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DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (9.3.2013)

It is the 20th anniversary since the release of The Fugitive and to celebrate it has been re-released onto Blu-ray, featuring commentaries, documentaries and the pilot episode of a 2000 TV series.

First Release

- Now You See Me (DVD and Blu-ray)
- From Up on Poppy Hill (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The Iceman (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The Lords of Salem (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Cockneys vs. Zombies (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Mulan: Rise of a Warrior (DVD and Blu-ray)

Re-Release
- The Fugitive (1993) (Blu-ray)
- Marnie (1964) (Blu-ray)
- Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) (Blu-ray)
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) (Blu-ray)
- Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) (Blu-ray)


The Fugitive
(1993) (Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week*

Directed by Andrew Davis
Written by Jed Stuart, David Twohy (screenplay), David Twohy (story), Roy Huggins (TV series)
Starring: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones

Based on a popular TV series in the 60s The Fugitive is considered one of the best thrillers of the 90s leading to it earn seven Oscar nominations, including a Best Supporting Actor win for Tommy Lee Jones.

Harrison Ford stars as Dr Richard Kimble, a surgeon who is wrongfully convicted of his wife’s brutal murder and sentenced to death. Kimble is able to escape when his prison bus clashes and whilst on the run set out to clear his name. But Deputy US Marshall Sam Gerard (Jones) is on Kimble’s trial.

The Fugitive was so popular that it has led to parodies in shows like The Simpsons and Scurbs and received an ill-advised sequel, US Marshalls.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
95% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating:
86/100 (excellent)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
8.5/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: The Fugitive: Thrill Of The Chase; Pilot episode of the 2000 TV series The Fugitive; Introduction by Andrew Davis and Harrison Ford; Commentary by Andrew Davis and Tommy Lee Jones; 2 exciting documentaries: Derailed: Anatomy Of a Train Wreck and On The Run With The Fugitive; Theatrical Trailer

Amazon Price:
$14.96 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 4.5 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 4.5 stars, Extras 4 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.


There are many movies coming onto DVD and Blu-ray this week from any different genres, including the hit heist flick Now You See Me, anime movie From Up on Poppy Hill and crime movie The Iceman, whilst a Hitchcock movie and a trio of comedies are being re-released.


Now You See Me
(DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Louis Leterrier
Written by Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, Edward Ricourt (screenplay), Boaz Yakin, Edward Ricourt (story)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Mélanie Laurent, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman

Now You See Me was a surprise hit, making $293 Million worldwide and currently boasts a 7.3 rating on IMDB. It was so successful that a sequel is now in the works.

Four magicians, J. Daniell Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher, Confessions of a Shopaholic) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco, 21 Jump Street) are brought together by a mysterious figure. A year later they have become ‘The Four Housemen’ and during a sell-out show in Las Vegas rob a bank in Paris. Interpol agents Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent, Inglorious Basterds) are assigned the case, but it turns out something even bigger is at play.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
49% (average)
Metacritic Rating:
50/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
6.3/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Closed Caption; Audio commentary by producer Bobby Cohen and director Louis Leterrier; "Now You See Me Revealed" featurette

Additional Blu-ray Special Features:
"A Brief History Of Magic" featurette

Amazon Price:
$14.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 4 stars, Video 5 stars, Audio 5 stars, Extras 4 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.


From Up on Poppy Hill
(DVD and Blu-ray)


Directed by Gorō Miyazaki 
Written by Hayao Miyazaki, Keiko Niwa (screenplay), Chizuru Takahashi, Tetsurō Sayama (manga ‘Kokuriko-zaka kara)
Starring: Sarah Bolger, Anton Yelchin, Gillian Anderson, Beau Bridges, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Fuhrman, Christina Hendricks, Ron Howard, Chris Norh, Emily Osment, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Saxton, Alex Wolff

From Up on Poppy Hill
is the latest movie to be released by the Japan’s Studio Ghibli. Directed by Gorō Miyazaki (son of anime legend Hayao Miyazaki) From Up on Poppy Hill is a coming of age story about teenagers Umi (Sarah Bolger, The Spiderwick Chronicles) and Shun (Anton Yelchin, Star Trek, Terminator Salvation) who attempt to save their high school clubhouse from demolition for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
83% (very good)
Metacritic Rating:
71/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
5.5/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
Feature-length storyboards; Celebrity cast recording featurette; Interview with Goro Miyazaki; Music video; Yokohama featurette; Original Japanese trailers and TV spots

Amazon Price: $19.49 (DVD), $22.19 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 4 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 4.5 stars, Extras 4 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.


The Iceman (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Ariel Vromen
Written by Ariel Vromen, Morgan Land (screenplay), Anthony Bruno (book ‘The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer’)
Starring: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta

It is easy to love the work of Michael Shannon having impressed in roles in Revolutionary Road, Take Shelter, Boardwalk Empire and Man of Steel. In the crime drama The Iceman Shannon stars as Richard Kuklinski, a contract killer who really enjoys his job whilst keeping his profession a secret from his wife and daughters.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
68% (good)
Metacritic Rating: 60/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
7.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Making of "The Iceman"; "The Iceman" behind the scenes

Amazon Price:
$14.49 (DVD), $14.49 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 3 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 2.5 stars, Replay 3 stars (out of 5). Recommended.


