New Blu: Basterds, Hangover, G-Force

New Blu: Basterds, Hangover, G-Force

Quite a wide spectrum of notable movies released on Blu-ray today (Tuesday, Dec. 15), from Quentin Tarantino to Jerry Bruckheimer, and Mel Brooks:

IngloriousBox* 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).

HangoverBox* 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.

GForceBlurayCombo* 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.”

MelBrooksBoxArt* 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.

TakingWoodstock* 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