This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 2, 2007

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

This Tuesday brings the release of some great titles, new and old.  As expected, the studios are rolling out some Halloween-inspired classics, filled with zombies, vampires and serial killers; though sadly, only Blu-ray supporters seem to be taking advantage of the upcoming holiday.

HD DVD studios chose instead to use this week to re-release a bunch of titles that were previously only available in those obnoxious HD DVD/DVD Combo discs.  You know, the $40 releases that were appealing to neither the HD owners nor the standard-definition owners?  Those of you who rightly refused to make such a silly purchase can now have some great HD titles for a lower price, thanks to Warner Home Video coming to its senses.  Any of the following films with an asterisk (*) in the title are the re-released versions.

Check out this Tuesday’s HD DVD and Blu-ray releases after the jump.

To see this week’s standard-definition DVD releases, click here.
To see this week’s TV-On-DVD releases, click here.

Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 2, 2007

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Letters from Iwo Jima DVD Review

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: DreamWorks, Miramax, Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Thrillers, New Releases, DVD Reviews

Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-nominated war epic was released on DVD last week; this is a review of the two-disc special edition.  The film is a companion piece to Eastwood’s other war film from last year, Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same war from the American side.

Letters from Iwo Jima is the story of a pivotal battle between the United States and imperial Japan during WWII.  The film portrays the war from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers as they desperately attempt to keep the US from taking their island and using it against the mainland.  General Kuribayashi takes command and without proper infantry or supplies does his best to defend Iwo Jima from the country he once considered a close friend.  Meanwhile, a young, homesick infantryman named Saigo endeavors to surrender to the opposing forces as they drive his comrades deep into the caves of the desolate island.

Letters from Iwo Jima is directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Iris Yamashita, and stars Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomaya, and Tsuyoshi Ihara.  Rated R

Click to continue reading Letters from Iwo Jima DVD Review

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FilmCrunch 034: Letters from Iwo Jima, This Film is Not Yet Rated, Movie Theater Etiquette

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: DreamWorks, IFC Films, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Documentary, Independent, Period, Short FilmCrunch, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts

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Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep are back with a full episode of FilmCrunch. In this show, expect a review of Clint Eastwood‘s Letters from Iwo Jima, along with a DVD review of This Film is Not Yet rated.

Now we want to hear from you - hit the forums and let us know what you think, what you want us to watch next, and any other recommendations you have for the show.

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2007 Academy Award Nominations

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Drama, Foreign Language, Comedy, Thrillers, Awards, Lists

Somewhere out there director Bill Condon is trying to wake up from a very bad dream…

Just less than 24 hours ago, I was just telling my cohort Neil Estep that Dreamgirls would be nominated for Best Picture.  Thankfully, no money was involved.  Apparently what I should have said was, “Given that the film won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical, I think it will probably earn the most nominations this year—but not be nominated for Best Picture.”  My theory?  The voters were so Dreamgirled-out by the time they got to that part of the ballot…

The biggest shocker of the day?  Probably.  But there were plenty others.  And may I saw how excited I am!  Here are some of the more notable additions/omissions from this morning:

• We have one less Leo DiCaprio nomination in the Best Actor Category (in Blood Diamond, out The Departed) making room for Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson.  Woo hoo!  Is it weird that I’m excited about this nomination…even though I’ve never seen the movie?  But I’ve heard so much about it and have been waiting anxiously for the DVD to come out on on Feb. 13th.  I just love it when underdogs are recognized.  Could this be a surprise win ala Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry) or Adrian Brody (The Pianist)?

Click to continue reading 2007 Academy Award Nominations

Read More | The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

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