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DISCussion: New on DVD/Blu-ray (9.25.12)

The Avengers has been the biggest and most popular movie of 2012 to date, and of the biggest all time, for that matter. Now, the celebrated cinematic crossover has come onto DVD and Blu-ray, featuring Joss Whedon’s all-important director’s commentary, the short film Item 47 and many more features.

First Release
- The Avengers (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Resident Evil: Damnation (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The Tall Man (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Damsels in Distress (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Strippers vs Werewolves(DVD and Blu-ray)
- Delicacy (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Soldiers of Fortune (DVD)

Re-Release

- Eating Raoul (1982) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The American President (1995) (Blu-ray)
- Dave (1993) (Blu-ray)


The Avengers (DVD and Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week*

Directed by Joss Whedon
Written by Joss Whedon (screenplay), Zak Penn, Joss Whedon (story), Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (comics)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johannson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Samuel L. Jackson

The long-awaited release of The Avengers did not disappoint, pleasing critics, fans and most important, a wider movie audience. It is the highest-grossing movie of the year and the third highest of all time as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has to bring together Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) to stop Loki (Tom Hiddleseton) and his alien allies, the Chitauri.

On a personal note, to anyone living in Europe, do not accept the inferior version Disney has forced upon you, which lacks the the features that were promised. In this case, buy North American.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
92% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score:
8.4/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
Assembling The Ultimate Team -- The All-Star Cast Shares The Excitement Of Teaming Up To Bring These Characters To Life, And Director Joss Whedon Discusses What Each Of Them Brought To Their Role

Amazon Price:
$16.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray), $24.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
N/A


The Avengers is not the only superhero movie to come out onto DVD and Blu-ray this week: the first part of the animated adaptation Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is also coming out. Joining the major superheroes, the Resident Evil animated movie Resident Evil: Damnation and indie comedy Damsels in Distress have earned releases. On the re-release front are two political drama-comedies and the Criterion Collection brings us Eating Raoul.


Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Jay Oliva
Written by Bob Goodman, Frank Miller (graphic novel)
Starring: Peter Weller, Ariel Winter, Cathy Cavadini, David Selby

The Dark Knight Returns is easily considered one of the best graphic novels ever written and the animated adaptation is latest release from Warner Premier, who has an excellent track record making DC adaptations.

Batman has been retired from crime fighting for 10 years and Gotham has fallen into chaos and lawlessness and teenagers run amok. A 55 year old Bruce Wayne (Peter Weller) is called back into action when a new gang, The Mutants, led by a superstrong mutant (Gary Anthony Williams) has threatened to take over the city.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
N/A
Player Affinity Score:
7.5/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
N/A

Amazon Price:
$9.99 (DVD), $22.48 (2-Disc DVD), $14.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


Resident Evil: Damnation (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Makoto Kamiya
Starring: Matthew Mercer, Robin Sachs, Carolyn Lawrence

The latest live-action rendition of the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil: Retribution, is currently out in theaters, but from Japan comes an animated version in which U.S. federal agent Leon S. Kennedy (Matthew Mercer) is assigned to go on a mission to a small Eastern Europe nation to verify reports that biological weapons are being produced for a war. All of this is in time to help promote Resident Evil 6.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
N/A
Player Affinity Score:
N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
N/A

Amazon Price:
$14.96 (DVD), $18.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 3 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 4.5 stars, Extras 3 stars, Replay 3.5 stars (out of 5). Rent It.

The Tall Man (DVD and Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Pascal Laugier
Starring: Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, Stephen McHattie

Following a brief limited release, the horror movie The Tall Man comes quickly onto DVD and Blu-ray. In a poor former mining town in Washington State, children keep disappearing and the townspeople believe they are being haunted by a creature called The Tall Man. A local nurse, Julia (Jessica Biel), is skeptical, but that all changes when her child disappears.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
45% (average)
Player Affinity Score:
5.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
Trailer; Deleted Scene; Visual Concepts

Amazon Price:
$10.95 (DVD), $13.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
N/A


Damsels in Distress (DVD and Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Whit Stillman
Starring: Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke

The comedy Damsels in Distress is the latest movie from indie writer/director Whit Stillman (The Last Days of Disco) as a trio of students, Violet (Greta Gerwig), Heather (Carrie MacLemore) and Rose (Megalyn Echikunwoke, 90210) mistakenly believe a transfer student, Lily (Analeigh Tipton, Crazy, Stupid, Love) is a suicide risk, and they do everything they can to prevent her from killing herself.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
75% (very good)
Player Affinity Score:
N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
N/A

Amazon Price:
$21.93 (DVD), $34.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 4 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 3.5 stars, Extras 4 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.




