There are relatively few choices this week, many of which are back catalog titles with Sylvester Stallone. Thankfully, there are a couple of noteworthy options.
Title | DVD Release(s) | Blu-Ray Release(s) |
---|---|---|
Action | ||
Cobra | Amazon.com | |
Blaine: This was originally a collaboration between Sylvester Stallone, Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. They couldn’t agree on certain creative points, so Stallone walked away to turn his ideas into this movie, while Simpson and Bruckheimer turned their ideas into “Beverly Hills Cop.” | ||
Demolition Man | Amazon.com | |
Blaine: Probably my favorite Stallone action movie of all time. Wesley Snipes has a lot to do with that. | ||
The Specialist | Amazon.com | |
Anime | ||
Night Raid 1931 – Complete Collection | Amazon.com, rightstuf.com | Amazon.com, rightstuf.com |
Alex: Series about psychic Japanese spies in Shanghai in 1931 | ||
Voltron: The Legend Begins | Amazon.com | |
Art House | ||
Cul-De-Sac (Criterion Collection) | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
Blaine: Directed by Roman Polanski, which means two things to me. One, it’ll be good. Two, I won’t provide any financial support for it until Polanski either turns himself in or dies. I don’t care if he did have her parents permission, the underage girl he had sex with was so opposed to the idea that she had to be drugged into compliance. I will never knowingly funnel money to Polanski in any way, shape or form. | ||
Queen to Play | Amazon.com | |
Classics (Cult) | ||
Elvira’s Movie Macabre: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die / The Manster | Amazon.com | |
Elvira’s Movie Macabre: The Terror / Eegah! | Amazon.com | |
Comedy | ||
Armed and Dangerous | Amazon.com | |
The Best and the Brightest | Amazon.com | |
The Big Lebowski: Limited Edition | Amazon.com | |
Spin City: Season Five | Amazon.com | |
Charlie Sheen’s first season | ||
Drama | ||
Assassins | Amazon.com | |
Blaine: Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas and Julianne Moore star in a movie scripted by the Wachowski brothers and directed by Richard Donner. How could that group put together a product that sucks this much? | ||
Conspirator (Deluxe Edition) | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
The Grace Card | Amazon.com | |
Family | ||
The Gruffalo | Amazon.com | |
Hoodwinked, Too! Hood vs. Evil | Amazon.com | Four disc DVD/Blu-Ray/3D Blu-Ray/Digital Copy combo edition, DVD/Blu-Ray combo edition |
Muppets From Space | Blu-Ray/DVD combo | |
Muppets Take Manhattan | DVD/Blu-Ray combo | |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Complete Season Nine | Amazon.com | |
Fantasy | ||
Paranormal State: Season Five | Amazon.com | |
Horror | ||
John Carpenter’s The Ward | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
Priest | Rated DVD | Unrated Blu-Ray 3D, Unrated Blu-Ray |
Music / Musical | ||
Amy Winehouse: In Concert 2007 | Amazon.com | |
Blaine: Released by a minor company with no director available. I’m betting on a rushed product to cash in on her death. I list it not to recommend it, but to suggest that those who are interested may prefer to hold off for a better quality product. | ||
Mystery | ||
Dexter: The Fifth Season | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
Romance | ||
Jane Eyre | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
Something Borrowed | Amazon.com | Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy, Blu-Ray |
Sports | ||
WWE Money in the Bank 2011 | Amazon.com | |
Alex: What makes this Pay Per View great? How about CM Punk beating Cena for the WWE title and skipping town, and “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson-er-sorry, Daniel Bryan, winning one of the two Money in the Bank matches. Yes, I know wrestling is pre-determined, but stuff like this is why I watch. | ||
Superhero | ||
Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Season Two Volume One | Amazon.com | |
Blaine: I’ve heard great things about this show, usually in the past tense, so it sounds like it’s been cancelled. I’m also amused that Amazon lists “Batman” and “Booster Gold” as the actors. | ||
Suspense | ||
Hush | Amazon.com | |
Blaine: Starring Jessica Lange, Gwyneth Paltrow and Hal Holbrook. Do not expect to see Batman, Catwoman, Thomas Elliot, or anyone else from that crowd. | ||
The Killing (Criterion Collection) | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
Blaine: My favorite heist movie, directed by Stanley Kubrick. |
Finally, the picks of the week. Alex says, “Normally, I don’t pick wrestling events for these – most people don’t watch it, and usually there’s more universally appealing stuff out this week, but unless you have a Blu-Ray player (in which case I say go for The Big Lebowski), definitely check out Money in the Bank 2011.” Blaine says, “go for The Killing in the highest definition format you support. The MSRP is the same, since the bulk of Criterion’s production cost is in bonus features, so there’s no reason to grab the DVD if you have Blu-Ray capacity. This is one of the most mainstream titles in the library, and sci-fi fans will recognize a lot of the cast in this non-linear crime drama with a twisted sense of humour and great visual style. Possibly the most quickly paced Stanley Kubrick film.”
I find Demolition Man highly enjoyable. I never have gotten around to picking it up on DVD, this may be the time to get it on Blu-Ray. Oddly enough a couple of the things they predicted in the movie’s version of the future have come to pass…
I may regret it later, but I kind of want to see Priest at least once. It looks like it might be ok to shut off one’s brain and watch. I can’t stand Maggie Q though. Then again I made it through Skyline alive so now I feel like I can take on anything.
Demolition Man is a great snapshot of the time period in which it was made. The out-of-control Political Correctness of the 90’s taken to a satirical level.
No, it’s not Shakespeare, but it is a fun little microcosm of early 90’s thinking.