Aside from a big new release from Warner, it is a mostly quiet week in the Blu-ray Cover Art Gallery for mid June 2013.

Bryan Singer’s latest movie Jack the Giant Slayer 3D is on the Blu-ray 3D format this week from New Line Home Entertainment, along with a regular Blu-ray combo release for Jack the Giant Slayer.

Other popular titles this week are the new catalog titles Lifeforce and The Howling from Shout! Factory.

Fox Home Entertainment has new titles this week too, including Stoker,  Movie 43, and 21 & Over.

Fox also has the cult television favourite Wilfred: The Complete Season 2 this week, and other television releases include Workaholics: Season Three from Comedy Central and Call the Midwife: Season Two from BBC Home Entertainment.

The Criterion Collection has three releases this week as well, with the 20′s Harold Lloyd film Safety Last!, the 30′s science fiction movie Things to Come, and the 60′s Czech film Marketa Lazarova.

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G.I. Joe: Retaliation has been announced for a Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D release by Paramount Home Entertainment, scheduled for a July 30th, 2013.

This science fiction action film is loosely based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe toy, comic and media franchises.

It is also a sequel to the 2009 movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

The screenplay was from  Zombieland  writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

The cast includes Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce and Ray Stevenson.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation was directed by Jon M. Chu, who is maybe most famous for directing the Microsoft Surface commercial.

The movie was met with largely negative reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 28%, though it did better with the public, earning an IMDb score of 6.2/10.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation was fairly successful in the cinema, reaching $122M at the US box office.

The retail price is $54.99, though it over half off at Amazon for only $24.99, saving 55%!

Alternatively you can add it to your Blu-rayStats Wishlist.

If you don’t need the 3D, the retail is $39.99, or at Amazon for $19.99.

Synopsis:

“The greatest American Heroes are back” (Julian Roman, Movieweb.com) and they’ve been set up to take the fall for a terrible crime they didn’t commit. Now, Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Duke (Channing Tatum) and the other G.I. Joes must once again face their mortal enemy, COBRA, as well as dangerous new threats operating within the government. When all else fails, one option remains: Retaliation. Roadblock steps up to lead a new team (including Bruce Willis) on this explosive adventure critics are calling “unlike any action movie you’ve ever seen. A thrilling ride that leaves you wanting more” (Raquel Baldwin, Talking Pictures).

Oz the Great and Powerful is the latest Blu-ray 3D title from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, released for a June 11th, 2013.

The film is based on L. Frank Baum’s Oz novels, though it also pays homage to the 1939 MGM film The Wizard Of Oz.

The film is set 20 years before the events of the books, and focuses on Oscar Diggs, who arrives in the Land of Oz and is believed to be the great wizard who is destined to restore order in Oz.

Oz the Great and Powerful 3D the Movie

The films opens in 1905, where Oscar Diggs works as a small-time magician in a traveling circus in Kansas.

While a storm approaches, Oscar’s magic show goes very badly and then the circus strongman learns that Oscar has flirted with his wife.

The strongman chases Oscar, forcing him to escape in a hot air balloon that is sucked into the tornado.

The tornado dumps him in the Land of Oz, where he meets the witch Theodora.

Theodora believes him to be a great wizard prophesied to overthrow the Wicked Witch who killed the king of Oz.

On the way to the Emerald City, Oscar flirts with Theodora, who innocently falls in love with him.

They also meet flying monkey named Finley, who pledges a life debt to Oscar when he saves Finley from a lion.

At the Emerald City, Oscar meets Theadora’s sister Evanora, who is skeptical of Oscar being the foretold wizard.

Evanora tells Oscar that the Wicked Witch resides in the Dark Forest and can be killed by destroying her wand, the source of her power.

On the way to the Dark Forest, Oscar and Finley come across a young, living china doll whose home and family were destroyed by the Wicked Witch.

But things are not all as they seem in Oz, and as the movie plays out, Oscar must decide if he is just a simple magician, or if he is in fact destined to be The Wizard of Oz!

Oz the Great and Powerful had an interesting goal, to be a prequel to one of the most well known films in history.

This new film certainly goes a long way to recreate the Land of Oz, and the story sets the scene pretty much perfectly for the events of the original film.

Again we start with a narrow screen monochrome sequence that opens up to widescreen and glorious ‘Technicolor’ as we explore the Land of Oz.

The film has a pretty good heart, and Oscar certainly has a big character arc, with his strong self interest fading in favour of the greater good of the people of Oz.

The spirit of the original Oz movie has been well captured.

Overall I enjoyed the film, and have new motivation to re-watch the original, which has a 3D release planned for later this year.

The cast includes James Franco in the role of Oscar, along with witches Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams, and voice actors Zach Braff and Joey King.

Oz the Great and Powerful 3D was directed by Sam Raimi, who started out with low budget films like The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, but is probably most famous for his Spider-Man: The High-Definition Trilogy.

Reviews for the movie were predominantly positive, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 60% and an IMDb score of 6.6/10.

Oz the Great and Powerful 3D was successful in the cinema, exceeding its budget by taking in $233.7M at the US box office.

Oz the Great and Powerful 3D on Blu-ray 3D

The video on the disc is a stereo MVC 1080p encode at 23 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1.

The movie opens in black and white 1.33:1 aspect ratio, though is still in 3D.

The film has great saturated colours to align with the original film, and looks excellent throughout.

The 3D stereoscopic effect is also strong throughout, with quite a few out of screen effects

See the details page for Oz the Great and Powerful 3D for full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 7.1 channels – 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 44.6 GB used and is coded for All Regions.

Oz the Great and Powerful 3D on Blu-ray 3D – The Bonus Features

This release is different from previous Disney Blu-ray 3D titles in that it does not include the regular Blu-ray or even a DVD of the movie.

It does include a Digital Copy download (there is no Digital Copy disc) that is compatible with  iTunes however.

This omission has two detrimental side effects for the avid film fan.

Firstly there is not a copy of the movie that can be viewed on a regular Blu-ray home theater system.

Many folks have a second or even third television that is not 3D capable and unlike some 3D titles, this Blu-ray 3D disc will not play in a regular player.

So it cannot be watched in other rooms on a regular Blu-ray or DVD based system.

Perhaps the biggest issue from my perspective though is that it appears to completely lack any of the supplemental features of the regular release.

I think that this is a big oversight on Disney’s part.

Still in will be interesting to see how well this packaging sells in the marketplace, and whether Disney continues with this approach for future Blu-ray 3D titles, or whether they go back to making a package that covers all of the formats.

Oz the Great and Powerful 3D on Blu-ray 3D – Final Thoughts

Oz the Great and Powerful 3D is a fun film that has strong ties with the original story and movie.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has put together a technically strong Blu-ray 3D release with an excellent 3D presentation of the film.

On the down side, this release lacks the legacy formats of regular Blu-ray and DVD, and as such no supplements are directly available.

There is a Digital Copy code that can be used to download a Digital Copy of the film that is iTunes compatible.

The retail price is $44.99, though you can get it currently at Amazon for $31.45, saving 30%!

Synopsis:

Disney’s fantastical adventure Oz The Great And Powerful, from the director of the Spider-Man trilogy, follows Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics. When Diggs is hurled away to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot – until he meets three witches (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams), who aren’t convinced he’s the great wizard everyone’s expecting. Reluctantly drawn into epic problems facing Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it’s too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity – and even some wizardry – Oscar transforms himself into the great Wizard and a better man as well.

Be sure to watch for the Universal Studios Home Entertainment Blu-ray release for the Tom Cruise Sci-Fi film Oblivion – on Blu-ray Disc August 6th, 2013.

The film is set in post-apocalyptic times, and is based on a graphic novel.

Oblivion also pays homage to science fiction films of the 1970s.

The cast includes Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Melissa Leo.

Oblivion was directed by Joseph Kosinski, the man behind TRON: Legacy 3D.

The critical response to the movie was fairly middle of the road, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 55%, though did better with the public earning an IMDb score of 7.1/10.

Oblivion had a fair run in the cinema, reaching $88.5M at the US box office, and it was Cruise’s twentieth film to gross more than $200 million worldwide.

Planned features for the disc include an 1080p encode presented at 2.40:1, along with lossless 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

The retail price is $34.98, or pre-order it from Amazon for $23.99, saving 31%!

Alternatively you can add it to your Blu-rayStats Wishlist.

Synopsis:

This groundbreaking cinematic event stars Tom Cruise as Jack Harper, the lone security repairman stationed on a desolate, nearly-ruined future Earth. When he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft, her arrival triggers a nonstop chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows, and leaves humanity’s fate in his hands. Academy Award®-winner Morgan Freeman joins Cruise in this “visually stunning” (Pete Hammond, Movieline), explosive story from the director of TRON: Legacy and the producer of Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

We have a couple of big Blu-ray 3D releases in the Blu-ray Cover Art Gallery for the week of  June 10th 2013.

First up is the fantasy action movie Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, along with the Limited 3D Edition of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has Oz the Great and Powerful this week, also with an Oz the Great and Powerful 3D edition.

Disney also has some new animated double feature releases, including Lilo & Stitch / Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, The Emperor’s New Groove / Kronk’s New Groove, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire / Atlantis: Milo’s Return.

Paul McCartney and Wings feature in Rockshow this week from Eagle Rock Entertainment.

Summit Entertainment has The Rock in his latest movie Snitch this week.

For classic cinema, watch for a new release for Enter the Dragon from Warner Home Video this week, as well as Bergman’s Wild Strawberries from the Criterion Collection, and documentary How to Survive a Plague from MPI Home Video.

Television releases include The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Third Season from Image Entertainment,  The Newsroom: The Complete First Season from HBO Home Video and the Netflix original series House of Cards: The Complete First Season from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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Watch for Warner Home Video’s new Blu-ray release for Bullet to the Head on July 16th, 2013.

The movie was written by Alessandro Camon and based on Alexis Nolent’s French graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tete.

