DISC JUST IN for 01/05/10

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Here's a look at the hottest new DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases for the week of January 5, 2010:

BLU-RAY MOVIES:

8 Mile: BD+DVD Combo Pack (Universal)
10 Things I Hate About You (Disney)
50 Dead Men Walking (Phase 4)
Celestial Railroad (Razor)
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (Fox)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Sony)
Dawn of the Dead (2004): BD+DVD Combo Pack (Universal)
Doom: BD+DVD Combo Pack (Universal)
Dogtown and Z-Boys (Sony)
End of Days: BD+DVD Combo Pack (Universal)
The Final Destination (Warner)
The Green Berets (Warner)
Jarhead: BD+DVD Combo Pack (Universal)
The Last Salt Caravan (Razor)
The Last Starfighter: BD+DVD Combo Pack (Universal)
The Ministers (Maya)
Riding Giants (Sony)
The Rundown: BD+DVD Combo Pack (Universal)
Street Fighter: BD+DVD Combo Pack (Universal)
Solar Max: IMAX (Razor)

DVD MOVIES:

10 Things I Hate About You: 10th Anniversary (Disney)
50 Dead Men Walking (Phase 4)
Celestial Railroad (Razor)
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (Fox)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Sony)
Falling Up (Anchor Bay)
The Final Destination (Warner)
The Good Witch (Good Times/Hallmark)
The Ministers (Maya)
Trucker (Monterey)

TV-on-DISC:

Battlestar Galactica: Season 1 (Universal) (BD)
Big Love: Season 3 (HBO
Chuck: Season 2 (Warner) (BD)
D. Gray-man: Season 1, Part 1 (FUNimation) (BD)
D. Gray-man: Season 2, Part 2 (FUNimation)
The Philanthropist (Universal)

GREG'S PICKS:

10 Things I Hate About You – Now here's a Blu-ray release that's LONG overdue. The film that put the late, great Heath Ledger on everyone's radar, 10 Things is a charming, modern update of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Don't let those uninterested, stony faces of Ledger and Julia Stiles on the new cover art fool you; the film is actually quite funny and, dare I say, romantic. Disney's 10th anniversary Blu-ray edition gives the film a healthy video upgrade from the previous non-anamorphic DVD and we also get a truly enjoyable making-of documentary – and it's even presented in high def. Unfortunately, it seems to have been produced prior to Ledger's untimely passing, so there's little mention of his star-making performance. Still, this is an underrated gem of a film and Disney's new Blu-ray is highly recommended.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – Color me surprised, but here's a case where the movie is actually superior to the written source material. I have both a 4- and 6-year old at home and they have Cloudy on their bookshelf. And I have to say, I'm not a fan. I don't know why exactly, but this story of cheeseburgers raining from the sky just doesn't do it for me. Sony's feature-length animated film and this Blu-ray Disc edition on the other hand?  Most enjoyable! In addition to delicious audio and video quality, you also get a smorgasbord of bonus material including making-of featurettes and footage of the voice actors doing their thing. Note however that this will be one of the first Blu-ray 3D titles coming later this year. So if you plan to go 3D you may want to wait for that edition, due some time this summer I imagine.

The Final Destination – I'm ashamed to admit it, but I love these movies. Despite their predicable story lines and the often lackluster acting, there's some terribly fun about watching a bunch of teens and 20-somethings get picked off by Death (capital “D”). Warner's latest (and final?) chapter hit theaters in 3D past and as such we get both a 2D and 3D version on this new Blu-ray. For the superior technical presentation, definitely opt for the 2D version where you'll find natural skin tones and a wonderfully aggressive DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.

The Green Berets – John Wayne gets behind AND in front of the camera for this controversial look at the Vietnam War and its bloody battles where U.S. service men were put in harm's way. Warner's Blu-ray edition features average 1080p video and a somewhat underwhelming Dolby TrueHD mono soundtrack. Extras are scant but this disc still manages to be worthy of a spin for war film and John Wayne buffs alike.

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 HDMI interconnects
UltraLink speaker wire