This week’s DVD releases include an intimate drama starring Michelle Pfeiffer, a charming re-release of a 2001 melodrama by director Mira Nair and a big-budget blockbuster about sentient robots.
Tag Archives: Forrest Hartman
Video Verdict: ‘Cheri,’ ‘Monsoon Wedding’
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Video Verdict: ‘The Proposal,’ ‘Drag Me to Hell,’ ‘Land of the Lost’
This week’s DVD releases are anchored by comedies, including one that features Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as a most unlikely couple.
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Video Verdict: ‘My Life in Ruins,’ ‘Year One,’ more new releases
This week’s major DVD releases are both comedies, but they’re as different in tone as films of the same genre can be.
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Reno producer brings Darwin’s life to the screen in new television movie
When National Geographic Television executives decided to take a break from documentary filmmaking and create the company’s first fully-scripted docu-drama, they turned to Reno-based producer Norman Stephens.
The movie was to examine the life of British scientist Charles Darwin, and Stephens, who has more than two decades of television experience, saw it as an ideal project.
“Everyone’s sort of mourning the death of the TV movie, and I think that we’re finding new avenues to use the TV-movie format,” Stephens said. “I think that it’s going to be embraced. I don’t think the TV movie is dead.”
It’s certainly not dead this week. The finished film, “Darwin’s Darkest Hour,” is debuting Tuesday as the kickoff to the new season of “Nova” on PBS, and Stephens said he’s pleased to be closing in on the air date.
Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20091004/ENT/910040311/1056/Reno-producer-brings-Darwin-s-life-to-the-small-screen
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Video Verdict: ‘Monsters Vs. Aliens,’ ‘Superman/Batman,’ ‘Girlfriend Experience’

From left, The Missing Link, Ginormica, B.O.B. and Dr. Cockroach in a scene from "Monsters Vs. Aliens."
This week’s DVD releases include two animated films and an unusual relationship drama by director Steven Soderbergh.
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Video Verdict: ‘Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,’ ‘Battle for Terra,’ ‘Observe and Report’
This week’s new DVDs cover several genres, and they are anchored by a romantic comedy featuring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner.
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Video Verdict: “Crank 2: High Voltage”

Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) and his girlfriend, Eve (Amy Smart), get down and dirty in the action film "Crank 2: High Voltage."
It’s a slow week for DVDs, with only one major theatrical release — a Jason Statham thriller — making its way to video stores.
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Video Verdict: ‘State of Play,’ ‘Disneynature: Earth,’ ‘Sugar’
This week’s DVD releases include a sharp thriller starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck, a beautifully photographed nature film and a foreign drama that casts a new light on America’s pastime.
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