DVD/Blu-ray Breakdown: December 20, 2011

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DVD/Blu-ray Breakdown: December 20, 2011

There are only two weeks worth of new DVD/Blu-ray releases left in 2011, and as the year winds to a close, finding quality movies on the new release shelves is becoming harder to do.

This week offers movie fans just 19 total new releases to choose from, and of those, we could find nine that interested us, such as Warrior and Midnight in Paris, both four-star films. Mixed with them are a handful of mildly entertaining but ultimately forgettable films - Dolphin Tale, A Farewell to Arms and Margin Call - and a couple of films that don't quite live up to expectations - Colombiana and Straw Dogs.

Fans of the animated show Futurama will be pleased by the thirteen episodes from season six that have been released, but the list of special features is rather slim and disappointing. Also, with Underworld: Awakening sinking its fangs into theaters on January 20th, 2012 now might be a good time for fans of the series to own the box set trilogy releasing this week.

Let's see which films we think are worthy of your valuable movie watching time inside:

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There are only two weeks worth of new DVD/Blu-ray releases left in 2011, and as the year winds to a close, finding quality movies on the new release shelves is becoming harder to do. This week offers movie fans just 19 total new releases to choose from, and of those, we could find nine that interested us, such as Warrior and Midnight in Paris, both four-star films. Mixed with them are a handful of mildly entertaining but ultimately forgettable films - Dolphin Tale, A Farewell to Arms and Margin Call - and a couple of films that don't quite live up to expectations - Colombiana and Straw Dogs. Fans of the animated show Futurama will be pleased by the thirteen episodes from season six that have been released, but the list of special features is rather slim and disappointing. Also, with Underworld: Awakening sinking its fangs into theaters on January 20th, 2012 now might be a good time for fans of the series to own the box set trilogy releasing this week. Let's see which films we think are worthy of your valuable movie watching time inside:

Midnight in Paris Blu-ray cover

Synopsis: Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) travel to Paris as a tag-along vacation on her parents' business trip. Gil is a successful Hollywood writer, but is struggling on his first novel. He falls in love with the city and thinks they should move there after they get married, but Inez does not share his romantic notions of the city or the idea that the 1920s was the golden age. When Inez goes off dancing with her friends, Gil takes a walk at midnight and discovers what could be the ultimate source of inspiration for writing. Gil's daily walks at midnight in Paris could take him closer to the heart of the city, but further from the woman he's about to marry. Special Features:

Midnight in Cannes - Cast and crew discuss the movie.
Cast & Crew Photo Galleries
Theatrical Trailer
Previews

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 93% Fresh IMDB Score - 7.8/10

VERDICT: Own It if you're a fan of Woody Allen, otherwise Rent It

(Purchase on Amazon)

Warrior Blu-ray Cover

Synopsis: Haunted by a tragic past, ex-Marine Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father (Nick Nolte) to train for SPARTA, the biggest winner-takes-all event in mixed martial arts history. A former wrestling prodigy, Tommy blazes a path toward the championship while his brother, Brendan (Joel Edgerton), an ex-fighter-turned teacher, returns to the ring in a desperate bid to save his family from financial ruin. But when Brendan's unlikely underdog rise sets him on a collision course with the unstoppable Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront each other and the forces that pulled them apart, facing off in the most soaring, soul stirring, and unforgettable climax that must be seen to be believed. Special Features:

Full Contact - Feature Length Enhanced Viewing Mode
Feature Audio Commentary with Joel Edgerton, Gavin O'Connor, Anthony Tambakis (co-writer) and John Gilroy (editor)
Redemption - Bringing Warrior To Life
Deleted Scene - The Diner
Cheap Shots: Gag Reel
Brother vs. Brother - Anatomy of the Fight
Philosophy in Combat - Mixed Martial Arts Strategy
Simply Believe - A Tribute to Charles "Mask" Lewis, Jr.

Screen Rant Score - 4.5/5 Rotten Tomatoes Score - 83% Fresh IMDB Score - 8.3/10

VERDICT: Own It

(Purchase on Amazon)

Dolphin Tale

Synopsis: Dolphin Tale is inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin and the compassionate strangers who banded together to save her life. Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap, severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she is named Winter. But her fight for survival has just begun. Without a tail, Winter's prognosis is dire. It will take the expertise of a dedicated marine biologist (Harry Connick Jr.), the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics doctor (Morgan Freeman), and the unwavering devotion of a young boy (Nathan Gamble) to bring about a groundbreaking miracle-a miracle that might not only save Winter but could also help scores of people around the world. Special Features:

The Hutash Rainbow Bridge - Animated-short
At Home with Winter
Spotlight on a Scene
Winter's Inspiration The true story of Winter
Ormie and the Cookie Jar - Animated short
Deleted Scene - Winter Meets Panama
Gag Reel

