This Week in Blu-ray is back with another big week of releases. This is the time of year when a lot of great fall releases, Oscar contenders new and old, and even a few summer blockbusters going for the double-dip get their more impressive debuts on the mother of all HD formats. This week we get to explore my personal favorite film of 2011, as well as some fantastic re-releases of classic films like To Kill a Mockingbird and Malcolm X. There will also be a discussion of The Thing (2011), albeit a brief one.

Drive

In recent interviews, director Nicolas Winding Refn has promised fans that a fully loaded edition of Drive would eventually make its way to Blu-ray, with plenty of extras, interviews and other special features. While I, like you, find that to be a nice idea, it’s also hard to overlook the urgency of getting 2011′s best film into my collection as soon as possible. And much to my surprise, this Blu-ray release is solid. Ryan Gosling is still Driver, he’s still driving fast and fighting for the girl, and he’s still punching out Christina Hendricks and stomping dudes flat in elevators in between driving scenes backed by the pulsing score of Cliff Martinez. There’s also some special treats. No, not a toothpick. Although I’d take it. This release comes complete with four featurettes, all worthy of your time, and a documentary-length interview with the film’s director. It’s an efficient package that, like the film to which it’s attached, gets the job done with great rhythm and style. To pass on this release would be a crime against men, women and children everywhere.

To Kill a Mockingbird: 50th Anniversary Edition

The Pitch: Remember kids, it’s a sin to love a white woman. Wait, no, I got that wrong…

Why Buy? All jokes aside, To Kill a Mockingbird may be one of American modern literature’s greatest classics. Two years after the Harper Lee book was published, star Gregory Peck and director Robert Mulligan brought the story to the big screen with all the racial tension and bravado it could possibly need. Now here we are 50 years later and Universal has completely restored the film for a Blu-ray release. and it’s never looked or sounded better. On top of the restoration, there’s a full-color book included in the collector’s edition packaging (as you’ll see below, it’s hard not to be a big fan of these hard-cover book style Blu-ray covers, even if they don’t fit quite right in some DVD storage shelving) and a number of extras that dive deep into the world of this classic, including a feature-length documentary. There’s also a sweet add-on about Universal’s effort to restore their classic films in celebration of the studio’s 100th anniversary. It’s the kind of thing cinema restoration tech junkies will love.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Limited 3D Edition

The Pitch: Remember that time I told you to wait for the super ultra mega edition release? This is that thing…

Why Buy? With his third and supposedly final Transformers movie, mega-director Michael Bay tightened up a lot of things that fans didn’t like about his second effort, Revenge of the Fallen, then he decided to go bigger, more bombastic and wildly scoped with a robot war that absolutely rips Chicago in half. For better or worse, but mostly for better, Dark of the Moon is a massive display of technical filmmaking prowess and ambitious visual spectacle. So why wouldn’t you have such a thing to test out your home theater setup? You would, in fact, because it’s exactly the kind of movie every home theater lover should have. That said, I’m hoping you took my advice from September and skipped the previous release of this title on Blu-ray. That release was a 2-disc, no extras set without the aid of Dark of the Moon‘s impressive 3D. This release, however, has everything. Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, a bunch of great special features, DVD, Digital Copy (including the option to skip the cumbersome Ultraviolet service and go right to an iTunes Digital Copy). Every moment is epic, even those where Michael Bay works hard to properly light Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s legs. The man’s got talent.

Malcolm X

The Pitch: Just in time to remind us that Black History Month starts tomorrow…

Why Buy? With their well-timed release, Warner Bros. has delivered a collector’s level edition of Spike Lee’s expansive story of one of the civil right’s movement’s most powerful icons. It doesn’t hurt that Lee is telling an incredibly interesting story about a monumentally fascinating man. It also doesn’t hurt that he gets an Oscar-caliber performance from Denzel Washington in the titular role. In aid of the film, the Blu-ray release is complete with a lively commentary track (Spike Lee is always interesting when he speaks, despite some of the things he says), deleted scenes with introductions from the director and a Making Of featurette. It’s all packaged in a Blu-ray book format that is a formidable collector’s piece, complete with vibrant red and black cover art. Oh right, and there’s a second DVD disc with the 1972 Oscar nominated documentary Malcolm X. Two movies for the price of one is never wrong, brothers and sisters.

In Time

The Pitch: Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried bring new meaning to the phrase “sexy time.”

Why Rent? Irony is defined as a movie called In Time that has pacing issues. Sadly, this film doesn’t present such irony, and it’s sort of a disappointment. The life of a Blu-ray critic is oft-made by the ability to bring in zingers like that. On the plus side, Andrew Niccol’s futuristic Robin Hood meets Bonnie and Clyde story set in a world where the only currency we have is the time left on digital arm clocks moves well, delivers some action and even brings a bit of sexy back. But enough about Amanda Seyfried. This slick thriller stands tall on a rather rocky narrative foundation, skipping exposition and going straight into its fast-paced on-the-run story. There’s nothing wrong with that, as it leaves less chance for big giant plot holes. Not so many holes here. Just Justin Timberlake solidly taking on an action lead role and the aforementioned Seyfried making doe-eyes at him while he does it. Beyond being a surprisingly entertaining film, the Blu-ray also adds a few worthwhile supplements. Not enough to kick it into Buy territory, but enough to say that it makes good use of what little time it has left. Get it?

Outrage: The Way of the Yakuza

The Pitch: Several families worth of Yakuza get really angry with each other. Violence ensues.

Why Rent? Have you ever had the urge to watch a bunch of Japanese men scream at each other, cut their own fingers off and then start shooting up the place? If so, then Takeshi Kitano has directed a movie for you. Outrage is the simple story of a major crime syndicate just trying to keep their territory under control. The only problem is that the job has been handed on down to a long-suffering subordinate officer who isn’t exactly towing the clan line anymore. Someone double crosses someone else. Someone gets shot. Another person gets stabbed. And you can see where this is going. The point is that when the film explodes with violence, don’t be surprised if pieces of brain tissue come flying out of your television and land on your plate of nachos. Because clearly you’d be eating nachos while watching such a ridiculously violent film, right? The Blu-ray is well stocked with supplements, so those brave souls who dig this kind of mayhem should probably just pay the money and own the Blu-ray. Everyone else should rent. And watch it with your grandmother, then report back.

Shakespeare in Love, Frida, The English Patient and The Piano

The Pitch: Lionsgate wants to sell you Miramax’s Oscar catalog all over again.

Why Rent? This one might go well for the completists among you, because that’s who a catalog blow-out like this is for. It makes sense, actually, for Lionsgate and Miramax to bring out some of their big Oscar guns in the weeks leading up to the golden guy’s big night. We know this because each of these releases comes with a large gold sticker on the front proclaiming the film to be an ‘Academy Award Winner.’ It also makes a bit of sense that these releases don’t add anything to previous releases. They’ve got the same extras with a bump in picture and sound quality. At least Shakespeare in Love comes packaged in an outer sleeve. At least it looks fancy. All pot-shots aside, these are decent releases and each of them look good during the film. Once the film is over, however, there isn’t much else to do with any of these Blus. Therefore, get yourself a bunch of them for a weekend rental, catch up on some Miramax Oscar history with Salma Hayek’s unibrow and then move on with your lives.

Dream House

The Pitch: Everything you saw in the Dream House trailer and nothing more.

Why Avoid? Quick, go watch the trailer for Dream House, then come right back. Alright, now that you’re back I have some great news: you just saved yourself 89 minutes of your movie-viewing life, because you no longer need to see Dream House in its full form. There’s nothing in the film beyond what is in the trailer that is either interesting, frightening or otherwise notable. My gut instinct is to say that during the process of deciding to to this movie, someone put Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts into a dream-like state and convinced them that it would be a good idea. For those who are still intent on picking this one up, the Blu-ray includes a scant four featurette selection that combine to form the amount of information you’re likely to get in an HBO First Look segment. You know, the ones you’d always see in between movies instead of commercials. And if you’re really dangerous, there is also PocketBlu and some other Universal release trailers via BD-Live.

The Thing (2011)

The Pitch: It’s one of those prequel/sequel/nonquel things, caught in the wild with unfinished CGI.

Why Avoid? Despite Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton giving their very best efforts under harsh circumstances, this film fails on so many levels it’s hard to keep count through the second act. There’s thematic flatness, narrative logic gaps and most importantly, there’s a big problem with the CGI monster. Not to mention the fact that we know what’s coming at every turn. So even though the Blu-ray shows off The Thing‘s aggressive sound mix perfectly, that can’t be counted as a good thing. Additional visual clarity also shows the effects to be less visually interesting than the practical wonders John Carpenter was working with when he made this movie in 1982. What ever happened to craftsmanship, anyway?

• 2-Headed Shark Attack (Asylum)
• Adaptation. (Image)
• The Big Year (20th Century Fox)
• Cold Mountain (Lionsgate)
• The Double (Image)
• Grand Canyon (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (Discovery Channel)
• Joe Somebody (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• The Mill and the Cross (Kino)
• Monkeybone (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Night Train Murders (Blue Underground)
• Nothing in Common (Image)
• Poirot: Series 1 (Acorn Media)
• Poirot: Series 2 (Acorn Media)
• The Scout (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Snow Buddies (Disney/Buena Vista)
• A Soldier’s Story (Image)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Next Level (Paramount)
• The Summer of Massacre (Breaking Glass)
• The Terrorists (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Texas Killing Fields (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Treasure Buddies (Disney/Buena Vista)

This Week in Blu-ray may be coming to you a few days later than usual, but fear not, as it was worth the wait. Fox and MGM decided to drop a number of great films on me at the last minute, meaning long hours of pouring over special features, drinking heavily and ultimately turning myself into a late-1970s Woody Allen character by the end. It was all worth it, as you’re about to experience 2500 words or so of the most full edition of this column we’ve seen in a long time. Plenty of unsung heroes of 2011, classics of yesteryear and boxing robots to go around. Also, Rob Hunter stops by for some cross-column reviewing with Rebecca.

50/50

In a week that will see the release of a bevy of classics coming to Blu-ray for the very first time, it would be a crime to overlook one of 2011′s most heartfelt works, complete with some ranged performances from the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Bryce Dallas Howard. Jonathan Levine (The Wackness), working from a script by Will Reiser based on a true story, tells the tale of Adam, a 27-year old guy who gets diagnosed with spinal cancer. Dealing with his overbearing friends, his smothering mother and a relationship that hangs on the edge, Adam must find a way to not only beat cancer, but all the situational drama it’s caused between him and those he cares about most. It’s funny, touching and full of memorable performances. Just the kind of thing that could beat Annie Hall to Pick of the Week, especially with a decent amount of special features on the Blu. Don’t let the tagline on the cover — “from the guys who brought you Superbad” — that’s just salesmanship on Summit’s part. This one has far more heart than you’d ever expect.

Wings (1927)

The Pitch: It’s a tale as old as time, just like this movie.

Why Buy? Paramount is making a big deal of the fact that Wings is the first Oscar Best Picture winner, and rightfully so. The 1927 film was, in fact, the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It’s also a story that has been told and retold several times since: two young men, one rich and one middle class, fall in love with the same woman, then get sent off to become World War I fighter pilots. Hilarity ensues. The kicker here is that for a film created in the mid-1920s, it sure looks swell in 1080p. Some Blu-ray buyers are all about the crisp, clean presentation of today’s modern movies. But if you’re that special breed that also loves seeing the cracks and imperfections in a film preserved from a time long gone, presented as perfectly as possible in HD, then this one will feel right at home in your collection. I’m also absolutely in love with the cover art, which adds a bit of celebratory flair to Paramount’s excitement over this particular release. We should all be so excited about this well-aged beauty.

Rebecca

The Pitch: Joan Fontaine is my black & white crush. I would travel through time for this woman…

Why Buy? A young woman (the lovely Joan Fontaine) is drawn into a relationship with a mysterious and wealthy widow (Laurence Olivier), and when the two get married she discovers the secret behind his enigmatic behavior and the possible murder of his dead wife. Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s bestseller was the director’s first Hollywood film, and it remains somewhat of an odd duck on his resume. His vision was compromised at every turn by uber-producer David O. Selznick, and the result is a film that never quite feels Hitchcockian. Still, the movie is a compelling gothic mystery (that went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars) and features three strong and charismatic lead performances. Especially from Fontaine. MGM’s new Blu has a solid, albeit predictably unremarkable transfer, and includes a handful of special features that offer fascinating insight into the film’s production. - Rob Hunter

Annie Hall

The Pitch: Boy meets girl, girl discovers that boy is Woody Allen, somehow girl sticks around for a while.

Why Buy? Believe it or not, I had never before seen Annie Hall. We all have our detestable cinematic blind spots, and one of mine happens to be much of Woody Allen’s pre-2000 filmography. That said, I’m here to report to you 35 years after the release of the film in question that it is quite good. Woody Allen shines as the neurotic Alvy Singer, a comedian who is convinced that life is meant to be miserable. Even when he meets and dates the love of his life, Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), he still seems intent on being miserable. So she leaves. And he wises up for a moment and follows her, and learns a lesson or two along the way. It’s a charming film that proves Woody Allen to be one charismatic fella, and on Blu-ray it looks darn good for its age. A little digital noise here and there will only appear to those with the keenest of eyes. For everyone else, it will look like you’re seeing Annie Hall for the first time all over again. Unless, like me, you’re seeing it for the first time, period. The only wish, of course, would be something in the way of extras. For something labeled as part of ‘The Woody Allen Collection’, you’d think we’d at least get a few extras. Sadly, there are none. That shouldn’t stop you, however, from adding this to your Woody Allen collection.

Notorious (1946) and Spellbound

The Pitch: Two Alfred Hitchcock movies in glorious HD.

Why Buy? First, to answer your initial question: why put these two together? For one, they are kindred spirits, both in the way they were cast and executed by the master himself and in the way they are being released on Blu-ray. Both star Ingrid Bergman. In Spellbound, she’s a psychiatrist who falls for one of colleagues, only to find out later that he may not be a psychiatrist after all, but an amnesiac who was once a murderer. In Notorious, she is a troubled beauty who is recruited by Cary Grant to help him infiltrate a German spy ring in post-war Rio. And of course, like any of us, she falls in love with Cary Grant. To their equal credit, both Blu-rays are presented with shiny 1080p transfers. Presented in their original full frame aspect, they have a clarity that is unexpected from what otherwise feels like a catalog release. No special box art, no big “Special Limited Collectors Edition” taglines, just a good transfer and a buffet of special features. That’s exactly what one might hope to get from such a release. And exactly why you’d be wise to invest your money in this version before MGM wises up and releases the same thing with new cover art for $10 more.

Manhattan

The Pitch: Woody Allen falls for Diane Keaton… again.

Why Buy? Yet another brilliant Woody Allen movie that I had unintentionally ignored up to this point. Allen takes his beloved town into the frame of black and white for this 1979 folly of sex, romance and neurosis. He plays Isaac, a guy who hates his job, has a 17-year old girlfriend, a lesbian ex-wife who’s writing a tell-all book about him and a new love interest in Mary (Keaton), a sexy, intelligent and challenging new conquest. It’s another of those situations in which Woody Allen chases love down the rabbit hole, kicking and screaming about it all the way. But it’s so effortlessly breathtaking visually that it’s impossible not to get wrapped up in the majesty of Manhattan. Like Annie Hall, Manhattan on Blu-ray is a bittersweet pill. It’s a gorgeous movie transferred with considerable effort to the high definition medium. But there are no supplements to speak of. That said, it’s the kind of delightful film that any film fan should own.

Due to its wild length, this week’s edition is broken up into two pages. On page two, you’ll see all the titles I’d buy or avoid, plus all the titles that weren’t reviewed, but still released.

This week provides another interesting round of Blu-ray releases. Just before George Lucas delivers Red Tails, HBO is ready to release the original — and great, if you ask me — Tuskegee Airmen film they produced years ago. But that’s not getting a review this week, as a review copy was not available. Notable as it may be, that original Tuskegee film doesn’t hold a candle to Ryan Gosling’s political career, or Criterion’s take on Steven Soderbergh’s drug trade epic, or even Ed O’Neill duking out with a pretentious kid on the way home for the holidays. It’s an exciting week, despite the fact that we’re clearly caught in the  doldrums of the winter movie season.

The Ides of March

In its own sneaky way, George Clooney’s high tension political drama stayed under the radar and snuck in late as one of 2011′s best dramas. The Golden Globes took notice, awarding the film four nominations — though it did not take home any awards. The key to the whole thing is Ryan Gosling, in his best performance of a year filled with best performances, as an idealistic campaign staffer who gets caught in some seriously dirty politics. In a world that is most often all talk, it’s his ability to weave a web of words that ultimately leads him through a forest of deception. Clooney delivers as director, assembling one hell of a cast — Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman and himself, to name a few — and keeps the pace with a script he wrote alongside Grant Heslov. It’s a ferocious political comedy that isn’t so much about political ideas as much as it’s about the game itself. And what a game it is. On Blu-ray, Ides has a few exclusive featurettes that will keep the party going long after your vote has been cast. It’s a razor-sharp movie that more than earns its spot as Pick of the Week.

Traffic (Criterion)

The Pitch: Steven Soderbergh does drugs, Criterion does the special features.

Why Buy? At this point, there probably isn’t much explaining I should have to do as to why you should own Soderbergh’s pulse-raising drug drama. It’s one of the first in the wave of early-2000s ensemble dramas that gained critical acclaim by layering together massive stories that still felt intimate. And the performances — those of Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas, Salma Hayek, and so on — are some “career best” kinds of outings. There’s a reason why movies like this end up in Criterion’s collection. And there’s a reason why Criterion fills them with layers of supplements, the likes of commentary tracks times three, 25+ minutes of deleted scenes, and almost an hour of additional footage. Like so many Criterion releases, Traffic feels very much like a comprehensive release. The only draw-back would be if you’ve already invested money into the Criterion DVD release. The Blu-ray’s picture and sound quality is far above and beyond that of the DVD, but the extras are identical. That said, a gorgeous Blu-ray transfer might just be worth it for a film like this one.

Dutch

The Pitch: Ed O’Neill is dating your mom. Get over it and get in the damn car.

Why Buy? I know what you’re thinking: “Damn, I totally forgot about Dutch.” Or something along those lines. Until I was inspecting this week’s release list, I had forgotten, as well, dear friends. But fear not, that’s what I’m here for. Ed O’Neill stars as the title character, a blue collar worker who agrees to drive his girlfriend’s son home from prep school for the holidays. The little shit turns out to grow up and be Ethan Embry. On a sad note, this is a simple catalog release from Anchor Bay, so don’t expect much beyond the film itself. But you should be able to find it pretty cheap on Amazon and slide it into your collection. The only thing missing, of course, from a Blu-ray release would be a deck of racy playing cards. But that may be too much to ask from the 126th highest grossing film of 1991.

Good Morning Vietnam

The Pitch: Now you can watch everything that happens after the iconic line…

Why Rent? Does anyone even remember what this film is about? Beyond the radio antics of Robin Williams as Adrian Cronauer, a radio DJ who gets shipped to Vietnam to spice up the lives of troops on the Armed Forces Radio. Of course, he’s not quite GI enough to please superiors, even though he easily wins over troops and the ladies of Vietnam. What’s striking about Barry Levinson’s film, however, isn’t just the comedic presence of Williams, but his character’s brushes with the real Vietnam war. Something that is presented in a surprisingly honest way. From the Delta to the DMZ, there’s far more to this movie than the soundtrack I owned on cassette tape until I wore it out years later. As for the Blu-ray, the amount of archival footage and behind the scenes features on this disc feel like a great deal, even if they are in standard definition and reused from earlier releases. It sure is nice to have this one delivered with a decent HD transfer, though.

Dead Poets Society

The Pitch: Because Disney couldn’t just release one classic Robin Williams movie…

Why Rent? Before he ever won an Oscar, Robin Williams was delivering spectacular performances that would be overshadowed by his comedic works. As professor John Keating in Dead Poets Society, Williams brings life to the droll world of the Welton Academy. It’s a spirited work and one of director Peter Weir’s best. Worth owning, sure. But how about that Blu-ray? That’s where we get into a bit of trouble, as they say. While Dead Poets looks great on Blu-ray — better than it has in previous DVD releases — the extras are a bit of a letdown. Disney, like any studio out to make a buck, is just as guilty as laying down a catalog release with minimal effort. Does that mean this film shouldn’t be part of your collection? Absolutely not. Even the DVD carryover extras are interesting. But it certainly doesn’t mean that it’s worth buying again if you already own the DVD.

Abduction

The Pitch: Taylor Lautner is an action star, whether you like it or not.

Why Avoid? It’s increasingly difficult to believe that John Singleton, a man who has delivered films like Poetic Justice, Four Brothers and Higher Learning, is responsible for such an all-out blitz of bad, but it’s true. That tangential Twilight money must be hard to pass up, even for a man who has made films of substance. Then again, he did deliver 2 Fast 2 Furious. In this film, he places Twilight‘s shirtless wolf boy in as a young man who seeks out the truth about his life after discovering his own photo on a missing persons website. The chase turns out to be far less interesting than we’re led to believe by such a synopsis. In fact, if there’s anything this film oozes, it’s a significant lack of personality that matches the empty expressions of its young star. There have been times in his career that Taylor Lautner has shown some spark, leading some to believe that he may break free of Twilight and do great things. This is not one of those moments.

The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption

The Pitch: Swords and sandals and Billy Zane.

