DISCussion: What’s New on DVD/Blu-ray (5.1.12)

From Amazon.com this week is an exclusive box-set, The Tim Burton Collection. Seven of his movies are coming onto Blu-ray, including his two “Batman” movies, the animated movie Corpse Bride and the gothic comedy Beetlejuice.

First Release
- Haywire (DVD and Blu-ray)
- New Year’s Eve (DVD and Blu-ray)
- W.E. (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Joyful Noise (DVD and Blu-ray)
- George Harrison: Living in The Material World (DVD and Blu-ray)

Re-Release
- The Tim Burton Collection (Blu-ray)
- Clueless (1995) (Blu-ray)
- Men in Black II (2002) (Blu-ray)
- About a Boy (2002) (Blu-ray)
- Meet Joe Black (1998) (Blu-ray)
- Definitely, Maybe (2008) (Blu-ray)
- Jeremiah Johnson (1972) (Blu-ray)
- Pillow Talk (1959) (Blu-ray)
- Mimic 3 Film Set (DVD and Blu-ray)


The Tim Burton Collection (Blu-ray)

What’s the Deal?
Tim Burton has shown himself to be an excellent director with his gothic style to the mainstream and his latest movie, Dark Shadows, releases May 11. Though he offers us a few misses, he is deservedly a respected director and seven of his movies are being released in a box set. The Tim Burton Collection offers a wide variety of genres and quality and a great starter kit if you do not own any of his movies.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 92% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

Beetlejuice
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 81% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 7.8/10

Batman
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 72% (good)
Player Affinity Score: 7.0/10

Batman Returns
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 79% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 8.0/10

Mars Attacks!
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 51% (average)
Player Affinity Score: 7.5/10

Corpse Bride
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 84% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 7.5/10

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 82% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 6.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $47.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):  N/A



With the exception of the Martin Scorsese documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, this week’s first release is a dire batch, including the very divisive action movie Haywire, the critically derided New Year’s Eve and Madonna’s W.E.. The rereleases of the week fare better, with the likes of Clueless,  Definitely, Maybe and Jeremiah Johnson being particular highlights.


Haywire (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by Lem Dobbs
Starring: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Bill Paxton, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas

What’s the Deal?
Steven Soderbergh's Haywire is a starring vehicle for Mixed Martial Artist Gina Carano and served as her acting debut. The film was praised by critics, but audiences felt very differently and Haywire ended up earning a D+ on CinemaScore and a 6.1 rating on IMDB. It is personally my most hated movie of 2012 so far.

Mallory Kane (Carano) is a private special forces contractor who does all the jobs intelligence agencies do not want to get their hands dirty with. But when she is betray by her employer and ex-lover (Ewan McGregor) she is forced to get her revenge.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 80% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 4.8/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Gina Carano: From MMA to HAYWIRE; The Men of HAYWIRE; Trailers

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

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4.5 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 1.5 stars, Replay 4.5 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.



New Year’s Eve (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Garry Marshall
Written by Katherine Fugate
Starring: Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, Hilary Swank, Sofia Vergara

What’s the Deal?
In 2010, the ensemble vehicle Valentine’s Day was derided by critics for being a poor copy of Love, Actually. That did not stop Garry Marshall and Katherine Fugate from making the same thing all over again with New Year’s Eve, which features an all-star cast of characters trying to find love in New York on New Year’s Eve.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 7% (awful)
Player Affinity Score: 2.0/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Audio Commentary with Garry Marshall; Gag Reel

Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $17.99 (Blu-ray), $22.99 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



W.E. (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Madonna
Written by Madonna, Alek Keshishian
Starring: Abbie Cornish, James D’Arcy, Andrea Riseborough, Oscar Isaac

What’s the Deal?
For years Madonna has attempted an acting career with often poor results, so seh has given directing a go. Unfortunately, her second movie, W.E., was met with equally bad results.

