This Week on DVD & Blu-ray (04-02-13)

 

 

Never have I seen such a sparse selection of choices, in all the weeks I’ve  been keeping track of these releases. That’s a good thing though. It gives us all a chance to tackle our ever-increasing Catch-Up list of movies we have yet to watch. Let’s see what stands out this week: “The Sweeney” is a 2012 British police thriller starring Ray Winstone, Ben Drew, Damian Lewis and Hayley Atwell, that focuses on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police that investigates armed robberies. “John Dies at the End” is director Don Coscarelli’s(whose made a variety of cult-favorite films, from “The Beastmaster” to “Bubba Ho-Tep”) adaptation of David Wong’s peculiar novel. The movie, starring Chase Williamson, Paul Giamatti and Clancy Brown, which worked the festival circuit last year, received some positive reviews. I’m really curious about it. Now is a good time as any to revisit “That Thing You Do!” the directorial debut of Tom Hanks, a beloved comedy from 1996 that’s new to Blu-ray this week.  

 

 

 

HBO Home Entertainment has released the award-winning  “Hemingway & Gellhorn” on Blu-ray as well. It stars Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman as the titular characters, and boasts an impressive supporting cast that includes David Strathairn, Parker Posey, Tony Shalhoub, Jeffrey Jones, Joan Chen, Robert Duvall, and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich (say what?). It  focuses on the relationship between iconic author writer Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, journalist Martha Gellhorn, a union that fueled the classic work For Whom the Bell Tolls. It’s one of those television films that feels like it should’ve been released in theatrically, especially considering it was directed by Philip Kaufman (“The Right Stuff” & “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”). Considering the subject matter, the actors involved and the director – I’m interested.

 

Also out this week, the long-awaited release of Marvel Studios 10-disc Blu-ray set consisting of each of their movies, from “Iron Man” to “Avengers”. These movies end Phase One of the studio’s big-screen adaptation of Marvel Comics characters, while the upcoming “Iron Man 3” kicks off Phase Two. If you haven’t yet picked up any of these movies and you’re so moved to drop over $150 for all six of them, this set is for you!

 

That’s it for this week! Enjoy the Rundown….

 

 

• Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film DVD Collections: Romance (DVD)
• The Bible: The Epic Miniseries (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Hello Dolly (Blu-ray)
• Hemingway & Gellhorn (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Jackie Robinson: My Story (DVD)
• John Dies at the End (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Kristen Schaal: Live at the Fillmore (DVD)
• Luv (DVD)
• Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled (10-Disc Limited Edition Six-Movie Collector’s Set) (Blu-ray)
• Nighthawks (DVD)
• Philip Roth: Unmasked (DVD)
• Route 66: The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
• Stitches (DVD/Blu-ray)
• The Sweeney (DVD/Blu-ray)
• That Thing You Do (Blu-ray)
• Tormented (2011) (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War (DVD)