Why Avoid? Despite the fact that Scorpion King 3 sports two of the world’s foremost almost stars — Billy Zane and Ron Perlman — and two of the world’s most frighteningly tough dudes — Kimbo Slice and Dave Bautista, watching it may lead one to be convinced that the screenplay (penned by Brendan Cowles and Shane Kuhn) was written in crayon. The dialogue is wooden, the story makes moves between strict formula and nonsensical nothingness, and the action lacks any sort of scale that we’ve come to expect, even from franchises like The Mummy. There’s no Brendan Fraser charm, no Jet Li high-flying fists and no poorly CGI’d Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Basically anything that made The Mummy franchise is interesting. In its place is Billy Zane in a movie that appears to have been shot in one of the producers’ back yards. Blu-ray exclusive features like Pocket Blu be damned, there’s absolutely no reason why you should waste time, money or brain cells on this one.

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star

The Pitch: Everything you hate about Nick Swardson brought to its full cinematic form.

Why Avoid? In an act of cinematic terrorism, Happy Madison continues to dish out development deals to its friends. The fact that Adam Sandler co-wrote a film like this leads one to believe that anything he’s done in the past that turned out to be comedic gold must have been someone else’s idea. Spoiler: those previously good ideas did not come from either Allen Covert or Nick Swardson, two men who must have decided that the only way to follow-up the masturbatory stupid-a-thon Grandma’s Boy needed a bigger, glitzier, far dumber younger sibling. Thus, Bucky Larson was born and for all we know, the production killed several children and a football field full of puppies. Oh, you really wanted to know about all the Blu-ray extras — what’s on the BD-Live assortment? You know what. Go f**k yourself.

• America in Primetime (PBS)
• Bad Girls (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Belle de Jour (Criterion)
• Courageous (Sony)
• Division III: Football’s Finest (Image)
• First Squad: The Moment of Truth (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• The First Beautiful Thing (Palisades Tartan)
• Gantz II: Perfect Answer (Warner Brothers)
• The Josephine Baker Story (HBO)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth – 3D (New Line Cinema)
• License to Drive (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Project X (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Redline (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Star Driver: Part 2 (Bandai)
• Sunrise Earth: Alaska (Discovery Channel)
• Thurgood (HBO)
• The Tuskegee Airmen (HBO)

Hey look, it’s an edition of This Week in Blu-ray. We’d bet you didn’t see that coming, did you? Anyway, it’s back to the grind with plenty of great new Blu-ray releases to talk about. Everything from one of the best shows on television to Brad Pitt revolutionizing the game of baseball to a few releases from previous weeks that we’re sad to have missed. This includes, of course, a release from last week that has us developing a severe case of mysophobia.

Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season

It has taken HBO something like forever to get their premiere drama out on Blu-ray and DVD, but the story of Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) and his power struggles at the top of 1920s Atlantic City is more than worth the wait. From an all-star cast led by Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Michael Shannon and Kelly McDonald (alongside Paz de la Huerta’s naked body), Boardwalk is one show that does not fail to keep its audience glued from episode to episode. Which makes it the perfect title for a Blu-ray purchase, as you’ll want to keep watching until you hit the end. And with its beautiful menus, well-designed and sturdy packaging and decent assortment of extras, the Blu-ray set feels right at home in the stylish world of Nucky and friends. It’s the collector’s item that you’ll want to have on your shelf for years to come.

Moneyball

The Pitch: Brad Pitt reinvents baseball with a little help from Jonah Hill.

Why Buy? Who knew that this movie would produce a Golden Globe nomination for the otherwise award unworthy Jonah Hill? And who knew that he’d actually be deserving, as is Brad Pitt for his performance as Billy Beane, the ambitious and inventive General Manager of the Oakland Athletics. Beane and his sidekick Peter Brand (Hill) used math and statistical analysis to buck age-old baseball management trends and turn their small market team into a contender among giants like the New York Yankees. With the help of a script from Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin and director Bennett Miller’s ability to give the whole thing a big scale, Moneyball is a real winner. One of my personal favorites of last year. It’s a perfect buy to kick off the New Year as well, as it does not disappoint on Blu-ray.

Contagion

The Pitch: Steven Soderbergh assembles a bunch of big name actors and infects them with a virus.

Why Rent? Because buying this movie will probably make you want to watch it multiple times, which would make you want to wash your hands a lot, which may turn you into a crazy germaphobe like Howie Mandel. And no one wants to be a weird bald man who hosts an endless string of stupid gameshows. Especially not because of a movie starring Matt Damon. That said, this viral outbreak story is one of Soderbergh’s biggest efforts yet, showing the ferocity of public panic as a vicious disease rips through the world’s population. It’s an interesting film that will make you very uncomfortable around other people and a Blu-ray that delivers impressive sight, sound and a few little extras. Too bad it doesn’t come with a bottle of Purell. Otherwise it would be Deal or No Deal, here I come!

Fright Night

The Pitch: Colin Farrell will bite you, damn it.

Why Rent? In August during its theatrical release, our own Dustin Hucks called Fright Night a slick, sinister and playful thriller. He also proclaimed that it was a worthy remake, something rare in this day and age. Why it has taken me so long to get around to seeing it, then, is a complete mystery. Anton Yelchin stars as Charlie Brewster, a young man who discovers the fact that his neighbor, a good-looking night owl named Jerry (played by Colin Farrell) is a vampire. This discovery, as you might imagine, piques his curiosity and draws Charlie closer to the danger zone, which inevitably lands him in the crosshairs of a dangerous member of the undead community. It’s fun, sometimes bloody and Colin Farrell delivers a wicked performance, as does David Tennant as Peter Vincent. I should have listened, as I would have enjoyed seeing this in theaters. That said, the Blu-ray more than satiated my appetite for blood. It also came in 3D, which wasn’t so bad, even on a much smaller screen. The only holdback on the Blu-ray is that it’s light on supplements, despite being heavy on enjoyment.

The Hangover Part II

The Pitch: It’s basically The Hangover, but with more Thai people.

Why Rent? This is one of the aforementioned titles that I missed somewhere along the lines in December. To say the least, there’s nothing that happens in this movie that won’t feel at least a little familiar to those who saw The Hangover. What’s important to remember, however, is that repetition does not preclude a film from being funny. Sure, it’s not discovering new comedic territory, but The Hangover II is also not leaving any stone unturned or any laugh unearned. The old gang is back — Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Ken Jeong, a monkey and Ken Jeong’s penis — and they are doing all they can to survive a torrid night in Bangkok. It’s worth a few laughs and on Blu-ray, it goes so far as to have a decent assortment of extras. At the very least, it will help you kill a few hours and forget about the stresses of life.

Killer Elite

The Pitch: It’s an action movie with Jason Statham, Robert De Niro and Clive Owen’s porno mustache.

Why Avoid? Where to begin with this helpless bore of an actioner. Perhaps its a major loser of the expectations game, as it was being sold as a non-stop action thrill ride, or perhaps its just a completely undercooked tale of a bunch of washed up assassins who set out to sort of almost maybe kill people. Never in our wildest dreams could we dream up a situation that pits Clive Owen against Jason Statham only to deliver absolute boredom. But here it is in the form of a convoluted tale of ex-spies who get tangled in a web of lies only to end up trying to kill each other for a completely undefined and totally irrelevant reason. When the action finally drops, there’s no one around to watch it. Which begs the question: if action happens and no one is awake to watch it, does it still have a soundtrack?

Final Destination 5

The Pitch: Terrible architectural design tries to kill nubile young people.

Why Avoid? Because like the characters in this movie, death is stalking you. Except for most of us, death will come in the form of heart disease, cancer or old age. It will not be quite so clever — and surprisingly unclever — as death, the character in this fifth installment of the Final Destination franchise. The visuals are crisp, the CGI is surprisingly seamless and the soundtrack absolutely screams in Dolby 5.1 HD, but it’s all just fodder for distraction away from the fact that after all these years, you’re still watching the same death gags over and over again for no good reason. In a world of Saw, Hostel, Human Centipede and A Serbian Film, we’ve become desensitized to all this twenty-something carnage. And once there’s no more shock value left, what does a franchise like Final Destination have? I’ll let you answer that one for yourselves.

• 1911: Collector’s Edition (Well Go USA)
• Billy Elliot (Universal)
• Fever Pitch (20th Century Fox)
• Film Socialisme (Kino)
• Greece: Secrets of the Past (Image)
• The Hellstrom Chronicle (Olive Films)
• Higher Ground (Sony)
• John Tucker Must Die (20th Century Fox)
• Just Married (20th Century Fox)
• Just My Luck (20th Century Fox)
• Looney Tunes Showcase: Volume One (Warner Brothers)
• Nature: The Animal House (PBS)
• Never Been Kissed (20th Century Fox)
• Proof (Echo Bridge)
• Shallow Hal (20th Century Fox)
• Sinners and Saints (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• That ’70s Show: Season 1 (Mill Creek)
• There Be Dragons (20th Century Fox)
• What’s Your Number? (20th Century Fox)

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

The Pitch: “What are you going to say? I don’t know what happened officer, these college kids just showed up and started killing themselves all over my property.”

Why Buy? A few years back, when this unfortunately shelved genre comedy broke onto the scene in the snowy streets of Park City, Utah, I was one of those critics who was brave enough to name it one of my Must See Movies of Sundance 2010. We would later go on to include it in our list of Must See Movies of SXSW 2010. And it might as well have made our list of Must See Movies of SXSW 2011, as it played there, too. This movie spent more than its share of time in festival circuit hell. And now that it’s on Blu-ray, it’s time for folks like me to remind you that it’s one of the funniest, most clever flicks I’ve seen in a long while. And if you don’t pick it up, you’re truly missing out. Also, it affords you the opportunity to support one of those rare independent gems folks may just be talking about years from now. Remember that one with Alan Tudyk and the hot girl from 30 Rock? Yeah, I saw that way back when.

30 Minutes or Less

The Pitch: If you strap a bomb to the guy who invented Facebook and make him rob a bank, hilarity will ensue.

Why Buy? It’s a comedy worth seeing. The sophomore effort from Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer features some memorable moments from some currently popular comedic talents — the likes of Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson and Michael Pena. Our own Cole Abaius loved this one, calling it as tight and funny as any R-rated comedy we’d see all year. Most importantly, the Blu-ray is full of HD-exclusive features, including picture-in-picture video commentary, deleted scenes, an exclusive featurette and even a Playstation 3 theme that you can use to make your gaming system more explosive. Very funny, somewhat raunchy and completely immature film. Solid Blu-ray extras. That seems more than worth whatever money you have left after Black Friday.

Blue Velvet

The Pitch: “I don’t know if you’re a detective or a pervert.”One thing we do know: David Lynch is a genius.

Why Buy? Because renting and watching one of the most controversial and psychologically brutal films of the 1980s probably isn’t enough. This special edition Blu-ray release of David Lynch’s deeply disturbed noir demands that you buy it. It grabs a hold of you, throws you to the ground and brutalizes you until you admit that you need it on your collection. It’s also got a few exclusively HD deleted scenes and outtakes to make the transition to the high definition medium a bit more cost efficient. It’s also your best chance to understand what the hell was going on in the mind of David Lynch, as it’s his most straight-forward film. Which is saying quite a bit, as it’s brilliantly off the wall and completely unique in every way.

Chillerama

The Pitch: The Ultimate Midnight Movie! Only you get to watch it whenever you want.

Why Rent? Wadzilla, I Was A Teenage Werebear, The Diary of Anne Frankenstein, and Zom-B-Movie. Those are but a few of the titles included in this ultimate midnight movie anthology. Directors Joe Lynch, Adam Green, Adam Rifkin and Tim Sullivan bring you four rare, schlocktastic movies worthy of a late night marathon, a bit of heavy drinking and some very weird cinematic happenings. The Blu-ray affords you the opportunity to watch them as often as you like — you could even hold your own late-night marathons on a weekly basis. If that sounds like something you’d attend, consider this one a buy. If not, it’s worth being adventurous at least once and giving this one a try. In addition to being a fun anthology, there are also several worthwhile bonus features, including a look into what it takes to make The Diary of Anne Frankenstein.

The Smurfs

The Pitch: It’s a movie about Smurfs that includes Neil Patrick Harris and jokes about why there’s only one girl Smurf. That’s pretty Smurfin’ Smurf’d up.

Why Rent? For the kids, my friends. For the kids. Also, there’s something indelibly charming about this latest incarnation of Papa Smurf’s gang. Something a little subversive about some of the laughs it earns. And Hank Azaria as Gargamel is far more fun than it has any business being. Toss in more live-action charm from NPH, Glee gal Jayma Mays and the ever-buxom Sophia Vergara and you’ve got yourself a movie that you, as parent or guardian, will more than survive watching with your kids. The kids will enjoy it as well, as it’s got silly little blue Smurfs doing silly little blue Smurf things. For families, the Blu-ray may actually be a buy. It’s got a host of special features — Blue-pers (get it?), multiple commentary tracks, featurettes and even a few interactive games. It’s enough to kill an entire afternoon. I’m not saying that I did so myself. But I know a guy who did. And he said that it was a lot more fun than he’d admit it was in public. This friend of mine. Who I know… (Note: There’s also a version that comes with The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol, which is a cute little mini-movie with some very blue holiday spirit.)

One Day

The Pitch: Anne Hathaway is frumpy! And she’s British, all of the sudden…

Why Rent? Unlike so many cookie-cutter romantic comedies, One Day has enough ambition to step away from some of the genre’s big cliches and play for us a straight-forward, oft-charming romantic story about two otherwise cookie-cutter characters. He’s the charming, bravado-filled success story who can’t find love and she’s the frumpy, dumpy, completely hot underneath dame with horrid glasses and a pony-tail who also just can’t seem to find love outside of that one perfect date she had with Mr. Wonderful. It’s about two lives intersecting, kisses and somewhat wonky British accents. That last part is all Ms. Hathaway. But despite its flaws, One Day manages to be charming and sometimes sweet and finds an ending you probably won’t expect, for better or worse. The Blu-ray offers you extras, but only a few. And like the film itself, it’s something you’ll enjoy, but forget about soon enough. The essence of a rental.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 3D

The Pitch: Werner Herzog takes you deep into ze soul of a thousand year-old cave.

Why Rent? On a visual level, Herzog’s latest is absolutely stunning. If you’ve got a decent 3D television and you missed out on the chance to see this on the big screen, it’s highly recommended. From a storytelling standpoint, no narrator makes his subjects seem more profound and engrossing as Mr. Herzog. He’s a master documentarian who expertly captures the emotion of exploring a place buried within the Earth, left untouched by human hands for thousands of years. If you allow yourself to be transformed, this film will easily overtake you. That’s the way Werner Herzog intends it. That’s the way it shall be.

Nothing to avoid this week, although there is plenty in the ‘I didn’t get a chance to review it’ section below, so beware the unknown.

• 5 Days of War (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Adele: Live at the Royal Albert Hall (Sony)
• Another Earth (20th Century Fox)
• The Art of Getting By (20th Century Fox)
• Chaos Head: The Complete Series (FUNimation)
• Horror Express (MPI)
• Now & Later (Cinema Libre)
• Our Idiot Brother (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Yu Yu Hakusho: Season 4 (FUNimation)

Attack the Block

When Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright got together and decided to make a film about a group of hoodlums who face down an alien invasion, they probably didn’t think of you or me once. They didn’t know that they’d be custom-tailoring a sci-fi comedy for the nerd set that would ignite crowds and become the cult hit of this (and probably a few other years). They couldn’t have known. But they moved forward anyway, with a cast of unknowns and some killer creature designs, creating what could go down as the geek film of 2011. What’s more impressive about this release? Even though I didn’t receive a review copy, I’m making it pick of the week. Usually I’m a big whiney baby, who gets a bunch of review material, only to pick it apart week to week. But this week I’m putting my own money where my mouth is. In a week when competition comes from one of the longest awaited Blu releases ever (Jurassic Park) and my personal favorite summer movie (Captain America), I can’t help but make Attack the Block my pick of the week. I pre-ordered it myself weeks ago.

Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy

More than 15 years later, life has finally found a way. When Jurassic Park hit theaters, an 11-year old me was there with popcorn, candy and soda (this probably has something to do with why I ended up so chubby). Today, with the proper home theater setup, I can relive those moments. The beauty and majesty of the effects in Steven Spielberg’s first film, the enjoyment I found (more than many others) in the second film, and even the silly brilliance found within Joe Johnston’s third film. It’s all part of this set, one that comes after a long wait. In a twelve month period that has already given us Back to the Future and Alien box sets, JP continues the trend of bringing modern classics to the new format with brilliant detail. These three films look incredible and youthful, and are flanked by numerous special features, a few of which even the most die hard fans have never seen. But just a few, as many supplements are carry-overs from previous DVD releases. A small price to pay, however, for the brilliance of dinosaurs walking around in 1080p. If there is never another release of the Jurassic Park trilogy on any home video format — especially when the world finally embraces digital downloads — this one should suffice as the end all, be all release.

Captain America: The First Avenger

In the surprise of the summer that probably shouldn’t have been so surprising, the director of The Rocketeer gave us a Captain America we could believe in. And in turn, he allowed us to forget all about that awful Wolf Man movie he made just a year ago. Joe Johnston injected a retro cool into Captain America that pulsed around a oozingly charismatic lead performance from Chris Evans. He is heroic, unwaveringly genuine and oh-so-dreamy with those big biceps. And to top it all off, Captain America delivered us the most delicious of summer villain performances — Hugo Weaving, channeling the voice of Werner Herzog to play the practical effect wonder Red Skull. It’s a film that, in a summer of quality hero tales, was the most ambitious and easily the most fun. And on Blu-ray — even on the dreaded Blu-ray 3D format — it’s just as much fun to have at home. Marvel has included a number of features, similar to the release of Thor, that can be best described as “just enough.” A few deleted scenes, a featurette or two and another Marvel “One Shot” short film. Like the film itself, it’s an efficient ride that you’ll want to take again.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

The hits just keep on coming this week. In any other week that didn’t include dinosaurs or American originals, Rare Exports would be easy Pick of the Week material. It’s a creepy-as-hell take on the Santa Clause legend from Finland that will have you hoping that your older brother was right, and that he isn’t real. Aside from providing a terrifying vision of father Christmas, executed with maximum creativity by director Jalmari Helander, Rare Exports also finds a way to be a lot of fun. It’s the kind of bloody creepshow that I’d watch every holiday season with my family. Twisted, sure, but it feels right. And as much as I love the film, there’s something I love even more about the Blu-ray release. As with all of their previous releases, Oscilloscope Labs presents Rare Exports in gorgeous packaging. With beautiful cover art and solid packaging — and not to mention an impressive selection of on-disc extras — they’ve once again managed to make a simple release feel special. And that’s something that should be rewarded with a place in your collection.

Dazed and Confused (Criterion)

In the category of “making a simple release feel special,” Criterion continues to reign. Even for a Criterion release, this edition of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused feels as if it has something a little extra behind it. From the enhanced packaging to the meticulous transfer — one that far exceeds Universal’s last attempt to bring this slacker classic to the format. As extras go, this one is also pretty loaded. Audio commentary with Linklater is a must, deleted scenes add some value and a 46-minute “Making Dazed” documentary featuring is as amusing as it is informative. We even get some audition footage and some very rare footage and interviews from the set of the film. Because if you’re invested enough in Dazed and Confused to pull the trigger on this kind of set, this is exactly what you’d expect to get from it. Also, Criterion has outdone themselves with the packaging. The two piece cardboard fold-out case comes in a cardboard slipcover that feels as if it pays a bit of homage to the homespun nature of the film. And the artwork, taken from the original Frank Kozik poster, is awesome.

A Serbian Film

For more than a year, you’ve read on the web — on this site in particular — that there’s some serious shock trauma to be had watching A Serbian Film, a twisted tale of a retired Serbian porn star who is drawn back into the business for “one more gig” that will set him and his family up for life. The problem is that this one last gig is being directed by a madman hell bent on capturing the art of the most demented acts you can think of. As our own Landon Palmer wrote in his review from SXSW, it’s shock value not just for its own sake. A Serbian Film actually broaches the notion of having something to say. Not much, but something nonetheless. It’s worth seeing if you’re into a sort of self-inflicted cinematic torture. Also, curious parties need apply through rental. For those truly squeamish, perhaps it’s best that about 30 seconds of the worst stuff has been cut out of the original version for American release. It’s rumored that original prints shown at SXSW were burned, but I’ve never been able to confirm. Cut or not, there’s some heinous shit in this movie. And if ye be brave enough, the Blu-ray waits to deliver it in surprisingly stark high definition.

Winnie the Pooh

On the other end of the spectrum from A Serbian Film is the insanely adorable hand-drawn world of Winnie the Pooh. You can’t fault Disney for bringing the silly ole’ bear back. What I can say is that it’s a bit disappointing for Pooh’s return to cause such an internal conflict: the story presented here is so harmless and classic — Eyeore loses his tail and Winnie and friends hold a contest to get him a new one — that it doesn’t move the material forward in any way. Then again, that feels like what they were going for. In the end, it’s still beautifully animated and charming for the little ones. And for the animation nerds in the house, there’s plenty of extras with the team behind Pooh to keep you interested. It’s an irresistible rental for those of us who’d like to remember more innocent days, and a buy for those who are bringing up a new generation of cinema lovers.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

This is a drop-in from last week, as we took the week off. By now you’ve heard the news: Johnny Depp does a good Keith Richards impression on his way to being entertaining as Captain Jack Sparrow. He’s had three films to prove that. However, if On Stranger Tides is proof of any one theory, it’s that Jack Sparrow as a central character just doesn’t have the same pop. For once, fans of energetic cinema will be missing the likes of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. That said, there are some fun one-offs and plenty of special effect goodness in this fourth Pirates movie to make it worth a single viewing. Also, any movie that includes Ian McShane deserves your attention. To the Blu-ray’s credit, it gets the usual Disney treatment, which means plenty of special features, including one that envisions Captain Jack’s journey through LEGOs (that’s a winner). Also, there’s a special note to be made on the 3D edition. Of all the live-action 3D Blu-rays I’ve inspected thus far, this one seems to be the most crisp. Which is a bit of a surprise, as I had little love for the 3D version in theaters. Perhaps the brightness of a backlit LCD TV is all that was needed to bring out a better version of the 3D.