W.E. tells a duel narrative, the first is the relationship between Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough, The Devil’s Whore) and King Edward VIII (James D’Arcy, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) during their relationship and the abdication crisis. In 1998, Wally (Abbie Cornish, Limitless) is in New York studying this story of a king willing to give up his throne for the woman he loves (ignoring the fact they were Nazi sympathizers) and falling for a Russian security guard (Oscar Isaac, Drive).

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 13% (awful)
Player Affinity Score: N/As

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $19.99 (DVD), $17.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Joyful Noise (DVD and Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Todd Graff
Starring: Dolly Parton, Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan

What’s the Deal?
Despite Dolly Parton’s large fan base, there were not enough folks to save Joyful Noise at the box-office. From the writer-director of Camp, Todd Graff, Joyful Noise is a musical movie about two strong-minded women (Parton and Queen Latifah) with different views forced to work together to get their gospel choir into the national championships.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 33% (poor)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Make some noise; Leading ladies

Additional Blu-ray/DVD Combo Special Features: Spotlight on a song: Dolly Parton's "From Here to the Moon"; Inspiration of Joyful Noise; "He's Everything" live; Extended songs; Deleted songs

Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $17.99 (Blu-ray), $22.99 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



George Harrison: Living In The Material World (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring: George Harrison

What’s the Deal?
As well as being one of the greatest directors to ever live, Martin Scorsese has shown himself to be an excellent documentary filmmaker. His latest work will please Beatles fans as he looks at the life of George Harrison as a musician and how spirituality played an important part of his life.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 89% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

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

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Clueless (1995) (Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Amy Heckerling
Starring: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, Dan Hedaya, Elisa Donovan, Justin Walker

What’s the Deal?
Clueless is a popular and celebrated movie from the '90s, earning a TV spin-off and briefly making Alicia Silverstone a star. Loosely based on Jane Austin’s Emma, Clueless centers on Cher Horowitz (Silverstone), a Beverly Hills teenager who plays matchmaker, helps her friends, looks for a boyfriend and tries to survive the trials of adolescence in a parody of the 90201 lifestyle.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 82% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 7.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Clue or false trivia game; The class of '95; Creative writing; Fashion 101; Language arts; "Suck 'N Blow" - a tutorial; Driver's ed; We're history; 2 original theatrical trailers: Teaser trailer HD & theatrical trailer HD

Amazon Price: $11.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Men in Black II (2002) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Written by Robert Gordon, Barry Fanaro (screenplay), Robert Gordon (story), Lowell Cunningham (comic)
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson

What’s the Deal?
The release of Men in Black III is just around corner, so the folks at Sony see good sense of re-releasing Men in Black II onto Blu-ray. This sequel sees the return of J and K (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones) as they battle a new threat, the plant alien Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle, Wayne’s World) who wants the Light of Zartha and is willing to destroy the Earth to do so.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 39% (poor)
Player Affinity Score: 5.3/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $13.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



About a Boy (2002) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Written by Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz (screenplay), Nick Hornby (novel)
Starring: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz

What’s the Deal?
Based on a novel by Nick Hornby, About a Boy was considered on of the best movies of 2002, earning a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and a place on the American Film Institute’s top 10 list of that year.

Will (Hugh Grant) is a selfish man who lives a life a leisure and discovers the potential untapped market of single mothers he could seduce. But on his adventures he crosses path 12-year-old social outcast Marcus (Nicholas Hoult, X-Men: First Class) whose mother (Toni Collette) tried to kill herself. An unusual friendship starts to develop.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 93% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 7.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Deleted scenes; Spotlight on location: The making of About a Boy; "Santa's Super Sleigh": Lyrics to the entire song; English to English dictionary; Feature commentary with directors Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz

Amazon Price: $14.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


Meet Joe Black (1998) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Martin Brest
Written by Bo Goldman, Kevin Wade
Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani, Jake Weber, Marcia Gay Harden, Jeffrey Tambor

What’s the Deal?
Meet Joe Black is a fantasy romance about Death taking the form of a young man, Joe Black (Brad Pitt), who dies in a road accident. He plans to take media tycoon Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) to the afterlife, but his mission is complicated because Bill’s daughter Susan (Claire Forlani, Mallrats) knew Joe before Death took him.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 51% (average)
Player Affinity Score: 6.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Spotlight on location: the making of Meet Joe Black; Theatrical trailer

