We are told right from the start that this is inspired by a true story. But we quickly discover that it's not inspired by true characters. It's not surprising that a survival film like this would be populated with stock characters, but there is nothing surprising about anything that happens with them. The filmmakers wanted to make an underwater cave story and that is the only part he gets right.

Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh, MOULIN ROGUE!) is the best cave explorer in the world. He's a cold, no-nonsense taskmaster. His son Josh (Rhys Wakefield, TV's HOME AND AWAY) hates him for it and slacks off on his responsibilities at the latest expedition into a massive cave system that stretches miles into the Earth. The billionaire funder/adventurer Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd, FANTASTIC FOUR) arrives to check out the latest discoveries. He has brought his new girlfriend Victoria (Alice Parkinson, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE), who he met on a climb of Everest. While down in the cave, a freak storm hits and quickly begins to flood the caverns. The crew must follow the water down and hopefully discover its exit to the sea in order to survive.

Sony isn't new to conjuring up magical transfers to Blu-ray and THE ILLUSIONIST is no exception. This 1080p presentation exquisitely captures Sylvain Chomet's moody animated ode to French comedian extraordinaire Jacques Tati. The flawless visual dimension of this title gives the animation added depth and nuance. For instance, the fog and smoke effects come off natural, not smudges moving across the screen. The digital color palette, while muted, is crisp and clean. One can see the lines of the original hand-drawn artwork clearly. I found no digital anomalies at all in the release. It's pretty much perfect.

The performance doesn't falter in the DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack either. With so  little dialogue, the soundscape relies heavily on sound effects and music to communicate its story. The sound mix is never bombastic, which is the nature of the film, but it's filled with nuance. Rain seems to surround us. Traffic whizzes across the soundscape. Crowd scenes represent the size of the audience whether it's full of crazed teens or just a few spectators trying to enjoy the illusionist's act. What little dialogue there is is clear and presented exactly as it was meant to be, whether it's supposed to be understood or just there to work with the environment. The dialogue, effects and music are woven together perfectly with one never overpowering the most important element of the moment. The quality of the sound matches that of the picture wonderfully.

Despite having the superhero in the title, this animated feature seems less like the Dark Knight’s story and more like that of James Gordon, who at this time is new to the Gotham police department. Based on what is hailed as a seminal comic series from writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli, the transition from the page to the screen is faithful, but also highlights the differences between mediums.

Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie, TV’s SOUTHLAND) was returned to Gotham from training abroad. He has begun the preparation for becoming the vigilante, but hasn’t found his identity yet. Jim Gordon (Bryan Cranston, TV’s BREAKING BAD) is the new lieutenant in town, having been exiled to the most corrupt city after smoking out police corruption in his last post. His wife Barbara (Grey DeLisle, TV’s THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS) is pregnant and he is guilty to bring a new child into this dirty, grim world.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet makes films full of whimsy and imagination. Most will remember Audrey Tautou as the irresistible waif in his modern classic AMELIE. Jeunet takes the same wide-eyed innocence and mischievousness of that film and mixes in a little HUDSUCKER PROXY and YOJIMBO and comes out with a delightful satire with boundless originality.

When Bazil (Dany Boon, JOYEUX NOEL) was young, his father was killed by a landmine. The tragic event drove his mother mad. As an adult, he takes a job at a movie rental store where one fateful night he is a victim of a random accidental shooting. Luckily, he survives with the bullet still lodged in his head. Unluckily, he loses his job and end out on the streets where he begins performing for pocket change.

Disney's 50th animated feature has a bit of everything that one might think of when one thinks of a Disney animated film. For the classic touch, there is a princess rescued by a dashing male hero, a wicked mother, animal sidekicks, musical numbers and magic. For the modern touch, there are irreverent splashes and gags galore. The former parts work much better than latter and in the end traditional storytelling wins the day.

Rapunzel (Mandy Moore, SAVED!) was saved from death as a child by a magic flower that gave her hair magical healing properties. Gothel (Donna Murphy, SPIDER-MAN 2) had been using said flower for years to turn back the effects of time, so she decides to kidnap the baby princess and raise her as her own, keeping her locked away in a tower in the forest. The devious woman tells the girl that the world is evil and that she is safer hidden away. But the now 18 year old girl wants to venture out and see firsthand the lanterns that happen to rise in the distance on her birthday.