The Conversation

Do not mistake the meaning of placement with this title. The Conversation is a great film. One of Francis Ford Coppola’s best works and a Gene Hackman performance for the books. That said, this Blu-ray release leaves a little bit to be desired. Sure, there are a few very interesting extras, including screen tests, script dictations and interviews not previously released on DVD editions, but the transfer is a little… for lack of a better term, crackly. A little too much on the sharpness dial over at the authoring house may have caused this one to drop from Buy to Rent. If you’ve never seen the film, see it, Blu-ray or otherwise. But if you’re waiting for a significant Blu-ray release to replace a previous DVD version, this is not that release.

Father of Invention

Kevin Spacey stars as a successful infomercial guy who is sent to prison after his products — the stupidity of which closely resemble the “Slap Chop” — begin relieving consumers of their fingers. Eight years later he leaves prison and sets off on an inspirational journey to be a better man, reconnect with his daughter and reclaim his business. The only problem is that by the time he actually does all this, we’ve forgotten why we were supposed to care in the first place. In a classic example of a paycheck gig, Kevin Spacey does his best “Kevin Spacey being interested” impression and fails to elevate truly mediocre material. Somewhere along the line, Father of Invention thought it was a sharp piece of satire. Those dreams were long gone by the final product, leaving nothing but a meandering awkwardathon. And not in a good way. Special features won’t save it, nor will HD.

• 3 Musketeers (Asylum)
• City of Life and Death (Kino)
• Destroy All Monsters (Tokyo Shock)
• Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (Shriek Show)
• Faces in the Crowd (First Look)
• The House by the Cemetery (Blue Underground)
• Identification of a Woman (Criterion)
• Island of Lost Souls (Criterion)
• A Little Help (Image)
• Pearl Jam: Twenty (Sony)
• Robot Chicken: Season 5 (Warner Brothers)
• Shaolin (Well Go USA)
• Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (20th Century Fox)
• Zombie (Blue Underground)

Sons of Anarchy: Season Three

With the seemingly obvious exception of Breaking Bad, there may be no better drama on television than Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy. Conceived with a great passion for the brotherhood of biker gangs and filled with characters, both main and supporting, that are infinitely engaging, it’s one of the grittiest, gnarliest and often best-acted shows around. In their expansive third season, the boys from Charming go on the hunt for Jax’s kidnapped son, Abel, a tour that leads the crew all the way to Belfast and one hell of an emotional finale. After season two’s finish, it’s hard to believe that a repeat is possible. But when it comes to SAMCRO, anything is possible. As for the Blu-ray earning Pick of the Week status, it’s mostly about show quality here. That said, the Blu release is no slouch. There’s an extensive preview of season four, a few behind the scenes featurettes (one that focuses on the always sort of crazy Kurt Sutter) and some deleted scenes. Like the show itself, the Blu-ray feels like the total package. So get on your bike and ride, I say.

Top Gun: 25th Anniversary Edition

Here would be a nice place to put some sort of pun about riding into the high definition danger zone, but I don’t play that way. Instead, I can only say that if you’ve got the need, this Blu-ray release has the speed. (Yes, I agree that was worse than a “Danger Zone” pun.) Anyway, it’s about time Top Gun gets a really solid Blu-ray transfer, the most notable improvement of which is the sound mix. It doesn’t claim to be remastered or anything, but the 6.1 DTS-HD Master audio track will blow the doors off your house if you’ve got the right sound system to go with it. My recommendation is to get aggressive and crank it to 12, which is, after all, in the danger zone. The only downside to this release is that when compared to the previous Blu-ray edition (released in 2008), the special features are exactly the same. So unless you’re a die hard audiophile who needs to feel the rumble of an F-14 half-way down your street, there might not be any reason to pick this up. For those who missed that last release, however, this is a definite buy.

Orpheus (Criterion)

Jean Cocteau’s vision of the Orpheus myth is one for the books, following a famous poet who follows a mysterious princess from the world of the living into the land of the dead through his famous mirrored portal. Presented in stark black and white with a crisp transfer, this Criterion release presents the imaginative and poetic vision of Cocteau with incredible clarity. It’s quite a trip to behold, especially in meticulously transferred, nearly flawless high definition. Beyond that, Orpheus gets Criterion’s loving grace in the special features department. As always, they present a film history class on one of cinema’s most memorable minds, with a feature length documentary about Jean Cocteau, extensive interviews with those who worked with him, a 40-minute interview with the director himself, one of his 16mm color short films, and an interview with Cocteau specifically focused on the use of Jazz in films. It is quite a lot like taking a Jean Cocteau appreciation class, something from which any dedicated film lover would benefit.

House: Season Seven

What happens when House and Cuddy finally get together? Season seven, that’s what. Even after six long seasons of sarcasm and eccentricity, there’s still something undeniably intellectually stimulating about the world of Dr. Gregory House, MD. It’s easy to pinpoint the show’s success upon the ever-sharp performance of Hugh Laurie, but there’s more to it than that. Bravely written, well-acted on all levels and constantly fresh in its approach, House continues to find ways to be interesting from week to week, whether it’s dealing with the “Monster Disease of the Week” or pushing along its long-game narrative elements. It’s difficult not to be addicted to this show, if for no other reason than Hugh Laurie is absolutely genius. The Blu-ray release features one very cool feature that you won’t find on DVD, a U-Control driven “Beginner’s Guide to Diagnostic Medicine” track that runs interesting medical factoids in a picture-in-picture commentary mode. It’s proof of the extensive research and surprising authenticity of the show’s medical moments. There are also episode commentaries, character specific featurettes for Olivia Wilde’s “13″ and Amber Tamblyn’s Martha Masters, and one featurette that focuses on that which House fans have obsessed over most of all: Huddy (the aptly named union between House and Cuddy, six years in the making).

If… (Criterion)

The shenanigans of Malcolm McDowell are pretty well documented in A Clockwork Orange. But before that, he was just a kid raging against the establishment in Lindsay Anderson’s If…, the story of a boarding school in late-sixties England that has a bit of a ruffian problem. It’s colorful, it’s black and white, it’s vicious in both delivery and situation, and most of all, it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch a young Malcolm McDowell play a game of “anything you can do, I can ruin” with a stuffy group of faculty. The only downside to this Criterion Blu release is that it’s lighter than most with its special features selection. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have a few — even the worst Criterion Blu is better than most studio releases — but it leaves a bit to be desired. Alas, you should see this movie pronto, and if you’re a Criterion collector, you won’t be disappointed. Also notable is the included feature-length documentary Thursday’s Children, in which director Lindsay Anderson explores the world of a school for deaf children. For that, he won an Academy Award.

Wonders of the Universe

It’s not exactly Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, but the BBC has done a fine job of putting together their look at all the Wonders of the Universe in this new series. Presented by Professor Brian Cox — no, not that Brian Cox — it asks some big questions — why are we here? Where did we come from? — from a scientific and often philosophical standpoint. It also does so in that fast and beautiful BBC documentary way, in which everything feels perfectly condensed and universally accessible. It takes a good filmmaker to make a documentary that asks the big questions, but a great team to make one that answers them in ways that non-scientifics will easily engaged with. From the big bang to the dawn of man, Wonders of the Universe presents some unique perspective on the questions that surround us, presented vividly and efficiently. If you’ve got 232 minutes to dedicate to some scientific exploration, I say let the BBC be your guide.

The Perfect Host

As my comrade Rob Hunter pointed out in his This Week in DVD column yesterday, it’s best that you go into The Perfect Host knowing very little about the film. Which shouldn’t be hard, as this Sundance ’10 premiere has virtually disappeared sine then — I’m told that it actually had a limited release in July of this year, but I’m not buying it. The fact remains, however, that it contains one hell of a wild performance from David Hyde Pierce, who plays Warwick Wilson, a man who prides himself on being a consummate host of meticulously crafted dinner party experiences. When a bank robber (played by Clayne Crawford) shows up pretending to be a friend of a friend, Warwick welcomes him into what quickly becomes his house of horrors. It’s surprising at times, insane at most others and a delightfully sinister experience on the whole. The only knock I’ve got on the Blu-ray is that it includes one behind the scenes featurette, one of those lame-duck HDNet preview pieces that Magnolia likes to include and the trailer, which you should avoid at all cost before seeing the film. Beyond that, it’s just sinister David Hyde Pierce. And that ain’t bad.

BKO: Bangkok Knockout

From the director of Born to Fight comes an equally stupid, yet surprisingly high-flying Thai martial arts film in which the use of actors is forgone and replaced by what can only be described is personality free stunt workers. Which is fine in the last 45-minutes of the film, when the group of martial artists taken hostage by a crazy American business man trying to put together his own version of Death Race must fight their way past ax-wielding masked men, burning cars and wire-enhanced ninja-work. But for the lead up to the big mayhem parade, you might as well take a nap. Or just rent the Blu-ray and skip forward to about the mid-point of the film, where the action starts. You won’t take an interest in the characters, nor is it necessary to know anything about their terrible wedged-in backstories. All you need to know is that the Thai kids are the good guys and the absurdly stereotypical American businessman is the bad guy. Then all hell breaks loose and this one becomes a bit of fun. Not quite as fun as watching the trailer for the movie, which is included as a Blu-ray special feature, but fun nonetheless.

Good Will Hunting

“I got her number. How do you like them apples?” Chances are that you haven’t exactly been clamoring to own Good Will Hunting on Blu-ray. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good movie, 9-Academy Award nominations and the propellant for the careers of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon certainly don’t lie. But it’s not likely to be atop a list of movies you need to see in crisp HD, nor will you yearn to hear Elliot Smith’s “Miss Misery” booming around your living room in DTS-HD audio. But it doesn’t hurt the experience, either. Miramax and Lionsgate have teamed up to deliver Good Will Hunting in a Blu-ray edition that is good enough for your collection, but not a great must-have. The special features are re-hashes from older version and the only new inclusion is that of Digital Copy, so don’t go running out to buy this one. However, if you’re a fan of the film and you don’t already own it, this Blu-ray isn’t the worst thing you can put in your collection. At least the transfer on this 1997 flick is solid.

Prom

If there’s one thing Disney does right with Prom, it’s elevating it ever-so-slightly from its Disney Channel roots. In short, it’s clearly a Disney Channel offshoot film that feels like a real movie. It capitalizes on the instant nostalgia teens associate with their prom nights, from the often long lead up in planning and finding a date, to the magic of the themed dancing to the getting drunk and… well, this is Disney, after all, they don’t go that far. But hey, we all know where the story if Aimee Teegarden’s character is going to end, amiright? In the end, it’s a harmless film with a even less aggressive release. A few highly related extra features, a brand new short featuring one of the film’s funny characters (Nicholas Braun) asking girls to the prom, and a bunch of music videos. It’s like that Vitamin C song was for graduation days, just this time it’s a 104-minute Teen Disney film with all the glitz the MTV (without the M) generation desires. It’s hard to hate a movie this benign, so I’ll encourage you to ignore it unless you are a member of the aforementioned generation.

Nothing to outright avoid this week. Although, there are plenty of question marks in the “Also on Blu-ray” section below, such as The Mummy Trilogy. Really, did they only make three of those? It felt like more.

• The 5th Quarter (20th Century Fox)
• Bereavement (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Blood Simple (Universal)
• Children of the Corn: Genesis (Arc)
• The Coen Brothers Collection (20th Century Fox)
• The Complete Jean Vigo (Criterion)
• Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious (Image)
• Deadgirl (Dark Sky Films)
• Final Destination 2 (New Line Cinema)
• Final Destination 3 (New Line Cinema)
• Forks Over Knives (Virgil Films)
• Gantz (Warner Brothers)
• In a Better World (Sony)
• The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) (Universal)
• Indian Summer (Mill Creek)
• Latter Days (TLA Releasing)
• Madea’s Big Happy Family (Lionsgate)
• Miller’s Crossing (20th Century Fox)
• The Mummy Trilogy (Universal)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas – 3D (Disney/Buena Vista)
• Nikita: The Complete First Season (Warner Brothers)
• Radley Metzger’s Erotica Psychedelica (Cult Epics)
• Raising Arizona (20th Century Fox)
• Skateland (20th Century Fox)
• Strike: Remastered Edition (Kino)
• The Twilight Zone: Season 5 (1963) (Image)
• The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season (Warner Brothers)
• Wrecked (IFC)

The Big Lebowski

For The Dude shall get the release he so deserves. That’s how I would assume it is written in the Book of Lebowski. And that’s what we have here: the Blu-ray release — for the most part — The Dude has deserved all along. Not only is the Coen Brothers’ most popular cult hit presented in crisp, dynamically transferred and near-perfect HD, it is also presented with a few new special features. The packaging isn’t as impressive as the DVD edition I have on my display shelf that comes inside a bowling ball, but I’m willing to look past that for this particular release. It’s a great movie and this is a very good Blu-ray release. There is some HD-exclusive content, including a picture-in-picture commentary track and an interactive pop-up trivia track. It also comes with Digital Copy, because you never know when you might want to bust out Lebowski and play it on your iPad. I’ve long been one who shrugs at Digital Copy, but lets just say this is one film I’m glad to have on all my devices. On top of that, there are also featurettes carried over from previous DVD releases. In it’s collector’s book casing, it feels like a definitive release. Not the end-all, but well on its way to being the only copy of Lebowski you may ever need.

Troll Hunter

Are you ready to experience one of my favorite off-radar films of 2011? You should be, as Troll Hunter is finally ready to make your acquaintance. It’s a creatively conceived faux documentary from Norway that chronicles the lives of three students who follow a grizzled, bearded man into the woods as he tracks and attempts to control a population of massive trolls. It has its less momentous times, but when Troll Hunter sets its sights on impressing us visually, it delivers in spades. It looks sharp on Blu-ray and delivers a new kind of horror lurking beyond the treeline. Above all, the film is a lot of fun. With a smattering of Blu-ray extras, Magnolia delivers this hidden gem properly to Blu-ray in a package worth owning, especially if you were lucky enough to catch and enjoy this one theatrically. If you haven’t seen it, definitely give it a chance with a rental.

Dexter: The Complete Fifth Season

Darkly dreaming Dexter has seen better days. And I’ll admit, with the way that season four ended, I wasn’t sure I would be able to watch on without the presence of Rita in Dexter’s life. I’m a purist like that. Then things got wicked again, Julia Stiles showed up and Dexter was back on the warpath, lurking in the shadows, where he belongs. In this surprisingly strong fifth frame — perhaps aided by a collective of low expectations — Michael C. Hall remains in command of one of televisions most twisted heroes. Call me a completist (I am), but I can’t help but recommend rounding out your Dexter Blu-ray collection with this one. We’ve come this far, and even though the Blu-ray’s main supplemental draw is a series of BD-Live (yawn) interviews and featurettes, it’s hard to ignore the draw of watching Dexter stalk and slay in HD. One wishes that Showtime would give us more from behind the scenes, but we’re just glad that Dexter continues to roll on without losing any momentum.

Blitz

It’s surprising to see Jason Statham going direct to DVD, especially alongside the equally talented Patty Considine, in a movie with an inordinate amount of ass-kicking. But it happened, and it’s surprisingly unlike many direct-to-DVD actioners. The plot is wire-thin and the dialog that comes from anyone but Statham and Considine is fairly wooden, but the action works. And Statham, as always, is a downright magnetic action star. We can see clearly how this R-rated, violent killer cop flick might not have dominated the box office, but that doesn’t take anything away from how much it kicks us in the chin. The reason it has ended up in the rent category, though, is that it’s all movie and that’s it. It’s a manly slab of action movie that doesn’t linger unnecessarily, but there really isn’t much else to it. Like so many great relationships, this one’s for a single night of fun and then you can move on with your life.

The Beaver

Here’s something that’s disappointing: few people saw Mel Gibson’s best performance in years when it hit theaters earlier this year. Jodie Foster directed Hollywood’s drunken villain to a level he hasn’t seen in a good many years in The Beaver, the story of a broken man trying to communicate with a family he’s emotionally abandoned and a world with which he feels no connection. And that’s just the start — there’s a terrific performance in here from Anton Yelchin, as well. Forget all the stuff that Gibson has done off-screen for a moment and remember that he’s one of the best actors in the modern era. Or don’t. Take my word for it and see this movie, it has more than enough ability to remind you. It’s refreshingly original, strongly acted and poignant — probably more so than a lot of films you’ll see this year. As for the Blu-ray stats, the numbers are light. Jodie Foster’s audio commentary is fine — she’s a damn smart cookie — and there’s one commercial disguised as a featurette. Rent is the grade of this release, but the movie within it is a definite buy.

Little Big Soldier

For American audiences, modern day Jackie Chan can easily be remembered as that silly Asian dude who made The Tuxedo. Some of us choose to overlook that period of Chan’s American fame and remember that he’s been a kick-ass martial arts star for a long, long time. He’s also not a half-bad action director, something he displays with Little Big Soldier. Even though he’s getting up there in years, Chan delivers enough kicking, punching, near-drunken mastery to make this 92 minute breezy flick entertaining in a small way. Director Ding Sheng then comes along and sets it on a grand scale, making it interesting in a big way. The combination of the two make for an impressive ride through a warring ancient China, complete with a little bit of political intrigue but most importantly, plenty of fighting. If you can resist the English language dub — which sadly, is touted as one of the film’s few special features — you’re in for a Chantastic treat. That’s right, I said it.

Secret Sunshine

On the opposite end of the spectrum from Jackie Chan romping through ancient China is the Criterion release of Lee Chang-Dong’s Secret Sunshine, a very quite, introspective look at human mourning. Anchored by an incredibly, Cannes best actress winning performance by Jeon Do-yeon, it’s an example of vast storytelling that needs only the space provided by human emotions. As for the Blu-ray release, it’s got the class and qualitative markings of a Criterion release, but one of their softer efforts. Perhaps trying to match the softness of the film, Criterion doesn’t overwhelm us with bonus features. Rather, they remain focused on quality interview content with Lee Chang-Dong, on-set behind the scenes footage and, as I understand it, a greatly improved English subtitle translation. It’s not an over the moon great Criterion release, but it’s a movie you should spend time with.

The Bang Bang Club

This might be the week of unrecognized quality. First, Blitz goes direct to DVD despite being an above average film. Then we get The Bang Bang Club, another decidedly above average film that stars Neels Van Jaarsveld, Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman and Taylor Kitsch as a group of fearless war photographers in South Africa in a time when apartheid was coming to its end. It’s a solid character piece about four friends set against a chaotic backdrop. Well acted and well-paced, it won’t disappoint for a rental. As a Blu-ray buy, The Bang Bang Club doesn’t offer a ton beyond a few interesting behind the scenes featurettes. It’s not the kind of grit drama that you’d want to watch over and over again, but it’s easily something you’ll want to have seen once.

Outcasts: Season One

Despite the tired concept behind Outcasts — in which humanity is given a chance to survive on a new planet after Earth meets a catastrophic fate — there is some interesting character work in this BBC science fiction show. Unlike much of what the BBC has produced, with the glaring exception of Doctor Who, it feels a lot more expansive than it is, set across a big landscape with some bigger action surprise, at least for television. The problem is that, as I mentioned, it’s a tired story and it very quickly runs out of good ideas. My recommendation: pick it up as a rental for a long weekend if you’re say, staying in for a hurricane or something, and give the first season a watch. It’s not going to reconfigure everything you believe about what good sci-fi is, but it’s got a better than average BBC charm that works, for the most part. The Blu-ray includes some cast-driven featurette work and a tour of Forthaven, the otherworldly set. Nothing to write home about.

Swingers, Rounders and Hostage

It’s been said before, and mostly by me, that sometimes a particular studio simply dumps part of its catalog on Blu-ray with very little thought put to the matter. Universal is notorious for this, as is Warner Bros. lately. It’s a practice that is generally accepted as harmless, allowing folks to simply update collections with “new” versions of old favorites. But it’s increasingly criminal when it happens with good movies, as seen here. Miramax is simply dumping off the likes of Swingers, Rounders and Hostage, three very good movies, with the hope that you won’t notice that lack of improvements over their previous DVD releases. Sure, the last Swingers DVD release wasn’t bad, plenty of special features, but you’d think that Miramax could do something interesting for Blu-ray — maybe a new commentary track with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. No, that’s too much to ask. These three releases would do fine — the transfers are good, not great — in your collection, but it won’t mean anything more than you owning these films at a slightly higher resolution than your previous DVD purchases.

Priest

No matter how much you enjoy the work of Paul Bettany, which I do a great deal, or Karl Urban, there’s no escaping the fact that Priest is a categorically bad film. It’s a mess of a script taken from good source material, further translated by a director with no discernible visual style and special effects that would have looked great in the early 1990s. It’s also a dreadfully boring action tale that follows a warrior Priest across a post-apocalyptic landscape to rescue his niece from the grasp of a rabid pack of vampires. It works on concept, but fails mightily in execution. For those precious few who enjoyed this one and would want to, gulp, buy it on Blu-ray, the Blu release features a fair amount of deleted and extended scenes, a rather interesting featurette about the weapons and vehicles, and one rather uninteresting featurette about the special effects, which I’ve already covered. There’s a picture-in-picture commentary track that’s Blu-exclusive. I’ll be honest, it didn’t make the film any less of a disaster.

Something Borrowed

I know what you’re thinking — this has Jim from The Office in it, it can’t be all that bad. It’s that sort of logic that gets people watching formulaic, cliché-ridden films like this. Don’t be a victim.

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil

It’s a sequel to an animated film that I’m not convinced anyone saw. Voice work from Patrick Warburton be damned, because there’s nothing worth exploring inside this sadly bland experience.

