DVD Tuesday: Madea, Annapolis, Ultraviolet & More! - Xoanon @ 19:52 PST
Madea's Family Reunion: Tyler Perry dons the muumuu once again to play the outspoken, larger than life family matriarch Mable "Madea" Simmons in the screen adaptation of his play, and this time the writer/actor takes the directorial reigns as well. The pistol packing grandma plays ringmaster and referee to a chaotic family reunion, where she lays down the law and provides a few life lessons in time for a big clan reconciliation. Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield, Boris Kodjoe, Henry Simmons and Keke Palmer co-star with Maya Angelou, Jenifer Lewis and Cicely Tyson. Available in separate widescreen and fullscreen editions. Details: Color, Lionsgate, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Director Commentary; Deleted Scenes; The Making of Madea's Family Reunion; Marriage Madea Style; Gayner Plantation; Making the Music; Trailers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and English (Dolby Digital 2.0). Optional Spanish and English subtitles. [Order]


Find Me Guilty: Sidney Lumet's highly entertaining look at the bigger-than-life trial that turned into the longest criminal trial in U.S. history stars Vin Diesel as a fun loving, hard partying small time mob lieutenant who represents himself at trial. His mix of class clowning and street-level straight talk is engaging, even if it's mired in the romance of goombah loyalty and crime family ties. Lumet's laid-back professionalism and Diesel's big-hearted performance give it an affable buoyancy: the story runs on pure Diesel. Peter Dinklage, Linus Roache and Ron Silver co-star. Details: Color, 124 mins, 20th Century Fox, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: "Conversations with Sidney Lumet" featurette; Trailer and TV spots. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish and English subtitles. [Order]


Caché: (France) Michael Haneke's provocative thriller, which plays on fears even more insidious than direct threats of violence, stars Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche as a successful professional couple terrorized by a series of videotapes (which are delivered wrapped in crayon drawings of children and blood) that simply show their home under surveillance. The quietly unnerving thriller digs into a disturbing reality of race and class relations and entitlement while consistently shifting our point of view and uneasy gaze and leaving the "threat" ambiguous. Winner of the Best Director prize at Cannes in 2005. Details: Color, 118 mins, Sony Pictures, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: Documentary on director Michael Haneke; Behind the scenes of Cache. Audio: French (Dolby Digital 5.0). Optional Spanish and English subtitles. [Order]


Imagine Me & You: Radiant bride Piper Perabo locks eyes with a stranger on her wedding day and falls in love -- with another woman (Lena Headey) -- in Ol Parker's lightfingered British romantic comedy. It's otherwise fairly conventional, right down to the compulsory colorful crew of friends and family, but the company is cordial, the script witty and Perabo is engaging. Matthew Goode and Anthony Head co-star. Features both widescreen and full-screen versions on a flipper disc. Details: Color, 93 mins, 20th Century Fox, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1. Supplements: Commentary by director/writer Ol Parker; Deleted and extended scenes with director's commentary; Q&A with director and cast; Personal statement by director Ol Parker; Features both widescreen and full-screen versions. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.1 Surround). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles. [Order]


Failure to Launch: Matthew McConaughey is the commitment-shy 35-year-old bachelor who has never found the need to move out of the nest, much to the frustration of his parents (Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates), in the romantic comedy directed by Tom Day. Sarah Jessica Parker is the date bait who has built a business out of luring overgrown housekids out of the house and winds up falling for this smug slacker. Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha and Bradley Cooper co-star. Available in separate widescreen and fullscreen editions. Details: Color, 96 mins, Paramount, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: "Casting off: the Making of Failure to Launch" featurette; "The Failure to Launch Phenomenon" featurette; "Dating in the New Millennium" featurette; Moviefone.com Unscripted with Matthew McConaughey and Terry Bradshaw; The Failure to Launch Contest; Theatrical trailer. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) and French (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish and English subtitles. [Order]


Why We Fight: Eugene Jarecki explores the power of the military-industrial complex to influence foreign policy through a sobering history lesson that leads up to the invasion of Iraq. The title refers to the series of propaganda documentaries produced by Frank Capra during World War II, when the question wasn't so divisive. Jarecki has an agenda and the film is part polemic, but it's a provocative documentary on foreign policy and the growth of war into America's biggest business. Details: Color, 99 mins, Sony Pictures, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: Commentary by director Eugene Karecki and Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson; Extra scenes; Extended character featurettes; Audience Q&A with filmmaker; Filmmaker TV appearances: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Charlie Rose; Theatrical trailer. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and . Optional Spanish, Portuguese and French subtitles. [Order]


Annapolis: James Franco plays the lone wolf working class guy who enrolls in the Annapolis Naval Academy in this rehash of "An Officer and a Gentleman," served up with a side of "Rocky" (yes, he's also an amateur boxer). Tyrese Gibson is the Marine veteran turned senior Midshipman who is determined to wash him out and beat him in the climactic boxing match. Jordana Brewster and Donnie Wahlberg co-star and Justin Lin ("Better Luck Tomorrow") directs. Available in separate widescreen and fullscreen editions. Details: Color, 104 mins, Touchstone, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.85:1. Supplements: Deleted scenes with optional audio commentary; "Plebe Year: The Story of Annapolis" featurette; "The Brigades" - An in-depth look at the boxing sequences, including training, choreography and camera techniques. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Commentary by director Justin Lin, writer David Collard, editor. Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles. [Order]


Ultraviolet: Kurt Wimmer's slick sci-fi actioner takes place in a future where a plague has created an entire subculture of vampires (they're called Hemophages, but it's the same thing). Milla Jovovich is vampire warrior who becomes protector of a boy (Cameron Bright) whose blood may carry a cure, and is thus marked for death by the fascist government who would rather just wipe them all out. Nick Chinlund and William Fichtner co-star. Available in separate PG-13 (theatrical) and unrated editions, the latter featuring 7 minutes of additional footage. Details: Color, 94 mins, Sony Pictures, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.85:1. Supplements: Commentary by actress Milla Jovovich; "UV Protection: Making Ultraviolet" featurette; Unrated, Extended Cut features 7 minutes of footage unseen in theaters. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional French and English subtitles. [Order]


Evil: (Sweden) An abused teenager (Andreas Wilson) is sent to a prestigious private school to protect from a violent stepfather, only find an even more harrowing situation where the upperclassman brutalize the rest of the school and the teachers silently condone it all. Mikael Håfström directs. Details: Color, 110 mins, Magnolia, widescreen, 1.78:1. Supplements: Deleted scenes; "Making of: The Truth Behind Evil" featurette. Audio: Swedish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional Spanish and English subtitles. [Order]