Zombies are notoriously hard to kill, and that applies also to the zombie genre at large. Despite having a much more limited dramatic range than other horror monsters, they continue to thrive, with authors and filmmakers having repeated shots at them. Now they shuffle onto serialized television and episodic Blu-ray with
The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season, brought to you by none other than Frank Darabont.
In his
review for
The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season, staff reviewer Martin Liebman argues that the interest of zombie tales resides in "smart stories that balance basic action elements with the greater understanding of what's really at the center of the best zombie tales." Indeed, Marty says that even those who are not fans of the zombie genre "might find an allure in the show for its good characterization and the overreaching theme that is humanity -- saving it and losing it at the same time -- and its place in a world following a devastating breakdown of civilization."
Paul Haggis'
The Next Three Days really fell through the cracks when it opened in theaters, so many who missed it may wonder whether it's worth checking out. In his
review, Jeffrey Kauffman states that the major problem with the movie is that its main plot "isn't just wildly improbable, it is so completely and utterly unbelievable that it becomes something of a waking dream." The third act, however, works "brilliantly."
The first catalog entry from Studio Ghibli to get a Blu-ray release in the US is the seminal
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. In his
review, staff reviewer Kenneth Brown labels it "a classic in every sense of the word." Regarding the technical presentation, "its video transfer is faithful and proficient, and its original Japanese-language and English-dub DTS-HD Master Audio stereo tracks are superb." The meager special features are the only relative disappointment.
Apologies for the late submission of this weekly post.