March 2nd 2010 marked the arrival of the big budget movies on Blu-ray this year, with the Sony Pictures release 2012.

This epic disaster movie ponders if mankind even has a future after cataclysmic events from an ancient Mayan prophecy.

The sun has gone into a new strange phase and neutrinos are heating the Earth’s core at an alarming rate.

Lakes are drying up and Los Angeles is suffering small tremors on a regular basis.

Meanwhile author turned limo driver Jackson Curtis is taking his family out on a camping trip, only to discover ‘the truth’ from a rambling crackpot radio announcer.

Can Jackson and his family escape the destruction as Los Angeles slides into the Pacifc?

Will they uncover the obligatory international government conspiracy to protect the wealthy and elite from the end of times?

Certainly the film makers have gone to great lengths here to present an exciting movie, but in reality it runs too long and the destruction of the planet’s icons becomes monotonous after a while.

They could easily have slashed millions off the special effects budget by making a tighter two hour movie.

In addition, while sometimes it is fun to turn the brain off and munch on the popcorn, this movie took the suspension of belief thing to a whole new level - so much so that it just fails to be even close to credible.

On the other hand, this film features top notch practical and computer generated special effects which are on a scale never previously seen.

The cast is also a pretty decent ensemble,  including John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson and Chjwetel Ejiofor.

2012 was directed by Roland Emmerich, famous for epic special effects movies including The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day, as well as factually loose period pieces like The Patriot.

Emmerich promises that this will be his last disaster flick.

The movie was given a a bit of a hard hard time by critics - it earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 39% and IMDb score of 6.1/10, which I think is a pretty fair assessment.

2012 had a strong run at the cinema, reaching $166.1M at the US box office.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 22 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1.

The movie looks great, as you would expect from such a high budget production.

For full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc, check out the details page for 2012.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 41.7 GB used and is coded for All Regions.

Supplements for this title include Bonus View Picture in Picture streams and BD Live Network features.

The BD exclusive movieIQ feature allows movie details to be researched as the movie plays.

The Picture-in-Picture option features the director’s Vision, including pre-visualization, storyboards and behind-the-scenes footage, as well as interviews with cast and crew.

The first disc also features a commentary with writer/director Roland Emmerich and co-writer Harald Kloser.

Additionally an alternate ending that is a little more sugar coated than the theatrical version is present on the first disc.

Most of the special features are on the second dedicated supplemental disc.

There is a small selection of deleted scenes where good choices to be removed from the movie.

BD Java is put to good use in the Interactive Mayan Calendar where you can enter a date to reveal your horoscope and find your Mayan personality profile based on your birth date.

There is also a short featurette that covers the Mysteries of the Mayan Calendar and the extensive cycles that it includes.

The Designing the End of the World featurette is the main making of documentary, and it largely covers the computer generated and practical special effects that were combined to form the images on the screen.

In a lot of ways a film buff will likely find this segment is more interesting than the movie itself, especially with the scale of the practical effects used to give the film a feeling of authenticity.

The history and nature of the director is covered in the Roland Emmerich: Master of the Modern Epic featurette

The Science Behind the Destruction featurette looks into potentially plausible real causes for the disasters presented in the film.

The actors in the film take center stage in the The End of the World: The Actor’s Perspective featurette, which covers the casting and the challenges of acting in this kind of movie.

The Countdown to the Future featurette investigates the potential for the the end of the real world in 2012 due to increasingly unusual solar activity and the phases of Mayan calendar.

The Time For Miracles music video by Adam Lambert of American Idol fame is included along with a ‘making of’ feature for the video.

The Digital Copy for PSP is actually included on the supplemental Blu-ray Disc and is transferable to the PSP via a PlayStation3.

A separate DVD disc contains the Digital Copy for iTunes and Windows Media.

Whether you consider it an amazing disaster epic or an amazingly epic disaster, the two disc edition of 2012 is a great Blu-ray Disc release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Even if the movie isn’t all that appealing to you, this disc is an excellent choice for demonstrating the capabilities of Blu-ray Disc and your home theater system.

The retail price is $39.95, or order it right now at Amazon for $24.99, saving 37%!

If you are not interested in all of the special features and the digital copy, you can find the 2012 Single Disc Version for a little less at $23.99, though I think the extras are worth the extra $1 myself.

