This Week: TV | Movies | Video | Trailers | Hardcovers | Paperbacks
Out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week: Studio Ghibli explores a secret world, a high school freshman discovers that having a babysitter is the least weird thing about his life, Greg Evigan runs from a metal tornado, and Jon Voigt goes beyond the quality of the movie he's in.
The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
Studio Ghibli/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The peerless magic of Studio Ghibli continues.
Format: Blu-Ray and DVD.
The story: The Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family's residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their daughter, Arrietty, is discovered.
Starring: Bridgit Mendler (Arrietty), Will Arnett (Pod), David Henrie (Shawn), Amy Poehler (Homily), Moises Arias (Spiller), Carol Burnett (Hara), Peter Jason (Additional Voices), Frank Marshall (Additional Voices).
Directed by: Hiromasa Yonebayashi; Gary Rydstrom (English language version).
Features: Original Japanese Storyboards (HD); Music Videos (HD, 7 minutes); The Making of "Summertime" (HD, 2 minutes); Trailers & TV Spots (HD, 14 minutes).
My Babysitter's a Vampire: The First Season (2011)
Warner Bros.
A hit both in Canada and on the Disney Channel, My Babysitter is a bit smarter and broader spectrum than its kids-TV title would suggest.
Format: DVD. Contains the pilot movie and the 13-episode first season.
The story: When his parents insist on hiring a babysitter, high school freshman Ethan worries about his already precarious image. But when he learns the truth about Sarah’s mission to save the world from her blood-sucking ex-boyfriend, Ethan also discovers spooky realities about his sleepy hometown—and his own secret powers.
Starring: Vanessa Morgan, Atticus Dean Mitchell, Kate Todd, Matthew Knight, Cameron Kennedy, Ari Cohen, Ella Jonas Farlinger.
Features: Meet the Cast; Go Behind the Scenes; Trailers.
- Trailer.
- News item.
Metal Tornado (2011)
Anderson Merchandise
As more of these inexpensive sci-fi made-for-cable actioners pile up on his resume, I'm starting to wonder: Will the handsome, easygoing, and reasonably talented Greg Evigan be better remembered for B.J. and the Bear, TekWar, or movies like this? And which would be better?
Format: DVD.
The story: A revolutionary industrial experiment leads to a magnetic storm that sucks up all metal in its path, and becomes a churning cyclone of death. Meanwhile, as the storm gains momentum, the scientists realize that the only means of stopping it could result in an even bigger catastrophe.
Starring: Lou Diamond Phillips, Nicole deBoer, Greg Evigan.
Directed by: Gordon Yang (directorial debut).
Features: Closed Caption; Trailer.
- Trailer.
Beyond (2011)
Anchor Bay Entertainment
There's a supernatural element shoved into this movie at an odd angle, in a way that's almost insulting to supernatural elements; but these days Jon Voigt is becoming irresistible, turning in solid and engaging performances even in not-so-great movies.
Format: Blu-Ray and DVD.
The story: A detective teams with a tabloid psychic to track down a missing child.
Starring: Jon Voight, Teri Polo, Dermot Mulroney, Brett Baker, Julian Morris, Skyler Shaye.
Directed by: Josef Rusnak ( The Thirteenth Floor).
Features: None!
