Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

CHICAGO – No director treasures silence more than Rodrigo García. He doesn’t want anything to get in the way of the audience’s connection with his characters and the extraordinary actors who play them. With the invaluable assistance of cinematographer Xavier Pérez Grobet and composer Ed Shearmur, García has made some of the most brilliant and probing character studies in recent memory.

CHICAGO – Ken Follett’s “The Pillars of the Earth” is in the great tradition of old-fashioned adventure serials. The line between good and evil is clearly drawn and there is little doubt which side of the line each character belongs. This story is a battle between heart and hierarchy, nobility and debauchery, light and darkness. It’s fraught with clichés, melodramatic in the extreme, and entertaining as hell.

CHICAGO – If I were 12 years old, I’d probably think “The Karate Kid” was one of the best Blu-Rays of the year. It’s got everything: a crowd-pleasing feature film, several superb extras, and strikingly sharp picture quality, with colors that pop. Yet since I’m twice as old, I’m cursed with the clarity to see through the splendid spectacle and linger on its utter superficiality.

CHICAGO – There’s a great moment early on in “The Runaways” where fifteen-year-old Cherie Currie lip-syncs to Davie Bowie’s “Lady Grinning Soul” at a high school talent show. Her hardened baby face defiantly stares into the crowd, as her peers accompany the performance with catcalls. Yet instead of dissolving into a puddle of girlish tears, Currie flips off the surrounding student body. She clearly doesn’t give a d—n about her bad reputation.