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That Time of The Week: New DVD & Blu-Ray Releases The Week of 9/8

Boom!  Caught up.  Lots of good stuff this week including a massive Friday the 13th Box set, a whole lot of tv (including the must-see Homeland Season 2), and one of the year’s most controversial geek films, Star Trek Into Darkness.

Fire up that queue and prep that shopping cart.  It’s that time of the week!

Star Trek Into Darkness

Paramount / Released 9/10/13

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew. Extras include featurettes (contents vary based on retailer).

Last Word:  Incredibly watchable, Star Trek Into Darkness is at times an incredibly frustrating film.  Director JJ Abrams, obsessed with secrets and revelations stumbles as the gimmick overtakes both story and character.  In terms of big, dumb entertainment, it delivers, but if you are a fan of the original series, your reaction might be mixed.  For more thoughts on the film, please check out our Star Trek Into Darkness roundtable.  Recommended.

Homeland: The Complete Second Season

20th Century Fox / Released 9/10/13

Homeland makes its triumphant return after winning six Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actress for Claire Danes, Outstanding Lead Actor for Damian Lewis and Outstanding Drama Series. Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Lewis) is now a U.S. congressman, and former CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Danes) has returned to civilian life. But when a new and potentially devastating terrorist threat emerges, Brody and Carrie’s lives become intertwined once again and they resume their delicate dance of suspicion, deceit and desire. Extras include The Border: A Prologue to Season Three, A Super 8 Film Diary From Damian Lewis, Return To The homeland: Filming In Israel, Deleted Scenes and The Choice: The Making Of The Season Finale.

Last Word: Homeland‘s second season moves the story forward by leaps and bounds.  Episodes contain enough material that might otherwise fill a season of story.  As Brody continues to try and rebuild his relationship with his family, his struggles with his mission for Abul Nazir only become more intense.  Carrie has her own issues, being brought back into the CIA off the books and finding herself under Saul’s watch as they try and build a case against Brody.  The climax is shocking and explosive and Homeland continues to be one of television’s most exciting and nerve-wracking series.  Highest recommendation.

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Sixth Season

Warner Home Video / Released 9/10/13

Whether on Earth or above it, hilarity is outrageously universal in TV’s most popular comedy featuring four forward-thinking but socially backward geniuses. Fun discoveries multiply: Leonard learns jealousy is bad for a relationship (with Penny) but science is good for seduction (of Penny). Howard finds life on the International Space Station is no escape from terrestrial turmoil between his overbearing mom and his new wife Bernadette. Raj meets someone special who may be a good match, if only he can keep her from fleeing mid-date. Even Sheldon learns a few things: a) what not to say when called in to meet the university’s employee relations director, b) what happens to childhood TU idols and c) that a Dungeons & Dragons adventure can be the icebreaker his relationship with Amy needs. Extras include featuettes, a gag reel and highlights from PaleyFest 2013.

Last Word: What was once sharp has become dull and worse, mediocre as The Big Bang Theory has regressed to a completely by the numbers sitcom with Star Wars, Star Trek and sci-fi references.  This season, the show feels tired and it shows in both the writing and the cast themselves as they go through the motions. With an absurd selection of guest stars Buzz Aldrin, Stephen Hawking, Wil Wheaton, LeVar Burton, Bob Newhart the gentrification of geek culture is complete.  A very mid recommendation.

Castle: The Complete Fifth Season

ABC Studios / Released 9/10/13

Now that Castle and Beckett (“Caskett”) have finally given in to their true feelings for each other, how will it affect their work together? As they try to keep their new relationship under wraps from their co-workers, the unlikely duo must track down the murderer of Beckett’s mother, find the perpetrator of a major conspiracy and untangle a line of investigation that links Castle to a ritualistic killing. Extras include featurettes, deleted scenes blooper and commentaries.

Supernatural: The Complete Eighth Season

Warner Home Video / Released 9/10/13

The Leviathan Threat has ended, but Dean’s miraculous return from Purgatory unsettles his relationship with his brother, especially his friendship with fellow escapee and vampire Benny. Sam is haunted by his “last-chance” romance with a woman where he finally found something of a normal life. Both Winchesters face shattering choices along with their best chance to strike a deathblow to evil. A Divine Tablet reveals the means to closing the Gates of Hell forever, but the cost may be cataclysmic to them and their angelic ally Castiel. Extras include commentaries, featurettes, unaired scenes, and a gag reel.