Amazon Price: $14.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Definitely, Maybe (2008) (Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Adam Brooks
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz

What’s the Deal?
Rom-coms can be easy to mock, but the Ryan Reynolds-led Definitely, Maybe is considered one of the best examples of the genre in recent years. Will Hayes (Reynolds) is a man in his 30s whose 11-year-old daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) asks how he met and married her mother. Will starts the story from the very beginning about the three women (Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks and Rachel Weisz) he dated and changing the name of his wife so Maya has to guess which he married.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 71% (good)
Player Affinity Score: 7.5/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Deleted scenes; Creating a romance; The changing times of Definitely, Maybe; Feature commentary with director Adam Brooks and star Ryan Reynolds

Amazon Price: $14.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Jeremiah Johnson (1972) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Sydney Pollack
Written by Edward Anhalt, John Milius (screenplay), Raymond W. Thorp, Robert Bunker (story), Vardis Fisher (novel)
Starring: Robert Redford, Will Geer

What’s the Deal?
Based on Vardis Fisher’s novel Mountain Man, Jeremiah Johnson is considered a classic Western. Jeremiah (Robert Redford) is a veteran of the Mexican War who becomes a hermit in the Rocky Mountains. But despite his longing for a peaceful life he becomes the victim of a Native American tribe's long-running vendetta.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 93% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Commentary by director Sidney Pollock, writer John Millius and actor Robert Redford; The saga of Jeremiah Johnson featurette; Theatrical trailer

Amazon Price: $14.49 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Pillow Talk (1959) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Michael Gordon
Written by Stanley Shapiro, Maurice Richlin (screenplay), Russell Rouse, Clarence Greene (story)
Starring: Rock Hudson, Doris Day

What’s the Deal?
Another week and we get another rerelease of a classic Universal movie in honor of its 100th anniversary. This time it is the '50s rom-com about Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) and Jan Morrow (Doris Day), two people who share a phone line which Brad uses all the time to call his girlfriends. Hostility grows between them despite never meeting. One day the two meet and Brad plans to add Jan onto his list of conquests.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 92% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Back in Bed with Pillow Talk; Chemistry 101: The Film Duo of Doris Day and Rock Hudson; Feature Commentary with Film Historians Jeff Bond, Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman; ; 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics; 100 Years of Universal: The Carl Laemmle Era; 100 Years of Universal: Unforgettable Characters

Amazon Price: $28.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):  N/A



Mimic 3-Film Set (DVD and Blu-ray)

Mimic
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Written by Matthew Robbins, Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), Donald A. Wollhiem (short story)
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Alexander Goodwin, Giancarlo Giannini, Josh Brolin, Charles S. Dutton, F. Murray Abraham

What’s the Deal?
Finishing the week’s rereleases is the “Mimic” trilogy, the horror sci-fi series about a new breed of cockroaches that can copy humans. The first movie was Guillermo del Toro's first Hollywood movie, but its sequels were straight-to-DVD releases. Still this boxset provides you with the Director’s Cut of Mimic.

Mimic
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 59% (average)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

Mimic 2
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 9% (awful)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

Mimic 3: Sentinel
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: MIMIC: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT: Video Prologue with Director Guillermo del Toro; Audio Commentary with Director/Cowriter Guillermo del Toro; "Reclaiming MIMIC" Featurette; "A Leap in Evolution - The Creatures of MIMIC" Featurette; "Back into the Tunnels - Shooting MIMIC" Featurette; Deleted Scenes; Storyboard Animatics; Gag Reel; MIMIC 2: "5 Days of MIMIC 2"; "Behind the Sound of MIMIC 2"; Deleted Scenes; MIMIC 3: SENTINEL: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette; Audio Commentary with Writer/Director J.T. Petty; Cast Auditions

Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $20.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 3.5 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 3.5 stars, Replay 3.5 stars (out of 5). Recommended.