Blu-ray 12th May Release

Taken [Blu-ray]

Fox Home Entertainment / 2009 / 93 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: May 12, 2009

Genres: Action, thriller

Starring: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, and Maggie Grace
Director: Luc Besson

Plot Synopsis: A former government operative comes out of retirement and uses his extensive training to rescue his daughter from a slave trade operation.

Disc Features:
• Audio commentary with Director Pierre Morel, Writer Robert Mark Kamen, and Cinematographers Michel Abramowicz and Michel Julienne
• "Inside Action": Side by Side Comparisons of six scenes
• Digital Copy

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans [Blu-ray]

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2009 / 92 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: May 12, 2009

Overall Grade




Genres: Action, thriller

Starring: Rhona Mitra, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy
Director: Patrick Tatopoulus

Plot Synopsis: This prequel to Len Wiseman’s Underworld and Underworld: Evolution is distinctively different, especially minus the nimble vampire warrior star, Selene (Kate Beckinsale). Underworld: Rise of the Lycans takes its cues from the vampire/werewolf battles that occur in the other films, but director Patrick Tatopoulos focuses here on the young werewolf Lucian's (Michael Sheen) rise to leadership. Rise of the Lycans is set mostly within the walls of vampire lord Viktor’s (Bill Nighy) castle, so the film’s silver, black, and blue palette reflects a world happening under moonlight. From the outset, when Viktor brings Lucian, the first werewolf, into the world, this villainous bloodsucker’s daughter, Sonja (Rhona Mitra), is smitten with Lucian’s hairy appearance and instinctual intelligence. As years pass, Lucian grows tired of watching his race suffer slavery and imprisonment, and recruits a human named Raze (Kevin Grevioux) to assist rebellion. This archetypal plot is not so riveting, and what carries Underworld: Rise of the Lycans are the battle scenes between vampires and werewolves, which are excitingly fast-paced and brutal. The whole film adopts a medieval battlefield aesthetic that carries an otherwise clichéd story about illicit love and freedom fighting. Some characters, like the traitor vampire Tannis (Steven Mackintosh), also intrigues throughout, as one guesses who he will ally with. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans may not be the finest film in the werewolf and vampire archives independently, but its mixed monstrosity makes it unique and entertaining, especially on a big screen.

Disc Features:

• Audio Commentary with director Patrick Tatopoulos, writer/producer Len Wiseman, executive producer James McQuaide, and producers Richard Wright and Gary Lucchesi
  
• Underworld: Rise of the Lycans – From Script to Screen (HD, 9:18)
• Origin of the Feud (HD, 19:58)
• Recreating the Dark Ages – The Look of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (HD, 13:01)
  
• William Controll's 'Deathclub' Music Video (HD, 4)

Passengers [Blu-ray]

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2008 / 93 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: May 12, 2009

Genres: Thriller

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, David Morse
Director: Rodrigo Garcia

Plot Synopsis: While helping a handful of plane crash survivors cope with their grief, young psychologist Claire Summers (2008 Best Actress, Oscar® nominee Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married) begins to uncover conflicting accounts of the accident. At first, Claire believes that trauma is behind her patients' wildly different stories - until the survivors mysteriously begin disappearing one by one. Now Eric (Patrick Wilson, Lakeview Terrace), a surviving passenger she has grown dangerously close to, may hold the key to unlocking the truth about the tragic incident in this shocking psychological thriller.

Disc Features:

• Audio Commentary with director Rodrigo Garcia and actor Patrick Wilson
  
• Featurette: "In the Night Sky: The Making and Manifest of 'Passengers'" (HD, 23 minutes)
  
• Featurette: "Analysis of the Plane Crash" (HD, 16 minutes) – An in-depth, cohesive look at the complex elements needed to stage a dramatic, believable aviation disaster, this featurette focuses on special effects, set construction, CGI, and creative intent.
  
• Deleted Scenes (SD, 7 minutes)
  

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly [Blu-ray]

MGM Home Entertainment / 1966 / 161 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: May 12, 2009

Genres: Action, Western

Starring: Eli Wallace, Clint Eastwood
Director: Sergio Leone

Plot Synopsis: Clint Eastwood returns as the invincible "Man With No Name," this time teaming with two gunslingers (Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach) to pursue a fortune in stolen gold. But teamwork doesn't come naturally to such strong-willed outlaws, and they soon discover that their greatest challenge may be to stay focused - and stay alive - in a country ravaged by war. Forging a vibrant and yet detached style of action that had not been seen before, and has never been matched since, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly shatters the western mold in true Clint Eastwood style!

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