Imagine Spider-Man murdering a young boy. The Rebel isn't a revisionist superhero movie, but it does star Johnny Nguyen, who was the masked stunt double for Spider-Man and Green Goblin in two of Sam Raimi's web-spinning adventures. Here Nguyen plays Cuong, an enforcer for the French exploiters in 1920s Vietnam. Anti-colonial protests have been gaining force and exerting pressure upon the ruling French, and Cuong is expected to help put them down. Caught up in his violent duties, Cuong kills a boy almost without realizing what he's done. He feels instant, piercing regret, as though the guilt for all his sins has come crashing down upon him. His remorse becomes a galvanizing force that pushes him to stop shedding the blood of his own people.

To begin, he tries to help a young rebel escape torture and certain death. The beautiful Thuy (Veronica Ngo, AKA Ngo Thanh Van) is important to both sides: her father is leader of the anti-government movement. She is understandably wary about Cuong's true intentions. Just as he's making headway in convincing her of his sincerity, his cynical, ambitious overlord Sy (Dustin Nguyen, of 21 Jump Street fame, who's never been better) appears. Sy is less interested in Cuong's allegiance than in the possibility that he can lead him to Thuy's father.

While the story is riddled with contrivances and genre conventions, the action sequences set the film apart. Johnny Nguyen is flat-out amazing in his grace and control, while Dustin Nguyen more than holds his own in close-quarters fighting. Floating like a butterfly but stinging like a bee, Veronica Ngo, a dancer/model/singer/actress, looks extremely convincing as she fiercely defends her friends and her honor. Oh, and she's a babe and a half.

Okay, for this story I need you to try to remember something that happened, like, two years ago. Can you do that for me? Can you take your brain back that far, or do we need to call in McFly and the Doc? Anyway, remember all the hoopla surrounding James Frey's very popular book A Million Little Pieces? How Oprah used the so-called "memoir" to re-launch her book club, and how it turned into this huge success -- so much so that Warner Bros. desperately wanted to make a film out of it -- and how it later came out that Frey made up a good portion of the book ... and then Oprah smacked him around on TV ... and then the film went bye bye. Remember?

Well, that's what happened -- and now, two years after the fact, comes a film called A Million Little Pieces, based on the book by James Frey and directed by Nigel Tomm. And no, it's not being developed -- it's actually done ... in the can ... and available on DVD. Who's in it, you ask? Well, unlike the previous in-development adaptation, you're not going to see stars like Jake Gyllenhaal, Orlando Bloom, Josh Hartnett or Ryan Gosling (all of whom were interested in starring in the other flick). Nope, this one, according to its tagline, is -- wait for it -- "70 minutes and 41 seconds of pure turquoise screen. Nothing more, nothing less." On a budget of $345. Ahem. Confused?

Keep reading ...

Here's something trivial about me that you might not know: Yes, horror movies are my first passion. Gory, scary, shriek-filled horror movies. But (not very far behind) in second place is ... animation. My parents made sure I got to see the classic Looney Tunes, the hilarious Rocky & Bullwinkle stuff, and all the annual treats involving the Peanuts gang and/or The Grinch. But when a new Disney flick hit the theaters, hoo boy was that a big-time family treat in my household. I had no idea that Snow White was so old or that 101 Dalmatians had been released long before I was born; these were NEW movies to my sister and me -- and we devoured 'em like starving little monkeys.

Despite the fact that it had kind of a "girly" title, Sleeping Beauty was always a favorite with my family. My mother loved the songs, my sister adored the silly little fairy godmothers, my dad appreciated the art design (whatever that meant), and I went loony for the big dragon battle at the end. Plus we all agreed that Maleficent was the coolest Disney villainess since at least Cruella De Vil.

Like I said, I love the Disney Classics, which is why I'm pretty geeked up for the new Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition, which hits stores next week. "But Scott," you're probably thinking, "didn't Disney release a two-disc Special Edition of this film on September 9, 2003??" And if you're not thinking that, then don't worry -- because I was. But of course this new set has enough to make it worthy of a fresh investment -- especially if you'd like to see this brilliant piece of animated entertainment in full-bore BLU-RAY AMAZINGNESS.

