis features Shelley Winters (Gladys Presley), Season Hubley (Priscilla Presley), Bing Russell (Kurts real-life father as Vernon Presley), Pat Hingle (Colonel Tom Parker), Joe Mantegna (Memphis Mafia member Joe Esposito) and Ed Begley Jr. (drummer D.J. Fontana) in an all-star supporting cast for an effort that garnered numerous Emmy nominations including Outstanding Lead Actor for Russell. Restored From The Original Film Elements

by Jillian Michaels
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Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown

Jillian Michaels, winning trainer on NBC's "The Biggest Loser,” introduces a new yoga workout unlike any other. Combining hard-core yoga power poses with her dynamic training techniques, Jillian will get you real weight-loss results fast. YOGA MELTDOWN includes two complete 30-minute workouts that include a warm-up and cooldown. Begin with the Level 1 workout which focuses on quickly flowing yoga sequences to burn mega calories. Then progress to Level 2 which adds twists and balance poses for an even greater burn.

Directed by Spike Jonze
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Where the Wild Things Are

An adolescent named Max has an active imagination, and he will throw fits if others don't go along with what he wants. Max - following an incident with Claire (his sister) and her friends, and following a tantrum which he throws as a result of his Mother paying more attention to her boyfriend than to him - runs away from home. Wearing his wolf costume at the time, Max not only runs away physically, but runs toward a world in his imagination. This world, an ocean away, is inhabited by large wild beasts, including one named Carol who is much like Max himself in temperament. Instead of eating Max like they normally would with creatures of his type, the wild things befriend Max after he proclaims himself a king who can magically solve all their problems. (IMDB)

New DVD Releases March 2 2010

New DVD Releases this week: March 2 2010

2012

Now this is how you destroy the world. Roland Emmerich's 2012 pounces on a Nostradamus-style loophole in the Mayan calendar and rams the apocalypse through it, gleefully conjuring up an enormous amount of Saturday-matinee fun in the process. A scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor) detects shifting continental plates and sun flares and realizes that this foretells the imminent destruction of the planet. Just as the molten lava is about to hit the fan, a novelist (John Cusack) takes his kids on a trip to Yellowstone; later he'll hook up with his ex (Amanda Peet) and her new boyfriend (Tom McCarthy) in a global journey toward safety. If there is any safety. The suitably hair-raising plot lines are punctuated--frequently, people, frequently--by visions of mayhem around the globe: the Vatican falls over, the White House is clobbered (Emmerich's Independence Day was not enough on that score), and the California coastline dives into the Pacific Ocean. Unlike other action directors we could name, Emmerich actually understands how to let you see and drink in these vast special-effects vistas--and they are incredible. He also honors the old Irwin Allen disaster-movie tradition by actually shelling out for good actors. Cusack and Ejiofor are convincing even in the cheesiest material; toss in Danny Glover (the U.S. president), Woody Harrelson (a nut-bar conspiracy-theorizing radio host), Thandie Newton, and Oliver Platt, and you've got a very watchable batch of people. Emmerich hasn't developed an ear for dialogue, even at this stage in his career, and the final act goes on a bit too long. This is a very silly movie, but if you've got a weakness for B-movie energy and hairbreadth escapes, 2012 delivers quite a bit of both.

Directed by John Lee Hancock
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The Blind Side

The Blind Side takes the true story of a young man who went from abandonment to success as a pro-football player and treats it with respect. The movie doesn't oversell what is, on the face of it, already compelling. It's almost impossible to describe the plot without sounding painfully inspirational: Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron, Be Kind Rewind), a hulking but gentle African-American teen in Tennessee, gets taken in by a well-to-do white family; the mother, Leigh Anne Touhy (Sandra Bullock), pushes and mothers the boy, who eventually wins a football scholarship to the University of Mississippi. In the wrong hands, this could have been maudlin, manipulative, and condescending. To the credit of writer-director John Lee Hancock, adapting Michael Lewis's acclaimed book, the result is intelligent, genuine, and alternately funny and moving. Leigh Anne could easily have been grandstanding and virtuous, but Bullock doesn't shy away from her vain and domineering side. The football scenes will be gripping even to non-sports fans because they've been so successfully grounded in Michael's emotional life. The all-around solid cast includes country music star Tim McGraw, pint-sized Jae Head (Hancock), and Kathy Bates as the tutor who guided Michael's academic success. Don't be surprised if you can't keep yourself from watching all the real-life photos of Michael, Leigh Anne, and the rest of the family that are featured in the credits; by the end of the movie, you will care about them all. --Bret Fetzer

Bourne Ultimatum

From DVD Releases February 16 2010 > Action & Adventure
Directed by Paul Greengrass
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Bourne Ultimatum

Highly trained assassin Jason Bourne is on the hunt for the agents who stole his memory and true identity. With a new generation of skilled CIA operatives tracking his every move, Bourne is in a non-stop race around the globe as he finally learns the truth behind his mysterious past. Loaded with incredible fight and chase sequences, it’s the exhilarating movie with “mind-blowing action” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) that you can’t afford to miss!

The People Speak (Extended Edition)

From DVD Releases February 9 2010 > Documentary
Directed by Howard Zinn, Chris Moore, Anthony Arnove
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The People Speak (Extended Edition)

The People Speak is a beautiful and moving film inspired by Howard Zinn's books A People's History of the United States--first published in 1980 and one of the bestselling history books in the United States--and Voices of a People's History of the United States, the primary-source companion to A People's History of the United States, edited with Anthony Arnove.

The film features the actual words (in letters, songs, poems, speeches, and manifestoes) of rebels, dissenters, and visionaries from our past--and present--including Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Bob Dylan, Langston Hughes, Chief Joseph, Muhammad Ali, and unknown veterans, union workers, abolitionists, and many others never featured in high school textbooks. These dramatic moments from our history are brought to life by a group of remarkable musicians and actors.