• Bambi II (Disney/Buena Vista)
• The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (Sony Classics)
• Poetry (Kino)
• Road to Nowhere (Monterey)
• Samurai Girls: Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks)
• Sympathy for Delicious (Maya)
• The Women in Cages Collection (Shout Factory)

Top Gear: The Complete Season 16

Being not a car guy, I have only recently discovered the consistently brilliant world of Top Gear, courtesy of the folks at the BBC. It’s hard to imagine myself enjoying such a show, as I’m not into the nitty gritty, nuts and bolts of what makes a car I will never be able to afford tick. That said, I do love watching crazy people. And more than being a show about cars, this is a show about crazy people who are allowed to drive very expensive cars in very dangerous ways. Enter Jeremy, Richard and James, the three amigos of motor enthusiasm. In series 16, they begin with a trip up the coast of the United States, where they find themselves in situations that allow them to be every bit the snobby, ridiculous Brit stereotypes that would drive Aston Martins. Their subtle prejudices are hilarious, making fun of every Joe Bob and Jim Bob Nascar country has to offer. Better yet is the banterous beatings they give to each other, much of which leads to absurd challenges — like a Porche 911 racing to beat a classic Volkswagen Beetle that’s been dropped from a mile up by a helicopter. Reality TV doesn’t get much more real, or ridiculous, than that. The Blu-ray also includes a number of nice special features, including behind the scenes of “Celebs in a Reasonably Priced Car” (Danny Boyle is in there), a Studio Tour and some outtakes. All of it is worth watching, as every moment sirs Jeremy, Richard and James are on screen, they are riveting in their displays of bravado and absurdism. 

The Battle of Algiers (Criterion)

Gillo Pontecorvo couldn’t have know it in the mid-1960s, but with The Battle of Algiers, he would make an incredibly moving, undeniably gut-wrenching film that remains as relevant today as it was back then. The story of the struggles between the Arab population of Algeria and the French colonials who had occupied their country for 130 years, Battle of Algiers gives great insight into some of the reasons why the Western world and the Muslim world still clash today. Beyond that transitive element, it’s a deeply profound movie about a people fighting back for their land, finding a way to overthrow a seemingly insurmountable force. The Blu-ray transfer from Criterion is very solid, with a good number of shots cleaned up, but a few left in their original, grainier states. The thing that makes this set worth a buy, however, is the way it’s presented. Rather than the standard single disc film and features release, Criterion chose to give Battle of Algiers a two-disc, collector’s edition feel. The first disc is the film, a behind the scenes documentary, interviews with modern day filmmakers who have been influenced by Pontecorvo’s tale, and plenty of commentary. On the second disc is a slew of additional features focused on the history behind the film, including a documentary called Remembering History, about the Algerian experience in the battle for independence. Everything about the set feels like a complete, very special edition.

The Fox and the Hound / Fox and the Hound II

Few things are more American than the notion of “two for one.” No matter the quality of each piece, getting two of anything for the price of one will always draw our eye. The bonus here is that you were probably going to buy The Fox and the Hound, another brilliantly transfered Disney classic, so The Fox and the Hound II is a really nice bonus. The first film, aged exactly 30 years, doesn’t look a day over 10 with its vivid colors and charming animal characters. Even though neither film comes with a ton of HD special features (both films are on the first Blu-ray disc, with the extras on DVD discs two and three), the digital restoration of the first film is spectacular. Now you get a timeless tale of friendship, fun musical performances, bright colors and beautiful hand-drawn animation. And did I mention they’ve included the second film for free? Despite being a lesser sequel, The Fox and the Hound II does maintain a bit of the charm from the original film. Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong owning both. It will come in handy if and when you’ve got little ones running around the house.

Paul

Perhaps the most astute critique of Greg Mattola’s Paul came from my girlfriends parents. Fans of the 50s sci-fi explosion and the southwestern United States, they were eager to pick this out as one to watch. Upon viewing, they pointed out that Paul would have been a much better movie without the cursing. It raises a bigger point: Paul, more than most movies, is trying to hard to be things it simply is not. It’s trying to hard to be an adult comedy, while still being a cute nerd friend adventure. It’s trying to be edgy, but it loses all edge in stupidity. It’s also trying to be a movie that sends up some classic sci-fi films, only to come of more like a bad parody, cramming in reference after reference, rarely doing so in service of a plot. Sure, it’s silly and at times gets its laughs, but it’s far lazier than we’d expect from the director of Superbad and the two guys from Shaun of the Dead. On Blu-ray, Paul comes with the “exclusive, limited time” offer of streaming another movie to your iPad, TV or smartphone courtesy of Universal. It’s almost like they know you won’t want to watch Paul a second time, so they’ve included a palette cleanser. Beyond that, it’s blooper reels, a mostly interesting “evolution of Paul” effects featurette and some additional Jeffrey Tambor. In a nutshell, the extras were better than the movie.

Your Highness

Like Paul, Your Highness has its moments of silly fun. But it gets in its own way by trying to be that R-rated comedy set in medieval times. James Franco spends most of his time with a stoned smirk on his face, moving him from actor to “guy just trying not to laugh.” Danny McBride brings his usual character type back in time, but forgets to properly adapt to the language or the accent of the times. Did they say “fuck” back then? If so, I doubt they said it this often. The saving grace of this film is Natalie Portman, eternal badass, and a surprisingly goofy performance from writer-turned-villain Justin Theroux. Even though it would cause King Arthur roll in his proverbial grave, Your Highness does accomplish enough absurdity to be entertaining, but only through one viewing. The Blu-ray, while “unrated” and complete with a few extended scenes,  doesn’t offer much substance with its quantity of special features. There are several Blu-ray exclusive, so if you dug the movie in theaters, you can safely buy Blu over DVD, but I doubt many of the rest of us are going to get at these extras and say “I must watch these again!”

Mars Needs Moms

The film criticism machine is not a perfect system. But sometimes critics, on the whole, get one right. They were absolutely right to reward Robert Zemeckis’ Mars Needs Moms with a 34% Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s bad. When the best you can come up with for a DVD cover quote is Pete Hammond calling it “The Perfect Family Film In Every Way,” you’re in trouble. Quick, someone go stab that Pete Hammond guy, because putting the word “perfect” anywhere near this confused, poorly rendered and even more poorly conceived film is grounds for termination — from the world. Zemeckis, producing this time, brings back the ImageMovers Digital team and their knack for creating creepy uncanny valley people, only to tell the story of a little boy who chases his mom to Mars and in rescuing her, sexually liberates a society of Puritanical Martian women. I shit you not. If they had known they were making such a film, they could have taken it less seriously and we’d all be in on the joke, enjoying the show. But they didn’t. And it’s not. As for your “family,” I wouldn’t subject them to this film if you can avoid doing so. Instead, there’s another Disney film located at the top of this column that, despite being 30 years old, is delightful.

Super

Not much to say about James Gunn’s Super. I had high hopes for this one, which takes on the world of a real-life superhero played by Rainn Wilson. But in the end, it suffers from a complete lack of energy. Even a finale complete with 20-minutes of extreme mayhem can’t save a film that, for its first two acts, proceeds to bore us with the full force of a plumber’s wrench. Take a chance and rent, if you must, but don’t be surprised if this one disappoints.

• Cameraman: The Life & Work of Jack Cardiff (Strand Releasing)
• Dazed and Confused (Universal)
• Dead Man (Echo Bridge)
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Universal)
• Jumping the Broom (Sony)
• The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (Echo Bridge)
• Tactical Force (Vivendi)
• Twin Dragons (Echo Bridge)

Torchwood: The Complete Original UK Series

Seeing as this column has been away for a few weeks and I’m going to be catching up with some of the best and brightest releases we missed, I’m calling for a temporary rule change and allowing myself two — count ‘em — two picks of the week. First, because it would be near impossible for me to choose between the two. And (b), because they fit so well together. The first of these two must-have television sets is Torchwood, the Doctor Who spin-off about a secret British agency led by a mysterious American named Jack Harkness who has one advantage over the hordes of aliens he comes into contact with: he can’t die. Led by this immortal man, a team of gifted, otherwise ordinary humans work to protect humanity from any threat, be it alien, supernatural or otherwise strange and interesting. Now, you may be thinking to yourself “I probably need to be a major Doctor Who fan to get into this,” and you’d be wrong. Torchwood may have some cross-over here and there, but it stands perfectly well on its own as a solid character drama surrounded by some creative sci-fi and supernatural elements. It’s a tad sexy, a bit dark at times and full of creative subplots that maintain a curiously strong sense of momentum through the entirety of its two seasons (plus a six-part mini-series). As Blu-ray collector’s items go, this one is awesome. It’s packaged in a sturdy, book-like box that slides out of an outer casing to reveal the 12-disc set. It’s got weight to it, giving it an anthology-like feel, a fact that should delight any fan of the show. This one is recommended for fans and non-fans alike. Torchwood is the real deal.

Stargate Atlantis: The Complete Series

If you’re one of those people who has been putting off getting into Stargate: Atlantis, as I am, then you’re probably ready for a big 20-disc vacation-busting set like this. If you’re a fan of Stargate: Atlantis, the popular offshoot of the Stargate franchise that, to my knowledge, does not include Kurt Russell but is still pretty solid, then you’re going to like this one, as well. It is a complete package; 50-odd hours of extras, including several extended episodes; a bunch of behind the scenes featurettes and commentaries. Better yet is the fact that it packs 5 seasons neatly into a very neatly designed, compact set. Unlike other box sets, it won’t force you to completely rearrange an entire shelf. And as someone who collects, I can appreciate good packaging. Even more importantly, I can appreciate good sci-fi. And this is good sci-fi, complete with some memorable characters, a little adventure here and there and yes, some silliness. With the exception of Battlestar Galactica or original series Star Trek sets, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more complete sci-fi package than this one.

Rio

At first glance, Rio may not be the most appealing release of the week. First, it’s not a Pixar or Dreamworks release, but rather a 20th Century Fox animated tale. Also, the Blu-ray’s only exclusive feature is “Live Lookup Powered by IMDB,” not exactly a crown jewel of extras. Yet there’s something indelibly charming about this film, an energy that seems to spring from its South American setting and its vibrant colors. For the kids, it’s a lot of fun. For adults who simply like beautifully animated, capably constructed films, it’s also worth a look. If you’re looking to test out a 3D setup or simply looking to give your Blu-ray player and HDTV a good workout, this may prove to be an excellent reference DVD. The HD version of the film is filled with color, fluid motion and a soundtrack with some serious flair. It is perhaps the most easily recommendable film of the year starring George Lopez, and we all know how wide the choices are in that particular category.

High and Low (Criterion)

By now we all know that Criterion is good at what they do. They take classic, influential films from a non-HD or DVD era and bring them up to date through painstaking hard work and some of the best technology in the business. But for some reason, I’m convinced that Akira Kurosawa movies get a little something extra. And that something is love. There’s no other way to explain why the transfer on High and Low is so gorgeous. The intensity and elegance that Kurosawa built into his modern day crime thriller comes spilling out in as crisp a display as we could imagine from a film shot in the early 1960s. With this release, Criterion once again delivers the definitive home video version of the film they’re releasing. There’s no reason for you not to own High and Low, so I see no reason why you shouldn’t own this version of it.

Rango

Thanks to my impromptu Blu-ray reviewing vacation, I’ve got the honor of talking about not one, but two of this year’s most charming animated films. The first was Rio, and now Rango. In a year that Pixar seems to have taken a pass, there has been some great work from the other studios. This one comes from Paramount Animation, before it was named Paramount Animation. Pirates of the Caribbean frontman Gore Verbinski teams with star Johnny Depp to tell the story of a house pet chameleon who, by chance, ends up in the wild west critter town of Dirt. There he is thrown into the task of discovering what happened to the town’s water supply. The animation is incredibly sharp and lifelike — I was not surprised to see that Paramount Animation (or Nickelodeon, in this case) was just a front for Industrial Light & Magic, who are actually behind the look of this film — and the story is charming. It’s got enough of Johnny Depp’s Hunter S. Thompson love in it to transcend its kiddy plot and become something interesting. The Blu-ray release isn’t littered with supplements, but many the ones it does have are exclusive. If the look of this meticulously animated film isn’t enough to make you pony up HD money, the extras should finish the job.

The Blues Brothers

It is time to once again go on a mission from God. Easily one of my favorite films of all-time, The Blues Brothers is the eternal story of Jake and Ellwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd), two Chicago orphans who grew up with music in their hearts and trouble in their path. And in order to save the orphanage that saved them, they’ve got to get the band back together. They simply don’t make movies like this anymore, or at least not with this kind of genuine spirit. Between the ridiculous car chases — two of the most ridiculous, if I may — the celebrity cameos (Frank Oz is my favorite) and the Saturday Night Live roots of the characters, you’d think that it would be one big, stupid mess. But John Landis holds it all together perfectly. But what of the Blu, you ask? The transfer looks solid, very little grain, and the extras are holdovers from the DVD days. There’s an “extended edition,” but I can’t tell the difference between that and the theatrical cut. I had hoped for more Carrie Fisher. It’s well worth picking up, as it looks and sounds great. Like The Blues Brothers should.

Animal House

While I was over the moon about Blues Brothers, I was simply impressed with the Animal House release. Like Blues Brothers, the sound mix kills. It makes me want to shout, and whatnot. The transfer looks great and the special features are a solid assortment. I can’t say that I’ve seen the “Where are they Now?” Delta alumni mockumentary on any previous DVD releases, but they don’t tout it as new or exclusive to Blu-ray, so perhaps I missed it. It’s funny, though, I can tell you that. The Blu exclusives include Universal’s U-Control, which doesn’t get enough credit for how easily it allows you to watch behind the scenes content while staying in the movie. You can even compile a playlist of songs from the soundtrack and/or purchase tracks directly from iTunes. All while your movie is playing. Or you could just watch the film in glorious HD, with a bitchin’ soundtrack. Whatever floats your boat.

Eastbound and Down – The Complete First Season

Resisting Kenny “F**kin” Powers is futile. Anyone who has seen moment one of Eastbound and Down can tell you that much. The brainchild of a conglomerate of talented people, including Danny McBride, David Gordon Green, Ben Best and Observe and Report director Jody Hill, follows the life and times of baseball prodigy and overblown personality Kenny Powers, whose time in the majors was cut short by his ability to inspire seething rage in everyone around him. After several cities (and even more numerous racially charged outbursts), he ends up back in his hometown, living with his brother, trying to win back the woman he loves and find a way back to the big leagues. There’s no doubt that Eastbound and Down is a rude show, increasingly inappropriate at almost every turn, but it does work nicely for anyone who has enjoyed the work of any of the names listed above. It’s pure, unfiltered Danny McBride. And I think that’s awesome. As for the Blu-ray, it’s not heavy on extras, but each one provides a little added value, from featurettes to commentary. If you’re a fan of the show, you won’t find a single moment of disappointment.

Eastbound and Down – The Complete Second Season

In his second go-round, El Kenny Powers has escaped the clutches of responsibility and run off down to Mexico. There he finds a gig running cock fights, avoiding his friendly neighbor (played by Efran Ramirez) and leading a little gang of thugs, one of whom is Deep Roy. Season two gets a little weirder, with great supporting performances from the likes of Michael Peña, Ramirez, Ana de la Reguera and Steve Little alongside a cameo from an 80s TV icon that makes the entire thing worth the effort. If season one was the unhinged version of Kenny Powers, this is the prison-broken, completely free and ridiculous Kenny Powers. As for the Blu, it’s the same story as it was above. The commentary tracks are a lot of fun, the featurettes are silly and the outtakes have their own unique charm. As I mentioned before, resisting Kenny Powers, if you’ve got the right sense of humor, is futile. And season two is no exception.

Conan the Barbarian

Just in time for the release of Lionsgate’s Conan reboot — don’t you love how they do that? — comes the original, muscly version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, a man forced into a world of torture and slavery following the murder of his parents. The perpetrator of such heinous acts, played by James Earl Jones, becomes his mortal enemy, and when freed, Conan sets out to exact some revenge. Be it a bit cheesy, Conan won hearts and minds with its passionately delivered, simple story and some big production value. It’s all perfectly rendered on Blu-ray, in a transfer that is clean and without much of the digital noise we often see in mid-80s revivals. Also impressive are the new Blu-ray extras, including 10 minutes of previously unreleased archival interviews with Schwarzenegger, director John Milius and other cast members, as well as a 15 minute featurette about sword-making and fighting that seems less about the film and more about swords in general. But hey, if you’re a fan of swords, it won’t seem odd to you.

Life During Wartime (Criterion)

The mind of director Todd Solondz is a strange place. But a mind so strange would be a terrible thing to waste, as anyone who has experienced his films might tell you. With Life During Wartime, he delivers his companion piece to his 1998 dark comedy Happiness, telling the story of three emotionally stunted, dissimilar sisters in a post-9/11 setting. Even though he casts three different actresses to play characters that originated in Happiness, he still finds that delicate balance of wit and naturalness that permeate much of his work. As they do, Criterion has put a great deal of work into delivering the full vision of Solondz’s film into the Blu-ray with the inclusion of an audio Q&A with the director, a new “making of” documentary and one featurette focused on cinematographer Ed Lachman, perfect for the cinematography junkies among us. The only type of person who may want to avoid this release are those turned off by the work of Todd Solondz. Otherwise, it’s another quality Criterion release in the bag.

Source Code

Duncan Jones wowed us with his ingenuity and craftsmanship with Moon, his debut feature. His follow up, the sci-fi time-bending crime thriller Source Code, is exactly the kind of film you’d imagine a guy like Jones would make if given a little more money by a studio known for leaving its filmmakers to do their work (Summit Entertainment). It’s a tight, thrilling little film that benefits from some smart writing and solid performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan and a pipe-smoking, curiously voiced sideshow from Jeffrey Wright. Even with a few dangling questions left by the film’s logic-stretching ending, it’s all part of a very satisfying whole. The only problem I foresee with this Blu-ray release is that for all the complexities in the film, the home video package is rather simple. There’s a movie, an interactive commentary track and an audio commentary track. I’d call it an efficiency Blu-ray release, much like the film is an efficient thriller.

Exporting Raymond

It’s rare to see a documentary so exceedingly charming and effortlessly funny as Exporting Raymond, the story of Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal’s journey to Russia, where he attempts to translate Raymond into a Russian sitcom. It’s a quintessential example of what happens when a man, who is considered to be a big deal in his own world, tries to apply his talents in a place that is completely foreign, and mostly uninterested in what he has to say. Beyond the delightful, adventurous documentary, the Blu-ray release also has a few of the Everybody Loves Kostya episodes, showing us the final results of Rosenthal’s wild journey. Also, there’s a featurette called “Old Jews Telling Jokes” that might be the best extra found on any of this week’s releases. It’s exactly as funny and awkward as you imagine it to be.

Conan the Destroyer

I hate to break up a pair, but Conan the Destroyer‘s BD release just doesn’t have the same pop we see in Conan the Barbarian. The HD transfer is just as good, the sound mix is great, and the movie isn’t half bad. It has Wilt Chamberlain in it, after all. So it has to have something to do with the lack of discovery in the extras. As opposed to its predecessor, Conan the Destroyer comes complete with a theatrical trailer and some D-Box motion code for anyone who has a D-Box chair in their home. Since the amount of people who (a) have a D-Box chair in their home and (b) have never seen the Conan the Destroyer trailer can be counted on one hand, this one gets a rent. It’s a lot of fun to watch Ahnold go even bigger and cheesier than he did the first time around, but there isn’t much of a reason to add this one to your collection.

Spy Kids / Spy Kids 2 / Spy Kids 3

As is usually the case when three films in a franchise are released on Blu-ray leading up to the release of a fourth film, I smell a box set release down the line. With Spy Kids 4 hitting theaters in two weeks, Miramax and Lionsgate are simply trying to cash in on the popularity of the original films. That said, they didn’t do a terrible job with these releases. I shouldn’t be, but I was impressed with the sheer volume of extras included with each disc. It proves the long-held theory that Robert Rodriguez shoots everything, and shoots everything that is happening while he’s shooting everything. He’s the Thierry Guetta of actual filmmakers, constantly rolling film on something. The result is a vast selection of extras that range from Alexa Vega concerts to Ten-Minute Film School lessons to “A Day in the Life of Spy Kids.” It’s exhausting. Unless you have kids in your household who love these movies — then you’ve got something special: an entire afternoon of peace and quiet (and Spy Kids).

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

This movie is awful. There really isn’t any other way about it. Wooden performances, an almost completely incoherent narrative and all the visual stylings of a hallway painted the color taupe. The premise is great, telling the story of a supernatural private eye (Brandon Routh) and his recently zombified partner (Sam Huntington) as they seek out monsters on the Louisiana bayou, but the execution is startlingly poor. It’s made all the more frustrating coming from director Kevin Munroe, who did such excellent work with the animated TMNT. Some slick creature effects aren’t enough to save this one from being excessively flat and lifeless. And no measure of special features is going to save that sort of unenviable death.

• Adrenaline Rush – The Science of Risk (Image)
• Better Off Dead (Paramount)
• Copycat (Warner Brothers)
• Eden of the East: Paradise Lost (FUNimation)
• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: 25th Anniversary Commemorative Packaging (Paramount)
• The Final Destination – 3D (New Line Cinema)
• A Fistful of Dollars (MGM)
• For a Few Dollars More (MGM/UA)
• Hell’s Kitchen: Season 5 – Raw and Uncensored(First Look)
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – 3D (20th Century Fox)
• The Magnificent Seven (MGM/UA)
• The Name of the Rose (Warner Brothers)
• Outside the Law (Palisades Tartan)
• The Perfect Game (Image)
• Quarantine 2: Terminal (Sony)
• Sleepers (Warner Brothers)
• Soul Surfer (Sony)
• Stake Land (MPI)
• Zen: Vendetta / Cabal / Ratking (BBC)

This Week in Blu-ray

The Adjustment Bureau

In a week that saw its share of competition for Pick of the Week (it really didn’t), it seemed that a ginger comedian would eventually emerge as the winner. Then I popped The Adjustment Bureau into the ole’ Blu-ray player and 106-minutes later, I was sold. This incredibly stylish, meticulously crafted adaptation of work by Phillip K. Dick is well acted, creatively conceived and impressively ambitious. Matt Damon plays a politician who meets the girl of his dreams, then uncovers a secret group of “adjusters” who are tasked with keeping the world “on plan.” Unfortunately for him, that plan doesn’t include him dating this girl (Emily Blunt). Unfortunately for them, he’s Matt F&*king Damon, and he’ll fight for the girl he loves. It’s a stylish love-letter to New York, a taught thriller and a resonant love story all wrapped into one. The Blu gets extra points for its Interactive Map of New York City that plays around with some of the concepts and locations explored in the film. A few more featurettes and it’s a lock — this is the release I would most urge you to own this week. Somewhere along the way, The Adjustment Bureau got lost in a release date shuffle. A fact made all the more depressing based on the realization that it’s actually a damn good movie.

