There’s a lot to like on Blu-ray this week, aside from the discs I’m highlighting, Scroll down to the bottom to check out the four-film Fernando Di Leo crime collection, a couple of seasons of Poirot, new Transformers releases, Rutger Hauer in The Mill and the Cross and so much more.

As always, clicking the Blu-ray package art will zip you over to Amazon where every purchase you make through our links helps the site stay on its feet. We appreciate every single click and thank you again for continuing to read The Blu-ray Blog.

Blu-ray disc of the week: DRIVE

“Ryan Gosling stars as a Hollywood stunt driver for movies by day and moonlights as a wheelman for criminals by night. Though a loner by nature, “Driver” can’t help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband. After a heist goes wrong, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman). Soon he realizes the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash and is forced to shift gears and go on the offense. “

Drive is one of the best films of 2011, hands down. It might be the best movie I had the opportunity to see in theatres last year. And I’m super excited about its release on Blu-ray today. I didn’t receive an early screener to review (apparently Alliance, the distributor here in Canada, aren’t making them available to the press) but, if the early word is on the money, this is a killer disc as well. Yep. No bones about it. I’m going to be hitting up the old Future Shop by my office to grab up one of these bad boys as soon as possible.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Five behind-the-scenes featurettes:
  • Drive Without A Driver: Talking with Director Nicolas Winding Refn
  • I Drive
  • Under The Hood
  • Driver and Irene
  • Cut To The Chase

AMAZON: $19.99

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – THE NEXT LEVEL

“Set in the 24th century, the exploits of the U.S.S. Enterprise continue as it explores the universe, seeking new life and new worlds.“

Ho. Lee. Crap. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about Star Trek: The Next Generation since way back in the late ’80s. This little sampler Blu-ray, which features three of the most popular episodes of the series (well, four, if you count the 90-minute pilot as two episodes) is simply spectacular and has succeeded in giving me a brutal case of sci-fi-TV blue-balls, the likes of which can only be cured by serving me up with a proper, full and complete Season One boxed set! Seriously, the only drawback of this stellar Blu-ray is the fact that it’s over so quickly and there won’t be any more until much later in the year. And for that reason alone, this is a tough disc to recommend, unless you can grab it up super cheap.

Based purely on its content and its technical handling, though, this is a blind buy. All of the episodes hold up, aside from the obvious weaknesses of the pilot (or any TV pilot, for that matter.) The studio has done a bang-up job scanning the film and transferring it to 1080p digital, as you’d expect after the incredible job they did on the Original series episodes. They’ve recomposited and, in some cases, recreated the standard-def special effects for these discs and they also look amazing. In fact, everything is seamless here, with the exception of a few seconds of muddy SD video (used in place of a strip of film that couldn’t be located, and may be forever lost) that proves the purpose and the quality of these exceptional new transfers. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 tracks are also quite muscular, considering their age and origins but can’t compete with the clarity and raw power of modern Hollywood soundtracks. There isn’t much to speak of in the way of supplemental material here. Only a few trailers for the Season One set and the iPad app.

AMAZON: $14.99

MALCOLM X

“Filmmaker Spike Lee, actor Denzel Washington and other top talents vividly portray the life and times of Malcolm X. “Here’s a man who rose up from the dregs of society, spent time in jail, reeducated himself and, through spiritual enlightenment, rose to the top,” Lee says. Academy Award winner Washington was an Oscar nominee and the New York, Boston and Chicago Film Critics choice as 1992′s Best Actor.“

Malcolm X finally makes its way to Blu-ray this week, after having been announced for release in years past. I’m happy to say that this announcement was the one that stuck, and the handsome 2-disc digibook package is now available for purchase, just in time to celebrate Black History Month. Lee’s film holds up after twenty years (yes, it’s actually been that long), jam packed with incredible performances (including Washington’s Oscar nominated stunner), gorgeous photography by DOP Ernest Dickerson and Terence Blanchard‘s wonderful score. My problem with this release has nothing to do with the film itself or its packaging but in the fact that Warner have crammed the nearly three-and-a-half hour long film onto a single Blu-ray disc that also includes a bunch of supplements!!

The studio saw fit to split the similarly lengthy Ben-Hur up onto two discs, to allow the encode to breathe a bit and to take advantage of all the benefits the format has to offer. I’m not sure what they were thinking here (well, yes, I think I can guess that it has to do with money) but Malcolm X would’ve been better off split in two. That said, Warner manage to deliver a very attractive and film-like high-def presentation that’s unquestionably the best the film has ever looked on home video. Grain is present, colours pop and contrast seems spot on. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is equally strong but generally front and center heavy.

Bonus features have been carried over from the previously released DVD and include an excellent, information packed commentary from Spike Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Barry Alexander Brown and Ruth Carter. There’s also the half-hour long ‘By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Malcolm X‘ and 20-minutes worth of deleted scenes with Lee intros to check out (didn’t I tell you there was a lot of stuff crammed on this one disc?) The digibook package houses a second disc as well – a DVD containing the 90-minute long Malcolm X documentary from 1972. The 40-page book includes an essay entitled “Spike Lee: Meeting Controversy Head On” along with a timeline.

