Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown (2010)

Jillian Michaels, winning trainer on NBC's "The Biggest Loser,” introduces a new yoga workout unlike any other. Combining hard-core yoga power poses with her dynamic training techniques, Jillian will get you real weight-loss results fast. YOGA MELTDOWN includes two complete 30-minute workouts that include a warm-up and cooldown. Begin with the Level 1 workout which focuses on quickly flowing yoga sequences to burn mega calories. Then progress to Level 2 which adds twists and balance poses for an even greater burn.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

A period piece set in the Great Depression and based on the extremely popular American Girl book series, Kit Kittredge is a moving and believable story about a smart 10-year-old girl whose family is profoundly affected by the Depression. May, 1934 finds Kit Kittredge (Abigail Breslin) living a very comfortable life in a nice home with her mother (Julia Ormond) and father (Chris O'Donnell) despite the Depression that is affecting many of her neighbors. When her father's auto dealership is taken back by the bank, Kit's father is forced to head for Chicago to look for work, leaving his family struggling to make ends meet by taking in borders. Kindhearted and generous by nature, Kit's nose for news and her aspirations of becoming a great reporter lead her to write a portrait of the boardinghouse run by her mother, essentially a kid's view of the Depression as well as an article about hobos that challenges many commonly held prejudices. Kit determinedly submits her articles to the local Cincinnati Register paper, regardless of the chief editor's stern ways and obvious lack of interest. When her own family and boarders become the victims of a crime, Kit's must utilize her investigative skills to solve the crime and exonerate her friend Will (Max Thieriot). Breslin's performance in this film is stellar--viewers can't help but believe that she is Kit Kittredge. The filmmakers' attention to detail ensures that everything from scenery props to music and dialogue seem completely authentic, and performances by Joan Cusack as the mobile librarian, Stanley Tucci as the traveling magician, Jane Krakowski as the desperate-for-love dance instructor, and Zach Mills as Kit's young friend, are all impressive. Serious American Girl fans, period film lovers, and viewers just looking for a good story will love this film. (Ages 3 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

The Wizard of Oz (Three-Disc Emerald Edition) [Blu-ray]

When it was released during Hollywood's golden year of 1939, The Wizard of Oz didn't start out as the perennial classic it has since become. The film did respectable business, but it wasn't until its debut on television that this family favorite saw its popularity soar. And while Oz's TV broadcasts are now controlled by media mogul Ted Turner (who owns the rights), the advent of home video has made this lively musical a mainstay in the staple diet of great American films. Young Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), her dog, Toto, and her three companions on the yellow brick road to Oz--the Tin Man (Jack Haley), the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), and the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger)--have become pop-culture icons and central figures in the legacy of fantasy for children. As the Wicked Witch who covets Dorothy's enchanted ruby slippers, Margaret Hamilton has had the singular honor of scaring the wits out of children for more than six decades. The film's still as fresh, frightening, and funny as it was when first released. It may take some liberal detours from the original story by L. Frank Baum, but it's loyal to the Baum legacy while charting its own course as a spectacular film. Shot in glorious Technicolor, befitting its dynamic production design (Munchkinland alone is a psychedelic explosion of color and decor), The Wizard of Oz may not appeal to every taste as the years go by, but it's required viewing for kids of all ages. --Jeff Shannon

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 12/01/2009 Run time: 101 minutes Rating: G

Special Features
Remastered feature with Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio
Commentary by Historian John Fricke including archival interviews of the film's cast and crew
Optional Music-and-Effects-Only or Original mono Tracks
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook
"Prettier than ever: The Restoration of Oz"
Sing-Along Feature
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic [1990 TV special]
Memories of Oz [2001 TCM documentary]
The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz
Because of the Wonderful Things it Does: The Legacy of Oz
Harold Arlens Home Movies
Outtakes and Deleted Scenes
It's a Twister! Its a Twister! The Tornado Tests
Off to See the Wizard
3 Vault Shorts
Audio Jukebox Slections
6 Theatrical Trailers
L. Frank Baum: The Man Behind the Curtain
The Wizard of Oz [1910 short]
The Magic Cloak of Oz
His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz [1914 feature]
The Wizard of Oz [1933 animated short]
Munchkin Footage
The Dreamer of Oz
The Land of Oz
Blu-Ray Exclusive: When the Lion Roars Documentary

Where the Wild Things Are

Through his handcrafted ode to the trials of childhood, Spike Jonze puts his own unique imprint on Maurice Sendak's enduring classic. In the prologue, 9-year-old Max (Max Records) stomps around the house, feeling neglected. When his mom (Catherine Keener) sends him to bed without supper, Max runs away (something he doesn't do in the book). He finds a boat and sails to a distant land where fuzzy monsters are raising a rumpus in the forest. Since his wolf suit allows him to fit right in, he joins the fray, catching the eye of Carol (James Gandolfini, excellent), who notes, approvingly, "I like the way you destroy stuff. There's a spark to your work that can't be taught." With that, they pronounce the diminutive creature king, hoping he can bring cohesion to their fractured family. After Max comes across Carol's scale-model town, he decides they should build a real one, but the project stalls as Alexander (Paul Dano) and Douglas (Chris Cooper) mope, Judith (Catherine O'Hara) browbeats Ira (Forest Whitaker), and Carol pines for K.W. (Lauren Ambrose), who prefers the company of owls Bob and Terry. Max realizes he has to make a choice: stay with the wild things or return home, where he has to keep his aggressive impulses in check. For readers of Sendak's slim tome, his decision won't come as a surprise, but Jonze ends the story on a lovely grace note. Until that time, the squabbling is a bit much--these monsters never stop talking--but Jonze, cowriter Dave Eggers, the Jim Henson Company, and singer/songwriter Karen O. have gone all-out to re-create the inner world of a child with as much empathy as was mustered for the inner adult world of Jonze's Being John Malkovich. --Kathleen C. Fennessy