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Warner Brothers Unveils DVD to Blu-ray Upgrade Program

Sean — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:34:20 +0000

Upgrade from standard DVD to Blu-ray for as low as $7.95 a pop... but only in the U.S., of course!

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This Week on DVD: Star Trek, Bruno, Thirst

Sean — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:59:24 +0000

With the holiday season quickly approaching, it's time for the November rush... which means we're in for a seriously packed DVD release day! When you look at the major releases, the only real blockbuster here is J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, but there are a ton of interesting indie releases and a solid line-up of Blu-ray discs as well. A pair of underperforming comedies hit stores today (Bruno and The Goods) plus Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control, Chan-wook Park's vampire drama Thirst, and the Sundance hit Humpday, not to mention the Lil' Wayne documentary The Carter. On Blu-ray, we have new anniversary editions of Fight Club and Gone with the Wind, plus three Kevin Smith flicks, Galaxy Quest, and Leon: The Professional. What's on your shopping list this week?

Star Trek (DVD, Blu-ray)
Bruno (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (rental only)
Thirst
The Limits of Control
Humpday
Franklyn (DVD, Blu-ray)
Is Anybody There? (DVD, Blu-ray)
My Sister's Keeper (DVD, Blu-ray)
Train
Wrong Turn at Tahoe
Wild Child
2 Assassins
At Best Derivative
The Carter
Hi8: Short Documentaries of Courtney Fathom Sell
Dane Cook: Isolated Incident
Downhill Racer: Criterion Collection
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Sopranos: The Complete Series
Farscape: The Complete Season Four
Farscape: The Complete Series
The Best of Star Trek: Original Series Vol. 2
The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation Vol. 2
Rome: The Complete Series (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Smurfs: World of Wonders
Hollywood Wives: The New Generation
7th Heaven: The Ninth Season
Drawn Together: Complete Series, Party In Your Box
Fight Club: 10th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
The Kevin Smith Collection (Blu-ray)
Chasing Amy (Blu-ray)
Clerks (Blu-ray)
Galaxy Quest (Blu-ray)
Gone with the Wind: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (Blu-ray)
Léon: The Professional (Blu-ray)
The Open Road (Blu-ray)
Scrubs: The Complete Eighth Season (Blu-ray)
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Blu-ray)
Star Trek Limited Edition Replica Gift Set (Blu-ray)

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This Week on DVD: Up, The Ugly Truth, Ballast

Sean — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:28:14 +0000

Not much in the way of new DVD releases this week unless you're a Pixar fan, but then hey... who isn't a Pixar fan? Up is by far the biggest release of the week (so big that no one really wanted to go up against it) and I fully expect to hear reports of it breaking Blu-ray sales records at some point in the near future. Cars and Monsters, Inc. are also out on Blu-ray this week, along with both Heat and Red Heat. (That's called synergy.) Other new discs include The Ugly Truth starring Gerard Butler and Katherin Heigl, Spread starring Ashton Kutcher, and the 2008 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Ballast. What will you be renting or buying this week?

Up (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Ugly Truth (DVD, Blu-ray)
Ballast
In The Loop (Canada only)
Spread (DVD, Blu-ray)
INK
The Echo (DVD, Blu-ray)
American Virgin
Summer's Moon
The Accidental Husband
The Merry Gentleman
Mamma Mia! The Movie - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! More Gift Set (DVD, Blu-ray)
Enlighten Up!
MoveOn: The Movie
Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days
Justice League: The Complete Series
Dawson's Creek: The Complete Series
Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Vol. 2
Nash Bridges: The Third Season
Andy Barker, P.I.: The Complete Series
JAG: The Ninth Season
Keeping Up with the Kardashians: Season 2
The Untouchables: Season Three, Volume 2
Cars: Ultimate Cars Giftset (Blu-ray)
Monsters, Inc. (Blu-ray)
Godzilla (1998) (Blu-ray)
Heat (Blu-ray)
Logan's Run (Blu-ray)
Near Dark (Blu-ray)
The Negotiator (Blu-ray)
Red Heat (Blu-ray)

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Fox Launching Interactive iPhone App to Provide Pop Up Trivia During Movies

