COMING ATTRACTIONS

Friday, October 19, 2007

Notable DVDs being released Tuesday include:

¿ Bookbox DVD series. From Master Communications, best known for its award-winning "Families of the World" DVD series, comes a new series that uses same-language subtitling -- synchronizing the text, audio and visual components of a story shown on-screen -- to help improve reading skills. It debuts with Enchanting Christmas Stories and Stories From Around the World. Stories on "Enchanting Christmas" are "The First Christmas," "The Greatest Treasure," "Tucket the Bucket," "The Elves and the Shoemaker" and "Santa's Christmas." Stories on "Around the World" are "The First Well," "The Boo in the Shoe," "The Whispering Palms," "The Little Pianist" and "Elephant Goes to the City." A portion of the proceeds will be donated to PlanetRead ( http://www.PlanetRead.org), a literacy development organization.

¿ Buried Alive (Unrated) Staff horror aficionado Richard Harrington says: "Sorority girls and frat boys do the darnedest things at an abandoned and isolated lodge where Tobin Bell (Jigsaw from 'Saw') is the groundskeeper. Of course, the grounds can't keep the woman who was buried alive in the basement long, long ago and, naturally, she's vengeful! Veteran special-effects guru Robert Kurtzman directs. Trivia alert: Bell's gold teeth previously appeared in his mouth in Sam Raimi's 'The Quick and the Dead.' "

¿ The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (G) Joely Richardson and Luke Ward-Wilkinson star in this Bill Clark film based on the best-selling children's book by Susan Wojciechowski.

¿ Commune (Unrated) This documentary looks at the efforts of a group of young artists and activists (including actor Peter Coyote) to establish a utopian community in a remote part of California in the early 1970s with financing from the likes of Frank Zappa, the Doors, the Monkees and others. Bonus features include a commune "Family Album and History," an extended Coyote interview, the "Secret FBI File on Black Bear Ranch" and more.

¿ Home of the Brave (R) This movie follows a group of soldiers returning from war and charts their difficulties reintegrating into civilian life. It stars Jessica Biel, Brian Presley, Samuel L. Jackson and 50 Cent. Extras include deleted scenes and commentary from director Irwin Winkler, writer Mark Friedman and producer Rob Cowan.

¿ Hostel: Director's Cut (Unrated) and Hostel: Part II (R) I'm sure no pun was intended in the phrase "director's cut" in this gorefest.

¿ I Am Cuba: The Ultimate Edition (Unrated) This three-disc set pays homage to the 1964 fevered telling of the Cuban revolution from Russian cinematographer Sergei Urusevsky. Extras include an interview with Martin Scorsese raving about what a lost treasure this is and a documentary on the making of the film.

¿ Kaw (R) Like "The Birds," only with ravens. And without the talent of Hitchcock.

¿ Meet the Robinsons (G) A visually arresting animated tale from Disney that tells the story of an orphan named Lewis who ends up time-traveling to the future with a kid named Wilbur. Extras include featurettes and deleted scenes.

¿ Mr. Brooks (R) Kevin Costner is a serial killer who gets sloppy and, as a result, has to deal with Dane Cook. I know he's a serial killer, but man, that seems like a harsh fate.

¿ O Amor Natural (Unrated) Older people on the streets and beaches of Rio de Janeiro read the erotic poetry of Brazilian Carlos Drummond de Andrade, which triggers recollections that you're not used to hearing from people your grandparents' age.

¿ 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama (Unrated) This includes rare footage of the Dalai Lama's past.

TV on DVD:

¿ The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Volume One This is the first of three volumes of the 1990s TV series that starred Sean Patrick Flannery as Indiana Jones. This first 12-disc set includes seven episodes plus 38 companion documentaries, a historical overview, an interactive game and an interactive timeline.

¿ Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq Soldiers' stories from the soldiers themselves.

¿ American Gangster: The Complete First Season

¿ Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!

¿ Clive Cussler's The Sea Hunters, Set 1

¿ The Company A miniseries about the history of the CIA.

¿ The L Word: The Complete Fourth Season

¿ Mind of Mencia: Season 3 Uncensored

¿ NCIS: The Fourth Season

¿ Playtime With Grover and Good Night Sesame

¿ Route 66: Season One, Volume One

¿ The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Set 2

¿ The Sopranos: Season 6, Part II The obvious gimmick would be to end this mid-sentence, as a parody of the now-famous series finale. Instead, let's play a game and watch for how many reviews do just that.

-- Curt Fields

SEE THEM NOW

DVDs released Oct. 16 include:

¿ Crazy Love (PG-13)

¿ Grindhouse Presents Planet Terror (Unrated)

¿ The Hoax (R)

¿ Kings of South Beach (Unrated)

¿ A Mighty Heart (R)

¿ My Best Friend (PG-13)

¿ The Reaping (R)

¿ Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway (PG)

¿ Transformers (PG-13)

¿ Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934 (Unrated)

¿ Warren Miller's No Boundaries: Collector's Edition (Unrated)

¿ The Woods Have Eyes (Unrated)

TV released Oct. 16 on DVD:

¿ Ironside: Season 2

¿ MacGyver: The Complete Series

¿ Medium: The Third Season