Stanley Kubrick Collection
2001: A Space Odyssey / Dr. Strangelove / A Clockwork Orange / The Shining / Lolita / Barry Lyndon / Full Metal Jacket / Eyes Wide Shut. Okay, so you've bought all of these before. But now you can buy them again! Looking on the bright side, though, it might actually be worth your while; this collection represents the first time some of these films have appeared in anamorphic widescreen formats. In the past, they've predominately been available only in open-matte, 4:3 transfers. "Open-matte" means that the film was originally shot 4:3 (the size of a standard television screen) and then was cropped for the theatrical exhibition.

Controversially, Kubrick himself hated letterboxing for home video and only wanted his movies -- with a few exceptions, most notably 2001 -- released full frame. Personally, I feel that when he shot the films, he composed them in the frame for the theatrical experience, and I'd therefore prefer to see them widescreen, regardless of the filmmaker's protestations and preferences. Normally, I'd rather go with the filmmaker's choice for the best presentation of his work, but one need only look at The Shining, for example, to see why letterboxing is ideal. The Shining suffers from extraneous video information seen only in the frame version, creating flaws such as the shadow of a helicopter in the famous "driving up the mountain road" sequence and an overabundance of visual information above the characters' heads (which is particularly noxious in the tricycle sequence). These are issues that didn't exist in the cropped theatrical versions but were introduced when the open frame cuts were released. The tighter, widescreen shot just looks better.

Lest you write me off as a widescreen television snob, I must tell you that I used to use felt to create my own letterbox when viewing my VHS copy of The Shining on a 13-inch SD TV, which is still one of my favorite films of all time. (And let's face it, Kubrick's opinions were probably more relevant before televisions adopted the 16:9 standard. An open frame version would look ridiculous on an HD set. - Mr. Editor) The bottom line is that this collection includes some really fantastic movies, and their presentation appears to be outstanding, making this one of the rare occasions where I don't mind studios double-dipping into my wallet.

Breathless
Meanwhile! If French New Wave is more your thing than Kubrick's clinical -- some say emotionless -- directoral precision, check out this new version of Godard's Breathless.

The Company
With the popularity of films like The Bourne Identity and The Good Shepherd, now is a good time to be a fan of spies. The Company is based on a novel by Robert Littell and explores the CIA in the time of the cold war. Reviews were mixed, and I can't really see Chris O'Donnell as anything other than Robin, but genre fans may find themselves intrigued nevertheless.

Home of the Brave
A famously large flop at the box office, Home of the Brave was criticized for trying to make a film about the war in Iraq that would please everybody. Surprise, surprise: the final result ended up being so toothless as to be irrelevant.

Meet the Robinsons
A modern, non-Pixar Disney movie worth watching? I have a hard time believing it, but many people whose opinions I respect have told me that it's true. Sure to scratch your CG-animated feature itch while you wait for Ratatouille to make its home video debut.

Mr. Brooks
Kevin Costner playing against type, trying to get some of that Dexter or American Psycho love. I was really psyched to go see this in the theater, but two words caused me to cancel my plans and wait for video instead: "Dane Cook."