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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:30:46 PDT

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the selections below you can also add to your queue the kid-friendly adventure Journey to the Center of the Earth.

The L Word
Before the fifth season of Showtime's The L Word started this Summer, there were a lot of questions: Is Jenny still going to be so terrible? Is Shane settling down to make a family (uh, for real this time)? Will Alice stay with Tasha when she's shipped back to Iraq? Well, some of you may know the answers to these questions and some may not.

Now you can take home the entire season to catch up or relive the glory this Winter before the sixth and final season airs Sunday, Jan. 18. Special features include "The 2008 Wolfe Women's Party in Tampa" and "The Making of the Subaru Pink Ride."

Two more selections up next so

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
I bet there are a lot of little girls (and OK, big ones, too) that are super excited for the release of this movie, which stars Abigail Breslin as the intrepid budding journalist Kit Kittredge. Interestingly, the Depression-era feel-good flick is actually kind of timely now, given the current climate. Netflix describes the plot as such: "With Kit's father (Chris O'Donnell) away looking for a job, her mother (Julia Ormond) takes in boarders to make ends meet - and when the family savings are stolen during a series of robberies, Kit sets about finding the thief."

You'd think a movie like this one would have a special features bonanza attached to it but as it is, there's just an "American Girl Movie Trailer Gallery" featuring previews for direct-to-DVD American Girl movies.

Death Defying Acts
I noted over the Summer how strange it is that a movie with two big-name actors and an acclaimed director had almost zero publicity around its opening weekend. But that was the situation with Death Defying Acts, a story set in 1926 Britain where Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce) "enters into a passionate affair with a Scottish psychic (Catherine Zeta-Jones). The psychic and her daughter (Saoirse Ronan) attempt to con Houdini during a highly publicized séance to contact his mother whose death has haunted him for many years. However, all does not go to plan."

Despite the red flags, I still think it sounds pretty cool and I love that little Atonement actress so I'm definitely adding this to my list of movies to watch at home. Special features include commentary by director Gillian Armstrong and producer Marian MacGowan, and a making-of featurette.

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Movie Preview: Death Defying Acts

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:30:46 PDT

Hmm. . . a movie with two relatively big-ish actors (Catherine Zeta-Jones is perhaps more recognizable, but Guy Pearce is an exceptional actor, as you may recall from a little something called Memento) that has been completed for many months but gets practically no U.S. promotion whatsoever, even as its release date (July 11) fast approaches? It kinda makes you wonder about this Harry Houdini drama, Death Defying Acts.

Little Women director Gillian Armstrong leads the dramatic tale of escapism and romance. The story takes place in 1926 Britain where Houdini "enters into a passionate affair with a Scottish psychic (Zeta-Jones). The psychic and her daughter (Saoirse Ronan) attempt to con Houdini during a highly publicized séance to contact his mother whose death has haunted him for many years. However, all does not go to plan."

The story has so much potential to be dark and intriguing, and I am always curious about what Guy Pearce is up to. Plus, there's a pre-Atonement (and thus pre-Oscar nom) Saoirse Ronan and she is a pretty great little actress.

The movie already had an Australian premiere and I will probably give it a shot when it comes to a theater near me. To check out the trailer,

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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol: a Ton of Tom Cruise Fun

Molly Goodson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:05:00 PST

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is the most fun you'll have at an action movie this season, maybe even the whole year. Tom Cruise is truly at his best as Ethan Hunt, and in the five years since MI3, everything from the stunts to the gadgets have gotten flashier while the A-list star at the center is still bringing his A game. This time around, Hunt is forced to go rogue when the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) is disbanded, and he's left with a team including goofy, techy Benji (Simon Pegg), sexy but heartbroken Jane (Paula Patton), and the mysterious Brandt (Jeremy Renner). From the moment the iconic theme music kicks in, Ghost Protocol is a blast.

The actual plot of the film is fairly straightforward as far as the MI series goes: Ethan and his ragtag team work to stop an imminent nuclear attack at the hands of a Russian mad man. The big mystery of Ghost Protocol is why exactly Ethan is locked up in a Moscow jail as the movie kicks off, and what exactly happened to end his marriage with Julia (Michelle Monaghan). The film makes a weak effort to involve the viewers in this emotional story line, and while it doesn't quite resonate, the movie has more than enough to make up for the shortcoming. To see why the film is so great, just

The action scenes in Ghost Protocol really showcase Cruise. Ghost Protocol is flashy in the best way possible, and the scenes shot at the world's tallest building in Dubai do not disappoint. It's obvious that Cruise demands to do his own stunts, which adds an even more impressive level of flourish to the most death-defying scenes. Cruise's charisma carries the movie, and while his team is a great complement, it's nothing without the superstar. With all the rumors about Jeremy Renner taking over the series, it's hard to imagine the MI big-screen legacy without Cruise.

The biggest complaints about Ghost Protocol are the length - clocking in at well over two hours - and the inability to connect with the romantic/emotional story lines. That said, the film does not take itself too seriously and even calls out its own screenplay's absurdity at points. There are plot holes here and there, but if you're not looking to nitpick, they aren't too much of a downfall.

It's an impressive live action debut for director Brad Bird and also the first film in the franchise that sees Cruise acting as producer. The two seem to make a great team, and if anything, this is something that should be viewed on the biggest screen possible. There's something ultimately believable about Hunt's efforts to save the world, and while that blurs the lines between actor and character, it shows that this is - as it should be - totally Cruise's genre strong suit. Patton, Renner, and Pegg make for entertaining sidekicks to Cruise, and it would be great to see this cast teamed up for another installment, just as long as the formula stays on track. Ghost Protocol is a satisfying reboot that should reinvigorate the series and hopefully bring in a new era for MI and Tom Cruise fans alike.

Photo courtesy of Paramount