The Incredible Hulk (2008) (Blu-ray) Universal Studios Home Entertainment / 2008 / 114 Minutes
Street Date: October 21, 2008
(Buy it at Amazon and save)Genres: Action, Comic Book, Science Fiction
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth
Director: Louis Leterrie
Plot Synopsis: Fugitive Dr. Bruce Banner must utilize the genetic accident that transforms him into a giant, rampaging hulk to stop a former soldier that purposely becomes an even more dangerous version
The Strangers (2008) (Blu-ray) Universal Studios Home Entertainment / 2008 / 91 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: October 21, 2008
(Buy it at Amazon and save)Genres: Suspense, thriller
Starring: Liv Tyler, Alex Fisher (VII), Peter Clayton-Luce, Scott Speedman
Director: Bryan Bertino
Plot Synopsis: A lean, briskly paced and exceptionally creepy thriller, The Strangers earns its scares the old-fashioned way: through atmosphere, sound design, and a simple yet undeniably upsetting central premise that allows for maximum tension throughout its running time. Attractive young lovers Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman are already having a bad day--she's turned down his marriage proposal--before a knock on the door in the middle of the night announces a full-fledged siege on their remote vacation home by a trio of masked assailants. The film's first third delivers the most consistent shivers as the visitors make their presence and intentions known to Tyler; the second half grows more frantic and bloody before a gruesome finale that may leave viewers either rattled to their core or bothered by its empty nihilism. Speedman is fine as the downtrodden male lead (who's seen tucking into a carton of ice cream after being rejected), but it's Tyler who impresses the most by s! houldering the lion's share of the terror. First-time writer/director Bryan Bertino impresses by forsaking the current passion for over-the-top violence (save for the finale) in favor of more traditional means of generating fear, and if his project borrows heavily from other films, most notably the French chiller Them (which shares its "inspired by a true story" origin) and Michael Haneke's Funny Games, at least he's taking from the best. The sound design is among the many technical standouts, and the unsettling score by tomandandy (The Hills Have Eyes) pleasantly evokes Ennio Morricone's fuzztone-heavy work for Dario Argento in the early '70s. On a completely unrelated note, LP fanatics should appreciate how both the film's heroes and villains share an affinity for folk and country music on vinyl.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Blu-ray) DreamWorks Home Entertainment / 2007 / 116 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: October 21, 2008
(Buy it at Amazon and save)Genres: Horror, Musical, Romance
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp
Director: Tim Burton
Plot Synopsis: After years of rumors, it turns out that Tim Burton was the perfect visionary to film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stephen Sondheim's Broadway masterpiece, and the result is a macabre and moving musical movie as enthralling as anything Burton has ever done. The show's mix of gothic horror, Grand Guignol, very dark humor, and witty and beautiful music never was the stuff of traditional musical comedy, but it's a powerful work, and perhaps the richest of the late 20th century. In the movie, Burton's frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp, plays Todd, a wronged man whose lust for revenge drives him to murder (an 19th-century legend who has been traced to a real-life barber). Helena Bonham Carter, another Burton mainstay, is Mrs. Lovett, the barber's partner-in-unspeakable-crime. It's no surprise that Depp is an excellent choice to convey Todd's brooding intensity and volcanic rage, but he can also sing a score that is so challenging it has often played in opera houses (though not with the same style as the Broadway original, Len Cariou, and he occasionally lapses into pop style). Bonham Carter is small of voice and lacks the humor of the original Broadway Lovett, Angela Lansbury, but she sings on pitch, in rhythm, and in character at the same time, which is no small feat for a Sondheim show. Aficionados will regret the loss of certain musical passages--"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" is just an instrumental overture and the chorus is gone altogether, among others--but the reassuring presence of orchestrator Jonathan Tunick and conductor Paul Gemignani ensures that the music feels right and sounds great. And the film's depiction of a Victorian London hellhole--with cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and costumes by Colleen Atwood--also looks and feels right.
Casino Royale (2006, Collector's Edition) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2006 / 144 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: October 21, 2008
Overall Grade 
Highly recommended(Buy it at Amazon and save)
Genres: Action, spy, thriller
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green
Director: Martin Campbell
Plot Synopsis: I do think everyone knows bout this movie right??
Disc Features: Bond films everytime re-tooled, re-issued, re-packaged, re-mastered and re-everything'd but still 'Casino Royale' is my favourite, period!!
