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Pick of the week:
For…well, anyone with hormonal impulses: Sucker Punch

Zack Snyder’s first two movies, 300 and the Dawn of the Dead re-make, represent as great a debut as a director can have in this era. With Watchmen and Sucker Punch, the perception is that he has either taken a step back or been revealed as a one trick pony/fraud. I consider such criticisms harsh and largely inaccurate. Nobody was going to do a better job on Watchmen than Snyder did. As for Sucker Punch, that’s a bit more complicated.

I am of the opinion, an admittedly unpopular one, that Sucker Punch isn’t that far away from genius. The threads are there but when sewn together, it just isn’t quite right. Even so, I have complete confidence that this will be a movie that goes into my heavy play rotation due to the rare visual appeal. Sucker Punch is one of the three best IMAX experiences I have had to date, only clearly behind Avatar. It has sparkling graphics one would expect to see only in anime comic animations, making it a live action first. I cede the point that the story doesn’t tie together well, but Sucker Punch provides the one element missing in most big budget releases these days. It has daring. In spades. While Sucker Punch will not be well regarded by most people, I have complete confidence that a passionate subset of fans will turn this into a cult classic over time. Such is the fate of imaginative titles that are imperfect but overflowing with bravado. I am not saying that Sucker Punch is a good film, yet I say with complete sincerity that it is one you should watch. It may trigger a burst of creativity in you.

New releases for the week of June 28, 2011:

DVD:

Sucker Punch (PG-13)
Beastly (PG-13)
Season of the Witch (PG-13)
The Warrior's Way (R)
Barney's Version (R)
2012: Ice Age (PG)
3 Backyards (R)
3 Series Scooby-Doo TV Collection (R/Unrated)
About Adam / Down To You (R)
Alaskan Fishing (Not Rated)
Algeria: Drink, Smoke & Love (Not Rated)
All Aboard: Great American Railroads (Not Rated)
America The Beautiful (Not Rated)
American Experience: The Duel (Not Rated)
Ancient Aliens: Season Two (Not Rated)
Ancient Astronauts: Out Extraterrestrial Legacy (Not Rated)
Army Mega Moves (Not Rated)
Baby (Not Rated)
Bad Company: Live at Wembley (Not Rated)
Baghdad, Texas (Not Rated)
Baker King (Not Rated)
Batman / Batman Returns
Batman Forever / Batman & Robin (Not Rated)
Beneath Hill 60 (R)
Billy the Exterminator: Season 3 (Not Rated)
Blast! (Not Rated)
Bloodworth (R)
Bombers (Not Rated)
Bordertown: The Complete Series (Not Rated)
Bringing Ashley Home (Not Rated)
British Rail Journeys: Blaenau Ffestiniog (Not Rated)
Chairman Mao (Not Rated)
Christoph Von Dohnanyi In Rehearsal (Not Rated)
Christopher and His Kind (Not Rated)
Classic U.S. Combat Aircraft of WWII P-47 (Not Rated)
Cowboy Tech (Not Rated)
Craft in America: Messages Season 3 (Not Rated)
Cyrus (Not Rated)
David Mallet: Music Video Exposed (Not Rated)
Dawning (Not Rated)
Deliver Us from Evil (Not Rated)
Delphi: Center Of The World Sites Of The Worlds Cu (Not Rated)
Dice Dominator (Not Rated)
Dog the Bounty Hunter: This Family Means Business (Not Rated)
The Doobie Brothers: Live at the Greek Theatre (Not Rated)
Down In Mexico: My Dear Tom Mix / Dont Fool With L (Not Rated)
Dragon Ball Z Kai: Season 1, Part 5 (Not Rated)
Eleventh Aggression (Not Rated)
Erasing David (Not Rated)
Fortress / Total Recall 2070 (R)
Fun with Numbers (Not Rated)
Fun with the Alphabet A-Z (Not Rated)
George Gently: Series 3 (Not Rated)
Giant Structures (Not Rated)
Godfathers of Havana (Not Rated)
The Greatest Cage Matches of All Time (Not Rated)
Guilty Hearts (R)
Hell's Kitchen: Seasons 1-4 (Not Rated)
Heritage of British Monarchy (Not Rated)
High School of the Dead (Not Rated)
Hot & Spicy (Not Rated)
How The Universe Works (Not Rated)
Hunky Blues (Not Rated)
I'm Dirty (Not Rated)
I'm Dirty & I Stink (Not Rated)
Immigration Tango (R)
Impostor / Final Encounter (R)
Infested (Not Rated)
Jacques D'Amboise: Extraordinary Minds (Not Rated)
John Eliot Gardiner In Rehearsal (Not Rated)
John Muir in The New World (Not Rated)
Keep Out (Not Rated)
The King's Highway: El Camino Real (Not Rated)
Korea: Unfinished War (Not Rated)
Law & Order: Criminal Intent - Season 6 (Not Rated)
Lebanon, Pa. (PG-13)
Lee Holden: Qi Gong For Self-Healing (Not Rated)
Legends of the Silver Screen (Not Rated)
Lion vs. Lion (Not Rated)
Maneaters: Lions (Not Rated)
Max Manus: Man of War (Not Rated)
Melvin (Not Rated)
Michael Flatley: Lord of the Dance
Miramax Triple Feature Classics (Not Rated)
Miramax Triple Feature Crime (R)
Miramax Triple Feature Suspense (R)
Mountain Massacre (Not Rated)
Music Video Exposed: The Collection (Not Rated)
My Fair Lady (Not Rated)
Nature's Wrath (Not Rated)
Nature: Bears of the Last Frontier (Not Rated)
Natures Treasures (Not Rated)
The Next Big Bang (Not Rated)
Nightmares (Not Rated)
Ordinary Decent Criminal / Bravo Two Zero (R)
Patricia Cornwell's At Risk (Not Rated)
Patricia Cornwell's The Front (Not Rated)
People on Sunday (Not Rated)
The Perfect Man (Not Rated)
Play Hendrix (Not Rated)
Power Tools (Not Rated)
Pure Barre: Lowry Lofts 1 Ballet Dance & Pilates F (Not Rated)
Pure Barre: Lowry Lofts 2 Ballet Dance & Pilates F (Not Rated)
Quest for Vertical Take-Off (Not Rated)
Rammbock: Berlin Undead (R)
Reboot: Definitive Mainframe Edition (Not Rated)
Reboot: Seasons 3 & 4 (Not Rated)
Reviving Ophelia (Not Rated)
Rideback: The Complete Series (Not Rated)
Risk Takers/History Makers (Not Rated)
Rizzoli & Isles: The Complete First Season (Not Rated)
Roger Reynolds: Sanctuary for Percussion Quartet (Not Rated)
Royal Jewels (Not Rated)
The Royal Wedding Celebration (Not Rated)
Russell Mulcany: Music Video Exposed (Not Rated)
Satchmo: Masters of American Music (Not Rated)
Saving The Ocean: Shark Reef & Sacred Island (Not Rated)
Secret Mysteries of America: Untold History (Not Rated)
Sesame Street: Essentials Collection Learning (Not Rated)
Sk8 Life (Not Rated)
Skydiving (Not Rated)
Slot Buster (Not Rated)
Soft Drinks (Not Rated)
Spy Planes (Not Rated)
The Story of Queen Elizabeth I (Not Rated)
Super Ships (Not Rated)
Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story (Not Rated)
Team Umizoomi (Not Rated)
Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (Not Rated)
Timmy Time: Picture Day (Not Rated)
Tom & Jerry Value Pack (Not Rated)
Top Ten (Not Rated)
Tower Crane (Not Rated)
Twin Dragons / Dragon Lord (R)
Typeface (Not Rated)
U.S. Open: Graf vs. Seles 1995 Women's Final (Not Rated)
Underwater Universe: Season 1 (Not Rated)
A Victorian Reborn (Not Rated)
Waiting For Fidel / Late Night Talks With Mother & (Not Rated)
Warehouse 13: Season Two (Not Rated)
Wayne Isham: Music Video Exposed (Not Rated)
White Lightnin'
Wild Cherry (R)
The Yards / Lookout (Not Rated)

