The sci-fi time-travel movie Looper was a runaway winner for Recommendation of the Week and the DVD features a director’s commentary, deleted scenes and some featurettes.
First Release
- Looper (DVD and Blu-ray) (Release Date Dec. 31)
- Cosmopolis (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Little Birds (DVD)
- The Trouble with Bliss (DVD)
- War of the Dead (DVD and Blu-ray)
Re-Releases
- Doctor Zhivago (2002) (Blu-ray)
Looper (DVD and Blu-ray) (Release Date Dec. 31)
Written and directed by Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Pierce Gagnon
Looper is considered one of the best movies of 2012 with reviews comparing it to The Matrix, Inception, The Terminator and Twelve Monkeys. It was a movie that saw Brick director Rian Johnson make a big move into sci-fi filmmaking and cemented Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s star credentials, which started with The Dark Knight Rises and Premium Rush.
In 2074, time travel has been invented and immediately outlawed. Only organized crime use the technology and they use it to send people back in time to killed by hitmen called Loopers in 2044. One of them is Joe (Gordon-Levitt), but his world is rocked when he has to kill his older self (Bruce Willis), who is back in time on a mission. Young Joe needs to hunt old Joe before the mob gets him.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 9.0/10 (read our review)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Feature Commentary with Director Rian Johnson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt; Looper: From the Beginning - Making-of Featurette; 5 Deleted Scenes with Commentary; Scoring Looper; Looper Animated Trailer
Additional Blu-ray Special Features: The Science of Time Travel Featurette; 17 Additional Deleted Scenes with Commentary
Amazon Price: $16.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray)
Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 4.5 stars, Video 5 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 3.5 stars, Replay 5 stars (out of 5). DVD Talk Collector Series.
There is one other major release of the week, David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis. Otherwise there are a couple of dramas and a zombie film. Also, the 2002 version of Doctor Zhivago is out on DVD.
Cosmopolis (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by David Cronenberg
Written by David Cronenberg (screenplay), Don DeLillo (novel)
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Paul Giamatti, Samantha Morton, Sarah Gadon, Matthieu Amalric, Juliette Binoche
Premiering at 2012 Cannes Film Festival and nominated for the Palme d’Or, David Cronenberg’s adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel Cosmopolis is the latest attempt by Robert Pattinson to prove himself as a serious actor. Pattinson plays Eric Parker, a young billionaire whose simple limo ride to his barber ends up turning into a 24-hour odyssey around Manhattan.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 65% (good)
Player Affinity Score: 3.0/10
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Citizens of Cosmopolis Featurette; Audio Commentary with David Cronenberg
Amazon Price: $9.96 (DVD), $17.99 (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.
War of the Dead (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Marko Mäkilaakso
Written by Marko Mäkilaakso, Barr B. Potter
Starring: Andrew Tiernan, Mikko Leppilampi
War of the Dead is a horror movie from Finland. Set in March 1941 during World War II, a group of American and Finnish soldiers are sent to destroy a secret Nazi bunker but discover something more horrifying: undead Nazi soldiers.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A
Player Affinity Score: N/A
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: N/A
Amazon Price: $9.86 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray)
Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A
Little Birds (DVD)
Written and directed by Elgin James
Starring: Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker, Kate Bowsorth, Leslie Mann, Kyle Gallner
From the producers of Half Nelson and Blue Valentine is the drama Little Birds, about two teen friends, Lily (Juno Temple, Atonemont) and Alison (Kay Panabaker, No Ordinary Family) who follow a group boys they met in Los Angeles and end up being sucked into the world of petty crime and scams.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 53% (average)
Player Affinity Score: N/A
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Director’s Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Behind the Scenes, Featurette
Amazon Price: $24.99 (DVD)
Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A
The Trouble with Bliss (DVD)
Directed by Michael Knowles
Written by Michael Knowles (screenplay), Douglas Light (novel)
Starring: Michael C. Hall, Chris Messina, Peter Fonda, Lucy Liu, Brie Larson
The Trouble with Bliss is a dramedy about Morris Bliss (Michael C. Hall) who ends up in a relationship with the 18-year-old daughter of one of his former high school classmates, Stephanie (Brie Larson, 21 Jump Street).
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 29% (bad)
Player Affinity Score: N/A
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: N/A
Amazon Price: $10.32 (DVD)
Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A
Doctor Zhivago (2002) (DVD)
Directed by Giacomo Campiotti
Written by Andrew Davies (teleplay), Boris Pasternak (novel)
Starring: Hans Matheson, Keira Knightley, Sam Neill, Kris Marshall
Not to be confused with the excellent 1965 adaptation, the 2002 version of Doctor Zhivago was an American-British-German co-production. Made as a mini-series, this version features the talents of Keira Knightley, Sam Neill and Hans Matheson (The Tudors).
Set in a time of war and revolution Yury Zhivago (Matheson) is studying to be a doctor in Moscow. But as World War One and the Russian Revolutions of 1917 rages he falls for the daughter of a dressmaker, Lara (Knightley), a woman who is also involved with revolutionary Pasha (Kris Marshall, Love Actually) and government official Victor Komarovsky (Neill).
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A
Player Affinity Score: N/A
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: N/A
Amazon Price: $24.99 (DVD)
Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A