Luther 3

BBC Home Video / Released 9/10/13

Idris Elba won a Golden Globe for his depiction of John Luther in this gripping, smart, and riveting psychological thriller from the BBC. In this new mini-series, a twisted fetishist is targeting young women in London. As Luther is called to another case, will the killer escape his grips? Luther faces an even bigger threat as members of his own team will stop at nothing to bring him down. And as a vigilante killer takes justice into his own hands, Luther questions his own sense of morality. Can he continue to walk the thin line between right and wrong, or has he finally met his match?

Last Word: The shortest season yet (4 episodes), Luther 3 finds much of the focus on John Luther and what might be his last cases.  Elba is fantastic as usual, as is the the rest of the cast including Warren Brown, Dermot Crowley, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Michael Smiley.  Only the absence of Ruth Wilson hinders this season.  She is so vital in Luther’s story and in many ways can be considered the only opponent worthy of his skills.  And of course, we know opposites attract.  There has been talk of a prequel film, but I hope this finale leaves the character as is.  Highly recommended.

Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection

Warner Home Video / Released 9/13/13

The 10-disc collection includes the twelve films on nine Blu-ray discs, as well as a killer DVD bonus disc full of special features on the making of the famous franchise. The must-own set will be presented in a collectible tin case with 11 hours of previously released special features and a 40-page soft cover book. The book is excerpted from Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th, a fan-favorite volume that’s viewed as the ultimate memoir of the series, and highlights some of the 200 interviews, 600 photos, storyboards, concept art and more. Also included is a brand new, official Camp Crystal Lake embroidered Counselor Patch. Films in the Collection include: Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 2, Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3D, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Jason X, Freddy vs. Jason, Friday the 13th (2009) (Theatrical Version and “Killer Cut” Extended Version) and Killer Bonus DVD Disc.

Last Word: A perfect set for a rainy weekend, Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection provides almost 35 years of Jason Vorhees killing teenagers, sluts, drug users and drinkers all in one package.  Friday the 13th stood proudly next to Halloween and the Nightmare on Elm Street series as the pillars of the franchise Eighties horror film genre.  Let’s break down the entire series:

  • Friday the 13th – Camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp that was the site of a child’s drowning.
  • Friday the 13th Part 2 –  Mrs. Voorhees is dead, and Camp Crystal Lake is shut down, but a camp next to the infamous place is stalked by an unknown assailant. Is it Mrs. Voorhees’ son Jason who didn’t drown in the lake some 30 years before? 
  • Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3D – Having escaped, Jason Voorhees is back, hockey mask and all, to continue his murderous rampage across Camp Crystal Lake.
  • Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter – After being mortally wounded and taken to the morgue, murderer Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives and embarks on a killing spree as he makes his way back to his home at Camp Crystal Lake. 
  • Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning – Still haunted by his gruesome past, Tommy Jarvis – the boy who killed Jason Voorhees – wonders if somehow he is connected to brutal slayings occurring in and around the secluded halfway house where he now lives. 
  • Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives – Tommy Jarvis goes to the graveyard to get rid of Jason Voorhees’ body, but he accidentally brings him back to life. Jason wants revenge and Tommy must defeat him once and for all! 
  • Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood – Years after Tommy Jarvis chained him underwater at Camp Crystal Lake, the hulking killer Jason Voorhees returns to the camp grounds when he is released accidentally by a teenager with psychic powers. 
  • Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan – A passing boat bound for New York pulls Jason Voorhees along for the ride. Look out New York, here comes hell in a hockey mask.
  • Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday – Serial killer Jason Voorhees’ supernatural origins are revealed. 
  • Jason X – Jason Voorhees returns with a new look, a new machete, and his same murderous attitude as he is awakened on a spaceship in the 25th century.
  • Freddy vs. Jason – Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize the teenage population. Except this time, they’re out to get each other, too.
  • Friday the 13th (2009) (Theatrical Version and “Killer Cut” Extended Version) – A group of young adults discover a boarded up Camp Crystal Lake, where they soon encounter Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions.

Truly an amazing and fun set,  Highly recommend—wait did you hear something? — chi, chi, chi; ha, ha, ha ….

Frankenstein’s Army

Dark Sky Films / Released 9/10/13

War is hell. This place is worse.  In the dying days of World War II, a battalion of Russian soldiers find themselves lost in enemy territory. Stumbling upon a village decimated by an unseen terror, they’re lured into the secret lab of a deranged scientist (Karel Roden) and forced to face off against his army of horrific flesh-and-metal war machines. A nightmarish fantasy thrill ride unlike any other, Richard Raaphorst’s Frankenstein’s Army is a delirious plunge into the darkest depths of insanity.  Includes featurettes and trailer.

Last Word:  Stunning visuals attempt to save a mediocre script.  Unfortunately the imaginative mise en scene is far better than the material on the page.  Horror geeks have plenty of eye candy, and I’m looking forward to see what director Richard Raaphorst does next.  Highly recommended for the look and design of the film and mildly recommended otherwise.

