Making his full-length feature directorial debut, Peter Billingsley (who will forever be known as "Ralphie" from
A Christmas Story) couldn't have hopped for a better supporting team. On writing detail was popular funnyman Vince Vaughn and the driving force behind
Iron Man, Jon Favreau. Both men joined Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell to compose a talented and veteran cast. Unfortunately,
Couples Retreat - which is out today on Blu-ray - ended up being punching bag for critics, making the film much more interesting as a study in how a film set up so strongly could go so wrong, than as the comedy it was intended to be.
Based on the popularity of the film in pre-orders, I expect many who are reading this got a completely different interpretation of the film than I did. Those who bite will be rewarded with a Blu-ray presentation typical of what you'd expect from Universal.
Universal is releasing
A Serious Man on Blu-ray today, the latest film from legendary brothers Ethan and Joel Cohen. While the film was only on an limited release (for over three months), it was recently nominated for two Oscars, including Best Motion Picture of the Year. Making some of the most memorable movies ever created, the two brothers latest effort is sure to be a hit on Blu-ray once word of the film's quality spreads across the Web.
"
A Serious Man is an unexpected delight; a disarming dark comedy about the toils of life and the mysteries of the hereafter that revels in asking big questions, withholding even the simplest of answers, and submerging its characters in the muck of their tumultuous existences," commented staff reviewer Ken Brown in his
Blu-ray review of A Serious Man. "Universal's Blu-ray release is commendable as well. While its supplemental package is a thirty-minute disappointment, its video transfer offers a near-perfect presentation and its DTS-HD Master Audio track is a faithful success."
Guys who were hoping for a science fiction film that they could enjoy with their wife/girlfriend in
The Time Traveler's Wife are recommended to look elsewhere. While time traveling does play an important element in this film, it drips with romantic drama and those who decide to pick up this title should expect nothing more. For fans of films such as
The Notebook, this will be a welcome addition to the relatively small library of available romantic Blu-rays.
Staff reviewer Ken Brown commented in his
Blu-ray review of The Time Traveler's Wife, "
The Time Traveler's Wife may appeal to those longing for romance in the vein of
The Notebook, but others will be left with heavy-handed melodramatics that overpower Niffenegger's intriguing ideas." He continues, "Its video transfer is quite striking (artificial sharpening notwithstanding) and its DTS-HD Master Audio track is fit and faithful."
Finally, Lionsgate today releases a number of classic action films on Blu-ray, including Schwarzenegger's
The Running Man, Billy Zane as
The Phantom, Christian Slater in
Hard Rain , and Wesley Snipes in
Drop Zone. Don't look for anything earth shattering with these releases, but at budget level prices, they are great addition to the action junkie's Blu-ray library.
For a complete listing of all the Blu-ray titles released today,
click here.