Sean — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:08:06 +0000

It's no secret that Hollywood is looking to stay hip and connected to the teen demographic in any way it can. We've seen MySpace, Facebook and Twitter all figure heavily into movie marketing campaigns as of late, and also the introduction of various BD-Live features on Blu-ray discs including the ability to watch movies with friends online. Now Fox is planning to launch a new social networking feature that incorporates pop-up trivia into the movie-watching experience. They are hoping this will appeal to the viewer's need for instant gratification, and also boost dwindling DVD sales as well. The feature is called FoxPop, and it will come as a freely downloadable application for the PC, Mac, and iPhone. While watching a compatible movie, the program will auto-detect and sync via audio input, then present trivia, photos and other content as the movie plays. Now before you get worried about distractions in theatres, this will be available for DVDs only, not current theatrical releases. The idea was prompted by research that revealed that 80% of DVD watchers go to the internet to research a movie after the fact, or pause it while watching to look something up. FoxPop will debut on December 1st with the release of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (an appropriate title due to the historical references, I suppose), followed by (500) Days of Summer and Jennifer's Body. Does this sound like a cool feature to you, or are they way off the mark with this?

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This Week on DVD: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Food Inc.

Sean — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:59:07 +0000

The biggest DVD and Blu-ray release for this week is probably G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. It pains me to know that this week some brave souls will give it another chance, while others will discover its sheer idiocy for the first time. If you're looking for something slightly better but still mediocre, you might try Tony Scott's remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. Other smaller releases for the week include Dolph Lundgren's direct-to-DVD action flick Command Performance, the Spanish post-apocalyptic flick Before The Fall, and the G.I. Joe Resolute animated microseries. Also keep an eye out for a few noteworthy documentaries this week including Food Inc., The English Surgeon, and the John Hughes doc Don't You Forget About Me (in Canada only). Plus: James Bond and Rocky collections on Blu-ray, and the only partially redundant Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut! Will you be picking anything up this week?

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (DVD, Blu-ray)
I Love You, Beth Cooper (DVD, Blu-ray)
Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut (DVD, Blu-ray)
Aliens in the Attic (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Answer Man (DVD, Blu-ray)
Command Performance (DVD, Blu-ray)
Before The Fall
Bad Cop
Not Forgotten (DVD, Blu-ray)
Lemon Tree
The Narrows (DVD, Blu-ray)
Hardwired
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: Ultimate Collector's Edition (DVD, Blu-ray)
Food Inc. (DVD, Blu-ray)
The English Surgeon
Don't You Forget About Me (Canada only)
Earth 2100 (DVD, Blu-ray)
G.I. Joe Resolute
Superman: Ruby-Spears
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7
Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series
Wolverine & The X-Men: Beginning of the End
The Shield: The Complete Series
Fraggle Rock: The Complete Final Season
Mission: Impossible: The Final TV Season
Edge of Darkness: The Complete Series
Will Ferrell - You're Welcome America: A Final Night with George W Bush
Howard's End: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray)
Wings of Desire: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray)
A Christmas Carol (1951) (Blu-ray)
Forrest Gump (Blu-ray)
Forrest Gump: Chocolate Box Giftset (Blu-ray)
It's A Wonderful Life (Blu-ray)
James Bond 10-Pack (Blu-ray)
Love Actually (Blu-ray)
North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
Rocky: The Undisputed Collection (Blu-ray)
Say Anything: 20th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season One (Blu-ray)
Two Girls and a Guy (Blu-ray)
Witchblade: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

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Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassin’s Ball Trailer Starring Vinnie Jones

Sean — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:02:20 +0000

I still haven't seen Joe Carnahan's Smokin' Aces, but the high energy hitman flick it seems to have a fair amount of fans out there. (Personally I always thought it looked like a Guy Ritchie knockoff, but maybe I'm wrong on that.) At any rate, the film was apparently popular enough to warrant a direct-to-DVD sequel... er, I mean, prequel. Joe Carnahan obviously has better things to do with his time (like directing The A-Team, for example), but he is still credited as executive producer on Smokin' Aces 2: Assassin's Ball. The actual director of this flick, unfortunately, is P.J. Pesce -- the same man behind such memorable DTV flicks as Lost Boys: The Tribe and From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter. None of the big name original cast members are returning for this film, but Tommy Flanagan will reprise his role as Lazlo Soot, and the Tremor Brothers are back (minus Chris Pine). On top of that, the movie also stars Vinnie Jones, Tom Berenger, and... Ernie Hudson?! Alright then. Smokin' Aces 2 hits DVD and Blu-ray on January 19, 2010. Check out the trailer after the jump.

