DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (4.29.2014)

For this week's DISCussion, we take a look at a plethora of releases, like the Gamera Ultimate Collection, Jason Reitman's Labor Day and the controversial Disney World film, Escape from Tomorrow and more.  First Release - Labor Day (DVD and Blu-ray) - Devil's Due (DVD and Blu-ray) - Space Battleship Yamato: Movie (Blu-ray/DVD Combo) - Gimme Shelter (DVD and Blu-ray) - Escape From Tomorrow (DVD) - The Best Offer (DVD) - Gloria (DVD) Re-Release - Gamera: Ultimate Collection V1 (Blu-ray) - Gamera: Ultimate Collection V2 (Blu-ray) - Il Sorpasso (1962) (DVD and Blu-ray) - Sophie's Choice (1982) (Blu-ray) - The Wind and the Lion (1970) (Blu-ray) Sophie's Choice (1982) (DVD and Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week* Directed by Alan J. Pakula Written by Alan J. Pakula (screenplay), William Styron Starring: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol The Holocaust Sophie's Choice drama was the movie which Meryl Streep won her first Academy Award for Best Actress and it was nominated for four more awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay. Stingo (Peter MacNicol) is a young man who moves to New York in 1947 and befriends a couple in his boarding house, Nathan (Kevin Kline), an American Jew and Sophie (Streep), a Polish immigrant. But Sophie is haunted by her past as a Holocaust survivor. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 81% (very good) Metacritic Rating: 67/100 (good) Entertainment Fuse Score: 9.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: New round table conversation with Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline; Audio Commentary with Director Alan J. Pakula; Theatrical trailer Amazon Price: $27.98 (Blu-ray) The best releases of the week are Jason Reitman's Labor Day and Escape From Tomorrow which is set to be a cult hit just because of the controversy surrounding it. For you kaiju fans there are two Blu-ray box-sets of Gamera movies. Labor Day (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Jason Reitman Written by Jason Reitman (screenplay), Joyce Maynard (novel) Starring: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith Jason Reitman made his first foray into dramatic filmmaking with his adaptation of the novel Labor Day about a depressed single mother, Adele (Kate Winslet) and her son Henry (Gattlin Griffith, Changeling) who end up taking in an escaped convict, Frank (Josh Brolin). Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 33% (poor) Metacritic Rating: 52/100 (average) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features:Closed Caption Additional Blu-ray Special Features: Filmmaker Commentary; End of Summer: Making Labor Day; Deleted scenes Amazon Price: $15.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 2 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 4.5 stars, Extras 2 stars, Replay 2 stars (out of 5). Rent It. Devil's Due (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Matt Bettinell-Olpin, Tyler Gillett Written by Lindsay Devlin Starring: Allison Miller, Zach Gilford, Sam Anderson, Aimee Carrero, Vanessa Ray, Michael Papajohn, Griff Furst The continuing influx of found-footage horror beings us Devil's Due, which is pretty much a remake of Rosemary's Baby. Zach (Zach Gilford) and Samantha (Allison Miller) are a young married couple who end up having an earlier then planned pregnancy, made even worst when it turns into the pregnancy from hell. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 18% (awful) Metacritic Rating: 33/100 (poor) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Closed Caption; Deleted scenes, including extended ending; Theatrical trailer Additional Blu-ray Special Features: Audio Commentary with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Chad Villella, and Justin Martinez; Radio Silence: A Hell of a Team; Director's photo album; Mountain devil prank fails horribly Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray) Space Battleship Yamato: Movie (Blu-ray/DVD Combo) Directed by Takashi Yamazaki Written by Shimako Sato (screenplay), Yoshinobu Nishizaki (anime series) Starring: Takuya Kimura, Meisa Kuroki, Toshirō Yanagiba, Naoto Ogata, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Maiko, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Reiko Takashima, Isao Hashizume, Toshiyuki Nishida, Tsutomu Yamazaki Space Battleship Yamato: Movie is a live action adaptation of the anime series of the same name and was originally released in 2010 in Japan. In the year 2199 Earth is at war with an alien race known as the Gamilas. The Gamilas infect Earth with radiation and the human race only has 73 days before it becomes extinct. Earth's only hope is sending its most powerful battleship, The Yamato to the distance planet of Iskander to find a device that could counteract the radiation. DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Space Battleship Pre-visualization; VFX "Making-of"; Local Yamato; News flashes; Premiere announcements; Original trailer #1; Original trailer #2; Previews Amazon Price: $9.96 (Blu-ray) Gimme Shelter (DVD and Blu-ray) Written and directed by Ron Krauss Starring: Vanessa Hudgens, James Earl Jones, Rosario Dawson, Brendan Fraser The independent drama Gimme Shelter is about Agnes "Apple" Bailey (Vanessa Hudgens), a 16-year-old girl who is physically and verbally abused by her drug addicted, prostitute mother (Rosario Dawson). Desperate not to follow in her mother's footsteps Apple runs away from home to find her birth father. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 22% (very bad) Metacritic Rating: 37/100 (poor) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Closed Caption; "The making of Gimme Shelter" featurette; Deleted scenes with audio commentary by writer/director Ronald Krauss Amazon Price: $12.96 (DVD), $19.98 (Blu-ray) Escape From Tomorrow (DVD) Written and directed by Randy Moore Starring: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor Escape From Tomorrow is a very controversial movie for being shot secretly at Disney World. Jim (Roy Abramsohn) is a man who just lost his job and keeps it secret from his family and goes on vacation to Disney World. But his trip is more bizarre then he ever imagine, encountering two teenagers and discovers the dark secret of Disney. