Entertainment Fuse’s Recommendation of the Week comes from the world of animation with the re-release of Despicable Me. Now out on Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray this re-release features various featurettes, a Digital Copy and three mini-movies starring the Minions.
First Release
- Dark Skies (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Lore (DVD and Blu-ray)
Re-Release
- Despicable Me (2010) (Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray)
- Cleopatra (1963) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Life is Sweet (1990) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Father Goose (1964) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- My Dog Tulip (2009) (Blu-ray)
- Swimming to Cambodia (1987) (DVD)
Despicable Me (Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week*
Directed by Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
Written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio (screenplay), Sergio Pablos (story)
Starring: Steve Carell, Jason Segal, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Jermaine Clement, Julie Andrews
Despicable Me 2 is set to hit theaters soon, so Universal have decided to re-release the first movie onto Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray. Serving as the first movie and most successful movie for Illumination Entertainment Despicable Me tells the story of Gru (Steve Carell), a supervillain who is planning the biggest heist in history by stealing the Moon! But to do this he adopts three orphaned girls and of course they complicate his life.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 81% (very good)
Metacritic Rating: 72/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.0/10 (read our review)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Disc 1: The World of Despicable Me; Despicable Beats; Gru's Rocket Builder; A Global Effort; Despicable Me Game Previews; Commentary with Directors Chris Renaud & Pierre Coffin Featuring the Minions; Disc 2: Exclusive on Blu-ray and Double-Pack DVD: 3 All-New Mini-Movies Featuring the Minions; The Voices of Despicable Me; Super Silly Fun Land; Digital Copy of Despicable Me (expires 12/31/11)
Amazon Price: $20.99 (Blu-ray), $20.49 (3D Blu-ray)
There are only two next releases this week, the horror movie Dark Skies and the art-house drama Lore. The major re-releases of the week are epic movie Cleopatra and Mike Leigh’s Life is Sweet.
Dark Skies (DVD and Blu-ray)
Written and directed by Scott Stewart
Starring: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rockett, J.K. Simmons
Scott Stewart is a director known for making two notoriously bad movies, Legion and Priest. But he is still plugging away in the film industry and with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 34% and a 6.1/10 score on IMDB Dark Skies is his best rated movie so far.
The Barrett family is a typical suburban American family. But their lives are rocked when a series of disturbing events start to occur and that family are being targeted by a sinister force.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 34% (poor)
Metacritic Rating: 51/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.5/10 (read our review)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Alternate and deleted scenes; Commentary with writer/director Scott Stewart, producer Jason Blum, executive producedr Brian Kavanaugh-Jones & editor Peter Gvozdas
Amazon Price: $14.96 (DVD), $19.96 (Blu-ray)
Lore (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Cate Shortland
Written by Robin Mukherjee, Cate Shortland (screenplay), Rachel Seiffert (novel ‘The Dark Room’)
Starring: Saskia Rosendahl, Kai Malina, Nele Trebs, Ursina Lardi
Based on a novel by Rachel Seiffert, Lore is a critically well received Australian-German-British co-production. Set in the aftermath of World War Two, 14-year-old Lore (Saskia Rosendahl) has to care for her four siblings after her SS parents are captured by the allies. She plans to journey with her family from South-West Germany to her grandmother’s home near Hamburg. On the way she meets a Jewish refugee Thomas (Kai Malina) and she has to come face-to-face to her own prejudices.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 93% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 76/100 (very good)
DISC DETAILS
Amazon Price: $23.48 (DVD), $29.99 (Blu-ray)
Cleopatra (1963) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Ranald MacDougall, Sidney Buchman (screenplay), Plutarch, Suetonius, Appian (Histories ‘The Life and Times of Cleopatra’)
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, Martin Landau, Hume Cronyn, George Cole
The 1963 movie is as notorious as it is famous: it is one of the most expensive movies ever made (when adjusted for inflation), had production problems in front and behind the camera and is the only movie ever to be the highest grossing movie in a year and still make a lost. This was the movie that ended the sword and scandals genre.
Elizabeth Taylor stars as the cunning Queen of Egypt who attempts to manipulate Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) and his second-in-command Mark Antony (Richard Burton) to help her reclaim the throne and embark on one of the most complex love triangle and political alliances in history.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 38% (poor)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Closed Caption; ; Audio Commentary by Chris Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz, Martin Landau and Jack Brodsky
Additional Blu-ray Special Features: Disc 1 - Tom Mankiewicz, Martin Landau and Jack Brodsky; Cleopatra Through the Ages: A Cultural History; Cleopatra's Missing Footage; The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence; ; Disc 2 - Cleopatra (part 2) Continued Film Commentary; Cleopatra: The Film that Changed Hollywood; The Fourth Star of Cleopatra; Fox Movietone News: Archival Footage of the New York Premiere; Archival Footage of the Hollywood Premiere
Amazon Price: $24.99 (DVD), $16.99 (Blu-ray)
Life is Sweet (1990) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Written and directed by Mike Leigh
Starring: Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks, Timothy Spall
Life is Sweet is a British comedy-drama from writer/director Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Another Year). Set in a working class suburb of North London, Life is Sweet forces on Wendy (Alison Steadman) and Andy (Jim Broadbent) and their twin daughters Natalie (Claire Skinner) and Nicola (Jane Horrocks) as face the challenges of life.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (excellent)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: New high-definition digital restoration; New audio commentary featuring director Mike Leigh; Audio recording of a 1991 interview with Leigh; PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic David Sterritt and more
Amazon Price: $19.99 (DVD), $27.97 (Blu-ray)
Father Goose (1964) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Ralph Nelson
Written by S.H. Barnett, Peter Stone, Frank Tarloff
Starring: Cary Grant, Leslie Caron
Father Goose is a romantic-comedy set in World War II about Walter Eckland (Cary Grant) is a man who lives on an isolated island who spies on Japanese planes and ends up having to care for a teacher, Catherine (Leslie Caron) and her female students.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 75% (very good)
DISC DETAILS
Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $24.99 (Blu-ray)
My Dog Tulip (2009) (Blu-ray)
Directed by Paul Fierlinger
Written by Paul Fierlinger (screenplay), J.R. Ackerley (memoirs)
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, Isabella Rossellini, Brian Murray, Paul Hecht, Euan Morton
Based on the memoirs of BBC editor and writer J.R. Ackerley, My Dog Tulip is an independent animated movie about Ackerley (Christopher Plummer) and his 15-year-old long friendship with his German Shepherd who he rescued.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 90% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 80/100 (very good)
DISC DETAILS
Amazon Price: $39.95 (Blu-ray)
Swimming to Cambodia (1987) (DVD)
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Written by Spalding Gray
Starring: Spalding Gray
Directed by Silence of the Lambs’ Jonathan Demme Swimming to Cambodia is a filmed monologue by Spalding Gray telling the story about his travels in Southeast Asia and the time he played a minor role in The Killing Fields.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 68/100 (good)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Interview with Director Jonathan Demme
Amazon Price: $14.99 (Blu-ray)
Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 4 stars, Video 3 stars, Audio 3.5 stars, Extras 3 stars, Replay 3.5 stars (out of 5). Recommended.
