Coming out onto Blu-ray this week is all four Terminator movies in the Terminator Anthology. The Terminator series is a popular sci-fi action series and if you have not any of them then this box-set is a good place to start.
First Release
- Lincoln (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Killing Them Softly (DVD and Blu-ray)
- A Royal Affair (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The Collection (DVD and Blu-ray)
Re-Release
- Terminator Anthology (Blu-ray)
- Monsieur Verdoux (1947) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Jurassic Park (1993) (Blu-ray)
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) (Blu-ray)
- Jurassic Park III (2001) (Blu-ray)
- Beautiful Girls (1996) (Blu-ray)
Terminator Anthology (DVD and Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week*
The Terminator (1984)
Directed by James Cameron
Written by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, William Wisher Jr.
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1992)
Directed by James Cameron
Written by James Cameron, William Wisher Jr.
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine (2003)
Directed by Jonathan Mostow
Written by John Brancato, Michael Ferris (screenplay), John Brancato, Michael Ferris, Tedi Sarafian (story), James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd (character)
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Directed by McG
Written by John Brancato, Michael Ferris (screenplay), James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd (characters)
Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington
The Terminator series is one of the biggest action series ever and made Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron in stars. Now all four movies are coming out on a Blu-ray box-set, which allows us to see how the machines send back cyborgs to kill the future leader of the resistance, John Conner and as well as looking at the war between the machines and the human resistance.
The Terminator (1984)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 84/100 (very good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 8.5/10
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 98% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 68/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 10/10
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine (2003)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 70% (good)
Metacritic Rating: 66/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 5.0/10
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 33% (poor)
Metacritic Rating: 52/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.0/10
DISC DETAILS
Amazon Price: $44.86 (Blu-ray)
Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 3.5 stars, Video 3.5 stars, Audio 3.5 stars, Extras 4 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Recommended.
From the stables of history come two critically acclaimed historical dramas, Lincoln and A Royal Affair. Whilst on the re-release front all three Jurassic Park movies are coming out on individual Blu-rays.
Lincoln (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by Tony Kushner (screenplay), Doris Kearns Goodwin (book ‘Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln’)
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones
Based on Doris Kearn Goodwin, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln was a movie 10 years in the making and earned Daniel Day-Lewis his third Academy Award. This bio-pic about American’s most famous president focuses on Abraham Lincoln attempting to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery when his own allies question his timing as it could jeopardy peace with the South.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 89% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 86/100 (excellent)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.5/10 (read our review)
DISC DETAILS
Amazon Price: $16.99 (DVD), $22.99 (Blu-ray), $27.99 (4-Disc Blu-ray)
Killing Them Softly (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Andrew Dominik
Written by Andrew Dominik (screenplay), George V. Higgins (novel ‘Cogan’s Trade)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn
Based on a novel from 1974, Cogan’s Trade, Killing Them Softly was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. This crime drama sees director Andrew Dominik and Brad Pitt reunite after the success of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and it was seen as one of the early contender for the 85th Academy Awards.
Set to the backdrop of the 2008 Election and the Financial Crisis, the criminal underworld of an American city suffers its own financial crisis after two criminals (Scoot McNairy, Monsters and Ben Mendelsohn, Animal Kingdom) rob a criminal poker game. A hitman/fixer, Jackie Cogan (Pitt) is brought to solve the situation, but nothing he does resorts confidence for the gangsters.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 76% (very good)
Metacritic Rating: 64/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 5.5/10 (read our review)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: N/A
Additional Blu-ray Special Features: Deleted Scenes; The Making of Killing Them Softly
Amazon Price: $14.96 (DVD), $19.96 (Blu-ray)
Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 4.5 stars, Video 5 stars, Audio 5 stars, Extras 2 stars, Replay 5 stars (out of 5). DVD Talk Collector Series.
A Royal Affair (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Nikolaj Arcel
Written by Nikolaj Arecl, Rasmus Heisterberg (screenplay), Bodil Steensen-Leth (novel)
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander, Mikkel Følsgaard
The Danish costume drama A Royal Affair was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won two awards at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Princess Caroline (Alicia Vikander, Anna Karenina) is English princess who marries the mad king of Denmark, Christian VII (Mikkel Følsgaard). Isolated and alone she befriends the enlightened royal physician, Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen, Casino Royale) and the two set out to change the country, as well as fall in love.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 89% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 73/100 (good)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Interview with Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Arcel and Alicia Vikander; Portraits and biographies; Royal family tree; Theatrical trailer
Amazon Price: $22.93 (DVD), $24.86 (Blu-ray)
The Collection (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Marcus Dunstan
Written by Marcus Dunstan, Patrick Melton
Starring: Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick
The Collection is a sequel to the 2009 horror movie The Collector. This sequel sees Arkin O’Brien (Josh Stewart) being forced back to face The Collector and his booby-trapped warehouse to save his latest victim, Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick).
