Titans will clash\u2026 on Blu-ray! Well, not really. There’s actually only one major day-and-date release this week, and it’s kind of a stinker. But there are a bunch of catalog titles coming out, and maybe we’ll find something interesting in there. Let’s take a look.<\/p>\n
Here’s the release list:<\/p>\n
Obviously, the big dog in the room is the ‘Clash of the Titans<\/strong>‘ remake, which grossed nearly $500 million worldwide earlier this year despite almost unanimous agreement that it’s a terrible, terrible movie. Being awful never stopped any other blockbuster from selling like hotcakes on video. I expect nothing less from this one. In its favor, at least the Blu-ray release is presented in 2-D only, which will certainly be a big improvement over the atrocious after-the-fact 3-D conversion that played in theaters. <\/p>\n Personally, the title I’m most excited about is the animated ‘G.I. Joe: The Movie<\/strong>‘ from 1987. Yes, objectively, it’s also pretty terrible. But it’s an important part of my childhood, and I love it anyway. You can click on the link above for my full review.<\/p>\n Speaking of guilty pleasures from the ’80s, did you ever imagine that the Nazi puppet schlock-fest ‘Puppet Master<\/strong>‘ would get a Blu-ray release? I sure didn’t. Nonetheless, Full Moon gives us the 1989 original as well as the most recent sequel. Tom is sort of a fan. Check out his review.<\/p>\n In what must be an attempt at cross-promotion for the upcoming theatrical release of ‘The Expendables’, Lionsgate is reissuing Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Rambo<\/strong>‘ in a new “Extended Cut” that I’m sure will deliver even more stomach-churning gore. To go along with this, the studio has also put together a new “Complete Collection” box set that repackages all four movies from the series. (Previously, only the first three were boxed together<\/a>.) Oddly, the Complete Collection contains only the older<\/em> theatrical cut disc for ‘Rambo’, not the new Extended Cut. What’s the point of that? <\/p>\n Because Mickey Rourke makes an appearance in ‘The Expendables’, Lionsgate also offers up Walter Hill’s 1989 crime drama ‘Johnny Handsome<\/strong>‘, in which he stars. Do you remember when Mickey Rourke actually used to be handsome? It’s been a while, huh? It’s hard to believe that they had to put makeup appliances on his face to make him look deformed in this movie. Nowadays, they’d just need to photograph him as he looks when he gets out of bed in the morning.<\/p>\n I’ve heard good things about Donnie Yen’s kung-fu actioner ‘Ip Man<\/strong>‘, despite its goofy title. I haven’t seen it, but would be willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.<\/p>\n Criterion also has a new release this week, a 2007 French drama called ‘The Secret of the Grain<\/strong>‘. I haven’t seen this one either. Aaron wasn’t impressed when he reviewed the Blu-ray. I guess they can’t all be masterpieces.<\/p>\n Oh, and in case you still see a listing for a “Definitive Edition” re-release of ‘Quantum of Solace<\/a>‘ on July 28th, I’m pretty sure that’s not actually happening. First off, the 28th is a Wednesday, which is not traditionally a day for home video releases. More importantly, MGM never confirmed details for the release, and most retailers dropped the listing. I assume that this was a casualty of the studio’s crippling financial problems. <\/p>\n