DISCussion: What’s New on DVD/Blu-ray (8.7.12)

Full Metal Jacket is a highly regarded movie and considered one of Stanley Kubrick’s best, which is impressive considering his filmography. His classic Vietnam War story is being released onto Blu-ray and earns the title of our Recommendation of the Week.

First Release
- The Lorax (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Marley (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Jazz Blue Like (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Bel Ami (DVD)
- Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (DVD)

Re-Release
- Johnny Guitar (1954) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Rio Grande (1950) (Blu-ray)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987) (Blu-ray)
- Grosse Point Blank (1997) (Blu-ray)
- High Fidelity (2000) (Blu-ray)
- Clue (1985) (Blu-ray)
- Adventures in Babysitting (1987) (Blu-ray)
- Spaceball (1987) (Blu-ray)


*Recommendation of the Week*
Full Metal Jacket (1987) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Written by Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford (screenplay), Gustav Hasford (novel)
Starring: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey

What’s the Deal?
The anti-war movie Full Metal Jacket is one of many classics made by the great Stanley Kubrick. Filmed in the UK, this Vietnam war movie follows “Joker” (Matthew Modine) in a two-part story, one in boot camp as Private Pyle (Vincent D’Onofrio) starts to become detached from reality, the second following Joker as an army journalist during the lead up to the Battle of Huế. Full Metal Jacket is a darkly funny movie that asks questions about the dehumanization process of war and features a show-stealing performance from former marine drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 97% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 8.6/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $31.49 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


The animated adventure The Lorax and the critical documentary Marley are the major highlights of this week’s first releases, while the rereleases feature the revenge of the 1980s, with three more movies from the decade getting back on Blu-ray, as well as Grosse Point Blank, which features an '80s soundtrack.


The Lorax (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda
Written by Ken Daurio, Cinco Paul (screenplay), Dr Seuss (children’s book)
Starring: Zac Efron, Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift

What’s the Deal?
After the success of Despicable Me,  Illumination Entertainment followed up with this adaptation of The Lorax. This environmental analogy tells the dual story of Ted (Zac Efron) who sets out to find a trees to impress his crush Audrey (Taylor Swift) and a flashback about the Once-ler (Ed Helms) whose ruthless pursuit of profit leads to a conflict with the mysterious creature The Lorax (Danny DeVito) and the destruction of the environment.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 55% (average)
Player Affinity Score: 7.0/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Seuss To Screen; Seuss It Up!; Feature Commentary With Director Chris Renaud & Co-Director Kyle Balda

Additional Blu-ray Special Features: The Bar-Ba Loots; The Humming Fish; Once-Ler's Wagon; Truffula Run; "Let It Grow" Sing Along; Mini-Movies: Forces Of Nature, "Serenade", Making Of The Mini-Movies

Amazon Price: $16.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray), $27.99 (3D Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 2 stars, Video 5 stars, Audio 5 stars, Extras 3 stars, Replay 3 stars (out of 5). Rent It.



Marley (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Kevin MacDonald
Starring: Bob Marley

What’s the Deal?
Bob Marley is one of the most highly regarded musicians ever, one of the first Third World artists to be an international success, one of the most influential reggae artists ever and a peace activist, and he did this by the time of his death at the young age of 36.

Kevin MacDonald, of One Day in September and Touching the Void fame, directs the critically acclaimed documentary about the great singer, looking at his life as an artist and an activist. He had the support of the Marley family to make it.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 95% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Commentary With Director Kevin Macdonald and David "Ziggy" Marley; Around The World; Extended Interview with Bunny Wailer; Children's Memories: Additional Interviews with David "Ziggy" Marley, Stephen Marley, and Cedella Marley; Listening To "I'm Loose"; Photo Gallery; Theatrical Trailer; SiriusXM: Ziggy Marley's Legends of Reggae; Marley Soundtrack; Visit Jamaica

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

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



Blue Like Jazz (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Steve Taylor
Written by Donald Miller, Ben Pearson, Steve Taylor
Starring: Marshall Allman, Jason Marsden, Tania Raymonde, Claire Holt, Eric Lange, Justin Welborn

What’s the Deal?
From Christian singer/film director Steve Taylor is the independent comedy-drama, Blue Like Jazz, focusing on Don (Marshall Allman, True Blood), a 19-year-old sophomore at a Texas Junior College who attempts to escape the Bible Belt upbringing by going to the most godless campus in America in the Pacific Northwest.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 43% (poor)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Commentary Track with Director Steve Taylor, Author Donald Miller, and Cinematographer Ben Pearson; Commentary Track with Director Steve Taylor, Author Donald Miller, and Cinematographer: Ben Pearson; Making Blue Like Jazz; The Music; Save Blue Like Jazz; The Cast; The Animator; This Is My Story; Deleted Shots; Theatrical Trailer; Master Class: Directing Actors On Set; Photo Gallery; Also from Lionsgate

Amazon Price: $17.99 (DVD), $27.85 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Bel Ami (DVD)

Directed by Declan Donnellan, Nick Ormerod
Written by Rachel Bennette (screenplay), Guy de Maupassant (novel)
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci, Colm Meaney, Anthony Higgins

What’s the Deal?
Based on Guy de Maupassant’s classic 1885 novel of the same name, Bel Ami, along with Cosmopolis are the latest attempts by Robert Pattinson to prove he is a serious actor/more then just Edward Cullen. Pattinson plays Georges Duroy, a penniless soldier who  rises to the top of Parisian society by using three of the city’s most influential and wealthy women.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 29% (bad)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Bel Ami: Behind the Scenes

Amazon Price: $15.95 (DVD)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (DVD)

Directed by Robert Harmon
Written by Tom Selleck, Michael Brandman (screenplay), Robert B. Parker (novel)
Starring: Tom Selleck, Kathy Baker, Kohl Sudduth

What’s the Deal?
Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt is the eighth TV movie starring Tom Selleck based on Robert B. Parker’s crime novels. Tom Selleck reprises his role as Jesse Stone, a police chief from a small New England town who is forced out of retirement when the young sheriff who replaced him dies when his police car explodes.

