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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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For a heist to work it needs a good plan, but it also needs perfect execution. Brett Ratner's heist comedy has a good plan, but doesn't deliver on the details. It's inspired by the Bernie Madoff scandal where the fraudulent investor bankrupted the savings of thousands of people. In the film, a wealthy investor runs a similar Ponzi scheme, but in this fiction his victims set out to steal the millions he has hidden in his penthouse apartment.

Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller, TROPIC THUNDER) is the general manager of the most luxurious apartment tower in New York City. He tells the new elevator operator Enrique (Michael Pena, CRASH) that residents aren't just buying posh pads and top security, but also the 24-7 attention of the staff. Kovacs is great at his job and impresses the penthouse owner Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda, TV's MASH). But when Shaw is arrested for fraud, Kovacs has to tell his employees that their pension fund has been wiped out. Feeling responsible, he decides to break into Shaw's apartment and steal the money he knows is hidden there.

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This transfer of Hark Tsui's epic fantasy is gorgeous. The MPEG-4 AVC Blu-ray has colors so rich that they actually took me aback, especially in the film's elaborate vfx sequences. Because of the detailed clarity, some of the wide matte-painted backgrounds look strikingly realistic. It shows off the impressive quality of Korean vfx firm AZ Works and their partners' work. The rich golds and reds of lavish costuming pop and the detail even reveals threads. When the film descends into the underground Phantom City, the contrast of shadow is represented nicely without any noticeable crush. Grain is practically nonexistent in daylight scenes, but does creep up in lower lit sequences. Digital anomalies like banding, aliasing or pixelization were not evident to me.

The Mandarin language DTS-HD 5.1 Master soundtrack is what one would expect from a big epic action flick. Action sequences really utilize all the tracks with some great directionality. Arrow whoosh by the viewer from front to back. Explosions and even some of the strong kung fu fist falls boom on the LFE track. Dialogue sounds clear and the subtitles are easily read and keep up with the film well. The elements – dialogue, sound effects and score – are mixed dynamically. The balance makes for a robust sonic experience. The disc also has a Dolby Digital Stereo English-dubbed track for the subtitle phobic.

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The latest animated feature from Blue Sky Studios is like a Disney film circa OLIVER AND COMPANY. It's safe entertainment that skews for the younger crowd. And there isn't anything wrong with making a film for a specific audience. I certainly don't miss the crass pandering to the older viewers. It's replaced with the joy of love and song.

The story follows a blue macaw who ends up in Minnesota. He is adopted by Linda (Leslie Mann, KNOCKED UP), who names him Blu (Jesse Eisenberg, THE SOCIAL NETWORK). They live a comfortable, conservative life running a small bookstore. But they are challenged one day to step out of their comfort zone when Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro, 300) shows up and informs them that Blu is the last male of his species. The Brazilian scientist wants to try and mate Blu with the last female blue macaw named Jewel (Anne Hathaway, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED).

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Jeff Kinney, the author of the books that make up these films, prides himself in making the books lesson free. That doesn’t work very well in feature films. At least not emotionally satisfying ones. The first film found a way to take Kinney’s comic vignettes and made a pretty compelling coming of age story that dealt with the pressures of going to middle school and being loyal to a friend. This film also finds a compelling premise to build its story around. The unique relationship of brothers.

Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon, THE BROTHERS BLOOM) starts out the film wishing he could sell his brothers, especially his older brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick, SAW VI), who tries to humiliate him at every turn. Their mother Susan (Rachael Harris, THE HANGOVER) devises ways to force the two to spend time together. She says that she will give them one mom buck (board game money) for every hour they spend together without fighting. She starts them off with five mom bucks. Rodrick cashes in right away. Their father Frank (Steve Zahn, HAPPY, TEXAS) just stands back and smiles.

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This film is not based on Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Now that we got that out of the way, we can find out what this film is really about. One could claim though that this film is based on a dozen previous boxing movies such as ROCKY and THE CHAMP.

