Here we are again, the time of year for family quality time, reassessing priorities and racking up credit card debt to take advantage of some sweet Brown Thursday and Black Friday sales. Here are some gift ideas for some nice sets released over the last year or so. I would like to thank the studios for providing these for inclusion in this guide. Please consider clicking through the Amazon links to support this site.
X-Men: Days of Future Past: The Rogue Cut, while not as strong or tightly paced as the theatrical version is still well worth checking out especially for fans. The Blu-ray released by Fox is a bit of a mixed bag. Yes, the audio and video are incredible, there’s a fine selection of bonus material but I’m not sure why they didn’t port over the features from the first release.
I hated Movie 43. I didn’t find the jokes particularly funny – and mind you, I don’t mind crude/rude humor – nor was it very controversial. Instead this looked more like a college film project with a higher budget and one which was made for insiders rather than a larger audience. Interestingly enough, at the premiere, Seann William Scott apparently was the biggest name of the cast to show up which says a lot when the others, even in their small roles, didn’t even bother attending.
The Call isn’t an unpredictable suspense-thriller but thanks to the performances by Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin, and some slick direction by Brad Anderson, it’s an entertaining and captivating thriller from beginning to end even if the finale felt out of place. The Blu-ray has a fair amount of features and the audio/video transfers are both on solid ground.
Dark Tide receives high marks for its underwater camera work but the story is lame and the acting is sometimes even worse. Halle Berry for her part is OK with a limited role. The Blu-ray offers up solid audio and video transfers but there are no features so even if you enjoyed the film, you might want to hold off until it’s around $5.
Warner Bros. has announced the date and released artwork for the ensemble romantic comedy, New Year’s Eve starring a plethora of stars including Josh Duhamel, Robert De Niro, Hilary Swank, Jessica Biel, Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher. As with Valentine’s Day, Garry Marshall returns to direct. Check out the artwork and what features will be available on the Blu-ray combo pack.