New Blu-ray Reviews

The Hollywood Knights Blu-ray Movie  

Image Entertainment | 1980 | 91 min | Rated R | Oct 18, 2011 | Michael Reuben

Led by their comedic and pranking leader, Newbomb Turk, the Hollywood Knights car gang raise hell throughout Beverly Hills on Halloween Night, 1965. Everything from drag racing to Vietnam to high school love.

Comedy / Teen / Coming of age

Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD

Tokyo Shock | 2008 | 86 min | Rated 16+ | Dec 21, 2010 | Brian Orndorf

In the year 20XX, a swarm of engineered super-zombies have covered the entire world. But even this cannot dete Aya's determination to track down her father's killer. With sword in hand and wearing nothing but her trademark bikini and cowboy hat, she sets off to settle the score. Aya is joined on her path to vengeance by the chubby Katsuji and the gun-toting Reika. Together, they hack, slash, shoot and bounce their way through a sea of the undead to reach the final showdown with a mad scientist and Aya's fated duel with her own sister.

Action / Horror / Foreign

Bunraku Blu-ray Movie  

Arc Entertainment | 2010 | 124 min | Rated R | Nov 01, 2011 | Michael Reuben

A mysterious drifter and a young Japanese warrior arrive in a town controlled by criminals, each with a separate purpose. They meet at the Horseless Horseman Saloon, where the enigmatic bartender encourages them to join forces to bring down the evil Nicola the Woodcutter, who rules the city as head of a gang of killers.

Action / Adventure / Drama / Fantasy / Thriller / Martial arts

WWE: Randy Orton: The Evolution of a Predator Blu-ray Movie  

WWE Studios | 2011 | 540 min | Not rated | Sep 06, 2011 | Martin Liebman

Randy Orton is one of the most popular superstars in the WWE, but he has never been the subject of a home entertainment release - until now. This 3-disc set takes an in-depth look at WWE's Apex Predator from Elimination Chamber through the road to WrestleMania and Orton's brutal bout with CM Punk. Along the way, fans learn about the Viper in and out of the ring as he reflects on his career to date. Family and opponents contribute never-before-seen interviews about Orton's past, present, and future. In addition the set is packed with some of Orton's most memorable matches and moments from his career.

Sport

A Day in the Finnish Archipelago Blu-ray Movie  

ScenesHD | 2011 | 180 min | Unrated | Nov 01, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

This release presents six 30 minute segments filmed around Finland.

Documentary

WWE Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart Blu-ray Movie  

WWE Studios | 2011 | 540 min | Rated TV-PG | Oct 25, 2011 | Martin Liebman

For more than a decade, Bret Hit Man Hart and Shawn Michaels engaged in perhaps the most storied rivalry in the history of sports entertainment, from their teams (the Hart Foundation and the Rockers), through battles for the Intercontinental Championship and the richest prize in the business, the WWE Championship. Their enmity spilled out of the ring, and led to the most infamous incident in the history of professional wrestling, The Montreal Screwjob. More than a decade later, the two men buried the hatchet as both are now WWE Hall of Famers. Now, for the first time ever, the two sit down together and rehash their intertwined destinies in Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart. These new, never-before-aired, interviews will shed new light and insight on issues and controversies fans have speculated about for years.

Sport

Cop Land Blu-ray Movie  

Collector's Series

Lionsgate Films | 1997 | 116 min | Rated R | Nov 01, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

A partially deaf New Jersey sheriff must investigate the NYPD officers he idolizes—potentially exposing the evildoings of some of New York's finest.

Crime / Drama / Thriller

Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On Blu-ray Movie  

Image Entertainment | 2010 | 67 min | Not rated | Oct 04, 2011 | Michael Reuben

'The Showgirl Must Go On' was a show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas that starred pop diva Bette Midler from 2008-2010.

Comedy

Kuroneko Blu-ray Movie  

藪の中の黒猫 / Yabu no naka no kuroneko

Criterion | 1968 | 100 min | Not rated | Oct 18, 2011 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

In medieval Japan, a military hero is sent to battle a strange apparition that has been killing samurai.

Drama / Horror / Supernatural / Foreign

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Blu-ray Movie  

Lionsgate Films | 2002 | 114 min | Rated R | Nov 01, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Chuck Barris, young, energetic, and focused on a top career in the growing television industry, finds himself being followed by a suspicious character who quickly lures him into a secretive and dangerous world: that of a CIA operative. While Barris gains notoriety as a dynamic television producer--creating such innovative and popular shows as "The Newlywed Game" and the self-hosted "The Gong Show"--he regularly executes assassinations for the United States government. As ratings rise, Barris incorporates his shows into his secret life, providing a cover for his covert missions. As Barris basks in the glamour of his two worlds, his life begins to spiral out of control. He is torn between the woman who loves him and the mysterious woman of his fantasies. Just as he receives mass criticism from the public who accuses him of contaminating the airwaves, he finds himself marked for death by an operative.

