Adam Tyner
05-22-2006, 12:55 PM
Animated DVDs
The third seasons of both Samurai Jack and X-Men: Evolution are hitting DVD this week.
Recent Theatrical Releases
...and exhale! Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and even though it's still only May, he's brought us Uwe Boll's masterpiece Bloodrayne as it was meant to be seen with this unrated director's cut. Oh, but if you prefer the theatrical vision...or heck, if you want both, and who wouldn't?...an R-rated version is coming out too. Although Bloodrayne obviously overshadows anything else that'd dare to come out this week, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is brave enough to try anyway.
On the limited release tip are Julie Johnson, London, Oscar nominee TransAmerica, and one of Magnolia Pictures' day-and-date experiments, One Last Thing..., which is about a dying kid whose last wish is to fool around with a bratty supermodel, only he's underage and the movie isn't keen on having that kind of underage naughtiness. Plus Wyclef Jean plays a magical cab driver. I guess that means you have to see it.
TV-on-DVD
Aside from the aforementioned Samurai Jack and X-Men: Evolution, this week's TV-on-DVD sets include:
The 4400: Season 2 Boston Legal: Season 1 The Closer: Season 1 Deadwood: Season 2 The Dog Whisperer: Season 1 Jim Henson's The Storyteller M*A*S*H: Season 10 SNL: The Best of Cheri Oteri SNL: The Best of Commercial Parodies Wings: Seasons 1 and 2
Collections and Re-Releases
"War" is the dominant theme this week, seeing special edition releases of The Dirty Dozen, The Longest Day, Patton, and Tora! Tora! Tora!. There are also three different "Heroes of War" collections -- "Frontline Combat" collects Halls of Montezuma, Decision Before Dawn, D-Day: The Sixth of June, and Guadalcanal Diary, "Navy Battles" compiles The Enemy Below, The Frogmen, Morituri, and Sink the Bismarck!, and finally, "Soldier's Stories" includes Men of Honor, Courage Under Fire, Tigerland, and The Thin Red Line.
Boondock Saints is being re-released in an unrated special edition, and Kingdom of Heaven is being treated to a lavish four-disc director's cut.
Aside from the 'Heroes of War' boxes, there are a few other collections worth pointing out. The Cecil B. DeMille Collection includes Cleopatra, The Crusades, Four Frightened People, Sign of the Cross, and Union Pacific. The Classic Crime Collection box "Street Justice" has Murder Inc., The French Connection, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and The Seven-Ups. Last up is "The Outlaws", a classic Western collection with The Proud Ones, Forty Guns, Broken Lance, and The Culpepper Cattle Co..
Criterion Collection
Harlan County U.S.A. and Viridiana are both being released as part of the Criterion Collection this week.
HD DVD
Until today, there were only 15 HD DVDs out there, and now that number's increasing almost by half. Well, by 40%, if you want to get nitpicky. Anyway, Warner's putting out Blazing Saddles and The Fugitive, and Universal's slate includes The Bourne Supremacy, The Chronicles of Riddick (for some reason, it's coming out a month and a half before Pitch Black), U-571, and Van Helsing.
Miscellaneous Stuff
Aside from individual releases of several of the movies in the Classic Crime Collection and Classic Western Collection boxes, 1959's Compulsion is being making its debut on DVD.
There's plenty of other random stuff to rattle off this week, including the documentary Who Gets to Call It Art? and PBS' Catherine the Great. There's also Disney's High School Musical, the direct-to-video sequel Hollow Man 2, the metal doc Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, WWE: Wrestlemania 22, and something called The Booth.
In Closing...
For a list of some of the best prices as well as the latest price drops for existing titles, check Mike Frezon's weekly thread on the Home Theater Forum (http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=235016) and SalesCircular.com (http://www.salescircular.com/). A relatively comprehensive list of this week's releases can be found at DVD Talk (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/bargain.php) and ComingSoon.net (http://www.comingsoon.net/dvd/may06.php).
So -- what are you getting this week? I might pick up The Fugitive on HD DVD. I should have reviews of Van Helsing and Blazing Saddles up in the next week or so.