Anyway, enough blather. After the jump we have a breakdown on the new features AND a bunch of video treats...

You might recall that I bought a Roku player a few months ago to make it easier for me to watch high-quality versions of Netflix's Watch Instantly offerings. My biggest complaint about Roku and Watch Instantly was that the selection was pretty slim -- mostly we've used it to watch old TV shows, and even then I suspect we watch more TV on Hulu.com. Watch Instantly has a great selection of low-budget independent features and documentaries, and even some short films, but if you want Hollywood blockbusters you're better off with the DVDs.

Fortunately, the Watch Instantly pickings are starting to improve. Netflix has just partnered with Starz Entertainment to offer more than 1,000 movies that Starz has licensed for its own video-on-demand services. Starz already has deals with Disney and Sony, so these movies include a lot of (relatively) newer Hollywood big-budget films, like Ratatouille, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, No Country for Old Men, and Superbad. These still aren't as recent as the films you can get mailed to you on DVD from Netflix (or rent at your local video store), but it's a significant improvement over the previous Watch Instantly offerings for recent mainstream movies. In addition, Netflix also signed deals last month with the Disney Channel and CBS to add some of their TV shows to the Watch Instantly lineup, like Hannah Montana and CSI. Those aren't movie-related deals, but I got excited because I can now watch the Disney TV show in which a cousin of mine plays an amusingly bad-tempered chef.

Our brothers and sisters over at TV Squad have busted through the boob tube and brought with them the following juicy bits of must-see eye candy:

• The Sarah Connor Chronicles is close to being terminated?
  
• Would you watch a show about Robin and his family, pre-Batman? It'd be like Smallville ... only not interesting.
• What's going on with Meet the Press? Will Tom Brokaw literally fall asleep while on air ... or are we talking about the wrong office pool?
• Stephen Colbert is joining Spider-Man in an upcoming story-arc of the Amazing Spider-Man. Nation ... now that's something we'd be interested in reading, but only if Colbert writes his own dialogue.
• In his new book, Bill O'Reilly claims Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David "tanked the final episode [of Seinfeld] on purpose." Well happy new year to you too, Bill!
• BONUS: Newspapers around the world confusing SNL version of Sarah Palin (played by Tin Fey) with the real Sarah Palin. HA!

Iron Man
At the risk of drawing the ire of Batfans everywhere, I'll just come out and say it: Iron Man is the best my favorite superhero movie of the year. (Dear Comic-Con: Please don't revoke my press pass.) Dark Knight is indeed brilliant, and brilliantly dark, but Iron Man is just so much more ... fun (AND it has social messages!). Poor Jeff Bridges may not hold a candle to the late Heath Ledger in the villain department, but Iron Man wins out elsewhere. Its characters are colorful and layered, its action is supremely stylish and never overbearing (unlike Transformers, even in its hot metal-on-metal action) and thanks to sensibilities of Robert Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau, it's flat-out funny. Man-crush alert: Downey Jr. is fast on his way to becoming an acting icon, right up there with Al Pacino and Jared from Subway. Buy it!!!
(Available in both single disc and two-disc special edition)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall
The latest from Camp Apatow stars a far-too-naked Jason Segel, an almost unrecognizably sexy Mila Kunis 2.0, a scene-stealing Russell Brand, and Kristen Bell. The film definitely has its moments, but I'm just not sold on Segel as a leading man, who seems to equate "comedic skill" with "revealing your junk." And as much as we enjoy rooting for a lovable loser, at some point in the movie it helps if he stops moaning, crying and being generally so extremely pathetic. After Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder and The Happening, Sarah Marshall will have to settle for being the fourth funniest movie so far this year. Rent it, or buy it in the discount bin (Available in both single disc and two-disc collector's edition)

(With Forgetting Sarah Marshall arriving on DVD today, we're re-posting this popular Discuss post from last April)

By: Elisabeth Rappe

Here's why it's a bad idea to share a house with a Cinematical writer -- your formerly innocent nights at the movies are stored away for discussion, your casual remarks posted for the entire world to see. My apologies to all the family members this involves.

