A space mission that could reveal man?s destiny is jeopardized by a malfunctioning shipboard computer. A dazzling journey that tops them all ? and showed the way for other effects-packed films that followed.

Dashing Errol Flynn is the definitive Robin Hood in the most gloriously swashbuckling version of the legendary story. Warner Brothers reunited Michael Curtiz, their top-action director, with the winning team of Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian) and perennial villain Basil Rathbone as the aristocratic Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and pulled out all stops for the production. It became their costliest film to date, a grandly handsome, glowing Technicolor adventure set to a stirring, Oscar-winning score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The decadent Prince John (a smoothly conniving Claude Rains) takes advantage of King Richard's absence to tax the country into poverty but meets his match in the medieval guerrilla rebel Robin Hood and his Merry Men of Sherwood Forest, who rise up and, to quote a cliché coined by the film, "steal from the rich and give to the poor." Stocky Alan Hale Sr. plays Robin's loyal friend Little John (a part he played in Douglas Fairbanks's silent version), Eugene Palette the portly Friar Tuck, and Melville Cooper the bumbling Sheriff of Nottingham. Flynn's confidence and cocky charm makes for a perfect Robin Hood, and his easygoing manner is a marvelous counterpoint to Rathbone's regal bearing and courtly diction. The film climaxes in their rousing battle-to-the-finish sword fight, a magnificently choreographed scene highlighted by Curtiz's inventive use of shadows cast upon the castle walls. —Sean Axmaker

Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman a masked crusader who uses his strength intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/HEROES UPC: 085391115212 Manufacturer No: 111521

The railroad's got to run through the town of Rock Ridge. How do you drive out the townfolk in order to steal their land? Send in the toughest gang you've got...and name a new sheriff who'll last about 24 hours. But that's not really the plot of Blazing Saddles just the pretext. Once Mel Brooks' lunatic film many call his best gets started logic is lost in a blizzard of gags jokes quips puns howlers growlers and outrageous assaults upon good taste or any taste at all. Cleavon Little as the new lawman Gene Wilder as the wacko Waco Kid Brooks himself as a dim-witted politico and Madeline Kahn in her Marlene Dietrich send-up that earned an Academy Award nomination all give this sagebrush saga their lunatic best. And when Blazing Saddles can't contain itself at the finale it just proves the Old West will never be the same!Running Time: 93 min.System Requirements:Running Time: 93 MinutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 012569828384 Manufacturer No: 82838

The IMAX film Blue Planetoffers an eloquent reminder—and a cautionary warning—that the planet Earth is a delicate living organism, constantly reshaped and rejuvenated by the awesome forces of nature. The film targets a grade-school audience but will prove informative to anyone fascinated by our home planet's evolution. Hurricanes, glaciers, volcanoes, thunderstorms, asteroid impacts, undersea furnace vents, and earthquakes are all explored as a system of interconnected forces that ensure the planet's survival. The difference between this and other nature films is that the Earth's delicacy is emphasized by stunning views from space, filmed in the IMAX format by NASA astronauts in orbit 200 miles above the Earth's surface. With astonishing clarity, this orbital perspective supports the film's ultimate purpose: to reveal the awesome beauty of the Earth, and to emphasize that we, the custodians of this miraculous gift, are also the greatest threat to the planet's delicate health. Proof of man's destructive influence offers a sobering reminder that our responsibility toward nature is perpetual, essential, and routinely abused. 

Blue Planetcombines state-of-the-art sound and image, principally directed by Ben Burtt, the Oscar-winning sound designer whose credits include the original Star Wars trilogy. No home-theater system could do full justice to the film's technical achievement, but the sights and sounds of Blue Planetare awesome nonetheless, and it's impossible to overstate the importance of the film's message and its hopeful emphasis on the potentially wondrous future of our one and only home. —Jeff Shannon