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This Week on DVD: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Whatever Works, Night of the Creeps

Sean — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:24:37 +0000

It's pretty slim pickings this week on DVD as there are only a few noteworthy releases, and fewer still that are even remotely related to Halloween. If you want horror, the only major releases available are the middling summer thriller Orphan, a collection of creepy animated shorts called Fear(s) of the Dark, and... the direct-to-DVD spoof Stan Helsing. Ugh. Other new releases include Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Woody Allen's Whatever Works starring Larry David, and the final (?) Battlestar Galactica DTV feature, The Plan. The only thing that salvages the week is the long awaited release of Fred Dekker's cult classic Night of the Creeps on both DVD and Blu-ray! Definitely well worth checking out if you haven't seen it before. Will you be picking anything up this week?

FOR MORE DAILY MOVIE GOODNESS, VISIT FILMJUNK.COM!

Steven Soderbergh’s Che: The Criterion Collection Finally Gets Release Date and Specs

Sean — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:13:31 +0000

It's been a long time coming, but Steven Soderbergh's two-part biopic about Argentine-Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara will finally get the full DVD and Blu-ray release that it deserves this coming January. Apparently they had hoped to have it ready for December, but Soderbergh needed extra time to reconstruct deleted scenes and prepare some of the supplementary material. In the words of Criterion president Peter Becker, the delay was "a trade we will always make, even if it means we don't get the benefit of sales in the holiday season, and we think that's the kind of decision our collectors would want us to make". Kudos to Criterion for that. The extras on this release will include the following:

High-definition digital transfers of Che: Part One and Che: Part Two, supervised and approved by director Steven Soderbergh, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
Audio commentaries on both films, featuring Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life
Making “Che,” a new documentary about the film’s production, featuring interviews with Soderbergh, producer Laura Bickford, actor-producer Benicio del Toro, and writers Peter Buchman and Ben van der Veen
New interviews with Cuban historians as well as participants in the 1958 Cuban Revolution and Che’s 1967 Bolivian campaign
Deleted scenes
Theatrical trailers
A booklet featuring an essay by critic Amy Taubin
And more!

Strangely, Che: Part One and Part Two will appear in two different aspect ratios... not sure what that's all about. Either way, I've been avoiding the barebones editions of both parts for a while now, waiting for the complete package to become available to ensure an optimal viewing experience. Che: The Criterion Collection hits stores on January 19th, 2010, at a suggested retail price of $49.95 for both the 3-disc standard DVD and the 2-disc Blu-ray. Will you be picking this up?

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This Week on DVD: Year One, Trick ‘r Treat, Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Sean — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:23:02 +0000

What do the DVD release gods have in store for us today? This week's biggest releases would have to be the Jack Black/Michael Cera comedy Year One and Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on Blu-ray, but looking beyond that there are a handful of smaller movies worth checking out. Both Trick r' Treat and Assassination of a High School President are movies that ended up going direct to DVD despite fairly positive reviews, so now is your chance to check them out. Also out this week are two amazing documentaries, Anvil! The Story of Anvil and Not Quite Hollywood, plus Blu-ray releases for Audition, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and some holiday classics including A Charlie Brown Christmas. Will you be buying or renting anything this week?

Year One (DVD, Blu-ray)
My Life in Ruins (DVD, Blu-ray)
Trick 'r Treat (DVD, Blu-ray)
Assassination of a High School President
Seventh Moon (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Thaw (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Children (DVD, Blu-ray)
Offspring (DVD, Blu-ray)
Children of the Corn (2009)
The Gate: Monstrous Edition
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Not Quite Hollywood
Astro Boy: The Beginning
Red Dwarf: Back to Earth: The Director's Cut (DVD, Blu-ray)
Bones: Season 4 (DVD, Blu-ray)
Ally McBeal: The Complete First Season
Ally McBeal: The Complete Series
The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete Fifth Season
Man v. Food: Season 1
Imagine That (Blu-ray)
Audition: Collector's Edition (Blu-ray)
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Blu-ray)
Contact (Blu-ray)
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (Original) (Blu-ray)
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Original) (Blu-ray)
Ghost Ship (Blu-ray)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (Blu-ray)
Kurt Cobain: About A Son (Blu-ray)
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Blu-ray)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) (Blu-ray)
Miracle on 34th Street (1994) (Blu-ray)
The Number 23 (Blu-ray)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Blu-ray)
Wolf (Blu-ray)

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CONTEST: Win Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2 on DVD!

