We have a special double edition of the best new releases on Blu-ray in The United States for you this week. The new releases include “Weeds Season Four” with Mary-Louise Parker, “Revolutionary Road” with Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, “Defiance” with Daniel Craig and “Powder Blue” with Jessica Biel. Check them all out along with our pick of the week after the break…
As we explained in our UK releases article published earlier today, we have a double edition for you this week after we missed lasts week’s round up because of some technical difficulties that have now been resolved.
The last two weeks of new releases in North America haven’t been particularly great, especially if you compare them with the stacked release list for the 19th of May, which featured a whole bunch of must have discs. As always, check out our “pick of the week” and links to all of the new releases below.
Highlights this week start with our pick for the UK releases a couple of weeks back with Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber’s “Defiance” which we would still recommend, The BBC has another incredible nature documentary to follow up “Planet Earth” with in “Nature’s Most Amazing Events” which features more stunning HD footage, and Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Earth documentary “Home” could also be worth a look. Dustin Hoffman’s classic flick “The Graduate” arrives on the Blu with a semi-decent offering, Denzel Washington and Chiewtel Ejiofor are directed by Spike Lee in the clever “Inside Man”, Ben Affleck and an all-star cast pretty up the screen in the mediocre “He’s Just Not That Into You”, and Harrison Ford is a Special Ops-like President in “Air Force One”.
Mary-Louise Parker returns for a fourth season of the excellent “Weeds” which is a fine and affordable set at $25, Clive Owen’s “Children of Men” is a treat for anyone not yet initiated, Jessica Biel strips in “Powder Blue”, Kevin Costner sees ghosts in classic baseball fantasy “Field of Dreams” and Quentin Tarantino’s “True Romance” rampages onto the format and then O.D.’s with a disappointing picture transfer.
Our pick of the week was a surprisingly easy decision: “Revolutionary Road”, another poignant and introspective effort from one of our favorite directors, Sam Mendes, is a close up slice of 1950’s American Suburbia and a gritty and realistic portrayal of a semmingly glossy married life. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the film doesn’t (and probably can’t) at all times live up to the performances of these two great actors, but it is still a very interesting, thoughtful and at times uncomfortable experience that deserves to be watched. Backed up by a fantastic picture transfer and audio package, this adaptation of Richard Yates’ novel is a decent and somewhat unconventionally satisfying Blu-ray choice in my opinion.
Don’t forget to voice your thoughts and opinions on our pick of the week or any of the latest releases in the comments!
For our international readers, any discs that are reported as region free when we go to press will be marked. A region free disc can be played on any Blu-ray player or PS3 around the world, so is ideal for importers outside of North America.
Children of Men [Blu-ray]
True Romance [Blu-ray]
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Extended Version) [Blu-ray]
The Sky Crawlers [Blu-ray]
Field of Dreams [Blu-ray]
Seabiscuit [Blu-ray]
Powder Blue [Blu-ray]
Falling Down (Blu-ray Book) [Blu-ray]
Cinderella Man [Blu-ray]
Spy Game [Blu-ray]
New in Town [Blu-ray]
La Traviata [Blu-ray]
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete [Blu-ray]
Weeds: Season Four [Blu-ray]
Defiance [Blu-ray]
Nature’s Most Amazing Events [Blu-ray]
Glory [Blu-ray]
The Graduate [Blu-ray]
Air Force One [Blu-ray]
He’s Just Not That Into You [Blu-ray]
Revolutionary Road [Blu-ray]
Inside Man [Blu-ray]
Neil Young Archives, Vol. 1: 1963-1972 (10 Disc Blu-Ray) [Blu-ray]
Road House [Blu-ray]
NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers - Road to XLIII [Blu-ray]
Fletch [Blu-ray]
Out of Time [Blu-ray]
Bruce Almighty [Blu-ray]
Elsewhere [Blu-ray]
Life After People (History) [Blu-ray] (Amazon Exclusive)
Direct Contact [Blu-ray]
Rollerball [Blu-ray]
Walking Tall [Blu-ray]
Home [Blu-ray]
Gosford Park (Blu-Ray) [Blu-ray]
