In a light week of DVD and Blu-ray releases there was one clear winner for our Recommendation of the Week prize, the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One. All six of Marvel Studio’s movies so far are coming out on a Collector’s Box-set which contents extra deleted scenes and short films to set up Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
First Release
- Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One (Blu-ray)
- The Sweeny (2012) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Stiches (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Hitler’s Children (DVD)
Re-Release
- Hello Dolly! (DVD and Blu-ray)
Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One (DVD and Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week*
Iron Man (2008)
Directed by Jon Favreau
Written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway (screenplay), Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, Jack Kirby (comic)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Directed by Jon Favreau
Written by Justin Theroux (screenplay), Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, Jack Kirby (comics)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Written by Zak Penn (screenplay), Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (comics)
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Black Nelson
Thor (2011)
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Written by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne (screenplay), J. Michael Straczynski, Mark Protosevich (story), Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby (comics)
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Anthony Hopkins
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Directed by Joe Johnston
Written by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (screenplay), Joe Simon, Jack Kirby (comics)
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones
The Avengers (2012)
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 Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most successful movie franchises in recent memory, making over $3.8 Billion Worldwide and all six movies have been met with a positive reception. Phase One of the series has completed and now a big collector’s box-set featuring some of our favorite Marvel characters get introduced to one of the biggest and most ambitious interlinking movie series, just as Iron Man 3 is about to hit theaters.
Iron Man (2008)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 93% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 79/100 (very good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 9.0/10 (read our review)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 75% (very good)
Metacritic Rating: 57/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.3/10 (read our review)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 67% (good)
Metacritic Rating: 61/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.6/10
Thor (2011)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 77% (very good)
Metacritic Rating: 57/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.9/10 (read our review)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 79% (very good)
Metacritic Rating: 66/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.2/10 (read our review)
The Avengers (2012)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 92% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 69/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 8.4/10 (read our review)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Top-secret Bonus Disc including: “And Then Shawarma After” featurette; Never-before-seen deleted scenes, extended scenes, featurettes, animatics and more from each film; Collectible packaging with exclusive memorabilia (prop reproductions and artifacts) from the motion pictures; Exclusive inside look at Marvel’s Iron Man 3 and other films from Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Amazon Price: $149.49 (Blu-ray)
From the UK are two movies, the actioneer the Ray Winstone lead The Sweeney and horror-comedy Stitches whilst the musical Hello Dolly! has earned a Blu-ray re-release.
The Sweeney (2012) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Nick Love
Written by Nick Love (screenplay), Nick Love, John Hodge (story), Ian Kennedy Martin (TV series)
Starring: Ray Winstone, Ben Drew, Damian Lewis, Hayley Atwell, Steven Mackinstosh
The Sweeney is a loose adaptation of a popular British TV show from the 70s. Ray Winstone and Ben Drew AKA the singer Plan B (Harry Brown) star as Jack Regan and George Carter, two police detective in the Flying Squad, a unit of the London Metropolitan Police that specialize in investigating armed robbery. Regan is a cop who plays by his own rules and has Internal Affairs breathing down his neck as he investigates a criminal with a violent streak.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 47% (average)
Metacritic Rating: 48/100 (average)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Behind the Scenes of The Sweeney; Preparing The Sweeney; Shooting in Trafalgar Square; The New Regan and Carter; On the Shooting Range; Top Gear and the Caravan Park; Animated Storyboards: Trafalgar Square and The Caravan Park; Audio Commentary with Director and Producers
Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray)
Stitches (DVD and Blu-ray)
Written and directed by Conor McMahon
Starring: Ross Noble, Tommy Knight, Gemma-Leah Devereux
The other movie hailing from the British Isles this week is the horror-comedy Stitches. Georgie comedian Ross Noble stars as a crown who is killed after a prank goes wrong at a children’s birthday party. Years later the children have grown up and the crown has risen from the grave and he wants revenge.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 44% (poor)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Commentary with actor Ross Noble and writer-director Conor McMahon; Making Of; Bloopers; Trailer
Amazon Price: $22.48 (DVD), $26.98 (Blu-ray)
Hitler’s Children (DVD)
Written and directed by Chanoch Zeevi
Starring: Bettina Goering, Katrin Himmler, Monika Goeth, Rainer Hoess, Eldad Hoess, Eldad Beck, Niklas Frank
Hitler’s Children is a documentary about the children, grandchildren and nephews and nieces of some of the Nazi Regime’s most senior figures. This documentary sees five relatives of five senior Nazis being interviewed about how they deal with living under the shadow of their notorious relatives.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 79% (very good)
Metacritic Rating: 69/100 (good)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Closed Captioned; bonus short film Kun 65; Dir. Tal Haim Yoffe; A painting found on the street leads to an inspirational journey from Israel to Budapest while revealing the fascinating personal story of a Holocaust survivor.
Amazon Price: $12.99 (DVD)
Hello Dolly! (1969) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Gene Kelly
Written by Ernest Lehman (screenplay), Michael Stewart (musical)
Starring: Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford
Hello Dolly! is properly best known now for being featured as WALL-E’s favorite movie, but back in its day it, won three Academy Awards and was nominated for four more. Barbra Streisand stars as Dolly Levi, a matchmaker in 1890s New York who sets out to find a wife for a wealthy Yonkers man and brings his two clerks and niece on her quest.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 47% (average)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Directing Dolly: Gene Kelly Remembered; 1969 Featurette
Amazon Price: $16.99 (Blu-ray)