Extras:

• movieIQ
• Picture-in-Picture: Roland’s Vision (BD Exclusive) – Includes pre-visualization, storyboards and behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with filmmakers, cast and crew
• Commentary with Writer/Director Roland Emmerich & Co-Writer Harald Kloser
• Alternate Ending
• Interactive Mayan Calendar (BD Exclusive) – Enter a date to reveal your horoscope and personality profile
• Mysteries of the Mayan Calendar featurette
• Designing the End of the World featurette
• Roland Emmerich: Master of the Modern Epic featurette
• Science Behind the Destruction featurette
• The End of the World: The Actor’s Perspective featurette
• Deleted Scenes
• Countdown to the Future
• “Time For Miracles” Music Video by Adam Lambert
• Making the Music Video “Time For Miracles” with Adam Lambert
• Digital Copy for PSP – included on the Blu-ray and transferable via the PlayStation®3
• Digital Copy for iTunes and PC

Synopsis:

From Roland Emmerich, director of The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day, comes the ultimate action-adventure film, exploding with groundbreaking special effects. As the world faces a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions, cities collapse and continents crumble. 2012 brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. Starring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson and Danny Glover.

An intriguing new release this month is the animated Blu-ray title Ponyo, released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on March 2nd, 2010.

While we have seen Japanese animation released through Bandai and Funimation, I think this is one of the few cases where we have a major studio behind the genre.

In fact it would not surprise me to see Disney hoping to add another ‘Pixar’ to their animation stable.

Ponyo was produced by by Studio Ghibli in Japan, though it has also had an English audio overhaul for the US release of the movie.

The movie is loosely based on the Hans Christian Anderson story The Little Mermaid, and features the story of a goldfish with a human face who escapes her father and befriends a young human boy Sozuke.

Sozuke names her Ponyo and the two become close friends.

While Ponyo’s father seeks to return her to the sea, Ponyo has other ideas and ultimately wants to become a human child.

Through Ponyo’s defiance and magic potions, huge storms envelop the region and disaster looms, with Ponyo and Sozuke holding the key to restoring balance to the oceans.

The film is a little ‘trippy’ and off the wall, though is great little story and is suitable for family members of all ages.

The animation style is colourful and bright, and overall I found it to be a fun film to watch.

Disney obviously put a lot of effort into the voice casting for the English soundtrack, with Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas voicing the main characters.

Adult voices were provided by Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin and Betty White.

Ponyo was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who won the 2002 Best Animated Film Oscar for his movie Spirited Away.

The movie was very well received by critics - it earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92% and IMDb score of 7.9/10.

Ponyo also had a small run in US cinema, reaching $15.1M at the domestic box office.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 22.5 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

The Blu-ray presentation of the animation looks both colourful and sharp.

Find full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc at the details page for Ponyo.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 16 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

You can also watch with the original Japanese soundtrack with subtitles in English.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 44.3 GB used and is coded for All Regions.

This title comes with a good selection of supplements, including Bonus View Picture in Picture video.

The World Of Ghibli is an extensive feature that has two main sections.

One is a collection of behind the scenes featurettes, interviews and trailers, while the other is a more interactive Java based program with sections for a number of the Ghibli movies.

One of the interactive sequences asks you a series of questions and identifies which Ponyo character you are most like and tells you why.

Apparently I am most like Ponyo - must be the round belly!

It is nice to see the BD Java being put to good use on this release.

The Meet Ponyo featurette presents an introduction by the US producers through interviews and segments from the film.

The original storyboard presentation of the movie can be seen in an optional picture in picture window as the movie runs.

The package also includes a DVD of the movie for legacy DVD players.

It is great to see Japanese animation getting a wider release and no doubt if it is successful in the US market, we will see more Studio Ghibli titles from Disney.

Ponyo is also is another strong Blu-ray release from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

The retail price is $39.99, and it is available at Amazon for $24.99, saving 38%!

While Ponyo was the only Blu-ray Disc released from Ghibli, new special edition DVDs for Castle in the Sky, Kiki’s Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro were released on the same day.

