Archived On The Mark
Updates - May/June, 2007
June 29, 2007 - Here is a
review of the Cartoon Network Adult Swim series finale of "Harvey Birdman,
Attorney At Law." I have moved my reviews of "Star
Wars: The Legacy Revealed" and "Cartoon
Network INVADED" to the Archived TV
Reviews Page. I have also updated the Upcoming DVD/HD
DVD/Blu-ray Disc
Calendar to reflect newly announced titles and below are press releases that
anyone interested in getting into Blu-ray Disc
is sure to be interested in reading. More reviews to be added tomorrow. You can
visit the Upcoming DVD/HD
DVD/Blu-ray Disc
Calendar by clicking here or on the Coming
Soon button above. Thank you.
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Major
Hollywood Studios and Consumer
Electronics
Manufacturers Announce
Blu-Ray
Summer Promotion
Summer-Long
Consumer Promotion Ties Into The Growing Momentum For The Blu-ray Disc® Format
Campaign
supported by major print and online media campaigns
Los
Angeles, CA. (06/27/07) – Seven of the major Hollywood studios and six top
consumer electronics manufacturers today announced the launch of the Blu-ray
Disc Promotion, a summer-long promotional program intended to encourage
customers to experience the unparalleled high-definition experience that Blu-ray™
provides. The promotion gives consumers the opportunity to jump-start their high
definition library by receiving five free Blu-ray Discs from a list of over 20
of the most popular titles offered by participating studios when they purchase
qualifying Blu-ray players between July 1 and September 30, 2007.
Participating
studios include Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Lionsgate Home Entertainment,
MGM Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home
Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and
Warner
Home
Video. Hardware manufacturers include Panasonic Consumer Electronics,
Phillips Electronics, Pioneer, Samsung, Sony Electronics and Sony Computer
Entertainment.
Consumers
who purchase any one of the many qualifying Blu-ray players from participating
hardware companies will be able to select five of the following Blu-ray titles,
which include new releases and fan favorites. Among the 21 titles in this
mail-in offer are: Babel,
Black Rain, Blazing Saddles, Chicken Little, The Corpse Bride, The Devil's
Rejects, The Guardian, Hart's War, Invincible, The Italian Job, Kiss of the
Dragon, The Last Waltz, The Omen [2006], Pearl Harbor, The Phantom of the Opera,
Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Species, Stealth, Stir of Echoes, The Transporter 2
and Underworld: Evolution.
The
promotion will kick off on July 1, 2007 and will be supported by a major print
and online media campaign that will also launch in July. This campaign
will be seen in such popular print publications as Maxim, GQ, Rolling Stone and
online sites such as CNET and Google among others.
The
Blu-ray Disc technology has quickly become a leader in the high definition
marketplace and is supported by over 170 companies spanning consumer
electronics, computers, gaming, music and movie studios. It represents
many of the major brands that consumers have grown to love and trust.
Brands such as Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Pioneer, Phillips, Warner Bros.,
Paramount, Disney, Fox, MGM and Lionsgate are just a few that are supporting
this revolutionary technology.
From
Dimension Home Video
To
Be Released This Fall on Blu-ray Disc®
SCARY
MOVIE
BADDER
SANTA: THE UNRATED VERSION
BURBANK
,
Calif.
,
June 27, 2007 – Dimension Home Video will release the hilarious comedy Scary
Movie starring Marlon and Shawn Wayans on Blu-ray Disc October 23 and
Badder Santa:
The Unrated Version starring
Academy Award® winner Billy Bob Thornton (Best Adapted Screenplay, Sling
Blade, 1996) and Golden Globe® nominated actress Lauren Graham
available on Blu-ray Disc November 20, 2007.
SCARY
MOVIE BLU-RAY DISC
Scary
Movie,
the
hilarious, must-see comedy smash places Carmen Electra (TV's Battlebots),
Marlon Wayans (Senseless) and
some of today's hottest young stars in a wickedly funny send-up of today's most
popular horror movies! A familiar-looking group of teenagers find themselves
being stalked by a more-than-vaguely recognizable masked killer! As the victims
begin to pile up and the laughs pile on, none of your favorite scary movies
escape the razor-sharp satire of this outrageously funny parody! There's nothing
to fear in this scary movie ... unless you're afraid of laughing too much.
