{"id":85521,"date":"2017-06-19T05:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/?p=85521"},"modified":"2017-06-26T06:42:29","modified_gmt":"2017-06-26T13:42:29","slug":"bluray-highlights-jun-20-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/bluray-highlights-jun-20-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray Highlights: Week of June 18th, 2017 &#8211; Sweet, Too Short, Like a Box of Chocolates&#8230; Choose Your Own Pun"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>No exciting blockbusters on Blu-ray this week, sadly. The biggest release of the week was a box office bomb. The few interesting new discs available are arty or cult catalog titles.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<div id=\"polls-825\" class=\"wp-polls\">\n\t<form id=\"polls_form_825\" class=\"wp-polls-form\" action=\"\/blog\/index.php\" method=\"post\">\n\t\t<p style=\"display: none;\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"poll_825_nonce\" name=\"wp-polls-nonce\" value=\"ce12456362\" \/><\/p>\n\t\t<p style=\"display: none;\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"poll_id\" value=\"825\" \/><\/p>\n\t\t<p style=\"display: none;\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"poll_multiple_ans_825\" name=\"poll_multiple_ans_825\" value=\"31\" \/><\/p>\n\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Which Blu-rays Interest You This Week (6\/20\/17)?<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"polls-825-ans\" class=\"wp-polls-ans\"><ul class=\"wp-polls-ul\">\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15207\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15207\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15207\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/40114\/8millionwaystodie.html\">8 Million Ways to Die<\/a>' (Kino)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15208\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15208\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15208\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/47781\/airplane1_22.html\">Airplane: 2-Movie Collection<\/a>' (Paramount)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15209\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15209\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15209\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/46189\/altitude.html\">Altitude (2017)<\/a>' (Lionsgate)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15210\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15210\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15210\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/45506\/bakersman.html\">Baker's Man<\/a>' (Gravitas Ventures)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15211\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15211\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15211\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/44539\/thebigocompletecollection.html\">The Big O: Complete Collection<\/a>' (Sentai Filmworks)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15212\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15212\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15212\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/45702\/bird_crystal_plumage2.html\">The Bird with the Crystal Plumage<\/a>' (Arrow)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15213\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15213\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15213\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/44856\/carwash.html\">Car Wash<\/a>' (Shout! Factory)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15214\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15214\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15214\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/45317\/dragonballzkaifinalchapterspartthree.html\">Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters Part Three<\/a>' (FUNimation)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15215\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15215\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15215\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/46768\/theduelist.html\">The Duelist<\/a>' (Sony)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15216\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15216\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15216\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/47076\/elian.html\">Elian<\/a>' (Gravitas Ventures)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15217\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15217\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15217\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/44294\/himoutoumaruchancompletecollection.html\">Himouto Umaru-Chan: Complete Collection (Premium Edition)<\/a>' (Sentai Filmworks)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15218\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15218\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15218\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/43913\/islandofterror.html\">Island of Terror<\/a>' (Scream Factory)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15219\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15219\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15219\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/46636\/joebonamassaliveatcarnegiehallanacousticevening.html\">Joe Bonamassa: Live at Carnegie Hall - An Acoustic Evening<\/a>' (J&amp;R Adventures)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15220\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15220\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15220\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/47124\/joeversusthevolcano.html\">Joe Versus the Volcano<\/a>' (Warner Archive)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15221\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15221\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15221\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/3822\/lawnmowerman.html\">The Lawnmower Man: Collector's Edition<\/a>' (Scream Factory)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15222\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15222\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15222\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/45262\/life2017.html\">Life (2017)<\/a>' (Sony)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15223\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15223\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15223\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/ultrahd.highdefdigest.com\/45265\/lifeultrahdbluray.html\">Life (2017) \u2013 Ultra HD Blu-ray<\/a>' (Sony)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15224\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15224\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15224\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/44972\/themarseilletrilogy.html\">The Marseille Trilogy<\/a>' (Criterion)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15225\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15225\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15225\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/44417\/midsummernightsdream.html\">A Midsummer Night's Dream<\/a>' (Kino)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15226\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15226\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15226\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/46356\/norn9completecollection.html\">Norn9: Complete Collection<\/a>' (Sentai Filmworks)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15227\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15227\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15227\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/44751\/thepaulnaschycollection.html\">The Paul Naschy Collection<\/a>' (Scream Factory)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15228\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15228\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15228\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/45311\/pingpongtheanimationcompleteseriessave.html\">Ping Pong: The Animation - Complete Series (S.A.V.E.)<\/a>' (FUNimation)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15229\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15229\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15229\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/45002\/railroadtigers.html\">Railroad Tigers<\/a>' (Well Go USA)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15230\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15230\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15230\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/46906\/sailormoonsseason3part2.html\">Sailor Moon S: Season 3 Part 2<\/a>' (Viz)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15231\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15231\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15231\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/45327\/sevendeadlysinsseasononeparttwo.html\">Seven Deadly Sins: Season One Part Two<\/a>' (FUNimation)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15232\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15232\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15232\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/45051\/sourgrapes.html\">Sour Grapes<\/a>' (Gravitas Ventures)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15233\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15233\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15233\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/42315\/tenlittleindians.html\">Ten Little Indians<\/a>' (Scorpion Releasing)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15234\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15234\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15234\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/45259\/thunderbirdsarego1966thunderbird619682.html\">Thunderbirds Are Go \/ Thunderbird 6 (Reissue)<\/a>' (Kino)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15235\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15235\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15235\">'<a href=\"http:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/46817\/wilson.html\">Wilson<\/a>' (20th Century Fox)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15236\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15236\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15236\">Other (Tell us in the Comments)<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"poll-answer-15237\" name=\"poll_825\" value=\"15237\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-15237\">Nothing for me this week<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><input type=\"button\" name=\"vote\" value=\"   Vote   \" class=\"Buttons\" onclick=\"poll_vote(825);\" \/><\/p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"#ViewPollResults\" onclick=\"poll_result(825); return false;\" title=\"View Results Of This Poll\">View Results<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"polls-825-loading\" class=\"wp-polls-loading\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-polls\/images\/loading.gif\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading ...\" title=\"Loading ...\" class=\"wp-polls-image\" \/>&nbsp;Loading ...<\/div>\n\n<h2>New Releases<\/h2>\n<p>&#8216;<strong>Life<\/strong>&#8216; \u2013 From the generic title, this could be either a big screen spinoff of the BBC nature documentary series, an adaptation of the classic children&#8217;s board game, or possibly a remake of a forgettable 1999 Eddie Murphy prison comedy. What it really turns out to be is a shameless &#8216;Alien&#8217; knockoff in which a team of astronauts on board the International Space Station (Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson and Hiroyuki Sanada) discover the first confirmed extraterrestrial cellular lifeform, which quickly grows, mutates, and stalks and chases them through the station to eat them one by one. You&#8217;ve seen this before. We&#8217;ve all seen this before. I have at least one friend who claims that it&#8217;s a decently efficient B-movie, but critics were generally unimpressed and domestic audiences gave it a pass. The movie did better overseas, but not enough that you should expect a sequel. Hopefully the VFX and outer space scenes are eye candy enough to justify the Ultra HD edition.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;<strong>Wilson<\/strong>&#8216; \u2013 Woody Harrelson stars as an crotchety misanthrope who struggles to reconnect with his ex-wife (Laura Dern) and form a relationship with a teenage daughter he only recently learned exists. Despite a screenplay adapted by author Daniel Clowes from his own graphic novel, reviews were mixed to negative, most comparing it unfavorably to the superior adaptation of Clowes&#8217; &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/44014\/ghostworld.html\">Ghost World<\/a>&#8216; (just released on Blu-ray by Criterion last week). <\/p>\n<h2>Catalog Titles<\/h2>\n<p>Newly enshrined in the Criterion Collection is &#8216;<strong>The Marseille Trilogy<\/strong>&#8216;, a trio of French movies from the 1930s by Marcel Pagnol, an author, playwright, and early auteur of the &#8220;talkies.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p>Very nearly as acclaimed in the annals of film history is Richard Pryor&#8217;s 1976 comedy &#8216;<strong>Car Wash<\/strong>&#8216;, now inducted into the pantheon of Shout! Factory&#8217;s esteemed Shout Select line. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Scream Factory jacks into the web for the dopey Virtual Reality thriller &#8216;<strong>The Lawnmower Man<\/strong>&#8216;, which was allegedly based on a short story by Stephen King that had nothing at all to do with computers or VR. (It&#8217;s about some sort of pagan god who murders people with a lawnmower.) The author was so offended that he sued to have his name removed from the movie&#8217;s marketing. This thing looked cheesy and dated even when it premiered in 1992. I can&#8217;t imagine watching it now, but our reviewer E. still enjoys it. I suppose, if ever there were a good excuse to watch a movie on an Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear VR, this might be the one to start with.<\/p>\n<p>Also from Scream Factory are the 1966 British horror thriller &#8216;<strong>Island of Terror<\/strong>&#8216; and &#8216;<strong>The Paul Naschy Collection<\/strong>&#8216;, which compiles five monster flicks from the European cult star.<\/p>\n<p>Dario Argento&#8217;s directorial debut, the 1970 giallo thriller &#8216;<strong>The Bird with the Crystal Plumage<\/strong>&#8216;, was previously released on Blu-ray twice before, first by Blue Underground in 2009 and then by VCI in 2013. Both discs received respectable reviews for the times they were issued. Nevertheless, Arrow Video gives the movie a third (and hopefully definitive) go-round, this time with a new 4k film scan and a host of exclusive bonus features.<\/p>\n<p>Scorpion Releasing goes sleuthing with the 1974 adaptation of Agatha Christie&#8217;s classic whodunit mystery &#8216;<strong>Ten Little Indians<\/strong>&#8216;.<\/p>\n<p>The Warner Archive unearths the weird Tom Hanks\/Meg Ryan romantic comedy &#8216;<strong>Joe Versus the Volcano<\/strong>&#8216;. The film was not much of a critical or box office success when it was released in 1990, but Roger Ebert inexplicably adored it and the movie gained a cult audience over time. Personally, after watching it, I felt that chucking every existing copy into a volcano was the only suitable fate for it. (I had a similar reaction to playwright\/screenwriter John Patrick Shanley&#8217;s &#8216;Moonstruck&#8217;, which won him an Oscar, so perhaps I just don&#8217;t get the guy&#8217;s sense of humor.)<\/p>\n<p>From the product listing, Kino&#8217;s reissue of the Supermarionation double-feature &#8216;<strong>Thunderbirds Are Go\/Thunderbird 6<\/strong>&#8216; appears to be a direct copy of the <a href=\"https:\/\/bluray.highdefdigest.com\/11582\/thunderbirdsarego1966thunderbird61968.html\">Twilight Time Blu-ray from 2014<\/a>, just with new cover art. That&#8217;s good news if you missed out on that limited edition.<\/p>\n<p>Other titles licensed by Kino include the 1986 crime drama &#8216;<strong>8 Million Ways to Die<\/strong>&#8216;, which was the final feature film from &#8216;Harold and Maud&#8217; director Hal Ashby (sadly, generally regarded one of his weakest efforts), and Julie Taymor&#8217;s filmed stage production of Shakespeare&#8217;s &#8216;<strong>A Midsummer Night&#8217;s Dream<\/strong>&#8216;. <\/p>\n<p>Finally, Paramount bundles &#8216;<strong>Airplane!<\/strong>&#8216; and its lesser sequel into a 2-Movie Collection. <\/p>\n<h2>My $.02<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;m not much of a Dario Argento fan, but I have some passing interest in checking out &#8216;The Bird with the Crystal Plumage&#8217;. If Kino bothers to send a screener for the &#8216;Thunderbirds&#8217; double-feature, I&#8217;ll review it and compare to the Twilight Time copy. Otherwise, I&#8217;m content to save my money this week. <\/p>\n<p>Do you see anything on the list this week that your life won&#8217;t be complete without? <\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No exciting blockbusters on Blu-ray this week, sadly. The biggest release of the week was a box office bomb. The few interesting new discs available are arty or cult catalog titles.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_excerpt -->","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":85524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[5239,3601,9642,67,6375,666,2639,9643,7316,8596,194,5997,9498],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85521"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85521"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85563,"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85521\/revisions\/85563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highdefdigest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}