Sean — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:08:00 +0000

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles may only have run for two seasons on Fox, but in that time it developed a pretty loyal following. Some people even seem to prefer this show over the last two Terminator movies! So here's the good news: we've got copies of the DVD release of the second and final season of the show to give away right here on Film Junk! To enter the contest, all you have to do is send your name and mailing address to filmjunk@gmail.com with "Sarah Connor Chronicles Contest" in the subject line. We’ll randomly pick the winners from all the entries we receive and announce them by next Thursday (Oct. 8th). Extras include:

Audio commentaries with Cast/Crew and Executive Producer Josh Friedman
The Continuing Chronicles: Terminator 8-Part featurette
Terminated Scenes: Unaired Moments
The Storyboard Process: Cameron Goes Bad featurette
Cameron vs. Rosie Fight Rehearsal
Gag Reel

Good luck! The ultimate tale of man vs. machine continues as a mother becomes a warrior, a son becomes a hero, and their only ally is a robot from the future. This second season six-disc set is action packed and ready to amaze. For more info visit TerminatortheDVD.com. Available on Blu-ray™ and DVD now! © 2009 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Marine 2 Trailer and DVD Release Date

Sean — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:33:37 +0000

The WWE has carved out a nice little niche for itself by casting wrestlers in low budget action movies that just barely break even in theatres. They do, however, make a heck of a lot more money on DVD, and for that reason alone, it makes sense that their next couple of projects are going direct-to-DVD. The Marine 2 is the sequel to the John Cena's 2006 film The Marine, but as you can probably guess, Cena now has better things to do with his time... like 12 Rounds 2. (Just kidding, that doesn't exist yet.) So instead they have turned this franchise over to a brand new action star: Ted DiBiase Jr., son of the one and only Million Dollar Man! The story has no connection with the first movie except for the fact that both main characters are marines. This one is based on the true story of a recon sniper named Joe Linwood who must save hostages trapped in a tropical resort when a group of terrorists take over. Sounds pretty cool to me! Extras will include behind-the-scenes featurettes, a profile of Ted DiBiase including interviews with his dad and brother, plus deleted and extended scenes. The Marine 2 hits DVD and Blu-ray just in time for Boxing Day shoppers on December 29th. Check out a short teaser trailer after the jump.

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This Week on DVD: Monsters vs Aliens, Away We Go, The Wizard of Oz

Sean — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:27:01 +0000

Happy DVD release day, people. Hitting stores this week is one of the year's biggest films, the animated film Monsters vs Aliens, plus a number of indie flicks you might have missed including Sam Mendes' Away We Go, Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience starring Sasha Grey, and Shrink starring Kevin Spacey. Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom is also available for rental exclusively at Blockbuster today, but in a strange deal, it will not be available to buy in the U.S. until January (it will be available in Canada next week, however). In terms of TV releases, there are a ton of Fan Favorites collections for classic shows, plus season 4 of How I Met Your Mother, and then there's the massive 70th Anniversary Edition of The Wizard of Oz plus Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal on Blu-ray. Do you plan on picking anything up this week?

Monsters vs Aliens (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Brothers Bloom (DVD, Blu-ray) (Blockbuster Rental Only)
Away We Go (DVD, Blu-ray)
Management (DVD, Blu-ray)
The Girlfriend Experience (DVD, Blu-ray)
Shrink
Filth and Wisdom
The Hills Run Red
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (DVD, Blu-ray)
Not Your Typical Big Foot Movie
The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (DVD, Blu-ray)
The New York Ripper: Special Edition (DVD, Blu-ray)
How I Met Your Mother: Season 4 (DVD, Blu-ray)
Diff'rent Strokes: Fan Favorites
Bewitched: Fan Favorites
Barney Miller: Fan Favorites
I Dream of Jeannie: Fan Favorites
The Jeffersons: Fan Favorites
The King of Queens: Fan Favorites
Married... With Children: Fan Favorites
NewsRadio: Fan Favorites
Life on Mars: The Complete Series
CSI: New York: Season 5
The Unit: The Final Season (DVD, Blu-ray)
He-Man & The Masters of the Universe: The Series
He-Man & The Masters of the Universe: Origins
The Real Ghostbusters: Complete Collection
Ultraman: Complete Series
Cagney & Lacey: The Menopause Years
Labyrinth (Blu-ray)
The Dark Crystal (Blu-ray)
Snakes on a Plane (Blu-ray)
Billy Jack (Blu-ray)
Burst Angel: The Complete Collection (Blu-ray)
Facing the Giants (Blu-ray)
Fireproof (Blu-ray)
Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa (Blu-ray)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (Blu-ray)
Lies and Illusions (Blu-ray)
Streets of Blood (Blu-ray)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) (Blu-ray)

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