Blu-ray Disc bonus materials include Movie Showcase, plus most of the original
DVD bonus materials including Additional Scenes, a Behind the Scenes featurette
and the Theatrical Trailer.
STREET DATE:
October 23, 2007
Direct
prebook:
September 11, 2007
Distributor
prebook:
August 28, 2007
Suggested
retail price:
$29.99
U.S.
Feature
run time:
88 Minutes
Rated:
Rated R for strong
crude sexual humor, language, drug use and violence.
Encoding:
AVC
Resolution:
1080p
BADDER
SANTA: THE UNRATED VERSION BLU-RAY DISC
Badder
Santa: The Unrated Version
lets
Hollywood
favorites Billy Bob Thornton (The Alamo)
and Bernie Mac (MR. 3000) kick it
up a notch in this unrated version of the outrageous comedy hit
BAD SANTA. You'd better watch out
-- Santa Claus Willie T. Stokes (Thornton) is coming to town and he doesn't care
if you've been naughty or nice. Willie's favorite holiday tradition is to fill
his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year
his plot gets derailed by a wise-cracking store detective (Mac), a sexy
bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus! You're sure
to believe in Badder
Santa: The Unrated Version -- once you experience this longer,
funnier, and more explicit motion picture!
Blu-ray Disc bonus materials include Movie Showcase, plus all the original DVD
bonus materials including Deleted and Alternate Scenes, a Behind the Scenes
special and Gag Reel and Outtakes.
STREET
DATE:
November 20, 2007
Direct
prebook:
September 25, 2007
Distributor
prebook:
October 9, 2007
Suggested
retail price:
$29.99
U.S.
Feature
run time:
98 Minutes
Rated:
Rated R for pervasive
language, strong sexual content and some violence.
Encoding:
AVC
Resolution:
1080p
Dimension
Home Video is distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, a recognized leader
in the home entertainment industry and the marketing, sales and distribution
company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax and Buena Vista
DVD, Blu-ray Disc and electronic distribution product. Buena Vista Home
Entertainment is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.
#
# #
Coming
This Fall on Blu-ray Disc® From
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
REMEMBER
THE TITANS
BURBANK
,
Calif.
,
June 27, 2007 – Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will be releasing the
inspiring Remember the
Titans starring Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington (Best
Actor, Training Day, 2001) on
Blu-ray Disc September 4, 2007. Blu-ray
Disc bonus materials will include Movie Showcase, plus all the original DVD
bonus materials including Denzel Becomes Boon featurette, Beating The Odds
featurette, “Remember The Titans: An Inspirational Journey Behind the
Scenes,” six Deleted Scenes, Feature Audio Commentary with director Boaz
Yakin, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and writer Gregory Allen Howard and Feature
Audio Commentary with real-life coaches Herman Boone and Bill Yoast.
Denzel
Washington gives a victorious performance in this stirring and uplifting film. Remember
the Titans is a rousing celebration of how a town torn apart by
resentment, friction, and mistrust comes together in triumphant harmony. The
year is 1971. After leading his team to 15 winning seasons, football coach Bill
Yoast (Will Patton) is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone (
Washington
), tough, opinionated, and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be.
How these two men overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young
men into champions plays out in a remarkable and triumphant story full of soul
and spirit. You and your family will never forget the Titans.
STREET
DATE:
September 4, 2007
Direct
prebook:
July 10, 2007
Distributor
prebook:
July 24, 2007
Suggested
retail price:
$29.99
U.S.
Feature
run time:
114 Minutes
Rated:
Rated PG for thematic
elements and some language.
Encoding:
AVC
Resolution:
1080p
Walt
Disney Studios Home Entertainment, a recognized industry leader in the home
entertainment industry, is the marketing, sales and distribution company for
Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax, Dimension and Buena Vista
DVD, Blu-ray Discs and electronic distribution product. Walt Disney
Studios Home Entertainment is a division of Disney Enterprises, Inc.
