Film School Rejects » This Week in Blu-ray

This Week in Blu-ray: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Neil Miller — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:35:59 +0000

Aside from taking Dr. Cole Abaius’ advice to change the name of this column to ‘This Fortnight in Blu-ray,’ I can’t say that I’ve done much in the way of the HD format lately. Sure, I’ve published two big special reports in the last week, but those don’t count. You don’t just want the big rundowns of movies like Up and Star Trek, you want the complete anthology each week — the big breakdown of all that is good and true in the world of Blu-ray home entertainment. So I’m back this week, with This Week in Blu-ray — our site’s most embarrassingly inconsistent, but also most handsome weekly column. This week we’ve got an embarrassment of another kind, one of riches. Everything from Trek to three movies from that chubby director who once gave us the early word that Chris Pine’s performance in Trek was going to be special. Also, we’re not talking about a certain Club and we’re coming back to a little indie that time seems to have forgotten.

It’s a busy week, so lets get started. Check out my picks below, and remember to support your local movie blog (us) by clicking the links and buying from Amazon.

Star Trek

This weekend, I dedicated 1,600 words in a completely separate article to this 3-disc behemoth, and I don’t see any reason to retract such statements now. Star Trek is the Blu-ray release that you’ve been waiting for. Especially if like me, you were disappointed with the special features on G.I. Joe and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (both fellow Paramount titles). It seems as if Paramount had all of their best people working on their best summer movie — one that delighted audiences everywhere, Trekker or otherwise. The Blu-ray features a ridiculous amount of special features, a glorious transfer and a gag reel that is second to none. If you don’t pick this one up this week, we are no longer friends.

Blu-ray exclusive features include 30 featurettes, 9 deleted scenes, an awesome gag reel and BD-Live.

Fight Club

Normally I wouldn’t even be talking about Fight Club because, well, we follow the damn rules. But in the case of this 10-year anniversary Blu-ray release, I think it is worth breaking that first rule in order to tell you all about some of the sweet extras that ended up in this release. On top of a great transfer of the film, we also get some brand new special features that weren’t part of the 2-disc special edition DVD set that was released a while back. There is a featurette about Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club, an ‘Insomniac Mode’ in which we get an interactive search index, a commentary log and a topic search. The latter of which is a fascinating new feature that works well for a movie like this, but I can’t really see it working with many other releases. When combined with all of the previously released special features (several hours worth), it makes this Blu-ray an above average release, and a film worth adding to your collection. Also, it is likely that you, like me, have been waiting desperately to add Fight Club to your Blu-ray collection, regardless of the special feature collection.

Blu-ray exclusive features include a featurette about sound design, a ‘Flogging Fight Club’ featurette and Insomniac Mode, with interactive searching, commentary log, etc.

Scrubs: The Complete 8th Season

Like any major Scrubs fan — which oddly enough, I’m not — you are going to want to say goodbye to J.D. (Zach Braff) in the best way possible. And what better way to do it than to see it all unfold, the show’s epic eighth season, in glorious 1080p. Also, you might want to consider that the Blu-ray version of season 8 is hitting store shelves a whole week before the DVD. That’s an interesting plan on the part of ABC/Disney, but not much of a gamble. This is the first time the show has made it to Blu-ray, and it looks great. As well, the set has an additional BD-exclusive featurette called “It’s All in The Name,” an in-depth look at some of the show’s long-running, clever nicknames. Overall, it is worth picking up on Blu-ray, even if you don’t just want it a week earlier than your friends.

Blu-ray exclusive features include SeasonPlay, Seamless Menus and a BD-Exclusive featurette.

Bruno

The year’s most ridiculous, outrageous and mostly disturbing comedy. I guess the pundits were right when they said that Sacha Baron Cohen was out of his mind. Since seeing Bruno in theaters, I have been waiting for the Blu-ray release, safe in the knowledge that Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles surely must have left some good stuff on the cutting room floor. As it turns out, not only did they save some exclusive deleted scenes for the Blu-ray, they also recorded one of the most entertaining visual commentary tracks in the history of the format. We get front row seats as Baron Cohen and Charles remember all of the true stories behind the making of this spectacle of absurdity. That alone, is worth the price of admission. Also included is the new, experimental iPhone/iPod Touch feature called Pocket-Blu, which allows you to add additional content to your mobile device and use it as a virtual remote and keyboard. It’s pretty cool, and should become useful as Universal rolls it out to more titles in the future.

Blu-ray exclusive features include visual commentary, Pocket-Blu and BD-Live.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas

To quote so many hipsters in this world, “this is happening.” The gang from Paddy’s Pub is celebrating Christmas… sort of. In order to rediscover the meaning of Christmas — something that escaped them long ago — we join the gang as they embark on a holiday adventure filled with stolen toys, childhood videos, naked elves and a bloody run in with Santa Claus. It is everything you’d expect from a direct-to-DVD holiday special, except more devious. Special features are pretty standard, including deleted scenes of “Young Mac and Young Charlie” as well as a ‘Making Of’ featurette and a Sunny Sing-a-long. Sadly though, all of those features are on the DVD as well. Either way, this is worth picking up.

There are no Blu-ray exclusive features on this title.

Gone with the Wind: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition

This holiday season, what could be a more appropriate addition to your DVD collection than one of the greatest films of all-time, wrapped in a big, heavy-duty velvet box and packed with special features out the wazoo? I can only think of one thing, and it is the Star Trek Blu-ray that I mentioned above. Beyond that, this Gone with the Wind box set is one of the most spectacular collector’s sets I’ve seen all year. It includes a full-color 52-page book dedicated to the production and history of the film, a reproduction of the original 1939 Program, a CD soundtrack sampler, an archival letter from producer David O. Selznick. And that’s just the stuff that isn’t on the disc. The movie looks wonderful in HD, with a beautifully remastered TrueHD soundtrack. There is a BD-exclusive 6-hour documentary called MGM: When the Lion Roared. And 8-hours (yes, 8-hours) of special features that have previously been released on DVD. It is absolutely ridiculous. If you’re anything like me, you know someone in your family who would go nuts for this set.

Blu-ray exclusive features include a 6-hour documentary, collectible book, art and CD soundtrack.

Rome: The Complete Series

I must admit that I have never watched more than about 20-minutes of the show Rome, but what I’ve seen has led me to believe that this is (a) the kind of show that is worth buying in its most complete form, and (b) a show that looks fantastic in HD. All of these are true with this new Blu-ray release, the complete series. The only slightly sad part is that HBO has skimmed over the special feature selection, leaving a simple featurette and a few episodes of audio commentary. That won’t stop me from recommending that you get out there and pick this one up though, as the series is more than worth it.

There are no Blu-ray exclusive features on this title.

Kevin Smith 3-Pack

And lo, we have the first major disappointment in a while from the folks at Disney. This time it comes by way of a Miramax box set of Kevin Smith movies, which includes Clerks, Chasing Amy and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. To answer your first question, Mallrats was made at Universal, and this is a Miramax box set. That is why it isn’t in there. As for these titles, it is great to see them finally coming to Blu-ray, as I’ve long wanted to add some Kevin Smith movies to my Blu-ray collection, but overall they are very generically packaged. Thankfully, the special features have changed since the last DVD releases, the transfers are good but not great (as Smith would tell you himself, his movies aren’t visual spectacles), and the box set itself is worth it for fans. Both Chasing Amy and Clerks come with brand new behind the scenes documentaries about the anniversaries of the film. As well, Chasing Amy comes with a new Smodcast recording as a commentary track, in which Smith and producer Scott Mosier reminisce in their own special way. In a way, this is a must have for Smith fans. Others just might not get it.

Blu-ray exclusive features include three new behind the scenes featurettes (on Clerks and Chasing Amy) and a new Chasing Amy commentary track.

Franklyn

This dark little indie movie, which stars Ryan Phillipe as a masked crusader in a monolithic metropolis, has been on our radar for a while — ever since we reported on the trailer back in January. And after seeing many of our friends import Blu-rays from other regions, this title is now available to those of us who have regular ole Blu-ray players. The film itself is worth a look, visually stunning, engaging and full of intrigue, but the Blu-ray release is far from great. It has a stock selection of special features, all of which are shared with the DVD release, and no BD-exclusives. Aside from looking very, very good, this release isn’t worth buying. I would suggest throwing it in your Netflix queue (on Blu) and calling it a day.

There are no Blu-ray exclusive features for this title.

Galaxy Quest

It appears as if someone reminded Dreamworks that Star Trek, one of the legendary sci-fi franchises from which this movie derives its humor, is also hitting Blu-ray this week. That led them to rush into a lackluster release — in regards to its lack of special features and mediocre transfer (not grainy, just not quite smooth) — of Galaxy Quest. Still, even with the production company’s failings in the preparation of this release, the movie is still a lot of fun. And if you have never seen it, I would suggest using this Blu-ray release as an excuse to go out and rent it.

There are no Blu-ray exclusive features for this title.

My Sister’s Keeper

It would seem as if 2009 is the year in which Cameron Diaz really put herself out there, trying new and different roles with My Sister’s Keeper and Richard Kelly’s The Box. Sadly, both films were miserable failures on multiple levels. This ridiculously depressing story of a girl who is genetically engineered to donate body parts to her cancer-ridden sister, is just the trite, overly schmaltzy studio junk that make local movie theaters smell like embalming fluid. If you’ve seen this movie in theaters, you know exactly what I’m talking about — nothing but old people. Not even Cameron Diaz with no hair can make that experience okay.

Blu-ray exclusive features include an additional featurette and ‘From Picoult to Screen,’ an analysis of the page-to-screen adaptation.

The Open Road

For all intents and purposes, the few reviews that I’ve read of the Justin Timberlake, Jeff Bridges led drama The Open Road were surprisingly positive. Timberlake — no slouch in the acting world — plays a minor league baseball player trying to reconnect with his legendary baseball playing father (Bridges). It’s a predictable, but somewhat charming film that is almost completely forgettable. If I were you, I would take heed in this release’s lack of special features and lack of critical support and stay off the road.

There are no Blu-ray exclusive features for this title.

Also out on Blu-ray this week:

For more Blu-ray goodness every week, check out the This Week in Blu-ray archive.

The Wait is Over: An In-Depth Review of Star Trek on Blu-ray

Neil Miller — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:43:43 +0000

Being one of the few writers on the web to receive a review copy of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek on Blu-ray is prestigious, I will admit it. But it also comes with a great responsibility — the knowledge that my review must be a thorough look at the release, which spans three discs and almost 6 hours of total entertainment. That said, I took to watching it this week with a fervor unlike anything I’ve seen from myself in a long time, watching the film three times (including once with commentary) and taking in the 30 behind the scenes featurettes twice. It was an all-encompassing Star Trek experience so enjoyable, I had to fight to find the right words. Hopefully in the next few paragraphs, I will be able to convey those feelings and find those words.

The Presentation

If a $383 million dollar box office take and the praise of Trekkers world wide tells us anything about J.J. Abrams’ franchise reboot, it is that it has resonated with audiences the world over. The film is a fast-paced, glossy and yet detail-oriented take on the Trek canon that is without a doubt, pitch-perfect in execution. The story of an alternate timeline for the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, altered by a time-shifting angry Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) and his vendetta against Spock of the distant future (Leonard Nimoy). The change in events creates this new timeline, in which James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), young Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the other iconic names of the original Trek series must find each other and take their places as the characters we all know and love.

If this film accomplished anything, it is that it brought Star Trek back to life in a way that is as accessible as it is reverent. Director J.J. Abrams, producer Damon Lindelof and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman showed an attention to detail that is unparalleled, while giving the right injection of action and youthfulness to a franchise long plagued by the slow, lumbering ’submarine warfare’ nature of the original. And on Blu-ray, the attention to detail is there as well. The 1080p transfer looks brilliant, once again showing off the imperfect and stark realism of the way this film was shot. It also shows off the incredible special effects delivered by Industrial Light and Magic. Not to mention the pulse-pounding score from Michael Giacchino, mixed perfectly in stunning 5.1 Dolby Digital TrueHD surround. It is nearly as good as you might have seen in theaters — and certainly the best possible experience you can have at home.

Also notable in the presentation category is the menu system, which is simple, intuitive and fitting with the aesthetic of the film. It feels like the kind of video menu that you might find on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, with smooth branching menus that make up pods of special features piled on top of special features. As you can see in the screencap of the second disc below, there are a lot of special features on this disc — and getting to all of them is not even remotely difficult thanks to a very solid menu system.

Special Features

The second disc of this three-disc Blu-ray set is all special features, all the time. Instead of the usual single featurette, gag reel, trailers setup, the folks behind Star Trek decided that we should get a completely immersive experience. It is enough to make us believe that we have been a part of the production process since the beginning — and by the end of it all (some 3+ hours of extras) we feel as if we are now intimately aware of everything that went into this production.

Commentary
The commentary track (which is actually on the first disc with the film) is great. Director J.J. Abrams is joined by his brain-trust of writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, as well as producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk. Some of it is the standard commentary schlock of talking about what a joy it was to work with Actor A and how “amazing” Actor B was every day on set. What we know from all of this is that Trek was a fun film to make. We also get some very unique and intimate moments with the film’s creative team, such as Orci and Kurtzman recounting their feelings as they sat with an audience for the first time at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, nervously awaiting the reaction of true fans. As well, there is a really sweet story near the end of the film about working with Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who worked on the film shortly before she passed away. Be sure to leave the disc on until the end of the closing credits to hear Abrams tell that story.

Deleted Scenes
As you might expect, with a film this big there are plenty of things that didn’t make it into the film. This includes two scenes that involve Klingons that were cut out of the final story. Also, Brad William Henke shows up as young James T. Kirk’s uncle. His voice didn’t make the movie — as it was ultimately Heroes star Greg Grunberg who shows up in little Kirk’s phone call home, but it is Henke who actually plays the character in the deleted scene.

Featurettes
This is a hard one. There are 30 — count ‘em — 30 behind the scenes featurettes on this disc. To be fair though, there are really 10 main featurettes that have extended editions. In these extended editions, there are little Starfleet logos that pop up in the bottom right hand corner of the screen from time-to-time. When that pops up and we click the select button, we are taken to a series of sub-featurettes that relate to what the main featurette was just talking about. These are the most interesting of the lot. There is one that shows how the visual effects crew used very simple effects to create the bulging eyes of the alien nurse in the first scene. There is another that is solely dedicated to the charismatic and energetic first Assistant Director Tommy Gormley, who is clearly the heart and soul of the production. It is a rare look at one of the key players in the production, someone that the average moviegoer wouldn’t necessarily see in the usual, generic round of special features on most discs.

As for the main featurettes, everything seems to be covered in detail. Everything from J.J. Abrams’ unique vision for this new Trek and the nature of the brain-trust creative team (completely with a fun Trekker rating system for the writers and producers), to the casting process are covered in the first three featurettes. From there, we get to the more in-depth and supremely fascinating ‘art of filmmaking’ features — Starships, Aliens, Props and Costumes, Sound Design with Ben Burtt and Score (with Michael Giacchino) all get their own 5+ minute featurettes. They are all edited together incredibly well, making for very engaging and upbeat look at how the nuances of this film came to life. All-in-all, it is a series of behind the scenes peeks that are more than worth your time.

