Now things are picking up steam! A very nice selection of new releases and Blu-ray catalog titles this week, lots to choose from and variety galore. Here are your DVD and Blu-ray releases for August 6, 2013.
First things first, I have to acknowledge one of my favorite comedies of all time and a film that is widely considered one of the biggest bombs in history is finally out on Blu-ray this week. Ishtar is the 1987 Dustin Hoffman/Warren Beatty film that notoriously bombed and was panned by many critics. I happen to think it is a comedy classic and a diamond in the rough. Not only do you get ridiculous songs performed by the two stars (songs written by Paul Williams no less), but it is a fine example of brilliant slapstick comedy in the finest tradition of Laurel and Hardy. Hoffman and Beatty are deadpan serious as the moronic but big hearted wannabe songwriters who take a gig in the middle east to get the rent paid and become embroiled in a political plot. I am telling you, give Ishtar a chance and join the growing number of impassioned fans who refute its bomb status.
Okay, on to new stuff. The biggest flick out this week is Tom Cruise’s Oblivion. While it did not perform as well as expected, this is a very good sci fi movie. Tom is one of very few humans left on a devastated Earth after a war with aliens. He is close to his time to join the rest of the population where they have relocated to a moon of Saturn, but suspects there may be more to the deserted planet than it seems. Tom, as usual, puts it all out there as the nostalgic man and sells the part 100%. The movie itself is very well written, and gorgeous to look at. The future tech in it is very believable and the whole movie has a very 60s sci fi feel to it. This is a great sci fi yarn that really impressed me and deservedly makes Oblivion my big budget pick for the week.
Next up is Terrance Malik’s To the Wonder. I generally like Malik very much and was a big fan of last year’s The Tree of Life, but while I was very excited for this film, I was very disappointed by the end result. Basically a relationship tale, most of the dialogue in the film is conveyed through narration leaving the characters to often stand and gaze longingly at nothing. This is an unbelievably beautiful looking film, but it pretty much amounted to a 100 minute long perfume commercial as far as I am concerned. To the Wonder was much anticipated, but ended up much disliked.
Next in the new queue was The Place Beyond the Pines with Ryan Gosling. To go into the full story is to do the film a real disservice as this is a film that should be experienced firsthand. I was looking forward to this film, but it exceeded those expectations and delivered an epic tale of people and how their lives affect each other. Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes and Dane DeHaan are all phenomenal, the story is just jaw dropping and direction by Derek Cianfrance is sure handed and haunting. The Place Beyond the Pines is my gem for the week and a film I recommend every film fan to check out.
I also got in two indie flicks this week. Gallowwalkers features Wesley Snipes as a cursed gunfighter in the Old West who is hunted by a gang of his former victims who have come back from the dead. I was really psyched for this one but it kind of fell flat for me. They have someone as cool as Snipes in the film yet all he does for 95% of his screen time is stand still and shoot looks at people. It almost seemed like adding Snipes to the film was an afterthought. A real disappointment in this one.
On the upside, my next film, Magic Magic, was a twisted little nightmare. Juno Temple plays Alicia, a young woman staying at a remote cabin with a group of strangers after being ditched by her friend. Among those strangers is a very odd Michael Cera in one of his best performances to date. This is a bizarre experiment in human behavior, but I really dug its unusual vibe and dread filled atmosphere.
Lastly, two fantasy gems from the good folks at Shout Factory are out on Blu-ray for the first time for your retro viewing pleasure. A Boy and his Dog is a bizarre but loved cult film starring a young Don Johnson as a boy with a telepathic dog in a post-apocalyptic world looking for supplies and easy women. The aesthetic is not for everyone, but Shout’s transfer certainly is. A beautiful transfer of a cult classic. Team that baby up with another retro classic with Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing. The comic book adaptation actually holds up really well with great action, special effects and a unique and over the top style. Again, the transfer is kick ass and adds another notch on Shout Factory’s long list of premium catalog releases.
Until next week movie lovers.
DVD and Blu-ray Releases for Tuesday August 6, 2013
5 Souls
A Boy and His Dog
Action Jackson
Battlestar Galactica
Duck Dynasty: Season 3
Frankenstein Unbound
Freaked
Gallowwalkers
Ishtar
Lucas
Magic Magic
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Oblivion
Oliver and Company
Passenger 57
Quicksilver
Silver Streak
Strike Back: Season Two
Stuck On You
Swamp Thing
The Pick Up Artist
The Place Beyond the Pines
The Sapphires
The Sword in the Stone
To the Wonder
West of Memphis
Zombie Massacre