Scanners II: The New Order / Scanners III: The Takeover

Shout! Factory / Released 9/10/13

Scanners II
A breed of humans with dangerously powerful telepathic abilities – the scanners – are being recruited by a corrupt police commander, John Forrester, in his crusade to take over the city. Forrester first enlists the help of an evil scientist, Dr. Morse, who wants to conduct mind-control experiments on the scanners with a new drug. When the side effects render the scanner incapable, Forrester then finds David Kellum (David Hewlett), a rational scanner who, unaware of his own powers, agrees to help him. Will Kellum discover Forrester’s real motive and prevent the “New Order” from being established?

Scanners III
A young scanner (Liliana Komorowska) with extraordinary telepathic powers transforms into a lethal killing machine after taking one of her father’s experimental drugs. After taking over his pharmaceutical company, the deranged scanner runs amok on a killing spree and takes over a television company in her quest for world domination. As her thirst for power grows stronger, only one man – her scanner brother – might have the power to stop her.

Last Word: F-U-N.  Scanners II is a bit more serious, sharing many of the themes from the first film, while Scanners III is a more comedic entry, but with bad acting.  Both are mixed results, but there’s plenty of gore and special effects and some good ideas buried within.  Provided you can get past the goo.  Mildly recommended.

Parade’s End

HBO Studios / Released 9/10/13

Set over a tumultuous ten-year period 100 years ago, this five-hour miniseries tells the story of an honorable Englishman coping with his growing disillusion at the end of one privileged era and the beginning of a new, egalitarian one. As the comfortable certainties of Edwardian England begin to give way to the chaos and destruction of WWI, aristocrat Christopher Tietjens (Benedict Cumberbatch) puts principles first by marrying Sylvia (Rebecca Hall), a pretty, manipulative socialite who gives birth to a child who may not be his. While enduring his new wife’s whims and overt indiscretions, Christopher finds himself inexorably drawn to a young suffragette, Valentine Wannop (Adelaide Clemens), but refuses to give in to their mutual passion or end his marriage with Sylvia. The onset of war, combined with the advent of feminism at home and communism in Russia, ushers in far-reaching changes for the English status quo, and gradually erodes the constraints that have kept Christopher tethered to his aristocratic past.  Extras include a Tom Stoppard NPR interview.

The Fly

20th Century Fox / Released 9/10/13

When a scientist (David [Al] Hedison) attempts to transfer matter through space, things go horrifically wrong and two grotesque man-fly hybrids are created. Now, with the head of a fly and a wing in place of one of his arms, the scientist desperately hopes that he, his wife (Patricia Owens) and his brother (Vincent Price) can capture the other mutant and reverse the experiment.  Extras include Commentary With Actor David Hedison, a Biography doc on Vincent Price, featurettes and trailer.

Last Word:  Fox cranked out a trilogy of Fly films as well as a remake (and a sequel), but it all starts here.  A fantastically entertaining old fashioned thriller rather than horror movie, the film is somewhat slow and suspenseful, building tension and anticipation rather than relying on shocks and scares.  With not only a great monster, but also the great Vincent Price in a supporting role, The Fly looks great and is a must have for any horror aficionado.  Highly recommended.

Wish You Were Here

Entertainment One / Released 9/10/13

Four friends indulge in a carefree Cambodian holiday, but their sun-soaked retreat quickly takes a horrific turn when one of the travelers disappears. Does one of them hold the answer to the fate of their lost companion?  Extras include making of and interviews.

Last Word: A non linear thriller explores the truth behind a vacation when one of the party disappears.  The cast is uniformly excellent and the locations stunning, but the film feels like recycled bits from any number of thrillers.  What makes it frustrating is that it’s intent is to be a tightly structured and layered mystery, but instead it lacks the believable depth and explanations necessary to buy into the character’s motivations and the film’s explanations. Wish You Were Here is still worth a watch.  Recommended.

The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond

Anchor Bay / Released 9/10/13

Where your deepest secrets are revealed.  During a Turkish archeological dig early last century, an ancient board game said to have entertained demons was unearthed. Now nearly 90 years later, a group of vacationing friends – including a cynic (Danielle Harris), a rich jerk (James Duval), a slutty starlet (Mircea Monroe), a jock (Nick Menell) and prudish twin sisters (Electra & Elise Avellan) – discover the game hidden in an old house on a remote Maine island. And with a roll of the dice, their darkest secrets will unleash all the greed, jealously and lusts of Hell itself. Richard Tyson and Robert Patrick co-star in this gory shocker.  Extras include Alternate Opening.

Blood

Image Entertainment / Released 9/10/13

You can’t bury the truth. When a shocking murder is committed in their small town, the Fairburn brothers (Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham) are detectives who will do whatever it takes to catch the killer and try to live-up to the reputation of their tough-as-nails ex-police chief father (Brian Cox). But when a suspect’s interrogation spins violently out of control, the brothers must deal with the consequences… and the mounting suspicions of a colleague (Mark Strong) seeking the truth. A gritty, electrifying suspense-thriller about the price of duty, the ties of family, and the bonds of Blood.

Last Word: It’s a shame that a film produced by Sam Mendes with a cast that includes Bettany, Strong, and Cox can’t be more than a fairly generic police thriller.  Impeccably shot with an overcast, gloomy palate, Blood initially reminded me a bit of Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, but quickly went off in it’s own direction.  The film spends a bit of time with the Fairburn brothers trying to live up to their father’s legacy, despite the fact that he’s suffering from dementia.  When the pair take a suspect to “the islands”, a remote location for questioning, things don’t exactly go as planned, sending the brothers in a tailspin for which they try and recover.  Strong performances and a well crafted film, Blood suffers from clichéd writing, ultimately coming across as an uninspired procedural.

Hammer of the Gods

Magnolia Home Entertainment / Released 9/10/13

Britain, 871 AD – a young Viking warrior, Steinar (Charlie Bewley), is sent by his father the king on a quest to find his estranged brother, who was banished from the kingdom many years before. Steinar’s epic journey across terrifyingly hostile territory gradually sees him emerge as the man his father wants him to be – the ruthless and unforgiving successor to his throne.  Extras include interviews and featurettes.

Sisters & Brothers

Anchor Bay / Released 9/10/13

A comedy about getting to know the person you thought you knew all your life…  Cory Monteith and Dustin Milligan star in the ensemble comedy-drama that takes a surprising look at sibling dysfunctions: Hollywood star Justin (Monteith) and his struggling brother Rory (Milligan) uneasily confront the true price of fame. Long-bickering sisters Nikki (Amanda Crew) and Maggie (Camille Sullivan) are thrown together on a road trip gone wrong. Louise (Gabrielle Miller) struggles with the challenges of caring for her mentally ill brother (Benjamin Ratner). And spoiled teen Sarah (Kacey Rohl) is about to meet the gentle half-sister she never knew she had. Tyler Labine co-stars in this acclaimed charmer about the responsibilities, resentments and love that can only come between Sisters & Brothers.

Delete

Sonar Entertainment / Released 9/19/13

Its only purpose is to destroy the human race.  A viral threat almost triggers a nuclear reactor meltdown, giving reporter Jessica (Erin Karpluk) and her hacker friend Daniel (Keri Gilchrist), an inside track on a grim reality: an artificial intelligence has become a conscious entity with the sole purpose of destroying the world one disaster at a time. Also starring Seth Green, Gil Bellows, Janet Kidder and Matt Frewer, there is only one way out – create a second artificial intelligence, just as alive, just as intelligent and just as dangerous.  Extras include interviews.

Mole Man of Belmont Avenue

Level 33 / Released 9/10/13

Marion and Jarmon Mugg have never had to work very hard. They’ve never had much responsibility, and no one has ever put any expectations on them to perform or achieve, well… anything.  But two years ago their mother died, leaving them the brownstone apartment building that has been in the family since its days as a speakeasy during Prohibition. In that short time, their slacker ways have run the building into the ground. The tenants are moving out, no one but them and their friends drinks at the bar on the ground floor, and the building’s pets are going missing. If all that isn’t enough to make them sit up and take notice, there’s also a good chance that a monster is living in the basement.  From Big Tree Productions, in association with Zombie Army Productions and Resolution Digital Studios, “The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue” is a horror/ comedy that explores what happens when a terrible situation is dropped into the laps of the two people least equipped to deal with it. The Brothers Mugg can either step up to the plate and finally grow up, or they can wait and clean up the mess as a mysterious creature eats every living thing in the building, one by one.

Electric Man

Passion River / Released 9/10/13

Jazz (Toby Manley) and Wolf (Mark McKirdy) are in financial dire straits. Unless they find $5,000 by the end of the week their comic shop is doomed. So, when Issue 1 of Electric Man, from 1937 and worth $100,000 turns up in the comic racks they think their problems are over. Enter mysterious femme fatale Lauren (Jennifer Ewing), obsessed American collector Edison Bolt (Mark McDonnell) and the thuggish Uncle Jimmy (Derek Dick aka Fish). The witty screenplay and bantering relationship of the central duo are the star attractions in this impressive film.  Extras include making of featurettes and blooper reel.

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