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 56% (average) Metacritic Rating: 58/100 (average) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Commentaries from Writer/Director Randy Moore and Cinematographer Lucas Lee Graham and Actors Roy Abramsohn and Elena Schuber in Character; The Making of Escape From Tomorrow; Theatrical Poster Gallery; Escape From Tomorrow Trailer Amazon Price: $13.99 (DVD) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 3.5 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 3 stars, Replay 3 stars (out of 5). Recommended. The Best Offer (DVD) Written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks, Donald Sutherland From Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore is the drama The Best Offer about Virgil Oldman (Geoffrey Rush) who becomes obsessed with the reclusive Claire (Sylvia Hoeks) who is selling her late parents' fine art collection. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 55% (average) Metacritic Rating: 49/100 (average) Entertainment Fuse Score: 4.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Trailer Amazon Price: $19.49 (DVD) Gloria (DVD) Directed by Sebastián Lelio Written by Gonzalo Maza, Sebastián Lelio Starring: Paulina García Gloria is a drama movie from Chile about Gloria (Paulina García), a 58-year-old divorcee in Santiago and looks at her relationship with a former naval officer, Rodolfo (Sergio Hernández). Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 99% (excellent) Metacritic Rating: 83/100 (very good) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features:  Closed Caption; Behind-the-scenes musical montage: "Gloria"/"Eres"/"Fiesta Golden Seniors" Amazon Price: $19.99 (DVD) Gamera: Ultimate Collection V1 (Blu-ray) Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965) Directed by Noriaki Yuasa Written by Nisan Takahashi, Yonejiro Saito Starring: Eiji Funakoshi, Harumi Kiritachi, Junichirô Yamashita Gamera vs. Barugon (1966) Directed by Shigeo Tanaka Written by Nisan Takahashi Starring: Kōjirō Hongō, Kyōko Enami Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967) Directed by Noriaki Yuasa Written by Nisan Takahashi Starring: Kojiro Hongo, Kichijiro Ueda, Nayuki Abe Gamera vs. Viras (1968) Directed by Noriaki Yuasa Written by Nisan Takahashi Starring: Kojiro Hongo, Toru Takatsuka, Carl Craig Jr. The newest version of Godzilla is soon set to hit the big screen so now is a great time to check out the re-release of the Gamera series focusing on the giant turtle monster Gamera who battles numerous threats against Japan and the world. Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965) Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A Gamera vs. Barugon (1966) Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967) Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A Gamera vs. Viras (1968) Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A DISC DETAILS Amazon Price: $17.98 (Blu-ray) Gamera: Ultimate Collection V2 (Blu-ray) Gamera vs. Guiron (1969) Directed by Noriaki Yuasa Written by Nisan Takahashi Starring: Nobuhiro Kaima, Miyuki Akiyama, Chrystopher Murphy, Yuko Hamada, Eiji Funakoshi, Kon Omura Gamera vs. Jiger (1970) Directed by Noriaki Yuasa Written by Nisan Takahashi Starring: Tsutomu Takakuwa, Kelly Varis, Katherine Murphy, Kon Omura, Ryô Hayami, Junko Yashiro Gamera vs. Zigra (1971) Directed by Noriaki Yuasa Written by Nisan Takahashi Starring: Gloria Zoellner, Arlene Zoellner, Koji Fujiyama, Daigo Inoue, Reiko Kasahara, Daihachi Kita, Goroo Kudan, Shin Minatsu Gamera: Super Monster (1980) Directed by Noriaki Yuasa Written by Nisan Takahashi Starring: Mach Fumiake, Yaeko Kojima, Yoko Komatsu, Keiko Kudo, Koichi Maeda, Toshie Takada The second volume of the Gamera Blu-ray re-releases focuses on the movies made between 1969 to 1980 as Gamera battles even more monsters. Gamera vs. Guiron (1969) Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A Gamera vs. Jiger (1970) Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A Gamera vs. Zigra (1971) Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A Gamera: Super Monster (1980) Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A DISC DETAILS Amazon Price: $14.99 (Blu-ray) Il Sorpasso (1962)(DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Dino Risi Written by Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, Ruggero Maccari Starring: Vittorio Gassman, Bruno Cortona From the Criterion Collection is the re-release of the acclaimed Italian road movie Il Sorpasso about an unlikely duo of care-free bachelor and bookish law student travelling from Rome to rural Italy. DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: New introduction by filmmaker Alexander Payne; New interviews with Screenwriter Ettore Scola and film scholar Rémi Fournier Lanzoni; Interview from 2004 with Director Dino Risi, conducted by film critic Jean A. Gili; Introduction by actor Jean-Louis Trintignant from a 1983 French television broadcast of the film; A Beautiful Vacation, a 2006 documentary on Risi featuring interviews with the Director and his collaborators and friends; Excerpts from a 2012 documentary that returns to Castiglioncello, the location for the film's beach scenes; Excerpts from Speaking with Gassman, a 2005 documentary on the relationship between actor Vittorio Gassman and Risi, directed by Risi's son Marco ; Trailer; Plus: An essay by critic Phillip Lopate Amazon Price: $15.99 (DVD), $24.99 (Blu-ray) The Wind and The Lion (1975) (Blu-ray) Written and directed by John Milius Starring: Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, John Huston The final re-release of the week is the adventure movie The Wind and the Lion which is loosely based on the Pedicaris Incident of 1904. Candice Bergen plays Eden Pedecaris, an American woman and with her children get kidnapped by a Moroccan bandit (Sean Connery) which ended up causing an international incident. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 70% (good) DISC DETAILS Amazon Price: $19.79 (Blu-ray)