DVD/Blu-ray Breakdown: December 27, 2011

(8 of 7)

DVD/Blu-ray Breakdown: December 27,2011

It has been a great year for cinemaphiles in the Blu-ray world with hundreds of films - old and new - hitting the new release shelves each week. This is the final week for new Blu-ray releases in 2011 and the movie offerings are hitting the "bottom of the barrel" stage. Director Uwe Boll is back with yet another potential miss, Hugh Grant, the male Kathryn Heigl of the nineties, sees his first American-made romantic comedy released today. A bunch of astronuants try to convince us the moon is a very scary place, teenagers try to cheat Death and a real life cowboy all get Blu-ray releases. That said, there a couple of great TV shows released this week that should be a must own for any fans of these series.

Let's take a look and see what is worth spending your Christmas gift cards on.

Start >>

<< Prev More >> Start >>

It has been a great year for cinemaphiles in the Blu-ray world with hundreds of films - old and new - hitting the new release shelves each week. This is the final week for new Blu-ray releases in 2011 and the movie offerings are hitting the "bottom of the barrel" stage. Director Uwe Boll is back with yet another potential miss, Hugh Grant, the male Kathryn Heigl of the nineties, sees his first American-made romantic comedy released today. A bunch of astronuants try to convince us the moon is a very scary place, teenagers try to cheat Death and a real life cowboy all get Blu-ray releases. That said, there a couple of great TV shows released this week that should be a must own for any fans of these series. Let's take a look and see what is worth spending your Christmas gift cards on. Archer: Season 1 Blu-ray Cover

At ISIS, an international spy agency, global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, undermine, betray and royally screw each other. At the center of it all is suave master spy Sterling Archer, whose less-than-masculine code name is "Duchess." Archer works with his domineering mother Malory, who is also his boss, as well as deals with his ex-girlfriend, Agent Lana Kane and her new boyfriend, ISIS comptroller Cyril Figgis, and Malory's lovesick secretary, Cheryl. Episode List:

"Mole Hunt"
"Training Day"
"Diversity Hire"
"Killing Utne"
"Honeypot"
"Skorpio"
"Skytanic"
"The Rock"
"Job Offer"
"Dial M for Mother"

Special Features:

Original, unaired Archer pilot
Unaired network promo
The Making of Archer featurette
Deleted scenes
Pilot for FX's Wilfred

Breakdown: A hilariously inappropriate show that pushes the boundaries of political correctness with sharp cutting satire and smartly written scripts. No one is safe from the harsh stereotyping either - old people, gays, Jews, white males, black males, females, Russians, even little kids - nothing is off limits as the show takes stereotyping to a whole new, and funny, level.

VERDICT: Own It

(Purchase on Amazon) Archer: Season 2 Blu-ray Cover

The second season of this animated comedy details the misadventures at the ISIS spy agency, focusing primarily on Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), an egotistical, sexist, and casually racist operative more concerned with maintaining a jet-setting lifestyle and annoying his domineering mother (Jessica Walter) than he is with saving the world. Episode List:

"Swiss Miss"
"A Going Concern"
"Blood Test"
"Pipeline Fever"
"The Double Deuce"
"Tragical History"
"Movie Star"
"Stage Two"
"Placebo Effect"
"El Secuestro"
"Jeu Monégasque"
"White Nights"
"Double Trouble"

Special Features:

Archersaurus - Self Extinction
Ask Archer
Semper Fi
L'espoin Mal Fait

Breakdown: The political incorrectness of Archer's first season was one upped by the second season in just about every way imaginable - nudity, "fat" jokes, old people and kids - to name just a few, all had their envelopes pushed to the limits. The show is filled with raunchy jokes, crude dialog and tasteless gags, yet it is done is such a way that makes it hard not to laugh.

VERDICT: Own It

(Purchase on Amazon) Shameless Blu-ray Cover

Meet the fabulously dysfunctional Gallagher family. Dad's a drunk, Mom split long ago, eldest daughter Fiona tries to hold the family together, and Eldest son Philip (Jeremy Allen White) trades his physics tutoring skills for sexual favors from neighborhood girls. Middle son Ian (Cameron Monaghan) is gay and youngest daughter Debbie (Emma Kenney) is stealing money from her UNICEF collection. Not to mention, ten-year-old Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) is a budding sociopath as well as an arsonist, and toddler Liam is - well, he might actually be black, but nobody has a clue how. Episode List:

"Pilot"
"Frank the Plank"
"Aunt Ginger"
"Casey Casden"
"Three Boys"
"Killer Carl"
"Frank Gallagher: Loving Husband, Devoted Father"
"It's Time to Kill the Turtle"
"But At Last Came a Knock"
"Nana Gallagher Had an Affair"
"Daddyz Girl"
"Father Frank, Full of Grace"

Special Features:

No advance listing of the special features was released

Breakdown: When show creator Paul Abbot decided to "Americanize" his wildly popular British show Shameless for Showtime many long time fans of the show were worried that what they loved about the series would be lost in translation - fortunately, the show has found success. Shameless is one of Showtime's best shows - due largely to William H. Macy's role as drunkard father Frank Gallagher. Shameless is worth watching for his performance alone.