Vessel Simulator
Have you ever wanted to be able to fire the phasers on the USS Enterprise, much like Sulu? The 3D models of both the Enterprise and the Romulan ship The Narada are present for your viewing pleasure. You can get a full 360-degree look at both ships, as well as see detailed info about different parts of both vessel. Oh, and you are one click away from firing the phasers. On the USS Enterprise!

Gag Reel
Attention to detail seems to be the word of the day with this release. And there is no single feature (other than the film itself) with more creativity and pizazz than the gag reel. Often gag reels are just a series of clips, thrown together moments in which actors burst into laughter repeatedly as they attempt to deliver dialogue. But with this gag reel, there is a narrative and a cleverly edited series of clips that is a wonderfully entertaining example of just how fun this film was to make. Its no wonder it turned out to be one of the best films of the year.

Trailers
The single best trailer of 2009 is on this disc — “Prepare for the Beginning.” Watch it again and tell me that I’m wrong. I dare you.

The Third Disc

As is customary with Blu-ray releases, the third disc is a digital copy, which will allow you to download a version of the film to iTunes and take it with you on the go. Yet another one of those films that I want nothing more than to have on my iPhone for those long days of travel. Also, a nice bonus is the free demo of the Star Trek D-A-C video game for the XBOX 360. I haven’t had a chance to check that out, but the trailer for it on the first disc of this set looks pretty wicked.

Final Thoughts

The Blu-ray release of Star Trek is a must-own for anyone with a Blu-ray player. It has the attention to detail that is sorely missing from most releases, and the in-depth featurettes that bring the audience to the process than we could ever expect. Everything from the creation of the new Spock ears to the paint job on the Enterprise is delivered in a way that is fascinating, engaging and full of life. Not to mention the fact that we get to rewatch one of the best movies of the year in glorious high definition.

Star Trek is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and will be in stores on November 17, 2009. For more Blu-ray goodness, be sure to check out my weekly column This Week in Blu-ray.

This Week in Blu-ray Special Report: Pixar’s Up Invasion

Neil Miller — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:48:22 +0000

It is Tuesday, which means that it is time once again for me to avoid writing my long-running column, This Week in Blu-ray. But this week, unlike the past two weeks, I just cannot get around the sheer awesomeness of the HD releases hitting your local retailers. Which is why I’m currently working through my official report for later today — including reviews of Godzilla (1998), Logan’s Run and The Negotiator.

But before I get to all of that, I wanted to file this very special edition of This Week in Blu-ray dedicated to the three releases from Walt Disney Home Entertainment, a trifecta of beautiful Pixar movies coming at you in 1080p. Needless to say, I’m recommending that you pay close attention and quite possibly that you pick up all three of these titles. We being with Pixar’s tenth (and most recent film) Up.

Up (2009, Pete Docter)

The Up Blu-ray release is something that I, for one, have been anticipating since a week or two before the film’s theatrical release. Walking out of my press screening for the film, having just been moved so mightily by this beautiful human story, supported wonderfully by one of the most energetic, fun adventure stories of the year, I had an instant thirst for more information. Where did this story come from? How did the art team bring together the look and feel of South America in such a beautiful fashion? All of these questions lingered, and all have been answered by this Blu-ray release.

As we experienced with Wall-E last year, Pixar is one studio that puts a lot of time and effort into creating a completely emmersive Blu-ray experience. Other companies should watch the Cine-Explore visual commentary, or the assembly of alternate endings of Muntz to see just how you can take generic special features (commentary tracks and deleted scenes) and turn them into something special. The Cine-Explore commentary is engaging, with directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson sparing no details as they recount the process of making this film. There is also a new short, “Dug’s Special Mission,” which is fun in an add-on sort of way, along with the original short “Partly Cloudy,” still one of my favorite Pixar shorts to-date.

And that’s just disc one. Disc two features eight (8) behind the scenes documentaries, including one that sees the creators of this story visiting Angel Falls in Venezuela, the real-life basis for Up’s adventurous destination Paradise Falls. there is also an expanded back story that shows more of Carl and Ellie’s married life together, and a fun interactive game for the kids. All-in-all, its enough special features to kill an entire Saturday. Or Tuesday, in my case.

Beyond that, there is the quality factor. Not only is Up the perfectly assembled Blu-ray release — complete with a DVD copy and Digital Copy for your mobile devices — it is one of the most beautifully animated films of this decade. And in glorious 1080p, it has never looked better. Alright, maybe 3D on the big screen at the Alamo Drafthouse’s 4K Digital house was a little better — but that will never happen in my home. For now, this really does live up to Blu-ray’s claim of the best possible picture and sound. And it’s something you just have to see for yourself.

Monsters, Inc. (2001, Pete Docter)

In accordance with the general rule of Blu-ray, when a director’s latest film hits the format, it is customary for a studio to release something from his or her backlog that has not been previously released on Blu-ray. Usually, this means that when Roland Emmerich releases 2012 on BD early next year, that we’ll get a watered-down version of Independence Day or something. Not with Pixar. With Pete Docter’s amazing film Up hitting Blu-ray, we get a full-featured, epic four-disc helping of Monsters, Inc. for the taking. Now we can relive the oddball adventure of Sulley (John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), two professional scarers who have accidentally brought a human child back with them, endangering their town, their jobs and their own fur.

It’s one of the most fun films that Pixar has put out over the years — and certainly one of the most underrated. But as they’ve done so often, Pixar has taken careful consideration to bring this story to Blu-ray in magnificent fashion. Disc one includes three new BD-exclusive special features, including a brand new audio commentary, a filmmakers round table in which the film’s primary creative team reflects on the process of bringing this story to life, and a look at the Monsters, Inc. ride that is being built in Japan. Plus, we get the two original shorts, “For the Birds” and “Mike’s New Car,” which were on the original DVD release.

Disc two is full of interactive elements — mostly for kids and people like myself who just eat that stuff up. There is an all-new game called Roz’s 100 Door Challenge (which is, to say the least, challenging). There is also a very neat and fascinating set of banished concept art that I personally have never seen before. It is very cool. On top of all that, disc three is a copy of the DVD for folks who don’t have Blu-ray yet and disc four is Digital Copy for on-the-go viewing. Just like Up, this release of Monsters, Inc. is the complete package, whether you are a collector or just a fan.

Cars: The Ultimate Gift Pack (2006, John Lasseter)

Sometimes even Pixar gets caught up in the holiday spirit. And sometimes even they — as part of the Walt Disney Corporation — go for the money grab. Which is what we see with this re-release gift set edition of Cars, John Lasseter’s entertaining story of big time racer Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his journey to the outer-limits of society.

In this release, we get the original Blu-ray release of the film, complete with a solid assortment of special features — including Cine-Explore, which I applauded on the above releases — as well as the DVD and its special features. If you’ve purchased Cars on BD before, then you know exactly what I’m talking about here, as it’s all the same. The only catch is that you get two collectible cars, one Cruisin’ Lighting McQueen and one Rescue Squad Mater.

The only reason I can see for you to pick up this last title is if you need to buy a gift for someone who doesn’t already own Cars on Blu-ray, or if you yourself have not yet picked it up in HD. It’s a cool little gift set, but nothing more.

So there you have it — a big time Tuesday with loads of special new stuff from Pixar. Something you should probably take into consideration as you hit the pavement and head out for some Blu-ray buyin’.

This Week in Blu-ray: Revenge of the Fallen Releases

Neil Miller — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:05 +0000

In this edition of This Week in Blu-ray, it’s another round of slim pickings as I continue to save you money at your local retailer. Usually, I’m about as buy-happy as they come — often recommending a Blu-ray release purely on the grounds that its a good looking movie, or that its one of those must have collector’s titles, despite its special feature selection. But this week, as it was last week, there just isn’t much to choose from. Sure, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is dropping and I’m sure some of you will buy it, but I didn’t get a chance to look at it in advance, so I’m going with the minuscule amount of information that I have. And that just isn’t good enough to save it from the ‘rent’ pile, where it resides with a few other titles. So come with me this week, friends, and save some of that hard earned cash as we don’t buy many of this week’s releases.

Please use that fancy scroll bar on your browser to take a look at this week’s releases below…

Easy Rider: 40th Anniversary Edition

Pitch: Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper ride off into the sunset…

Why Buy? If you’re going to start a collection of movies, I would urge you to consider picking up Easy Rider as part of your first 200 or so choices. And with it hitting Blu-ray in such vivid fashion this week, you can’t go wrong. In addition to the film (which has never looked better), you also get a 32-page booklet and a feature commentary track by Dennis Hopper. There is also additional trivia via the Movie IQ feature, but that only works with BD-Live. Not incredible, but when combined with such a great film, it makes for a release worth buying.

Blu-ray Exclusives? 32-Page Booklet, Movie IQ via BD-Live

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Pitch: Michael Bay returns to the Transformers universe to blow up more stuff…

Why Rent? My world was nearly crushed when I found out that I would not be receiving a copy of Revenge of the Fallen on Blu-ray for review. Of all the movies of the summer that I have loved, this was certainly one of them. And to see it come to life in glorious high definition, with a great assortment of special features (as far as I can tell), would make my month. But it just wasn’t meant to be. Thanks, Paramount. Luckily for you, you’re not me. And many of you didn’t like ROTF as much as I did. If you’re that kind of person, then I you’ll stay away for sure. If you haven’t seen it yet, I would recommend a rent rather than a buy. It’s worth seeing, but there’s only a 50/50 chance that you’ll love the movie and want to own it. I know that’s the obvious stat, as you’ll either buy or not buy, but trust me: this one’s a toss-up. For those who also loved the movie, you know what to do.

Blu-ray Exclusives? The ALLSPARK Experiment, Giant Effing Movie, The Matrix of Marketing Featurettes, NEST: Transformer Data-Hub

Blood: The Last Vampire

Pitch: Ass-kicking schoolgirls, demonic vampires, bloody swords and CGI BLOOD! YES!

Why Rent? If you’ve been with us a while and read every day (which you should), then you know that we’ve been tracking Blood for some time now. There are few FSR contributors who can resist the appeal of a demon-slaying, schoolgirl outfit wearing hottie with some badass martial arts skills. So yeah, we’ve covered it. And now that it’s finally here, I will say with certainty that it isn’t as good as advertised. There’s some fun violence, some wicked kills and the usual awful dialog, but the film ultimately loses its audience with terrible CGI work and a story that lingers far too long. As well, the Blu-ray release is a barren wasteland of special features. A storyboard gallery is the lone BD-exclusive feature on a disc that will leave you thirsty for.. something else.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Storyboard Gallery, BD-Live.

Waterworld

Pitch: Kevin Costner in the epic movie that just won’t go away.

Why Avoid? Waterworld may go down in history as one of the worst movies ever. At least, that’s what you’re meant to think. In reality, it isn’t as bad as some would have you believe. Sure, it’s an extravagant sci-fi flick with tons of silly moments and some piss-poor acting from otherwise serious folks, but at worst it was an ambitious misfire. And even though it is one of the most infamous misfires of all-time, it still deserves a better Blu-ray release than the one hitting stores this week. Summing up its special feature selection is easy: BD-Live, and that’s it. Oh, and it has D-Box compatibility, if you’re one of the 9 people who has that at home. Someone should really call Universal and tell them that just putting a movie on a Blu-ray disc and sticking it in a box isn’t good enough anymore…

Blu-ray Exclusives: BD-Live, D-Box compatibility.

Also Out This Week (but not reviewed):

What are you buying on Blu-ray this week?

This Week in Blu-ray: Get Dragged to Hell in HD

Neil Miller — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:00:11 +0000

In this edition of This Week in Blu-ray, it is slim pickings all around. From horror comedy with lazily constructed special feature selections to mediocre comedies that just won’t go away. And it comes at the perfect time, as I believe I may have cleaned out the savings accounts of many readers with last week’s buy-a-thon. Looks like we can all add a few dollars to the piggy bank this week in hopeful anticipation of Blu-ray releases to come. This week, for the first time in the history of this fair column, we’re going to skip the ‘Buy’ and go right to the ‘Rent’…

Please use that fancy scroll bar on your browser to take a look at this week’s releases below…

Drag Me to Hell

Pitch: Sam Raimi brings his sense of horrific comedy (or comedic horror) to high definition.

Why Rent? Despite what my beloved colleague Rob Hunter might tell you, Sam Raimi’s film is good. It has a wonderful sound design and score that heighten the jump scares in this decidedly more funny than scary film. There are some scares, plenty of laughs and a very awesome ending. Unfortunately for us, dear friends of the high-resolution faith, this hard-banging, skin-crawling laugh-a-thon falls deep into the crevices of hell on Blu-ray. Blu-ray exclusives: How do you feel about Digital Copy? BD-Live with no foreseeable extras? There is a series of production diaries which are interesting, but those can be found on the DVD. The only saving grace for this release is that the film looks great and sounds great on Blu-ray. So go rent it, turn down the lights and scare yourself/laugh ’til you pee yourself. Or any combination of the two.

Blu-ray Exclusives? BD-Live and Digital Copy. Ooooh…

Land of the Lost

Pitch: Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and hottie Anna Friel reboot a classic and travel through space and time.

Why Rent? Mediocre movies deserve mediocre recommendations. And this is probably the most mediocre movie we’re going to see in the whole of October. Sure, Will Ferrell gets some laughs in a stock role. And Anna Friel lends some charm. And Danny McBride is painfully inappropriate and very out of place in such a family-friendly movie. But hey, even he gets some laughs. But even with all of that, the film still manages to be completely average and mostly forgettable. If you’re a fan of the film already, this might be a buy, as it has some cool special features lined up. For everyone else, it’s a rent at best.

Blu-ray Exclusives? D-Box functionality, BD-Live and My Scenes bookmarking.

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut

Pitch: Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny take on Canada in high definition.

Why Avoid? Normally I would be first in line to recommend something like South Park to our millions of readers with the same low-brow sensibilities as myself. However, I was quickly turned off by this release for a few specific reasons. (1) The only special features are a commentary track with Trey Parker and Matt Stone and the “What Would Brian Boytano Do?” music video. (2) The only special features are a commentary track with Trey Parker and Matt Stone and the “What Would Brian Boytano Do?” music video. Le sigh. On the bright side, the “Blame Canada” montage sounds really great in the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound mix.

Blu-ray Exclusives: Feature commentary.

The Proposal

Pitch: Ryan Reynolds makes questionable career decisions, and you get to watch it all in high definition.

Why Avoid? A very large quote from notable whore Pete Hammond sprawls across the front cover of this release: “The Year’s Best Comedy.” Our own Kevin Carr called it “a good romantic comedy.” If you need any more reasons beyond those two as to why you should put this in the ‘rent’ pile (at best), I don’t know how to help you anymore. If it wasn’t for Ryan Reynolds, I don’t think I would have any interest in watching this movie on TBS during “watch movies that chicks like” month. On Blu-ray, you will also get one additional deleted scene. There are a few shared special features, including an alternate ending and several other deleted scenes, but even that won’t help.

Blu-ray Exclusives: One (1) additional deleted scene.

Also Out This Week (but not reviewed):

What are you buying on Blu-ray this week?

