This Week in DVD & Bluray (03-02-10)
This week is a little more of a bummer than the treasure chest that was last week’s DVD and Bluray releases. The week after the Oscars will be another big DVD week, but in the meantime, check out a couple of this week’s jewels as well as catch up on your Oscar films! Here is what is coming to your local retail and rental spaces…
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) – DVD & Bluray
Spike Jonze re-imagines Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book for the 2009 film “Where the Wild Things Are”. The film follows Max, a rambunctious child who has a rough home life. One day, Max goes to an island far away where a group of creatures, The Wild Things, is in need of a leader. The island is one place where Max can be himself and feel accepted, but when he becomes king of The Wild Things he realizes that life on his own isn’t as easy as he thought.
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2012 (2009) – DVD & Bluray
Apparently, the year 2012 is when the world is supposed to end. This film is Roland Emmerich’s interpretation of what the apocalypse will look like, and the film follows a group desperately trying to survive. Along with the standard one-disc release, there is also a two-disc special edition release that contains several mini-documentaries as well as a couple of audio commentaries.
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Gentlemen Broncos (2009) – DVD & Bluray
Benjamin (Michael Angarano), a home-schooled teen writes his own hilarious sci-fi fantasy story that gets ripped off by a famous fantasy novelist (played by Jemaine Clement of “Flight of the Conchords”). The film takes Benjamin on a oddball adventure as the new fantasy novel gets adapted for the big screen.
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Other DVD & Bluray releases for the week of 03/02/10:
– Ponyo (2009) – DVD & Bluray – A Japanese animation film based on Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid”, with some minor twists.
– The Neverending Story (1984) – Bluray – The stunning high-definition release of the 1984 fantasy film “The Neverending Story”. Personally, I’m extremely excited for this one!
– Alice in Wonderland (1933) – DVD – The original live action adaption of the novel “Alice in Wonderland”. Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, and W.C. Fields lead the way for this star-studded cast.
– Cold Souls (2009) – DVD – Paul Giamatti plays an unhappy character by the same name that finds a solution to his sour outlook on life; he finds a high-tech company that has the technology to extract the soul from the body. When Paul goes through with the procedure, he finds that he has fallen victim to “soul-trafficking”, and attempts to retrieve his soul that has been shipped away to Russia.
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Like I mentioned earlier, with the limited number of new DVD and Bluray discs coming to market this week, and with the Academy Awards coming up this Sunday, this is a great week to catch up on missed Oscar nominated films. Here is a list of Oscar nominated films that are out on DVD and Bluray now (these are all films that released in 2009)!
– Bright Star – DVD – nominated for Best Costume Design
– Coco Before Chanel – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Costume Design
– Coraline – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Animated Feature Film
– The Cove – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Documentary Feature
– District 9 – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay
– Food, Inc. – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Documentary Feature
– Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Cinematography
– The Hurt Locker – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Peformance for an Actor in a Leading Role (Jeremy Renner), Best Cinematography, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Picture, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Screenplay
– Il Divo – DVD / Bluray / Netflix “Watch Instantly” – nominated for Best Makeup
– In The Loop – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay
– Inglourious Basterds – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Christoph Waltz), Best Cinematography, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, Best Picture, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Screenplay
– Julie & Julia – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Meryl Streep)
– A Serious Man – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay
– Star Trek – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Makeup, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects
– Transformers: Rise of the Fallen – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Sound Mixing
– Up – DVD / Bluray – nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, Best Picture, Best Sound Editing, Best Original Screenplay
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That should give you plenty of home theater fodder for the week! As always, go forth and conquer the video stores, Netflix queues, and Redboxes near you!
