The Blu-ray Blog » Sacha Baron Cohen

Hugo Blu-ray announced and detailed

Brenden — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:40:21 +0000

Oh man, I can’t believe Scorsese‘s Hugo has already been announced for release on Blu-ray. Didn’t it just make its theatrical debut a few weeks ago? I’m going to be gutted if I don’t get a chance to see it in 3D in the cinema, as this one was shot in the format and, apparently, takes subtle advantage of it. These shorter release windows are killing me. In any case, check out the disc details below, as Hugo will be available in two flavours at two different prices – a 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo and a 3-disc set with the 3D version.

HUGO
(February 28, 2012 – MSRP $44.99 [2-disc], $54.99 [3-disc])
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

Shoot the Moon (The Making of Hugo)
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo
Big Effects, Small Scale
Sacha Baron Cohen: Role of a Lifetime

Brüno Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:34:23 +0000

BRÜNO (2009, Blu-ray released November 17, 2009 – MSRP $39.98)

I really enjoyed comedian Sacha Baron Cohen‘s film Borat. I had the pleasure of viewing it in Poland while on tour with my band at the time. An amazing experience. Watching his follow up film, Brüno from the comfort of my living room theatre was certainly not anywhere near as magical. It was, however, just as cringe-inducing and hilarious!

I don’t really like Brüno as a film. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the story isn’t really great. It’s a simplistic framework constructed to allow improvisational moments with and pranks on unsuspecting victims. It’s not that it doesn’t work, it’s just really transparent. In fact, Cohen’s character in this film plays out an arc identical to the character in his previous film. That’s right, Brüno is in most ways a simple echo of Borat: Fish-out-of-water gets in over his head, loses everything before finding himself while conducting some hilarious interviews along the way. The only real difference this time around is that the main character is gay and exposes rampant fear of homosexuals in America, as opposed to being Kazakhstani and exposing rampant fear of foreigners in America. It’s unfortunate that Borat had to come first and that Brüno follows it so closely because it could most likely hold its own without comparison. As it stands, one can’t help but compare the two. Brüno is in almost every sense a remake or re-envisioning of Borat. But a really, really funny one. So, it can’t be all bad, right?

You don’t enter into watching a film like this for the story. You want the pranks. You want to see how far Cohen will push his gags. Will push people. And he pushes hard here. I laughed almost all the way through the film. Then I put on the deleted/additional/extended scenes and laughed for another hour. Brüno delivers exactly what you want from it. He takes on celebrities, politicians, religion and a whole host of really scary, back-water folk who hate gays and love their guns. However you feel about the humour, you’ve got to give Cohen props for having a huge pair. I’m amazed that he escaped the filming of Brüno with all of his parts intact.

What I didn’t realize was how close he came to imprisonment, physical injury and death during the making of the film. I sat through the Blu-ray discs video commentary in awe. It’s like a survivor’s document. Cohen and director Larry Charles walk you through every aspect of making the film, occasionally stopping the movie to explain something in greater detail or just to take a moment to break off on a tangent and tell another story. To be honest, I found this feature far more gripping than the film itself! I literally had trouble turning it off. I recommend checking it out. It will give you an all new insight and appreciation for the film. Despite the vast collection of hilarious outtakes, BD Live stuff and Pocket Blu mobile features on the disc, the video commentary is the special feature to give your time to. Astounding!

I usually like to touch on the technical quality of a BD before the end of a review. But there’s just not much to discuss here. The video presentation on the Brüno disc comes from a lot of different sources. It’s highly inconsistent but totally appropriate for the film. There’s enough detail to remind you that you’re watching a high-def presentation but not enough quality for the Blu-ray connoisseur. The DTS HD Master Audio suffers much the same fate, being at the mercy of the source material. But seriously, who cares. Content is king here and you won’t be disappointed with Brüno on Blu-ray. The disc makes the most of what it has to work with.

Previously on The Blu-ray Blog: [VIDEO] Bruno Blu-ray Deleted Scene – La Toya won’t imitate Michael Jackson

Blu-ray Picks for the Week of November 17

Brenden — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:08:45 +0000

It’s Tuesday and once again we’re faced with a potential wallet-emptying video store/Amazon.com shopping experience! I hope you’ve been saving up because today is a doosey!

If you’ve got $20 and any sense, you’ll haul your ass out and pick up a copy of the Star Trek Blu-ray today. It’s stunning. Damn-near perfect! Every self-respecting Blu-ray owner needs this disc (Except Tony Asta, of course. He’s just not into it.) Add in a little Galaxy Quest to round out your sci-fi experience.

Film enthusiasts will definitely want to get their dirty little mitts on Gone With The Wind. Like The Wizard of Oz before it, Warner has pulled out all the stops, delivering a transfer that will blow your mind! You’ve never seen Rhett and Scarlet like this before.

Television and serial-storytelling enthusiasts will want to grab up the Rome box set today as well. The bigger and higher-res the sword-and-sandal epic the more stunning the experience. And Rome won’t disappoint, looking and sounding better than ever!

NEW BLU-RAY RELEASES FOR THE WEEK OF NOV. 17
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

[VIDEO] Bruno Blu-ray Deleted Scene – La Toya won't imitate Michael Jackson

Brenden — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:29:54 +0000

I’m not sure what makes me more uncomfortable here: the naked, portly man covered in sushi or the strange, inhuman laughter from La Toya Jackson as she’s pressed by Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen) for information on her brother Michael. Urgh. I can see why they chopped this scene out the film, which reached theaters mere weeks after the singer’s June 25th death. Check the cut scene out for yourself.

This is only a couple of minutes of the nearly one-hour of bonus, deleted content on the Bruno Blu-ray, which hits shelves on Tuesday. I’ll post my full review over the weekend.

Previously on The Blu-ray Blog: Michael Jackson This Is It Blu-ray Package Art

The Blu-ray Blog » Sacha Baron Cohen

Hugo Blu-ray announced and detailed

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Brüno Blu-ray Disc Review

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