This Week in Blu-ray: It’s Never to Early to Trick ‘r Treat

Neil Miller — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:02:05 +0000

Back on track once again for this edition of This Week in Blu-ray, where it is time to recover from the hangover of Fantastic Fest and get back into the spirit of buying Blu-ray rather than hamburgers at the Alamo Drafthouse. For those who missed it, I would urge you to take a look at our (still in progress) Fantastic Fest Coverage. That link also works for anyone wondering what happened to TWiBD last week — I was a little busy watching the good, the bad and the decidedly weird at the best genre film festival in North America. And oddly enough, that leads me to this week’s selections, as we begin with Trick ‘r Treat, a long-in-distribution-hell horror gem that screened at Fantastic Fest. It’s great, and it’s finally on Blu-ray. Also this week, we take a look at few titles from last week that might be worth some notice, including two awesome classics (The Dark Crystal and Labrynth). So lets get to it…

Please use that fancy scroll bar on your browser to take a look at this week’s releases below…

Trick ‘r Treat

Pitch: A twisted tale of one Ohio town on Halloween night…

Why Buy? Because this is the Halloween movie that you’ve been waiting for. The kind of ‘campfire stories come alive’ tale that you will want to watch every single year on the last night of October. Director Mike Dougherty has been fighting with distribution troubles for several years now, and while it is sad to see this movie skipping a real theatrical release and heading to Blu-ray (which makes me glad that I caught it this year at Fantastic Fest), it is still great to know that every horror-nut with a DVD player can finally own this film. It’s awesome. And beyond that, the BD release features exclusive director commentary, additional scenes and two very cool BD-exclusive featurettes — one focused on the film’s special effects and another on “Legends of Halloween.” If you’re not at your local retailer picking up this little Blu package today, you’re really lost in the wilderness, ready to be eaten by a pack of wild somethingerothers…

Blu-ray Exclusives? Additional commentary track, Deleted Scenes, Special Effects Comparison, “The Lore and Legends of Halloween” Featurette

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Diamond Edition)

The Pitch: The animated masterpiece comes back to life, in glorious high definition.

Why Buy? Over the past year, Disney has begun “opening the vault” and bringing out some of their animated classics on Blu-ray. And unlike so many distros who just slap together a Blu-ray release with little care (I still remember The Simpsons Movie on BD, Fox), Disney takes the time to update its timeless animated slate in a way that continues to please its ever-growing fanbase. And this insanely feature-rich release of Snow White is certainly no exception. It features a DVD copy, a beautiful transfer delivered in 1080p on Blu-ray and a full Blu-ray disc full of special features. Everything is perfect — right down to the Disneyview artwork that populates the empty space on the right and left of the 4:3 movie (it wasn’t made in widescreen, get over it). Once again, I would argue that you shouldn’t pass up any Disney classic on Blu-ray, as once again they’ve delivered a lasting experience that will be great for generations to come.

Blu-ray Exclusives: An amazingly crisp, vibrant transfer, several featurettes and a sneak peek at The Princess and the Frog.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

The Pitch: The Gene Wilder-led classic comes to life in vibrant high definition.

Why Buy? This release represents much of what I love about the Blu-ray format. It offers us the rare opportunity to see a classic film in a new way — a new, colorful and vibrant way in this particular case. The transfer on Willy Wonka, if anything, isn’t far from revelatory. Never before (at least, not since it hit theaters in the 70s) has this Mel Stuart directed classic looked so good. So good, in fact, that you can almost taste the river of chocolate. It also brings with it the history behind this film in a very neat 38-page book that includes new photos, song lyrics and little tidbits about the production. And even though there aren’t any new BD-Exclusive special features, I think this is what they mean when they say “collector’s edition,” as it will fit perfectly into your collection for a long time to come.

Blu-ray Exclusives: 38-page booklet with song lyrics, pictures and other facts about the film.

Labyrinth

The Pitch: Lets be honest, would you really pass up a chance to buy a Blu-ray that involves David Bowie?

Why Buy? If there’s one thing I hate, it is a studio that takes one of a favorite of my youth, slaps it on Blu-ray and expects me to buy it, sans additional special features. Luckily, that isn’t the case with Labyrinth. David Bowie is still there, a very young Jennifer Connelly is still there, and that Jim Henson charm is definitely still there. Also enclosed in this BD release: a picture-in-picture track featuring interviews with Cheryl Henson, various puppet makers, Warwick Davis and make-up artist Nick Dudman. It is probably one of the coolest PIP tracks I’ve seen in a while, providing insight into the world of Labyrinth the likes of which we’ve never seen before. That, and the transfer to 1080p looks great. I can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t want to add this to your collection.

Blu-ray Exclusives: A PIP track with loads of cool interviews.

The Dark Crystal

The Pitch: Take a trip back to Thra in beautiful, glorious high definition.

Why Buy? Just as we saw above with the BD release of Labrynth, this incarnation of The Dark Crystal is loaded with all sorts of cool new special features. There is “The Book of Thra” Dark Crystal Collector interactive feature, which allows the viewer to select different elements of the world of Thra and learn more about them, then go back to the movie. There is a trivia game. There is also a picture-in-picture storyboard track, which is great for true fans. And finally, there is a charming introduction by screenwriter David Odell on the original Skeksis language. Add all of that to the original DVD special features (all of which have carried over to the BD release), and we’ve got ourselves something worth buying.

Blu-ray Exclusives: Dark Crystal collector interactive feature, Skeksis Crystal Trivia Game, PIP Storyboards and David Odell talking about the Skeksis language.

Audition

Pitch: Takashi Miike punches you in the face with the story of a man who just wants to get out there and meet somebody.

Why Rent? Our own Rob Hunter called it a “slow-burn creepfest.” And that’s true — as one of Takashi Miike’s best films comes to life on Blu-ray for the first time. Now, I know what many of you are thinking: “But I already bought this on DVD back in 2003, what could possibly be different?” Well, not much, but enough. For starters, the BD release is taken from the inter-negative, so the transfer is absolutely beautiful. This is the first time that you’ll see Audition as Miike intended you to see it. Beyond that, the Blu-ray’s special features are on-par with its parallel DVD release, leaving it stuck in the ‘rent’ column this week.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

Away We Go

Pitch: That guy from The Office and that long-lost girl from Saturday Night Live are having a baby.

Why Rent? For one, because you probably missed this movie earlier this year when it was playing in about 5 theaters around the country. Or at least, that is how it felt as someone who had seen and enjoyed it early on. It’s a wonderful little film, full of charm and heart that really demands an audience. Sadly, the folks at Universal Home Entertainment sought to deliver a Blu-ray experience that should be seen, but not necessarily owned. The special features are lax, including two pithy behind the scenes featurettes and a simple audio commentary track with director Sam Mendes and writers David Eggers and Vendela Vida. It’s standard and the fact that it’s all attached to such a good movie makes it a buy for those who like the film already, but its not enough to be more than a rent for anyone who hasn’t already seen it.

Blu-ray Exclusives? My Scenes bookmarking, BD-Live.

Yellowstone: Battle for Life

Pitch: Grab the kids and head out into the wild yellow yonder.

Why Rent? Alright, so the above pitch doesn’t exactly make any sense, does it? Either way, I am absolutely in love with the work that BBC Earth is doing with their nature documentaries — the way they are shot, the way they tell nature’s stories, and the way the incredible educational value they add are all top notch. Unfortunately, this BD release is missing one thing: special features. When I reviewed DisneyNature’s Earth a few weeks ago, I was astounded by the level of special features that were included, and the intuitive interactive nature of the disc. This is where Yellowstone falls flat, its well is bone-dry. But do yourself a favor and don’t ignore it completely. Rent it, sit down all of the impressionable minds in your family, and watch it together. Trust me, it’s more fun that you’d expect.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

Year One

Pitch: Jack Black and Michael Cera get together and make flat jokes — in the most biblical way possible.

Why Avoid? There is no amount of special features, no assortment of BD exclusive goodies that can make the unfunny funny again. And it pains me to think that someone as brilliant as director Harold Ramis could have made a movie so aggressively mediocre as Year One. But it’s true, it just isn’t that funny. Save for a few absurd moments involving Oliver Platt and some hotness in the toga of Olivia Wilde, there is just no saving grace for this Jack Black/Michael Cera-led stinkbomb. I will give Sony credit for one thing: there are several new, intuitive BD-Live features, including one that allows you to re-cut your own scenes from the movies and share them with friends, but its too little, too late. I’d avoid this one like the plague.

Blu-ray Exclusives: BD-Live features that allow viewers to re-cut scenes, see interactive trivia in-movie and watch the movie alongside friends via the web.

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Pitch: Jim Carrey is back as the Grinch, and he’s still trying to ruin your Christmas spirit.

Why Avoid? I’m not sure how many more times I will have to say it before someone high-up in Hollywood hears me and makes a change, but if you’re only BD-exclusive feature is BD-Live (and a lame BD-Live interface at that), then you’re doing it wrong. Universal may have been smart in making this a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, opening it up to the “planning ahead” crowd of buyers, but they certainly lost their good sense when they forgot to add any special feature value. I like Ron Howard’s movie, it’s a lot of fun. But even a movie that sports a dog with antlers as its emotional center deserves a better BD release than this.

Blu-ray Exclusives: BD-Live.

Also Out This Week (but not reviewed):

What are you buying on Blu-ray this week?

This Week in Blu-ray: Time to Observe, And Report

Neil Miller — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:41:23 +0000

In this edition of This Week in Blu-ray, we get one of the year’s darkest, most absurd comedies right alongside a few great comedies from yesteryear — an assortment of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright in HD with Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. We also take a trip back to the Terminator franchise with season two of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Cole Abaius checks in with the deets on Clive Barker’s Book of Blood. Not the most exciting week of Blu-ray releases we’ve seen this year, but hey, I guess there’s always next week…

Please use that fancy scroll bar on your browser to take a look at this week’s releases below…

Observe and Report

Pitch: It’s the other mall cop movie… You know, the good one.

Why Buy? When I saw it this year at SXSW, I totally dug Observe and Report. It is dark, devious and downright offensive. Just the sort of movie that shouldn’t have been made inside the studio system, but somehow director Jody Hill (The Foot Fist Way) made it happen. And now it’s happening on Blu-ray, and I’m once again digging it. Not just because of the movie, but because it has a solid assortment of BD-Exclusive special features. There is a Basically Training feature about Seth Rogen, picture-in-picture commentary with Rogen, co-star Anna Faris and director Jody Hill, and a hilarious Forest Ridge Mall: Security Recruitment Video. The only feature I didn’t like was a Seth Rogen and Anna Faris Unscripted feature, in which the stars just ad-lib through the dinner scene. It just isn’t funny at all. Luckily, the rest of the movie is.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Several featurettes, PIP commentary, BD-Live.

Hot Fuzz

The Pitch: Sargent Nicholas Angel finally gets justice, in HD.

Why Buy? If you’re anything like me, you already own 4 copies of Hot Fuzz on DVD. And if you’re like me, you don’t care that you’ll have to buy it again on Blu-ray. Why? Because not only is the transfer great on this release, but it also comes with some cool BD-Exclusive special features. There is a Fuzz-o-Meter trivia track that allows you to follow along with movie trivia as you watch the film. There is also an awesome commentary track with Edgar Wright and special guest Quentin Tarantino. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, friends. Trust me, Hot Fuzz is one of the must-have Blu-rays of this year.

Blu-ray Exclusives: Trivia Track, Storyboards, BD-Live.

Shaun of the Dead

The Pitch: The zombie apocalypse is coming to a neighborhood near you, or something.

Why Buy? Ah, once again the answer to the “Why Buy?” question is painstakingly obvious. Because Shaun of the Dead is the funniest zombie movie of all-time. And Simon Pegg is hilarious as the reluctant and oblivious slacker who ultimately tries to save the woman he loves. It’s an epic romance and a pulse-pounding action movie. Or at least, that’s what it’s making fun of. On Blu-ray, Shaun sports a zombie trivia track and storyboards, similar to the Hot Fuzz release detailed above. I feel as if these two go hand-in-hand. Luckily both releases are choice.

Blu-ray Exclusives: Trivia track, storyboards and BD-Live.

Terminator – The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Season 2

Pitch: Noted hotties Lena Headey and Summer Glau continue the boring life of Sarah Connor.

Why Rent? I think that Kevin Carr would agree with me when I say that this show lost a lot of people somewhere along the way in season two. As Kevin chronicled in his weekly recaps of this show on this very site, season two really jumped the shark, nuked the fridge and left fans falling asleep. But it did have Shirley Manson. She’s on the Blu-ray, naturally. As are some interesting special effects, including a full deconstruction of the Hunter-Killer Attack sequence from the season finale. There are commentary tracks on four key episodes and an 8-part featurette gallery. I think fans will like this set, but anyone who isn’t interested in the show should steer clear of a purchase. Try season one first, then maybe rent this one.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Hunter-Killer featurette.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Pitch: Matthew McConaughey sees dead people, er, girlfriends.

Why Avoid? Generally I try and judge Blu-ray movies on two criteria: (a) is the movie itself worth owning and (b) is the Blu-ray worth the extra money. This romantic comedy, which stars Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, is a no on both counts. The movie is a complete wash, another in the long line of McConagheyheyhey-coms that are as predictable as the bowel movements of someone with a high fiber diet. And speaking of bowel movements, the only BD-exclusive special feature is BD-Live. This includes a featurette called A Sea of Women, which contains extra footage from a “Femme-Filled Infinity Room.” This is probably one of the few times in my life when I will say this, but even that doesn’t sound interesting. I urge you to avoid this release… times infinity.

Blu-ray Exclusives: BD-Live.

Clive Barker’s Book of Blood

Pitch: Stories get slashed together but the storytelling should have been left to the dead.

Why Avoid? Two short stories from Clive Barker sounds like fertile ground, but ultimately the movie itself is about as lifeless as a body that’s already been completely drained of the blood. A fake psychic joins a paranormal investigation and is brutally beaten by spirits who write their stories into his flesh. The first story the movie is based off of is simply a framing device in a collection of stories, and the production hasn’t added much to it before placing it on the screen. The characters are strange and without much real motivation, and there aren’t many great scares which should be the point right? Some die-hard Barker fans may dig it, but it will most likely fall short for even the most blood-thirsty horror fans. – Cole Abaius

Blu-ray Exclusives: A behind-the-scenes featurette that’s not terrible and you can watch it with Spanish subtitles!

Also Out This Week (but not reviewed):

What are you buying on Blu-ray this week?

This Week in Blu-ray: A High Definition Army of Darkness

Neil Miller — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:22:37 +0000

In this edition of This Week in Blu-ray, it is time to pick away at the month of September with a swath of TV-on-BD, a forecast for the weeks to come as the fall television season heats up. And since we the missed last few weeks worth of column — and by we, I mean I, it is time to take a look back at some of the better titles from the past two Tuesdays, including DisneyNature’s Earth and Crank 2: High Voltage. All-in-all, it’s yet another busy week for Blu-ray buyers. But fear not, my sheep, for I am here once again to shepherd you to the promise land — the land of high resolution picture, Dolby 5.1 HD sound and more special features than you can shake your walking cane at.

Please use that fancy scroll bar on your browser to take a look at this week’s releases below…

Earth

Pitch: Disney and the BBC team up to bring you a big, beautiful look at our hi-def planet.

