NEBRASKA
(2013, Blu-ray released February 25, 2014 – MSRP $26.98)

THE FILM:

“From Academy Award winner Alexander Payne, the director of Sideways and The Descendants, comes the film that critics are calling “An American Masterpiece.” When a father (Bruce Dern) and his adult son (Will Forte) embark on a journey to claim a million-dollar prize, what begins as a fool’s errand becomes a search for the road to redemption. Discover why Nebraska is “one of those movies I’ll watch for the rest of my life.”“

I had a great time watching The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in the cinema but man, is it ever a messed up flick. Too long and bloated with tone-deaf action beats and character arcs that meander off to nowhere, all the while leaving the main character, Bilbo – the stories driving force – hung out to dry. It’s really a shame because I feel like there’s a pretty great little movie hiding in there. Maybe one day we’ll see a single cut of all three Hobbit films that does away with everything unnecessary in the narrative. Until then, let’s just enjoy this Blu-ray release of the second film in the trilogy, which’ll be in stores April 8.

Scorsese made a hell of a flick in The Wolf of Wall Street. It could use about 15-minutes shaved off of it to tighten up the narrative – y’know, get rid of some of the bloat – but honestly there’s nothing wrong the film. Great script, great performances and great style all around. I can’t wait to watch it again. The Wolf of Wall Street will be on Blu-ray March 25.

GAME OF THRONES: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON
(2013, Blu-ray released February 18, 2014 – MSRP $79.98)

THE SERIES:

“In the third season of the hit HBO drama series Game of Thrones, the Lannisters are barely holding onto power after a savage naval onslaught from Stannis Baratheon, while stirrings in the North threaten to alter the overall balance of power in Westeros. Robb Stark, King in the North, is facing major calamity in his efforts to build on his victories over the Lannisters while beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder and his huge army of wildlings continue their inexorable march south. Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys Targaryen – reunited with her three fast-maturing dragons – attempts to raise an army to sail with her from Essos, in hopes of eventually claiming the Iron Throne. “

Wow. Another killer month of new Criterion titles including the long-awaited high-def reissue of Wes Anderson‘s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and a totally drool-worthy edition of Howard Hawks‘ Red River that features not one, but two versions of the film, both newly restored. As excited as I am to get my hands on those titles, the film of the lot I’ve been dying to see is Abbas Kiarostami‘s Like Someone in Love, the legendary director’s latest opus. I just love the fact that an Iranian filmmaker took the chance to make a movie in Japan, shot in the land-of-the-rising-sun’s native tongue. Awesome!

Werner Herzog‘s take on Nosferatu is one of my all time favourite films. It’s also been one of the DVDs in my collection that perpetually pains me. It’s old, non-anamorphic transfer is like a pox on my eyes. A pox I’ve been suffering since the ’90s. Thanks to the lords of horror home video, otherwise known as Scream Factory, I’m about to be able to bin my old, well worn DVD and grace my poor, sullied eyeballs with a brand spanking new high-def transfer of one of the best films ever made. Nosferatu the Vampyre hits Blu on May 20.

Mel Brooks‘ cowboy genre send-up Blazing Saddles has been available on Blu since 2006. Warner is finally re-issuing the title in a deluxe 40th Anniversary edition, complete with new special features and added googahs. The VC-1 transfer on the original release was decent but was saddled with a weak, lossy Dolby Digital audio track. If this new edition gives the audio a bump up to lossless DTS-MA, the 40th Anniversary Edition will be a must-buy for all fans.

Note: the new disc appears to have lost the 4-minute long “Intimate Portrait: Madeline Kahn” featurette. If that’s a big deal to you, you better hold on to your old disc.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR
(2014, Blu-ray released February 4, 2014 – MSRP $24.98)

THE FILM:

“When the powerful Darkseid and his massive, relentless forces invade Earth, a group of previously unaligned super heroes – misunderstood and, in some cases, hunted by the authorities – discover the only way to fend off the attack will be to work together as a cohesive unit. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Shazam and, in his origin story, Cyborg combine their respective talents in an all-out battle to save the planet. Based on the 2012 graphic novel, “Justice League: Origin,” by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee, JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR provides a glance into the world before the Justice League was created, and offers the initial animated incarnation of DC Entertainment’s “The New 52.” “