Extras:

• The World Of Ghibli: Visit Ponyo In This Extraordinary Interactive Experience!
• Meet Ponyo: Introduction By The Producers
• Storyboard Presentation Of The Movie

Synopsis:

Welcome to a world where anything is possible! Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki (2002, Best Animated Feature, Spirited Away) and legendary filmmaker John Lasseter together with Disney bring to life a heartwarming and imaginative telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid. A young boy named Sosuke rescues a goldfish named Ponyo, and they embark on a fantastic journey of friendship and discovery before Ponyo’s father, a powerful sorcerer, forces her to return to her home in the sea. In her quest to become human and reunite with Sosuke, Ponyo stumbles upon and releases her father’s magical Water of Life and triggers a gigantic storm. Now balance must be restored to the world they all cherish. Ponyo will delight your family with its magnificent animation and timeless story.

The Time Traveler’s Wife, released on Blu-ray by New Line Home Video on February 9th, is an interesting fusion of a love story with science fiction.

The film follows Clare and her unusual relationship with the time traveling Henry, who mysteriously travels through time and space when he becomes emotional.

When Henry travels he finds himself naked in his new location, and has to find the nearest shelter and clothing, never sure when he will return to the present time.

Henry has no control over when he travels, where and when he ends up, nor how long he stays, and he travels into both the past and future.

The film mostly follows Henry’s time line, with occasional flash backs to help establish Clare’s time line also.

When Henry first meets Clare, he does not know who she is, though she has already fallen in love with him through his many visits into the past.

The truth of the time line in the movie is well maintained, and the characters struggle with the facts that they know from the future and the possibility of changing their destiny.

Personally I found the concept intriguing and the movie to be quite enjoyable, though it fits into the thought provoking side rather than the action side of science fiction.

The cast features Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana in the lead roles, as well as Ron Livingston, Arliss Howard, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jane McLean and Brooklyn Proulx.

The Time Traveler’s Wife was directed by Robert Schwentke, the man behind the thriller Flightplan.

The movie had a mixed reception from the critics wiith a Rotten Tomatoes score of 38%, and a much better IMDb score of 7.2/10.

I would tend to side towards the IMDb score for this one.

The Time Traveler’s Wife did fairly well in the cinema though, reaching $63.4M at the US box office.

The video on the disc is a VC-1 1080p encode at 17 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

You will find full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc at the details page for The Time Traveler’s Wife.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a single layer BD25, with 23.6 GB used and is coded for All Regions.

Along with a couple of featurettes, his release includes a Digital Copy for both Windows Media and iTunes.

An Uncoventional Love Story features Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams and their views on the characters they portray.

The other featurette - The Time Traveler’s Wife: Love Beyond Words - is a 20 minute behind the scenes ‘making of’ documentary.

I quite enjoyed The Time Traveler’s Wife myself, though I can see that this style of movie is not for everyone.

The Blu-ray release from New Line Home Entertainment is another fairly light weight release from parent company Warner, though the movie itself gets a fairly decent presentation.

The retail price is $35.99, or order it right now at Amazon for $23.99, saving 33%!

Extras:

• An Uncoventional Love Story
• The Time Traveler’s Wife: Love Beyond Words

Synopsis:

Lose yourself in timeless love with this gloriously romantic story of the journey of two hearts. Artist Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams of The Notebook) shares a deep emotional bond with Henry De Tamble (Eric Bana of The Other Boleyn Girl), a handsome librarian who travels involuntarily through time. Knowing they can be separated without warning, Clare and Henry treasure the moments they have together, imbuing them with the yearning and passion of two people imprisoned by time - and set free by love. Based on the #1 bestseller, The Time Traveler’s Wife weaves together destiny and devotion, past and future to turn an extraordinary love into an extraordinary love story.

The second Blu-ray Disc release from Magnolia Home Entertainment on February 9th was the romantic comedy Serious Moonlight.

Essentially the plot revolves around Louise and Ian, who have been married for thirteen years, though the magic has worn off for Ian.

While he is setting up for a romantic interlude with his mistress, Louise arrives unexpected and discovers his plan to run off to Paris and leave her.

Unwilling to accept her situation, Louise conks him over the head and while he is unconscious she duct tapes him to a chair, and later a toilet, vowing to keep him captive until their love is rekindled.

To complicate this seemingly impossible process, the house is taken over by burglars and the couple ends captive in their bathroom.

While the premise of the movie seemed interesting, the film has a number of weaknesses.

The film is surprisingly violent and mean spirited at times for a comedy, and often the dialogue and actions do not ring true.

The characters are pretty shallow, especially that of the mistress.

The movie was the last screenplay written by Adrienne Shelly before her untimely death, the writer and director of the movie Waitress, and was produced by her friends as a tribute to her.

In reality I think that the screenplay was not really completed, and it seems that the film makers were either unable or unwilling to revise it.

The film attracted a pretty decent cast, including Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton in the lead roles, as well as Kristen Bell and Justin Long.

Serious Moonlight was directed by Cheryl Hines, who also appeared in Waitress.

The movie was panned by critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 28% and an IMDb score of 5.6/10.

Serious Moonlight also had a small run in the cinema, earning $25.3k at the US box office.

The video on the disc is a VC-1 1080p encode at 26 Mbps, and is presented at 1.78:1 aspect ratio, filling the HDTV screen.

The image quality is surprisingly poor, perhaps due to it being a low budget production.

Check out the details page for Serious Moonlight to see full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a single layer BD25, with 23.2 GB used and is coded for All Regions.

The supplements are a little limited, but include an audio commentary with Cheryl Hines (director), Andy Ostroy (producer) and Michael Roiff (producer).

A look behind the scenes  is offered with the Making of Serious Moonlight featurette and the HDNet: A Look at Serious Moonlight.

All in all I think Serious Moonlight was an honorable attempt to honor the writer, though the result is sadly a film without much merit.

The Blu-ray release is from Magnolia Home Entertainment is probably about as much as one could realistically hope for.

The retail price is $29.98, and it is available at Amazon for $23.49, saving 22%!

Extras:

• Commentary with Cheryl Hines (director), Andy Ostroy (producer) and Michael Roiff (producer).
• The Making of Serious Moonlight (1.33:1; 480i/60; 0:12.21)
• HDNet: a look at Serious Moonlight (1.78:1; 1080i/60; 0:04.40)

Synopsis:

Things aren’t going exactly as planned for high-powered, Manhattan lawyer Louise (Meg Ryan). Her husband of 13 years, Ian (Timothy Hutton), announces to her that he’s leaving her for a younger woman (Kristen Bell). Taking things into her own hands, Louise holds Ian captive until he agrees to work on their marriage. The unexpected arrival of a gardener turned opportunistic thief (Justin Long) and Ian’s impatient mistress serve only to complicate the spiraling situation further.

Continuing the biographical theme, February 9th marked the Blu-ray release of the Magnolia Home Entertainment title Bronson.

This British film is based on the life of Britain’s most violent prison inmate Michael Peterson, who later adopts the name Charles Bronson.

This film is no ‘ordinary’ biopic though, as it switches between reenactments of Bronson’s life and a surreal theatrical narration of the events, which somehow feels very fitting for this larger than life character.

While Michael Peterson’s original sentence for robbing a Post Office of a little under 30 pounds, his violent behavour in prison has led to him being shifted from prison to asylum to prison, spendng less than 5 months of his life in since 1974 as a free man.

Due to his penchant for hostage taking, Peterson has also spent most of his prison time in solitary confinement.

Charles Bronson is still alive and incarcerated, and will probably never see the film about his own life.

The film is a very interesting watch - both violent and artistic in equally extreme measures - certainly an interesting approach that entertains and offers insight into the psyche of Bronson.

The main character is portrayed by Tom Hardy, who not only did an amazing job capturing the essence of the character but also underwent significant physical training in order to properly represent Charles Bronson.

Additionally the cast includes Hugh Ross, Juliet Oldfield, Jonny Philips, James Lance, Amanda Burton, Matt King and Kelly Adams.

Bronson was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, who also directed the Pusher series of films.

The movie was pretty well received by critics - it earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 78% and IMDb score of 6.6/10.

Bronson had a small run at the cinema, reaching $105k at the US box office.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 34 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

It is great to see Magnolia giving this title the bitrate needed to represent the significant film grain.

Since a lot of the film was shot on 16mm film, don’t expect the sharpest of image for this title.

See the details page for Bronson for full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 34.3 GB used and is coded for All Regions.

Again, well done to Magnolia for choosing to go to a dual layer disc for this title - one of their few.

There are quite a decent number of supplements for this title, including BD Live Network connectivity.

