DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (3.4.2014)

Slavery is one of the great shames that has plagued many countries, including America and the Recommendation of the Week for DISCussion focuses on this subject. As well the movie the DVD and Blu-ray release 12 Years a Slave also comes with a couple of behind the scenes documentaries. First Release - 12 Years a Slave (DVD and Blu-ray) - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (DVD and Blu-ray) (Release Date Mar. 7) - Oldboy (2013) (DVD and Blu-ray) - The Grandmaster (DVD and Blu-ray) - The Last Days on Mars (DVD and Blu-ray) - Doctor Who: The Time of Doctor (DVD and Blu-ray) - Hours (DVD) - Free Fall (DVD) Re-Release - Garden State (2004) (Blu-ray) - An American Tail (1986) (Blu-ray) - Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) (Blu-ray) - Boiler Room (2000) (Blu-ray) - Harry and the Hendersons (1987) (Blu-ray) - Somewhere in Time (1980) (Blu-ray) 12 Years a Slave (DVD and Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week* Directed by Steve McQueen Written by John Ridley (screenplay), Solomon Northup (memoir) Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson 12 Years a Slave is one of the most highly regarded movies of 2013, winning numerous awards including three Academy Awards, two BAFTAs and Best Motion Picture - Drama at the Golden Globes. In 1841 Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Children of Men) is free black man, living a comfortable live with his family in Saratoga Springs, New York and works as a musician. He is tricked by two men offering him a job, but drug him and sell him into slavery. With no papers and no way to contact anyone back home Solomon has to suffer the full cruelty of slavery in the Deep South. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 96% (excellent) Metacritic Rating: 97/100 (excellent) Entertainment Fuse Score: 9.3/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Closed Caption; The Team - Meet the creative minds assembled by Director Steve McQueen and bring Solomon Northrup's journey to life; The Score - Follow film Composer Hans Zimmer creating his dramatic score Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray) A large number of movies are coming out on DVD and Blu-ray with the highlights being The Hunger Games sequel, Spike Lee's remake of Oldboy and the martial arts movie The Grandmaster. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (DVD and Blu-ray) (Release Date Mar. 7) Directed by Francis Lawrence Written by Simon Beaufoy, Michael deBruyn (screenplay), Suzanne Collins (novel) Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffery Wright, Stanley Tucci, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Donald Sutherland After the success of first The Hunger Games movie Lionsgate moved ahead adapting the rest The Hunger Games trilogy. Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) and Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and Michael deBruyn (Toy Story 3) took over the directing and writing duties and the likes of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale), Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) join the cast. After surviving the 74th Hunger Games Katniss Everdean (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) have been living separate lives in District 12 when President Snow (Donald Sutherland) threatens Katniss that he would kill her family and Gale's (Liam Hemsworth) family if she does not help to quell the unrest in the other districts. As Katniss becomes more of symbol for the revolution against the Capital President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and Gamesmaster Plutarch Heavensbee (Hoffman) plan to end the revolt by forcing previous winners, including Katniss to fight in a special Hunger Games Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 89% (excellent) Metacritic Rating: 75/100 (very good) Entertainment Fuse Score: 9.0/10 (read our review) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Closed Caption; Audio Commentary with Director Francis Lawrence and Producer Nina Jacobson; Deleted scenes; Divergent sneak peek Additional Blu-ray Special Features: "Surviving the Game: Making Catching Fire" documentary Amazon Price: $15.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray) Oldboy (2013) (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Spike Lee Written by Mark Protosevich (screenplay), Park Chan-wook, Im Joon-hyeong, Hwang Jo-yoon (original screenplay), Garon Tsuchiya, Nobuaki Minegishi (manga) Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson Park Chan-wook's Oldboy is a deserved cult classic, known for its action, style and big twist. The likes of Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were linked to the American remake before Spike Lee and Josh Brolin took on the project. Joe Doucett (Brolin) is an alcoholic ad executive who is kidnapped and locked in hotel room for 20 years. Whilst in his solitary confinement he is famed for the murder of his wife and his daughter is taken from him. When Joe is finally released he has to find out why he was taken and his only ally is a young woman, Marie (Elizabeth Olsen) Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 43% (poor) Metacritic Rating: 49/100 (average) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: The making of Oldboy; Transformation Additional Blu-ray Special Features: Alternate & extended scenes; Talking heads; Workout video Amazon Price: $18.96 (DVD), $22.99 (Blu-ray) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 2.5 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 1.5 stars, Replay 2.5 stars (out of 5). Skip It. The Grandmaster (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Wong Kar-wai Written by Wong Kar-wai, Zou Jingzhi, Xu Haofeng (screenplay), Wong Kar-wai (story) Starring: Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Zhao Benshan, Song Hye-kyo, Wang Quingxiang From China and Hong Kong is the martial art bio-pic The Grandmaster. The Grandmaster is about Ip Man (Tony Leung, Infernal Affairs), a Wing Chun grandmaster and the man who trained Bruce Lee, following his journey from Republican China to trying to fend for his family in Hong Kong. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 75% (very good) Metacritic Rating: 72/100 (good) Entertainment Fuse Score: 10/10 (read our review) DISC DETAILS Amazon Price: $12.99 (DVD), $14.99 (Blu-ray) The Last Days on Mars (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Ruairi Robinson Written by Clive Dawson (screenplay), Sydney J.s Bounds (short story "The Animators") Starring: Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas, Romola Garai, Goran Kostić, Johnny Harris, Tom Cullen, Yusra Warsama, Olivia Williams The Last Days on Mars is a sci-fi horror movie that features the talents of Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Elias Koteas (Let Me In) and Olivia Williams (An Education). On a research base on Mars during the first manned mission to the planet the first astronauts are about to return home when they discover possible evidence of life. The mission's captain, Charles Brunel (Koteas) defies his orders and continues to explore for evidence. But the mission may have awoken an old creature. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 19% (awful) Metacritic Rating: 46/100 (average) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: The Making of The Last Days on Mars; Analyzing the Visual Effects; Behind the Scenes Comparisons; AXS TV: A Look at The Last Days on Mars Amazon Price: $12.96 (DVD), $14.96 (Blu-ray) Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Jamie Payne Written by Steven Moffat Starring: Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman The Christmas Special of Doctor Who, "The Time of the Doctor" is the last episode with Matt Smith as the famous sci-fi hero. This episode sees The Doctor face his greatest foes as he tries to defend a planet from being destroyed. Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Behind the Scenes; A Tribute to Matt Smith; Tales from the TARDIS Amazon Price: $9.99 (DVD), $11.99 (Blu-ray) Hours (DVD) Written and directed by Eric Heisserer Starring: Paul Walker, Génesis Rodríguez, TJ Hassan, Nick Gomez, Judd Lormand Hours is one of the last movies Paul Walker made before his tragic death. Walker stars as Nolan Hayes, a New Orleans residents whose wife gives birth prematurely during Hurricane Katina. As the power fails Nolan refuses to leave his new born baby, keeping her alive by cranking a generator to keep her ventilator going. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 61% (good) Metacritic Rating: 55/100 (average) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Closed Caption; "All I feel Is You" music video Amazon Price: $12.99 (DVD) Free Fall (DVD) Directed by Stephen Lacant Written by Karsten Dahlem, Stephan Lacent Starring: Hanno Koffler, Max Riemelt, Katharina Schüttler, Oliver Bröcker, Stephanie Schönfeld, Britta Hammelstein, Shenja Lacher Free Fall is a German drama about Marc Borgman (Hanno Koffler), a young police officer and expectant father who ends up falling for a male colleague, Kay (Max Riemelt). DISC DETAILS Amazon Price: $22.46 (DVD) Garden State (2004) (Blu-ray) Written and directed by Zach Braff Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm Zach Braff is best known for playing JD in Scrubs, but he has also been a writer/director on the independent scene. Braff's debut movie Garden State was a critical hit when it was first released. Braff stars as Andrew Largeman, an actor/waiter in Los Angeles who returns home to New Jersey for his mother's funeral, reunites with his estranged father (Ian Holm) and regain his emotions when he stops taking anti-depressants. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 88% (excellent) Metacritic Rating: 67/100 (good) Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Audio commentaries by writer/director/actor Zach Braff, actor Natalie Portman and filmmakers; Outtakes and bloopers; 16 deleted scenes; Making-of featurette Amazon Price: $16.18 (Blu-ray) An American Tail (1986) (Blu-ray) Directed by Don Bluth Written by Judy Freudberg, Tony Geiss (screenplay), David Kirschner, Judy Freudberg, Tony Geiss (story) Starring: Phillip Glasser, Som DeLuise, Nehemiah Persoff, Erica Yohn From animation director Don Bluth (The Land Before Time) is the re-release of An American Tail, the movie about a Russian mouse, Fievel (Phillip Glasser) who emigrates to America with his family, but get separated during the journey. In New York Fievel searches for his family and his family searches for him. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 68% (good) Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.8/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features:  Digital Copy of An American Tail (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.); Includes UltraViolet (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.); Somewhere Out There Sing-Along; Theatrical Trailer Amazon Price: $14.99 (Blu-ray) Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) (Blu-ray) Directed by Jon Avent Written by Fannie Flagg, Carol Sobieski (screenplay), Fannie Flagg (novel 'Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe') Starring: Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker Based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe the film adaptation was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) is an unhappy middle-aged housewife who ends up befriending Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy) at a nursing home in Alabama. As their friendship grows Ninny tells Evelyn the story of Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson) and her friendship with another woman in the 1920s. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 83% (very good) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Digital Copy of Fried Green Tomatoes (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.); Includes UltraViolet (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.); Deleted Scenes; Outtakes; Moments of Discovery: The Making of Fried Green Tomatoes; Sipsey's Recipe; Jon Avnet's Director's Notes; Production Photographs; Poster Campaign; Feature Commentary with Director Jon Avnet Amazon Price: $14.96 (Blu-ray) Boiler Room (2000) (Blu-ray) Written and directed by Ben Younger Starring: Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, Nia Long, Nicky Katt, Ron Rifkin, Tom Everett Scott, Scott Caan Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi) is a college drop-out who attempts to gain his father's approve and a chance to be rich when he gets a job at a brokerage firm based in Long Island. But it turns out the company is not as legitimate as it seems. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 67% (good) Metacritic Rating: 63/100 (good) Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Deleted scenes/alternate ending; Commentary by writer/director Ben Younger, producer Jennifer Todd and actor Giovanni Ribisi and The Angel; Original theatrical trailer Amazon Price: $14.97 (Blu-ray) Harry and the Hendersons (1987) (Blu-ray) Directed by William Dear Written by William Dear, William E. Martin, Ezra D. Rappaport Starring: John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Don Ameche, David Sushet, Margaret Langrick, Joshua Rudoy, Lainie Kazan, Kevin Peter Hall Harry and the Hendersons is family comedy about the Henderson family who think they killed Bigfoot when they run him off. The Hendersons take him home and hope to claim a big reward. But it turns out that Bigfoot is alive and a friendly giant and the family set out to protect him from the authorities. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 44% (poor) Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.5/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Digital Copy of Harry and the Hendersons (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.); Includes UltraViolet (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.); Deleted Scenes; Harry...Finding the Missing Link; The Making of Harry and the Hendersons; Newswrap; Theatrical Trailer; Feature Commentary with Director William Dear Amazon Price: $17.98 (Blu-ray) Somewhere in Time (1980) (Blu-ray) Directed by Jeannot Szwarc Written by Richard Matheson Starring: Christopher Reeve, Christopher Plummer, Teresa Wright, Bill Erwin Outside the Superman series Christopher Reeve's best known movie is the fantasy romance Somewhere in Time which has earned a cult following. Richard Matherson of I Am Legend fame adapted his own novel about Richard Collier (Reeve), a young playwright in Chicago who is mystified when an old woman tells him "come back to me". Richard figures out the mystery and finds out the woman is Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour, Live and Let Die) and she was an actress at the time of the century and he has to find a way to travel back in time. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 59% (average) Metacritic Rating: 29/100 (bad) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Digital Copy of Somewhere in Time (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.); Includes UltraViolet (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.); Back to Somewhere in Time; The Somewhere In Time Fan Club; Production Photographs; Theatrical Trailer; Feature Commentary with Director Jeannot Szwarc Amazon Price: $14.96 (Blu-ray)