My Say On Blu Ray

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

A boy unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares. 14-year-old Darren was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend, got decent grades and usually stayed out of trouble. But when he and his buddy stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That's the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley turns him into something, well, bloodthirsty.

Starring: John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Massoglia, Jessica Carlson
Director: Paul Weitz

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has revealed the disc details and special features for 'Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant', which as previously reported, will be released on Blu-ray on February 23. The movie will come in a single-sided, non-flipper BD50, and will offer advanced use of the "pocket Blu" feature for iPhone and iPod touch.

Special features include:

• U-Control:
  • Picture-in-Picture: Watch featurettes about the making of Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, matching the action onscreen.
• Deleted scenes
• Guide to becoming a vampire: a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of 'Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant', including casting, filming the movie's biggest scenes and making the Cirque and its freaks come to life.
• Tour du Freak: A behind-the-scenes look at the movie sets of the Cirque.
• BD-Live:
  • social BLU: Connect with friends on your favorite social networks to share information about your favorite movies, enjoy Blu-ray community features and more.
  • My Scenes: Bookmark your favorite scenes from the movie then share with your BD-Live buddies.
• pocket BLU:
  • Advanced Remote Control: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live functions with ease.
  • Video Timeline: By turning the phone to landscape mode, users will bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the movie.
  • Mobile-To-Go: Users can unlock a selection of exclusive bonus content with their Blu-ray discs to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there's a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy exclusive content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
  • Browse Titles: Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray. They can view free previews and see what additional content is available to unlock on their device.
  • Pop-Up Keyboard: Enter data into a Blu-ray player with this easy and intuitive keyboard that will facilitate such Blu-ray features as chatting with friends and sending messages.

Universal will soon be releasing pocket Blu for Blackberry and Android smart phones.

A group of soldiers, scientists and civilians, fleeing an attack, finding themselves stranded billions of miles from Earth on an Ancient ship known as the Destiny. Locked on an unknown course, they must fight to survive and find a way home. The danger, adventure and hope they find on board the Destiny will reveal the heroes and villains among them.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring 'Stargate SG-U: Season One' to Blu-ray on February 9th. This two-disc set will feature all nine episodes of the first season presented in 1.78:1 1080p AVC video accompanied by a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.

Special features for this release includes:

• Audio Commentaries
• Destiny SML
  • Robert Carlyle
  • Louis Ferreira
  • Lou Diamond Phillips
  • Ming-Na
  • David Blue
  • A Brand New "Universe"
  • Designing Destiny
  • Inside Destiny
  • Alaina Huffman
  • Brian J Smith
  • Elyse Levesque
  • Jamil Walker Smith
  • Director's Minutes; William Waring, Water
  • Falling Through Ice
  • On the Ice
  • Setting the (Alien) Mood
  • Out on the Town
  • A Stunt in Tight Places
  • Director's Minutes; Ernest R. Dickerson, Earth
  • Helmet-Cam 101
  • Shooting in the Rain
  • Let it Rain
  • Fight!
  • Future/Past: The New Stargate
  • A New Look for SGU
• Stargate 101: Presented by Dr. Daniel Jackson
  • The Stargate
  • The GOA 'ULD
  • Hyperspace
  • The Ancients
  • Ascension
  • Lucian Alliance
• Kawoosh 2.0
• Chatting with the cast: Shooting on the Destiny
• Director's Minutes; Andy Mikita
• No Day at the Beach
• White Sands
• Kino Video Diaries
  • Kino 101 with Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper
  • Young "Get that thing out of here"
  • Eli: Mess with Greer, Scott and TJ
  • Spencer and Brody sneaking smokes
  • Voyeur Scott and Chloe's conversation
  • Eli: Chloe interviewed in her room
  • Destiny Tour
  • James in the Shower
  • Kino Race
  • Favorite meal bit
  • Brody and Riley try on space suits
  • Brody after Riley accident
  • Riley Diary
  • Park Diary
  • Voyeur Scott and Chole's embrace by window
  • Inman makes alcohol concoction then hears explosion

Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day (Release Date: 2/23/10)
The boys are back and wilder than ever in the smash hit sequel  -- Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day. When Ricky (Robb Wells, Trailer Park Boys: The Movie, A Hole in One), Julian (John Paul Tremblay, Trailer Park Boys: The Movie, A Hole in One) and Bubbles (Mike Smith, Trailer Park Boys: The Movie) are finally released from jail, they return home to find their trailer park deserted. In an effort to save their home, they jump right back into a life of crime, and in a drunken haze wreak mayhem and hilarity wherever they go. Produced by Ivan Reitman (Animal House, Old School, I Love You, Man), Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day will leave you ripped, roaring and thirsting for more foul-mouthed comedy gold. Bonus material on this side-splitting release includes the featurettes Sunnyvale Stories: The Making of The Countdown to Liquor Day and Randy Gets a Hair Cut along with audio commentary, deleted scenes and an alternate ending.

After becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, Amelia was thrust into a new role as America's sweetheart - the legendary "goddess of light," known for her bold, larger-than-life charisma. Yet, even with her global fame solidified, her belief in flirting with danger and standing up as her own, outspoken woman never changed. She was an inspiration to people everywhere, from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to the men closest to her heart: her husband, promoter and publishing magnate George P. Putnam, and her long time friend and lover, pilot Gene Vidal. In the summer of 1937, Amelia set off on her most daunting mission yet: a solo flight around the world that she and George both anxiously foresaw as destined, whatever the outcome, to become one of the most talked-about journeys in history.

For more details about Amelia on Blu-ray, see the Amelia Blu-ray Review

Starring: Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston
Director: Mira Nair

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced the technical specs and special features for the upcoming Blu-ray release of 'Amelia', which is scheduled for released on February 2nd. For this release, video will be presented in 1080p AVC accompanied by a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.

Special features for this release include:

• Deleted scenes
• Making Amelia
• The Power of Amelia Earhart
• The Plane Behind the Legend
• Re-constructing the Planes of Amelia
• Movietone News
• Digital Copy
  

When a sacred Buddha statuette called Ong-bak is stolen from Ting's (Tony Jaa) village by a shady businessman intent on realizing a profit from his ill-gotten gain, Ting takes it upon himself to reclaim the pilfered religious treasure by following the trail of clues to Bangkok. And Ting's the right man for the job, as he possesses an impressive array of Muay Thai fighting skills that can lay out all his adversaries.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced the Blu-ray release of the Thai martial arts movie 'Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior' on February 2, thus tying in with the release of its prequel, 'Ong Bak 2: The Beginning', by Magnolia Home Entertainment (see blu-ray.com, November 23). Audio will be presented in English and Thai DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks.

Note that this edition will only include the shorter, 101-minute "international" cut of the movie.

Special features include:

• Tony Jaa and stuntman performance at French screening
• The 8 Movements of Muay Thai
• French rap music video with Tony Jaa
• Making of the music video
• B-Roll (behind the scenes):
  • Taxi stunts
  • Legs-ablaze fight sequence
  • Arena fight sequence

Two men have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus is a big wuss -- but when you're afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee is an AK-totin', zombie-slayin' badass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita and Little Rock, who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.

For more details about Zombieland on Blu-ray, see the Zombieland Blu-ray Review

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard
Director: Ruben Fleischer

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that it will release 'Zombieland' on Blu-ray on February 2, 2010. This horror comedy about a group of survivors of a plague that has turned mankind into flesh-devouring zombies was very well received by critics and moviegoers, grossing over $75 million domestically.

Special features include:

• “Beyond the Graveyard”: Behind-the-scenes picture-in-picture track (BD-exclusive)
• Commentary with actors Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, director Ruben Fleischer, and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick
• Go Behind-the-Scenes with “In Search of Zombieland”
• “Zombieland is Your Land”: The zombification of the United States
• Deleted scenes
• Visual effects progression scenes
• movieIQ
• Theatrical promo trailers
• PS3 Wallpaper
• Digital copy

In order to save his kidnapped daughter, an ex-Marine is forced to take on a gang of killers when an accident leaves the brother of a malicious criminal dead.

Starring: Rob Van Dam, David Bautista, Ja Rule, Stormy Daniels, Ava Santana
Director: David DeFalco

Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced and detailed 'Wrong Side of Town', starring WWE veterans David Bautista, Rob Van Dam and Nelson Frazier Jr. This action movie, about a former Navy Seal fighting a criminal gang, will hit store shelves on February 23, 2010 and will be presented in 1080p video with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.

Special features include:

• Featurettes:
  • Set Life with Ron Van Dam
  • Interviews with the stars
  • Stunts with Ron Van Dam
• Kali training video with David Bautista, Marrese Crump and Oscar Lugo
  

Four Midwestern couples embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resort's couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couple

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Kristen Bell
Director: Peter Billingsley

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced 'Couples Retreat' for release on Blu-ray on February 9, 2010. This marital-therapy comedy starring Vince Vaughn grossed over $107 million domestically, making it Universal's second-biggest movie this year. This will not be a "flipper" BD/DVD release, although it will include a digital copy on disc.

Special features include:

• Feature commentary with director Peter Billingsley and star Vince Vaughn
• Alternate ending: Back in Chicago
• Gag Reel
• Therapy's Greatest Hits
• Paradise Found: Filming in Bora Bora
• Behind the Yoga

In the UK, 'Couples Retreat' is being released on Blu-ray on February 8, with identical technical specifications and release details as on the US edition, minus the digital copy.

From the best-selling and critically acclaimed novel by David Peace, 'The Damned United' is directed by Tom Hooper and stars Michael Sheen as the legendary, opinionated football manager Brian Clough. Timothy Spall stars as his right hand man, only friend, and crutch Peter Taylor. Set in 1960's and 1970's England, 'The Damned United' tells the confrontational and darkly humorous story of Brian Clough's doomed 44 day tenure as manager of the reigning champions of English football, Leeds United.

Starring: Michael Sheen

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced 'The Damned United' for release on Blu-ray on February 23, 2010. This movie is based on the incredible true story of soccer manager Brian Clough and his 44 controversial days at the helm of Leeds United. Release details mirror those of the UK edition, released in August 2009 and reviewed by blu-ray.com (see here).

Special features include:

• Commentary with director Tom Hooper, Michael Sheen and producer Andy Harries
• Deleted scenes with optional director's commentary
• Cloughisms with optional director's commentary
• Perfect Pitch: The Making of The Damned United
• Creating Clough: Michael Sheen takes on 'Old Big 'Ead'
• Remembering Brian
• The Changing Game: Football in the Seventies