Why Buy? As is the case with so many nature documentaries, the visuals in Earth are absolutely beautiful. And much like March of the Penguins, this tells a fascinating story about some of the other inhabitants of this big blue planet. The difference is that Earth — which focuses on the nature of Earth’s tilted access and the seasons it causes — shows us stories from around the globe. Narrated by James Earl Jones, this gorgeous doc is the kind of film that you should buy just so that you have things to educate those kids you might someday have (or might already have). It is an incredibly well-executed, fascinating look at the world around us — one that really shines on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray Exclusives? The Blu-ray menu is cool…

Army of Darkness: Screwhead Edition

Pitch: Bruce Campbell kicks primitive screwhead ass, in HD.

Why Buy? If I need to give you a reason beyond the fact that it’s Bruce Campbell, it’s Sam Raimi and it’s the final film in the Evil Dead series, then I’m not sure what to tell you, friends. I’ve been patiently waiting since the inception of the Blu-ray format for this release. And now we have it, and even though this Blu-ray release leaves something to be desired with BD-exclusive special features, there is definitely something worth buying here. The 1080p transfer on the film looks gorgeous, as does the lone featurette. There is a U-Control feature that pops up during the film with production photos, but that’s it. I would have loved to see something more from Universal on this one (think Evil Dead: Book of the Dead edition next time, Uni.), but at this point I’m just glad to see this film in glorious HD. And you should be, too.

Blu-ray Exclusives? U-Control with production photos, BD-Live link with nothing special to report.

Fringe: The Complete First Season

Pitch: One of the best new shows on TV, in which crazy shit happens.

Why Buy? Teleportation. Mind Control. Invisibility. Astral Projections. All of these have a place in the world of FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv). That’s the basic premise behind Fringe, one of last year’s best new shows. It is full of wild twists, fascinating cases and a stellar performance throughout by John Noble as mad scientist turned FBI anti-terrorist weapon Walter Bishop. But enough about the show, the Blu-ray has a lot to offer. There is BD-Exclusive writer/producer commentary with producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci on the final episode, which for those who’ve seen the show, is quite interesting. Don’t worry, you’ll want to watch it once you’ve made your way through the season. There is also a Fringe Pattern Analysis feature that takes 6 select scenes and brings in experts to who evaluate some of the science. It’s interesting enough. What is most interesting is the show itself, not the special features. Watch the show, damn it.

Blu-ray Exclusives? A cool exclusive commentary on the season finale and the Fringe Pattern Analysis, both of which are passable.

The Office: Season 5

Pitch: Michael Scott finally gets booted from Dunder Mifflin in a hilarious fifth season.

Why Rent? From where I’m sitting, the U.S. version of The Office has lost its way a few times in its five year run. But for some reason, it always comes back to the well — to what really makes this show funny. In season 5, we get the full spectrum of quality as we watch Michael Scott lose his love, Holly, then break away from Dunder Mifflin, forming the Michael Scott Paper Company. It sees some awesome cameos from the likes of Jack Black, Jessica Alba and Cloris Leachman, as well as a great half-season role for Idris Elba. It’s not their best season, but it certainly is one of their best endings, in my opinion. The Blu-ray release itself is alright, with a ton of commentary. There is also a One-liner Soundboard, which is fun to play with, as well as a BD-Live link — though there aren’t any Office exclusives on BD-Live. If you’re going to this season at all, its worth getting the Blu-ray. But if you haven’t seen this season yet, you might just want to rent it.

Blu-ray Exclusives? One-liner soundboard and a BD-Live link, which is mostly worthless.

Legend of Drunken Master

Pitch: Jackie Chan gets drunk and beats ass in this 1994 classic.

Why Rent? Hilariously dubbed in English, chock full of wicked action as only Jackie Chan can deliver, this movie is a favorite of anyone who loves some fun action-comedy from the Far East. The only problem is that I feel like I bought this exact release once before, on DVD. The only difference is that this version is in HD. The special features are the same, the terrible English dub is the same, and I had the same good time watching it again, but I failed to find anything new. Which was disappointing to a certain extent, but seeing it in HD was cool. If you’ve never seen Legend of Drunken Master, the Blu-ray is certainly worth a rental.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

Hero

Pitch: Jet Li uses his martial arts skill to rise up and defy an empire.

Why Rent? If you’re a fan of Jet Li’s Fearless, a great martial arts film that I reviewed on Blu-ray not too long ago, then you know what I mean when I say that Hero is a perfect companion in your Blu-ray collection. The action is there, the cast is bigger (including Crouching Tiger hottie Zhang Ziyi), and even though the plot is needlessly complex, it still manages to deliver action on an epic scale. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then this Golden Globe nominee is a must rent on Blu-ray. If for no other reason than your cinematic education. Sadly, the only thing keeping this release from making it into ‘Buy’ territory is the special feature assortment, which is comprised of D-Box Motion Code, a Close-Up of an Action Scene feature that shows us extended interview minutes with Quentin Tarantino and Jet Li, and several featurettes that have been seen in previous DVD releases. All-in-all, it’s a movie worth owning, but not one worth owning a second time if you already bought it.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Close-up of an action scene, D-Box Motion Code, BD-Live.

My Name is Earl: Season 4

The Pitch: Jason Lee returns as the Karma-obsessed hillbilly just trying to make amends.

Why Rent? If you don’t watch My Name is Earl, I would suggest you make an effort to go back and catch some of the first three seasons. It’s a simple, funny and charming shoe with a few fun, memorable characters — not the least of which is Jason Lee in the title role or Jamie Pressly as the uber-trashy Joy. Sadly, the Blu-ray release doesn’t quite do the show justice. There is a single featurette called “Earl’s Fan Mail,” which is good for a laugh, and a few deleted scenes and a gag reel, but that’s it. I’m surprised they needed 4-discs for this set. It is an all-too-unfitting way to send off Earl’s fourth and final season.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season

Pitch: After enduring unspeakable torture, Dean escapes from Hell, rescued by an all-powerful creature he’s never seen before – an Angel – a warrior of God who recruits Sam and Dean into Heaven’s battle against Hell.

Why Rent? I’m not the best person to be telling you about Supernatural, as I have never seen the first three seasons, but I will say this about season four: this is an unexpectedly cool show. The Blu-ray release, for all its special features faults, shows off how visually arresting this show can be. And when you consider the budget they must get for a show on The CW, it is doubly impressive. The BD release features 23 minutes or so of deleted scenes, one featurette and a very short gag-reel. It is a selection that mirrors that of the DVD release, sadly. It’s worth a look, but as I experienced, you might need to have been on board with this show from the beginning.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Three episodes worth of commentary.

Crank 2: High Voltage

Pitch: Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) refuses to die some more in this high-octane action sequel.

Why Rent? This movie is divisive, that’s for sure. Robert Fure spent about 1,400 words essentially refuting my original review of Crank 2: High Voltage earlier this week in his own long-form Blu-ray review. I am here to once again sing a different tune. If you enjoyed the first Crank, you will find something to like in the second one. If you enjoy a well put together Blu-ray release, you also might enjoy High Voltage, as it sports some nifty features. There are two behind the scenes featurettes, which are pretty standard. There is also a very cool commentary track feature that allows you to switch between having the directors (Neveldine/Taylor) in the big window with the movie in the small picture-in-picture window, and vice versa. As BD features go, that’s new. That’s the only BD-Exclusive feature, but overall the disc is fleshed out well. If you’ve seen and enjoyed any film in the Crank franchise, you might want to buy this one, but for others it’s at least a rent.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Cranked Up commentary track (picture-in-picture).

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Pitch: Hugh Jackman returns to his favorite X-Men character with an origin story that gets lost in the details.

Why Avoid? Because this movie is awful. Beyond that, the special features on the Blu-ray encroach on annoying more often than not. The most annoying of the special features is the Director’s Chair picture-in-picture commentary with director Gavin Hood (a Blu-ray exclusive), who proceeds to try and justify his choices in story, tone and visual effects execution. If you’d like to play a game, rent this BD release and try watching it… If you can watch more than 30 minutes, your a more tolerant person than I am. It seems sad that such a lackluster effort in action cinema would come with so many special features — there are a ton — and so little value. It also seems a waste that this is the first BD release to feature IMDb Live Lookup, which connects you directly to IMDb.com right from your Blu-ray player. Pretty cool. Maybe someday they’ll put it on a disc with a movie I actually want to watch again.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Ultimate X-Mode (Director’s Chair commentary, trivia track, Pre-viz picture-in-picture and X-Connect interactive content). IMDb Live Lookup.

State of Play

Pitch: A movie about journalism, in which the “blogger” always gets it wrong.

Why Avoid? Call me a mediumist, but any movie where the online journalist (especially one as dashing as Rachel McAdams) is the butt-end of a bunch of journo hate, I’m just not down. Also, I trust in the general opinion of our own Managing Editor Cole Abaius, who called this film simply “boring.” He expanded on those remarks, calling it “a political thriller with no thrills, random character choices, and plot holes.” Now that’s just not something I can get behind. Combine that with a BD release that rides high on its U-Control picture-in-picture feature as its landmark extra, and we’ve got ourselves a full-blown pile of avoidable sucked, wrapped in a thick blanket of boredom. And to think that this entire cast signed on to this movie… Oh, what we’ll do for a paycheck in this life. Avoid at all costs, my smart friends.

Blu-ray Exclusives? U-Control, My Scenes, Tutorials about U-Control and My Scenes, and BD-Live with no State of Play related offerings.

Heroes: Season 3

Pitch: .

Why Avoid? Anyone who watched season 3 of Heroes knows why it should be avoided — it was completely off the rails, so much so that I stopped watching it about 4 episodes in. Thinking that the second time was a charm, I attempted to get through all of the episodes on Blu-ray — it was torture. And unfortunately for those of us who chose to suffer through it, the Blu-ray release doesn’t offer ‘alternative story mode’ in which the story is good instead of bad. The HD extras on the disc are really solid, which is a major let down unless you were somehow a fan of this season. They have really great interactive commentaries on every episode, as well as a ‘Hero Connections Network’ feature that links all of your favorite characters, all courtesy of BD-Live. A very impressive set of extras. Now, if only the show were worth watching.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Interactive commentaries, Hero Connections Map, Building Coyote Sands featurette, impressive BD-Live features, D-Box encoding.

Also Out This Week (but not reviewed):

What are you buying on Blu-ray this week?

This Week in Blu-ray: A Trip to Adventureland

Neil Miller — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:07:46 +0000

Welcome to This Week in Blu-ray, the never on-time FSR column that is, oddly enough, on time this week. Will this be the start of a wonderful new trend? I won’t make any promises. What I will do is keep you in the loop on this weeks’ Blu-ray releases, including a few quirky indie comedies that are worth a look, a classic horror film that ruined my childhood moviewatching experience and a look deep into the world of Channing Tatum’s bicepts. Alright, maybe that last part is a lie — but I saw you all sit up straight in your chairs. Don’t deny your desire to see G.I. Joe’s Duke with his shirt off. Fear not, my sheep, for I am here once again to shepherd you to the promise land — the land of high resolution picture, Dolby 5.1 HD sound and more special features than you can shake your walking cane at.

Please use that fancy scroll bar on your browser to take a look at this week’s releases below…

Adventureland

Pitch: When young James (Jesse Eisenberg) finds out that his summer abroad is under-funded, he is forced to spend his time working a summer job, finding love and getting drunk.

Why Buy? Easily the best of this week’s releases — in both quality of film and Blu-ray features — Adventureland is a quirky, fun and authentic summer comedy to which many of us can relate. It features on-point performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Martin Starr (Knocked Up) and Ryan Reynolds, as well as a hair-flipping, broody (but less so than in Twilight) performance from Kristen Stewart. It also features a few great supporting performances from SNL’s Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. It’s the perfect late summer afternoon movie for anyone who’s ever worked a crappy job in their life (which is most of us). On Blu-ray, Adventureland brings with it several engaging BD-Exclusive features as well as a few non-exclusive featurettes and a commentary track. On the BD-Exclusive side, we have the very funny “Lisa P’s Guide to Style” (an homage to awful 80s style) and “Frido’s Taps,” a satiric how-to on inflicting unexpected pain (mostly by hitting your friends in the testicles). Also along for the ride is the BD-Exclusive “Welcome to Adventureland,” a series of commercials, drug policy PSAs and orientation videos for the theme park at the heart of the film. Overall, this Blu-ray release adds plenty of value to an already worthwhile film, leaving you with at least one must-buy this week.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Three great featurettes, all for you and all in HD.

Rudo y Cursi

Pitch: Brotherly love, ain’t it lovely?

Why Buy? One of the most unsung and delightful little indie comedies of the year, Rudo y Cursi follows the story of Beto (Diego Luna) and Tato (Gael Garcia Bernal), two brothers who break into the big leagues of Mexican soccer, finding fame and fortune and all kinds of trouble. It is a simple story of sibling rivalry, dealing with fame and remembering that one important thing in life: your mama. This fun, energetic film comes to Blu-ray with an adequate array of special features. A commentary track, a ‘making of’ featurette, a pair of music videos and some deleted scenes are the standard fair. The Blu-ray offers a special Q&A with director Carlos Cuaron and his two stars that cannot be found on the DVD release. Overall, it’s a fun, worthwhile movie experience that delivers solid, engaging special features — just the sort of thing that any film fan would want to have in their collection.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Special Q&A feature with director Carlos Cuaron and his two stars.

Children of the Corn

Pitch: Don’t go into the cornfields… Because there are kids murdering adults out there.

Why Buy? Yet another classic horror film that helped ruin my childhood comes to Blu-ray. Now, if only I could score a copy of Poltergeist (which was released on BD last year), I’d have the whole set of life-ruining horror. And cheesy as this one may be, it is still scary as hell get-out. A boy preacher comes to town and leads all the children in the murder of every adult. Who will stop them? Maybe Linda Hamilton, but I doubt it. This is pre-Terminator Linda Hamilton — and man, did she look good. As for the Blu-ray release, we see a very solid 1080p transfer of the film combined with a solid assortment of special features. As the 80s horror movies on Blu-ray go, that’s not a bad start. It wins with a pop-up Fast Film Facts track that runs with the Blu-ray (can be switched on and off) and several behind the scenes featurettes (4 to be exact), and loses only in its sound transfer — the track is bland and uninspired, and ill-mixed. That could be a date-related issue, but chances are its just the film’s distributor (Starz) not paying attention. Overall, if you’re among the cult following for this film, this release should feel right at home in your collection.

Blu-ray Exclusives? BD-Live support and a ‘Fast Film Facts’ feature that supplements your viewing experience with pop-up trivia. Also, this BD release includes three never-before-seen behind the scenes featurettes. Horror hounds should be pleased.

Sunshine Cleaning

Pitch: Amy Adams and Emily Blunt clean up crap, in HD.