In the film a New Orleans hit man and a Washington DC cop form an alliance to take down the killers of their respective partners.

The cast includes Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Sarah Shahi, and Christian Slater.

Bullet to the Head was directed by Walter Hill, the man behind The Warriors, Broken Trail, Red Heat, Johnny Handsome, 48 Hrs., and The Long Riders.

The film was met with mixed reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 47% and an IMDb score of 5.8/10.

Bullet to the Head didn’t do so well at the cinema, earning just $9.5M at the US box office.

The retail price is $35.99, or pre-order it from Amazon for $24.99, saving 31%!

Alternatively you can add it to your Blu-rayStats Wishlist.

Synopsis:

Based on Alexis Nolent’s French graphic novel, Du Plomb Dans La Tete, “Bullet to the Head” tells the story of a New Orleans hit man (Stallone) and a DC cop (Kang) who form an unlikely alliance to bring down the killers of their respective partners.

August 6th, 2013 will mark the arrival of the new Universal Studios Home Entertainment Blu-ray release for The Place Beyond the Pines.

The film is a crime drama written by Derek Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, and Darius Marder, and the title is the loose English meaning of the city name Schenectady.

The cast includes Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Dane DeHaan, Emory Cohen, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelsohn and Rose Byrne.

The Place Beyond the Pines was directed by Derek Cianfrance, who also directed Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine.

The critical response to the movie was very positive, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 82% and an IMDb score of 7.6/10.

The Place Beyond the Pines had relatively limited success in the cinema, reaching $21.2M at the US box office, though its budget was only $15M.

Planned features for the disc include an 1080p encode with lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

The retail price is $34.98, with an early pre-order from Amazon for $31.48, saving 10%.

Alternatively you can add it to your Blu-rayStats Wishlist.

A few new hot titles in the Blu-ray Cover Art Gallery for this week.

Fox Home Entertainment has Bruce Willis’ latest A Good Day to Die Hard this week. taking the top title honors.

Identity Thief is the first of many new titles from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, while Summit Entertainment has the romantic zombie film Warm Bodies.

Other Universal titles include disaster epic Earthquake, with other classic releases including Creature from the Black Lagoon, Hitchcock’s Rope, the 1932 version of The Mummy, The Invisible Man and Phantom of the Opera.

New titles with UltraViolet now thrown in include The Sting, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Bourne Supremacy.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has television release Breaking Bad: The Fifth Season this week, while Warner has Falling Skies: The Complete Second Season, Adventure Time: The Complete First Season and Adventure Time: The Complete Second Season.

Other Warner releases include The Odd Couple and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Anchor Bay Entertainment has a Blu-ray 3D release this week for the computer animated Escape from Planet Earth, while MGM Home Entertainment has the Daniel Craig 007 Collection.

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August 13th, 2013 will mark the arrival of the new Universal Studios Home Entertainment Blu-ray release for The Office: Season Nine.

This ninth and final season of the American television comedy The Office screened its last episode on May 16, 2013.

The Office was an American adaptation of the British comedy series of the same name.

The show is a mockumentary portraying the lives of office employees at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

The ninth season largely focuses on the relationship between Jim and Pam Halpert, though it winds up a number of long running threads in the show.

The cast includes John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Ed Helms, Angela Kinsey, Brian Baumgartner, Phyllis Smith and Kate Flannery.

The show is well liked, with an IMDb score of 8.7/10.

Planned features for the disc include an 1080p encode presented at 1.78:1, lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels on 4 dual layer BD50 discs.

The retail price is $59.98, or pre-order it from Amazon for $49.99, saving 17%!

Alternatively you can add it to your Blu-rayStats Wishlist.

The Peter Pan film Return to Never Land was recently announced by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment for release on Blu-ray Disc August 20th, 2013.

This 2002 animated film was produced by DisneyToon Studios in Australia and released by Walt Disney Pictures worldwide.

The film is a sequel to Peter Pan.

The voice cast includes Harriet Owen, Blayne Weaver, Corey Burton and Jeff Bennett.

Return to Never Land was directed by Robin Budd and Donovan Cook.

The film was met with mixed reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 45% and an IMDb score of 5.6/10.

Return to Never Land earned $48.4M at the US box office.

Planned features for the disc include an 1080p encode along with lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels.

The retail price is $36.99, or pre-order it from Amazon for $24.96, saving 33%!

Alternatively you can add it to your Blu-rayStats Wishlist.

Synopsis:

Let your imagination soar as your favorite characters from Peter Pan, Disney’s classic adventure, return to Never Land! Now, for the first time through the magic of Blu-ray, experience all the thrilling action with digitally restored picture and spine-tingling high-definition sound! Wendy’s very practical and no-nonsense daughter, Jane, begins the adventure of a lifetime when the infamous Captain Hook whisks her away to the enchanted island of Never Land. It’s up to Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys to help Jane believe in faith, trust and pixie dust. With the first-ever Lost Girl at his side, will Peter Pan finally defeat Hook and his swashbuckling band of pirates? Share the power of believing with your family in Return To Never Land—now more spectacular than ever on Disney Blu-ray!