DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (11.18.14)

New on DVD this week, there are two big releases involving wind (one significantly better than the other) and a pair of equally disparate sequels - one of which we have chosen as our Recommendation of the Week: 22 Jump Street. New Releases: 22 Jump Street – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Sin City - A Dame to Kill For – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) If I Stay – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Into the Storm – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) The Wind Rises – (Blu-ray and DVD) Autómata – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Re-Release: The Cabinet of Dr. Calgary (1920) – (4K Blu-ray) It Happened One Night (1934) (Criterion Blu-ray)   22 Jump Street – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) *Recommendation of the Week* Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Written by Michael Bacall (screenplay and story), Oren Uziel (screenplay), Rodney Rothman (screenplay), Jonah Hill (story), Patrick Hasburgh (television series “21 Jump Street”), and Stephen J. Cannell (television series “21 Jump Street”) Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube In a hilarious and completely irreverent follow-up to the massively successful 21 Jump Street, Tatum and Hill bring their charming chemistry back to the big screen, and across the street to 22 Jump Street. As a couple of middle-aged police posing as college freshmen, the duo freshen up old jokes and make up plenty more in a surprisingly successful sequel (alliteration). Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 84% (Very Good) Metacritic: 71 (Good) IMDB: 7.3 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 8.6/10 (Listen to our episode of The Plot Hole) DISC DETAILS Special Features: Audio Commentary with Hill, Lorde, Tatum and Miller; 22 deleted and extended scenes; “Joke-A-Pallooza” and “Line-O-Rama” extras; “The Dramatic Interpretation of 22 Jump Street” featurette with all the jokes cut out to make a serious story; “Zook and McQuaid Scout Reel” featurette; “Jenko Split” featurette with Tatum spoofing the popular Van Damme Volvo commercial Amazon: $19.98 (Blu-ray); $15.98 (DVD); $3.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4 stars(out of 5); Video: 4.5 stars; Audio: 4.5 stars; Extras: 3.5 stars; Replay: 3.5 stars. Recommended.   Sin City - A Dame to Kill For – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez Written by Frank Miller (written by and graphic novels by) Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt Powers Boothe, Bruce Willis The disappointing sequel to Robert Rodriguez's cult-hit, Sin City. With an over-the-top plot and too many side stories, A Dame to Kill For flopped at the box office and didn't register with fans. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 44% (Bad) Metacritic: 46 (Very Bad) IMDB: 6.7 (Good) Entertainment Fuse: 6/10 DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.99 (Blu-ray); $14.96 (DVD); $4.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   If I Stay – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by R.J. Cutler Written by Shauna Cross (screenplay) and Gayle Forman (novel) Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Jamie Blackley When a car crash puts Mia Hall (Moretz) in a coma, she drifts into “limbo.” Through a series of flashbacks she must decide whether to “move on” or fight to wake up and face the painful realities of life. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 36% (Very Bad) Metacritic: 46 (Very Bad) IMDB: 7.0 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 7.2/10 (Read our review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.99 (Blu-ray); $14.99 (DVD); $3.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Into the Storm – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Steven Quale Written by Jonathan Swetnam Starring: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh A small town is ravaged by an unheard of volley of tornadoes. A group of townspeople and “storm chasers” take it upon themselves to seek out the carnage to get a first hand looks at the freak weather. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 21% (Terribly Bad) Metacritic: 44 (Very Bad) IMDB: 6.0 (Good) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.99 (Blu-ray); $14.99 (DVD); $14.99 (Instant Buy)   The Wind Rises – (Blu-ray and DVD) Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Written by Hayao Miyazaki (comic and screenplay), and Mike Jones (screenplay adaptation, English version) Starring: Hideaki Anno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Miori Takimoto A beautiful and inthralling look at the life of Japanese fighter plane designer, Jiro Horikoshi. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 89% (Very Good) Metacritic: 83 (Excellent) IMDB: 7.9 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 7.5/10 (Read our feature) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $22.98 (Blu-ray); $17.99 (DVD)   Autómata – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Gabe Ibáñez Written by Gabe Ibáñez, Igor Legarreta, and Javier Sánchez Donate Starring: Antonio Banderas, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Dylan McDermott Petty much I, Robot. Jacq Vaucan (Banderas) is an insurance agent for a robotics corporation whose investigation into violations of robotic protocols yields some world-changing results. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 33% (Terribly Bad) Metacritic: 37 (Very, Very Bad) IMDB: 6.1 (Good) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $12.99 (Blu-ray); $9.99 (DVD); $3.99/$9.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   The Cabinet of Dr. Calgary (1920) – (4K Blu-ray) Directed by Robert Wiene Written by Carl Mayer (story) and Hans Janowitz (story) Starring: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher One of the first horror movies ever made, and one of the most chilling, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari marks the cinematic start of the famed German Expressionism movement. A tale about a somnambulist (sleep walker) who wakes up on command to tell futures, yet brings with him an ominous series of murders, finds a whole town in panic. With striking sets and powerful lighting, the silent film is a staple of both horror and film history. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (Perfect) IMDB: 8.1 (Superb) Entertainment Fuse: 10/10 DISC DETAILS Special Features: "Caligari: When Horror Came to the Cinema" featurette; Two restoration demonstrations; Image gallery; Trailer for the re-release and other “coming attractions Amazon: $18.49 (Blu-ray) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4.5 stars(out of 5); Video: 4.5 stars; Audio: 4 stars; Extras: 2.5 stars; Replay: 3.5 stars. Recommended.   It Happened One Night (1934) (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed by Frank Capra Written by Robert Riskin (screenplay), Samuel Hopkins Adams (based on short story by) Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly The first film to receive an Oscar in all five major categories (Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Direction, and Best Screenplay), It Happened One Night is an incredible achievement of the pre-code era. Featuring wonderful performances by Gable and Colbert as new lovers, Colbert portrays an elite socialite on the run who falls into the arms of a journalist (Gable) who is hungry to report on her disappearance. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 98% (Near-perfect) IMDB: 8.3 (superb) DISC DETAILS Special Features: 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray: “Screwball Comedy?” a new conversation between critics Molly Haskell and Phillip Lopate; Interview with Frank Capra Jr. from 1999; Frank Capra’s American Dream, a 1997 feature-length documentary about the director’s life and career; New digital transfer of Capra’s first film, the 1921 silent short “Fultah Fisher’s Boarding House,” with a new score composed and performed by Donald Sosin; American Film Institute tribute to Capra from 1982; Trailer; PLUS: An essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme Amazon: $29.99 (Criterion Blu-ray) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 5 stars(out of 5); Video: 4 stars; Audio: 3 stars; Extras: 4 stars; Replay: 5 stars. Highly Recommended.