VERDICT: Own It

(Purchase on Amazon) Apollo 18 Blu-ray Cover

Officially, Apollo 17, launched December 17th, 1972 and was the last manned mission to the moon. But a year later, in December of 1973, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission. While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it's the real reason we've never gone back to the moon. Special Features:

Deleted and Alternate Scenes
-Recovered Footage from the Russian Cosmonaut
-Fun in the Cafeteria
-Glove and Dial
-Christmas Lights and Praying
-Number 13
-Ben Sleeping
-Dirty Twist
-Ben and Gray Scale
-Pictures of Earth
-How Many Dead Russians are on the Moon? Version 1-In the Trench
-How Many Dead Russians are on the Moon? Version 2-Half Buried
-Rock in Spacesuit
-What's Wrong With You?
-Ben Says Goodbye and is Chased
-The White Room
-John Grey Debriefed by D.O.D.
-The John Grey Memorial
Alternate Endings
-The Many Deaths of LMP Ben Anderson: Version 1-Suffocation
-The Many Deaths of LMP Ben Anderson: Version 2-Infected
-The Many Deaths of LMP Ben Anderson: Version 3-Attacked
-The Many Deaths of LMP Ben Anderson: Version 4-Crashes
Audio Commentary with Director Gonzalo López-Gallego & Editor Patrick Lussier

Scores:

Breakdown: It was supposed be Paranormal Activity on the moon but instead this shaky "found footage" was horribly scripted and, despite its promises, didn't offer many scares either.

VERDICT: Skip It

(Purchase on Amazon) Final Destination 5 Blu-ray Cover

Death is as omnipresent as ever and is unleashed after one man's premonition saves a group of coworkers from a terrifying suspension bridge collapse. But this group of unsuspecting souls was never supposed to survive, and, in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group frantically tries to discover a way to escape Death's sinister agenda. Special Features:

Alternate Death Scenes
Circle of Death
Visual Effects of Death

Scores:

Screen Rant - 3.5/5 Stars
Rotten Tomatoes - 60% Fresh
IMDb - 6.1/10

Breakdown: When news that yet another film was being added to the Final Destination series, there was a great amount of eye rolling and just about everyone predicted the film would fail miserably - however, we were pleasantly surprised. Coupled with some clever kills, Final Destination 5 took a fresh direction with the story by allowing Death's targets to "pass" off their impending doom by killing someone in their place - making the film worth at least one viewing.

VERDICT: Rent It

(Purchase on Amazon) Buck Blu-ray Cover

"Your horse is a mirror to your soul, and sometimes you may not like what you see. Sometimes, you will." So says Buck Brannaman, a true American cowboy and sage on horseback who travels the country for nine grueling months a year helping horses with people problems. Buck follows Brannaman from his abusive childhood to his phenomenally successful approach to horses. A real life "horse-whisperer", he eschews the violence of his upbringing and teaches people to communicate with horses through leadership and sensitivity, not punishment. Buck possesses near magical abilities as he dramatically transforms horses - and people - with his understanding, compassion and respect. Special Features:

No advance listing of the special features was released

Scores:

Rotten Tomatoes - 87% Fresh
IMDb - 7.3/10

Breakdown: First time director Cindy Meehl strikes a visual and emotional chord with her documentary Buck. Buck Brannaman is a true American cowboy and his skill with both horses and people is truly amazing to watch. Even movie fans who don't like documentaries will likely find Buck hard to resist.

VERDICT: Rent It

(Purchase on Amazon) Nine Months Blu-ray Cover

Samuel Falkner (Hugh Grant) is a child psychiatrist who has no kids of his own and doesn't want any, which leaves him a bit shaken when his girlfriend of five years, Rebecca Taylor (Julianne Moore) announces that she's pregnant. Suddenly, Samuel is plagued by paranoid fantasies about how marriage and fatherhood will change his life, which are not at all soothed by frequent visits from Rebecca's chronically-pregnant friend Gail Dwyer (Joan Cusack) and her half-bright lummox of a husband, Marty (Tom Arnold). Too selfish to deal with Rebecca's needs, Samuel parts company with her and takes a last stab at playing the field, but when he sees an ultrasound of his soon-to-be-born son, he decides that it's time to face his responsibilities before it's too late. Special Features:

No advance listing of the special features was released

Scores:

Rotten Tomatoes - 28% Fresh
IMDb - 5.3/10

Breakdown: Hugh Grant chose the ill-fated comedy vehicle Nine Months as his first U.S. made film (all his previous work had been British-made). The movie is a remake of the French film Neuf mois and much like current remakes, failed to match the original's charm and humor. The only saving grace for this film is Robin Williams as the ob-gyn Dr. Kosevich who has a weak grasp of the English language.

VERDICT: Rent It if you haven't seen it, otherwise Skip It

(Purchase it on Amazon) In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds Blu-ray Cover

Granger (Dolph Lundgren) - a warrior in medieval times - is sent on a quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Venturing through the now war torn Kingdom of Ehb, he teams up with an unlikely band of allies with the goal of slaying the leader of the "Dark Ones". Fighting against all odds, they must free the land from the grasp of the evil tyrant Raven (Lochlyn Munro) and save the world. Special Features:

Behind the Scenes of In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds Featurette
From Page to Screen: Writing In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds Featurette
Commentary with director Uwe Boll
Commentary with writer Michael Nachoff

Scores:

Rotten Tomatoes - No Reviews
IMDb - 3.7/10

Breakdown: Director Uwe Boll once again steps behind the camera for this sequel to his first film In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale but instead of getting big name actors such as Burt Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Jason Statham, John Rhys-Davies and Ron Perlman to star, Boll procured the services of the Expendable Dolph Lundrgen. As a result, for many film lovers, In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds Blu-ray Cover isn't likely to break Boll's uninspiring track-record.