AMAZON: $29.99

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

“Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his brilliant performance as the Southern lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape in this film version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The way in which it captures a time, a place, and above all, a mood, makes this film a masterpiece. The setting is a dusty Southern town during the Depression. A white woman accuses a black man of rape. Though he is obviously innocent, the outcome of his trial is such a foregone conclusion that no lawyer will step forward to defend him – except Peck, the town’s most distinguished citizen. His compassionate defense costs him many friendships but earns him the respect and admiration of his two motherless children.“

I love To Kill A Mockingbird and can’t wait to get my hands on this new Blu-ray from Universal. I understand that the studio have done a great job with this disc, given the surviving elements. Archivist Robert A. Harris has a nice write up of the disc over at hometheaterforum.com including a history of the film and the restoration of its elements.

AMAZON: $17.99

MONKEYBONE

“After a car crash sends repressed cartoonist Stu Miley (Brendan Fraser) into a coma, he and the mischievous Monkeybone, his hilarious horny alter-ego, wake up in a wacked-outawaystation for lost souls. When Monkeybone takes over Stu’s body and escapes to wreak havoc on the real world, Stu has to find a way to stop him before his sister pulls the plug on reality forever! ”Saturday Night Live”’s Chris Kattan, Bridget Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg co-star in this inventive blend of live action and stop-motion animation, loaded with must-see, eye-popping F/X and some of the crudest, laugh-out-loud humor since ”South Park”. “

Oh wow, is Monkeybone ever tough to sit through. But I can totally see where director Henry Selick (Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas) was trying to go with it. As it stands, the film is a confused mess of live action comedians doing their level best to mesh with a half-realized world of stop motion mayhem. And there are moments of pure genius there, where you almost want to jump out of your seat and scream “Yes!” but they’re tempered with a third act that goes off the rails, and feels like a bad, overlong Saturday Night Live skit. It’s common knowledge that the studio pulled the rug out from under the production leaving Selick to pick up the pieces and make what he could with what he had. And with that in mind, Monkeybone is worth a look. Fans of the director/animator will certainly want to check it out.

Anchor Bay does a solid job with the Monkeybone Blu-ray disc, serving up a colourful, detailed transfer that actually manages to add some sizzle to the film. If you’ve only ever seen it on DVD or (gasp!) VHS, you might want to give it another look on Blu. That extra ‘POP’ goes a long way here. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is active and dynamic for its age but can’t compete with modern Hollywood fare. There are, sadly, no bonus features to enjoy on the disc – a real lost opportunity to discuss the finer, animated elements of the film along with the squabbles and lack of financing that spoiled it, if you ask me.

AMAZON: $15.49

GRAND CANYON

“When a lawyer’s (Kevin Kline) car breaks down in a dangerous Los Angeles neighborhood, a tow-truck driver (Danny Glover) arrives just in time to save his life. The two men begin a deep friendship that sets off a chain of unsettling and surprising events involving their families and friends for years to come. Lawrence Kasdan’s powerful, uplifting film about the harsh realities of contemporary urban life co-stars Steve Martin, Mary McDonnell, Mary-Louise Parker and Alfre Woodward. “

I loved Grand Canyon a lot when I first saw it, way back in the ’90s, when it was released. I love it a lot less now that I’ve watched the new Blu-ray from Anchor Bay but not as a result of anything the film or disc does wrong. Okay, the film does one thing completely wrong – there’s a dream sequence, that I had completely blocked from my memory, that goes on forever and sucks the life out of the narrative – and I find it shocking that a filmmaker of Kasdan’s ability would miss its suckiness! But outside of that drastic misstep, the only issue I have with the film is that it feels so dated. It’s such a product of the ’90s, from the clothes, the new-age style of the score, right down to the way the dialogue is handled. I think it all totally worked at the time but the window dressing here just doesn’t hold up. The narrative, however, and the performances are all around excellent. It’s a nuanced, surprising story well told, with interesting, well rounded characters. I still like Grand Canyon and love, love, love Kasdan’s work on the whole (c’mon, dude wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark!) but if you’re averse to watching sentimental dramas steeped in decades old cultural cues, you might think twice about sitting down with the film.

Grand Canyon probably looks as good as it ever will on this new Blu-ray disc. But it’s a damn soft presentation. In fact, it quite often looks only a slight tick above the level of a standard-def DVD. Detail is sometimes excellent and colours always impress, but this is overall an unimpressive, if not source-accurate, transfer. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is a bit of all right, though, far more dynamic and immersive than most dramas tend to be. Much like Monkeybone – and, I imagine, all Fox catalogue releases from Anchor Bay – there are no special features on the disc.