Louie: The Complete First Season

If there’s one evident thing about his comedy, Louis C.K. is a grumpy guy. His observations about the world often reflect on the stupidity, self-importance and lack of common sense that plague our latest generations. But in this show, C.K. consistently displays some range in the form of narrative vignettes about raising kids, interacting with friends, dating at his age, and more. Sprinkled in between moments of stand-up, using a format similar to Seinfeld, but in a more naturalistic style, he tells stories from his life, both true and perhaps somewhat embellished. The end result is a show that consistently finds ways to balance being very funny and somewhat heartfelt. The Blu-ray release gets a standard set of extras: commentary tracks on a few episodes, deleted scenes and a lone featurette. It also utilizes a 2-disc set format in which each disc has Blu-ray on one side, DVD on the other. The benefit to you is that it should keep the cost down. The downside is that it’s a real pain figuring out which side is which. You have to read. How dare they.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

There’s something so infinitely charming about this damned Wimpy Kid series. There I was, sitting around trying to do work while having this film on in the background. And there I was some moments later, just as the case was with the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid, caught up in watching a movie about a little dorkling who draws stick figure comics, is tormented by his older brother, and tries to woo the prettiest girl in his grade. Perhaps its the charm of Zachary Gordon, the young man who plays wimpy to perfection. Or the supporting cast, including Rachael Harris and Steve Zahn. But there’s something superbly charming about this series of films, and I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t tell you to rent, or possibly buy, especially if you’ve got little ones to entertain. What I enjoy most about it is that there’s no need to be crass or juvenile with the humor, it’s all earnest, genuine kids-being-kids entertainment. Even though I’m no square, I can certainly appreciate something that is wholesome without being stiff and lifeless. The Blu-ray release is pretty well loaded with extras, including a gag reel, a series of “Summer Vacation” shorts linking this and the previous film, and some extra scenes. It’s a quality package for a fun little film.

Cedar Rapids

The thing about workplace comedies is this: it’s something that most of us can relate to. Many who have ever worked in corporate America are familiar with business trips to mid-range hotels, where conferences are held and copious amounts of alcohol is consumed not always in celebration, but to numb the experience. It’s about karaoke and half-priced appetizers, neon blue indoor swimming pools and the off-chance that you might meet get to hook up with someone just as lonely as yourself who you can talk to because you share the same shitty job. What? You don’t connect with that? Maybe it’s just me. Anyway, Cedar Rapids is a consistently hilarious take on all these things, with performances from Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr. that are authentic representations of stereotypes you see on these kinds of business trips. The gags get the laughs, Ed Helms provides the emotional center of the story, and the entire affair has an aesthetic that feels like a more subtle version of Jared Hess’ mid-west and the people dynamic of Office Space. It’s not quite as absurd, but it’s almost there. I found it to be a wonderful surprise, something you should take a chance on. The Blu-ray, especially for those who have seen and enjoyed this under-the-radar winner, has plenty of great extras to keep the party going. If you’re already sold on the film, it’s a buy. For everyone else, you won’t regret renting it.

happythankyoumoreplease

In his directorial debut, How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor charmed the pants off Sundance attendees last year with this star-studded, indelibly charming tale of loves many forms in the Big Apple. Solidifying himself as the new Zach Braff, Radnor also wins points for giving Tony Hale a role that is anything but Buster Bluthe, allowing him to show some chops and eventually steal the film. As I wrote when I reviewed the film at Sundance, “if Radnor accomplishes anything above all else, it is that he makes his characters extremely likable. Almost annoyingly likable. By the end, we’re rooting for all of them to see what is right in their lives and find the love that we all would like to have.” Who doesn’t want to watch a movie like that? The only problem with the Blu-ray release is that while it’s heavy on charm, it’s light on almost everything else. A commentary track, a featurette about the music, 9-minutes worth of deleted scenes and you’re done. That’s not what I would consider to be a sufficient amount of add-ons, but at least the film is good. It’s not revelatory, nor is it going to propel Josh Radnor to the upper echelon of storytellers, but it does show signs of a young Woody Allen. Or less hyperbolic, it shows signs of a young Zach Braff.

Unknown

Liam Neeson is a man who can’t remember why he’s in Berlin. And he doesn’t know what happened to his hot wife. As Rob Hunter explained when he reviewed Unknown theatrically, “It’s Taken meets Frantic (by way of a handful of titles that would surely ruin the film’s main reveal were they to be named) as Harris is forced to scour his way through Berlin in search of the truth with only a troubled woman (Diane Kruger) and an ex-East German Stasi agent (Bruno Ganz) on his side. Has the world gone mad? Has he? Or is there something far more sinister at play here?” It’s a slightly more stylish film than Taken, but nonetheless they are spiritual brethren. It also plays for the twist, which means that seeing it once is more than enough. If you love you some Liam Neeson in ass-kicking mode (and who doesn’t), it’s more than worth a watch. When it comes to renting or buying the Blu-ray, this one’s an easy choice. There are almost no supplemental features on the Blu, save for two 4-minute featurettes, neither of which takes enough time to say anything interesting. It’s not a bad flick, nor is it a terrible release. It’s just painfully average when stacked against all the other opportunities we have to see Liam Neeson rampaging because someone in his family is missing.

The Island

In the commentary track for The Island, which has been reused from the previous DVD release, director Michael Bay takes several opportunities to point out some of the things he didn’t like about his own movie, or the things that “the studio” wanted to cut, but he fought for. He also goes on about why The Island took in an abysmal $35 million at the domestic box office. But as we listen to him take off on all the things that went wrong, there’s also a hint of genuine remorse — he knows that maybe The Island wasn’t his best $125 million dollar effort. And in between all the sharp comments about studios and budgets, there’s some self-deprecation that shows him to be more self-aware than you might think. He’s no fool. Moreover, The Island isn’t as bad a movie as most people remember. It’s more ambitious than anything Bay’s ever conceived and presents us with a relentlessly stylish, motivated and perhaps better-acted action movie than expected. On Blu-ray, it offers us nothing by way of special features, but it does offer us the opportunity to revisit it. Michael Bay may not ever make a “smart” movie, but The Island is proof that he’s tried.

The Eagle

“‘Damn the darkness,’ Marcus says early on as he wonders what fresh terrors lay beyond the reach of their torches. Like much of the script he’s telling us something we can already see and comprehend for ourselves. Worse still are the stretches of dialogue spoken solely as a means to fill us in on the story elements we should be seeing. A prime example of which is the character of Uncle Expositionus Aquila (Donald Sutherland) whose every word is spent telling viewers about something that happened in the past or something that’s happening currently. ‘Look, fun.’” After much debate, I’ve decided that it would be impossible for me to out-do the lashing Rob Hunter gave this movie in his theatrical review. It’s just as lifeless as he describes. And sadly, the Blu-ray doesn’t do anything to save it. There’s little “Unrated” about the “Unrated” version contained in this set, nor is there anything in the light assortment of extras. It’s mind-blowing to think that this film shares a director with State of Play and The Last King of Scotland. Someone must have some dirt on Kevin Macdonald, and I suspect it’s Channing Tatum.

• Ceremony (Magnolia)
• Ghost in the Shell: Individual Eleven (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Ghost in the Shell: The Laughing Man (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Growth (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• The Island (Paramount)
• Kiss Me Deadly (Criterion)
• The Medallion (Image)
• Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (Image)
• Priest of Love (Kino)
• The Rig (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• The Romantic Englishwoman (Kino)
• Stonehenge Apocalypse (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• You Got Served: Beat the World
  

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

As you are undoubtedly aware, the movie theater is no place for hooting and hollering. Audiences should be present, but unheard. I know this as well as anyone out there, having sat through hundreds, if not thousands of movie with some of the stuffiest people on the planet (other film critics). But there was something about Legend of the Fist. When it screened for the audiences of Fantastic Fest last year, it jumped into our laps and demanded that we cheer. So there I was, alongside fellow critics Drew McWeeney and Brian Salisbury, reduced to cinema fandom’s equivalent of a “woo girl” by the first 20-minutes of this Donnie Yen action opus. It played like Saving Private Ryan, but with a little Asian dude running around killing Germans in the most creative of ways. It’s a scene not lost on Blu-ray — the score pounds and the action is crisp in HD, and Yen might as well be jumping into your living room. The Blu-ray won’t woo you with dazzling extras, even though there are a few, but the film is more than worthy of being pick of the week. Yen delivers a war hero, a masked hero and one of his greatest final battles as he takes on a dojo full of Japanese warriors. He is a martial arts man above all other martial arts men, and he demands a spot in your Blu-ray collection.

Insignificance

It’s not common to see a Criterion release — outside of Michael Bay or Wes Anderson’s work — described as fun, but there’s something delightfully twisted about Nicholas Roeg’s Insignificance. In it, he adapts Terry Johnson’s play, which imagines a scene where four people of high cultural status interact in a New York City hotel, ruminating on the nature of celebrity and the frightening effects of the Cold War. Gary Busey is his Joe DiMaggio, the ballplayer. Tony Curtis is his Joseph McCarthy, the senator. Theresa Russell is his Marylin Monroe and Michael Emil is his professor, with more than a shade of Albert Einstein. With splendid performances and a bit of playfulness, Insignificance becomes a drama that is fun to watch. A rare feat. The Criterion Blu release is also a bit of fun, with plenty of updated video interviews, behind the scenes documentaries and as always, a book of essays to fully illuminate the cultural significance of Roeg’s film. If recent Criterion releases have given you a sense of dread based on their weighty themes, you can rest assured that the weight of Insignificance is only felt by its characters, not its audience.

Battle: Los Angeles

Taken as Blu-ray release only, Battle: Los Angeles might be one of the most impressive releases of the week. It has a number of BD-exclusive special features that show an attention to detail beyond your average release. This is a film envisioned for the Blu-ray generation, with its sleek special effects, it’s faux Black Hawk Down military mayhem story and Aaron Eckhart’s chiseled, dirty chin. Fans of the movie will have their opportunity to bask in it, soaking in all the details with the Blu’s Command Central feature, a picture-in-picture virtual trivia and storyboard comparison interactive mode that runs with the movie (should you decide to turn it on.) The problem on my end was that I never quite got that far. A single viewing of Battle: LA was enough. It’s a capably-constructed alien invasion conceit, with special effects that walk up to the line of being dazzling, only to back away slowly later. And Aaron Eckhart is a subdued, but still commanding action lead. Its problem is that 116 minutes, in this world created by director Jonathan Liebesman, feels like four hours. Cool as ice special effects-driven battle vignettes within an otherwise boring film do not a great action film make. So rent this one, if you’re willing to take my word. Or buy it if you’ve already passed the Battle: LA infinite patience test.

Hall Pass

For me, the conceit of Hall Pass is stupid. Two guys get the week off from marriage because their wives, as played by Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate, are tired of them checking out other women or masturbating in their minivans. I understand the old adages about sexless marriages, but lets be frank: no one married to Pam from The Office needs to look elsewhere for the nookie. Needless to say, it left the Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis led comedy off on the wrong foot. Then it used said foot to kick a Korean child in a massage parlor, and I was back on board. Call me easy to please, but it’s the most juvenile stuff that allows me to enjoy the work of Peter and Bobby Farrelly. In what I would contend is their most tame R-rated effort, they lead their two men through a host of predictable, sometimes gross-out gags that eventual lead us to a painfully obvious conclusion. They aren’t even trying to do anything original, they just want to get a few laughs. And they do get them. But just a few. The Blu-ray comes in an “Extended Edition” that only serves to extend the sigh you’ll likely expel when the film is over. And it’s got a gag reel! Look out, world.

Kill the Irishman

In walks a movie that speaks to me on so many deeply personal levels. It’s got Christopher Walken. Point. It is a “based on true events”  gangster story that takes place in 1976 Cleveland, Ohio, my own home town. And did I mention that it’s got Christopher Walken. From it, I walked away feeling connected to the roots of some gangsters that came long before I was around, but also with the enjoyment of sitting through a brazen crime thriller that takes time to do some solid character work. It’s not reinventing a genre, but Kill the Irishman is a far better film than its almost invisible theatrical release and under-the-radar Blu-ray release would suggest. The Blu-ray’s main disability is a lack of extras, as is so often the case. It includes a documentary about the real Irish mobster Danny Greene, but that’s about it. It’s a picture perfect example of a movie worth renting — a solid watch, with a few great performances. And did I mention Christopher Walken? As a gangster?

Red Riding Hood

Of this latest Catherine Hardwicke joint’s preview screenings, which had the unfortunate honor of premiering during Fantastic Fest in Austin with rabid horror fans salivating for blood all around it, I can remember but one thing: a sense of dread as the film’s director entered the Alamo Drafthouse to do some Q&A. I was standing outside, waiting on another film when I saw her. She appeared to know what was about to happen — the standards-laced audience was about to heartily reject her MTV-era period piece, which was more Gossip Girl than American Werewolf, even though it had been marketed the other way around. As she entered the building, it was like someone called out “dead director walking.” It would be an easy thing to question — it can’t be that bad, right? Nope. After inspecting it on Blu-ray, I can confirm that Red Riding Hood is a right piece of garbage. Over-stylized, insipid and lazily choreographed. Not to mention the performances, filed from long distance by the likes of Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried. As a Blu-ray package, it earns points for an alternative ending that is just a little less stupid, picture-in-picture commentary and a gag reel that is lightly entertaining. But as I explored the crown jewels of the extras, the music videos, I can’t help but think that Hardwicke would have rather just made a 20-minute version of this classic story set to some Arcade Fire, instead.

• Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (20th Century Fox)
• Boondock Saints: Truth & Justice Edition (20th Century Fox)
• Camille 2000: Extended Edition (Cult Epics)
• The Cincinnati Kid (Warner Brothers)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Ultimate Edition (Warner Brothers)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Ultimate Edition (Warner Brothers)
• Haven: The Complete First Season (E1)
• The Image (Synapse Films)
• Jackass 3.5: The Unrated Movie (Paramount)
• Johnny Mnemonic (Image)
• The Makioka Sisters (Criterion)
• Marvel Knights Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. / Iron Man: Extremis (Shout Factory)
• Supernatural: The Complete Second Season (Warner Brothers)
• When They Were Young (Image)

Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season

Lets just lay it out there: the final two episodes of Breaking Bad‘s third season could be two of the greatest, most intensely dramatic and incredibly well-written episodes in the era of color. But it’s the build to those two episodes, one that you don’t even notice as it’s happening, that is brilliant. What Vince Gilligan and team have created in the story of Walter White (Emmy winner Bryan Cranston) is one of the fascinating good guy gone bad, but for (sometimes) good reasons stories of all-time. Season three brings in the Mexican cartel, sends Walter’s partner (Emmy winner Aaron Paul) off the deep end and delivers its big guy punch in the end. For those who are experiencing it fresh now on Blu-ray (something you should do, if it’s not clear just yet), count yourselves among the lucky ones. Those who watched it live have been waiting for more than a year to see what happens next. As for the Blu presentation, it’s loaded with more than 10 hours of add-ons, a reward for those who have patiently awaited the release. Three uncensored episodes, commentary on 9 episodes, 7 behind the scenes featurettes, several Better Call Saul commercials featuring the sleazy lawyer played by Bob Odenkirk, a Blu-ray exclusive photo album, a gag reel, a host of unused footage and deleted scenes. It all feels like an apt reward for the patience required of fans of this series. And a gentle, worthwhile reminder that season four is about a month away.

Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology

There’s no denying that any fan of the character will want to own Superman and his many cinematic incarnations on the Blu-ray format. Just owning the set will be enough. But what of those who have an attention to detail? A collector’s eye? Will they noticed the marked improvement in the Superman Returns Blu that was apparent to me? Will they Supes fans go gaga over the Look, Up in the Sky! documentary included in the set? The one that spares no details in revealing the long, rich history of the character. Will collectors notice the milkiness (read, fuzzy whiteness) of the transfer in the Richard Donner originals? And will the detract from their experience? It didn’t impact my experience, as the movies looked good overall. They were filmed and produced in the late-80s, a period of film that continues to be Kryptonite for Blu-ray transfers. No, Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology is no revelation, but it plays out like a effortless celebration of a character. Even though the transfers are less than perfect, the set feels like the most definitive Superman Blu-ray experience we’re going to get. Attention was given, effort was made to clean them up, and lets face it: these movies may never look better than this. Revisiting yields a range of emotions. Jubilation in some of the extras, deeply engrossed in the mythology. Sadness comes with the reminder that Superman III and Superman IV were awful movies. How in the world did people hate Bryan Singer’s version, again? With this set, I’m convinced that his was one of the better efforts.

61*

Many of the readers of this site, not to mention the members of our staff, are fans of Thomas Jane. The guy is a lord on the council of modern internet-based movie geekdom. In addition to his many nerdier ventures, Jane also took a moment in 2001 to star for Billy Crystal in 61*, delivering a flat-out great portrayal of a drunken, arrogant Mickey Mantle. The story revolves around Barry Pepper’s Roger Maris, the man who lived in Mantle’s shadow and beat the Babe’s big homerun record, but Jane delivers the most memorable stuff. Oozing with period authenticity and Crystal’s own affection for America’s pastime, 61* is a vivid American time capsule. And it looks wonderful on Blu-ray. The only drawback to HBO’s high-def release of the film is that, like a good number of made-for-TV flicks, there isn’t a ton of extras. Billy Crystal’s audio commentary continues the theme of affection, as do the two included featurettes. And that is enough to make it worth a purchase. Lovers of baseball and nostalgia will eat this up in equal measure, making it a worthwhile addition to any collection.

True Grit

In response to a recent Blu-ray column I had written, a friend posed to me this question: “Don’t you think you expect too much from some Blu-ray releases? There’s only so much extra stuff you can watch before it becomes a tired exercise.” And they’re right, to a certain extent. While the question of video and audio fidelity is one that can be applied to any release, extras are tricky. Take, for example, the Coen Brothers (and the distributors they work with). I’ve reviewed plenty of their films on the advanced formats and for the most part, they don’t load ‘em up with hours and hours of extras. It never fails, however, to feel like enough. Such is the case with True Grit. Five quick featurettes doesn’t feel like $25 worth of home entertainment, but the entire package of True Grit feels like enough. The film, the focus of its supplements — one specific extra about re-creating Fort Smith was deeply fascinating — and the packaging presentation feel substantial enough to make adding this quality film to your collection an easy choice. As the Peter Travers quote on the cover exclaims, True Grit has enough “Great Filmmaking” and “Great Acting” to satisfy any Blu-ray buyer’s litmus test.

American: The Bill Hicks Story

Few personalities have left their impression on the American comedy landscape like Bill Hicks. He was funny, sure. But he also challenged notions, presented radical ideas and sought self-destruction with an unfathomable amount of determination. He was an inspiration to many, a cautionary tale to some and a legend to almost anyone who knows the world of comedy. And this set, above all things, is a celebration of Bill Hicks. Just as Hicks was more than a comedian with a microphone, this Blu-ray set is more than just a movie. It includes a movie. A very good movie. One that I called an “unexpectedly affecting” and “imaginative” way to bring Hicks’ world back to life (when I reviewed it at SXSW 2010). Beyond the film — which as I’ve mentioned is great, even a must-see — there are hours of extended interviews, featurettes and even some rare clips and previously unreleased performance footage of Hicks in this two-disc set. This is the all-encompassing word on Bill Hicks. Any fan, casual or extremely dedicated, should own it if they have the chance. The makers of the movie, the BBC producers behind the release of the Blu, everyone took painstaking efforts to make sure that this release lives up to the grand persona of its subject. And it does.

The Stunt Man

With The Stunt Man, director Richard Rush takes an introspective view of the world of action filmmaking and twists it ever-so-slightly to make for a rousing, darkly comedic and often distressing film about a guy on the run and the massively egotistical film director who just won’t let him go. It’s hard to imagine such a daring piece of work coming anywhere near three Oscar nominations in this day and age, but 1979 was a different time. Peter O’Toole is the eye of the storm, delivering a dynamic performances that carefully balances the sinister and earnest artistic sides of his character. Barbara Hershey is dough-eyed and brilliant as well. The Stunt Man is simply a treasure to be discovered by the modern movie-lover. And the best part of the affair is the way it’s presented on Blu-ray; it’s transfer, as supervised by Rush, is crisp and natural. The extras are plentiful, including new featurettes that focus on the career of Richard Rush, as well as new retrospective interviews with Peter O’Toole, Barbara Hershey, Steve Railsback and Alex Rocco. It’s almost as if this cult hit’s fans were involved in the curating of the supplements. Combine that with some pretty wicked cover art and we’ve got one of Severin Films’ gold standard releases of 2010. An easy ‘buy’ recommendation for any reviewer to make.