Perhaps the most interesting are the Charles Bronson Monologues, featuring audio recordings of the real Charles Bronson which caused some consternation when they were played at the premiere since the prison system had no knowledge of how they were made.

Production details are offered in both a Making Of featurette and some fairly raw Behind The Scenes footage.

The extent of Hardy’s efforts to bulk up to play the lead role is documented in the Training Tom Hardy faeturette.

Further insight into the film making comes with extensive interviews with director Nicholas Winding Refn, and actors Tom Hardy and Matt King

The film’s Trailer is also included.

I found Bronson to be a pretty interesting film and one I can recommend to fans of something outside of the Hollywood norm.

This is certainly a great choice of release from Magnolia Home Entertainment and they have put together a pretty solid release here.

The retail price is $29.98, or order it right now at Amazon for $17.99, saving 40%!

Extras:

• Charles Bronson Monologues
• Making Of
• Training Tom Hardy
• Interviews With: Nicholas Winding Refn, Tom Hardy, and Matt King
• Behind The Scenes
• Trailer

Synopsis:

In 1974, a misguided 19-year-old named Michael Peterson (Tom Hardy) decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawed-off shotgun and a head full of dreams, he attempted to rob a post office. Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to seven years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. Shot from an intelligent, provocative and stylized approach, Bronson follows the metamorphosis of Mickey Peterson, who nicknamed himself Charles Bronson, into Britain’s most dangerous prisoner.

The other biographical movie released by Fox Home Entertainment on Blu-ray February 2nd was Walk the Line - the story of Johnny Cash.

The film covers Cash’s formative years, his start in the music business and the various ups and downs of his personal life and career, up until the late sixties.

The movie chronicles Cash’s struggle with drugs and alcohol as well as more personal conflicts with his disapproving father and the death of his brother.

Perhaps needless to say, the film contains a wealth of music, including iconic tracks like Ring of Fire and of course Walk the Line.

Walk the Line features strong performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, with Witherspoon winning an Oscar for her portrayal of June Carter.

Apparently Cash himself chose Joaquin Phoenix to play himself in the movie after seeing Gladiator, and June also chose Witherspoon for her role.

Additionally he cast includes Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Shelby Lynn, Jonathan Rice, Waylon Payne and Shooter Jennings.

Walk the Line was directed by James Mangold, the man behind Girl, Interrupted, 3:10 to Yuma and Identity.

The movie was certainly will liked by critics - it earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 82% and IMDb score of 7.9/10.

Walk the Line also had a great run in the cinema, reaching $119.5M at the US box office.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 23 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

See the details page for Walk the Line for full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 40.2 GB used and is coded for Region A.

The supplements include an audio commentary from director James Mangold and a selection of deleted scenes, also with an optional commentary.

The ‘making of’ featurette Celebrating The Man In Black runs 20 minutes and features interviews with the film makers, Cash’s son and friends like Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.

Folsom, Cash & The Comeback takes a look at Johnny Cash’s legendary 1968 performance live at Folsom Prison.

The Ring Of Fire: The Passion Of Johnny & June featurette covers the relationship between June and Johnny.

The release also features extended musical sequences and the theatrical trailer.

Walk the Line is an enjoyable film and the Blu-ray release is a strong presentation from Fox Home Entertainment.

The retail price is $29.99, and available from Amazon for $19.49, saving 35%!

Extras:

• Audio Commentary By Co-Writer And Director James Mangold
• 10 Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary
• Extended Musical Sequences
• Folsom, Cash & The Comeback
• Celebrating The Man In Black: The Making Of
• Ring Of Fire: The Passion Of Johnny & June
• Theatrical Trailer

Synopsis:

Singer. Rebel. Outlaw. Hero. With his driving freight-train chords, steel-eyed intensity and a voice as dark as the night, the legendary “Man in Black” revolutionized music - and forged his legacy as a genuine American icon. Golden Globe winners Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon star (and sing) as Johnny Cash and June Carter in this inspiring true story of one man’s unwavering devotion to his sound, his message and the greatest love of his life.

The quality movies keep coming in February with the Fox Home Entertainment release The Last King of Scotland which hit shelves on Blu-ray Disc February 2nd, 2010.

The movie is an interesting approach to a biographical movie, which covers the presidency of Idi Amin in Uganda through the eyes of a fictional character who is hired on as Amin’s personal physician.

The movie is largely fictional, though it also includes some historical events.

While the murder of Amin’s second wife and the plane hijacking near the end of the story actually happened, the involvement of Dr Garrigan in these events was fictionalized.

That said the movie does a great job of showing the nature of Idi Amin, an African dictator who was equally charming and brutal.

The film does a great job of presenting the complexity of the leader, as well as his paranoia and fear for his life.

Forest Whitaker’s performance in the role of the dictator was astounding, and apparently the academy agreed since he won the Oscar for Best Actor in 2007.

The cast includes James McAvoy as the doctor, as well as appearances by Gillian Anderson, David Oyelowo, Kerry Washington and Simon McBurney.

Director Kevin Macdonald cut his teeth on documentary film making with movies like Into the Void, and was a great choice to helm The Last King of Scotland.

The movie has a strong critical reception with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 87% and an IMDb score of 7.8/10.

The Last King of Scotland was also earned $17.6M at the US box office.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 30 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

Expect a film-like presentation here with noticeable film grain in the transfer.

Check out the details page for The Last King of Scotland to see full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 42.2 GB used and is coded for All Regions.

The title comes with a number of extras including a director commentary and a selection of deleted scenes, also with optional commentary by Kevin MacDonald.

The documentary Capturing Idi Amin is a fascinating watch, with a lot of archival footage of the real Idi Amin and it is clear from interviews that while some considered him the devil for his brutal actions, others still admire him for his strength and ability to stand up to foreign powers - an uncommon practice for African leaders at the time.

Forest Whitaker discusses the challenges in portraying Idi Amin in a second featurette, and the Fox Movie Channel Presents segment covers the casting for The Last King Of Scotland.

A theatrical trailer rounds out the supplements.

I found The Last King of Scotland to be an excellent movie and the Blu-ray is another great release from Fox Home Entertainment.

I can thoroughly recommend this to anyone who likes a good drama or has an interest in the history of the region.

While the film is not intended to be true to all of the events, care has been taken to present the man as he really was back in the 1970s.

The retail price is $29.99, though it is available at Amazon for $20.99, saving 30%!

Extras:

• Director Commentary
• 7 Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Kevin MacDonald
• Exclusive Documentary: Capturing Idi Amin
• Forest Whitaker Idi Amin Featurette
• Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session - The Last King Of Scotland
• Trailer

Synopsis:

Forest Whitaker won the 2006 Oscar for his riveting portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in this powerful drama inspired by real people and events. This is Amin’s incredible story as seen through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young Scotsman who becomes the volatile leader’s personal physician and trusted confidant.

A good month for quality cinema sees the Blu-ray release of Mystic River from Warner Home Video on February 2nd, 2010.

This dark crime drama set in Boston chronicles three friends, Jimmy, Sean and Dave, starting with a kidnapping incident in their boyhood that changed their lives.

The three are brought together again by the disappearance of Jimmy’s daughter, where Sean becomes the lead investigator and Dave a potential suspect.

The movie follows Sean’s investigation, and also Jimmy’s underworld investigation of his own.

The performances in the film are very powerful and won Oscars for both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins for their portrayal of Jimmy and Dave respectively.

Additionally the cast includes Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence Fishburne and Laura Linney.

The film is excellent all round, with a strong story and excellent cinematography.

Director Clint Eastwood has many great films under his belt now, including Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, Letters from Iwo Jima and Pale Rider.

The movie has a strong critical reception, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88% and IMDb score of 8/10.

Mystic River was also a big in the cinema for a crime drama, earning over $90M at the US box office.

The video on the disc is a VC-1 1080p encode at 25.5 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1.

I am happy to see Warner give this release a decent bitrate to accurately capture the look of the film.

See the details page for Mystic River for full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 44.8 GB used and is coded for All Regions.

This release comes with a selection of supplements, including a commentary with Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon.

There are a pair of behind the scenes featurettes with cast and crew interviews - Mystic River: Beneath the Surface and the Bravo special Mystic River: From Page To Screen.

Three interviews from the Charlie Rose Show featuring Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon are also included, as is the Theatrical Trailer and a Teaser Trailer.

Mystic River is an excellent film and a great release from Warner Home Video.

The retail price is $28.99, and it is available right now at Amazon for $17.99, saving 38%!

Extras:

• Commentary By Tim Robbins And Kevin Bacon
• Mystic River: Beneath the Surface
• Mystic River: From Page To Screen
• The Charlie Rose Show Interviews Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins And Kevin Bacon
• Theatrical Trailers

Synopsis:

Jimmy. Dave. Sean. Friends who grew up in working-class Boston, they drift apart after a terrible tragedy. Years later, brutal events reconnect them. Jimmy’s 19-year-old daughter is coldly murdered. Dave is a suspect. And Sean, now a cop, scrambles to solve the crime before volatile Jimmy takes the law into his own hands. Working from Brian Helgeland’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel, director Clint Eastwood shapes a masterwork, a brooding thriller built on family, friends and innocence lost. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon play the pivotal threesome, joining Lawrence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney in one of the most powerful casts ever. The river has many depths. Let it wash over you.

Dr Who fans got a real treat this month with the Feb 2nd release of Doctor Who: The Complete Specials from BBC Home Video.

This collection includes four special episodes from David Tennant’s turn as Doctor Who, one of which is split into two parts.

Each hour long special gets its own disc.

The first special in the set is called The Next Doctor, where The Doctor arrives in London in 1851 and finds another man who claims to be The Doctor.

Assuming that this is himself from a future regeneration, The Doctor quizzes the new Doctor and over time finds that his sonic screwdriver is just a regular screwdriver and his TARDIS is a hot air balloon.

It turns out that the Cybermen are behind the mystery and together the two Doctors work to defeat them.

Currently this collection is the only way to own this episode on Blu-ray Disc.

The second special in the collection was previously released individually on Blu-ray - Doctor Who: Planet Of The Dead has been previously covered, see details here.

The third episode in the set is The Waters of Mars, where The Doctor encounters the first human colony on Mars in 2059, where he quickly realizes that he already knows how this plays out and that he has arrived the very day that the colony is destroyed.

While he knows that he needs to get away from the events that are about to unfold, he finds himself compelled to at least try and help the people there who inevitably all die in ‘future history’.

This episode is certainly one of the darker episodes in the collection and Doctor Who: The Waters Of Mars is available separately, also released Feb 2nd.

The last special comes in two parts - The End of Time Parts I and II - each on a separate Blu-ray Disc.

These episodes aired at the end of 2009 and round out David Tennant’s run as The Doctor.

The Master gets resurrected on Earth by a cult, though things don’t quite work out as planned and the Master has unusual powers as well as a ravenous hunger.

The Master is brought in by billionaire Joshua Naismith to repair an alien device Naismith recovered from Torchwood in the hope to grant his daughter Abigail immortality.

Needless to say things go horribly awry, and in addition to that the Time Lords are trying to take advantage of these events to make a return.

This episode is also the last story for David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and we see his character regenerate into the eleventh incarnation played by Matt Smith.

I hope that we will also see Matt Smith’s episodes presented on Blu-ray Disc in the future.

Doctor Who: The End Of Time is also available individually.

Overall I find the new Doctor Who episodes to be pretty enjoyable and the mix of strong writing and relatively low budget special effects to be a worthwhile watch.

The episodes in The Complete Specials were largely directed by Euros Lyn.

The video on this release features VC-1 1080i encoding at around 30 Mbps, and are presented at 1.78:1 aspect ratio, filling the HDTV screen.

Full resolution PNG screen captures can be seen at the details page for Doctor Who: The Complete Specials.

The main audio is DTS-HD High Resolution with 5.1 channels - 16 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The discs are dual layer BD50 discs and are coded for All Regions.

Each episode comes with a making of documentary they call the Doctor Who Confidential.

Extra footage is included with deleted scenes introduction from Russell T Davies.

An interesting supplement is Doctor Who at the Proms, where the music from Doctor Who is played along with illustration and effects from the show, along with many special appearances.

The set also has segments with the David Tennant Video Diaries, Doctor Who BBC Christmas Idents and Doctor Who at Comic-Con.

Doctor Who is a great choice for people who are fans of Science Fiction, but it comes with a British leaning.

Certainly though the Doctor Who: The Complete Specials from BBC Home Video is an excellent choice for fans of the show.

The retail price is $59.99, and it is available at Amazon for $44.99, saving 25%!