The best compliment I can pay Tony Scott's film is that it's SPEED on a train. Once the runaway train starts rolling the suspense just keeps climbing to the very end. This is one of Scott's best films for its craftsmanship alone.

Trainer conductor Dewey (Ethan Suplee, MALLRATS) leaves his train thinking the breaks are on, but he was wrong. His expression as the train starts down the track without him tells it all. The nearly half mile long train is in full throttle racing away at over 70 miles per hour headed toward heavily populated areas. Its cargo is highly toxic.

This origin story of the Loch Ness monster is a sweet ode to Disney’s Silly Symphonies shorts of the 1940s and ‘50s. Narrated by Billy Connolly, the tale follows Nessie as she is forced out of her cozy pond by a loud mini-golf course developer named MacFroogle. She heads out with her best friend, the rubber duck MacQuack, to find a new home, but it’s not that easy. The whole incident makes her just want to cry, but she’s Scottish and she is supposed to keep a stiff upper lip.

Directors/writers Stevie Wermers and Kevin Deters (HOW TO HOOK UP YOUR HOME THEATER) bring sensitivity to this story. It’s a thin plot but it carries emotional weight. The appealing design of Nessie and her world (loved the plaid mountains), Connolly’s pitch perfect voice over for both the touching and brave face moments and solid character animation attribute to this success.

The hand drawn short seems fitting to play before WINNIE THE POOH, another throwback to a different age of Disney animation. The poetic narration gives it a timeless appeal as well. Wermers originally conceived of the character when she was in college and has finally brought the story of a sensitive monster to the screen. Her love for the subject certainly shines through.

I've been reading a lot of reviews of this Blu-ray release hating the darkness of it, but then saying that it's part of the film. When reviewing the quality of a transfer the only thing to really take into account is the intent of the filmmakers and has that been brought to the home entertainment experience. With Disney's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer of the fourth PIRATES film, they have done this masterfully. Yes, some of the early scenes are dark and mysterious, but that was director Rob Marshall and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski point. Even in the darkness you can relish in the inky blacks and remarkable detail. It has been described as smoky, which is true, but nothing is lost. When the film sails into the day, the details jump from the screen in the clothing and sets. The color palette is muted, but uber natural, which provides some of the visual awe. Digital anomalies are minimal. There is some faint digital fuzziness in the darker scenes and edge enhancement ringing can be found if you're looking for it.

If people have been nitpicking the picture quality, they are not doing so with the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 because you can't. This is one of the Blu-rays of the year to rock the surround sound with. Directionality is masterfully done to the point that it actually made my head turn — hey what's that behind me. Pans across the soundscape and the general ambiance make for a very immersive experience. Dialogue, score and sound effects are balanced precisely. Every sword clash, pistol fire, explosion, splash or snarky line is given its proper due.

The holidays have different meanings to everyone. For better or worse it's usually a time for family. Now from Aardman Animations, the creator of WALLACE & GROMIT, comes a modern look at Santa and his family. What we find out is that even good ole Saint Nick has a dysfunctional family.

Being the big guy in the red suit is a Claus family tradition that has been passed down for generations. The current Santa (Jim Broadbent, IRIS), however, is more of a figurehead these days. The one-night present delivery enterprise has been streamlined by his heir apparent, his oldest son Steve (Hugh Lurie, TV's HOUSE), a military type hunk with a Christmas-tree-shaped goatee. Steve has the elves working like special ops soldiers who can get a package in and under the tree in a matter of seconds.

Based on Stieg Larsson's international bestseller, this film makes this the second time this story has been brought to the screen. The original Swedish version is very fresh in my mind, having made my top 25 list last year, ranking fourth, just behind David Fincher's THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Now we have Fincher's version of the same tale in English.

Still set in Sweden, Daniel Craig (CASINO ROYALE) plays journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who has just lost a libel suit after printing a damning report about a successful businessman. Turns out he was set up. Leaving his magazine in disgrace, Mikael takes a job offer from Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer, BEGINNERS), a retired businessman whose family operates one of the largest companies in the country. For decades, Henrik has been investigating the disappearance of his niece Harriet, who he raised like his own. The old man believes one of his family members murdered her.