Delroy Lindo

CHICAGO – Spike Lee has been getting national buzz again after the Sundance premiere of his controversial “Red Hook Summer” and the ageless Denzel Washington is back in the spotlight as his latest action vehicle, “Safe House,” premieres in theaters on Friday. It seems a perfect time for a Blu-ray release to bring audiences back to one of their career highlights. Over twenty years ago, the two collaborated on their most artistically rewarding venture, the epic “Malcolm X,” a fantastic film that has held up remarkably well, in no small part due to the excellent HD transfer from Warner Bros.

CHICAGO – Shawn Ryan produced one of the best cop dramas of the ’00s in “The Shield” and has proven that he will be a creative voice in the medium worth watching with his work on “Lie to Me,” “Terriers,” and, most of all, the new FOX drama, “The Chicago Code.”

CHICAGO – Is Rahm Emanuel taking notes? “The Chicago Code,” premiering on Fox TV on February 7th, exposes the underbelly of cops, bad guys and political corruption characteristic of the Windy City, and also has an intriguing cast and storytelling style.

CHICAGO – One of the most beloved films of the year and a likely contender for the Oscar for Best Picture now that the category has expanded to ten nominees, Pixar’s “Up” was recently released on Blu-Ray in yet another lovingly produced set from a company that has been a pioneer in the next-gen format. “Up” doesn’t exceed expectations but also doesn’t falter from the critically-acclaimed pattern.

CHICAGO – There is an art to music. There is an art to writing a story and an art to telling that story. There is art in a great drawing, a great painting and a great photograph. There is an art to communication. And it may only be a matter of time before museums expand to include a whole new category of modern art: the animated film from Disney and Pixar.