Inception (Two-Disc Edition) [Blu-ray] (2010)

Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in this sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best there is at extraction: stealing valuable secrets inside the subconscious during the mind’s vulnerable dream state. His skill has made him a coveted player in industrial espionage but also has made him a fugitive and cost him dearly. Now he may get a second chance if he can do the impossible: inception, planting an idea rather than stealing one. If they succeed, Cobb and his team could pull off the perfect crime. But no planning or expertise can prepare them for a dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy only Cobb could have seen coming.

Special Features

Disc 1
Movie
Extraction Mode: Infiltrate the movie's imaginative landscape to learn how Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and the cast and crew designed and achieved the film's signature moments
Disc 2
Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious: Can the dream world be a fully functional parallel reality? Joseph Gordon-Levitt and leading scientists take you to the cutting edge of dream research
Inception: The Cobol Job: Comic prologue in full animation and motion: see the events that led to the beginning of the movie
5.1 soundtrack selections from Hans Zimmer's versatile score   

Conceptual art, promotional art, and trailer/TV spot galleries
Via BD-Live: Project Somnacin--Confidential Files: Access highly secure files that reveal the inception of the dream-share technology

The Simpsons Movie (Full Screen Edition) (2007)

The Simpsons had already ruled TV land for many years by the time they finally attempted to conquer the movie world as well. It was never any big secret that a Simpsons movie was in the works: Fox registered the domain name "Simpsonsmovie.com" in 1997, a full nine years before the film was finally greenlighted. When creator/producer Matt Groening’s creation finally made it to the big screen in 2007, it only turned out to be the biggest hit of the summer, raking in over $100 million gross in box-office receipts in its first week, before heading on to do over $500 million worldwide, proving that the best joke in the movie was actually played on the audience: "Why pay for something when you can see it for free?" asks Homer at the movie’s start. Naturally, all the trouble starts with him. When he adopts a pig ("Sir Oinks-A-Lot") destined for Krusty’s slaughterhouse, it triggers an environmental catastrophe, forcing the government to seal Springfield into a dome and destroy the city. While the family manages to escape and flee to Alaska, they eventually decide to return and help save the city in more-or-less classic Simpson fashion. As Homer’s joke about the audience shows, Groening and producer Al Jean are keenly aware that their franchise is first and foremost a TV show. Maybe a little too aware, as the movie fails to ever rise above anything more than an extended episode, and not even one of its best episodes at that. True, there are plenty of good jokes; the animation has been kicked up a notch to be particularly sharp and detailed; and there are some truly memorable moments such as Bart’s nude skateboard ride and the "Spider-Pig" song. But when the film finally materialized, the payoff for long years of anticipation turned out to be small as the movie failed to live up to its potential; it’s amusing but not truly funny. The Simpsons Movie leaves the impression that maybe the show’s writers and producers had already spent their best ideas on the best years of the TV show.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe original soundtrack features a limited-edition 3-D cover, the score by acclaimed composer Harry Gregson-Williams, plus songs by Alanis Morissette, Imogen Heap, Tim Finn, and Lisbeth Scott.
Not to be confused with the collection Songs Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia, this album is Harry Gregson-Williams's instrumental score for the movie. Marking the composer's third collaboration with director Andrew Adamson (after both Shrek flicks), this score also is one of the more mature offerings from Gregson-Williams, best known for his work on family films. The music is lush and assured, if a bit predictable. Indeed, it fits squarely in the current style popular for big epics--even using (on a few tracks) the vocals of Lisbeth Scott, which fall halfway between those of Enya and the Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser (both of whom, uncoincidentally, appeared on the Lords of the Rings soundtracks). The CD concludes with four songs, with Gregson-Williams cowriting Scott's "Where." On "Can't Take It In," Imogen Heap's vocal acrobatics eerily recall those of the Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan, while Alanis Morissette's "Wunderkind" is an inspirational, almost girl-powerish track written from the point of view of the movie's Lucy. But the best of these songs is "Winter Light" by Tim Finn, four minutes of understated, piano-driven melancholia. Look for it tucked near the very end of the CD. Note that the soundtrack comes also as a two-CD special edition . The second disc is a DVD that includes galleries of film stills and concept art, a featurette about the recordings of the score and a making-of featurette. There's also a segment in which the (mostly) Christian bands involved in the Songs Inspired by... album talk about their involvement in that project. --Elisabeth Vincentelli