The summer movies are now starting to come out onto DVD and Blu-ray and one of the best movies of the year, Star Trek Into Darkness, is Entertainment Fuse’s Recommendation of the Week. The Blu-ray version of the movie has a number of behind-the-scenes featurettes to please fans.
First Release
- Star Trek Into Darkness (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Love Is All You Need (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Chasing Ice (DVD and Blu-ray)
- We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks (DVD)
Re-Release
- The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1965) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- La Cage aux Folles (1971) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Marathon Man (1976) (Blu-ray)
- The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) (Blu-ray)
- Friday the 13th Collection (Blu-ray) (Release Date Sept. 13)
Star Trek Into Darkness (DVD and Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week*
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof (screenplay), Gene Roddenberry (TV series)
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Alice Eve, Anton Yelchin, Peter Weller, Benedict Cumberbatch
Star Trek Into Darkness was one of the most highly anticipated movies of 2013, earning high praise from critics, audiences and from us at Entertainment Fuse, but declared the worst Star Trek movie by a Trekkie Convention.
After a mission where Captain James Kirk (Chris Pine) defies orders he is demoted by Starfleet. But Starfleet is under attack by one of their best agents who went rogue, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock). When someone Kirk loves is killed he sets out on a mission of vengeance to capture or kill Harrison, but soon discovers an even wider conspiracy within Starfleet.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 87% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 72/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 8.5/10 (read our review)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Closed Caption
Additional Blu-ray Special Features: Packed with behind-the-scenes featurettes including: The Enemy of My Enemy: The ultimate look at Khan; Ship to Ship: Filming the extraordinary space jump sequence; The Klingon Home World: Re-creating the legendary species
Amazon Price: $14.96 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray), $24.99 (3D Blu-ray)
Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 3.5 stars, Video 5 stars, Audio 5 stars, Extras 2 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Recommended.
Also out this week are two documentaries and a Danish rom-com which feature a former Bond, whilst three thrillers and a whole horror series are being re-released.
Love Is All You Need (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Susanne Bier
Written by Anders Thomas Jensen (screenplay), Susanne Bier, Anders Thomas Jensen (story)
Starring: Trine Dyrholm, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Bodnia
From the award winning director of Brothers and In A Better World is Love Is All You Need, a Danish rom-com about Ida (Trine Dyrholm), a woman recovering from cancer who finds out her husband is having an affair. Ida goes to Italy for her daughter’s wedding alone where she meets the father of the gloom, Philip (Pierce Brosnan), and slowly starts to befriend the man.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 75% (very good)
Metacritic Rating: 60/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.0/10
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Commentary with Pierce Brosnan & Director Susanne Bier; Q&A with Pierce Brosnan, Trine Dyrholm, Susanne Bier & Anders Thomas Jensen; Cast Interviews from the Venice Film Festival; Behind the scenes with Trine Dyrholm
Amazon Price: $18.99 (DVD), $21.99 (Blu-ray)
Chasing Ice (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Jeff Orlowski
Starring: James Balog
Chasing Ice is a National Geographic documentary following environmental photography James Balog, a Climate Change skeptic whose opinion changes after conducting a time capture image survey in the Artic.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 96% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 75/100 (very good)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Closed Caption; Making Chasing Ice; Footage from film festival Q&As; Science update
Additional Blu-ray Special Features: Collectible booklet; Director's commentary; "Before my time"; Glacier watching; Making the time-lapses; The Sundance experience; Testimonials; Time now
Amazon Price: $19.86 (DVD), $27.99 (Blu-ray)
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks (DVD)
Written and directed by Alex Gibney
Starring: Julian Assange, Heather Brooke
Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks is a documentary from Academy Award winning director Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Taxi to the Dark Side) about Julian Assange and the creation of WikiLeaks.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 95% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating: 76/100 (very good)
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Deleted scenes; Manning Testifies
Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Driected by Martin Ritt
Written by Paul Dehn, Guy Trosper (screenplay), John le Carré (novel)
Starring: Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner
John le Carré is easily regarded as one of the best spy novelist ever, known for his realistic approach and his real life experience in MI6. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is one for le Carré’s most popular novels and it received a film adaptation in 1965.
Alec Leamas (Richard Burton) is MI6’s station chief in East Germany when a mission goes wrong at the Berlin Wall. He is given a choice; either accepts a desk job in London or resign so he can go undercover to frame the head of East German counter-intelligence, the brutal Mundt, as a MI6 double-agent. But his mission is complex, made even harder when he falls for a young idealistic Communist, Nan Perry (Claire Bloom).
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 83% (very good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 8.3/10
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: New, restored high-definition digital transfer;
New interviews with author John Le Carré and cinematographer Oswald Morris
The Secret Center: John Le Carré (2000), a BBC documentary on the author s extraordinary life and work; Acting in the '60s: Richard Burton, a 1967 interview with the BBC’s Kenneth Tynan examining the actor's performances and accomplishments; Gallery of set designs; Theatrical trailer; PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Michael Sragow and a reprinted interview with Ritt
Amazon Price: $24.49 (DVD), $34.99 (Blu-ray)
La Cage aux Folles (1978) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Directed by Édouard Molinaro
Written by Édouard Molinaro, Francis, Marcello Danon, Jean Poiret (screenplay), Jean Poiret (play)
Starring: Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Serrault
The other Criterion Collection re-release of the week is the French-Italian movie La Cage aux Folles, based on a play by Jean Poiret about a gay couple whose one of their sons announces he is getting married and the men have to conceal their lifestyle from the fiancée and her family.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (excellent)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.0/10
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: New interview with Director Edouard Molinaro; Archival footage featuring actor Michel Serrault and Jean Poiret, writer and star of the original stage production of La Cage aux Folles; New interview with Laurence Senelick, author of The Changing Room: Sex, Drag and Theatre; French and U.S. trailers; Plus: A booklet featuring an essay by critic David Ehrenstein
Amazon Price: $24.99 (DVD), $34.99 (Blu-ray)
Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 4 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 3.5 stars, Extras 4 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.