Set in a future where robots have replaced humans in the boxing ring because people like the carnage more. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE) is a former boxer who has become involved in the low-rung world of robot boxing. He gets a shock one day when he discovers that the mother of his son Max (Dakota Goyo, THOR) has died and that he needs to work out who will take the child. The 11-year-old's aunt Debra (Hope Davis, AMERICAN SPLENDOR) wants to take him and Charlie sees her rich husband as a chance to make some money out of the situation.

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Depression is an oppressive force. It filters all light through murky waters that the sufferer is drowning in. Lars von Trier finds a metaphor for it that seems so obvious and yet it comes off ingenious. A mysterious planet is headed for a collision course toward Earth. That's a big weight on your shoulders.

Justine (Kirsten Dunst, SPIDER-MAN) is getting married. But she's not really happy. Her new husband Michael (Alexander Skarsgard, TV's TRUE BLOOD) seems to know that she suffers from bouts of depression, but he doesn't understand the extents... or doesn't want to admit it. Her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg, ANTICHRIST) is putting on the lavish event for her, but tells her that she hates her sometimes for how she acts to ruin things. Claire has the added pressure of being constantly reminded how much the wedding is costing by her husband John (Kiefer Sutherland, TV's 24). When you meet Justine and Claire's divorced parents Gaby (Charlotte Rampling, SWIMMING POOL) and Dexter (John Hurt, THE ELEPHANT MAN) you might understand why Justine is depressed.

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Read my review of RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Those damn, dirty apes look quite amazing in this 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 Blu-ray. This is certainly one of the best Blu-ray releases of the year. The picture quality is crystal clear adding great depth and detail. Weta's CG apes really stand out from fur to skin textures to their realistic looking eyes. The color palette is natural and clean with black levels inky throughout. There is a light film grain that runs through the picture, which does not increase during night scenes. Crush in those night scenes is also nonexistent. As for compression issues and other digital artifacts, they are completely absent.

The DTS-HD 5.1 Master soundtrack is just as impressive as the picture. The audio mix never misses a beat either in dialogue scenes or the epic action sequences toward the end. Ape growls and screams rattle the LFE track. Directionality is nicely handled, especially in the action scenes when spears come whizzing by the viewers and apes stampede past. Ambience is also handled wonderfully throughout whether it's quieter scenes in the redwood forest or the loud ape-filled cages of the animal sanctuary. Patrick Doyle's great score also surrounds the audience to great effect in getting the audience wrapped up in the plight of Caesar and his fellow apes.

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Any IRON MAN sequel had a big suit to fill, following the original, which is one of the best superhero movies ever made. The story nicely builds on elements from the first film instead of rehashing the same ones. The second adventure is entertaining, especially in parts with a wisecracking Tony Stark, played once again by Robert Downey Jr.

Tony Stark is being pressured by the U.S. government to turn over his Iron Man suit. Stark argues that be has privatized peace and that he will do what he wants with it. His ego draws the attention of many adversaries. Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke, THE WRESTLER) has the biggest beef. He believes Stark's father Howard (John Slattery, TV's MAD MEN) stole the idea for the Iron Man suit from his father, so he builds his own suit and sets out to seek revenge. This validates all of the fears of Senator Stern (Garry Shandling, THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW), who doesn't want Iron Man armies in the hands of enemies. Stark's chief manufacturing rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell, MOON) recruits Vanko, so he can get a leg up on the competition. Meanwhile, Stark's best friend Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle, HOTEL RWANDA) is given orders to get a suit for the military. If Stark didn't have enough problems already, the reactor in his chest that is keeping him alive is also poisoning his blood.

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An idea can change the world. In Christopher Nolan's mind-bending thriller, big ideas are vulnerable to be stolen within a person's dreams. Powerful businessmen spend millions on setting up projections in their minds to protect them from extractors who are hired by competitors to steal secrets. But what's infinitely more difficult is to put an idea they did not think of in their mind. This is inception.

Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio, BLOOD DIAMOND) is a skilled extractor who has been hired to steal company secrets from billionaire Saito (Ken Wantanabe, THE LAST SAMURAI). While Cobb ultimately fails, Saito is impressed with his skills and hires him to attempt an inception on the son of his rival. The mission seems impossible, but Saito promises to use his connections to allow Cobb to return to the U.S. where there is a warrant out for his arrest.