Based on Katherine Paterson's young-adult novel and filmed in picturesque New Zealand, Bridge to Terabithia has lessons to impart about empathy and self-expression, but the tone is never heavy-handed. Jesse (sleepy-eyed Josh Hutcherson, Zathura), a fifth-grade loner, lives in the country with his parents and four sisters, including pesky May Belle (Bailee Madison), who adores him. His strict father (Robert Patrick, The Terminator 2) works in a hardware store. Money is tight and classmates make fun of his hand-me-downs, so Jesse finds refuge in running and drawing. Everything changes when two writers and their daughter Leslie (wide-eyed AnnaSophia Robb, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) move in next door. Leslie is faster than all the boys, which initially puts Jesse off, but the two soon bond over their love of make-believe. In the forest, they find a creek that can only be crossed by rope. Leslie names the land on the other side Terabithia, where they imagine themselves rulers of the kingdom. Jesse and Leslie also connect with their unconventional music teacher, Ms. Edmonds (Zooey Deschanel, Elf), who encourages their creativity. Despite the tension at home, Jesse's personal life is finally coming together when the unthinkable happens. Will he revert to his anti-social ways or will he grow from the experience? Though aimed at all ages, pre-school students may find Terebithia's creatures frightening. For grade-school kids and up, however, there's much to savor in this smartly written, sensitively acted film. —Kathleen C. Fennessy

Chow Yun-Fat (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and Seann William Scott (the American Pie films) star in this heart-pumping action-adventure that bristles with "acrobatic battles [and] solid visual effects" (The Hollywood Reporter)! For 60 years a mysterious monk has protected an ancient scroll that holds the key to unlimited power. But when a streetwise punk named Kar saves him from capture the monk thinks he's found a replacement protector for the scroll. Now Kar under the tutelage of the monk must unleash his potential as one gravity-defying sword-wieldingbutt-kicking warrior to save the world from the scroll's most avid pursuer.System Requirements:Running Time: 104Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: Unknown UPC: 027616063434 Manufacturer No: M106343

There's an extra coat of hot wax on Pixar's vibrant, NASCAR-influenced comedy about a world populated entirely by cars. Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is the slick rookie taking the Piston Cup series by storm when the last race of the season (the film's high-octane opening) ends in a three-way tie. On the way to the tie-breaker race in California, Lightning loses his way off Route 66 in the Southwest desert and is taught to stop and smell the roses by the forgotten citizens of Radiator Springs. It's odd to have such a slim story from the whizzes of Pixar, and the film pales a bit from their other films (though can that be a fair comparison?). Nonetheless, Carsis another gleaming ride with Pixar founder John Lasseter, who's directing for the first time since Toy Story 2. There's the usual spectrum of excellent characters teamed with appropriate voice talent, loads of smooth humor for kids and parents alike, knockout visuals, and a colorful array of sidekicks, including a scene-stealing baby blue forklift named Guido. Lightning's plight is changed with the help of former big-city lawyer Sally Carrera (Pixar veteran Bonnie Hunt), the town's patriarch Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), and kooky tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). The Incredibleswas the first Pixar film to break the 100-minute barrier, but had enough story not to suffer;Cars, at 116 minutes (including some must-see end credit footage), is not as fortunate, plus it never pierces the heart. Trivia fans should have bonanza with the frame-by-frame DVD function; the movie is stuffed with in-jokes, some appearing only for an instant. Ages 5 and up. —Doug Thomas

Anybody who has written him off because of his string of stinkers—or anybody who's too young to remember The Goodbye Girl—may be shocked at the accomplishment and nuance of Richard Dreyfuss's performance in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Here, he plays a man possessed; contacted by aliens, he (along with other members of the "chosen") is drawn toward the site of the incipient landing: Devil's Tower, in rural Wyoming. As in many Spielberg films, there are no personalized enemies; the struggle is between those who have been called and a scientific establishment that seeks to protect them by keeping them away from the arriving spacecraft. The ship, and the special effects in general, are every bit as jaw-dropping on the small screen as they were in the theater (well, almost). Released in 1977 as a cerebral alternative to the swashbuckling science fiction epics then in vogue, Close Encountersnow seems almost wholesome in its representation of alien contact and interested less in philosophizing about extraterrestrials than it is in examining the nature of the inner "call." Ultimately a motion picture about the obsession of the driven artist or determined visionary, Close Encounterscomes complete with the stock Spielberg wives and girlfriends who seek to tether the dreamy, possessed protagonists to the more mundane concerns of the everyday. So a spectacular, seminal motion picture indeed, but one with gender politics that are all too terrestrial. —Miles Bethany

Warner Brothers The Dark Knight (Blu-ray) With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman has been making headway against local crime...until a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker unleashes a fresh reign of chaos across Gotham City. To stop this devious new menace—Batman—Batman's most personal and vicious enemy yet—he will have to use every high-tech weapon in his arsenal and confront everything he believes.

