July 20, 2010
Cop Out
The Losers
The Runaways
My Boys: The Complete Second and Third Seasons
Matlock: Season Five
Seriously Funny
Being Human: Season 1
Forbidden World (Roger Corman's Cult Classics)
Courage the Cowardly Dog: Season One

July 27, 2010
Repo Men
Clash of the Titans
Jesse Stone: No Remorse
The Mothers-in-Law: The Complete Series
Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Final Season
Crack in the World
Sgt. Bilko: The Phil Silvers Show - First Season
Hunter: The Complete Series

Aug. 3, 2010
Kick-Ass
Heroes: Season Four
Hawaii Five-O: The Ninth Season
The Ghost Writer
A Prophet
Elvis on Tour
After.Life
Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Puppets
Open House
Greek Tycoon

Aug. 10, 2010
Death at a Funeral
Date Night
Numb3rs: The Sixth Season
Max Headroom: The Complete Series
The Joneses
Adam-12: Season Five
My Name Is Khan
Triage
Under the Mountain

Our Family Wedding
Blu-ray and DVD Release Date: July 13, 2010
103 Mins. Rated: PG - 13
$17.99 Grade: B

“Our Family Wedding” is a predictable by-the-numbers chick flick with a four-step storyline.
1. Two college kids announce to their families that they are getting married.

2. The families are upset.

3. The happy couple break up.

4. The couple get back together, and the parents are now happy about the marriage.



However, I’m not going to rain on this picture, just sprinkle a little, because I did find myself laughing through it. Oh, did I mention that the couple are a Mexican-American woman and an African-American man? So naturally the prenuptials lead to culture clash between the parents.



At the center of the cultural storm are two Columbia students, Lucia Ramirez (America Ferrera) and Marcus Boyd (Lance Gross). Well, Lucia is actually a former Columbia law student because she dropped out to marry Lance.



The pair have been living together and Lucia has been keeping it a secret from her parents, (Diana Maria Riva and Carlos Mencia) who expect Lucia to become a lawyer and remain a virgin before she gets married.

When the dads meet and Lucia and Marcus break their news over a family dinner, arguments and insults began to fly and Lucia's grandmother faints when she meets Marcus.  Admittedly "Our Family Wedding" is contrived comedy, but its many funny moments makes it tolerable for this reviewer.

Chapter Menu: Easy to use
Resolution: Sharp
Trailers: “Why Did I Get Married Too,” “Just Wright, “ “Hot Tube Time Machine,” “Modern Family,” “Date Night”

DVD Extras:
*Deleted Scenes
*Lucia and Miguel Toss the Ball
*The Families Meet Gusto; the Families Walk and Talk Outside of Gusto’s on the Street.
*Marcus Asks Angela to Stand in for His Mother
*Angela’s House – The Morning After.
*Brad is Pouring His Heart Out on the Radio.
*The Director’s Cut Ending.
*Extended Scenes
*Police Station – Sonia and Miguel Discuss Lucia and Marcus
*“Till Dad Do Us” Part Featurette
*Gag Reel

Why We Laugh
DVD Release Date: April 27, 2010
$19.97 Grade: A

They say that laughter is the best medicine. And for generations of black Americans, that old saying proved to be true. Enter director/comedian Robert Townsend’s, “Why We Laugh,” a groundbreaking film that follows the history of black comedians from the era of the minstrels to today’s politically-oriented comics and their effectiveness on American society.

Based on author Darryl Littleton's book “Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh,” this fascinating documentary is punctuated by a montage of archival clips, interviews and narration by award-winning actress Angela Bassett. “Why We Laugh” bars no punches as it examines the history of  "cooning" and how Amos 'n' Andy (black-face Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll) and Stepin Fetchit opened the doors for contemporary comics, and that those actor’s work should be understood and not maligned.

The documentary highlights the careers of pioneers Dick Gregory, Richard Pryor and family-life storyteller Bill Cosby among others whose jokes teach, stimulate and are thought provoking as their insights have audiences rolling in the aisles.

The Princess and the Frog
DVD Release Date: March 23, 2010
$15.99 Grade: A

Set in the city of New Orleans comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana , a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on an adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana.

The Blind Side
DVD Release Date: March 23, 2010
$15.99 Grade: A

Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, is taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle

The Human Contact
DVD Release Date: March 23, 2010
$15.99 Grade: B

Corporate player Julian Wright (Jason Clarke) stands on the verge of the deal of his career but his life just crossed paths with a woman (Paz Vega) who will turn his world upside down triggering emotions Julian never knew he had. As he pursues her in a dangerous game of seduction, he is forced to confront his past. Ultimately, Julian must face the dark family secrets that continue to haunt him and his troubled sister (Jada Pinkett Smith). Jada Pinkett Smith makes her directorial debut with this sophisticated, stylish and suspenseful film.