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 84% Fresh IMDB Score - 6.1/10

VERDICT: Rent It

(Purchase on Amazon)

Colombiana Blu-ray Cover

Synopsis: Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) is a young woman who has grown up to be an assassin after witnessing the murder of her parents as a child. Turning herself into a professional killer and working for her uncle, she remains focused on her ultimate goal: to hunt down and get revenge on the mobster responsible for her parents' deaths. Special Features:

Making of Colombiana
Cataleya's Journey
Assassins
Training a Killer
Take the Ride
Previews

Screen Rant Score - 2/5 Stars Rotten Tomatoes Score - 28% Fresh IMDB Score - 6.1/10

VERDICT: Skip It

(Purchase on Amazon)

Margin Call Blu-ray Cover

Synopsis: Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, Margin Call is an entangling thriller involving the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. When an entry-level analyst unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm, a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions both financial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink of disaster. Special Features:

Director and Producer Commentary features J.C. Chandor and Neal Dodson
Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director and Producer
Revolving Door - Making Margin Call
Missed Calls - Momnts with Cast and Crew
From the Deck - Photo Gallery

Rotten Tomatoes Score - 86% Fresh IMDB Score - 7.2/10

VERDICT: Rent It

(Purchase on Amazon)

Straw Dogs Blu-ray Cover

Synopsis: David and Amy Sumner (James Marsden and Kate Bosworth), a Hollywood screenwriter and his actress wife, return to her small hometown in the deep South to prepare the family home for sale after her father's death. Once there, tensions build in their marriage and old conflicts re-emerge with the locals, including Amy's ex-boyfriend Charlie (Alexander Skarsgard), leading to a violent confrontation. Special Features:

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Rod Lurie
Courting Controversy - Remaking a Classic
The Dynamics of Power - The Ensemble
Inside the Siege - The Ultimate Showdown
Creating the Sumner House - he Production Design
Previews

Screen Rant Score - 2/5 Stars Rotten Tomatoes Score - 42% Fresh IMDB Score - 5.6/10

VERDICT: Skip It

(Purchase on Amazon) [caption id="attachment_144431" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Click the Image to buy it on Amazon.com"]

Underworld Trilogy Box Set Blu-ray cover

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Synopsis: This trilogy chronicles an age-old war between vampires and werewolves, starting in medieval times and re-igniting once again in modern times. Kate Beckinsale stars as Selene, a vampire/werewolf hunter who uncovers the buried secrets of the vampire coven's past, and in doing so, helps engender a deadly new bloodfeud with a creature who is half-vampire, half-werewolf at its center.

Special Features:

Audio commentary with director Len Wiseman, Kate Beckinsale, and Scott Speedman
Outtakes
Fang vs. Fiction
Storyboard Comparison
Music video - Finch: "Worms of the Earth"
Featurettes - Making of Underworld, Visual Effects of Underworld, Creature Effects, Stunts, Designing Underworld, The Look of Underworld, Sights & Sounds

Underworld: Evolution Special Features:

Feature commentary with director Len Wiseman, production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, second unit director Brad Martin, and editor Nick De Toth
Featurettes - Bloodlines: From Script to Screen, The Hybrid Theory, Making Monsters Roar, The War Rages On, Building a Saga, Music and Mayhem
Music video "Her Portrait in Black" by Atreyu

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans Special Features:

Behind the Castle Walls: A Picture-in-Picture track
Filmmakers' Audio Commentary with French director Patrick Tatopoulos, Underworld series creator Len Wiseman, executive producer James McQuaide, and producers Richard Wright and Gary Lucchesi
The Origin of the Feud
Re-creating the Dark Ages
From Script to Screen
Lycanthropes Around the World
Cinechat: A text-based feature that allows users to correspond with their friends while watching the movie
Music Video of William Control's "Deathclub"

VERDICT: Own It if you're a fan of the series & don't have them yet, otherwise Skip It.

(Purchase on Amazon)

A Farewell to Arms Blu-ray Cover

Synopsis: Based on Ernest Hemingway's novel, the film follows Lt. Frederick Henry (Gary Cooper), a World War I officer who falls in love with English Red Cross nurse Catherine Barkley (Helen Hayes) - after first mistaking her for a woman of ill repute. Henry's friend, Major Rinaldi, is envious of the romance, and pulls strings to have Catherine transferred to Milan. When Henry is wounded in battle, he ends up in the very hospital where Catherine works. They resume the affair, which reaches an ecstatic peak just before Henry is returned to the front. The now-pregnant Catherine remains in Switzerland, sending letters by the bushelfull to Henry. But the jealous Rinaldi sees to it that Henry never receives those letters, leading Catherine to conclude sorrowfully that Henry has forgotten her. As the Armistice approaches, Henry makes his way to Switzerland, hoping to find Catherine. Special Features: