RA: Renters Anonymous – October 6th, 2009
New Releases
Year One – 5.5/10 – Trailer
Starring Jack Black, Michael Cera, Olivia Wilde, June Raphael, David Cross, Paul Rudd, Harold Ramis, Juno Temple, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Eden Riegel
Zed (Jack Black) and Oh (Michael Cera) are
cavemen who stumble out of the mountains into an epic journey of biblical proportions. One’s a bumbling hunter, the other’s a gentle gatherer; together, they become unlikely participants in history’s most pivotal moments.
Special Features:
- 1.85:1 Widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1
- Commentary with Harold Ramis, Jack Black and Michael Cera
Extended and Alternate Scenes- Line-O-Rama
- Gag Reel
- Year One: The Journey Begins
Unrated Edition Special Features:
- All of the features of the Theatrical Edition, plus:
- Unrated Cut of the film (3 min longer)
- Alternate Ending
- Sodom’s Got ‘Em!
- Leeroy Jenkins: The Gates of Sodom
Blu-ray Features:
- 1.85:1 Widescreen 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Both Theatrical and Unrated cuts
- All of the features of the Unrated Edition DVD, plus:
- The Year One Cutting Room
- Cinechat
- movieIQ
- BD-Live Enabled
- Digital Copy of the Film
Recommendation: Pass
My Life in Ruins – Trailer
Starring Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Alexis Georgoulis, Harland Williams
A comedy about a tour guide in Greece who is forced to quit her job by a smarmy coworker. Georgia (Nia Vardalos) is a Greek American tour guide who is leading a tour around Greece with an assorted group of misfit tourists who would rather buy a T-shirt than learn about history and culture. In a clash of personalities and cultures, everything seems to go wrong, until one day when older traveller Irv Gordon (Richard Dreyfuss), shows her how to have fun, and to take a good look at the last person she would ever expect to find love with: her Greek bus driver (Alexis Georgoulis).
Special Features:
- 1.85:1 Widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1
- Deleted Scenes
- Alternate Ending
- “Everybody Loves Poupi”
- Commentary with Nia Vardaloas, Donald Petrie and Mike Reiss
Blu-ray Features:
- 1.85:1 Widescreen 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- All of the features of the DVD release
Recommendation: Pass
Trick ‘r Treat
Starring Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, Brian Cox, Leslie Bibb, Rochelle Aytes, Tohmoh Penikett
Four interwoven stories that occur on the same block, on the same night. A couple finds what happens when they blow a jack o’ lantern out before midnight, a high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer, a college virgin might have met the right guy for her, a group of mean teens play a prank that they take too far, and a hermit is visited by a special trick or treater.
Special Features:
- 2.40:1 Widescreen and 1.33:1 Fullscreen with Dolby Digital 5.1
- “Trick ‘r Treat: Season’s Greetings”
Blu-ray Features:
- 2.40:1 Widescreen 1080p with Dolby TrueHD 5.1
- “Trick ‘r Treat: Season’s Greetings”
- Additional Scenes
- Special Effects Comparison
- Commentary with Michael Dougherty
- “Trick ‘r Treat: The Lore and Legends of Halloween”
- BD-Live
- Digital Copy of the Film
Recommendation: Rent (for horror lovers)
Re-Releases
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Diamond Collection) (Blu-ray) – 7.1/10
Snow White, pursued by a jealous queen, hides with the Dwarfs; the queen feeds her a poison apple, but Prince Charming awakens her with a kiss. A definite Disney classic.
Blu-ray Features:
- 1.33:1 Widescreen 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
- Hyperion Studios
- Magic Mirror
- DisneyView
- About Toby Bluth
- Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
- What Do You See?
- Jewel Jumble
- Scene Stealer
- DVD Copy of the Film
Limited Edition Collector’s Set:
- Diamond Collection Blu-ray
- Hardcover Book
- Stills
- Seven Dwarfs Lapel Pins
- Decorative Red Box
Recommendation: Buy
Miracle on 34th Street (1994) – 5.6/10
Starring Mara Wilson, Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, JT Walsh, Jane Leeves
A little girl discovers dreams do come true if you really believe. Six-year-old Susan has doubts about childhood’s most enduring miracle – Santa Claus. Her mother told her the “secret” about Santa a long time ago, so Susan doesn’t expect to receive the most important gifts on her Christmas list. But after meeting a special department store Santa who’s convinced he’s the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all – something to believe in.
Special Features:
- 1.85:1 Widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0
- Trailer
Blu-ray Features:
- 1.85:1 Widescreen 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1
Recommendation: Pass (for lack of features)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) (Blu-ray) – 7.3/10
Starring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, Edmund Gwenn
Doris Walker a no-nonsense Macy’s executive, desperately searches for a new store Santa. She hires Kris Kringle who insists that he’s the real Santa Claus. But, he has many skeptics like Doris and her six year old daughter, Susan. So Kris goes to court to try and prove it. Is he the real Santa Claus?
Blu-ray Features:
- 1.33:1 Fullscreen 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0
- Original Black and White Version
- Commentary with Maureen O’Hara
- AMC Back Story
- Movietone News: Hollywood Spotlight
- Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: Floating in History
- Promotional Short
- Poster Gallery
- BD-Live Enabled
Recommendation: Rent (well, not yet, wait until December)
Contact (Blu-ray) – 6.4/10
Starring Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, William Fichtner, John Hurt, Angela Bassett, David Morse
Contact is the story of a free thinking radio astronomer who discovers an intelligent signal broadcast from deep space. She and her fellow scientists are able to decipher the Message and discover detailed instructions for building a mysterious Machine. Will the Machine spell the end of our world, or the end of our superstitions? Will we take our place among the races of the Galaxy, or are we just an upstart species with a long way to go?
Blu-ray Features:
- 2.35:1 Widescreen 1080p with Dolby TrueHD 5.1
- Behind the Story
- Commentary with Jodie Foster, Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey, Ken Ralston and Stephen Rosenbaum
- The Making of the Opening Shot
- The Making of the NASA Machine Destruction
- The Making of the Harrier Landing
- The High Speed Composition Reel
- Machine Fly By
- Hadden’s Plane
- NASA Control Room
- 5.1 Music Only Track
Recommendation: Rent
The Unrated Blogger’s Cut
Hrm….this week’s releases seems pretty weak. I guess we can thank Disney for that. In case you haven’t noticed, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be releasing on Blu-ray this week. Yeah, just Blu-ray. Well, technically it does come with a DVD copy of the film, so it’s a combo pack, but if you just wanted a standalone DVD than you will have to wait until the end of November. If you want, you can think of the combo pack as the DVD version with a Blu-ray copy thrown in. Either way, I know a lot of Disney fans will be grabbing this one, being a classic and all. Other than that release we also have Year One coming out which was a huge disapointment so I wouldn’t bother with it. And being October, we have an amazing horror film Trick ‘r Treat which should offer up some good scares. I’ll probably be renting that one when it comes closer to Halloween.
Coming Soon:
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