DISC JUST IN for 6/2/09

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Here’s a look at the latest DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases:

BLU-RAY DISC:
Air Force One (Sony)
Anaconda (Sony)
Baby on Board (National Entertainment Media)
Bruce Almighty (Universal)
Dark Blue (MGM)
Defiance (Paramount)
Direct Contact (First Look)
Elsewhere (E1)
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Final (Sony)
Fletch (Universal)
Glory (Sony)
Home (Fox)
The Graduate (MGM)
Inside Man (Universal)
He’s Just Not That Into You (Warner)
Navy Seals (MGM)
Nature’s Most Amazing Events (BBC/Warner)
Out of Time (MGM)
Revolutionary Road (Paramount)
Road House (MGM)
Rollerball (2002) (MGM)
Spring Breakdown (Warner)
Walking Tall (2004) (MGM)
Weeds: Season 4 (Lionsgate)

DVD:
Anacondas: Trail of Blood (Sony)
Baby on Board (National Entertainment Media)
Defiance (Paramount)
Direct Contact (First Look)
Eddie Murphy Delirious: 25th Anniv. (Anchor Bay)
Elsewhere (E1)
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Final (Sony)
The Fox and the Child (Warner)
Home (Fox)
Razortooth (Lionsgate)
Revolutionary Road (Paramount)
Silent Venom (Fox)
Spring Breakdown (Warner)
Tender Mercies (Lionsgate)

TV-on-DVD:
Army Wives: Season 2 (Disney)
Cannon: Season 2, Vol.1 (Paramount)
The Hunger (1997) (E1)
The Jetsons: Season 2, Vol.1 (Warner)
Prison Break: Season 4 (Fox)
Quincy, M.E.: Season 3 (Universal)
Raising the Bar: Season 1 (Disney)
Weeds: Season 4 (Lionsgate)
Wallander (BBC/Warner)

Before we get to the highlights, this week’s assortment of catalog Blu-ray releases must be acknowledged. Anaconda, Navy Seals, Road House, Rollerball and Walking Tall??  And all in the same week?!?! If you’re a fan of these ‘So-Bad-They’re-Great’ classics, well, talk about an embarassment of riches!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Air Force One – Despite having one of the worst CGI moments in modern history (you know the shot I mean), Air Force One still manages to be immensely entertaining. And although the extras are scant, Sony’s Blu-ray delivers a fantastic 1080p picture coupled with a wondefully agressive Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack.

Defiance – After a somewhat disappointing second outing as 007, it’s good to see Daniel Craig venturing outside the confines of MI6. Here Craig stars along with Liev Schreiber as the leaders of a group of Polish Jews attempting to evade Nazi forces in the forests of Eastern Europe during 1941. Directed by Ed Zwick, Defiance is definitely worth seeing and it ranked a close second to Glory (another Zwick film) when choosing my Pick of the Week. The icing on the cake is Paramount’s exceptional Blu-ray release, which boast reference quality 1080p video and a dynamic Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.

Fletch - "You do own rubber gloves, don’t you?" Next to Caddyshack, Fletch is easily Chevy Chase’s funniest, most quotable movie to date. As high def releases go, Fletch‘s audio and video quality is decidedly lacking, but you’ll definitely see improvement over the previous DVD incarnations, particularly in terms of fine detail.

The Graduate – I haven’t received this one yet, but if the artwork I’ve seen is to be believed, MGM is bringing The Graduate to Blu-ray with nary a special feature in sight. After releasing a feature-rich 40th Anniversary Edition DVD, it would be a shame for MGM to give The Graduate the bare bones treatment on Blu-ray. All that said, do films don’t get any better than this?

Inside Man – Spike Lee’s heist flick isn’t perfect but it’s definitely clever, it’s definitely cool and it’s got a brilliant payoff if you stick it out. Previously available in high def only on HD DVD, Universal has finally brought Inside Man to Blu-ray. The HD video is perfectly adequate but the DTS-HD sountrack is the highlight here. Excellent use of the surround channels make for an enveloping 5.1 mix.

He’s Just Not That Into You – This film stars, well, everyone. Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Connelly, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore – the list goes on. The latest examination of relationships and their inherent difficulties, HJNTIY offers a few laughs along the way and predictably delivers more than one standard romantic comedy ending. As rom-coms go, this one’s rather painless but you’ll probably want to rent before you buy. The high def picture is bright and colorful and does a fine job of rendering the film’s bevy of beautiful 30-somethings.

Navy Seals - Kevin Smith said it best in Clerks: "Ooh, Navy Seals!"

Revolutionary Road – First, the good news: the Titanic Duo of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are together again. And now, the bad news: I’d rather be on a sinking ship than watch these two love birds battle through a troubled marriage in 1950′s suburbia. DiCaprio and Winslet are in top form here, but the subject matter is difficult, unhappy stuff. Back to the good news: fans of the film will druel over the gorgerous 1080p video on this classy Blu-ray from Paramount.

Road House – Road House on Blu-ray – should I be surprised that one of the film’s best lines springs immediately to mind? "Calling me sir is like putting an elevator in an outhouse. It don’t belong."

Greg’s Pick of the Week:

Glory (Blu-ray)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | Rated R | 122 mins | $28.95

Easily my favorite Ed Zwick title to date, this Civil War drama starring Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick receives a superb Blu-ray release from the folks at Sony. In addition to an impressive 1080p picture and an enveloping Dolby TrueHD soundtrack, Glory features a handful of meaningful, well-executed and educational extras.  Exclusive to the Blu-ray is a "Virtual Civil War Battlefield" which lets you click on various map areas to read relevant text and watch video pertaining to that location. Highly recommended.

EVALUATION SYSTEM:
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 projector
Carada Masquerade screen system (92")
Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-ray Disc player
Oppo DV-983H DVD player
Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V receiver
Noble Fidelity L-55 LCRS speakers
Datacolor SpyderTV PRO 2007 video calibration
Monster Power HTS5100 power center
BetterCables interconnects
UltraLink speaker wire