#
# #
June 25, 2007 - Here is a combined DVD and
Blu-ray Disc review of Hollywood Pictures Home Entertainment's
"Primeval."
June 24, 2007 - Here is a TV review of the
third season premiere episodes of Doctor
Who entitled "The
Runaway Bride" and "Smith
And Jones," which will premiere on Friday, July 6, 2007, at 8pm and
9:30pm (ET/PT) respectively on the SCI FI Channel.
June 21, 2007 - LATE UPDATE - Here is a
Blu-ray Disc review of Buena Vista Home Entertainment's "Mel
Gibson's Apocalypto."
June 20, 2007 - Buena Vista Home
Entertainment held two online press junkets with Director Michael Katleman
discussing his new frightening film Primeval, which is available now on
both DVD and in high definition on Blu-ray Disc. A combined media review will be
posted presently, but in the meantime you can click
here to read a transcript of his interview courtesy of Buena Vista Home
Entertainment.
June 14, 2007 - Here is my HD DVD box set
review of Warner Home Video's "The Ultimate Matrix
Collection."
June 9, 2007 - Well I am back from a
rather unintended extended vacation of sorts to publish new media reviews
beginning with Warner Home Video's "Welcome Back
Kotter: The Complete First
Season" on DVD box set. More coming soon so please drop back again. Thank
you.
June 2, 2007 - Bill Hunt at The
Digital Bits posted a good
editorial on his and his site's stance on the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc format
war and I wrote him back my thoughts and felt that it was also only fair that if
he took a chance on posting his views, I'd post my perspective that I e-mailed
to Bill from here in Brooklyn, sometimes referred to as The Center Of The
Universe ;) (Please note below this reply has a paste from Engadget
HD that I refer to. Thank you.
Dear Bill:
According to Home
Media: "The two “Pirates” films sold a combined total of nearly
47,000 units, while the higher-priced “Matrix” sets sold about 13,900
units."
I agree with your essay Bill, but you can't compare Apples to Oranges and I'm
inclined to agree with Engadget HD on this one issue I've pasted below.
However for the record, I own one HD DVD player, but two BD players so I think
you see from actions where I stand. However, I don't like the whole third
generation BD Java requirements hardware thing and wish that info was made
available before I purchased a PS3 as a second BD player. A nice thing to
makeup for this would be to make all future BD players HD DVD playback capable
so after the towel gets thrown in, no one loses there shirts over buying HD
DVD discs, but that will probably not happen.
Personally, I think the DVR of HD quality programming equal to BD and HD DVD
will be the eventual future standard and the option to burn our own discs or USB
gadgets or whatever may be will follow. Hollywood will follow the music
industry into I,Tunes like stuff and the format war will drag out for
another year I imagine, but will end in 2008 when it is no longer profitable
to make early adapters buy one of each film release in two or even three
formats, (including DVD.) I give Toshiba credit for beating the odds and
surviving a lot longer than many websites predicted, but I am unsure if BD
will ever reach the popularity of DVD since even today, ten years later,
films are still "finally" or will "finally" be released
to DVD. In a nutshell, in another ten years all of this will seem like a
moot point. Notice how CDs in stores are being phased out slowly or maybe
not so slowly, but definitely surely. I can imagine that much like the PC
market, there will be two commercial standards or Apple will have to start
licensing third party companies to make I, Pods to avoid accusations of
monopoly.
I respect you Bill. I am not a competitor. I'm just one guy that reviews
online - a dime a dozen, were it not that I've managed to survive and gain
respect for my work and opinion, but I think the real format wars will be
among codecs and stuff we can't hold in our hands like a DVD except if you
want to read a lot of programming jargon. I'm going to post a link to your
Editorial and post my thoughts too. However I wanted to share them with you
first not as a guy who has his own website that covers home video and TV,
but as a regular non-industry consumer, film fan, writer, whatever. One man
to another, I think we both know where Home Video will go
Sincerely,
Mark
A. Rivera
Writer/Reviewer/Editor/Webmaster
Genre
Online.Net
The
Web Resource For Home Video Entertainment & More!