Blu-Ray:

The 40 Year-Old Virgin
The 9/11 Commission Report
Above & Beyond
Alpha Dog
American Gangster
Apollo 13
Backdraft
Bad Company: Live at Wembley
Barney's Version
Beastly
Black Moon
Burial Ground
Camille 2000
Camille 2000
Carlito's Way
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
Darkman
Darwin: The Voyage That Shook The World
Dawn of the Dead
Dawning
Deep Purple: Phoenix Rising
Dideback: The Complete Series
Dragon Ball Z Kai: Season 1, Part 5
Eddie Vedder: Water on the Road
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
George Gently: Series 3
High School of the Dead
Hot Fuzz
In Bruges
The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant
Inside Man
The Jackal
Jumanji
Knocked Up
The Last Starfighter
Lebanon, Pa.
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
The Lord Of The Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy
Mamma Mia! The Movie
Max Manus: Man of War
Michael Flatley: Lord of the Dance
The Nesting
Out Of Africa
People on Sunday
Pride and Prejudice
Public Enemies
Scarface
Season of the Witch
Serenity
Sleeping With The Enemy
Smokin' Aces
Spy Game
State of Play
Stuart Little
Stuart Little 2
Sucker Punch
To the Ends of the Earth
Traffic
U-571
Uncle Buck
Unleashed
Van Helsing
Wanted
The Warrior's Way
Wild Cherry
Zathura
Zazie Dans Le Metro

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