When It Was a Game: The Complete Collection

The year was 1997. It was October and the Cleveland Indians were on the verge of capturing the team’s first World Series in decades. It was something I, as a native Clevelander, had never seen in my first 14-years on this Earth: one of our teams was about to win something substantial. Then, in the early morning hours, an extra-innings rally from the Florida Marlins and a grounder up the middle from Edgar Renteria sealed the fate of The Tribe. Cleveland had lost again. In that moment, my boyhood bond with the game of Baseball was lost. It’s a fire that has never been rekindled. Going through the Ross Greenberg-produced HBO series When It Was a Game almost got me there, as it’s a wonderful look back at America’s game. The three-part series is presented vividly in HD, guiding us through the highs, lows and otherwise interesting moments in baseball history. For kids who grew up as I did, it’s an energetic and more digestible history lesson. For anyone looking to give a great Father’s Day gift, it’s a great venue for allowing elder loved ones to “remember when.” The only problem with this set, for the non-enthusiast, is that it’s a one-and-done presentation. No extras to speak of. It will work great for the lovers of the game, but it’s a rent for anyone sitting on the sidelines.

Madagascar: The Land Where Evolution Ran Wild

Like any great BBC Earth presentation, Madagascar is not short on scenery. As much as I’d love to pretend that I was deeply fascinated by the countless species of animals who, previously unbeknown to me, exist on this little African island, and the factoids presented by narrator and explorer David Attenborough, I was mainly zapped by the lush and colorful landscapes captured by brave BBC cinematographers. How do they get so close to so many shy animals? And if 174 minutes of exploration isn’t enough for you, there are a few bonus features that feel less like appendix bites and more like tangential supplements. As if they could have been part of the feature if BBC editors were a little less kind to their audience. David Attenborough, his voice calm and nurturing, guides us through the bizarre African jungle, introducing us to more than a few wide-eyed, unique species in a very intimate manner. It’s another great example of the ambitious work being done by the BBC Earth team — another great piece of educational material presented with the dramatic flair of entertainment’s fictional work.

Happy Gilmore

Even though his shtick feels increasingly tired these days, there was a time when Adam Sandler created characters we found watchable. Despite the fact that they were usually complete moronic packages, silly caricatures of actual idiots, we loved to behold their silliness and watch them bumble their way toward getting to touch some “heiney.” In revisiting two mid-90s Sandler classics this week on Blu, it’s easy for us to see that one has held up stronger than the other. Happy Gilmore, with his adorable grandmother, his mystical black mentor Carl Weathers and his iconic adversary Shooter McGavin, is easily the most rewatchable of Sandler’s dolts. Few can deny the drawing power of a greenside fight with Bob Barker, Allen Covert’s homeless caddy or Christopher McDonald’s pompous baddie. Be it the golfer in me or the teenager, something inside still loves Happy Gilmore for the meandering, idiotic mess that it is. Adam Sandler and director Dennis Dugan have certainly been worse. And I can’t for the life of my think of a time when they were better. So why the “rent” designation? Lack of extras, that’s why. Hooray, a gag reel!

Another Year

To its credit, Another Year feels like the further culmination of Mike Leigh’s long and illustrious filmmaking career. It’s almost an anthology-level work that slices together all the pieces he’s done well in the past together to the most complete “Mike Leigh film” possible. It’s conceit is simple, its cast is brilliant and its layers are thought-provoking anecdotes about how we, as humans, relate to one another. It’s art doing what art so often does: presenting a bare look at the human condition. Like many of Leigh’s works, it’s a steady-handed film that allows a great group of actors — including Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville and Ruth Sheen — to do what they do best: act naturally. The relationships between their characters are meaningful, the authenticity is effortless and we enjoy the range of emotions brought on by spending some time in their world. It’s A Mike Leigh Movie, after all. On Blu, Another Year is presented with beautiful cover art and a limited amount of supplements. It’s the only thing holding it back from being a solid rent. Leigh and Manville provide a more lively commentary track than expected, while “The Mike Leigh Method” featurette further solidifies this film’s prime directive: to be A Mike Leigh Movie.

Cirque du Soleil: Journey of a Man in 3D

In my mind, there’s only one way to properly experience Cirque du Soleil, and that’s live. Even though I’ve only ever attended one live Cirque show — I saw the naughty one, Zumanity, in Las Vegas this year — that’s not a hard conclusion to make. The experience of Cirque du Soleil is vibrant, colorful and in a real life setting, seemingly a hundred feet tall. There’s no reproducing such an experience in a movie theater, let alone your living room. But you have to applaud Journey of a Man for making the effort. The 3D Blu-ray does effortlessly capture the breathtaking majesty of the story, reproducing every bright color accurately and every dramatic stunt fluidly. The presentation is stylish, elegant and as we’d expect from any Cirque production, full of physics-defying acrobatic work. But there’s something missing, especially in 3D. It’s not the towering spectacle expected by anyone who’s seen Cirque live. At best, it presents a window into a brightly colored world far from our own. Its energetic and playful performances overshadow the lack of stature, completing a 39-minute experience that is as entertaining as Cirque du Soleil can be on a small screen.

Shadows and Lies

James Franco plays a conman who gets entangled with a gangster played by Josh Lucas, and must find a way to give him the slip so that he can make it out of town with a lady he likes, played by Julianne Nicholson. There’s a lot to like about this film. It’s got a talented cast, is artfully shot and is deeply rooted in a love for film noir. But there’s a problem: it’s impressively slow and lacking in energy. It’s also presented on a Blu-ray release that is not-so-mysteriously void of extras. It’s no stretch to say that Shadows and Lies is worth a single viewing, but lets not go beyond that, otherwise disappointment, poetic as it may be, awaits.

Sharks 3D

It’s no Shark Week, but Jean-Michel Cousteau’s IMAX presentation of Sharks brings you right into the cage with brave divers wielding heavy camera equipment. What this 42-minute nature doc lacks in personality (it needs a little Werner Herzog tension, if you ask me), it makes up for in some stunning access to the sea’s most feared predators.

Ocean Wonderland 3D

A intentional companion piece to the Sharks 3D release below and an unintentional companion to my sad attempt at humor in my Blue Crush 2 review below, Ocean Wonderland 3D feels more like a cute nature screensaver for your living room than an engrossing doc about live under the sea. It’s colorful, beautifully shot and ambitious in where it goes, but it fails to ever say enough to really grasp its audience. As much as I like fishes, I’d prefer to learn something beyond “ooh, that one is pretty.”

The Company Men

In my review from Sundance 2010, I asked a simple question of John Wells’ corporate executive drama The Company Men: as our economy suffers at the hands of such men, will we ever really be able to relate to the plight of a bunch of upper middle class white dudes who lose their jobs and struggle to maintain their country club memberships? The answer was no in January of 2010, and it’s still no all these many months later. Where Jason Reitman used our most recent economic collapse as the backdrop for his Oscar-worthy drama Up in the Air, Wells and his star-studded cast use it as a one hundred pound foreground hammer that bashes our heads in with melodrama. Forgive me for not investing in any of your characters as their 401k runs out and their unemployment checks don’t support their taste in fine menswear. The curators of the Blu-ray for The Company Men seemed to have just as little interest in the film as the rest of us, barely eeking out a commentary track, an alternate ending (which sadly does not include Earth being obliterated by an asteroid or Craig T. Nelson doing a song and dance number), some deleted scenes and an equally drab single featurette. Looking to waste 105 minutes feeling depressed about how much money you don’t have? This is not the way. You’d be better served staring at your online bank account balance, assuming it doesn’t log you out automatically after 30 seconds of inactivity.

Sanctum

The “CGI interrupts the beauty and impressiveness of the natural wonders.” It’s as if Rob Hunter, in his February theatrical review of Sanctum, was making a higher-level observation of the pitfalls of CGI. Billed as James Cameron’s “mind-blowing, jaw-dropping” 3D follow-up to Avatar, but with a man vs. nature real-world slant, Sanctum offers us little more than a beautifully shot Nature Channel documentary with a painfully contrived narrative. Anyone who has ever criticized Cameron (who served as Exec. producer) of forgetting the to be storyteller first will eat this one up. It’s all flash in the visual pan, and while it looks beautiful, there’s something lost on the small screen. Without a massive home theater setup and the 3D version of the Blu, you’re not going to feel the film’s intended punch. It’s only punch, for that matter. We can count this as the first time a big screen 3D experience wasn’t improved by stripping away the 3D and sticking with the 2D Blu-ray presentation. Even Avatar was more interesting on 2D Blu. The lack of visual pizazz at home only illuminates the fact that matters most: that Sanctum isn’t a very good movie, gimmick or not.

Blue Crush 2

Please try to control your excitement as I preview the star-less follow-up to Blue Crush. In Blue Crush 2, a Beverly Hills-raised brat named Dana (Sasha Jackson) lashes out against her rich daddy by avoiding going to a very expensive college and hitching her way to South Africa (using what we can only assume is dad’s credit card, a fact that in no way helps him track her down later in the film) where she is searching for the life that her once “Free Spirited” mother sought in the 70s. With a new friend she met on the bus and a host of Abercrombie and Fitch models with accents, she surfs, camps out and gets hilariously involved in the poaching of elephant tusks on her way to discovering her own “Free Spirited” nature. She also wins some sort of surfing competition, I believe. It was all very difficult to follow, despite itself. Whatever special quality Blue Crush had (read: Kate Bosworth in a bikini) is completely lost on this direct-to-DVD sequel. Limited charm and fancy surfing sequences set to a hip soundtrack can only take you so far. The copious bonus features on the Blu-ray don’t progress the entertainment value much further. If you’re a dire fan of the Blue Crush franchise, you may want to spend time on a rental. Anyone who values their time might seek entertainment elsewhere. I’ve heard that those “Under the Sea” Blu-ray screensaver things are pretty cool.

Billy Madison

As I mentioned above with Happy Gilmore, some of the Adam Sandler characters hold up better than others. Where Happy Gilmore is a somewhat adorable bumbling idiot who wants to help his grandmother, Billy Madison is a giant horse’s ass whose motives include clearing up Daddy issues, continuing a life of slackertude and above all, nailing Veronica Vaughn. He’s got some one-liners that I remember being funnier and some of the film’s gags still illicit a giggle or two. But on the whole, Madison is a movie that remains far funnier to 14-year old me than to any later version. With maturity comes clarity. And while Billy Madison was never forced to grow up, the rest of us did. The Blu-ray, like the comedy, presents nothing fresh. A few bonus featurettes and a reused commentary track from director Tamra Davis are hardly worth recommending.

• AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (Limited Collector’s Edition) (Warner Brothers)
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (20th Century Fox)
• Apt Pupil (Image)
• Blue Crush (Universal)
• Bulletproof (Universal)
• Death at a Funeral (MGM/UA)
• Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (Warner Brothers)
• Jackie Chan Kung Fu Master (Phase 4 Films)
• Just Go With It (Sony)
• The Long Riders (MGM/UA)
• The Man Who Would Be King (Warner Brothers)
• Mother’s Day (Troma)
• New York, New York (1977) (MGM/UA)
• Original Sin (MGM/UA)
• The Outlaw Josey Wales (Warner Brothers)
• Posse (MGM/UA)
• River of Darkness (Platinum Disc Corporation)
• Robin of Sherwood: Set 1 (Acorn Media)
• Rubber (Magnolia)
• Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011: The 3D Experience (Sony)

A Clockwork Orange: 40th Anniversary Edition

A Clockwork Orange is one of those great films that I’ve had the honor of seeing properly projected. Of course, that was at 3am during a sci-fi marathon and I may have slept through the second act, but the fact remains: I’ve seen what it’s supposed to look like. So when I report that it looks even better on Blu-ray, that’s not something to take lightly. This week’s Pick was an easy one. Warner Bros. has handled Stanley Kubrick’s ultra-violent masterpiece with great care. From the sturdy, book-like packaging to the fresh Blu-ray exclusive features (including one where Malcolm McDowell looks back 40 years later and another that considers the cultural impact of the film’s violent nature), everything is in step with the greatest expectations for what this release should look like. It’s a collector’s item and a wonderful celebration of a film that, even after 40-years, still holds up as a stunning testimony to the greatness of Stanley Kubrick.

American Graffiti: Special Edition

One of the themes of summer 2011 is this sort of effortless nostalgia that we’re getting with films from J.J. Abrams and Mathew Vaughn. But what of the effortless, authentic nostalgia created by a pre-Star Wars George Lucas in American Graffiti? Rare is the crisp capturing of the 1960s youth culture so evident on this Blu-ray release, every detail screaming forth with a rock ‘n roll swagger. It acts almost as a time capsule for the days when Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss and even Harrison Ford were fresh-faced kids driving around in fast cars and wearing ridiculous cowboy hats. To its credit, this “Special Edition” Blu not only includes a great video transfer, it also has a picture-in-picture commentary track from George Lucas. Even the most divisive director in the kingdom of nerd can be fascinating, especially when he’s not talking about Star Wars. There’s also a great featurette about the film’s music. The disc doesn’t exactly overflow with extras, but there is something about this release that feels special. I felt it while watching the screen test of Richard Dreyfus, one of many cast screen tests included with the film.

True Blood: The Complete Third Season

Who is Sookie Stackhouse, really? I’m not exactly sure, but I’m told it’s included in season three of True Blood. My confession is that I’m not quite all the way to the end of this set, and there’s a reason for that: this Blu-ray set is a beast of Bon Temps if I’ve ever seen one. Absolutely loaded with special features, enhanced viewing modes for all 12 episodes, six audio commentaries, featurettes galore. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘everything else’ and to completely lose sight of watching the actual show. As a wayward fan of Alan Ball’s show — loved season one, shrugged at season two, yawned for most of the first 2/3rds of season three — even I can appreciate when a set comes together and is right for a show’s fans. This Blu-ray set, complete with the full HD versions of all 12 episodes, is one that adds value to any True Blood lover’s experience. And with season four right around the corner, you just might be thirsting for some new stuff to watch. So stop watching that three-minute trailer and get yourself immersed in some special features. In the mean time, I will try to catch up on season three’s big ending.

Drive Angry 3D

I am yet to really cross over and become a supporter of 3D Blu-ray titles, but seeing Nic Cage blast his way out of hell and into the cult-stricken world of the deep south, killing rampantly along the way has brought me one step closer to being a true believer. In one of his most excessive, yet seemingly calculated roles to date, Cage plays Milton, an undead felon who comes back to avenge the death of his daughter at the hands of a silk-shirted cult leader (Billy Burke) and save his baby granddaughter. Along the way there are explosions (awesome ones), gun fights (excessive in nature) and copious third-dimension nudity. Also, Amber Heard stars as Piper, a rough-and-tumble sidekick with an affinity for tiny jean shorts. The big winner in this set is the ‘Access: Drive Angry’ feature, an interactive series of video commentary, kill-counters and factoids that play along with the film (when activated. The commentary from writer Todd Farmer and writer/director Patrick Lussier is reason enough to own this one. Did you know that the Piper character was basically Todd Farmer writing himself as a hot chick? Brilliant. (Note: The 3D version also comes with the 2D version of the film. I recommend you be prepared for the future.)

Biutiful

Months removed from Oscar season, Biutiful feels like one of the most overlooked contenders of last year. Is the rugged handsomeness of Javier Bardem not enough to earn your time and attention? It’s plenty reason for me. This simple story about a man on the wrong side of the law who just wants to keep his two children safe is one of 21 Grams and Amores Perros director Alejandro Gonzelez Inarritu’s finest efforts. It’s also one of Bardem’s best performances, a full-force leading man show in which he holds almost every single scene together with his charisma. Beyond the film, the Blu-ray release of Biutiful isn’t brimming with extras, but does provide a sufficient enough amount of added value. A featurette here, some interviews there, and a quality transfer make it a buy for anyone who is already in love with the film, a very solid rent for anyone else.

Passion Play

Megan Fox plays an angel, Mickey Rourke is the hero that will save her from the bonds of the freak show in which she has become entangled. If any of that sounds appealing to you, I’m not sure what to say. Have at it, just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

• Barry Lyndon (Warner Brothers)
• Big Jake (Paramount)
• The Cat O’ Nine Tails (Blue Underground)
• David Byrne: Ride Rise Roar (Eagle Rock)
• Legend: Ultimate Edition (Universal)
• Lolita (1962) (Warner Brothers)
• A Man Called Horse (Paramount)
• Once Upon a Time in the West (Paramount)
• Rio Lobo (Paramount)
• Rookie Blue: The Complete First Season (E1)
• Stanley Kubrick Limited Edition Collection (Warner Brothers)

Have the need for more Blu-ray recommendations? Click here to discover last week’s Blu-ray selections

The Great Dictator

I spent a greater deal of my childhood than I’d like to admit thinking that Charlie Chaplin simply couldn’t talk. I was good at math, but I was a dumb little kid. Luckily he could talk and he did so in one of his most controversial, subversive and hilarious films. There are some wonderful, classic Chaplin moments of physical comedy and some silly, ambitious moments of what we now consider traditional comedic elements. Some call The Great Dictator his masterpiece, his send-up of the his generation’s most reviled figure. Having been given the Criterion treatment, it is all that and more. Not to hyperbolize, but this is the Charlie Chaplin Criterion you’ve been waiting for. The black and white presentation of the film is incredibly detailed, the uncompressed audio sounds like it was recorded in the modern era and supplemental material is fantastic. One moment you’re watching Chaplin kick the world balloon into the air, in another you’re watching Ray Bradbury talk about the parallels between Chaplin and Hitler. Then in yet another, you’re seeing color production footage shot by Chaplin’s half-brother. It is quite a show, wrapped in an Olly Moss-designed cover and Criterion’s always-solid packaging. Pick of the Week was an easy one this week, even though (as you’ll see) there was plenty of great stuff coming out.

Platoon

It seems like a stretch nowadays, but there was a time when both Charlie Sheen and Oliver Stone made great films. Platoon is evidence of that long-forgotten time, before presidents were being satirized and porn stars were being bedded. Before anyone could claim to be “winning.” Back when Oliver Stone was a bleeding-hear liberal disguised as a decent action director. That’s what we get with Platoon, in fairly glorious high definition quality. Impressive is the transfer, which brings Vietnam back in waves of accurately reproduced green and more green. More impressive, as you’d expect from a film that won an Oscar for Sound, is the DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix. The jungle surrounds the viewer, engulfing them in the agony of war. It’s enough, on its own, to give any audiophile a major case of arousal. The rest of the set is plentiful, as well. Fox and MGM have included several documentaries about the production, a few flashback featurettes and two commentary tracks: one with Oliver Stone that is dated and sort of a bore, and a far more interesting track with Military Advisor Dale Dye that explores the authenticity of the soldier experience. It gives a unique perspective on Stone’s often-criticized, slanted political tone. There was a lot that he, according to Dye, got right. The distributors themselves get the presentation of Platoon right, delivering a 25th anniversary edition worth owning.

Gods and Generals: Extended Director’s Cut

Did you enjoy Stephen Lang’s performance in Avatar? How about anything else he’s ever done. Well my friends, you ain’t seen nothing if you haven’t seen Lang as ‘Stonewall’ Jackson in Ronald F. Maxwell’s Gods and Generals, the epic prequel to his Civil War epic Gettysburg. As I will undoubtedly mention again when we get to that movie, the presentation of Gods and Generals is gorgeous. From the film’s crisp 1080p transfer and its booming, remastered soundtrack, to the embossed, book-like packaging, everything about this release makes it feel like less of a Blu-ray release and more like a time-capsule. It’s an anthology release, complete with 280 minutes of blistering American history. And that’s just the film. That doesn’t include a brand new introduction from Ted Turner and Ronald F. Maxwell, a brand new commentary track, several featurettes, a Bob Dylan music video and the gorgeous full-color booklet. 280 minutes of expansive storytelling is just the beginning. And every ounce of it looks really pretty. It’s hours of blood soaked, slavery abolishing, beauty. The only thing that bothers me — and it comes with a bittersweet twinge — is that all the featurettes aren’t in HD. That smarts.

Gettysburg: Director’s Cut

As I mentioned above with its prequel Gods and Generals, Ron F. Maxwell’s Gettysburg is presented brilliantly, vividly and with great care — to an extent. I love that the film looks great in HD, sounds big in DTS-HD surround sound and feels every bit the 271 minute epic the most famous battle America ever had with itself deserves. I love the 48-page full color booklet it comes with, filled with profiles of characters and actor, stories and quotes that provide additional value to the film-watching experience. The film is a great piece of history, with some solid performances and Maxwell’s touching authenticity, and it’s worth having in your collection. I hate the fact that beyond the commentary track, all of the other special features exist on a second, DVD disc. I hate that in a way that makes me want to bury the business end of a bayonet in it, but the rest is just too good to skip. Judged as a package, a collector’s item, this release of Gettysburg is head, shoulders and musket above the rest.

The Hustler: 50th Anniversary Edition

20th Century Fox and MGM have been going a little crazy with these “Blu-ray Book” editions lately. We looked at The Terminator and The Usual Suspects last week and found them to be hit-or-miss. Presented in lovely packaging, but somewhat hollow when it comes to what’s inside. One could expect the same from the cool-as-ice pool-hall drama The Hustler, one of Paul Newman’s greatest works. But there’s something very different at work here. Major work was done collecting supplemental features for this release, leaving us, the buyers, with a pleasing, well-rounded experience that delivers a milestone film and all the dressings that should go with it. A commentary track with Newman and others is illuminating. The featurettes are plenty insightful and a featurette about Jackie Gleason and Walter Tevis, the real hustler, might be one of the most fascinating add-ons to a classic release I’ve seen in a long time. The Hustler is a straight-forward, no-bull quality release. And did I mention that it looks great in HD and it packaged with a cool Blu-ray book? That all feels like a bonus when you consider all the extras.