- Audio Commentary - Hosting this commentary (on Disc One) are producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
- New Featurettes (HD, 24 minutes) - New to this Blu-ray are five featurettes, though they are obviously one doc cut up into different parts. A host of principals (director Campbell, producers Wilson and Broccoli and Callum McDougall, co-screenwriters Paul Haggis and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Bond historian John Cork, authors John Pearson and Peter Biskind, and even early Bond girls Linda Christian Power, Diane Hartford, and Maureen O'Connell. Presented in 1080p/MPEG-2 HD, this is not quite the ultimate documentary on 'Casino Royale,' but certainly close to what we all wanted on the first 'Casino Royale' Blu-ray.
First up is "The Road to Casino Royale" (28 minutes), which goes all the way back to Ian Fleming's original story and chronicles the long, long journey it took to make it to the screen as Bond 21.
"Ian Fleming's Incredible Creation" (21 minutes) goes in-depth into the 'Casino Royale' story itself, and dissects the modern day adaptation.
Next is "Bond in the Bahamas" (24 minutes), which tackles the location where a good portion of 'Casino Royale' takes place.
"Ian Fleming: The Secret Road to Paradise" (24 minutes)
Finally, "Death in Venice" (23 minutes), which is the only featurette that really features any interviews with Daniel Craig and Eva Green (both culled from on-set material) - Featurette: "Becoming Bond" (SD, 24 minutes)
- Featurette: "James Bond for Real" (SD, 24 minutes)
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 8 minutes) - There are four scenes new to the 'Collector's Edition,' all in 1080p/MPEG-2 video: "Rescue and Recovery," "Squandering Government Funds," "Cricket Pavilion" and "Gettler Raisers Bond's Suspicions."
- Music Video (SD) - Music video for Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name."
- Theatrical Trailers (HD) - '21,' 'Hancock' and 'Vantage Point.'
James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol. 1 (Dr. No / Die Another Day / Live and Let Die)
Format:
(Buy it at Amazon and save)
James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol.2 (For Your Eyes Only / From Russia with Love / Thunderball)
Format:
(Buy it at Amazon and save)
Or buy it on separate titles each:
Halloween (2007) (Blu-ray) Weinstein Co. / 2007 / 121 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: October 21, 2008
(Buy it at Amazon and save)Genres: Horror
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, Tyler Mane
Director: Rob Zombie
Plot Synopsis: Rob Zombie (The Devil's Rejects), "modern American horror's most eccentric and surprising filmmaker," (Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times) reinvents the ultimate slasher classic, unleashing Michael Myers for a bloody rollercoaster of a rampage like fans have never seen. Including a retelling of the original story that unfolds at a breakneck pace, as well as a chilling new introduction that finally reveals the secrets behind Myers' disturbing childhood, Halloween breathes new life into one of film history's most terrifying tales. "It will leave you speechless"
Disc Features:
- Documentary: "Michael Lives" (SD, 271 minutes)
- Audio Commentary - Rob Zombie goes solo on this track, which may seem redundant given the length of "Michael Lives." But here we have Zombie reflecting on his work after it has been completed, and he makes a strong case for his artistic goals and decision-making process.
- Deleted Scenes (SD, 22 minutes)
- Featurette: "Re-Imagining Halloween" (SD, 19 minutes)
- Featurette: "Meet the Cast" (SD, 18 minutes) - Almost the entire main cast of the film is introduced here, including Scout-Taylor Compton, Malcolm McDowell, Doug Fairch, Danielle Harris, Brad Dourif and Dee Wallace.
- Featurette: "The Many Masks Of Michael Myers" (SD, 6 minutes) - The most fun of the featurettes, Zombie and the adult Michael Myers Tyler Mane discuss how important masks are to the character, and the many visages seen throughout the film.
- Casting Sessions (SD, 35 minutes) - There's over a dozen relatively short (1 to 5 minutes) videotaped screen tests, including a complete extended test for Scout Taylor-Compton.
- Theatrical Trailer (HD) -
Diary of the Dead (Blu-ray) Weinstein Co. / 2007 / Rated R
Street Date: October 21, 2008
(Buy it at Amazon and save)Genres: Horror
Starring: Shawn Roberts, Michelle Morgan, Tatiana Maslany
Director: George A. Romero
Plot Synopsis: From legendary frightmaster George A. Romero comes "one of the most daring, hypnotic and absolutely vital horror films of the past decade" (fangoria.com). Romero continues his influential "Dead" series, this time focusing on a terrified group of college film students who record the pandemic rise of flesh-eating zombies while struggling for their own survival. Intensely gruesome and relentlessly grisly - fueled by the director's signature realistic special effects - Diary of the Dead is must-see horror that "is Romero at his finest" (bloody-disgusting.com).
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