Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Another Tuesday another exciting day of new releases.  This week brings a pretty good selection including Terminator 2 (Skynet Edition) on Blu-Ray, Fanboys only on DVD (boo), Tom Cruise's Nazi movie, and that first mall cop movie.  So what do I think you should pick up?  Well read on and find out.

Fanboys

This site and Fanboys have a long history (See Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, and the review Here.) and I for one can’t wait for work to end so I can run out to Best Buy and pick this one up.  I don’t know what the special features are on the disc (as I never got a copy for review) but I’m guessing since the Weinsteins are dropping this one on DVD only (Where’s the HD love???) that it won’t be much.  I really don’t know why a company would put as much money into a movie as they did Fanboys and treat it as horribly as they did.  The movie never got a proper wide release (I don’t think it ever played in more than 100 theaters at a time) and so I assume the DVD is pretty bare bones.

Which is sad, because I’d love to see a Blu-ray with both versions of the film (both Cancer and non-cancer) and some of the R rated stuff they filmed.  Overall I’m sure I’ll be pretty disappointed with the content on the DVD.  But at least I’ll have a really amazing movie, which is perfect for anyone as geeky as I am.

 

True Blood: Season 1

Another hit in last year’s popular vampire trend.  A really good show with an intriguing mystery (who’s killing all the vampire lovers?) set in a world where vampires have recently revealed they exist and are just trying to have the same rights as everyone else.  Season 2 starts on HBO in June, but you can catch up now that Season 1 is on DVD and Blu-Ray.


Valkyrie

The latest Tom Cruise Mission:Impossible movie is not technically a Mission:Impossible movie, but instead a historical tale of the Nazi’s who tried to kill Hitler and ultimately failed.  A good action/thriller with lots of great actor’s playing German’s without those lousy German accents. Special Features Include 2 commentaries and 7 featurettes.


Terminator 2: Skynet Edition

All you need to know is that it’s Terminator 2 in HD, right?  Ok here’s some more details on one of the best sci-fi/action movies of the past 25 years: The disc includes multiple THX-certified versions of the film in HD and these special features: Picture-in-picture of behind the scenes video, text commentaries and multimedia galleries, Storyboard-script mode – view storyboards and read the script while watching the film, Interactive quizzes and games, BD-Live enabled, featuring games, extra content and more for internet-connected players, Audio commentary with 26 cast and crew members, Audio commentary with director James Cameron and co-writer William Wisher, Enhanced for D-Box Motion Control Systems, Includes THX Optimizer


My Bloody Valentine 3D

3D Horror (sadly not the new Real 3D which is not yet available on TVs) brought to you in high-def.  You already know if you want this one.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Ok this movie is really quite hilarious.  It’s one of those stupid movies you think you’ll probably only watch once, maybe twice, but it’s so funny you end up buying it and watching over and over.  So do yourself a favor and pick it up.  It’s good for the whole family and quite clean.  Kevin James is fantastic and the entire supporting cast does a great job.


And here's a few recent releases I've missed in the last couple of weeks:


S. Darko

A sequel to Donnie Darko?  Was anyone really screaming for this film to be made?  Especially without the original films principal cast, or writer/director?  Apparently someone was, and now we can all own it on Blu-ray and DVD.  I’ll admit, I haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, and I’m a little intrigued.  Mainly I’m intrigued at how bad the movie will likely turn out to be, but part of me is rooting for it to be good, although based on current reviews that doesn’t seem likely.

In the film, Samantha Darko now eighteen, and her rebellious best-friend Corey set out on a cross-country road-trip to follow their Hollywood dreams but are cut short when their water pump explodes outside a small town in Utah.  After an unexplained meteorite crash-lands in the town, Samantha begins to be plagued by bizarre dreams warning her of the universe’s imminent end.  Now, she must decipher between blurred fantasy and reality, face the demons she fled back home, and attempt to save both the world and herself from the ultimate destruction.  Featuring a filmmakers’ commentary, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes and more.


Star Trek: The Motion Picture Trilogy

With the new Star Trek picture in theaters it was a perfect time to release the older films on Blu-ray and this package is really all I may ever need of the old films.  The “Trilogy” refers to films II, III, & IV (also known as The Wrath of Kahn, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home) and although I never thought of it before, it really is a trilogy.  Each film picks up just after the last finished and really tells one complete story.  But maybe the best part is that this set features II & IV together, which are hands down the best in the series. So for anyone who wants some of the old films, but not all the crappy ones (Read odd numbered films) this might be a good buy for you.  Yes III isn’t one of the best, but most places have this priced at around $45 which is about the price of two movies on Blu-Ray so basically you get III for free!

One of the best parts of all this though is that Khan has been completely remastered and all 3 films are in beautiful HD.  So if you either can’t afford the box set with all of the original films, or you’re not a big enough Trekkie to warrant buying them all, this sets is for you.


Taken

When is a summer movie, not a summer movie? When it comes out in January, kills at the box office, and remakes Liam Neeson into an action star.  That movie is Taken, one of the best action movies to hit screens in a long, long time.  You can read my full review here. 

In the movie Neeson’s ex Special Agent goes after the men who kidnapped his daughter.  And when I saw you don’t want to mess with this guy’s daughter I mean it.  He leaves behind a bloody trail of destruction, stopping at nothing to get his daughter back.  I loved this movie, and now with the new extended cut you can enjoy it for a bit longer.

Also available single DVD or 2 disc DVD, the Blu-ray Special Features include:  Coomentary with the Director, Writer, and Cinematogpaphers, a Making of Featurette, Side by Side comparisons of several scenes, and more.

 

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

One of the greatest westerns of all time is now out on Blu-ray.  This sprawling epic stars Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, respectively, as the title trio.  A movie full of double crosses, dirty dealings, confederate soldiers, and some amazing gun play.  If you haven’t seen the extended cut, you haven’t seen this movie.  And it looks amazing in HD!

Special Features include Commentary from Film Historian Richard Schickel, Commentary from Christopher Frayling, several featurettes including: Leones West, Leones Style, The Man Who Lost the Civil War, Reconstructing “TG, TB, & TU”, the two part Il Maestro, Deleted Scenes, and Easter Eggs.

Big

This is one of those classic 80s films.  If you don’t already know what Big is, than you’ve been living under a rock for the last 2 decades.  This new HD transfer features both the theatrical version and the extended cut.  And anytime you’re throwing more of Tom Hanks in funny mode my way I’m gonna be excited about that.

Special Features include: Commentary:  “Big Brainstorming” – A Audio Documentary by Gary Ross & Anne Spielberg, Deleted Scenes,, several featurettes including: Zoltar Easter Egg, “Big” Beginnings, Chemistry of a Classic, The Work of Play, Hollywood Backstory: Big, and Carnival Party Newswrap

 There's Something About Mary

This movie was hilarious when it first came out, with lots of gross-out, shocking humor.  But I've never thought it was as funny as that first viewing, mainly because if it doesn't catch you off guard it's just not as funny.  And so although it was a bit ahead of its time (just look at all the R rated comedies we have today) it just feels a bit flat these days.  

Special Features include an extended cut, deleted scenes, 3 commentaries, and several featurettes.

Fargo

Fargo follows a man (William H. Macy) who hires two bumbling hitmen to kill his wife, and the pregnant police woman (Francis McDormand) whose on the case.  I will admit I watched this movie years ago, after it first one all those awards, and I hated it.  But since then I’ve fallen for the Coen Brothers and everyone tells me I need to give this one another try.  So I look forward to trying it out again. Special Features include Commentary by the DP, Roger A Deakins, an article from American Cinematogropher, and so called “Minnesota Nice” and “Trivia Nice”.

 

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