Steven Spielberg

CHICAGO – While the new sci-fi/superhero film “I Am Number Four” can be easily dismissed as yet another “Twilight” knockoff, the power of two mega-producers arms the film with nearly as much right as it does wrong.

CHICAGO – Alice Walker’s novel “The Color Purple” won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 and became a highly-acclaimed film just two years later from what was then-seen as an unlikely directorial choice in Steven Spielberg. Despite the controversy, the film went on to be nominated for a stunning eleven Academy Awards and is now one of the first Spielberg works to get the HD upgrade.

CHICAGO – There is an entire generation out there that LOVES “The Goonies.” It is one of those ’80s films that is spoken about in hushed tones in certain circles as if it is the product of a time when they just made better movies. People adore the Richard Donner film that turned Sloth and Chunk into annual Halloween costumes. A 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray and DVD of “The Goonies” has been issued with those diehard fans in mind.

CHICAGO – HBO’s “Band of Brothers” has been an annual bestseller around the holiday season, first on DVD and now on Blu-ray, and it seems virtually impossible that their equally-notable “The Pacific,” now on Blu-ray and DVD, would not follow it up the charts and turn out to be one of the most-given HD gifts of the upcoming season.

CHICAGO – It’s rare to see a series of films and its fans treated as incredibly as Universal has with the 25th Anniversary edition of the “Back to the Future” trilogy. This is one of the most remarkable and impressive Blu-ray releases to date: A box set that not only features pristinely-restored versions of the three films but includes hours of spectacular special features. It’s a must-own and arguably the best release in a very good season for Blu-ray collectors.

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Walt Dohrn

CHICAGO – This 41-image slideshow contains red carpet images of celebrities arriving at the Los Angeles premiere of “Shrek Forever After” on May 16th, 2010. Celebrities in attendance include Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Antonio Banderas, Lake Bell, Steven Spielberg, and more.

CHICAGO – One of the reasons that Blu-ray hasn’t taken over like so many of the technology’s early adopters hoped that it would is that a lot of the films that drove the success of standard DVD weren’t available on the format. It has taken time for early DVD hits like “The Matrix” and even “The Lord of the Rings” to come out in HD. When people buy a Blu-ray machine, they want to be able to get their favorite films right away. Now they can add another long-wanted option to the first-day-purchase list with “Saving Private Ryan”.

CHICAGO – “The Lovely Bones,” which is directed by “The Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson with a relatively unknown executive producer credit from Steven Spielberg, has gone down in history as a poorly reviewed film that was based on a much better novel of the same name by Alice Sebold.

CHICAGO – I personally think the show is slightly inferior to its hour-partner “Nurse Jackie,” but Toni Collette does such spectacular work on “United States of Tara” that her performance alone demands you tune in. Like Edie Falco on “NJ,” the incredibly talented Collette takes a challenging role that could have turned into caricature in the hands of a lesser actress and makes it genuine.

CHICAGO – I must admit to some trepidation about HBO’s WWII mini-series “The Pacific” from producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, debuting tonight, March 14th, 2010 at 8pm CST. Why? Because “Band of Brothers” is the best mini-series of all time and it’s difficult for anyone to pitch a perfect game two starts in a row. I knew it would be good, but doubted it would be great. I was wrong. It’s spectacular.