Quite a wide spectrum of notable movies released on Blu-ray today (Tuesday, Dec. 15), from Quentin Tarantino to Jerry Bruckheimer, and Mel Brooks:
* Inglorious Basterds ($39.98 w/ digital copy, Universal): Quentin Tarantino’s latest work of cleverness and inventive violence depicting vengeful Nazi-hating soliders in World War II.
- stand-out performances by Brad Pitt, horror filmmaker Eli Roth, and legend Rod Taylor, almost unrecognizable as Sir Winston Churchill.
- lengthy at 2 1/2-hours.
- subtitles aplenty.
- fun assortment of bonus features, especially full 6-min. black-and-white Nazi propaganda movie-in-movie “Nation’s Pride” and tongue-in-cheek making-of, interview of Pitt and Tarantino, and collection of “Hi Sally” moments to editor.
Play video below of Hollywood Blu-ray launch event (more of this week’s releases follow below video).
* The Hangover: Unrated Cut ($35.99 w/ digital copy, Warner): Bachelor party gone amusingly bad in Vegas.
- Some funny stuff.
- 7 extra minutes in the unrated cut — not nudity or anything obvious.
- more pictures from missing camera also showing no more nudity.
- amusing picture-in-picture commentary by director Todd Phillips and stars Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms.
* G-Force ($44.99 w/ DVD & digital copy, Disney) Jerry Bruckheimer family live-action and computer-animated action/comedy featuring high-tech gadget-wielding guinea pig would-be spys.
- Fun.
- Short (88-minutes including several minutes of credits)
- Not in 3D on Blu-ray as it was in theaters.
- Stellar voice cast: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, and Steve Buscemi
- Enjoyable bonus features, especially in-depth “Cine-Explore” picture-in-picture behind-the-scenes; two mini-docs with Bruckheimer, director Hoyt H. Yeatman, Jr., and his 11-year-old son; and three music videos: “Jump” by Flo Rida featuring Nelly Furtado, “Ready To Rock” by Steve Rushton, and “Go G-Force.”
* The Mel Brooks Collection ($139.99, Fox): Nine-disc collection of nine movies by the comedy legend, from “The Telve Chairs” to “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Spaceballs,” and “History of the World Part 1.”
- A couple classics, a couple mildly amusing films, several fairly forgettable movies
- glaring omission of “The Producers” (original and remake).
- each film includes previous bonus features.
- impressive 120-page coffee table book.
* Taking Woodstock ($39.98, Universal): Ang Lee’s light-hearted recreation of the time and feel of the legendary weekend through the true story of a small-town entreprenurial young man and his motel-owning parents who wind up playing integral roles in the location of the festival.
- somewhat charming for awhile but runs out of steam before the end of the two-hours.
- fair but mostly lackluster extras.
- by Scott Hettrick
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