The Lords of Salem
(DVD and Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Rob Zombie
Starring: Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Ken Foree, Patricia Quinn, Dee Wallace, Maria Conchita Alonso, Judy Geeson, Meg Foster

From rock star to film director The Lords of Salem is Rob Zombie’s latest horror movie. Sheri Moon Zombie stars as Heidi Hawthorne, a radio DJ in Salem, Massachusetts who receives a record with a message “gift from the Lords”. When Heidi listens to the record she suffers flashbacks about the town’s infamous past, forcing her to question her sanity or wonder whether the Lords are coming back.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 47% (average)
Metacritic Rating:
57/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
6.5/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

Amazon Price: $12.99 (DVD), $17.99 (Blu-ray)


Cockneys vs. Zombies
(DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Matthias Hoene
Written by James Moran, Lucas Roche
Starring: Harry Treadaway, Rasmus Hardiker, Michelle Ryan, Georgia King, Richard Briers, Honor Blackman, Alan Ford

Cockneys vs. Zombies is a horror-comedy from the UK about a group of bank robbers who end up having to defend the East-End of London when a 350-year-old vault is opened, releasing the living dead.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
70% (good)
Metacritic Rating:
52/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
7.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
2 Audio Commentaries; Original Look Behind The Scenes; Trailer

Amazon Price:
$14.99 (DVD), $19.28 (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.


Mulan: Rise of a Warrior (Blu-ray/DVD Comob)

Directed by Jingle Ma
Written by Zhang Ting
Starring: Zhao Wei, Yu Rongguang, Chen Kun, Hu Jun, Jaycee Chan, Nicky Lee, Vitas

The story of Hua Mulan is one of the most famous legends to come from China, popularized in the West in Disney’s animated version. Mulan: Rise of a Warrior is a Chinese movie with Zhao Wei (Red Cliff) starring as the famous woman who disguises herself as man so her aging father would not have to serve in the army when barbarians invade China.

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Making of Mulan (Mandarin 2.0 with English subtitles - 71 min); Interviews with the cast and staff (Mandarin 2.0 with English subtitles - 15 min)

Amazon Price:
$24.99 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)


Marnie
(1964) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Written by Jay Presson Allen (screenplay), Winston Graham (novel)
Starring: Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker, Martin Gabel, Louise Latham

Marnie is a thriller from Alfred Hitchcock about Mark Rutland (Sean Connery), a Philadelphia playboy who Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedren), a professional theft and hires a private detective to investigate her past.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
80% (very good)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
6.0/10

DISC DETAILS

Amazon Price:
$16.99 (Blu-ray)


Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
(1996) (Blu-ray)


Directed by Jim Mallon
Written by Jim Mallon, Michael J. Nelson, Trace Beaulieu, Kevin Murphy, Mary Jo Pehl, Paul Chaplin, Bridget Jones (screenplay), Joel Hodgson (TV series)
Starring: Michael J. Nelson, Trace Beaulieu, Kevin Murphy, Jim Mallon

Mystery Science Theater 3000
is a popular TV series show, particularly with movie fans and a movie adaptation was made in 1996. Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieu) is a mad scientist who plans to take over the world by finding the worst movie ever made and tests them on Mike Nelson (Michael J. Nelson), the only human on a space station. But Mike and his two robot sidekicks make light of the situation.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 74% (good)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
The Making of Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie; Deleted scenes including the removed sequences from the riffed motion picture and the alternate ending; Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie: The Motion Picture Odyssey (including new interviews with cast and crew and never-before-seen behind the scenes footage); This Island Earth: 2 1/2 Years In the Making; Original trailer

Amazon Price: $19.89 (Blu-ray)


Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Tom Shadyac
Written by Jack Bernstien, Tom Shadyac, Jim Carrey (screenplay), Jack Bernstein (story)
Starring: Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Tone Lōc, Dan Marino

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is the comedy movie that made Jim Carrey an overnight star and many people have a nostalgic feeling towards it. Ace Ventura is a pet detective in Miami whose work is mostly finding lost pets. But he is given a big case when the Miami Dolphins’ lucky mascot, Snowflake the bottlenose dolphin, disappears two weeks before the Super Bowl.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
45% (average)
Metacritic Rating: 37/100 (poor)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
6.5/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Commentary by director Tom Shadyac; 3 episodes of the animated series; Theatrical trailer

Amazon Price:
$16.93 (Blu-ray)


Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
(1995) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Steve Oedekerk
Written by Steve Oedekerk (screenplay), Jack Bernstein (characters)
Starring: Jim Carrey, Ian McNeice, Simon Callow, Maynard Eziashi, Bob Gunton, Sophie Okonedo, Tommy Davidson

Jim Carrey famously refuses to make sequel to his movies. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls is the only time he ever made a sequel because he loved the character so much.

After a mission to save a raccoon goes wrong Ace Ventura ends up becoming a Buddist monk until he is recruited by a British man, Fulton Greenwall (Ian McNeice), to find a sacred animal to prevent two African tribes going to war. But the animal is a bat, the one animal Ace hates.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 33% (poor)
Metacritic Rating:
45/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
5.6/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Theatrical trailer

Amazon Price: $16.93 (Blu-ray)

 

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