AMAZON: $15.99

NEW FROM MIRAMAX/LIONSGATE

Miramax and Lionsgate are unleashing a torrent of Academy Award winning heavyweights on Blu-ray this week. I haven’t gotten my hands on a one of them yet but early reviews are resoundingly positive on every title. Considering that they’re all priced to move, you can’t go wrong grabbing up any of your favs from this bunch.

AMAZON: $9.99 – $15.99

NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS

It was released as SECOND HOUSE ON THE LEFT, NEW HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and TORTURE TRAIN. The ads screamed, “Most movies last less than two hours! This is one of everlasting torment!” It remains one of the most graphically fiendish films in exploitation history, the story of two teenage girls traveling through Europe, forced into a nightmare of sexual assault and sadistic violence. Irene Miracle (INFERNO, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS), Flavio Bucci (SUSPIRIA), Macha Meril (DEEP RED), and Marina Berti (WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS?) star in this depraved shocker directed by Aldo Lado (SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS, WHO SAW HER DIE?) and featuring a haunting score by Ennio Morricone (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE). Experience evil gone off the rails: NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS is now presented in a brand-new High Definition transfer from the original uncensored negative!

I don’t know if you’ve got the stomach for this, but if you’re the sort who enjoys a Blue Underground Blu-ray, you’re probably as excited as I am to pick up a copy of Night Train Murders. There’s no doubt that this will be the best this gore-fest has ever looked on home video but what I’m aching to hear is Morricone’s score in the new lossless DTS-HD track! This isn’t the most feature-rich BU disc to hit shops but it does sport an interview with Co-Writer/Director Aldo Lado, some radio spots and the trailers for the film.

AMAZON: $26.99

DREAM HOUSE

“Successful publisher Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quit a job in New York City to relocate his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town. But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children. And the entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived. When Will investigates the tragedy, his only lead comes from Ann Paterson (Naomi Watts), a neighbour who was close to the family that died. As Will and Ann piece together the disturbing puzzle, they discover that the story of the last man to leave Will’s dream house will be just as horrifying to the one who came next.“

Dream House is weird. I mean, my most cutting criticism of it is the goddamn marketing of the film – If you watch the theatrical trailer most all of the twists and turns of the plot will be spoiled for you. What a piss off! There’s a whole lot wrong with the way the film is handled but the one thing it might have done for me is offer up a shocking twist. But it didn’t even get the chance to do that, as I had the unfortunate pleasure of sitting through a spoilerific trailer for the film only a few days prior to my screening of it. Sigh.

In any case, I was actually shocked at one aspect of the film, truth be told – and that’s the fact that it’s directed by Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father!) This kind of psychological horror seems outside of his comfort zone. But kudos to him fro trying. Ultimately, though, the narrative here just doesn’t hold together. Without spoiling too much I’ll just say that the antagonist doesn’t add up to much and feels rather tacked on at the end of the film. After all of Craig’s agonizing, there’s just not much pay-off. This is, however, one of the strongest casts I’ve seen in a film recently and their work is almost enough to keep you invested in it. Caleb Deschanel‘s photography is also quite fine, as per his usual.

The Dream House Blu-ray does Deschanel proud, presenting his work in a faithful and sumptuous light. Colours are bold and blacks deep here. The image is often soft, however, but that’s part of the intended look of the film. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is also a touch softer than you’d expect, but again, that’s part of the design. This is a solid, clear track with excellent dynamic range and just enough atmosphere to heighten the creep-factor.

The Canadian edition of the Dream House Blu-ray seems to have a few extra interviews on it, with cast members and crew, but otherwise special features mimic the Universal disc from the US – a host of short, EPK-style featurettes and trailers.

AMAZON: $19.99

Only in Canada: CELL 211

“The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot — the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal. “

I always feel a little better about our country when we Canadians get an exclusive release. I don’t think Daniel Monzón‘s Cell 211 is the best Spanish film I’ve seen recently, despite the fact that it swept up a bajillion Goya awards in 2010 and is set to be re-made by Hollywood, but it makes for a solid evening of prison-riot entertainment.

It’s Juan’s (Alberto Ammann) first day on the job at the prison when a riot breaks out. He’s trapped inside with a rowdy horde of inmates who believe he’s one of them. Juan tries his best to navigate his way out of the touchy situation, past murderous lifer Malamadre (Luis Tosar) and the prison bars, back to his pregnant wife waiting on the other side. Elements of the plot come off as silly or rather ‘convenient’ at times and betray any authenticity the film might have had. But it never fails to ratchet up the tension and provide the kind of lock-up thrills you hope for in this sort of prison drama. Cell 211 never approaches the better episodes of Oz, and never really gets inside your head or your gut, but it’s got enough charm and vigor to provide a good night’s cinematic fun.

Cell 211 looks pretty decent on this Blu-ray from eOne. I suspect that the transfer is accurate to the source material but you’ll notice detail come and go, dependent on shot type and scene. Colour and blacks are always solid, though, in this reasonably film-like presentation. Audio is available in the original Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or a French DTS-HD dub. There are, sadly, no special features on the disc.

AMAZON: CDN$ 25.49

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