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

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $17.86 (DVD)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 3.5 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 3.5 stars, Extras 0 stars, Replay 3.5 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.



Johnny Guitar (1954) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Nicolas Ray
Written by Philip Yordan (screenplay), Roy Chanslor (novel)
Starring: Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Scott Brady

What’s the Deal?
Johnny Guitar is the first of two Westerns being re-released on to DVD and Blu-ray. Vienna (Joan Crawford) is a saloon owner who wants to create her town, but enters into a conflict with the local townspeople led by Emma (Mercedes McCambridge, All the King‘s Men) who frames her for a string of robberies. But Vienna finds an ally in the form of a strange drifter known as Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden, The Killing), who has his own mysterious past.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 96% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $19.99 (DVD), $24.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4 stars, Video 3.5 stars, Audio 2.5 stars, Extras 1 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Recommended.



Rio Grande (1950) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by John Ford
Written by James K. McGuiness (screenplay), James Warner Bellah (story)
Starring: John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara

What’s the Deal?
John Ford and John Wayne were the kings of the Western genre back in the '40s and '50s and Rio Grande was the third part of their “cavalry trilogy.” This time Wayne plays Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke, a cavalry officer who has to train new recruits to face the Apaches. But he faces his toughest challenge when his unorthodox plan leads to a possible court-martial and he has to fight for his honor, his family and the Native American tribes he is at war with.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 75% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

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

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4 stars, Video 3.5 stars, Audio 3 stars, Extras 2.5 stars, Replay 3.5 stars (out of 5). Recommended.



Grosse Point Blank (1997) (Blu-ray)

Directed by George Armitage
Written by Tom Jankiewicz, D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack (screenplay), Tom Jankiewicz (story)
Starring: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd

What’s the Deal?
Grosse Point Blank is an entertaining black comedy from the '90s. John Cusack plays John Q. Blank, a professional hitman with problems: he sees a psychiatrist (Alan Arkin) and fellow hitman Grocer (Dan Aykroyd) wants him to join his “Assassins Union.” Blank’s latest assignment sees him returning to the town he grew up in and rekindling his relationship with his high school flame, Debi (Minnie Driver), all while people try to kill him.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 76% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 8.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $12.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4 stars, Video 3 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 0.5 stars, Replay 4.5 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.



High Fidelity (2000) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Stephen Frears
Written by D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack, Scott Rosenberg (screenplay), Nick Hornby (novel)
Starring: John Cusack, Iben Hjejbe

What’s the Deal?
The other John Cusack movie of the week is the adaptation of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. Translating the action from London to Chicago, Rob Gordon (Cusack) is a vintage record owner who suffers a mid-life crisis and quest to find out what he did wrong after his top-five break-ups in a homage to the music scene.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 92% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 7.8/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $12.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4.5 stars, Video 3.5 stars, Audio 3.5 stars, Extras 2.5 stars, Replay 3.5 stars (out of 5). Recommended.



Clue (1985) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Jonathan Lynn
Written by Jonathan Lynn, John Landis (screenplay), Anthony E. Pratt (board game)
Starring: Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Lesley Ann Warren, Michael McKean, Christopher Lloyd, Madeline Kahn, Martin Mull

What’s the Deal?
Battleship was not the first movie to be based on board game. Back in 1985, the comedy mystery Clue was released and there was a lot of talent behind this adaptation. Jonathan Lynn (My Cousin Vinny) wrote and directed the movie, John Landis co-wrote and the cast features the likes of Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd.

In a secluded New England mansion, six strangers, a butler and a maid are together when murder happens and all their secrets and lies are exposed as they try and solve the mystery.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 71% (good)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $20.32 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4.5 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 3 stars, Extras 1.5 stars, Replay 5 stars (out of 5). Recommended.



Adventures in Babysitting (1987) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Chris Columbus
Written by David Simkins
Starring: Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp

What’s the Deal?
After making his reputation as a writer in the '80s, Chris Columbus made his directing debut with comedy movie Adventures in Babysitting. Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue), babysits her neighbor's children, but her boring night turns terrifying when en route to pick up a friend from the airport, she and the children end up stuck in downtown Chicago and accumulate some unwanted attention.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 78% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 6.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $12.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Spaceballs (1987) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Mel Brooks
Written by Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan, Roony Graham (screenplay)
Starring: Bill Pullham, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Mel Brooks, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, Joan Rivers

What’s the Deal?
Back in the '70s and '80s the spoof genre was actually relevant and Mel Brooks was one its masters. Spaceballs is Brooks’ parody of the Star Wars trilogy as King Roland (Dick Van Patten) hires the space rogue Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) to save his daughter from the evil Spaceballs.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 54% (average)
Player Affinity Score: 8.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $14.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A