Why Rent? One of mu favorite films from last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Sunshine Cleaning tells the story of two sisters who try to turn their luck around by starting up a business. The only problem is that their fledgling business is a service that cleans up the spots where people have died. Disguised as a funny, quirky little film, Sunshine Cleaning is ultimately an excellent character drama with mop-buckets full of heart. Amy Adams delivers a splendid performance, as does Alan Arkin as the girls’ childish father (a role to which he’s become accustomed). The disc itself features a very entertaining commentary track from writer Megan Holley and producer Glenn Williamson, as well as one 11-minute behind the scenes featurette that is delivered in standard definition. A bit of a let-down, I know. But trust in me when I tell you that this movie is a good one. And easily worth a trip to your local Blockbuster, Redbox, or a spot in your Netflix queue. And if you’re really adventurous, you might even pick it up to keep.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Trailers for other Overture Films releases in HD, but otherwise nothing.

Duplicity

Pitch: Clive Owen and Julia Roberts play a sexy spy game.

Why Rent? Written and directed by Tony Gilroy, the mind behind such thrillers as The Bourne Identity, The Cutting Edge (that’s right Gilroy, I remember) and Michael Clayton, this film follows the story of two former spies (Owen and Roberts) who are now engaged in the high-stakes game of corporate espionage. The only problem is that they’re engaged in a torrid love affair, one disrupted by the fact that they’re also working for rival companies. As a Gilroy-written pic, Duplicity is rather clever and delivers laughs. As well, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are a lot of fun. The problem I had with this release — and the reason it ended up in the rent category — is the fact that it is stripped of special features. There is a commentary track with Tony Gilroy, which is engaging enough, but nothing (not kidding) else of note. Once again, I believe the term used on the web is: fail.

Blu-ray Exclusives? BD-Live is enabled.

Smallville: The Complete Eighth Season

Pitch: Clark Kent continues to grow up, only this time he’s got a major villain coming to Earth: Doomsday.

Why Rent? While I can’t exactly say that I’ve ever been a big Smallville fan, I do know one thing: Season 8 was a much talked about one among fans. The show’s eighth frame showcased a lot of changes around Clark Kent (Tom Welling) and delivered what many have called the beginning of the end for this long-running show. For some however, it was a welcome bit of change to see Davis Bloome turn into Doomsday, or to see the ruthless Tess Mercer (played by the uber-hot Cassidy Freeman) take over the reigns for Lex Luthor. If you watch this show with regularity, you know where you fall on the scale. And if you’re a completist who needs to own every season, I won’t be able to stop you from picking this one up. However, if you’re only interested in catching up on Smallville, this set is not worth an end-game purchase. The special feature selection is severely lacking, with 2 episodes of commentary, a few unaired scenes and two snore-worthy featurettes, it just doesn’t cut it. I’d rather watch old episodes of Lois & Clark than see you spend your money on this set.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

Fighting

Pitch: Channing Tautm punches the shit out of everything in sight, including the audience.

Why Avoid? Our own Robert Levin called this movie “an exceedingly silly movie that’s also very well made.” For sophomore director Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints), that isn’t such a bad thing. He’s crafted a well-shot movie about street fighting in New York City. Sadly, it doesn’t look like Universal Home Video and Rogue Pictures have a lot of faith in his “well made” film, as they’ve sent it limping onto Blu-ray with the minimum amount of special features possible. It’s too bad really, that these discs are read-only. There is probably a good 20GB of storage space left on the Fighting release, which might almost make it worth $20. Alright, maybe not. It does have a few deleted scenes, is D-Box motion enabled (though I doubt your D-Box system is going to punch you in the face, which is disappointing) and it is enabled for BD-Live. None of that makes up for no commentary track, no featurettes and nothing to add to the film aside from a few extra minutes in the ‘unrated’ edition. Oh right, and a second disc for Digital Copy — I know how much you all love that.

Blu-ray Exclusives? There aren’t even SD special features on this release…

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Pitch: Matthew McConaughey becomes the subject of Kate Hudson’s evil magazine journo dating experiments.

Why Avoid? I’m growing increasingly tired of what I have long-called ‘collection stuffers,’ Blu-ray releases of movies from the last 15-years or so that offer nothing beyond previous DVD releases except for a 1080p transfer and a blue box. We’ve seen it with releases ranging from The Waterboy to Wayne’s World to Major League. And friends, let me tell you, it stinks. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is an enjoyable enough romantic comedy that gets enough laughs to keep it out of sap-town, combining the always charming Kate Hudson with Matthew “I Don’t Wear a Shirt, Dude” McConaughey for a 115-minute ride through the world of dating in NYC. We should be able to enjoy this in HD. Sadly though, while the movie looks good in 1080p (it better, as its only 6 years old), there are no new or BD-Exclusive special features. There are several featurettes, all of which can be found on a previous DVD release. Dear studios: STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! We’re not buying it.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

The Informers

Pitch: A group of spoiled teens in the glamorous neighborhoods of 80s Los Angeles do bad things, find zero consequences.

Why Avoid? For those of you who didn’t read my Sundance review for this movie, allow me to paraphrase: it is the single worst movie of 2009, hands down, without a doubt. Even though the year is not over yet, I am absolutely sure that a bigger blight will not be made upon the art of cinema in this year than Gregor Jordan’s bloated, self-indulgent movie about bad people doing bad things with and to other bad people. Some of the visuals are stunning, which shines through in a good 1080p transfer, but that doesn’t mean they’re interesting. They’re not. On top of that, this release hobbles along with next-to-no special features. It sports a commentary track with director Gregor Jordan and actors Jon Foster and Lou Taylor Pucci (writer Bret Easton Ellis probably wanted nothing to do with this release) and one featurette titled “Human Intersections: Making The Informers.” They should’ve skipped the special features, as no one is going to want to watch them should they be duped into watching this mess of a movie. If you like bad reality TV that is sad and depressing and in no way funny, this might be a rental. But if you have taste (or at least consider yourself a person of taste), I would urge you to stay as far away from this film as humanly possible. Don’t even walk by it at Best Buy, you could contract something.

Blu-ray Exclusives? HD trailer via BD-Live for other, better movies; and a 1080i featurette.

Also Out This Week (but not reviewed):

What are you buying on Blu-ray this week?

This Week in Blu-ray: Catching Up, Again

Neil Miller — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:07:48 +0000

It has become quite obvious that there is nothing you need more in your life than This Week in Blu-ray. Over the past few weeks I have received email upon email, pleading with me to get my Blu-ray purchase picks up on the site — many of you require my guidance before laying down your hard earned, recession-busting dollars at your local retailer. Well fear not, my sheep, as I am back to shepherd you to the promise land — the land of high resolution picture, Dolby 5.1 HD sound and more special features than you can shake your walking cane at.

This week I bring you may highlights from this week’s releases, along with a few must-haves from the past few weeks.

The Last Starfighter

Pitch: After beating a video game on Earth, twenty-something Alex is called upon to join the Star League and save the galaxy with his awesome skills.

Why Buy? Yes, this is one of the first movies to ever use CGI for an entire battle sequence. And yes, the dialog and story scream 80s material. But when you watch The Last Starfighter on Blu-ray for the first time, the quality of the digital transfer and the nostalgia factor take over — and almost instantly, you forget that this movie was made in 1984. As someone who knows movies and the people who watch them, I am almost certain that each and every one of you has someone near you who hasn’t seen this film. Whether it be a youngling or a friend who just missed all of the 1980s, there is someone. You’d be remiss if you didn’t pick this up in stunning HD and share it — you know it’s a classic. And even though the BD-Exclusive features are limited, the 25th Anniversary edition has plenty of behind the scenes. Oh, the 80s, you had me at ‘play video games, save the world.’

Blu-ray Exclusives? One of three featurettes are in HD, but beyond that it is limited on exclusives.

Sons of Anarchy: Season 1

Pitch: A biker gang in central California defends its turf — by being badass to the bone.

Why Buy? When this show hit F/X late last year, I believe I called it the best new show on TV. And even in a month when the final season of Battlestar Galactica hits DVD, this is still easily the best new show on DVD as well. Follow the sexy, brutal escapades of Jax (Charlie Hunnam) and the rest of the ‘Sons’ as they run guns, ride big hogs and bring in some beat downs. And do it on Blu-ray, damn you. This show features an awesome ensemble cast, a surprisingly talented writing team and enough grit to have you picking it out of your various orifices. The only disappointment here is the special feature selection, which is mediocre at best. Three basic featurettes are shared with the DVD release, as are the deleted scenes. But that won’t stop me from recommending this set. It could be bare-bones and the show’s good enough to be worth it.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

I Love You, Man

Pitch: Paul Rudd is about to get married to the girl of his dreams. Now all he needs is a best man. Enter Jason Segel.

Why Buy? It seems to be unnecessarily rare that not only is a movie good, but its Blu-ray release also brings the heat. In the case of I Love You, Man we have a very funny film led by Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and an awesome cameo from Iron Man director Jon Favreau. It is a comedy about relationships that never takes itself too seriously, but remains both restrained and inventive — something that isn’t easily done these days. And on Blu-ray, it is a great release. Tons of behind the scenes footage, as well as more outtakes and deleted scenes than you think you need. Only, you need them. Trust me.

Blu-ray Exclusives? All featurettes are in HD, but beyond that it is limited on exclusives.

Dollhouse: Season 1

Pitch: She’s the perfect girl for any occasion, and now she’s doing badass stuff in HD.

Why Buy? This Joss Whedon led show has been the topic of geek conversation for quite some time now, has it not. It made a splash on Fox and even got picked up for a second season, giving all those heavy Whedon fans something to cheer for. Another thing they can get excited about: an extra episode (”Epitaph One”) and a few really interesting behind the scenes production featurettes on the Blu-ray release. Also, Joss Whedon commentary! I’m not even sure why that excites me so, but it does. Plain and simple: this set is ripe for the pickin’.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Nothing more than HD special features and crisp, sexy picture quality.

Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5

Pitch: One of the greatest sci-fi series of all-time comes to a close in glorious HD.

Why Rent? There is a part of me that wants to say something along the lines of “if you don’t know why you need Battlestar Galactica on Blu-ray, you just don’t get it.” And I suppose that’s true, in more than just a dickish way. By now, you’ve either gotten on the BSG bandwagon or you are still waiting to get started. If you haven’t started yet, go back to season one and get moving. If you are already on the BSG bandwagon, you know what to do. And you know that you should be doing it on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray Exclusives? U-Control features are very cool, BD-Live is still not doing anything for me, and the My Scenes feature which allows you to track your favorite frakking scenes.

Hannah Montana: The Movie

Pitch: Miley Cyrus stars in the movie you’ve all been waiting for…

Why Buy? Bare with me on this one. And no, that’s not a joke abut Miley Cyrus. She’s underage, that’s gross. The joke this week is on all of us who aren’t fans of Miley (which for most of our readership is probably a good thing based on local and state laws). Disney has packed this Blu-ray release with special features, enough to keep any Hannah Montana fan locked to their HDTV screen for hours and hours and hours. It even has a BD-Exclusive ‘Hoedown Throwdown Dance-Along’ feature that allows you to learn the moves right alongside Miley! No, I didn’t learn them, but I’d be willing to bet that there are millions of little Miley-ites out there who are going to eat that up while robbing daddy of his HD NFL Football action. I’m not ashamed to say it, but Disney and Hannah Montana win this week’s best special features award, if for no other reason than pure volume.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Two ‘learn to dance’ features that are engaging, if you’re a teen girl.

The Class

Pitch: The critically acclaimed story of a French teacher and a class of racially mixed students from the tough hoods of Paris.

Why Buy? Based on the immense buzz surrounding this film, including an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, I’m recommending The Class blind. I have not seen it yet, but I will be picking it up soon. From what I hear, it’s one of those special movies that come along in rare instances, and on Blu-ray it sports a bunch of great, engaging special features. Thus, I’m making the jump. Who’s with me?

Blu-ray Exclusives? There are two extended ‘actors workshop’ featurettes on the disc that aren’t with the DVD release, but sadly they are both in standard definition.

The Last House on the Left

Pitch: A girl gets brutally raped. Her parents exact revenge. That last part is fun to watch.

Why Rent? “Darker and more brutal than to be expected from a studio film, sweeter and funnier (not a laugh riot, but a couple funny lines) than any rape/revenge movie should be, populated by solid characters brought to life by some fantastic performances, some deliriously squirm-inducing violence and gore, and the best balls-to-the-wall piece of cathartic cinema in years.” Our own Rob Hunter said that, and he’s right. It’s much better than it should be. The only thing holding this release back is DVD extras. Someone should tell Universal that we can’t live on Digital Copy alone. There is one ‘look inside’ featurette and a few deleted scenes, but beyond that all we get is the Unrated cut of the film — which I am sad to report doesn’t add much by my count.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

The Soloist

Pitch: Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx try to figure out how a blind man can be such a great musician.

Why Rent? It’s a solid drama with two quality actors who deliver solid performances. Beyond that, I can’t see much of a reason to extend this beyond the ‘rent’ category. The Blu-ray release is strangely lacking in the special features department, with a single behind the scenes featurette and only a few deleted scenes to its credit. Director Joe Wright provides a relatively generic commentary track and the disc is without any additional BD-Live functionality. Not that I’m complaining, BD-Live is yet to impress me. What would impress me is if this disc had anything but a solid movie on it.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

Race to Witch Mountain

Pitch: The Rock and Carla Gugino escort alien kids to a mountain… in HD.

Why Rent? While I’m usually a big fan of Disney releases — because lets face it, they always put effort into their Blu-ray titles — this release is getting the pass based on its moderate amount of special features. To its credit, Witch Mountain does have a Blu-ray exclusive feature called “Which Mountain?” It is a track that points out all of the references to the original film. All that did was have me wanting to watch the original and send this one back. Sadly, I didn’t get my copy from Blockbuster. I’m stuck with it.

Blu-ray Exclusives? One BD-Exclusive feature (described above) that is cool, but nothing beyond that.

17 Again

Pitch: It’s packed with Zac!!

Why Avoid? Oh, the things I do to keep myself in good standing with movie studios — like review movies such as 17 Again. Sadly for Warner Bros., reviewing a film doesn’t mean that I have to like it. It just means that I have to write about it. And what is there to say about a half-hearted attempt at gender-flipping Freaky Friday and playing off of my heart strings for young Tom Hanks in Big? Well, for one, Zac Efron isn’t a bad actor — in fact, he has his moments — he just needs to pick better projects. The same can be said for Thomas Lennon and Leslie Mann, who also show up in this wretched waste of time. Matthew Perry on the other hand, well, it’s good to see him working. Sadly, this Blu-ray release has the best BD-Exclusive special features, including several featurettes and a “Tell-All Trivia Track” for Zefron fans of all ages. It saddens me a little, but should be very exciting for the Efron fans of the world. This disc is quite literally packed with Zac, and I suppose that’s better than the Jonas Brothers.

Blu-ray Exclusives? A very solid selection, including an assortment of BD-Live content and a bunch of HD featurettes. Not a bad value, if you’re really, really into Zac Efron.

Dragonball: Evolution

Pitch: A young warrior sets out on an epic journey to harness the power of dragonballs…

Why Avoid? First Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, now this. Haven’t we had enough of poorly scripted, under-funded and badly acted adaptations of beloved manga and video game properties? Despite of bevy of special features, Dragonball: Evolution just isn’t a good enough film to earn my recommendation. It features some so-so special effects and a story that put me asleep during the opening credits. Even more annoying than that — a criminal lack of Emmy Rossum in tight clothes. Come on director James Wong, you know you can do better for the kids at home. I would only recommend this one if you’re a big fan already and you’re a special features hound, as there are quite a few featurettes on the disc. None of them, in my eyes, make u for the quality (or lack thereof) of this film.