WriterR5@aol.com
Reposted below from EngadgetHD:
The format war:
Pirates vs The Matrix
Posted Jun 1st 2007 12:08PM by Ben
Drawbaugh
In
this latest chapter of the format
war the BDA is once again patting themselves on the back because according
to estimates by Home
Media Magazine, the two Pirates movies outsold The Matrix box sets by a
margin of over 3 to 1. While both of these titles got a lot of people excited
and motivated people to buy, we're not impressed. For starters the box set
includes 3 feature films, so 3-1 should be expected. The other important
factor is cost, while the Pirates movies sold for $25 each, the box set was
closer to $70 (depending on the version). Considering the differences here,
we'd say they were pretty even, -- with the slightest edge to Pirates -- but
when you consider that one of the Pirates titles was a day-and-date release,
this really isn't news at all. What will be interesting is when The
Matrix finally gets released on Blu-ray and we get compare title for title
after all those new
HD DVD players hit the market.
May 31, 2007 - Here is a DVD review of New
Line Home Entertainment's "Pan's
Labyrinth."
May 29, 2007 - Here is a DVD review of
Touchstone Home Entertainment's "Mel Gibson's
Apocalypto." Now check out the exclusive teaser trailer for Lucasfilm
LTD's "Star Wars:
The Clone Wars" CGI animated series only at STAR
WARS.COM by clicking here.
May 24, 2007 - Happy and Safe Memorial Day
Weekend
everyone!
May 19, 2007 - Here is a TV review of The
History Channel Original World Premiere Documentary "Star Wars: The Legacy
Revealed," which will air on Monday, May 28, 2007, at 9pm (ET/PT).
May 16, 2007 - Here is a Blu-ray Disc
review of Warner Home Video's "The Road Warrior" and combined HD DVD
and Blu-ray Disc reviews of Paramount Home Entertainment's "Mission:
Impossible: Special Collector's Edition" and "Mission:
Impossible - 2."
May 11, 2007 - Here is an HD DVD review of
Universal Studios Home Entertainment's "The Hitcher: HD DVD And DVD Combo
Format."
May 8, 2007 - Here is my DVD review of
Warner Home Video's "The Fountain:
Widescreen Edition."
May 7, 2007 - Here is a DVD review of
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's "Les
Miserables: Cinema Studio Classics Collection." I have moved my reviews of "The
Tudors", "Lake Placid 2"
and "Whorecraft" to the Archived
TV Reviews Page and I have moved my "On
The Mark Updates For April, 2007" to the Archived
On The Mark Updates Page. Finally, below are my thoughts on Spider-man 3.
Spider-Man 3 delivers on the special effects with the best superhero
action scenes I have seen since Spider-Man 2, but it is not nearly as
rich in character as the first two. The villains are more or less flat and the
best part of the entire two and a half hour opus is Bruce Campbell's cameo.
While it could never be surpassed, I think if they ever made an American feature
film version of Fawlty Towers, Campbell would be perfect as Basil
Fawlty. Thomas Haden Church is also a standout as Sandman, but Topher Grace is
definitely a one-note smug villain in the film that could and should have been
built up better as Peter Parker/Spider-Man's doppleganger because as Edward
Brock, Jr./Venom, the two characters have a lot more alike about them then even
the superficial dual identities. One film alone exploring that could have been a
better Spider-Man 3.
In defense of Sam Raimi though, to do three Spider-Man films as well
as he has is no small achievement and ultimately many of the threads from the
first two films are wrapped nicely though bittersweet. I have a feeling a lot
was left on the cutting room floor and maybe on DVD or Blu-ray Disc, we will get
a longer, but more fulfilling and well rounded Spider-Man film as we
had with the first two.
Overall, it still works, will probably play better on TV, and is much better
than any of Superhero feature film sequel released since Spider-Man 2. If
Raimi should make a fourth Spider-Man film I would like to suggest he
go back to one villain as you did in the first two because you made those films
so much more rich and interesting since you had more time to explore the
characters and make everyone interesting.
Good popcorn flick, but not up to the standards of it's predecessors.
(C) Copyright 2007 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Return To The
Previous Page