DISCussion: What’s New on DVD/Blu-ray (4.17.12)

The “Mission: Impossible” franchise has been a popular and successful beast, resulting in two TV series and four blockbuster movies. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol was considered one of the best action movies of 2011 and it has easily won the battle to be Player Affinity’s Recommendation of the Week.

First Release
- Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Shame (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The Divide (DVD and Blu-ray)

Re-Release
- Alambrista! (1977) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Buck Privates (1941) (Blu-ray)
- Late Spring (1949) (Blu-ray)


*Recommendation of the Week*

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Brad Bird
Written by Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist

What’s the Deal?
It has been a tough few years for Tom Cruise ever since he jumped off the deep end about Scientology. He had starred in a few disappointments and his small role in Topic Thunder was his best appearance. His “Mission: Impossible” series seemed to many as his last shot to resurrect his career. Seeing the critical and financial success of the fourth entry in the series, it is clearly mission accomplished in what is an entertaining blockbuster from Pixar veteran Brad Bird.

After a botched mission in Moscow Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team (Paula Patton and Simon Pegg) are framed for bombing the Kremlin. When their boss is killed, Hunt, his team and a mysterious analyst named Brandt (Jeremy Renner) are all that's left from the IMF. They have to stop a nuclear extremist, Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist, “The Millennium Trilogy”), from starting nuclear war, and they must do it without any back-up or resources.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 93% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 8.2/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $15.49 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray)

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




The other major release of the week is the sex-addiction drama Shame, the latest collaboration between Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender. The Criterion Collection has two rereleases to offer and Abbott and Costello fans can own Private Bucks on Blu-ray thanks to Universal Pictures’ 100th Anniversary.


Shame (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Directed by Steve McQueen
Written by Abi Morgan, Steve McQueen
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan

What’s the Deal?
2011 was a very busy year for Michael Fassbender, starring in X-Men: First Class, Jane Eyre and A Dangerous Method. The sex addiction movie, Shame, completes the cycle and sees Fassbender reunited with Hunger director Steve McQueen. Fassbender won the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe.

Brandon (Fassbender) is a New York yuppie and a sex addict; he has one night stands, watches porn, hires prostitutes and masturbates at any given opportunity. But his lifestyle is disturbed when his troubled sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), comes to stay with him.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 80% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 7.7/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $22.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4 stars, Video 0 stars, Audio 0 stars, Extras 0 stars, Replay 2.5 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.



The Divide (DVD and Blu-ray)
 
Director by Xavier Gens
Written by Karl Mueller, Eron Sheean
Starring: Lauren German, Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimigla, Courtney B. Vance

What’s the Deal?
Director Xavier Gens was royally screwed over when he  directed the adaptation of the video game Hitman, as Fox did major reshoots without him. But according to critical reaction he is able to suck all by himself with this post-apocalyptic horror movie, The Divide.

After surviving a nuclear attack in New York, eight survivors hide in the basement of an apartment. They are surrounded by a group of mysterious people in hazmat suits, holding them under siege.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 22% (poor)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $16.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 1.5 stars, Video 3.5 stars, Audio 3.5 stars, Extras 1.5 stars, Replay 1.5 stars (out of 5). Skip It.



Alambrista! (1977) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Robert M. Young
Starring: Domingo Ambriz, Trinidad Silva, Linda Gillen

What’s the Deal?
From the Criterion Collection is the re-release of Alambrista!, a hard-hitting drama about Roberto (Domingo Ambriz), a young Mexican farm worker who crosses the border into the United States, seeking to send money back to his family.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $23.49 (DVD), $28.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Buck Privates (1941) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Arthur Lubin
Written by Arthur T. Horman
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, The Andrews Sisters

What’s the Deal?
Abbott and Costello were a classic comedy duo in the 1940s and 50s, working tirelessly on film and television. Buck Privates is their second movie and this story see the pair as Herbie Brown (Costello) and Slicker Smith (Abbott), two con men who join the army to escape jail. But their drill sergeant (Nat Pendleton) is also the cop who is after them and comic antics ensue.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $25.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Late Spring (1949) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Written by Kogo Noda, Yasujiro Ozu (screenplay), Hirotsu Kazuo (novel)
Starring: Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura

What’s the Deal?
Last but not least is the Criterion Collection’s Blu-ray re-release of the Japanese classic Late Spring by director Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story). This family drama tells the story of Noriko (Setsuko Hara), a 27-year-old old woman who still lives with her widowed father (Chishu Ryu). Everyone around her tries to convince her to marry someone, but she wants to stay loyal to her sick father.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $28.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A