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 37% (poor)
Metacritic Rating: 36/100 (poor)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Audio Commentary with Director Marcus Dunstan and Co-Writer Patrick Melton Behind the scenes featurettes Alternate Scenes Theatrical trailer
Amazon Price: $12.99 (DVD), $16.99 (Blu-ray)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Written by Charlie Chaplin (screenplay), Orson Welles (idea)
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Martha Raye, William Frawley, Marilyn Nash
Monsieur Verdoux is a dark comedy from Charlie Chaplin, based on an idea by Orson Welles. Chaplin stars as Henri Verdoux, a Frenchman who tries to support his family by marrying wealthy women so he can murder them and get their inheritance.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 96% (excellent)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: New 2K digital restoration; Chaplin Today: “Monsieur Verdoux,” a 2003 program on the film’s production and release, featuring filmmaker Claude Chabrol and actor Norman Lloyd; Charlie Chaplin and the American Press, a new documentary featuring Chaplin specialist Kate Guyonvarch and author Charles Maland; New video essay featuring an audio interview with actress Marilyn Nash; Radio advertisements and trailers; PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and reprinted pieces by Chaplin and critic André Bazin
Amazon Price: $24.99 (DVD), $31.99 (Blu-ray)
Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 4 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 3.5 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.
The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Sam Wood
Written by Norman Krasna
Starring: Jean Arthur, Charles Coburn
The Devil and Miss Jones is comedy movie about John P. Merrick (Charles Coburn), a wealthy department store owner who goes undercover in his own store when he learns his employees are trying to unionize, but ends up befriending them.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (excellent)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: N/A
Amazon Price: $19.99 (DVD), $24.99 (Blu-ray)
Jurassic Park (1993) (Blu-ray)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by Michael Crichton, David Koepp (screenplay), Michael Crichton (play)
Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough
Back in 1994 Jurassic Park was a cinematic revolution for CGI special effects and was seen as one of the best blockbusters from the 90s. Based on Michael Crichton’s popular novel, Jurassic Park sees a wealthy man, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), brings dinosaurs back to live with revolutionary DNA technology and invites a group of experts to preview his new theme park. But the creatures run amok when a greedy employee ties to steal some dinosaur embryos.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 90% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 68/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 9.0/10
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Making Of; Trailers for "Jurassic Park," "The Lost World" and "Jurassic Park 3"; Storyboards; Footage of pre-production meetings; Special Effects supervisor Phil Tippett's animatics; Foley artists; Dinosaur encyclopedia
Amazon Price: $16.99 (Blu-ray)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) (Blu-ray)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by David Koepp (screenplay), Michael Crichton (novel)
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlehwaite, Vince Vaughn, Richard Schiff
After the success of Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton was talked into writing a sequel so Steven Spielberg and team can adapt it. Set four years after the events of the first movie, Dr Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) is forced to lead an expedition to another island contending dinosaurs to save his girlfriend, Sarah (Julianne Moore). But a group of bounty hunters also arrive on the island, planning to capture dinosaurs so they could bring them back to America.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 52% (average)
Metacritic Rating: 59/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 5.5/10
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Making Of; Deleted Footage; Trailers for "Jurassic Park," "The Lost World" and "Jurassic Park 3"; Dinosaur encyclopedia
Amazon Price: $16.99 (Blu-ray)
Jurassic Park III (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Joe Johnston
Written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor (screenplay), Michael Crichton (characters)
Starring: Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan
After two Jurassic Park movies, Steven Spielberg stepped down as the director of the series and Joe Johnston of Jumanji and Captain America: The First Avenger fame took over. This sequel sees Dr Alan Moore (Sam Neill) get recruited by a couple (William H. Macy and Téa Leoni) to visit Isla Sorna. But what they really want him to do is to help them find their son who is stranded on the island.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 50% (average)
Metacritic Rating: 42/100 (poor)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.5/10
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Making of JPIII; New dinosaurs of JPIII; Tour of Stan Winston Studio; Visit to ILM; Dinosaur turntables; Behind-the-Scenes Montage; Storyboard Sequences; JPIII Archives; Finding New Dinosaurs
Amazon Price: $16.99 (Blu-ray)
Beautiful Girls (1996) (Blu-ray)
Directed by Ted Demme
Written by Scott Rosenberg
Starring: Matt Dillon, Lauren Holly, Timothy Hutton, Rosie O’Donnell, Martha Plimpton, Natalie Portman, Mira Sorvino, Uma Thurman
The last movie of the week is Ted Demme’s (Silence of the Lambs) comedy-drama, a movie that focus of high school friends who reunited for the first time at their high school reunion.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 78% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 64/100 (good)
DISC DETAILS
Amazon Price: $5.99 (Blu-ray)
