Pick Appaloosa on Blu-ray disc this week
Can’t we just skip another week? Urgh. This is ugly.
There really isn’t much to speak of in terms of this weeks Blu-ray releases. We’ve got some anime, some Viggo and Ed and a couple of imports. Annnnnnnd…that’s all folks. I guess this will give me a little more time to tackle the five-million-or-so discs hitting shelves next week. As usual, all titles and images are clickable and will zap you over to the corresponding Amazon page which will provide you with a lot more detail about the title and the opportunity to purchase it. In doing so, you’ll be helping to support the ongoing existence of The Blu-ray Blog and this Picks column in particular. Scroll down and enjoy!
WEEK OF JANUARY 13TH
This is the big release of the week and it’s one you won’t be disappointed by. Ed Harris directs Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Irons, Renee Zellweger and himself in Appaloosa, an adaptation of crime writer Robert B. Harris‘ 2005 novel of the same name. A bit too chatty and character-based for some, the film ultimately comes together through strong performances and sure-handed direction. And hell, Viggo in a cowboy hat doing a man’s thing with gun in hand! The disc features a serviceable but unimpressive transfer, along with a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack (gasp! Keep it up Warner!) A handful of crummy little featurettes are balanced out by an Ed Harris audio commentary.
Mamoru Oshii crafted this sequel to his landmark 1995 hit, Ghost in the Shell. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is certainly a safe bet if you’re looking for some eye candy this week. But if it’s an intelligible story you’re in the market for, better look elsewhere. Oshii is able to pull together some extremely cool looking visuals but seems inept at telling a cohesive and compelling story. This release is no exception. The Japanese Blu-ray was, for the most part, well reviewed (despite sporting an old-school MPEG-2 transfer) and featured a couple of short ‘making-of’ docs and a commentary track. Let’s hope this release retains those features.
Death at a Funeral and Traffic come to us this week by way of imports from Australia and Germany, respectively. These discs are only recommended for the films they represent (and because there really isn’t much to speak of on shelves this week) not for the Blu-rays themselves. They will play in any machine but you might do well to hold off for a domestic release – especially of Traffic.
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