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The Patriot (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray] $4 [amazon template=image&asin=B000PAAJVA] Aimed directly at a mainstream audience, The Patriot qualifies as respectable entertainment, but anyone expecting a definitive drama about the American Revolution should look elsewhere. Rising above the blatant crowd pleasing of Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla, director Roland Emmerich crafts a marvelous re-creation of South Carolina in the late 1770s (aided immeasurably by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel), and Robert Rodat’s screenplay offers the same balance of epic scale and emotional urgency that elevated his earlier script for Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, Emmerich embraces clichés and hackneyed melodrama that a more gifted director would have avoided. Instead of attempting a truly great film about the most pivotal years of American history, Emmerich settles for a standard revenge plot with the Revolutionary War as an incidental backdrop. On those terms, the film is engrossing and sufficiently intelligent, especially when militia leader Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) cagily negotiates with British General Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) in one of the most rewarding scenes. For the most part, the story concerns Martin’s anguished quest for revenge against ruthless redcoat Colonel Tavington (played with snide relish by Jason Isaacs), and the rise to manhood of Martin’s eldest son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), whose battlefield honor exceeds even that of his brutally volatile father. At its best, The Patriot conveys the horror of war among innocent civilians, and the epic battle scenes, while by no means masterful, are graphically intense and impressive. And although Ledger’s love interest (Lisa Brenner) is too bland to register much emotion, the focus on family (which frequently relegates the war to background history) provides a suitable vehicle for Gibson, who matches his achievement in Braveheart with an effectively brooding performance. –Jeff ShannonRead more, including price history ->

Olympus Has Fallen (Two Disc Combo: Blu-ray / DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy) $4 [amazon template=image&asin=B00BEIYHT2] Disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack; using his inside knowledge, Banning works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers.Read more, including price history ->

Pulp Fiction [Blu-ray] $4 [amazon template=image&asin=B001AQT0Z4] “Nothing less than a cultural phenomenon” (Moviemaker Magazine), Quentin Tarantino’s PULP FICTION has been hailed by critics and audiences worldwide as a film that redefined cinema. Tarantino delivers an unforgettable cast of characters – including a pair of low-rent hit men (John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson), their boss’s sexy wife (Uma Thurman) and a desperate prizefighter (Bruce Willis) – in a wildly entertaining and exhilarating blend of crime-thriller-drama-comedy that is completely original and entirely unforgettable. Nominated for 7 Academy Awards® including Best Picture and Best Director, PULP FICTION packs the punch like an adrenaline shot to the heart.Read more, including price history ->