When the Harry Potter film series concludes in 2011, star Daniel Radcliffe will have aged 10 years since first appearing as the young sorcerer and, if the films' success continues, generated over $9B in world-wide box office receipts. Today, the sixth film in the series - '
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' - is being released on Blu-ray, giving fans a chance to not only watch the film in high definition, but also join Radcliffe and director David Yates for an industry-first worldwide BD-Live screening of the film.
Similar to the recent '
Terminator Salvation' screening, fans will be able to watch the film while listening to Radcliffe and Yates answer questions about the film in real time. Other Potter films being released today on Blu-ray include the '
Harry Potter Years 1-6 Giftset' - a collection of the first six Harry Potter films on Blu-ray - and Blu-ray Ultimate Editions of both '
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' and '
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'.
As a director, Michael Mann is a textbook case of someone with immense talent that just can never seem to fully implement their vision. While most people will agree that 'Ali', 'Collateral', and '
Miami Vice' were good films, they simply weren't great. Such is '
Public Enemies', which is released today on Blu-ray. The film features two of the hottest properties in Hollywood today, but even they can't make this film compelling enough to warrant a repeat viewing.
The Blu-ray release, however, is much stronger. Universal transfers have been very strong with regards to newer releases, and the Blu-ray release of 'Public Enemies' shows a near perfection to the art. An almost sepia-toned color scale is displayed beautifully on the screen via a very strong VC-1 transfer, and audio, presented here via a DTS-HD MA track, is equally impressive.
With the release of '
Lost: The Complete Fifth Season' on Blu-ray today, Disney is also providing a BD-Live feature highly anticipated by die-hard Lost fans - the Lost University. As previously reported, the feature allows dedicated Lost fans to enter a virtual university where they can learn more about the show from 'Lost' cast, crew, and other dedicated 'Lost' aficionados. Of course, you'll likely be diving straight into the content first, which is (as expected) consistent with previous 'Lost' Blu-ray releases.
In the
Blu-ray review of 'Lost: The Complete Fifth Season', staff reviewer Ken Brown concludes, "The Complete Fifth Season may not be the place series newcomers should start, but longtime Losties will chew their nails and crack their knuckles through every intense, absorbing episode." He continues, "Its video transfer and DTS-HD Master Audio track are nothing short of amazing. Lost fans rejoice! Disney has done it again, and just in time for the holidays"
Today, most people will point to Rachael Ray, Alton Brown, or Guy Fieri cookbooks as their source of culinary inspiration, but during the 60's and 70's, a Julia Child book was just as likely to be in your mother's kitchen as one by Betty Crocker. Today's Blu-ray release of '
Julie & Julia' tells the heartfelt stories of two women who used cooking to change their lives for the better. For the
Blu-ray review of 'Julie & Julia', staff reviewer Martin Liebman concludes, "With a pair of fascinating tales, a breezy and fun script, steady direction, and wonderful performances, Julie & Julia is a wonderful little delicacy of a film that's not to be missed. Sony once again delivers an appetizing Blu-ray that offers up a pitch-perfect 1080p transfer, an excellent lossless soundtrack, and a few good extras."
My off-the-radar pick of the week goes to '
UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights'. Capitalizing on the drought of high-profile boxers, UFC brought the legendary fighting of mixed martial arts to the forefront of worldwide conscience. The sport condenses all the hard hits and bloody faces of a heavyweight bout into 15-25 action-packed minutes. For 'UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights', both new and seasoned UFC fans get to see the 100 greatest UFC fights, in their entirety. The Blu-ray release is solid (quality varies with newer matches appearing better than old), and a must own for any fighting fan.
For a complete listing of all the Blu-ray titles released today,
click here.