Extras:

• Doctor Who Confidential
• Doctor Who at the Proms
• Deleted Scenes with Introduction from Russell T Davies
• David Tennant Video Diaries
• Doctor Who BBC Christmas Idents
• Audio Commentaries
• Doctor Who At Comic-Con

Synopsis:

The Next Doctor, Planet Of The Dead, The Waters Of Mars, The End Of Time, Part One and Part Two

The second dose of Thai martial arts comes with the Magnolia Home Entertainment Blu-ray Ong Bak 2: The Beginning, also released on February 2nd, 2010.

The film is marketed as the prequel to the original Ong-Bak movie, though in reality it is not directly associated in any recognizable way.

It is generally assumed though that the two will be tied together in the third film in the series, which is expected to pick up where this one left off.

The film tells the story of Tien, the son of provincial ruler who is left orphaned and captured by slavers.

His fate takes a turn though when he is rescued by bandits and trained in the martial arts.

Once grown and fully trained, Tien sets about taking revenge on the slavers and the men that killed his parents.

To be honest the plot is very weak and confusing in this film, and feels like a poor attempt to emulate the currently popular Asian Historical Epic genre and showcase a lot of martial arts and Thai custom.

The movie was largely written and directed by the star Tony Jaa, which might account for some of the trouble.

Additionally the film had schedule and funding issues, and from an early trailer it is clear that the film changed direction significantly during production, which no doubt resulted in compromise.

We can expect some of the footage that was discarded to appear in Ong-Bak 3.

On the other hand, Ong-Bak 2 looks a lot nicer than the original and the fight sequences are strong and entertaining.

Along with Tony Jaa, the cast includes Sorapong Chatree, Sarunyu Wongkrachang and Nirut Sirijunya.

Ong Bak 2: The Beginning was directed by Tony Jaa, with additional help from Panna Rittikrai.

The critical reception for the movie was luke warm, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 48% and an IMDb score of 6.4/10.

Ong Bak 2: The Beginning was pretty small in the USA, earning only $102.5k at the US box office.

The video on the disc is a VC-1 1080p encode at 24 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

This time around the image quality is actually very good compared to the original movie.

Check out the details page for Ong Bak 2: The Beginning to see full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 48.9 GB used and is coded for All Regions.

The need for the BD50 results from the inclusion of an Alternate Cut that features Thai audio only, while the theatrical cut additionally features an English dub.

The supplements are pretty extensive on this release, including three ‘making of’ featurettes - The Story and Characters of an Epic, Revealing Majesty and The Art of War.

Additional behind the scenes footage covers Capturing a Warrior, The Kingdom and The Community.

Further insight can be found with cast and crew interviews and the HDNet show A Look at Ong Bak 2.

The disc also features and exclusive sneak peek at footage from Ong Bak 3.

Promotional materials include both the International and U.S. Trailers, and the disc is also enabled with BD-Live Network connectivity.

For me, Ong Bak 2: The Beginning was not as strong a film as the original, and I imagine that interest in it will be largely confined to hard core martial arts fans, as the story is not strong enough to pull in a larger audience.

The Blu-ray Disc is a pretty strong release from Magnolia Home Entertainment, with two cuts of the movie and abundant supplemental material.

The retail price is $29.98, and it is a bargain right now at Amazon for $14.99, saving 50%!

Extras:

• Alternate Cut
• The Making of Ong Bak 2: The Story and Characters of an Epic
• The Making of Ong Bak 2: Revealing Majesty
• The Making of Ong Bak 2: The Art of War
• Behind the Scenes: Capturing a Warrior
• Behind the Scenes: The Kingdom
• Behind the Scenes: The Community
• Interviews with Cast and Crew
• HDNet: A Look at Ong Bak 2
• International Trailer
• U.S. Trailer
• Ong Bak 3 — Exclusive Footage
• BD-Live

Synopsis:

Tony Jaa, the martial arts master who “is as mesmerizing as ever” (Entertainment Weekly), stars in this epic tale of revenge set hundreds of years in the past. This prequel to Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior takes Jaa’s skills to the next level, showcasing him as a master of a wide range of martial arts styles. “The beatdowns are epic, with several jaw-dropping set pieces. The climactic scene qualifies as one of the best martial arts fight scenes ever.” (LA Daily News)