My sister and her boyfriend caught Forgetting Sarah Marshall a few nights ago -- a second showing for her, first time for him. When I inquired as to how the boyfriend liked it, my sister revealed that he had actually covered his eyes when Jason Segel dropped that towel.

"Good lord," I said. "Really? Doesn't he see that every time he's in the shower?" I mentioned it to a male friend, and he said he completely understood boyfriend's squeamishness. As I'm writing this, I remember an incident just last weekend with my aunt's wonky cable connection. She's mistakenly been subscribed to all sorts of hardcore porn, and called my cousins in to fix it. The sight of naked men sent my male cousin running for the other room, gagging -- whereas his sister shrugged off the bare flesh and set to work trying to block the stuff. And I'm now realizing all that throat clearing and awkward squirming I heard around me during Eastern Promises wasn't because Viggo Mortensen's back was being sliced open (which is what made me wince) -- it was because his manly bits were visible.

If you like to surf around the web for entertainment news, you might have heard about an upcoming new web project called James Gunn's PG Porn. The writer of classics like Tromeo and Juliet and more shmeh flicks like Scooby Doo 2, Gunn teamed up with his brothers Brian and Sean (Kirk from Gilmore Girls) to create a family-friendly world of porn.

That's right -- vignettes where the delivery man actually delivers what he's supposed to with no added packages. (Read Gunn's take on it here.) Each time, mainstream actors will be teamed with porn stars for these little clips, which will be aired over at Spike.com. First up: Nathan Fillion and Aria Giovanni in Nailing Your Wife. So I wonder: who else could benefit from this insane, and possibly hilarious, idea?

5. Rachel Dratch -- Outside of SNL, she's had stints in flicks like Harold, but imagine what buzz she could create with a porn star.
4. David Duchovny -- If there's one thing Hollywood drama has taught us, it's that making fun of yourself after the turmoil is a great way to get back in the audience's good graces.
3. Brad Pitt -- Okay, so he doesn't really need it, but I'd love to see more of the crazy gym dude from Burn After Reading.
2. Michael Cera -- He needs to rip out of soft, awkward teen mode ... maybe a porn icon would help.
1. Tom Cruise -- For years now, discussions of his acting have been interlaced with his Scientology practices. But then Tropic Thunder came and critiques gave way to laughter. This project could not only help keep the excitement up, but also battle other online clips that bash him. (Think Jerry O'Connell spoofing that ultra-secret Scientology video.)

From time to time, I'm known to check the Facebook and the Twitter and the Digg and all those social networking hot spots -- and one thing everyone is talking about today is not the long-awaited arrival of Nights in Rodanthe on the big screen, but the first presidential debate. In case you haven't heard, John McCain will indeed participate in what could be one of the most watched debates in television history ... unless you Nicholas Sparks fans have something to say about it.

Which brings me to another hot topic today: With such a steamy little number on the boob tube tonight, how many people do you really think will be going to the movies or renting a DVD? Will the box office fall silent? Or will more folks head out to the movie theater in order to escape the depressing realities back home? And where do you stand? Are you one of those people who'd rather avoid all this economic bailout stuff in favor of a movie or three? Or, have you been super-glued to your television set -- wishing for Anderson Cooper to just whisk you away to your own private paradise in Rodanthe (ahem, Ms. Rappe)?

Sound off below ...

MAIN PICKS AND MISSES

Sex and the City (Pick)
Leatherheads (Miss)
Run Fat Boy Run (Miss)
Deception (Miss)
Pathology (Miss)

INDIES ON DVD
Foot Fist Way, Mother of Tears

BLU-RAY
Sex and the City, Leatherheads, Deception, The Godfather, LA Confidential, Blow, Madagascar, Shrek the Third

COLLECTOR'S CORNER
The Godfather collection, High School Musical 2: Collector's Edition, LA Confidential Special Edition