Blu-ray Exclusives? None.

Labor Pains

Pitch: Lindsay Lohan fakes a pregnancy in glorious hi-def.

Why Avoid? Admittedly there might be a few fans out there, but for all intents and purposes, it belongs on the ABC Family network. Which is why it premiered on ABC Family. This is the kind of averagely-written, averagely-acted movie that most normal people would watch and forget about instantly, but the trick Labor Pains has up its sleeve is that the premise is so ri-goddamned-diculous that it stays with you. Unfortunately, it stays with you like the aftertaste of an onion and old sock sandwich. It’s hard to be too mad at this movie, though, because it’s just appallingly mediocre. Plus, it sees fit to get Lohan in her underwear several times with little more pretense than they figured the audience would want to see it.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Not even the regular special features are in HD.

What are you buying on Blu-ray this week?

This Week in Blu-ray: Buy Blu For All Mankind

Neil Miller — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:14:02 +0000

Like Vanilla Ice, I’m back again with new smooth sounds for This Week in Blu-ray. This week I finally deliver my Blu-ray advice on a Tuesday, the day of release for many of these titles. But don’t be fooled, a few of the titles below are catch up from the past few weeks — which I like to call my TWIBD vacation time. Don’t worry though, as I will be back strong (and on-time) next week with my review of the Watchmen Director’s Cut and Coraline. To keep you busy in the mean time, I do have some really swell picks that you can get in stores this week.

For All Mankind (Criterion)

Pitch: An incredibly detailed look at the Apollo space program, in glorious high definition.

Why Buy? As an unabashed space nerd, I would be way out of line if Al Reinert’s brilliant documentary wasn’t at the absolute top of this week’s list of picks. It is perhaps the definitive feature documentary on the United States’ Apollo space program, and in its remastered form on Blu-ray it is quite possibly one of the most important high def discs on the entire 2009 release schedule. The Criterion special edition soars, with amazing picture and sound quality, as well as enough special features to pass the time that it would take you to fly to the moon. It includes a behind the scenes documentary as well as “On Camera” interviews — additional footage — with fifteen of the Apollo astronauts. It’s a nerdgasm of epic proportions, if I ever saw one.

Blu-ray Exclusives? All of the special features are available on both DVD and BD, but trust me… the picture quality on the Blu-ray is totally worth it.

Knowing

Pitch: Nicolas Cage knows when the world is going to end, sort of.

Why Buy? Probably one of the most underrated sci-fi films of the past few years, Knowing pits Nicolas Cage against the world’s ultimate demise and gives him only an odd numbered code with which he can try to stop it. It’s a mediocre film made better by some wicked disaster action sequences — including one epic one near the end — and the not-so-suprisingly solid acting of one Nic Cage. Director Alex Proyas (Dark City, I, Robot) once again delivers a movie that is perfect for the HD medium, as it is loud, vibrant and full of jaw-dropping visuals. On the special features front, the disc delivers audio commentary (which Proyas makes interesting, as always) and two HD featurettes, both of which are focused on the look of the film. Excellent video and audio reference quality plus solid slice of sci-fi and some cool special features — that’s a win in my book, friends.

Blu-ray Exclusives? BD-Live is the only real Blu-ray exclusive.

Do The Right Thing

Pitch: It’s the 20th Anniversary of Spike Lee’s most famous film — time to celebrate with a big, awesome Blu-ray release.

Why Rent? Director Spike Lee has been all around the world and for the most part, he’s always been a striking and sometimes controversial figure. And while his activism has taken the front seat in the most recent years of his career, it was the simple tale of the hottest day of the year in Brooklyn back in 1989 that put Lee on the map. With great performances from the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Aiello, Ruby Dee and John Turturro, Do the Right Thing is probably a movie I’d recommend owning even if it wasn’t accompanied by some awesome special features. But with 4-hours of extras — 4 actual hours of extras including a full-length documentary, not just 3 commentary tracks — this is a must own Blu-ray title. Anyone who owns the 2-Disc Criterion DVD that was released several years back knows what I’m talking about — there are tons of special features here, making this disc well worth the price.

Blu-ray Exclusives? The disc features BD-Live content, which just takes you to the Universal Portal where trailers for other movies await. Also, it has the “My Scenes” feature, allowing you to bookmark your favorite scenes.

Mad Men (Season 2)

Pitch: One of television’s best dramas gets another great Blu-ray release.

Why Buy? If you’ve watched AMC’s period drama Mad Men, then you probably don’t need me to tell you that it’s a must-own. It would be a must own if the Blu-ray transfer were half as good and if the special features were half as bountiful. The show, on its own merit, is worth a spot in your collection. However, on Blu-ray it is taken once again to the next level. The BD release comes with two full-length feature commentaries, one with series creator Matt Weiner and a second on each episode (except for “The New Girl”) and another with various cast and series directors. There are also several full-length featurettes, including one dedicated to “An Era of Style” (the look and feel of the 1960s) and another dedicated to season two’s main story line, “The Birth of an Independent Woman.” All-in-all, this show is one of the most rewarding experiences on television — and the Blu-ray release fits the bill perfectly.

Blu-ray Exclusives? You don’t think a DVD can hold 22 hours of audio commentary, do you. Seriously, buy the Blu-ray.

Push

Pitch: Dakota Fanning and Chris Evans use mind powers to stop “an evil government organization,” in HD.

Why Rent? Push is a movie that I liked very much personally, but would have a tough time highly recommending to every one of you. Why? Because overall, it is simply a somewhat fresh story executed solidly with a mediocre, but up and coming cast. The visual effects are cool and the film, overall, impresses for being such an under-the-radar, unmarketed and underestimated sci-fi thriller. I would equate it to TV’s Heroes, but with more action. On Blu-ray, Push gets no help in the special features department. It features an audio commentary track, three minutes worth of deleted scenes and one behind the scene featurette about the “Science Behind the Fiction.” It just isn’t enough to push this in the buy column, but I would urge you to give this a shot as a rental.

Blu-ray Exclusives? The only ‘exclusive’ Blu-ray feature is BD-Live, which Warner Bros. doesn’t exactly do well (their user interface is clunky and not friendly at all), but the film does look nice in HD.

The Unborn

Pitch: Odette Yustman tries to exercise her demons, all while wearing her tightest fitting underwear.

Why Rent? Our own Rob Hunter — a fan of all things horror and ass — called The Unborn “a strong argument for David Goyer’s abortion.” I don’t know if I’d like to second such a remark, but I will say that this is not a movie worth buying — especially on Blu-ray. Fans of Odette Yustman’s cotton-clad behind (seen in the film’s theatrical poster) may want to rent it, but overall its not the best release. Combine the film’s questionable horror cred with a lacking in special features, and we’ve got ourselves a release that tows the line between rent and avoid. Due to lack of other options this week, I say rent — but do so at your own risk.

Blu-ray Exclusives? BD-Live only.

Tokyo

Pitch: A surreal triptych that addresses the timeless question of whether we shape our cities, or whether our cities shape us.

Why Rent? Sadly, this is the one major Blu-ray release this week that I would’ve liked to review in advance, but was unable. However, with directors Michel Gondry, Leos Carax and Bong Joon-Ho all lending their own unique visual styles to this project, I’m definitely putting it at the top of my Netflix que — and I would urge you to do much of the same.

Blu-ray Exclusives? There appear to be plenty of special features — one complete featurette for each of the three films within this release, but none of these features are unique to the Blu-ray disc.

The Jonas Bros. 3D Concert Experience

Pitch: The Jonas Brothers show off their abstinence rings, in HD.

Why Avoid? I am perfectly able to handle the inevitable backlash here.. At least, the backlash that exists in my mind from the Jonas Bros. fan base who, also in my mind, browse this site every day. In reality, if you like the Jonas Bros. you really shouldn’t be anywhere near FSR. Which is why this falls into the avoid category. Another reason to avoid: this release is painfully light on special features. It does sport an 89-minute extended edition of the film and (on Blu-ray) it is in 3D — a gimmick in this case — but overall it only comes with one behind the scenes featurette and no real Blu-ray exclusives beyond the 3D. For my money, I’m sticking with the Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Blu-ray and giving the Jonas Bros. one abstinence ring free finger as a salute. You can guess for yourselves which finger I’ll be using.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Four pairs of 3D glasses, a 3D edition of the film and a wicked headache should you decide to use them.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Pitch: That girl from Smallville tries to show off her ass-kicking skills, in HD.

Why Avoid? Easily the worst movie of the year thus far, The Legend of Chun-Li is one of the most aggressive failures I’ve seen on screen in a long time. There are moments when we, the unfortunate souls sent to behold this mess, can see that the filmmakers had some cool ideas in mind, but their are strung together with abysmal fight sequences, epically bad dialogue and a overall story arc that just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It doesn’t matter that the Blu-ray release has a ton of special features and it has a solid audio mix — the movie is that bad. If you choose to buy this title, there is nothing I can do for you — you are beyond the point of help.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Three discs worth of extras, a few of which are BD-Exclusive. Enough to make you almost forget about the awful film you just watched, but not quite.

The Haunting in Connecticut

Pitch: A young man dying of cancer begins to see some weird shit, in HD.

Why Avoid? Our own Robert Levin compared this film to an FX artist’s demo reel when he reviewed it theatrically, saying that is was nothing more than a series of decent practical effects that fails to ever deliver the slightest tangible, lasting effects. And to disagree with his assesment would be a crime, as he’s right — The Haunting in Connecticut is a very flat horror experience, one that never gets anywhere near you, let alone under your skin. The BD release comes with a few solid special features, but once again, there is no salvation in bonus features here.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Features Lionsgate-Live functionality that allows you access to widgets — that you don’t really need on your damn Blu-ray player. It also sports a digital copy, which makes up the second disc. Le sigh…

What are you buying on Blu-ray this week?

This Week In Blu-ray: Confessions of a Blu-ray Shopaholic

Neil Miller — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:25:39 +0000

Like Vanilla Ice, I’m back again with new smooth sounds for This Week in Blu-ray. Only a few days late this week, so it would appear as if things are improving. Lucky for all of us, this week’s Blu-ray selection is all over the map — mostly on the South side where titles go to be rented or avoided, so I’m not too worried about it. However, if you’re a fan of average films in above average resolutions, this week’s selection is for you.

Waltz with Bashir

Pitch: An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

Why Buy? One of the most visually stunning and inventive films of last year, Waltz with Bashir seems to be an obvious choice this week. This is what the Blu-ray format is really for, showing off brilliant films in your home in the best possible resolution. It is not only a beautiful, but a touching film as well. It’s a creative hybrid documentary and animated film, Waltz tells a harrowing story of the invation of Lebanon in a way that is not only interesting, but at times entertaining. On Blu-ray, it is assisted by a beautiful transfer and some awesome special features as well. And even though Blu-ray exclusive features are sparse, the entire package works quite well.

Blu-ray Exclusives? BD-Live is the only real Blu-ray exclusives.

Pink Panther 2

Pitch: Inspector Clouseau joins a ‘dream team’ of inspectors tasked to find the diabolical thief known as The Tornado, in HD.

Why Rent? For such a painstakingly average film, the second Pink Panther film does get quite a few laughs. Most of its success can be attributed to the film’s wonderful cast, including the likes of Steve Martin, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina and John Cleese. A cast like this can’t help but get some laughs, even when they’re being absurd. Speaking of absurdity, Steve Martin is at the height of absurdity (and comical racism), while co-star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is at the height of hotness. It all makes the movie worth watching. A side note: As someone who is a huge fan of CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour, I must say that her cameo alone had me sticking with this film for the entirety of its runtime. That, and Steve Martin still gets laughs. Did I mention that?

Blu-ray Exclusives? Want to know how much fun it is make a silly movie like this? Check out the sick amount of special features on this 2-disc set. Of course, the real gem here is the second disc, which includes 27 classic Pink Panther cartoons. They’re not in high definition, nor are they exclusive, but they make this release worth buying.

Inkheart

Pitch: Brendan Fraser and a miscellaneous child go on a literary adventure, in HD.

Why Rent? This week’s selection of painfully mediocre movies continues with this better than average (but not by much) family adventure. It features a really great cast, including Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, Jim Broadbent and Paul Bettany. It’s all anchored by Brendan Fraser, who is exactly what you would expect he might be in such a film. It has inventive moments and will entertain the kids, making it prime for a rental. As a Blu-ray, this release does feature both Blu-ray and regular DVD versions of the film, something that is great if you’re a family film collector. It also has a ton of special features, all of which are in HD. Overall, its not the best release you’ll see all year, but definitely one worth checking out with the kids.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Pitch: Isla Fischer goes shopping, in HD.

Why Rent? The intense mediocrity continues this week as the hot, funny girl from Wedding Crashers comes in with her own little comedy. In his review of the film’s theatrical release, Kevin Carr said that “Fisher makes this movie work, and she’s proving herself as an adorable screen presence, likely to be the next Reese Witherspoon. Fisher’s goofy attitude makes the fluffy story bearable, and her knack for comedy works, at least in the first part of the film.” And I would concur, she’s a funny gal. Which is what makes this worth a spot on your Netflix queue. As well, of all the Blu-ray releases this week, this one actually has the best special feature selection. It’s not the most interesting stuff, but at least they put in the effort to make the Blu-ray solid for those who like the film and want to pick it up. And if you’re into light, funny romantic comedy fair, this is at least worth a rental.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Some good stuff — an extra behind the scenes featurette, and two special music videos from Jordyn Taylor and Trey Songz.

The Greatest Game Ever Played

Pitch: Shia LaBeouf can act, and play golf in the 1800s, in HD.

Why Rent? A highly underrated film, The Greatest Game Ever Played will have you forgetting about Shia LaBeouf’s most recent conquests and hearkening back to a time when the kid could just plain act. In this film — one of the better golf movies in the modern era (post-Caddyshack), LaBeouf plays Francis Ouimett, an amateur golfer from the working class section of Boston who uses his natural talent to compete with the world’s greatest golfer, a Brit named Harry Vardon (Stephane Dillane). It’s a pretty run-of-the-mill heartwarmer, but the performances and the way that director Bill Paxton inventively executes some of the actual golf scenes make it an above average sports hero tale.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Sadly none, which is why this isn’t in the buy section. If you haven’t seen it, rent it on Blu-ray. If you have seen it, I’d give it a pass.

The Code

Pitch: Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas steal some Faberge eggs, in HD.

Why Avoid? My how director Mimi Leder (Deep Impact) has fallen. Ok, so maybe the drop from the height of making the second biggest asteroid destruction film of 1998, but hey, at least she’s still working with Morgan Freeman. This time Freeman is a high-class art thief who teams up with a rival thief (Banderas) to steal some Faberge eggs. It’s a movie that’s full of deceit, intrigue, bad dialogue and zzzz… That’s about as far as I got. There’s a reason why these things go straight to DVD — and it isn’t because they’re ‘too hot’ for the big screen. Sadly, even this wannabe actioner can’t deliver enough bullets in the end to keep its minuscule audience focused, leaving us wondering why they even spent the money to go Blu-ray in the first place.

