DISC JUST IN for 11/17/09

Here’s a look at the hottest new DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases for the week of November 17, 2009:

BLU-RAY MOVIES
Brüno (Universal)
Chasing Amy (Disney)
Clerks (Disney)
Fight Club (Fox)
Franklyn (Image)
Galaxy Quest (Paramount)
Gone with the Wind: 70th Anniversary (Warner)
Is Anybody There? (Magnolia)
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (Disney)
Kevin Smith 3-Movie Collection (Disney)
Leon: The Professional (Sony)
My Sister’s Keeper (Warner)
The Open Road (Anchor Bay)
Sex, Lies and Videotape (Sony)
Star Trek (2009) (Paramount)

DVD MOVIES
Brüno (Universal)
The Canyon (Magnolia)
Franklyn (Image)
Gone with the Wind: 70th Anniversary (Warner)
How to Be (MPI)
Humpday (Magnolia)
Is Anybody There? (Magnolia)
The Limits of Control (Universal)
My Sister’s Keeper (Warner)
The Open Road (Anchor Bay)
Star Trek (2009) (Paramount)
Thirst (Universal)
Train (Lionsgate)

TV-on-DISC
7th Heaven: Season 9 (Paramount)
Andy Barker, P.I: Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
Drawn Together: Complete Series (Paramount)
Farscape: Complete Series (A&E)
It’s Always Sunny… A Very Sunny Christmas (Fox)
Moonshot (A&E) (BD)
Rome: Complete Series (HBO)
Scrubs: Season 8 (Disney) (BD)
The Sopranos: Complete Series (HBO)

HIGHLIGHTS

Brüno - Although it’s not quite the shocking laugh riot that Borat was, Sacha Baron Cohen’s Brüno still manages to steal more than a few chuckles amidst its string of awkward, uncomfortable situations and skits. Universal’s mock documentary looks fine on Blu-ray, but it’s not a title I’d trot out for demo purposes. The BD LIVE-enabled disc sports a fair amount of extras including a load of deleted and extended scenes, all presented in HD. If you enjoyed Borat, chances are you’ll dig Brüno too. Everyone else, rent first.

Franklyn - Although you may find yourself trying to identify the various films and stories where you’ve "seen this before," Franklyn still manages to be a bold, imaginative tale that’s both interesting to look at and challenging to anticipate. Image’s Blu-ray Disc delivers excellent 1080p video accompanied by a solid DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras are scant, but fans of the film will enjoy the half-hour’s worth of cast and crew interviews.

Galaxy Quest – By Grabthar’s hammer! I wish I could say more about this one, but Paramount appears to have stopped sending screeners.

Gone with the Wind – Frankly my dear, I didn’t receive a copy of this. However, if Warner’s recent restoration work on classics such as The Wizard of Oz and North by Northwest is any indication, I have no doubt Gone with the Wind is every bit the high def affair it should be.

Is Anybody There? – Is there such thing as a bad Michael Caine film? (The recent Sleuth remake doesn’t count because Caine also starred in the superior original.) Here Caine is one half of a unique pairing, that between a nursing home patient (Caine) and the neglected 10-year-old son of the home’s owners. It’s a great little movie made even better by Magnolia’s mighty fine Blu-ray presentation. Extras are minimal, but this one is liable to be a rental for most folks anyway.

Kevin Smith – Disney’s Kevin Smith 3-Movie Collection contains the Blu-ray debuts of Clerks (yay!), Chasing Amy (yay!) plus Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (oh). As Meatloaf might say, two outta three ain’t bad. Now, let’s face it, Clerks is never going to look or sound amazing. It’s just not that sort of movie. This new Blu-ray doesn’t present a whole lot of improvement over my 10th Anniversary DVD edition. However, kudos to Disney for carrying forward darned near every supplement – including both cuts of the film – onto this new Blu-ray. Chasing Amy doesn’t fare much better, itself another low-budget (albeit color) production. However, colors do appear punchier than my Criterion DVD. Unfortunately, the great Criterion commentary isn’t here, but that’s hardly surprising with this being a Disney release. You do however get a great new HD documentary on the film’s production. Strike Back is definitely the weakest film in the bunch, but it does hold some laughs for die hard Smith fans. Although it looks and sounds the best of the bunch, the extras are sorely lacking, an odd oversight considering Disney put out a 2-disc Collector’s Edition DVD some time ago. Why couldn’t we get those here? If you don’t already own these films on DVD, this Blu-ray bundle is a solid value. Upgraders might want to rent first before deciding.

Leon - Here’s one that’s been a long time coming. Luc Besson’s brilliant Leon, known here in the states as The Professional,  is handily the director’s best work to date, and the same could be argued for stars Jean Reno and (a very young) Natalie Portman. The story of a solitary hitman with a heart of gold (Reno) and the unexpected relationship he embarks on with his apartment neighbor (Portman) after she witnesses the murder of her family, Leon is a sublime combination of compelling drama and revenge-fueled action. Sony’s Blu-ray is everything I was hoping it would be, containing both the U.S. theatrical and longer international cuts of the film plus top-notch 1080p video and a surprisingly active DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras are on the thin side, but the BD LIVE-enabled disc does offer an interesting retrospective with several members of the cast and crew. Highly recommended.

Open Road – I haven’t had a chance to spin this disc yet, but I’ll follow The Dude anywhere. THis time out, Jeff Bridges plays a retired baseball legend opposite his estranged son, played by Justin Timberlake. Anchor Bay’s Blu-ray featues Dolby TrueHD sound and a commentary with The Dude and Writer/Director Michael Meredith.

Sex, Lies and Videotape – As it surely was for many of you, Sex was my first time (pardon the expression) seeing a Steven Soderbergh-directed film. It was his first major film and it remains one of his finest works. James Spader’s impressive performance here,  as part of the film’s central triangle, stands in stark contrast to his goofy (but delightful) work on "Boston Legal." I’ve seen Sex once or twice before on DVD, but this Blu-ray is a revelation. I don’t know if it’s the age of the film (1999) or my admittedly low expectations, but Sony knocked this Blu-ray out of the park, thanks to a new Soderbergh-supervised high def transfer and Sony’s BD LIVE-powered movieIQ feature. Highly recommended.

Star Trek – I wish I could tell you this highly-anticipated Blu-ray is out of this world, but Paramount appears to have stopped sending screeners so your guess is as good as mine.

GREG’S PICK OF THE WEEK

Fight Club (Blu-ray)
Fox Home Entertainment | Rated R | 1999 | 139 mins | $34.99

See Rule #1.

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