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From the moment the sun rises over the savanna and we hear the African chant, THE LION KING grips the audience’s attention. Combining fable with Greek tragedy, this film has a serious undertone that many Disney animated features do not have. The studio dealt with the death of a parent before, but not like this. This is a world with real consequences, which is the basis to all classic children’s tales and what makes this film not just for the kids.

The opening calls together all the animals of Pride Rock to witness the presentation of the new male heir of the kingdom — the lion cub Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas as child and Matthew Broderick as adult). His father Mufasa (James Earl Jones, STAR WARS) teaches him to be a just ruler. He explains that the circle of life has the lion eating antelope and when they die they help the grass grow, which new antelope will eat. Simba hasn’t learned yet that there are creatures out who would kill for other reasons. This is the case with his scheming uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE), who sees his nephew as the boulder in his way to the throne.

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Read my LION KING review.

This 1080p/AVC-encoded Blu-ray is about as good as it gets. On it’s picture and audio alone, it’s one of the must-own Blu-rays of the year. From the first moment when the sun rises over the savanna, the richness of color is impressive. Black levels are solid as well. Details really make the artistry of the animation stand out. During the wildebeest stampede, nothing gets lost in the chaos as dust swirls around the air. The fires at the end with their striking reds, yellows and oranges make a powerful impact. The presentation is clean from both dust and digital anomalies.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack is equally as impressive. Everything is balanced nicely and powerfully. You feel the command of Mufasa when his roar rocks the LFE track. The aforementioned wildebeest stampede is a highlight of the entire sound field and directionality. You feel like you are Simba in the middle of the mayhem. Hans Zimmer’s score is crystal clear and makes an impact right from the first note of the African chant that starts the film. One particular element that stuck out was the dialogue balance that really fit the character and the moment.

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Playwright Kenneth Lonergan broke through into film with the screenplay for ANALYZE THIS. He made his directing debut with the outstanding 2000 dramedy YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, which provided breakout roles for Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo. In 2005, he began production on his follow-up, which has taken this long to arrive in theaters due to Lonergan’s lengthy editing process and two lawsuits. He probably needed more time.

Lisa Cohen (Anna Paquin, TV’s TRUE BLOOD) is a New York Jewish girl who attends a private school and has a chip on her shoulder. When her teacher Mr. Aaron (Matt Damon, BOURNE IDENTITY) calls her on cheating, she says — it was open book what does it matter if I got the answers from there or another person’s test? She gets in heated arguments with her fellow students about terrorism. When speaking to her actress mother Joan (J. Smith-Cameron, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME), she gives only curt statements or outright insults. This is a teen who knows everything.

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This restoration of the Disney classic is brought to Blu-ray in a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer exquisitely. Unlike some restorations, this one doesn’t turn the hand drawn feature into something that looks like TV animation. The subtleties remain, especially in the watercolor backgrounds, where the artists’ touch really pops in hi-def. Color is a huge element in this film and the range is kept under control in that nothing seems unnaturally bright. Black levels are inky. Digital anomalies are absent from the release as far as I saw, but others have pointed out some ringing.

The soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1. This surround mix doesn’t over do it. The rear speakers are used sparingly, especially noticeable in the storm and elephant tower sequences. Dialogue is clear and balanced well with the music and sound effects. The songs and score have a tinny quality but that is a source issue not something wrong with this transfer. For purists, the disc also has a nicely restored 320kbps Mono track as well.

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A 27-year-old man is out jogging early in the morning. He stops for a traffic light. There are no cars in sight. Another runner races past him and crosses the intersection against the hand. The young man waits. He doesn’t drive or smoke or drink. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would get a rare form of spine cancer.

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, INCEPTION) is this young man. Jonathan Levine’s film opens in this seemingly innocuous way, but it says a lot about Adam who doesn’t speak about how he feels about having a 50/50 chance of survival. He doesn’t really like to be consoled or coddled or even touched… at least by strangers. When asked how he is feeling he usually replies that he is okay.

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What if you couldn’t trust your own thoughts? Curtis begins to believe this might be the case. He is starting to have dreams so vivid that he doesn’t know what is real and what was just in his head. Mental illness runs in his family. He seeks help, but is it enough to make him aware of the line between reality and his delusions?

The actor who plays Curtis is the go to actor for mentally off roles   Michael Shannon. Unlike his Oscar nominated role in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD or the horror flick BUG, he is fighting against and even trying to hide his possible problems. The reason is because he has a lot to lose. He is married to Samantha (Jessica Chastain, THE TREE OF LIFE) and their daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart) needs a surgery to repair her damaged hearing. If his work finds out he is mentally off, will they still let him work his construction job? If he loses his job he loses his health insurance.

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High school student Richard Samuels dreams of being an actor on the stage. He idolizes Orson Welles and shows up at the Mercury Theatre with the slimmest of hopes to be part of their first production, JULIUS CAESAR set in Mussolini ’s Italy. By chance he amuses the players and lands a small part. He’s actually going to act with Orson Welles. But the legend is different from the reality.

Richard Linklater’s film cuts to the core of the ruthless politics, often fueled by enormous egos, that rule the theater world. At the Mercury Theatre, Welles is the sun and the rest of the company is the planets circling him. A great deal of time they are simply waiting for the man to arrive. When he arrives he is often short with those that his vision does not come so easily to. But when he needs or wants something from you (or is just showing off) he can make you feel like you are a superstar.

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When your hear wagon train probably dozens of images from countless Westerns come to mind. You hear the call, “Circle the wagons! Indian attack!” The legend has been well established. Kelly Reichardt’s quiet rumination of the travels of pioneers tries to break down that legend and present something closer to the real experience.

In 1845, three families pay mountain man Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood, STAR TREK) to guide them along the Oregon Trail through the Cascade Mountains. As the film begins, we quickly realize they are lost. Meek has talked big about his exploits, but it seems like he is driving these people forward with the hope that the way will be found as the go along.

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How can you not be romantic about baseball? That’s what Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane says in this great baseball movie, which is more about the business of baseball than the game. And that said the film still does stir the desire to grab some peanuts, popcorn and Cracker Jack and head out to the ole ball game.

The story follows Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s, as he is forced to rebuild his team after losing three key players to other clubs. The dirty little secret in baseball, that anyone who knows baseball knows, is that the playing field is not level. As Beane says, there are rich teams and there are poor teams and there is 50 feet of crap and then there is the A’s. When a trip to visit the Indians’ GM about player trades goes badly, he seeks out the quiet guy by the door who seems to make the others listen to him. That guy is Peter Brand (Jonah Hill, CYRUS), an Ivy League economics grad who believes that professional baseball has it all wrong when it comes to staffing teams.

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The economy of storytelling is the most impressive element of this slight animated feature. Following the poor performances of PINOCCHIO, BAMBI and FANTASIA, the lavish production values were toned down. Less spectacle but not less character. This story of an elephant with jumbo ears fills the big top with emotion in only 64 minutes.

When the stork delivers Mrs. Jumbo’s baby son, her fellow elephants label him with the name Dumbo, because of his giant ears. The ridicule he receives only makes the shy little pachyderm even more bashful. Like any good mother, Mrs. Jumbo defends her child from tormentors, but her actions are not taken favorably by the circus management. Dumbo, whose real name in Jumbo Jr., is now left to fend for himself as the circus decides to put the silly looking animal in the clown act, so people can laugh at him more.

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