The third seasons of both Samurai Jack and X-Men: Evolution are hitting DVD this week.
Recent Theatrical Releases
...and exhale! Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and even though it's still only May, he's brought us Uwe Boll's masterpiece Bloodrayne as it was meant to be seen with this unrated director's cut. Oh, but if you prefer the theatrical vision...or heck, if you want both, and who wouldn't?...an R-rated version is coming out too. Although Bloodrayne obviously overshadows anything else that'd dare to come out this week, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is brave enough to try anyway.
On the limited release tip are Julie Johnson, London, Oscar nominee TransAmerica, and one of Magnolia Pictures' day-and-date experiments, One Last Thing..., which is about a dying kid whose last wish is to fool around with a bratty supermodel, only he's underage and the movie isn't keen on having that kind of underage naughtiness. Plus Wyclef Jean plays a magical cab driver. I guess that means you have to see it.
TV-on-DVD
Aside from the aforementioned Samurai Jack and X-Men: Evolution, this week's TV-on-DVD sets include:
The 4400: Season 2 Boston Legal: Season 1 The Closer: Season 1 Deadwood: Season 2 The Dog Whisperer: Season 1 Jim Henson's The Storyteller M*A*S*H: Season 10 SNL: The Best of Cheri Oteri SNL: The Best of Commercial Parodies Wings: Seasons 1 and 2
Collections and Re-Releases
"War" is the dominant theme this week, seeing special edition releases of The Dirty Dozen, The Longest Day, Patton, and Tora! Tora! Tora!. There are also three different "Heroes of War" collections -- "Frontline Combat" collects Halls of Montezuma, Decision Before Dawn, D-Day: The Sixth of June, and Guadalcanal Diary, "Navy Battles" compiles The Enemy Below, The Frogmen, Morituri, and Sink the Bismarck!, and finally, "Soldier's Stories" includes Men of Honor, Courage Under Fire, Tigerland, and The Thin Red Line.
Boondock Saints is being re-released in an unrated special edition, and Kingdom of Heaven is being treated to a lavish four-disc director's cut.
Aside from the 'Heroes of War' boxes, there are a few other collections worth pointing out. The Cecil B. DeMille Collection includes Cleopatra, The Crusades, Four Frightened People, Sign of the Cross, and Union Pacific. The Classic Crime Collection box "Street Justice" has Murder Inc., The French Connection, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and The Seven-Ups. Last up is "The Outlaws", a classic Western collection with The Proud Ones, Forty Guns, Broken Lance, and The Culpepper Cattle Co..
Criterion Collection
Harlan County U.S.A. and Viridiana are both being released as part of the Criterion Collection this week.
HD DVD
Until today, there were only 15 HD DVDs out there, and now that number's increasing almost by half. Well, by 40%, if you want to get nitpicky. Anyway, Warner's putting out Blazing Saddles and The Fugitive, and Universal's slate includes The Bourne Supremacy, The Chronicles of Riddick (for some reason, it's coming out a month and a half before Pitch Black), U-571, and Van Helsing.
Miscellaneous Stuff
Aside from individual releases of several of the movies in the Classic Crime Collection and Classic Western Collection boxes, 1959's Compulsion is being making its debut on DVD.
There's plenty of other random stuff to rattle off this week, including the documentary Who Gets to Call It Art? and PBS' Catherine the Great. There's also Disney's High School Musical, the direct-to-video sequel Hollow Man 2, the metal doc Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, WWE: Wrestlemania 22, and something called The Booth.
In Closing...
For a list of some of the best prices as well as the latest price drops for existing titles, check Mike Frezon's weekly thread on the Home Theater Forum (http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=235016) and SalesCircular.com (http://www.salescircular.com/). A relatively comprehensive list of this week's releases can be found at DVD Talk (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/bargain.php) and ComingSoon.net (http://www.comingsoon.net/dvd/may06.php).
So -- what are you getting this week? I might pick up The Fugitive on HD DVD. I should have reviews of Van Helsing and Blazing Saddles up in the next week or so.