Marathon Man (1976) (Blu-ray)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Written by William Goldman
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane, Marthe Keller
Marathon Man is a highly regarded thriller from the 70s about an ordinary man, Thomas “Babe” Levy (Dustin Hoffman) who is thrust into an extraordinary conspiracy involving a secret government agency, a Nazi war criminal and diamond smuggling.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 80% (very good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 8.5/10
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Remembering Marathon Man; The Magic Of Hollywood...Is The Magic Of People; Rehersal footage; Theatrical trailer
Amazon Price: $13.99 (Blu-ray)
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) (Blu-ray)
Directed by Anthony Minghella
Written by Anthony Minghella (screenplay), Patricia Highsmith (novel)
Starring: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett
Matt Damon stars as Tom Ripley, a New Yorker in the 1950s who is asked by an industrial tycoon to convince his son, Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) to return to America from Italy. But Tom is a psychopathic identity theft.
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 83% (very good)
Metacritic Rating: 76/100 (very good)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.3/10
DISC DETAILS
DVD Special Features: Commentary by Anthony Minghella; Inside The Talented Mr. Ripley; Reflections on The Talented Mr. Ripley; The making of the soundtrack; 2 theatrical trailers
Amazon Price: $13.99 (Blu-ray)
Friday the 13th Collection (Blu-ray) (Release Date Sept. 13)
Friday the 13th (1980)
Directed by Sean S. Cunningham
Written by Victor Miller
Starring: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Jeannine Taylor, Kevin Bacon, Mark Nelson, Robbi Morgan, Ari Lehman
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Directed by Sean Milner
Written by Ron Kurz, Phil Scuderi
Starring: Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King, Kristen Baker, Stuart Charno, Marta Kober, Tom McBride, Bill Randolph, Lauren-Marie Taylor, Russell Todd
Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
Directed by Sean Milner
Written by Martin Kitrosser (screenplay), Ron Kurz, Victor Miller (characters)
Starring: Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, Tracie Savage, Jeffrey Rogers, Catherine Parks, Richard Brooker, Amy Steel, John Furey
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
Directed by Joseph Zito
Written by Barney Cohen (screenplay), Bruce Hidemi Sakow (story), Victor Miller, Martin Kitrosser, Ron Kurz, Carol Watson (characters)
Starring: Kimberly Beck, Erich Anderson, Corey Feldman, Peter Barton, Crispin Glover
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
Directed by Danny Steinmann
Written by Martin Kitrosser, David Cohen, Danny Steinmann (screenplay), Martin Kitrosser, David Cohen (story), Victor Miller (characters)
Starring: Melanie Kinnaman, John Shepherd, Shaver Ross, Richard Young, Marc St. John, Juliette Cummins, Tiffany Helm
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Live (1986)
Directed by Tom McLoughlin
Written by Tom Loughlin (screenplay), Victor Miller, Martin Kitrosser, Ron Kurz, Carol Watson (characters)
Starring: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, Renée Jones, Kerry Noonan, Darcy DeMoss, Tom Fridley, C.J. Graham
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Directed by Rob Hedden
Written by Rob Hedden (screenplay), Victor Miller, Martin Kitrosser, Ron Kurz, Carol Watson (characters)
Starring: Jensen Daggett, Scott Reeves, Barbara Bingham, Peter Mark Richman, Kane Hodder
Jason Goes to Hell (1993)
Directed by Adam Marcus
Written by Jay Huguely, Adam Marcus, Dean Lorey (screenplay), Victor Miller, Martin Kitrosser, Ron Kurz, Carol Watson (characters)
Starring: Kane Hodder, John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Allison Smith, Steven Culp, Steven Williams, Billy Green Bush
Jason X (2001)
Directed by James Isaac
Written by Todd Farmer (screenplay), Victor Miller (characters)
Starring: Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell, Jonathan Potts, Kane Hodder
Friday the 13th (2009)
Directed by Marcus Nispel
Written by Damian Shannon, Mark Swift (screenplay), Damian Shannon, Mark Swift, Mark Wheaton (story), Victor Miller (characters)
Starring: Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Aaron Yoo, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, Derek Mears
Jason Voorhees is one of the most famous and popular slasher killers around. Easily recognizable with his hockey mask and machete Voorhees has appeared in 10 horror movies, ranging from the simplicity of hacking teenagers to death in an abandoned summer camp to the bamby when Voorhees goes to space.
Friday the 13th (1980)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 59% (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.5/10
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 33% (poor)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.5/10
Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 13% (awful)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.0/10
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 24% (very bad)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.5/10
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 17% (awful)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 5.0/10
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Live (1986)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 52% (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.0/10
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 24% (very bad)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 4.0/10
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 10% (awful)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 2.0/10
Jason Goes to Hell (1993)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 27% (very bad)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 4.0/10
Jason X (2001)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 21% (very bad)
Metacritic Rating: 25/100 (very bad)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 3.0/10
Friday the 13th (2009)
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 25% (very bad)
Metacritic Rating: 34/100 (poor)
Entertainment Fuse Score: 4.8/10
DISC DETAILS
Amazon Price: $94.96 (Blu-ray)