Blu-ray Exclusives? No Blu-ray exclusive special features.. except the packaging, it’s blue.

Dragon Hunters

Pitch: An animated adventure that involves a little girl tagging along with some serious dragon hunters, in HD.

Why Avoid? While this movie has a few really cool CGI moments, at times it falls somewhere in with the best of computer animation from 1998 — like the absolute best, but of 1998. There are a lot of CGI movies these days in which we are able to get lost in the animation, no matter how far away from reality it may be. Think Shrek or anything from the Pixar library. Where Dragon Hunters falls short is in execution of story, making it a completely digestible and forgettable release. Adding to the temporarily impressive, but completely dismissible nature of the film itself is the minimal special feature selection. We get one interview with star Forest Whitaker, which only takes up about 4 minutes of your day, another featurette about the animation and a BonusView storyboard presentation. The storyboards would’ve been way cooler, if this film had more interesting story.

Blu-ray Exclusives? The BonusView is cool, but again, I never got interested enough in the story to have a need for it.

What do you think of the new format for This Week in Blu-ray? Also, what are you buying this week?

This Week in Blu-ray: The Backlog Reduction Exercise

Neil Miller — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:42:37 +0000

Welcome to the ever-changing face of my Blu-ray column. Based on my theory of things, eventually I will find a format that can be (a) consistently written in time for Tuesday’s new releases and (b) something that people actually want to read. In this instance — version 4.0 for those keeping count — we’ve decided to match the format of ‘This Week in Blu-ray’ to Rob Hunter’s weekly column DVDs I Bought This Week, which happens to be one of the most popular columns on the site. Why? Because people like their DVD reviews clear, concise and most of all, quick to the punch.

This week I am pleased to bring you the most epic Blu-ray report in the history of my musings about the format. As you may have noted, I’ve taken the past two weeks off and have missed quite a few titles. So I’m playing catch up — this wee’s report will not only include today’s releases (such as Friday the 13th, Lost Seasons 1 & 2, Ghostbusters, Dr. Strangelove, etc.) it will also include some of the best and worst from the past two weeks. Then next week — hopefully — we will be back on track.

With that in mind, here is This Week in Blu-ray (bonus credit if you make it all the way to the end).

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Pitch: Discover all the reasons why you loved the Cold War, in HD.

Why Buy? “If you try any preversions in there, I’ll blow your head off.” Did you know that Stanley Kubrick’s great Peter Sellers driven comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was originally written as a drama? Yeah, I learned that in one of the several long, deeply fascinating behind the scenes featurettes on this special edition Blu-ray release. If there were a ‘pick of the week’ in my column, this would be it hands down. Love the movie, can’t get enough of the special features — actually, there is so much supplemental material here that I almost couldn’t get through it — and as far as HD transfers go, this is the best looking pre-1980 film I’ve seen since I reviewed Dr. No on Blu-ray. Also, it comes with this sweet booklet with additional information and stills from in and around the production. If you like Dr. Strangelove, this is your definitive edition.

Blu-ray Exclusives? An awesome — I repeat, awesome — picture-in-picture and pop-up trivia track that can be turned on while you watch the movie. If love for inanimate objects really existed, I would be courting this release with an unnecessary fervor.

Defiance

Pitch: Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber play Polish brothers just trying to keep out of trouble as the Nazis invade, in HD.

Why Buy? Put simply, this is a great film. A truly well-executed World War II drama about brotherhood and true self sacrifice. A harrowing story of three brothers who really did save hundreds of their countrymen from Nazi tyranny. The film, directed by Edward Zwick, looks beautiful on Blu-ray, its gritty aesthetic shining through to complement perfectly its gut-wrenching story. The special features selection appears light, but it packs a definite punch. There are two amazing featurettes that include interviews with some of the real survivors of the events involving the Bielski brothers — both of which are very touching and fascinating. This is one story that you will want to hear more about, and the Blu-ray release does a solid job of filling you in.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Special features are in HD, but beyond that it’s dry out there, folks. I’m still recommending this one though, based on quality of film and visuals.

Weeds: Season 4

Pitch: Nancy Botwin, queen of green, deals with her life, in HD.

Why Buy? One of the best seasons of one of my absolute favorite shows — which is mostly due to the razor sharp writing and the inclusion of Mary Louise Parker naked. The season is a must have. The Blu-ray release is pretty standard. Though I would urge you to ignore the mediocre level of special features and focus on how great MLP looks in high definition. The 3-disc set does include several featurettes with cast interviews and a gag reel that make me laugh — three or four times.

Blu-ray Exclusives? There is a set of ‘BonusView’ commentary with Kevin Nealon (Doug) and Justin Kirk (Andy) that is, to say the least, entertaining. A special side note: this release is packaged using 100% post-consumer recycled paper and plastic water bottles. Keeping it green, if you know what I mean.

Gran Torino

Pitch: Clint Eastwood urges young Asian American kids to get off his lawn, in HD.

Why Buy? I’m pretty sure that if you don’t buy this Blu-ray, Clint Eastwood will drive his Gran Torino to your home and beat your ass. And he’s really old, so save yourself the embarrassment of being whipped by a grumpy old guy and go pick it up. Other reasons why you shouldbe all up on this release: Clint Eastwood’s acting, Clint Eastwood’s directing, Clint Eastwood’s singing during the closing credits (oh yeah, it’s there). Also, I would urge you to get more Clint Eastwood in the two wicked cool special featurettes included in this ’special edition’. The movie is an intense work of Eastwood greatness, the Blu-ray makes it looks sharp and the features bring the experience full circle. What more do you need?

Blu-ray Exclusives? There is an entire exclusive BD featurette called ‘The Eastwood Way: Exploring the Actor/Director’s Filmmaking Process Up Close’ — yeah, that is exactly as rad as it sounds.

Friday the 13th: Killer Cut

Pitch: Warner Bros. brings the legend back to life — with special features, in HD.

Why Buy? If you’re a fan of special features and the owner of a Blu-ray player, this is probably the easiest choice of the week. There are a few major Blu-ray exclusive features on this particular disc, including an entire behind the scenes featurette, which comes complete with laugh-out-loud moments in interviews with some of the film’s young cast. Lets just say that when an actor says, “I like working with Marcus Nispel because he tells you what he wants,” it makes me giggle. The rest of the featurette is cool, however. As well, I’m a big fan of the ‘7 Best Kills’ feature that allows you to revisit the moments when your favorite characters are killed. That’s something I haven’t seen before and is quite cool. Not to be forgotten is the fact that this ‘Killer Cut’ adds a few minutes to the film. Nothing major, just some extra debauchery.

Blu-ray Exclusives? In addition to the exclusive featurette mentioned above there is also a PIP trivia track that is neat. There is also a trailer for Trick ‘r Treat which may be worth the purchase of the Blu-ray on its own… I’m just saying.

Burn Notice: Season 2

Pitch: ‘Burned’ spy Michael Weston is back, with hottie sidekick Fiona and funnyman Bruce Campbell, in HD.

Why Buy? If there’s one thing I’ve learned about being a spy, it is that if you get burned — you always stick around for the second season. And if you can get that second season on Blu-ray, you should always do that. Jeffrey Donovan is a sharp dressed agent of espionage in the exciting, fast-paced and fun second season of one of the best spy shows to hit the airwaves in a long, long time. And if that wasn’t enough, the show looks stellar in high definition — its well-known sharp visual style basking in the glory of 1080p. The only downside here is a slim selection of special features — I mean, why are there only commentary tracks on ’select episodes’, wasn’t there enough room on those gigantic BD discs? Either way, this one is in the buy column — if you’re buying Blu-ray, you need to see this show.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Gabrielle Anwar looks hot in HD… does that count?

Miracle

Pitch: One of the greatest sports movies of all-time, in HD.

Why Buy? I know that it is a bold claim to say that this is one of the ‘greatest sports movies of all-time,’ but for me it absolutely is. Director Gavin O’Connor perfectly captures the swirls of emotion that surrounded the journey of the 1980 United States Men’s hockey team with an obvious reverence and an unmatched attention to detail. He also places Kurt Russell in a position where he can deliver one of his career best performances as legendary coach Herb Brooks. The film is vibrant, incredible intense and in the end, a beautiful tribute to a moment that will long be remembered by hockey fans — and an entire nation of people — as one of the pivotal moments in American sports history. It was more than a game, and this movie captures that sentiment perfectly.

Blu-ray Exclusives? The Blu-ray may not have any major ‘exclusive’ special features, but this movie does look and sound great. It has plenty of special features (all of which were on the DVD release), but overall it’s really just the pace and energy of this film that shine through in High Definition.

Revolutionary Road

Pitch: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett are back again. This time, Jack and Rose are having some major marital problems.

Why Rent? The first time I was able to take in this Sam Mendes directed drama, it was in the presence of my dear mom. And as many of you know, my mom is quite the film connoisseur, so her opinions on film get a lot of mileage around here (aka don’t diss my mom, commenters). Anyway, I remember her telling me about how this film made her feel uncomfortable, having grown up as a child in the 50s/60s and seen the way suburbia ate away at people. And she’s right, it is an incredibly torturous look at the errosion of love, the letting go of dreams and ultimately the destruction of a marriage. It is quite possibly one of the best films of 2008, but it certainly isn’t the sort of film you watch more than once. So rent it, rent it on Blu-ray to see the vibrant world that Mendes has created around this sad, depressing story. But trust me, this is a ’see it once and done’ kinda movie.

Blu-ray Exclusives? All three of the special features (2 featurettes and 1 set of deleted scenes) are presented in HD, but beyond that there’s nothing.

Direct Contact

Pitch: Dolph Lundgren is back to break someone again again, in HD.

Why Rent? If you’re a fan of explosions, this movie has what your heart of hearts needs. Mr. Lundgren may not be the same astute, stone-faced mother that he was back in the days of Rocky IV, but he certainly hasn’t lost too much of a step in the direct-to-DVD action game. While Steven Seagal is getting chubby (and oddly Russian) and JCVD is off being artsy fartsy, the Dolphster is still kickin’ ass and taking names. This time he’s playing an American soldier/convict who has to beat some Russian ass. Meditate on that. If you love b-movie-splosions galore and massive rallies of gunfire all up in your home entertainment system, this is a great rental.

Blu-ray Exclusives? You would think that a movie made for DVD and Blu-ray would have some solid special features. It doesn’t.

Morning Light

Pitch: Fifteen slightly bratty rookie sailors take a dangerous ride on the open seas.

Why Rent? The danger in a documentary like this — a tale of 15 rookie brats who want to take a wild 2,200 mile boat ride — is that it is possible to put too much focus on the straight-out-of-the-OC subjects and not enough on the beauty of the trip, but director Mark Monroe has accomplished something special — an MTV-generation documentary that looks and feels and feels anything but. Morning Light isn’t the Real World on a boat, but a beautifully shot doc that should be a captivating ride for a family movie night. As a big supporter of feeding the next generation of kids healthy doses of fantasy and reality in their early cinematic lives, I approve of you renting this and sitting the kids down for an adventure that actually happens in the world. As well, this movie looks great in HD.

Blu-ray Exclusives? A few behind the scenes features, none of which are exclusive to Blu-ray. Sad times.

Lost: Season 1

Pitch: Crash land on a mysterious island for the first time, in HD.

Why Rent? It is quite a thing to be thinking about Lost so soon after its fifth season ended in such an epic way, but how can we really resist going back to the beginning? Personally, the biggest reason why this particular set excited me was the opportunity to go back and view the show’s pilot in HD, something that I was unable to do back in the day. The visual construction of that episode by director J.J. Abrams and D.P. Larry Fong (Watchmen) is brilliant — it is something that exists through the first two seasons but seems to go away somewhere in season three. On Blu-ray, season one looks and sounds great and the nostalgia of those fateful first days on the island are enough. The additional special features sound like a lot — 8 additional hours — but in the end it doesn’t feel like much. Especially if you’re like me and you’ve already seen those 8 hours of bonus features on the DVD release.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Season Play (which doesn’t actually do anything worthwhile) and ’seamless menus’… really? This is why it’s in the rent column.

Lost: Season 2

Pitch: Go back to the island, in HD.

Why Rent? Any die hard Lost fan might tell you “it gets a little weird in season two” and they might be right, but I’m personally a fan of the season when ‘The Others’ finally become the threat that we all know them to be nowadays. And as I mentioned above, there is a definite visual difference between seasons 1 and 2 and the rest of the seasons — except maybe season 4. Either way, the fact that you need to focus on is that season two is worth seeing again in HD. This disc set, like the season one set that is hitting shelves at the same time, is not exactly something worth spending coin on, as it features a lot (and by a lot, I mean all) of the special features being rehashed from the original DVD release. It makes me sad.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Season Play (which doesn’t actually do anything worthwhile) and ’seamless menus’… really? Again, why it’s in the rent column.

He’s Just Not That Into You

Pitch: A popular self-help book becomes a movie with popular faces but no real story.

Why Avoid? I feel as if I must defer to my comrade Dr. Cole Abaius’ review of this film, in which he so eloquently called it “cinematic equivalent of an artist crapping into a jar, labeling it “100% Pure Artist’s Shit,” and selling it to the highest bidder just because of whose DNA is fermenting inside.” He gets bonus points for the DNA fermentation reference. What I know is that this whole film is a massive attack of cliché — and Blu-ray isn’t helping it. Suck is suck, even in high definition.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Oooh, BD-Live. Really exciting, I assure you. Hopefully you won’t find out for yourself.

Friday the 13: Part 2

Pitch: Twice the terror in the trip back to Camp Crystal Lake.

Why Avoid? This is where it really began — when they figured out just how far they could really go with this Jason franchise. And even though this is one of the most underrated films of the franchise, it really didn’t get the best treatment on Blu-ray. A limited amount of special features — all in HD, luckily — but nothing beyond a few featurettes and the film’s theatrical trailer. No commentary (from anyone), no interactive features. I would think that fans of this movie and franchise would deserve more for their loyal dedication to such an iconic character. Jason deserves a better Blu-ray release, even if this is part 2.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Nothing that will make you want to go out and buy this release. As in, nothing at all.

Friday the 13th: Part 3 (3D)

Pitch: Meet Jason in a whole new dimension — the third dimension. Dun dun dun…

Why Avoid? For those of you who think that the 3D horror movie craze started this year with My Bloody Valentine 3D, then you might want to go back and check out Friday the 13th Part 3, which was made all the way back in 1982. And while it is fun and a little ridiculous — not to mention the kills, those are always fun — I’m still not sold on the whole ‘3D at home’ situation. It looks terrible on even the best HDTVs and there’s really no need to continue purchasing these types of films just for the novelty 3D. So unless you’re a major fan of this third installment, I would recommend you stay away.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Featurettes are in HD, but again, there’s nothing on this Blu-ray that didn’t exist on a previous DVD release.

The Cell 2

Pitch: A serial killer kills people, then brings them back so that he can kill them again.