While it owes much of its appeal and appearance to the Lord of the Ringstrilogy, Eragoncan stand on its own as an enjoyable fantasy for younger viewers. Faithfully adapted from the bestselling novel by teenage author Christopher Paolini, this boy-and-his-dragon tale offers clean, fast-paced family entertainment without compromising the darker qualities of Paolini's novel (the first in what is known as the "Inheritance" trilogy). The plot centers on 17-year-old peasant farmboy Eragon (played by appealing newcomer Ed Speleers) who discovers a mysterious blue object that turns out to be an egg that eventually hatches to reveal Saphira, a blue-scaled dragon that quickly grows to full-size. According to prophecy, Eragon is destined to be a dragon-rider like those who once protected a benevolent kingdom, thus reviving an ancient conflict against the army of King Galbatorix (John Malkovich), a former dragon rider who turned to evil, now in alliance with a! dark-magic "Shade" sorcerer named Durza (Robert Carlyle). While the movie serves up familiar fantasy elements and offers little if anything new to fans of the genre (or anyone who's read the books of Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K. Le Guin), it's visually impressive (especially the dragon scenes, with Rachel Weisz providing the telepathic "voice" of Saphira) and full of timeless wisdom, much of it delivered by Eragon's heroic mentor Brom (Jeremy Irons), himself a former dragon rider with memories of past battles and hope for Eragon's future. Add a fair warrior-maiden named Arya (Sienna Guillory) and you've got all the ingredients for a worthwhile (if not particularly original) fantasy that points directly to a sequel. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is up to individual viewers to decide. —Jeff Shannon

EragonExtras

Christopher Paolini talks to us about his book and film inspirations and makes recommendations for fans of Eragon, click here to view the complete list.

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Beyond Eragon

Eragon (Inheritance Trilogy, Book 1)

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Marvel Fantastic Four 2: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (Blu-ray)

Catch a wave of "terrific adventure" and "non-stop action" (CBS-TV) in this fun and fantastically entertaining smash-hit! "Invisible Woman: SueStorm and "Mr. Fantastic" Dr. Reed Richards are about to be married when a mysterious alien... the Silver Surfer... crashes the proceedings and heralds Earth's impending destruction. With time running out, the "Fantastic Four" reluctantly teams up with the nefarious Dr. Doom in a thrilling effort to save our planet!.

Sony Pictures The Fifth Element (Blu-ray)

New York cab driverKorben Dallas didn't mean to be a hero. But he just picked up the kind of fare that only comes along every five thousand years a perfect beauty, a perfect being, a perfect weapon. Now, together, theymust save the world. Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman star in acclaimed director Luc Besson's outrageous sci-fi adventure, an extravagantly styled tale of good against evil set in an unbelievable twenty-third century world.

Sweetness that doesn't turn saccharine is hard to find these days;Finding Neverlandhits the mark. Much credit is due to the actors: Johnny Depp applies his genius for sly whimsy in his portrayal of playwright J. M. Barrie, who finds inspiration for his greatest creation from four lively boys, the sons of widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet, who miraculously fuses romantic yearning with common sense). Though the friendship threatens his already dwindling marriage, Barrie spends endless hours with the boys, pretending to be pirates or Indians—and gradually the elements of Peter Pantake shape in his mind. The relationship between Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies family sparks both an imagined world and a quiet rebellion against the stuffy forces of respectability, given physical form by Barrie's resentful wife (Radha Mitchell, High Art) and Sylvia's mother (Julie Christie, McCabe and Mrs. Miller). This gentle silliness could have turned to treacle, but Depp and Winslet—along with newcomer Freddie Highmore as one of the boys—keep their feet on the earth while their eyes gaze into their dreams. Also featuring a comically crusty turn from Dustin Hoffman (who appeared in another Peter Pan-themed movie, Hook) as a long-suffering theater producer. —Bret Fetzer