Stop-motion animation is somewhat of a rare entertainment medium nowadays. The amount of effort needed to create a feature-length presentation is so massive that even legendary claymation studio Aardman used CGI for their latest feature film 'Flushed Away' (which doesn't take away from the fact that it is an excellent film). So when Hollywood decides to release a stop-motion film, it commonly causes a huge commotion. Such is the case for this week's Disney Blu-ray release of '
The Nightmare Before Christmas'.
The film, which tells the story of Jack Skellington and his desire to try his hand at leading another holiday besides Halloween, took about 100 people three years to complete. The result represents a family friendly film with the familiar skew that Tim Burton often puts into his work. The Blu-ray release, which I have already watched twice, presents an absolutely stunning video presentation. What is even more impressive is the soundtrack, which will absolutely blow you away. If you're looking for a reason to hold off on this purchase, there isn't one.
When people think of submarine movies, the first film that comes to mind is the recently released '
The Hunt for Red October' or 'Das Boot', but also impressive is today's release of '
U-571'. Often knocked because of its lack of historical accuracy (it features an American crew when the story actually involves an English crew), it provides a more action-packed submarine story than typically found in such films. This is mostly due to the excessive use of depth-charges against the sub, which sound amazing on the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. It also comes as part of the '
Action Starter Pack' with '
Miami Vice' and '
End of Days'.
Both seasons of '
Heroes' get released today as well, which should appease the massive amount of viewers who follow the show. Classic film fans get rewarded with the 1938 color film '
The Adventures of Robin Hood, a move by Warner that should be applauded for their desire to bring classic films to high definition.
Next week sees the release of '
Transformers'. Enough said.
For a complete listing of all the Blu-ray titles released today,
click here.