Why Avoid? I must echo the strong sentiments of Mr. Robert Fure’s Coroner’s Report entry on this film, it is certainly dead on arrival. And as I’ve said so many times before, great special features cannot fix a bad movie. And as far as I can see, The Cell 2 doesn’t even take the shot at overcompensating with a buffet of special features. They let this thing wallow in it’s own sadness bath with a single behind the scenes featurette and some additional BD-Live content, none of which is even worth mentioning.

Blu-ray Exclusives? I’ve already fallen asleep… Are there more titles to talk about? Maybe.

Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal

Pitch: Hell hath no fury and let me buy your wife, in HD.

Why Avoid? Never has Glenn Close been so scary, Demi Moore has never been so hot, and Robert Redford has never been so desperate for a little nookie. These two films from director Adrian Lyne (Unfaithful) both seem to be along the same lines in their Blu-ray releases. The transfers both look great, the movies are still just as good as their were back in the late 80s/early 90s, and the special features are absent — to the point in which the Indecent Proposal disc comes complete with director commentary, and that’s it. The Fatal Attraction release has some additional special features, including a few interesting, but bloated featurettes and an alternate ending with an introduction from the director, but it’s not much better. If I had to recommend one of these — which I won’t, because they really are just collection filler at best — I would say that Fatal Attraction is the better Blu-ray release, even though I liked Indecent Proposal better as a film.

Blu-ray Exclusives? These movies are on the bottom of the bottom — what makes you think they have anything cool to offer?

What do you think of the new format for This Week in Blu-ray? Also, what are you buying this week?

This Week in Blu-ray: May 26, 2009

Neil Miller — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:03:36 +0000

Children of Men

Pitch: One of the most beautifully shot movies of the past 10 years, in HD.

Why Buy? Rob Hunter tried to gank this one from me in his weekly DVD column, stating that he just couldn’t resist putting this title in with those standard discs. And to me, that feels like a disservice to this release, as its yet another beautiful Blu-ray transfer. Alfonso Cuaron’s film has never looked so bleak and beautiful as it does in 1080p. On top of that, the disc comes stacked with a very solid amount of special features — including four great behind the scenes featurettes.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Picture in Picture U-Control commentary is very cool. Also, there are several commercials and advertisements from the world of 2027 that show you what life is like in this bleak future.

A Bug’s Life

Pitch: Pixar’s take on the epic adventure happening in your back yard every day, in HD.

Why Buy? If you’re long been a disciple of my opinions on Blu-ray — which is quite possible, as I’m great — then you know that I’ve got a wicked soft spot for anything Pixar does with the format. Their release of Ratatouille was gorgeous, their special edition of Wall-E was epic, and now that they’ve turned to bringing some older titles to HD, they are ready once again to rock our worlds. Up first: the look. A gorgeous film on the big screen made just as beautiful on Blu-ray. Also, tons of special features — even the frakking menus are creatively done. To be honest, I could sit back and watch the kids at Pixar do their thing for hours upon hours. If you’re a lover of the HD experience, this is a must-own.

Blu-ray Exclusives? One of the coolest BD-exclusive features that I’ve seen in a long time is ‘A Bug’s Life: The First Draft,’ in which John Lasseter intros several never-before-seen animated sequences from the film’s original story. Giving us the opportunity to see the alternate vision they had for the adventure of Flik and co. Also, there is a filmmaker roundtable that is cool, in which Lasseter and company sit around and reflect on the genesis of one of their finest works.

T2: Judgment Day (Skynet Edition)

Pitch: Young John Connor is in danger. And the only thing that can save him is the same Terminator that tried to kill his mom. Only this time, its in HD.

Why Buy? Have you ever tried to figure out what they mean when they say “a metric f*ckton”? I have, and up until the moment I cracked open my copy of T2: Skynet Edition, I was not really able to wrap my mind around the concept. But now I know — because this disc does, in fact, contain a metric f*ckton of special features. Over 8-hours of interactive behind the scenes special features. And normally this is where I talk about how I sat through 8-hours of special features so that you wouldn’t have to, but thats not true. Fact is, I sat through 8-hours of special features so that I could tell you that you should want to. The best feature is well, you’ll find out below…

Blu-ray Exclusives? Plenty of them. And the best of them is the picture-in-picture commentary with director James Cameron. In addition, there is also a storyboard mode that brings up storyboards as you watch the movie. This feature is rad on any BD release, but is even more awesome when we’re talking about one of the most badass sci-fi flicks of all-time. If you can’t jive with that, I’ve got no help for ya.

Valkyrie

Pitch: Tom Cruise as a Nazi who tries to kill Hitler, in HD.

Why Rent? The quality of this film is questionable. In fact, I believe that I pretty much panned the damn thing in my review back in December. There were problems with flow of the story, issues with the various accents held by all of the German characters in the films, and mostly just the tedious and trite nature of it all. But it also wasn’t a complete waste — director Bryan Singer did make a film that at times, looks really good. And that was one thing that rang true on my second look at the film on Blu-ray. Based on that, this gets an upgrade from ‘no effing way’ to ‘rent if you are interested’. As well, there are plenty of special features on this disc, which should keep you occupied like France in the 40s.

Blu-ray Exclusives? No real Blu-ray exclusive special features here — but remember, I’m recommending ‘rent’ based on the way the film looks in HD, not because it has great picture-in-picture commentary (which sadly, it doesn’t).

Powder Blue

Pitch: Jessica Biel gets naked, in HD.

Why Rent? Because lets face it, there’s nothing that I can do to steer you away from wanting to see Jessica Biel’s soon-to-be-infamous stripper scene. And yes, it ends with her showing off those goods that are normally reserved for dick boxing pop stars. And while that may seem worth it, this movie is otherwise mediocre at best. It is a solid B-movie effort in making a love letter to loneliness. Its a flat movie that is very much a first feature, ever-reaching for that edgy visual tone but never quite getting there. However, did I mention the Jessica Biel nudity?

Blu-ray Exclusives? The special features overall are very barebones (1 “making of” featurette, a photo gallery and audio commentary), leaving the Blu-ray exclusives parked at zero.

My Bloody Valentine 3D

The Pitch: A rehashing of that age-old tale of a tragically killed miner and his Valentine’s Day present for the town of Harmony, in HD.

Why Rent? Because this movie is fun, people. Who doesn’t love a little pick-axe action? Also, this is probably one of the better instances of 3D on Blu-ray. For the most part, wearing 3D glasses and trying to stare at your 42″ TV is absurd, usually ending in a headache and a desire to punch a small child — I learned this the hard way during this past year’s Superbowl. Thanks, SoBe commercials. But this time around it works a little bit better, and for the most part this movie is fun in any number of dimensions. It is also a pretty well loaded Blu-ray release, featuring several cool featurettes — including one specially made for our own Robert Fure called “Sex, Blood and Screams.” And finally, the commentary track from director Patrick Lussier and co-writer Todd Farmer is pretty fun.

Blu-ray Exclusives? The 3D looks much better on Blu-ray, I’m sure of that. There are also a few BD-live features that are, for the most part, just okay.

Inside Man

Pitch: Spike Lee’s awesome bank robbery joint explodes with minimal special features, in HD.

Why Avoid? Because I think we can all agree that even though this movie is great, we don’t need to shell out $30 to pick up yet another copy if it isn’t going to offer us anything new and exciting. This disc comes with the same commentary track, same deleted scenes and same behind the scenes featurette as the DVD release. Why, Universal, why? The only potentially attractive thing about this release is that the film is Spike Lee’s best looking work, so if you don’t own it you might be the perfect (albeit only) candidate for a Blu-ray pickup.

Blu-ray Exclusives? They were nice enough to include the BD-Live functionality, which is sure to lead you down the long, slippery slope toward confusion, frustration and the damning of the internet in general.

Field of Dreams

Pitch: A movie we love (a fact that cannot be argued), a lean buffet of special features, in HD.

Why Avoid? Don’t get me wrong — I love Field of Dreams. It is one of those films that oh-so-perfectly captures that American spirit of nostalgia and combines it with a classic American pastime. Unfortunately, the lack of solid extras (or anything new for that matter) on this Blu-ray release have me thinking about rekindling my favorite pastime: using Blu-ray discs for skeet shooting practice.

Blu-ray Exclusives? Once again, a half-assed attempt at making us feel like we’re getting our money’s worth with the addition of BD-Live. Note to people who think that works: it doesn’t.

What do you think of the new format for This Week in Blu-ray?

Blu-ray Report: Benjamin Button, Serial Killers and Tons of Travolta

Neil Miller — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:31:41 +0000

This week’s Blu-ray Report is brought to you by procrastination. But I hope that those of you who are in love with Blu-ray are ready, because over the course of the next two days you are about to get a major double dose of Blu-ray awesomeness. Today’s special edition of my weekly column will focus on the best of last week’s releases, including one of the more interesting Blu-ray releases of the year so far: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

And then later — as in later in the week — I will drop another big update on you with reviews of the Underworld trilogy, the Liam Neeson actioner Taken and assuming I can get my hands on a copy, the two major Star Trek movie releases. But for now, lets just stick to last week’s releases.

Creme of the Crop: Tuesday May 5

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

We begin this week with the biggest release of the week, biggest on a few different levels. For one, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the highest profile release of the week. One of the best films of 2008, hands down. And if you are like me you have been waiting for the DVD for at least one very important reason: we all want to see how director David Fincher and company pulled off what can only be called movie magic, the extreme aging of actor Brad Pitt so that he could play Benjamin Button as a young old guy. It was a breathtaking effect that set this film apart from others visually, and the DVD was meant to deliver that.

And it does — in 2-disc Criterion Blu-ray — but there’s a catch. The catch is that all of the special features, about 3 hours worth, come in one big documentary style featurette. Housed on its own disc, this featurette is probably the most interesting and beautiful time suck I’ve ever seen. There are moments when it is really dry, specifically the first of the three segments in which producers spend time talking inside baseball about the long gestation period for this film (which is interesting to someone in my line of work, but not necessarily interesting for everyone). But in the second and third segments, where David Fincher and others begin to talk about the process of bringing Ben Button to life, we get some of the most awe-inspiring DVD extras I’ve seen so far this year. In a simple answer, this is one of those Blu-rays that you should have in your collection. Visually stunning, loaded with attention to detail and filled with a lot of interesting little tidbits about what goes into making a great film, David Fincher style.

Grease

Aside from the fact that it proves my theory about the nice girl v. the nice girl gone bad — as in, you know that Olivia Newton John looked hotter in her Sanda D. days than she did at the end — Grease is a fantastic film. Watching it again reminded me of how groovy it was back in the day, when I saw it as a kid. And on Blu-ray, it looks better than it ever has. It is crisp and sharp and as bright and vibrant as ever, and it’s not just the soundtrack we’re talking about here.

The sad part is that there aren’t any additional Blu-ray specific features with this release — it is identical to the ‘Rockin’ Rydell Edition’ DVD that was released last year. If you picked that up, then you know which edition I’m talking about — it was the one that came wrapped in its own leather jacket. If you have that previous edition, you may want to steer clear of a re-buy on Blu-ray. Unless of course, you are trying to pad your Blu-ray collection or, like me, you love having classic films with great HD transfers in your collection.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Once again we have a simple formula: great flick, mediocre Blu-ray release. As with Grease above, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a slick, well-transfered slice of nostalgia that has me remembering fondly the days when Matthew Broderick was really funny. And upon watching it again on Blu-ray, I realized that this is yet another film that deals with some darker issues — especially in the story of Cameron (played by Alan Ruck). It is the ultimate teen escape flick, a definitively icon romp through slackerdom. And who can argue with the drawing power of that situation.

As for the Blu-ray and its special features, we’ve got all sorts of features — none of which we haven’t seen before. Alas, there are a few solid featurettes, including a casting featurette and “The World According to Ben Stein,” in which the iconic monotone talks at great length about his 5 minutes of Bueller fame. Beyond that, the special feature lover among you will be calling “Bueller… Bueller…” as you meander around this release searching for something that wasn’t on a previous DVD release. My recommendation: buyers be warned, this is a rental at best.

Saturday Night Fever

It must be John Travolta week on the Blu-ray market, because not only do we get a brilliant re-up of Grease, we also get an HD version of Saturday Night Fever, another classic Travolta dance-a-thon. A little darker, a lot edgier and super-sexier, Saturday Night Fever tells the story of lovable greaseball Tony Manero, paint salesman by day, disco dancing sensation by night. And all Tony needs is a little direction — which he finds in Stephanie, a sharp tongued gal who knows where her life is headed, and it isn’t exactly headed anywhere with him… yet.

This Blu-ray release knows where it is headed, and that is most likely into your collection. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a solid release of this film and while the transfer isn’t perfect — the picture quality of this film pales in comparison to Grease – the special features are solid. Director John Badham has a commentary track, there are several solid featurettes and there is even a 70s Discopedia — that’s right, terms to use in your every day life. If you need that, you need this Blu-ray. I would also recommend if you’re already a fan of the Fever.

Dexter (Season 2)

For those who follow my writings on all things film and television (all three of you — hi mom) you will note that my favorite television drama is Dexter, hands down. No other series delivers such exsquisite attention to character and story from week to week, and no other series delivers it with a smirk the way that showrunner Clyde Phillips does with this show. And in its second season, Dexter really came into its own moving from the Ice Truck Killer to the Bay Harbor Butcher, and diving much deeper into the mangled psyche of the show’s central character.

On Blu-ray, we’ve got a similar situation to the one we had when Dexter Season 1 hit Blu-ray back in January. It is a brilliant season of a brilliant show, played out brilliantly in high definition. Then we get to the sad-sack special features line-up and find that the most interesting thing going on is that it includes the first two episodes of the Showtime series The United States of Tara. It brings out a sigh in me, a die hard Dexter fan to the end. Though I will say this: if you don’t own Dexter season two on DVD (which came out in August ‘08), do yourself a favor and get it on Blu-ray. Otherwise just keep on rockin’ that DVD.

Incendiary

This is the one release that I wasn’t able to review — why, because my local retailer didn’t have it in stock when I went to make my purchase. And its likely that you would see similar problems should you take my word blindly and head out to pick up this film. It stars Michelle Williams as a woman who is having an affair with a younger man (Ewan McGregor) on the day that her husband and young son are killed in a terrorist attack on a London football game. The event unravels her world in ways that no one could have predicted. Its a really well-made drama, visually arresting and anchored by two stellar performances from Williams and McGregor. I would suggest giving it a rent at the very least.

Until later this week, stay classy Blu-ray buyers.

Film School Rejects » This Week in Blu-ray

This Week in Blu-ray: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Related Reading:

The Wait is Over: An In-Depth Review of Star Trek on Blu-ray

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray Special Report: Pixar’s Up Invasion

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: Revenge of the Fallen Releases

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: Get Dragged to Hell in HD

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: It’s Never to Early to Trick ‘r Treat

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: Time to Observe, And Report

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: A High Definition Army of Darkness

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: A Trip to Adventureland

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: Catching Up, Again

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: Buy Blu For All Mankind

Related Reading:

This Week In Blu-ray: Confessions of a Blu-ray Shopaholic

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: The Backlog Reduction Exercise

Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal

Related Reading:

This Week in Blu-ray: May 26, 2009

Related Reading:

Blu-ray Report: Benjamin Button, Serial Killers and Tons of Travolta

Creme of the Crop: Tuesday May 5

Related Reading: