#3: Man of Steel (Blu-ray+DVD+UltraViolet Combo Pack)

Man of Steel (Blu-ray+DVD+UltraViolet Combo Pack)
Henry Cavill (Actor), Amy Adams (Actor), Zack Snyder (Director) | Format: Blu-ray
(195)

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At a time when comic book heroes are increasingly distinguished by their flaws, Superman's status as the ultimate good guy has caused him to fall out of favor. (How do you get audiences to relate to a dude who can push the moon out of orbit and has the morals of an Eagle Scout?) Man of Steel, producer Christopher Nolan's attempt to give the hero a Dark Knight retrofit, succeeds in giving the character a fresh start, courtesy of both a gargantuan sense of scale, and Henry Cavill's winningly unironic central performance. Devotees of Christopher Reeve's legendary mild-mannered portrayal may find themselves missing the sequences of quiet time from the previous films (the steadily escalating plot spares little time for cats stuck in trees), but this still manages to uphold the gee-whiz qualities that made people buy the comics in the first place. For all of the stunning bangs and gigantic sonic booms, its greatest achievement may be in making Superman's fundamental squareness feel like a virtue again. Nolan and director Zack Snyder (Watchmen) have kept the basic elements of the origin story--infant survivor of an alien world comes to Earth, crash lands in Kansas, grows up big and really, really strong--while putting a spin on virtually all of the details. Here, Krypton is depicted as a wonderfully baroque '50s sci-fi menagerie, X-ray vision has some painful flaws, and Lois Lane (Amy Adams) isn't the type of person to be fooled by a pair of glasses. The spirit of reinvention carries over to the cast, with the perfect chemistry of Cavill and Adams aided by admirably serious-minded supporting performances from the likes of Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, and the tremendously intense Michael Shannon, as a super-powered conqueror with his own special motivation for assuming control. (Like most great villains, he doesn't see himself as the bad guy.) Superhero movies have always had a problem knowing when to say when, and Man of Steel doesn't exactly break from tradition in that regard, with a climactic fight scene that eventually turns into a well-staged but numbing series of explosions. (Godzilla would be taken aback by the levels of property damage.) Bumps aside, however, this still stands as a tremendous first step in a new direction, with a final line that suggests even better things may be in store. The canvas finally feels large enough to support the myth. --Andrew Wright Read more

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#7: World War Z (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy)

World War Z (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy)
Brad Pitt (Actor), Mireille Enos (Actor) | Format: Blu-ray
(78)

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A former UN investigator is thrust into the middle of trying to stop what could be the end of the world. Worldwide destruction sends him around the globe seeking clues about what they are fighting and what it will take to defeat it, as he tries to save the lives of billions of strangers, as well as his own beloved family.Few monsters lend themselves better to allegory than the zombie. In the years since George Romero first set the shambling mold with Night of the Living Dead, filmmakers have been using the undead as handy substitutes for concepts as varied as mall-walking consumers, punk rockers, soccer hooligans, and every political movement imaginable. (All this, plus brain chomping.) World War Z, the mega-scale adaptation of Max Brooks's richly detailed faux-historical novel, presents a zombie apocalypse on a ginormous level never seen before on film. Somehow, however, the sheer size of the scenario, coupled with a distinct lack of visceral explicitness, ends up blunting much of the metaphoric impact. While the globe-hopping action certainly doesn't want for spectacle, viewers may find themselves wishing there was something more to, you know, chew on. Director Marc Forster and his team of screenwriters (including J. Michael Straczynski and Lost's Damon Lindelof) have kept the basic gist of the source material, in which an unexplained outbreak results in a rapidly growing army of the undead. Unlike the novel's sprawling collection of unrelated narrators, however, the film streamlines the plot, following a retired United Nations investigator (Brad Pitt) who must leave his family behind in order to seek out the origins of the outbreak. While the introduction of a central character does help connect some of Brooks's cooler ideas, it also has the curious effect of narrowing the global scale of the crisis. By the time of the third act, in which Pitt finds himself under siege in a confined space, the once epic scope has decelerated into something virtually indistinguishable from any other zombie movie. Even if it's not a genre changer, though, World War Z still has plenty to distinguish itself, including a number of well-orchestrated set pieces--this is a movie that will never be shown on airplanes--and the performances, with Pitt's gradually eroding calm strengthened by a crew of supporting actors (including Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, and a fantastically loony David Morse) who manage to make a large impression in limited time. Most importantly, it's got those tremendous early scenes of zombie apocalypse, which display a level of frenetic chaos that's somehow both over-the-top and eerily plausible. When the fleet-footed ghouls start dogpiling en masse, even the most level-headed viewer may find themselves checking the locks and heading for the basement. --Andrew Wright Read more

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#9: Despicable Me 2 (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)

Despicable Me 2 (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)
Steve Carell (Actor), Kristen Wiig (Actor), Chris Renaud (Director), Pierre Coffin (Director) | Format: Blu-ray
(37)

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Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's worldwide blockbuster Despicable Me entertained audiences around the globe in 2010, grossing more than $540 million and becoming the 10th-biggest animated motion picture in U.S. history. In summer 2013, get ready for more Minion madness in Despicable Me 2. Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy adventure featuring the return of (former?) super-villain Gru (Steve Carell), his adorable girls, the unpredictably hilarious Minions...and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.Sticky doesn't begin to describe Gru's new life: the ex-supervillain has given up his villainous ways and he and Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) have settled into the legitimate business of making jellies and jams with the help of his army of minions. Parenting is no less sticky, and the fact that Gru will go to any length to ensure the happiness of his adopted girls Agnes, Edith, and Margo is evident by the elaborate birthday party he's throwing for Agnes that includes a live unicorn and a princess named Gruzinkerbell. Anti-Villain League operative Lucy Wild (Kristen Wiig) kidnaps Gru after the party, using an arsenal of spy gadgetry that would make James Bond jealous, and the agency solicits his help in apprehending a criminal who's made an entire secret lab disappear from the Arctic Circle and stolen a dangerous transmutation formula. The lure of excitement tempts Gru, and he and Lucy set up an undercover operation in a bakery in Paradise Mall, the minions start cranking out cupcakes, and Gru and Lucy begin investigating their fellow business owners. Meanwhile, Agnes pines for a mother, Margo finds her first boyfriend, Dr. Nefario takes a more exciting job, a slew of minions go missing, and Gru staunchly refuses to enter the dating scene. Little does Gru know that his whole life is about to change once again. The minions and their antics are quite funny in this second film, and, for the 10-and-under crowd, they completely steal the show. For the older crowd, the film does a decent job of further developing Gru's character and provides lots of comedic material in the exaggeration of the many challenges of parenthood as well as through the wacky exploits of the minions. (Ages 6 and older) --Tami Horiuchi Read more

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#5: Evil Dead (Blu-ray + UltraViolet Digital Copy)

Evil Dead (Blu-ray + UltraViolet Digital Copy)
Format: Blu-ray
(159)
Release Date: July 16, 2013

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A secluded cabin. An ancient curse. An unrelenting evil. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell reunite to present a genuinely terrifying re-imagining of their original horror masterpiece. Five young friends have found the mysterious and fiercely powerful Book of the Dead. Unable to resist its temptation, they release a violent demon on a blood-thirsty quest to possess them all. Who will be left to fight for their survival and defeat this unearthly force of murderous carnage?You leave a staple gun lying around an isolated cabin, you're asking for trouble. But that's the least of the mortal worries in Evil Dead, the 2013 reboot of Sam Raimi's 1981 kook-classic horror picture. This version takes the same general outline as the original (young people at a cabin, forbidden book of occult spells, all hell breaking loose) and plays it as an intense, blood-soaked exercise in nonstop action. Ostensibly the friends are there to help Mia (Jane Levy) kick her drug addiction, but they get slightly distracted by the dead animals hanging in the basement and the book of incantations wrapped in barbed wire. The nerd (Lou Taylor Pucci) in the group takes the next step--actually speaking some of the book's mumbo-jumbo out loud--and the rest is no-holds-barred, utterly berserk bloodletting. If any of this had real force, or if any of the characters had more than a single character trait to prop them up, maybe Evil Dead could succeed as a genre exercise. Certainly, director Fede Alvarez has the technical skills to horrify an audience for 90 minutes, and the film is grueling in its quest to find a grisly touch that will top the previous scene. But there's absolutely nothing going on beyond the usual template for this kind of movie (didn't Cabin in the Woods finish that off?) and ultimately we're left with another horror picture that relies on people doing stupid things. --Robert Horton Read more

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#7: Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox [Blu-ray]

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox [Blu-ray]
Nathan Fillion (Actor), Ron Perlman (Actor), Jay Oliva (Director) | Format: Blu-ray
(24)
Release Date: July 30, 2013

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We all wish for the chance to go back in time and change the things, for The Flash, that coveted chance is within reach. He traverses time to right a violent, decades-past crime against his mother, but the ripples of his good intentions prove disastrous, as a fractured, alternate reality now exists in place of the familiar one. Stumbling through this twisted reality where even Superman is nowhere to be found, The Flash seeks the trusted wisdom of Batman, only to find a grittier, more violent Dark Knight in his place. Together with the help of Cyborg, they race to restore the continuity of Flash's original timeline while this new world is ravaged by a fierce war between Wonder Woman's Amazons and the Atlanteans, led by a battle hardened Aquaman. With breath taking action and an all-star voice cast featuring Kevin Conroy, C. Thomas Howell and Dana Delany, it's a bold, emotional vision that will forever change the landscape of the DC Universe! Read more

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#1: Alien Anthology [Blu-ray]

Alien Anthology [Blu-ray]
Sigourney Weaver (Actor), Tom Skerritt (Actor), Ridley Scott (Director), David Fincher (Director) | Format: Blu-ray
(799)

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Brace yourself for a whole new breed of Blu-ray: Four powerful films...eight thrilling versions...in dazzling, terrifying, high-def clarity with the purest digital sound on the planet. Two bonus dics and over 65 hours of archival and never-before-seen content, including the totally immersive MU-TH-UR mode feature, makes this definitive Alien collection!Review of Alien
A landmark of science fiction and horror, Alien arrived in 1979 between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back as a stylishly malevolent alternative to George Lucas's space fantasy. Partially inspired by 1958's It! The Terror from Beyond Space, this instant classic set a tone of its own, offering richly detailed sets, ominous atmosphere, relentless suspense, and a flawless ensemble cast as the crew of the space freighter Nostromo, who fall prey to a vicious creature (designed by Swiss artist H.R. Giger) that had gestated inside one of the ill-fated crew members. In a star-making role, Sigourney Weaver excels as sole survivor Ripley, becoming the screen's most popular heroine in a lucrative movie franchise. To measure the film's success, one need only recall the many images that have been burned into our collective psyche, including the "facehugger," the "chestburster," and Ripley's climactic encounter with the full-grown monster. Impeccably directed by Ridley Scott, Alien is one of the cinema's most unforgettable nightmares. --Jeff Shannon

Review of Aliens
Aliens is one of the few cases of a sequel that far surpassed the original. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, who awakens on Earth only to discover that she has been hibernating in space so long that everyone she knows is dead. Then she is talked into traveling (along with a squad of Marines) to a planet under assault by the same aliens that nearly killed her. Once she gets there, she finds a lost little girl who triggers her maternal instincts--and she discovers that the company has once again double-crossed her, in hopes of capturing one of the aliens to study as a military weapon. Directed and written by James Cameron, this is one of the most intensely exciting (not to mention intensely frightening) action films ever, with a large ensemble cast that includes Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, and Michael Biehn. Weaver defined the action woman in this film and walked away with an Oscar nomination for her trouble. --Marshall Fine

Review of Alien 3
The least successful film in this series was directed by stylemaster (and content-underachiever) David Fincher. Ripley, the only survivor of her past mission, awakens on a prison planet in the far corners of the solar system. As she tries to recover, she realizes that not only has an alien gotten loose on the planet, the alien has implanted one of its own within her. As she battles the prison authorities (and is aided by the prisoners) in trying to kill the alien, she must also cope with a distinctly shortened lifespan that awaits her. But the striking imagery makes for muddled action and the script confuses it further. The ending looks startling but it takes a long time--and a not particularly satisfying journey--to get there. --Marshall Fine

Review of Alien Resurrection
Perhaps these films are like the Star Trek movies: The even-numbered episodes are the best ones. Certainly this film (directed by French stylist Jean-Pierre Jeunet) is an improvement over Alien 3, with a script that breathes exciting new life into the franchise. This chapter is set even further in the future, where scientists on a space colony have cloned both the alien and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who died in Alien 3; in doing so, however, they've mixed alien DNA with Ripley's human chromosomes, which gives Ripley surprising power (and a bad attitude). A band of smugglers comes aboard only to discover the new race of aliens--and when the multi-mouthed melonheads get loose, no place is safe. But, on the plus side, they have Ripley as a guide to help them get out. Winona Ryder is on hand as the smugglers' most unlikely crew member (with a secret of her own), but this one is Sigourney's all the way. --Marshall Fine Read more

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#4: Hancock (Unrated Special Edition) [Blu-ray]

Hancock (Unrated Special Edition) [Blu-ray]
Will Smith (Actor), Charlize Theron (Actor), Peter Berg (Director) | Format: Blu-ray
(397)

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Academy Award® nominee Will Smith (Best Actor, The Pursuit of Happyness, 2006) stars in this action-packed comedy as Hancock, a sarcastic, hard-living and misunderstood superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public. When Hancock grudgingly agrees to an extreme makeover from idealistic publicist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman, Juno), his life and reputation rise from the ashes and all seems right again--until he meets a woman (2003 Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron, Best Actress, Monster) with similar powers to his and the key to his secret past.Hancock turns the standard superhero movie inside-out: The title character (Will Smith) can fly, has superstrength, and is invulnerable, but he's also a sloppy, alcoholic jerk who causes millions of dollars in property damage whenever he bothers to fight crime. When he saves the life of a public-relations agent named Ray (Jason Bateman, Arrested Development), Ray decides to improve Hancock's image--starting by having Hancock surrender himself to the authorities and go to prison for his lawless behavior. The idea is that once he's in prison, the crime rate will go up, and people will start to realize Hancock might be of value after all. This is only the first act of Hancock--from there, the movie takes several clever turns that shouldn't be revealed. Hancock isn't a great movie (among other things, director Peter Berg overuses close-ups with a hand-held camera to a degree that may cause motion sickness), but it is an extremely entertaining one. The script, which holds together far better than most superhero movies, has a propulsive plot, good dialogue, some compassion for its characters, and even an actual idea or two. The spectacular action at least gestures towards obeying the laws of physics, which actually makes the special effects more vivid. The three leads (Smith, Bateman, and Charlize Theron as Ray's wife, Mary) deftly balance the movie's mixture of comedy, action, and drama. All in all, a smart subversive twist on a genre that all too often takes itself all too seriously. --Bret Fetzer
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#4: Star Trek Into Darkness (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy)

Star Trek Into Darkness (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy)
Chris Pine (Actor), Zachary Quinto (Actor), J.J. Abrams (Director) | Format: DVD
(273)

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When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death love will be challenged friendships will be torn apart and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: hisA good portion of Trekkies (or Trekkers, depending on one's level of Star Trek obsession) have special affection for episodes of the original TV series that related to Earth and other-Earth cultures visited by the crew of the Enterprise, version 1.0. Some of the shows unfolded in distorted forms of the past, some in the present day of Star Trek's future reality. Director J.J. Abrams recognized the importance of this relationship in his origin-story reboot of the franchise in 2009, and in Star Trek Into Darkness he has made it an even greater touchstone to the roots of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's defining philosophy from nearly 50 years ago. The human home world is key to the plot of this spectacularly bold leap into Star Trek lore, which cleverly continues along the alternate path that was established as separate from the "original" Star Trek universe in Abrams's first whiz-bang crack at advancing the mythology. But it's not just Earth that is cool and imperiled in this rendering of adventure in the 23rd century; Into Darkness also plays with the original conceit that Earthlings were member to a multi-species United Federation of Planets ruled by a "Prime Directive" of noninterference with other civilizations. The conflict comes when rogue elements in the Earth-based Starfleet Command hunger to shift focus from peaceful exploration to militarization, a concept that is anathema to the crew of the Enterprise and her ongoing mission. The new cast is again inventively reunited, each of them further investing their characters with traits that reveal novel acting choices while staying true to the caricatures that are ingrained in our popular culture. The interplay between Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock is deeper, and Zoe Saldana as Uhura is a solid third in their relationship. John Cho (Sulu), Simon Pegg (Scotty), Anton Yelchin (Chekov), and Karl Urban (McCoy) all have standout roles in the overall ensemble mystique as well as the plot-heavy machinations of this incarnation's narrative. Fortunately, the burdens of the story are well served by some important additions to the cast. Benedict Cumberbatch's Shakespearean aura, ferociously imperious gaze, and graceful athleticism make him a formidable villain as the mysterious Starfleet operative John Harrison. Harrison has initiated a campaign of terror on Earth before leading the Enterprise to even greater dangers in the enemy territory of Klingon-controlled space. That his background may make dedicated Trekkies/Trekkers gasp is just one acknowledgment of the substantial and ingrained legacy Star Trek has borne. There are many references, nods and winks to those with deep reverence for the folklore (some of them perhaps a little too close to being inside-baseball), though the fantastical and continually exciting story stands as an expertly crafted tale for complete neophytes. Another new face is Peter Weller--iconically famous in sci-fi-dom as RoboCop--here playing a steely, authoritative Starfleet bigwig who may also be following a hidden agenda. Not only is he running a covert operation, he's also at the helm of a fearsome secret starship that looms over the Enterprise like a shark poised to devour its prey. Which brings us to the awesome CGI effects driving the dazzling visual style of Into Darkness and the endlessly fascinating cosmos it makes real. The wow factor extends from the opening set piece on an alien world of primitive humanoids, garish vegetation, and a roiling volcano to the finale of destruction in a future San Francisco that is elegantly outfitted with gleaming-spired skyscrapers and all manner of flying vehicles. (London also gets a breathtaking 23rd-century makeover). With a coolness that glistens in every immaculately composed shot, the movie never forgets that humanism and creativity make the myriad design details and hyper-technology pop out as much more than eye candy. The biggest achievement of Star Trek Into Darkness is that it hews to the highest standard of a highly celebrated tradition. Though Kirk and co. may bend it a little, the Prime Directive remains unbroken. --Ted Fry Read more

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#9: G.I. Joe: Retaliation (Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy +UltraViolet)

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy +UltraViolet)
Channing Tatum (Actor), Dwayne Johnson (Actor), Jon M. Chu (Director) | Format: Blu-ray
(66)
Release Date: July 30, 2013

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In this sequel, the G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence.For everyone who rolled their eyes even as they were secretly digging 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra as a guilty pleasure (not to mention giving it big box-office clout), this rejiggered sequel will probably prove irresistible. Hasbro and Hollywood have successfully created a franchise based on toy action figures that were introduced almost 50 years ago, now featuring all the guns, glory, and apocalyptic politics of the modern age. Along with that come the heights of preposterous circumstances and childish fantasy that any $200-plus million action movie requires. The video game quality and action figure/comic book childishness notwithstanding, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is anything but childlike with its incalculable body count, physical carnage, and extreme fetishization of violence and techno armaments. Feeling cocky from their vanquishing the evil Cobra organization in the first movie, the Joes are all the more ready to save the world from itself, making clandestine forays into North Korea and Pakistan with deadly precision. (The dizzying assault on a Pakistani weapons base is genuinely spectacular.) What they don't know is that Cobra has been lying in wait, and that the free world's Commander in Chief (Jonathan Pryce, having a fine time) is being impersonated by the nefarious Cobra operative Zartan (Arnold Vosloo). In the guise of a benevolent leader seeking world nuclear disarmament, "President" Zartan discredits and wipes out all but three of the Joe force. Fortunately Dwayne Johnson is among them, and every moviegoer knows he's pretty much an army of one. The script is so whiz-bang fast and full of impossibly extravagant CGI-enhanced eye-poppery that any synopsis would be akin to, well, 10-year-olds smashing three-inch action figures into each other and making up a narrative to go along with their guttural sound effects. And isn't that a pretty good description of escapism? Mention must be made of an incredible sustained set piece staged on sheer Himalayan cliffs where sword-wielding ninjas soar on ropes in an elaborate choreography that is as inventive as it is thrilling. The finale explodes at historic Fort Sumter, of all places, where the faceless Cobra Commander showdowns with the revivified Joes during "The President's" bogus disarmament summit. The cast is adequate in portraying good or bad real-life action figures with funny names and unbreakable bodies. Bruce Willis seems very happy chomping in to a glorified cameo as the retired Joe commander. Though the Joes carry the day and glory can be claimed, it should be noted that a sequel is teed up perfectly, especially in light of the fact that Cobra pretty much succeeds in its world-domination plan by obliterating the whole of London and its eight million inhabitants. It is the most extreme of money shots, rendered with loving detail; but don't worry, kids, it's only a movie. --Ted Fry Read more

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