Biography / Comedy / Drama / Thriller / Dark humor / Period

Water for Elephants Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + Digital Copy

20th Century Fox | 2011 | 120 min | Rated PG-13 | Nov 01, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

A veterinary student abandons his studies after his parents are killed and joins a traveling circus as their vet.

Drama / Romance / Melodrama / Period

Absence of Malice Blu-ray Movie  

Image Entertainment | 1981 | 117 min | Rated PG | Nov 08, 2011 | Michael Reuben

A prosecutor leaks a false story to a reporter that the nephew of a mob boss is under investigation for murder, hoping to pressure the nephew into turning informant. The reporter has no responsibility for the truth of the story, only for accurately repeating what she's been told.

Drama / Romance / Thriller

In the Electric Mist Blu-ray Movie  

Image Entertainment | 2008 | 102 min | Rated R | Mar 03, 2009 | Michael Reuben

Investigating a series of grisly murders, a reformed alcoholic detective navigates his way through layers of corruption, long-buried secrets, ancient grudges and lethal alliances on the Louisiana bayou. Meanwhile, the world around him struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - and there's money to be made.

Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller

Crazy, Stupid, Love. Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD + UV Digital Copy

Warner Bros. | 2011 | 118 min | Rated PG-13 | Nov 01, 2011 | Kenneth Brown

At forty-something, straight-laced Cal Weaver is living the dream—good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife, Emily, has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his "perfect" life quickly unravels. Worse, in today's single world, Cal, who hasn't dated in decades, stands out as the epitome of un-smooth. Now spending his free evenings sulking alone at a local bar, the hapless Cal is taken on as wingman and protégé to handsome, thirty-something player Jacob Palmer.

Comedy / Drama / Romance

The Ray Harryhausen Double Feature Blu-ray Movie  

She / Things to Come

Legend | 1935-1936 | 2 Movies | 219 min | Not rated | Sep 27, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

See individual titles for their synopses.

Adventure / Drama / Fantasy / Romance / Sci-Fi

Control Blu-ray Movie    

Momentum Pictures | 2007 | 122 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | Oct 17, 2011 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

Ian Curtis has aspirations beyond the trappings of small town life in 1970's England. Wanting to emulate his musical heroes, such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop, he joins a band, and his musical ambition begins to thrive. Soon though, the everyday fears and emotions that fuel his music slowly begin to eat away at him. Married young, with a daughter, he is distracted from his family commitments by a new love and the growing expectations of his band, Joy Division. The strain manifests itself in his health. With epilepsy adding to his guilt and depression, desperation takes hold. Surrendering to the weight on his shoulders, Ian's tortured soul consumes him.

Biography / Drama / Music

To Die For Blu-ray Movie  

Image Entertainment | 1995 | 106 min | Rated R | Nov 08, 2011 | Michael Reuben

Suzanne Stone wants to be on television and she is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she refuses to let anything or anyone stand in her way.

Comedy / Crime / Drama / Dark humor

Captain Fracassa's Journey Blu-ray Movie    

Le Voyage du capitaine Fracasse / Il viaggio di Capitan Fracassa

Gaumont | 1990 | 133 min | Not rated | Oct 19, 2011 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

In the Eighteenth Century, the "Traveling Company of Scenic Arts" composed of Tyrant, Lady Leonarde, Serafina, Isabella, Leandre, Zerbina, Matamore and Pulcinella gets lost while traveling to Paris in bad weather. They see a castle and ask the servant Pietro if they can spend the night. They soon learn that the destroyed castle belongs to the ruined nobleman Jean Luc Henry Camille, the Baron of Sigognac. Pietro asks the company to take Sigognac with them to Paris as King Luis XIII's father was saved by the baron's father, Henrique de Navarra, and Luis XIII would certainly reward Sigognac in gratitude. He also secretly gives one hundred gold coins to Pulcinella to serve Sigognac.

Adventure / Comedy / History / Foreign

The Phantom of the Opera Blu-ray Movie  

1925 version plus two 1929 reissue restored versions

Image Entertainment | 1925 | 1 Movie, 3 Cuts | 93 min | Not rated | Nov 01, 2011 | Jeffrey Kauffman

At the Opera of Paris, a mysterious phantom threatens a famous lyric singer, Carlotta and thus forces her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) for unknown Christine Daae. Christine meets this phantom (a masked man) in the catacombs, where he lives. What's his goal ? What's his secret ?

Drama / Horror / Romance

The Clowns Blu-ray Movie  

I clowns

RaroVideo U.S. | 1970 | 92 min | Rated G | Oct 18, 2011 | Brian Orndorf

A reflection of Federico Fellini's childhood obsession with clowns. Though comical and referred to as a "docu-comedy", the film explores deeper human conditions such as authority, poverty, humility, and arrogance, all of which manifest themselves through the characters of the clowns.

Comedy / Documentary / Foreign