The Comancheros

Again with the Blu-ray books. This is a trend that, as a collector who enjoys fancy packaging, I like a lot. But as a minimalist and lover of the aesthetics of my own Blu-ray collection, I hate that these packages are so much bigger than regular Blu-rays. They don’t mix well on a shelf. But I’m over it, as once again Fox and MGM have put great effort into bringing a classic to the HD format. John Wayne weary stare permeates the crisp transfer and the story of two classic rivals forging an uneasy alliance in the old west carries the 107 minute classic to its place in your collection. The extras are the icing. Like The Hustler, there is extra attention given to Wayne’s career at Fox with a doc called “The Duke at Fox.” There are some insightful interviews that tell the stories behind The Comancheros, all of which further illuminate the lore of one of cinema’s great presences. The aforementioned packaging and included 24-page book are the cherry on top, as is the surprise mini-posters included in the package. I’m not sure what one would do with movie posters the size of a Blu-ray cover, but they are neat.

Gnomeo and Juliet

“Gnomeo & Juliet is the greatest film ever made about living, breathing garden gnomes. Throw in the whole Shakespeare element, including references to a Rosencratz and Guildenstern moving company and an animated statue of the Bard himself, and you can be sure that there will never again be another picture quite like it.” Unique and adorable, that’s the gist of what Robert Levin said when he reviewed this film for us during its theatrical release. That’s enough for me. We often yearn for something a little different, as much of what we do see is remakes and reboots. So even though Romeo and Juliet is a tale older than the movie media, it’s nice to see it done in a way that plays around with conventions and is, above all things, cute. Easy fun for the family audience and a colorful display in HD, Gnomeo isn’t the worst choice you could make this week. As for buying the Blu-ray, that’s a tougher equation to solve. Disney is usually strong with their extras, but this one feels lighter than usual. The bulk of extras are on the included DVD copy. The Blu-ray has one featurette — which, to its credit, is a funny bit about Ozzy Osbourne’s inability to speak English — a few alternate endings and some extra scenes. Nothing too special, but it will do the job.

I Am Number Four

On a conceptual level, there’s nothing ambitious about I Am Number Four. It’s about a group of young alien kids who got stranded on Earth after their planet was engulfed in a war with other, more devious aliens. And now said deviants have come looking for the last of the kids. Only the special powers passed on to them by their parents can save them, if they can live long enough to learn how to use ‘em. It’s tired and lacks any punch — until the film’s final act. While much of the film wallows in needless exposition and a noticeable lack of action, act three explodes and is ultimately quite fun. It’s almost worth renting and fast-forwarding to. As for the Blu release, I Am Number Four delivers a few deleted scenes, a featurette that’s only included on the DVD copy (included with the Blu-ray). It’s not enough to make the release anything special. So even if you’ve seen and enjoyed the film (or in my case, 1/3 of the film), it’s still not worth buying.

Elephant White

Somewhere rattling around my recently excited brain, there’s a list of at least ten reasons why you should see this film. One, it includes Kevin Bacon putting on one of the most ridiculous performances (and accents) in his long career. Two, there’s a lot of gun-related violence. Three, it’s about a badass killer (played by Djimon Hounsou) who lets things get personal with a delightful little Thai hooker. Four, gun violence. Five, Kevin Bacon kicking Djimon Hounsou in the shins in one of the film’s laughable first fight sequence. Six, the director of Ong Bak making a movie with Elephant in the title that isn’t about elephants. He also steps outside his comfort zone and delivers a movie that, plot aside, is a rather fun watch. Should you buy this Blu? Heavens no. It has no special features and if you haven’t noticed already, it’s the twisted part of my psyche driving this recommendation. But if you love yourself some delicious violence, it’s more than worth a rent.

The Other Woman

Thinly drawn characters and otherwise predictable conceits can be overpowered by a strong performance. And Natalie Portman is more than capable of giving such a performance, as we’ve seen a few times in the past. That’s the exact equation that goes into The Other Woman. Portman delivers a strong performance as the second wife of her boss and the trials and tribulations found in losing a child and connecting with a step-child. It’s got a bit of heart, some humor and a safe style to it, which makes it worth seeing at least once. As for the Blu-ray, it’s just the movie. Well, okay, I take it back. There is a trailer included for the movie that is also included in the package, but that’s all. And in my mind, even the most independently financed little movie (which this is not, by any means) deserves a little back story.

Such a delightful week of Blu-ray releases. I found nothing that I would urge you to actively avoid. Although there are plenty of wild cards listed below.

• Anton Chekhov’s The Duel (Music Box Films)
• The Big Bang (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Burning Palms (Image)
• The End of Poverty? (Cinema Libre)
• Grand Prix (Warner Brothers)
• Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown (Warner Brothers)
• Le Mans (Paramount)
• Papillon (Warner Brothers)
• Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series (FUNimation)
• Solaris (1972) (Criterion)
• Soul Eater: The Meister Collection (FUNimation)
• Tigerland (MGM/UA)

Pale Flower (Criterion)

I must differ to Roger Ebert for a moment, as he says it far better than I ever could: Pale Flower is “one of the most haunting noirs I’ve seen, and something more; in 1964 it was an important work in an emerging Japanese New Wave of independent filmmakers, an exercise in existential cool. It involves a plot, but it is all about attitude.” What Masahiro Shinoda created in 1964 is an enduring and indelible excursion into Japan’s underworld. It’s also a relentlessly cool film for its time. Criterion, to their credit, has gone to great lengths to preserve it and restore it for HD Blu-ray. They’ve included an uncompressed monaural audio track, brand new video interviews with the director and a new (and allegedly improved) English translation. As this is my first experience with Pale Flower, I can’t say how much improved the translation is (I also don’t speak Japanese), but the subtitles do deliver dialogue that fits with what the characters are doing. Either way, Shinoda’s film is so visually compelling that it’s hard to say whether or not you even need subtitles. Packaged beautifully by Criterion and accompanied by a book of thoughtful essays on the film’s impact on the Japanese New Wave, Pale Flower is yet another prize to be added to any collector’s Criterion shelf.

Thor: Tales of Asgard

One of this week’s more impressive complete packages is a toon that rides on on the back of the big screen debut of Marvel’s Thor. Thor: Tales of Asgard is the animated tale of the God of Thunder in his younger years. Directed by Sam Liu, the same guy who brought us All-Star Superman, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, Planet Hulk and Superman/Doomsday, Tales of Asgard combines sharp, anime-influenced visuals with a colorful, age unrestricted tale of the land of Asgard. It benefits from a wide scope and universal hero’s story. Also, Loki is still a creep. It makes for a nice companion piece to the big screen version, bridging Ken Branagh’s Thor with the Marvel comics. It’s solid fair to bring to the young ones who will undoubtedly want Mjolnir for their birthday. Most impressive is the exceptional level of care given to the release by Lionsgate. As they’ve done with many of the Marvel Animated releases, they’ve included several featurettes, several commentary tracks and combined BD with DVD. It’s a complete package that would be at home in any well-curated collection of superhero tales.

The Usual Suspects (Blu-ray Book)

There’s nothing I hate more than being painted into a corner by a solid Blu-ray release with almost zero extra features. As we’ve discussed before, supplements can make all the difference in the world. But what happens when a great movie — one of the better crime thrillers of a generation — is delivered unto Blu-ray for a second time, in a manner that vastly improves upon its previous release, but still doesn’t deliver big extras? It ends up in the buy section, as if the case with the Digibook edition of The Usual Suspects. The transfer is very solid, with no ghosting, artifacting or grain, the soundtrack booms, and the whole thing includes a 20-some-page booklet filled with essays, profiles and trivia. It’s a far better release than the Usual Suspects Blu-ray that hit stores in 2007. There’s a marked visual improvement in the film, which to me is worth the upgrade. My hope is that you avoided paying $40 for the ’07 release and can spare $20 for this one, as it’s probably the most worthwhile Usual Suspects BD release we’re ever going to see.

The Mechanic

Jason Statham plays one character really well. The hired gun, the guy who works alone and sticks to a code of ethics that make his actions almost completely forgivable, whether he’s transporting human cargo or killing bad people. It’s this fact alone that makes his take on the classic Charles Bronson story The Mechanic such a fun one. He may not be displaying some of the high-kicking martial antics that he’s shown in previous films, but his Mechanic is a classic Americanish tough guy who keeps the bodies dropping fast enough to keep us interested. When he’s paired with Ben Foster, who shows us his tough side, and director Dominic West, who is no slouch when it comes to making mindless adrenaline films, it’s enough to make The Mechanic a bloody, entertaining ride. The Blu-ray release in question is a solid one, short on quantity but not on quality. One “tools of the trade” featurette gives light to how some of the action is pulled off. And that’s really all we want to know when the final credits role. Why have interviews with the writers about character development when they didn’t do any character development? Sometimes a film gives you everything you need in explosive 1080p with a blistering 5.1 soundtrack. It makes movies like The Mechanic the perfect rentals.

Vanishing on 7th Street

The world’s light disappears along with the majority of the population leaving behind a handful of stragglers struggling to survive in the dark. Hayden Christensen brings his wooden acting style to Brad Anderson’s latest film and is joined by Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo as strangers hiding from the shadows and wondering why exactly everyone else has disappeared and left their clothes behind. There are some very cool and occasionally frightening set pieces to be found here, but unfortunately the ending is a complete wash. Still, until that point there’s a substantial amount of mystery begging some interesting questions. Magnet’s Blu-ray features a commentary from Anderson along with a few behind the scenes featurettes that shed some light (puns!) on what’s happening here. The disc also includes multiple alternate endings that are basically the same damn thing over and again just edited in different ways and lengths. - Rob Hunter

The Roommate

Here’s what’s tough about a release like The Roommate. It’s a solid Blu-ray release, technically. It includes a fair amount of special features, including several featurettes that are exclusive to the Blu. So I can foresee a fan of the film getting their money’s worth. The problem is that this film doesn’t seem to have many fans. It’s a lame-duck rehash of the Single White Female tale, in which one young lady (Minka Kelly) is terrorized by a new roommate (Leighton Meester). To her credit, Meester tries to play the monster, but with all her might she can’t muster up anything that rises barely off of the page. They look stylish, in a CW-generation kind of way, but the film lacks the bite of the far better takes on this story that have come before. If you saw it in theaters and enjoyed it, you’ll get something to enjoy in the Blu-ray. If you haven’t partaken yet, consider the risks before making a rent or a blind buy.

Some Like It Hot

Another of last week’s releases that hit my desk late, Some Like It Hot is a venerable classic. Constantly ranked among the 100 best films of all-time. The story of two innocent bystanders who witness a gangland shooting, only to find themselves dressing in drag and posing as members of an all-girl jazz band, it’s one of the most memorable films of its time. The charm of Jack Lemmon, the audacity of Tony Curtis and the screen-sizzling beauty of Marylin Monroe. This movie embodies the word classic. It deserves a better Blu-ray release than this. Not to sound like a broken record, but films of this quality deserve something a little better. This isn’t a bad release. The transfer is a little dirty and the 5.1 soundtrack doesn’t pop as much as you’d imagine it would. And it includes a selection of special features that add a great deal of value. But something about it has me believing that a much better, collector-level release is out there somewhere. Until then, this one is a solid rent.

The Rite

“As I drove away from the theater I could literally feel the details of this film’s particulars slipping from my memory. Five years from now I’ll question whether or not I ever saw it.” The words of Nathan Adams’ review of The Rite rang loud and clear with me as I gave it a chance this week on Blu-ray. In fact, I couldn’t tell you if I still have a copy on Blu-ray, even though I just watched it. Alright, so maybe that’s a stretch — but the fact remains that this Anthony Hopkins led exorcism pic has very little in the way of lasting effects. Even the Blu-ray’s highly touted “chilling alternate ending” does little to make it a memorable film, much less a buyable Blu-ray. The other problem is a lack of pizazz. The Blu release includes the movie, the aforementioned alt. ending, a lone featurette about the real priest upon whose life story the film is loosely based, and some deleted scenes. The most exciting bonus feature is the Digital Copy — because, you know, if you really liked this movie you may also be the kind of person who would want to load it on your iPad and carry it with you everywhere you go.

The Terminator (Blu-ray Book)

It’s not hard to spot a really bad Blu-ray transfer. If you’ve been working with the format for a while, you’ve probably seen enough of a range of films to spot the best and worst. At the worst, a poor Blu-ray transfer often appears as if there’s a not exactly clean layer of glass between you, the viewer, and the movie. That’s about how bad The Terminator looks. But I didn’t even need to get that far before I was thoroughly annoyed by this release. The point of no return could very well have been while browsing the menu. It was clunky to move from a menu to a submenu, lazily thrown together in something that predates iDVD and the sound effects are overly loud and borderline obnoxious. It seems like a nitpick, but it’s indicative of a very poor effort on the part of MGM. So much was done right by Lionsgate with the recent Terminator 2: Judgement Day – Skynet Edition Blu that it makes this release all the more shameful. The accompanying Blu-ray book and solid form packaging are the only highlight, and they’re hardly worth the money. The video quality is poor, the audio might as well be coming out of a single speaker and the extras are laughable. You’d have to try pretty hard to deliver a worse release of such a quality film.

Daydream Nation

Moved by her widowed father from the big city to a small town, Caroline (played by Kat Dennings) finds that the only interesting thing to do in her new zip code is get hot for teacher. Her teacher, as played by Josh Lucas, goes without much of a struggle and a twisted love triangle is born when a classmate (Reece Thompson) also takes an interest in Caroline. The film lethargically takes a story that you’ve seen before and plays it slowly, unsteadily and with as little inspiration as possible. Dennings is a charismatic lead, and Reece Thompson has been in much better movies, but the whole thing is a terribly uninspired, low-rent affair. Simply boring. To the extent that there was no reason to even watch the Blu-ray’s single behind the scenes featurette. That’s not a good showing for any release, let alone one that sports such promising talent.

• Beverly Hills Cop (Paramount)
• The Comancheros (20th Century Fox)
• Diabolique (Criterion)
• The Five Deadly Venoms (Vivendi)
• The Hustler: 50th Anniversary Edition (20th Century Fox)
• The Other Woman (MPI)
• Platoon (MGM)
• Rifftrax Live! House on Haunted Hill (Legend)
• Rifftrax Live! Reefer Madness (Legend)
• That’s What I Am (Vivendi)
• The Twilight Zone: Season 4 (1962) (Image)

I Saw the Devil

A South Korean government agent (Lee Byung-hun) is devastated when his fiance is murdered and dismembered by a madman (Choi Min-sik), but after a brief mourning period he sets out for a twisted and very unorthodox revenge. As in he catches the killer, hurts him severely, then lets him go… only to repeat the cycle over and over again. It’s a brutal game that sees the supposed hero bypass catharsis in favor of the dangerously unthinkable. Director Kim Jee-woon’s latest is easily the darkest, saddest, and most violent of his career but still every bit as fantastic as The Good the Bad the Weird and A Tale Of Two Sisters. Scenes of heart-pumping thrills exist side by side with stretches of excruciating dread. Magnet’s Blu-ray offers a crisp and beautiful transfer as well as an audio track that does wonders with an already amazing musical score. The disc isn’t exactly packed with extras, but the two that are here are interesting and fairly lengthy. There’s a making-of feature that runs shy of a half hour and covers the action, actors, and more, but even better are the twenty-five minutes worth of deleted scenes that include some character work, an extended sex scene in the house of horrors, and an incredible (Hulk-like) postscript to the existing ending. – Rob Hunter

Black Death

The plague sweeps across Europe, and the only thing the people can do is pray to the God they’ve so clearly angered. At least that’s what those at the head of the Christian church keep telling them and enforcing through fear-mongering, torture, and execution. Word comes of a remote village that has turned its back on God in exchange for a life free of the plague and death in general. Sean Bean and his men are sent by the bishop to find the town and bring the non-believers back to Christ by any means necessary. Director Christopher Smith crafts his most mature and effective thriller that moves beyond simple chills to highlight the dangers of faith both blind and enforced. The film is a powerful mix mystery, action, and terror, and Magnet has delivered a Blu-ray worthy of Smith’s accomplishment. The image is sharp enough to see the dirt and grit caked into the characters’ skin, and the audio offers up a fantastic mix of clanging metal, pierced flesh, and the sound of God laughing as he walks away from his most flawed creation. - Rob Hunter

The Green Hornet

At a second glance, The Green Hornet isn’t quite as dumb a film as it tried to be. Somewhere buried in Cheetos and spent butts of green “inspiration,” Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg emerged with a script — a stoned soaked take on a classic crime fighting adventure. What saves the whole deal is performance — that of Jay Chou and Christoph Waltz, above all — and a cool as ice cameo from James Franco. It’s a fun movie, complete with the inventive visual stylings of Michel Gondry. It’s almost worth seeing in 3D. That said, your best value of the week is to pick up the 3D Blu-ray/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. The cover art is cool enough to justify the price, as are the mountains of special features heaped upon this Sony release. It’s odd, at least to me, that they’d give such quality treatment to a film they dumped in a January release. The entire package feels just right, from the extras to the quality of the home-based 3D. Thanks to its director, The Green Hornet achieves a level of cool that supersedes Seth Rogen’s best attempts to muck it with yuck. So buy it, sit down with it and have yourself some fun.

Fiddler on the Roof

It’s nice to see classics get the appropriate treatment, especially when it comes from studio distribution. Seeing a Criterion title get a glistening release is one thing, but seeing it come from Fox and MGM is something special. Such is the case with Fiddler on the Roof, an enduring classic that sweeps across czarist Russia, holding it together with music and hopes. The 1971 film has never looked quite so grand and has never sounded so crisp. And then comes the kick: the fact that there are several hours with of extras that dig deeper into the legacy of Fiddler, explore the thoughts and intentions of director Norman Jewison and plenty of time spent saluting John Williams, whose idyllic score really jumps out at its audience. Unlike some other recent MGM releases (here’s looking at you, Teen Wolf), Fiddler on the Roof has been carefully crafted for its Blu-ray debut, delivering layers of entertainment and insight that go beyond an already wonderful film.

The Illusionist

Thoughout the end of last year, the words on the tip of the tongues of animation enthusiasts wasn’t about another Pixar film, but of a magical little story from the creators of The Triplets of Belleville. Just like The Secret of Kells did the year before, The Illusionist came from abroad and made threat to Pixar’s reign over the world of cinematic toons. But it did not win, and from what I can tell, there’s good reason. While the visual element of the film is beautiful, like a Georges-Pierre Seurat film that has come to life in front of your eyes, there’s a drabness to its story. It simply lacks energy and liveliness, making it a rather sad, distressing film. Its tone is in contention with its visuals, leaving the viewer exhausted. Beyond that, the Blu-ray release is without many extras. It may look incredible, but there isn’t much to do when the movie is through. About 10 minutes of behind the scenes footage will provide a brief supplement, but the entire thing wreaks of a studio holding back. No one creates animation this beautiful without having a story to tell. Hopefully that story ends up on a future release. For now, see the movie and move on.

Blue Valentine

Through the performances of Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, director Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine is one of the most gut-wrenching dramas of all 2010. It carefully juxtaposes the beginning of a relationship, with all of its happy prancing into the unknown, with the end of a marriage, complete with full on self-destructive tenancies and emotional scarring. In it we find a great deal of truth about human relationships, and all the moments that make up the good, the bad, and the in-between. As for the Blu-ray, the disc comes with an audio commentary track with Derek Cianfrance and co-editor Jim Helton, both of whom provide some valuable insight about the process that went into making Gosling and Williams a painfully authentic couple (there are fascinating stories there). It also has a lone “making of” featurette and one “home movie,” which includes Williams and young actress Faith Wladyka (who plays their child) playing around as a mother and daughter would. The Blu-ray also shines in showing off the dueling visual aesthetics at work in Blue Valentine, capturing the raw detail of the digitally shot “end” of the relationship with the grained 16mm, considerably weary-eyed and dreamy look at the beginning of the couple’s relationship. It’s a staggering difference, but that’s how it’s meant to be.

Smiles of a Summer Night (Criterion)

It’s rare to see a Criterion release fall this far down the list, but it’s also rare to see such a light Criterion release, especially for a film by Ingmar Bergman. But what Smiles of a Summer Night lacks in extras, it makes up for with a fun and layered feature experience that demands to be seen. I’m no Bergman expert, but this a film that is far more flirtatious and playful a film than I’d expect to see from the legendary director. It’s erotic and charming, light yet heartfelt. The only problem, which I cannot avoid here, is a lack of depth beyond the film itself. My best guess is that there just wasn’t enough still lurking around for the 1955 film. That said, there is a video conversation between Bergman scholar Peter Cowie and writer Jorn Donner is deeply fascinating. It makes for an experience that a collector still might enjoy over and over, but a passerby might want to stay in the ‘rent’ pool for. The bottom line is that Smiles of a Summer Night is a fun film, from one of cinema’s greats, and you should see it.

Something Wild (Criterion)

It’s as if Criterion chose these past few weeks to be their own perfume scented dumping ground. Because when Criterion dumps movies that don’t live up to their usual standard, they are still dumping great movies. Like Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild, a relentlessly offbeat, musically charged comic love story with dynamic performances from both Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith. Daniels is great as the straight-laced guy whose life comes unwound when he meets a girl who presses all the right buttons. As with Smiles of a Summer Night, the party slows down when the movie is over. Beyond a new interview with Demme and writer E. Max Frye, there isn’t much beyond a booklet and some excellent Criterion cover art. It’s incredibly light Criterion release, but a quality film that deserves a rent. If you’re a collector though, there’s something really great about the cover art. If you’re into that sort of thing (which I am).

No Strings Attached

One of the most striking things about the Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher led romantic comedy No Strings Attached is just how raunchy it allows itself to be. It’s not a party of skin and sin, but — mostly thanks to Lake Bell’s foul-mouthed side character — it is solidly Ivan Reitman’s most explicit work to date. And that makes it charming, as does the performance of Natalie Portman. It’s a movie that, put simply, makes Ashton Kutcher tolerable for 107 minutes. A feat previously thought impossible in the world of cinema. That said, the Blu-ray isn’t going to bowl you over, so if you’re not already a fan of the film, there’s no sense in buying it. Add to that the fact that the extras are rather unimpressive, even to the extent that Ivan Reitman may have put himself to sleep doing the commentary track, and this one falls squarely in the rent category. There’s even a featurette that talks about filming the dance numbers in a way that sends up High School Musical or Glee. It’s almost to a level of pandering. Almost so uninteresting that it takes away from the fact that the film isn’t bad at all.

