Short circuits

Last update: June 22, 2009 - 4:24 PM

A brief look at new and noteworthy experiences among DVDs, video games, gadgets and the Web.

DVD

An animated look at war

"Waltz With Bashir" tells the story of the September 1982 massacres at Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon. Twenty years later, Ari Folman has blocked the war from his memory. Only when a friend tells him about a recurring dream does Folman start to ask himself questions. Was he at Sabra and Shatila? Why can't he remember? What is meant by the memories he does have? And are they his? Craftily, the details unfold, via interviews Folman does with his old army buddies, who are rendered, like Folman, via the process known as rotoscoping, which transforms photographic footage into cartoon and reduces us to something basic and primal. The film is a thinking person's horror movie, about real horror and horrifying echoes, and the dark that coils around Sabra and Shatila. And around the hearts of men. The DVD and Blu-ray (Sony, $29-$40) include commentary by director Folman and featurettes.

WASHINGTON POST

Also out today: "The Code," "Confessions of a Shopaholic," "Inkheart," "Last Year at Marienbad," "Pink Panther 2," "Reba" (Season 6), "Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection."

GAME

Be a 'Hero' with this classic

Sega's classic "Gunstar Heroes," which makes its debut on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as an online download, quite frankly might be better than all 49 of the games that preceded it on the disc-based "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection." The game, which plays like a "Mega Man" game but operates with the kind of frantic energy reserved for the likes of "Radiant Silvergun" and "Ikaruga," has aged magnificently since its 1993 inception, and the emulation doesn't slow it down any. And it's an absolute steal at $5.

BILLY O'KEEFE, MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE

WEB

Old-fashioned '80s music

Ever wonder what saloons woulda been like in the 1980s?

Take it away, Scott Bradlee (www.youtube.com/ScottBradleeLovesYa).

GABE HARTWIG, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

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