Law Abiding Citizen
DVD Release Date: Feb. 23, 2010
$15.99 Grade: C
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“Law Abiding Citizen” is an implausible thriller that doesn’t know what kind of movie it wants to be. Or better yet, the scriptwriters and filmmakers didn’t know what kind of a movie they wanted to make. Layered in social criticism “Law Abiding Citizen” begins as a vigilante movie in the same mold as the original “Death Wish” (‘74) when law abiding citizen, Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) witnesses his wife and daughter brutally raped murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Fox), an ambitious up and coming Philadelphia prosecutor, is too worried about his conviction rate to adequately punish the killers. So like an episode of “Law and Order” he makes a deal with the killers in exchange for a lighter sentence. “Little justice is better than no justice,” Rice says. This of course doesn’t sit too well with Shelton, who begins a gruesome murderous rampage of revenge against the killers.At times "Law Abiding Citizen" can be a taunt and entertaining thriller as Rice helplessly watches his colleagues being systematically murdered one by one and knowing he’s Shelton’s last target. If “Law Abiding Citizen,” was on television, it would be a better show, but as a movie there’s very little to recommend it. We’ve seen it all before.

Good Hair

DVD Release Date: Feb. 2,3 2010
$15.99 Grade: A
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When Chris Rock's daughter, Lola, came up to him crying and asked, "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?" the bewildered comic committed himself to search the ends of the earth and the depths of black culture to find out who had put that question into his little girl's head. Rock visits hair salons and styling battles, scientific laboratories, and Indian temples to explore the way black hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationships, and self-esteem of black people. Celebrities such as Ice-T, Kerry Washington, Nia Long, Paul Mooney, Raven Symone, Maya Angelou, and Reverend Al Sharpton all candidly offer their stories and observations to Rock while he struggles with the task of figuring out how to respond to his daughter's question. What he discovers is that black hair is a big business that doesn't always benefit the black community and little Lola's question might well be bigger than his ability to convince her that the stuff on top of her head is nowhere near as important as what is inside.

Black Dynamite
DVD Release Date: Feb. 23, 2010
$15.99 Grade: A
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Black Dynamite: a gun-toting, nunchuck-wielding, ladies man and soul brother. When "The Man" murders his brother, pumps heroin into local orphanages, and floods the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor, Black Dynamite is the one hero willing to fight all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House.

This Is It
DVD Release Date: Feb. 2, 2010
$15.99 Grade: A\
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Michael Jackson's This Is It will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London's O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at Jackson as he has never been seen before. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson's This Is It captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his final show. Directed by Kenny Ortega, who was both Michael Jackson's creative partner and the director of the stage show.

Disrtict 9
DVD Release Date: Dec. 22, 2009
$15.99 Grade: A
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Thirty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa's District 9 as the world's nations argued over what to do with them. “District 9” does a lot of things right, including giving us aliens to remind us not everyone who comes in a spaceship need be angelic, octopod or stainless steel,” says Roger Ebert of the Chicago SunTimes. “They are certainly alien, all right. It is also a seamless merger of the mockumentary and special effects (the aliens are CGI). And there’s a harsh parable here about the alienation and treatment of refugees.”

Star Trek
DVD Release Date: Nov. 17, 2009
$9.00 Grade: A
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The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk (Chris Pine), is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before. “Star Trek” is a first-rate thrill ride to one of the best prequels ever made.

The Soloist
DVD Release Date: Aug. 4, 2009
$9.99 Grade: A
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Journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Jamie Fox), a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives in this an uplifting drama. “The Soloist” is a musical triumph that underlines, acceptance and social commitment.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
DVD Release Date: Sep, 2009
$41.99 Grade: A
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Based on the best-selling novels by Alexander McCall Smith, “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” tells the uplifting fictional story of a Botswana woman who fulfills a longtime dream – and bucks daunting odds – by opening her country’s first and only female-owned detective agency. This excellent television drama, produced by the BBC in conjunction with HBO is filmed on location in Botswana and is the first major film or television production to be undertaken in the country.

Fast & Furious
DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
$14.99 Grade: C
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My favorite flick of the “Fast and Furious” muscle-car drama is the third installment, “Tokyo Drift.” The rest I leave to others, including the latest cliché ridden entry “Fast & Furious.” However, if you’re a fan of the genre then you’d want to add the latest saga starring the original cast, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez to your home video collection as they take one more lap in their supped up street racers. The plot has fugitive Dominic Toretto (Diesel) returning to Los Angeles to avenge a loved one’s death. Of course the feud between Toretto and agent Brian O’Conner (Walker) is reignited or there wouldn’t be a movie, or an excuse to race their high-octane machines through crowed streets.

Do The Right Thing
DVD Release Date: June 30, 2009
$13.99 Grade: A+
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It’s been 20 years since director Spike Lee took us to Bed-Stuy Brooklyn on the hottest day of the year. “Do The Right Thing,” Lee’s third outing, is considered by film critics and historians his masterpiece. “Do The Right Thing” is a powder keg of race, politics and tossed pepperoni pizzas. Do the Right Thing is one of the most thought-provoking and groundbreaking films of the last 20 years. The controversial story centers around one scorching inner-city day, as racial tensions reach the boiling point. Featuring over four hours of bonus features, a digitally remastered picture and new 5.1 surround sound audio, Do the Right Thing 20th Anniversary Edition captures an unforgettable piece of American history.