Ip Man 2

In reviewing a film like Ip Man 2, it’s important that I set aside my own personal rule that states that I must purchase and release that involved Donnie Yen. As a responsible reviewer, I can’t inflict such a regulation on all of you. Even though Ip Man 2 is a massive work that includes more than a few jaw-dropping feats of martial arts brilliance, it doesn’t quite have the same zip that came with the original Ip Man. It does have Sammo Hung, though. And even though he’s old and chubby, the dude still kicks ass. Their tabletop fight is worth renting this Blu-ray by itself. Delivered in the crisp, colorful way that only HD can do, it will leave you out of breath and wondering how in the hell they do that without the use of CGI. As for the rest of the disc, it’s all pretty standard. A few making of featurettes, one of which is interesting and focuses on set design, a shooting diary and a few interviews. And by a few, I mean brief interviews with just about anyone involved in the project. I’m pretty sure one of those guys is a gaffer. It’s a solid pick-up for anyone who enjoys digging through the work of Donnie Yen, but a definite rent for everyone else. It doesn’t feel like a “collector’s edition,” but it delivers a solid Blu-ray experience, one that you won’t regret if you stick to my Donnie Yen rule and buy it.

Being Human: Series Three

At this point you should know whether or not you’re into Being Human. And no, we’re not talking about the far inferior American remake, we’re talking about the original BBC series. Resting comfortable on its ability to bring a great deal of gore and fright to the small screen, Being Human took a walk off the deep end in series three. More werewolves, crazy supernatural anomalies, trips to the afterlife, trips back to reality and a wild finish have me wondering two things: (1) why aren’t more of you already watching this show, and (2) where they hell do they go from here? The latter will have to be answered in season four, as I couldn’t find it in any of the extras, even the copious amounts of cast interviews included in this set. The former is a question that goes back to when I reviewed the first series: Being Human is a solid show, complete with vampires that don’t sparkle, werewolves the existential crises and ghosts that make a mean cup of tea. Why again, are you not already checking this out as I told you to do before? Hurry up and get caught up so that we can all discuss how maddening that third season turned out to be.

The Hit List

There’s something I love about the premise behind this direct-to-DVD action film starring Cuba Gooding Jr. But first, a question: since when did Cuba Gooding Jr. become an amalgamation of Jean Claude Van-Damme, Steven Seagal and Dolph Lundgren? Also, who the hell thinks this guy is destined to be a cult action star? Because they are right and it’s bothering me that I like it. But back to this premise. Gooding plays a professional hit man who happens upon a down-on-his-luck businessman played by Cole Hauser. When he offers to do the man a solid and whack 5 people for free, the sad dude lists a bunch of people he doesn’t like. This sets off a hurricane of murders that put everyone he knows and loves at risk. Gooding is solid as the cold-blooded killer, Hauser isn’t bad either as his unwitting accomplice. Then again, when it comes to the somewhat poorly executed action, it’s not hard to see why they didn’t throw many extras on this disc. See it because it’s silly and sort of fun, and because you too will believe that Cuba Gooding could be the next big thing in the small disc business.

Cougars, Inc.

Sam (Kyle Gallner) is a bad kid. He’s been kicked out of private schools around the country and now he’s looking for the next step in his privileged life. But the economy is bad, and his former playmate mom can’t pay his private school tuition any more. So what does he do? Get a paper route? Start dealing prescription meds? Nope, he gets a bunch of neighborhood women to start paying to hook up with him and his college friends. Unlike television’s Cougar Town, this film plants its feet firmly in Contrived Land and vacations at its summer home in Stupidville. The perverse 12-year old inside me wants to tell you that this film includes plenty of nudity, and earns its R-rating well, but the adult in me doesn’t see it as being worth it. I must be becoming a mature human. Not mature enough, though, for me to know better than to watch movies starring Denise Richards and Jim Belushi. Also, side note: there’s no way Lost ginger Rebecca Mader is old enough to be a “cougar.” Also, any Blu-ray that leads with a trailer for a movie in which Dane Cook stars as a character named “Tank.” I think that speaks for itself.

• The Almighty Thor (Echo Bridge)
• Flicka 2 (20th Century Fox)
• The Horse Soldiers (MGM)
• Shigurui: Death Frenzy (FUNimation)
• Some Like It Hot (1959) (20th Century Fox)
• The Violent Kind (Image)

Human Planet

There will be a much more in-depth review of this title coming soon, as I have so much to say about what the BBC has done with Human Planet. For now lets work with the short version. Narrated by John Hurt, Human Planet takes the idea of filming our big blue planet in all the glory of high definition and combines it with the study of man. How do we, the only animal to inhabit every terrain on terra firma, interact with the abundance of nature that surrounds us at every turn? From the wild rivers to the deep oceans to the sky-reaching concrete and steel cities we’ve erected from her upper crust, humanity has a unique relationship with our home planet. And this documentary series captures it brilliantly. It’s also loaded up with extras and tuned perfectly for your HD television set. It’s like taking a college course in anthropology, if it were narrated by John Hurt and given a cinematic storytelling spit-shine.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Criterion)

One has to wonder whether or not Hunter S. Thompson ever really had a bender quite like the one dreamed up by Terry Gilliam. It’s possible, but almost unreachable by any stretch of the imagination. What’s also possible is for this Criterion release’s special features to be even more engrossing than Gilliam’s splendid trip of a film. Between the trifecta of commentary tracks — one with Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, one with Gilliam and a third with Hunter S. Thompson — a documentary about Thompson and Hollywood, collections of Ralph Steadman art, Thompson correspondences being read by Johnny Depp and a BBC documentary about Thompson and Ralph Steadman, it’s easy to get lost in everything that exists beyond the film. The combination of these things makes for a profoundly fascinating mind-capsule, that when opened reveals the inner workings of the mind of Hunter S. Thompson, as seen through the lens of Hollywood and the equally mad Terry Gilliam. It’s a damn sight to behold, I tell you. Sort of like a bender in Las Vegas, but without the incredible hangover.

South Park: The Complete 14th Season Uncensored

It’s not all that difficult to believe that South Park is still worth buying 14-seasons into its run. It is, in fact, still the last bastion of great satire work left in our increasingly dull media landscape. It’s as if Matt and Trey channel the spirit of Monty Python as they cut together the remnants of foul-mouthed little paper children and drive them into countless situations that wreak not just of ridiculous, but of brilliant observationalism as well. There are also plenty of low-ball jokes. The dick and fart variety that keep the kids interested in between commercial breaks. All is still clear and present and just as dangerous in the fourteenth frame of South Park. It’s a bit elastic, my recommendation that you buy this set, but I’m not above saying that you should buy this Blu-ray because of the content and not an assortment of extras. Some films and shows need the extras to make the price tag worth it. They need more than what this set has to offer — some mini commentary tracks and deleted scenes — but as any long-time reader of this column can tell you, sometimes a set is simply worth it. South Park is one of those rare shows, begetting one of those rare Blu-ray sets. Then again, maybe you’re not into dick and fart jokes.

Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back

If D.A. Pennebaker’s famed documentary about one of rock music’s legends is known for one thing, it’s intimacy. Here we see a Bob Dylan, both public and private, captured like never before and never again. There’s no fiction, just relentless realism as we follow Dylan through a three-week concert tour of England in 1965. There’s a reason it’s been called one of the great rock documentaries of all-time, as it captures a rare peek into the world of one of pop cultures most influential, if reclusive figures. The Blu-ray release from Docurama Films and New Video is no slouch, either. It features a crisp black and white transfer of the film and a carefully mastered DTS-HD 2.0 audio track that bring the world of the 60s back to life in a rather brilliant fashion. It also sports a healthy selection of extras, including one never-before-seen interview with D.A. Pennebaker by rock critic Greil Marcus. For any Dylan fan, music fan or fan of the times in general, this one could be in the “buy” range. For anyone else, it’s a solid rent and a history lesson, at that. You certainly won’t regret having seen it.

Blow Out (Criterion)

Not every Criterion Blu-ray release is an automatic buy. Then again, if you’re a die hard Brian De Palma fan, I won’t argue with you when you tell me that I’m bonkers for not giving this a buy recommend. Blow Out, of all films, speaks right to the man’s fan base. It’s a wicked paranoia thriller that centers on one of John Travolta’s more dynamic performances as Jack, a movie sound effects man who believes he’s accidentally recorded a political assassination. It’s soaked in the grit of the early 80s, both aesthetically and thematically. And it looks good in HD. But beyond that, Criterion didn’t appear to have the usual wealth of extras to include in this release. It’s got a new hour-long interview with De Palma, as conducted by Noah Baumbach and a new interview with star Nancy Allen. And it comes with Brian De Palma’s 1968 film Murder à la Mod. But beyond that it feels a little light. Not by the general standard, but by the Criterion gold standard. I may be giving it a hard time, but there’s something about this release that doesn’t move me. Perhaps I’m not in that De Palma sweet spot. Blow Out is an interesting film, and I love that cover art, but it doesn’t have the same kick that makes most Criterion releases special. It’s an aggressive technical achievement worth a viewing on Blu-ray, but a story so listless that it drives me nuts. So it gets a rent, and that’s that.

Blood Out

What do you get when you combine 50 Cent with an overweight Val Kilmer, both of whom may be under the influence of heavy narcotics? You get a crime drama like Blood Out, which sadly fails to achieve even humorous levels of incompetence. One of those unfortunately not so rare direct to DVD actioners that requires sound effects for its camera movements and was perhaps written on the back of a receipt for bottle service somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. But at least this one includes a bit of Matrix-style bullet time. It’s this kind of film that makes me feel for Vinnie Jones a bit, as I don’t have any clue why he’d participate in such a painful experience. Even the cast interviews on the Blu-ray special features come with a hint of despair. Lets just hope that all the once-reputable people involved in this movie got paid up front in gold.

• Betty Blue (Cinema Libre)
• Chawz (Magnolia)
• Daylight (Universal)
• Dementia 13 (Film Chest / Virgil Films &)
• Dinoshark (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Eden of the East: The King of Eden (FUNimation)
• El Topo (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• The Enforcer (1995) (Vivendi)
• The Holy Mountain (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Jolene (Koch)
• Knockout (Phase 4 Films)
• Muay Thai Giant (Magnolia)
• Poor Pretty Eddie (Film Chest / Virgil Films)
• Romeo and Juliet (1954) (VCI)
• The Scent of Green Papaya (Kino)
• Sniper: Reloaded (Sony)
• The Universe: The Complete Series Megaset
  

The King’s Speech

A lot of strong reactions were had to The King’s Speech taking home the Best Picture award on Oscar Night. But whether you thought it was deserving of the win, or you thought the Weinsteins had pulled off a great magic trick, there’s no doubting the fact that it belonged among the nominees. It’s a lively story of one man’s struggle to become the leader his nation needs, a Royal story that feels grounded and full of characters we are comfortable around, even to the point of liking them. At the very least, the Blu-ray will be beneficial because it contains the R-rated original cut of the film, not the PG-13 abomination that recently played in theaters. It’s also well-stuffed with extras, including a deeper look at the real Lionel Logue, as well as real speech reels that were given by King George. It’s History Channel stuff, but who doesn’t love the History Channel? This is an easy pick in an otherwise dull week.

Kes (Criterion)

Trust me when I tell you that nothing will jumpstart your mid-week routine like the gray tale of a boy and his bird. In this ode to gray, legendary director Ken Loach tells a coming-of-age story set to a background of gray, full of all the brilliance of shades of gray. Jokes aside, coal is more of a black than a gray. So why should you buy it if I’m going to make jokes about it? Because it’s an important film. And it’s been given very important film-like treatment by the folks at Criterion. A highly detailed digital transfer, a documentary about the film and its influence over the changing landscape of British cinema at the turn of the decade in 1970, and an early television feature by Loach, among other reasons. The entire package is a bit of a history lesson. As in, if you were to combine the special features on this release with the nice selection on the King’s Speech Blu and watch them all together (along with the films, of course), you might turn into a down-trodden, foul-mouthed British historian. And that could be fun, right?

Rabbit Hole

Nicole Kidman gives a destructive performance as she and Aaron Eckhart play a couple that is feeling the full weight of losing their child. It’s a remarkably well-acted film with a strong, dynamic and emotional story based on a Pulitzer Prize winning story by David Lindsay-Abaire. It’s hearbreaking, honest and often shows some wit. One of the better movies of last year, as is the theme this week. If I could dedicate my Pick of the Week to something very worthy of your time, regardless of Blu-ray release quality, it’s this film. The problem is that Lionsgate has saddled the film with an exceptionally bland BD release. A commentary track, a few deleted scenes and *gasp* a trailer round out the experience. Do yourself a favor and give this title a rent, you’ll be happy that you put yourself through the emotional trauma. But don’t buy the Blu-ray just yet, as it has no interest in being anything more than a hollow shell inside of which a great film is housed.

Somewhere

If you think that Sofia Coppola makes interesting movies, which I do not, then you will probably enjoy Somewhere. If you find her tales of the turbulent lives of the wealthy, privileged of our society to be annoyingly pretentious and superficial, as I do, then you probably won’t enjoy Somewhere. It’s a relatively simple equation that will lead you to salvation either way. Even simpler is the decision about this Blu-ray release. It’s void of any HD-specific extras, or supplements of any substance, for that matter. Except for one lone “making of” featurette that clocks in at about 17-minutes. Best yet is the fact that the featurette, like the film, is artsy and pretentious. Sofia Coppola really is creating an ecosystem of smug around her. Good for her, and those who like watching. You should rent this. Me, I’m moving on.

Fubar: Balls to the Wall

I don’t expect you to be familiar with the original Fubar, seeing as this is a sequel. I wasn’t and it didn’t stop me from at least enjoying this booze-infused comedy that slings together tropes from Wayne’s World to Anvil! The Story of Anvil, except far more Canadian and far more intolerably juvenile. It might feature two of the dumbest characters ever created in a drunken stupor, but it gets some laugh. Riotous, ridiculous laughs. Like Strangers with Candy, if they wanted to open for Motley Crue. Needless to say, it’s worth taking a look at if that sounds like your jam. When it comes to extras, this Blu-ray is shooting blanks, so I’d strongly recommend against a blind buy. Then again, if you’re going to be into this movie, you’re really going to be into this movie. So go ahead, knock yourself out. Just like the characters in this film.

The Way Back

If Peter Weir really tried (and probably hired a better editor), he could have made The Way Back into a blistering tale of survival and human resilience. Instead he made an expertly crafted, incredibly well-acted story of survival and resilience that isn’t blistering in any way. It’s very slow, but it’s also at times very good. Performances from the likes of Ed Harris, Saoirse Ronan, Jim Sturgess and Colin Farrell are strong, the wilderness that surrounds their characters is intense and frightening and their journey is arduous. That said, there’s something problematic about the Blu-ray: where the film falls short (in feeling far longer than it is), the Blu-ray succeeds (or fails, in this case) in feeling like it’s over too quickly. One lone behind the scenes featurette is accompanied by a the film’s trailer, and that’s all. Not exactly a cornerstone piece for your wilderness survival thriller section, but it will make a solid rental.

Gulliver’s Travels

When I first laid eyes upon the trailer for Gulliver’s Travels, I was convinced that I was seeing an extra feature from the Tropic Thunder DVD, another one of those silly movies that Jack Black’s character had starred in. Soon after I realized that it was not a work of life-reflective parody, but a part of real life. That’s when things began to get dark for me, and they’ve been dark ever since. Now the treachery has followed us home, my dear reader, and it wants to worm its way into our Blu-ray collections and take its rightful place next to all of those other Jack Black movies we won’t admit to owning. But it’s not deserving. There’s nothing redeeming or charming or subversive about this stupid film. There’s no smart wizard behind a curtain, pulling the strings that turned the likes of School of Rock into delightful surprises. If Jack Black has accomplished anything here, it’s to have finally made the movie he appears to be making: something inanely dumb. Simply dumb. If you buy this Blu-ray, we can’t be friends. Seriously. Not friends. Maybe even enemies. I haven’t decided yet.

• Born to Raise Hell (Paramount)
• Farewell (L’Affaire Farewell) (NeoClassics)
• Glee: Encore (20th Century Fox)
• Goemon (FUNimation)
• The Last Legion (The Weinstein)
• Monamour (Cult Epics)
• Mortal Kombat (Warner Brothers)
• Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (Warner Brothers)
• Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (3-Disc Combo Pack w/Purse) (Disney/Buena Vista)
• Short Circuit 2 (Image)
• Square Grouper (Magnolia)
• Street Kings 2: Motor City (20th Century Fox)
• Sweetie (Criterion)
• Tokyo Gore Police (Tokyo Shock)
• Zombie Holocaust

The Incredibles

Every new release that Pixar has brought to the Blu-ray format has been of a certain quality. Plenty of extras, brilliant transfers and all the little goodies that make Disney one of the better distributors of the format. The same can be said of their back catalog releases, including Monsters Inc. and Toy Story 2. To that end, The Incredibles is perfectly matched to that standard of quality. The 2004 film, not old by any means, looks particularly brilliant in 1080p because of the colorful nature of its story. From the flashy red of the family’s suits to the lush jungle around Syndrome’s volcanic layer, this film pops with every frame. It’s the reason videophiles have been drooling over its potential HD release for some time now. Feel free to celebrate, fair ‘philes, as your day has come. The Incredibles is just as incredible as you’ve imagined it would be. For those with tastes that run behind the arts, there are brand new featurettes in which the likes of Brad Bird and other talented Pixar folk look back at the making of this milestone film. Then it’s short films, storyboards, tales from within the walls of Pixar and even a sneak preview of The Lion King Blu-ray release. If there isn’t enough value in that to fork over some Blu-ray money, I don’t know what to tell you. This one is among the must-own category, as you might expect from Pixar.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (Available April 15th)

The second to last Harry Potter film has arrived on Blu-ray, and if there’s one thing that is clear, it’s that I can smell a “collector’s edition” release coming sometime around Christmas, when Warner Bros. is ready to release Deathly Hallows Part II right before the big holiday sales rush. It’s not as much a slimy tactic as you’d think though, more of a logical choice. They must put out a release of the first one to satisfy the demand created by its release last fall, but they also have a great opportunity to hold back some special features and work a bit harder on the Ultimate Edition release of one complete final “book” in the Potter franchise. It will be a fitting end to a franchise that has long been their golden child. That said, no one who buys this Blu-ray release is going to be disappointed by it. They may be disappointing when temptation to rebuy comes up later, but for now this is more than enough. WB has transferred the film well to HD, they’ve put together a very elegant and interesting Maximum Movie Mode — in which cast and crew walk you through the making of the film while it plays in the background (I love this feature) — and they’ve even included the opening scene of the next movie. When you wrap that Blu-ray in with a DVD and a Digital Copy for all those popular little tablet devices, it makes for a set worth keeping in any Potter fan’s collection. My recommendation is to go get this one, but don’t be surprised if it isn’t the only copy of Deathly Hallows Part I you own by the end of 2011.

White Material (Criterion)

There’s something invariably frustrating about Claire Denis’ White Material. For all its success in creating a visually stunning experience that allows the audience into the center of one woman’s tumultuous world. For all the brilliance and ferocity that exists within the performance of Isabelle Huppert, whose character’s sanity is effectively eroded away, a striking metaphor for contemporary British colonialism in Africa. Even with all that, I found there to be an overwhelmingly dreary tone to the entire affair. And in turn, there’s a bleeding tedious pace to it all. But maybe that’s just me, living in an ADD world, not able to wait for the revolution to start. On the whole, Denis’ film is a fascinating, vigorously inventive visual experience, with a splendid performance at its heart. And as they do with their Blu-ray releases, Criterion has given careful attention to both the film and the story behind it. New interviews with Denis and her cast provide the background, a meticulously crafted transfer bring it to 1080p as it should be seen, and everything else — including one of Denis’ short documentary about it’s Ecrans Noirs Film Festival premiere — feel like icing on top of the cake. If you’re a collector, this one fits. For everyone else, the forceful style of Claire Denis is not to be missed.

Marwencol

We named this film one of the five best films you didn’t see in 2010. Here’s your chance to make it one of the best films you see in 2011. Robert Levin explains: “After a vicious beating robbed him of his memory, Kingston, N.Y. resident Mark Hogancamp devised his own unique form of grief therapy: projecting his hopes and fears onto the figurines occupying Marwencol, an enormous 1/6 scale World War II era Belgian village he built in his backyard. The documentary about this complex, fascinating man and the world he created is a portrait of true courage, rife with the thrill of watching an artist being [re]born.” The Blu-ray is full of life and best of all, plenty of supplements. I would be doing you all a disservice if I didn’t strongly encourage you to check this one out. On DVD, on Blu-ray, however you can.

Country Strong

I have nothing to go on here, as I’ve somehow managed to steer completely clear of everything related to this film (including it’s trailer) and Sony wasn’t brave enough to send over a copy for review. However, when Kevin Carr eviscerates a film as he did in his theatrical release, that’s cause for concern. Buy or rent at your own risk on Gwyneth Paltrow’s southern sing-a-long, as Carr isn’t the only critic to give this one a lashing. Just check out it’s 21% (rotten) rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Although, the 61% rating from users has me curious…

• Battle Beyond the Stars (Shout Factory)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (20th Century Fox) – Released April 8, 2011
• Ga-Rei Zero: Complete Collection (FUNimation)
• Highwater (Image)
• The Inheritance (Image)
• Le Cercle Rouge (Criterion)
• Rory Gallagher’s Irish Tour ’74 (Eagle Rock)