DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (12.09.14)

Guardians of the Galaxy is out on Blu-ray this week, therefore, it is our recommendation of the week, you're welcome. New Releases: Guardians of the Galaxy – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Frank – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Calvary – (Blu-ray and Instant) I Origins – (Blu-ray  Instant) Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Re-release: Time Bandits (1981) – (Criterion Blu-ray) Safe (1995) – (Criterion Blu-ray) The Night Porter (1974) – (Criterion Blu-ray)   Guardians of the Galaxy – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by James Gunn Written by James Gunn, Nicole Perlman, Dan Abnett (comic book), Andy Lanning (comic book) Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper Chances are, if you read this website, you know this movie like the back of your hand. An intrepid and rag-tag group of interspace fugitives band together to stop the destruction of the galaxy. Marvel's foray into a more-comedically minded series of projects was massively successful and grossed over $330 million in domestic box office sales. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 90% (Excellent) Metacritic: 76 (Very Good) IMDB: 8.3 (Excellent) Entertainment Fuse: 8.5/10 (Read our review) DISC DETAILS Special Features: Commentary from James Gunn; Deleted scenes; “Guide to the Galaxy with James Gunn” Featurette; “Intergalactic Visual Effects for Guardians of the Galaxy” Featurette; gag reel; Exclusive look at Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron Amazon: $19.99 (Blu-ray); $9.99 (DVD); $4.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 5 stars(out of 5); Video: N/A stars; Audio: N/A stars; Extras: 3.5 stars; Replay: 4.5 stars. Highly Recommended.   Frank – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Lenny Abrahamson Written by Jon Ronson (screenplay) anc Peter Straughan (screenplay) Starring: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal A young hopeful, Jon (Gleeson), joins a band to jumpstart his music career. Headed by the charismatic, and wholly unique, Frank (Fassbender), the band presents a rocky start for the wannabe rocker. Surrounded by talent he can hardly comprehend, Jon is forced to become the journalistic/marketing component of the group, which garners them internet celebrity and a chance to play at SXSW in Austin, TX. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 93% (Excellent) Metacritic: 75 (Very Good) IMDB: 7.0 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 8.5/10 (Read our review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $12.99 (Blu-ray); $9.99 (DVD); $14.99 (Instant Buy)   Calvary – (Blu-ray and Instant) Directed and written by John Michael McDonagh Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly A magnificent Brendan Gleeson stars as the Christ-like Father James – living out his last week on earth. Learning that he will be murdered on Sunday, Father James has a week in which to set his affairs straight, and fix as many town-wide issues as he can. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 89% (Very Good) Metacritic: 77 (Very Good) IMDB: 7.5 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 9/10 (Read our review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $14.99 (Blu-ray); $4.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy) I Origins – (Blu-ray and Instant) Directed and written by Mike Cahill Starring: Michael Pitt, Steven Yeun, Astrid Bergés-Frisbey When a molecular biologist's research into the evolution of the eye begins to reveal some interesting connotations in his own life, he and his team find that they have made a discovery with wide-ranging effects on society and the origins of life. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 52% (Rotten) Metacritic: 57 (Okay) IMDB: 7.2 (Very Good) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.96 (Blu-ray); $4.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Tommy Wirkola Written by Stig Frode Henriksen, Vegar Hoel (writer), and Tommy Wirkola Starring: Vegar Hoel, Ørjan Gamst, Martin Starr Continuing where the first Dead Snow left off, Red vs. Dead takes things to a whole new level. Martin (Hoel) wakes up in the hospital with a new arm that's dead set on killing everything in reach. Banding together with a fresh group of zombie-killing marauders, Martin sets out to get some serious revenge on some Nazi zombies! Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 83% (Very Good) Metacritic: 58 (Okay) IMDB: 7.1 (Very Good) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $11.99 (Blu-ray); $9.99 (DVD); $3.99/$9.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy) Re-release:   Time Bandits (1981) – (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed by Terry Gilliam Written by Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin Starring: David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Jack Purvis, Craig Warnock A young and neglected boy is transported to a fantastic world where wormholes in time allow him to visit historical figures and deities alike; coming face-to-face with “the Supreme Being” and Evil himself. The first in Terry Gilliam's “Imagination Trilogy” Time Bandits is set in a wonderfully-crafted Gilliam world with some truly inspired characters. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 93% (Excellent) IMDB: 7.0 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 9/10 DISC DETAILS Special Features: 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Terry Gilliam, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray; Audio commentary featuring Gilliam, cowriter-actor Michael Palin, and actors John Cleese, David Warner, and Craig Warnock; New piece, narrated by film writer David Morgan, featuring production designer Milly Burns and costume designer James Acheson discussing the creation of the film’s various historical periods and fantasy worlds; Conversation between Gilliam and film scholar Peter von Bagh, recorded at the 1998 Midnight Sun Film Festival; Appearance by actor Shelley Duvall on Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow show from 1981; Gallery of rare photographs from the set; Trailer; PLUS: An essay by critic David Sterritt Amazon: $29.99 (Criterion Blu-ray)   Safe (1995) – (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed and written by Todd Haynes Starring: Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley, Dean Norris A melancholic housewife begins to recoil from her lavish lifestyle into her own safe “bubble.” Developing what she believes are allergies related to chemicals present in modern life, she begins to develop a serious – medically unexplained – illness. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 83% (Very Good) IMDB: 7.0 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 8/10 DISC DETAILS Special Features: 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Todd Haynes, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray; Audio commentary featuring Haynes, actor Julianne Moore, and producer Christine Vachon; New conversation between Haynes and Moore; The Suicide, a 1978 short film by Haynes; New interview with Vachon; Trailer; PLUS: An essay by critic Dennis Lim Amazon: $35.96 (Criterion Blu-ray)   The Night Porter (1974) – (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed by Liliana Cavani Written by Liliana Cavani (screenplay and story), Italo Moscati (screenplay), Barbara Alberti (screenplay collaborator), Amedeo Pagani (screenplay collaborator), Barbara Alberti (story), and Amedeo Pagani (story) Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Philippe Leroy In 1957, a concentration camp survivor finds her old captor working at luxury hotel in Vienna. The couple quickly resume their sadomasochistic relationship. Based on an interview Cavani conducted with a real survivor, The Night Porter is a grim journey into the dark interiors of the human mind. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 67% (Fresh) IMDB: 6.8 (Good) DISC DETAILS Special Features: 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray; New interview with director Liliana Cavani; Women of the Resistance, a fifty-minute 1965 documentary by Cavani composed of interviews with female partisans who survived the German invasion of Italy, with an introduction by the filmmaker; PLUS: An essay by scholar Gaetana Marrone, author of The Gaze and the Labyrinth: The Cinema of Liliana Cavani, and an excerpt from a 1975 interview with Cavani Amazon: $29.99 (Criterion Blu-ray)