Strippers vs Werewolves (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Jonathan Glendening
Written by Phillip Barron, Pat Higgins
Starring: Ali Bastian, Robert Englund, Bill Murray, Lee Asquith-Coe, Steven Berkoff

With a title like Strippers vs Werewolves, you know you are not getting a subtle, European art-house movie. Filled with British C-listers, this horror comedy tells how a group of strippers have to defend themselves from a pack of werewolves after their leader dies at their strip club.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
20% (poor)
Player Affinity Score:
N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
Producers Commentary; Behind the Scenes; Trailers

Amazon Price:
$16.95 (DVD), $12.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
N/A



Delicacy
(DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by David Foenkinos, Stéphane Foenkinos
Written by David Foenkinos
Starring: Audrey Tautou, François Damiens

The French movie Delicacy is the latest movie for Audrey Tautou (Amélie), who stars Nathalie Kerr, a woman suffering from grief after the death of her husband three years ago. She ends up getting courted by a Swedish co-worker (François Damiens, JCVD).

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
59% (average)
Player Affinity Score:
N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
N/A

Amazon Price:
$19.99 (DVD), $29.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
N/A

Soldiers of Fortune (DVD)

Directed by Maksim Korostyshevsky
Written by Alexandre Coscas, Robert Crombie, Joe Kelbley
Starring: Christian Slater, Sean, Bean, Ving Rhames, Dominic Monaghan, James Crowell

Soldiers of Fortune is a critically derided action movie that somehow has a very impressive cast. Christian Slater stars as Craig McCenzie, a disgraced Special Forces officer who takes super-rich thrill seekers to real life battle zones to enact military missions. But it wouldn’t be much of a movie if one mission does not go wrong.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
17% (awful)
Player Affinity Score:
N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
N/A

Amazon Price:
$14.99 (DVD)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
N/A



Eating Raoul
(1982) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Paul Bertel
Written by Paul Bertal, Richard Blackburn
Starring: Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran

The 1982 dark-comedy Eating Raoul is latest re-release from the Criterion Collection. Written by, directed by and starring Paul Bertel, a couple is able to combine dreams of opening a restaurant and getting away with murder.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
88% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score:
N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
New, restored digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Gary Thieltges; Audio commentary featuring screenwriter Richard Blackburn, art director Robert Schulenberg, and editor Alan Toomayan; The Secret Cinema (1968) and Naughty Nurse (1969), two short films by director Paul Bartel;  Cooking Up “Raoul,” a new documentary about the making of the film, featuring; Interviews with stars Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, and Edie McClurg; Gag reel of outtakes from the film; Archival interview with Bartel and Woronov; Trailer; PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic David Ehrenstein

Amazon Price:
$24.99 (DVD), $24.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
N/A



The American President (1995)
(Blu-ray)

Directed by Rob Reiner
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, Richard Dreyfuss

Before Aaron Sorkin wrote The West Wing, he wrote The American President, a movie that became a precursor for the brilliant TV show. President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) is a Democratic president set to run for re-election. However, he is also a widower and after four years, finally starts to a romantic incursion with an environmental lobbyist, Sydney (Annette Bening). But as the election season is about to start, a dastardly Republican senator (Richard Dreyfuss) sets out to exploit the President’s new relationship.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
90% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score:
7.5/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
Production Notes; Theatrical Trailer

Amazon Price:
$12.97 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 3.5 stars, Video 3.5 stars, Audio 3 stars, Extras 0 stars, Replay 3.5 stars (out of 5). Recommended.


Dave (1993) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Ivan Reitman
Written by Gary Ross
Starring: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Ben Kingsley

The other political-based satire this week is Dave. From the director of Ghostbusters, Ivan Reitman, Kevin Kline stars as Dave Kovic, an owner of a temporary workers agency who is approached by the Secret Service because he is a dead ringer to the President (also Kline), to act as his double. But when the President suffers a stroke, Dave’s stay as the president of the United States ends up being longer then he expected as the Chief of State (Frank Langella) attempts to seize the presidency from the Vice President (Ben Kingsley).

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 97% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score:
7.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
Featurette "The Making of Dave"

Amazon Price:
$12.97 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
N/A

 

 

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