This Week On DVD and Blu-ray: January 19, 2010

PTA, Soderbergh, Bourne Blu and much more...

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Tuesday, January 19th 2010 at 2:29 AM

Boogie Nights and Magnolia (Blu-ray)
	I love both of these films and will be reviewing both of these Blu-rays together very shortly, I have simply been pressed for time lately and have not had a chance to watch either of them as of yet primarily because simply watching both of these films before even delving into the features is almost six hours of movie watching. That said, neither disc offers any new supplements with all of the previous features from earlier DVD releases carried over to these new releases. I have also read the picture quality on each are excellent so should you be interested in upgrading your current editions these sound like safe bets.

Che (Criterion Collection)
	My extremely long review is online for you to read and I also brought this title up in an editorial last week. I'm not entirely sure this is a title worth buying, but it certainly gave me plenty to talk about on the site, so for film fanatics this may be a title worth considering.

Bourne Trilogy Blu-ray Singles (Single-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
	I hate flipper discs, but apparently that's the direction Universal is going with all of their upcoming Blu-ray releases in an attempt to get more Blu-ray titles in homes even if they don't own a Blu-ray player. Smart move, and not a bad idea to start with the Bourne films, however wouldn't people that like the Bourne films already have it on DVD? So why would they upgrade to a Blu-ray/DVD flipper disc if they don't own a Blu-ray player? This seems like a tactic that will only work with new films, not catalog. Either way, they're out there.

Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball
	I just reviewed this one as well (read that right here) and as you can see from the graphic to the left there are a whole bunch of buying options when it comes to this title and the original Smokin' Aces is making its way to Blu-ray this week. My suggestion, buy Smokin' Aces on Blu and leave Smokin' Aces 2 for your Netflix queue. (No, the rhyming was entirely unintentional, but isn't it impressive?)

Pandorum
	This was never screened for me theatrically and I wasn't sent a DVD or Blu-ray review copy. I may try to catch it on Netflix some day, but not anytime in the near future I suspect.

Gamer
	I did catch this one on Blu-ray already and it comes equipped with some snazzy Blu-ray exclusive features such as an impressive video commentary in which directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor walk on screen, pause the film and chat it up for the duration. It's not a very good film by any means, but it definitely has a nice batch of features.

The Invention of Lying
	Ugh, a crap film being released on Blu-ray and DVD to take advantage of Ricky Gervais's hosting duties on the Golden Globes. Too bad Ghost Town was already ignored, that would have been a title worth promoting rather than this mess.

Whiteout
	A second Warner Bros. clunker from 2009 comes home today and this one is even worse than The Invention of Lying and it's worse by a mile. I would never recommend anyone watch this film.

Blood Creek
	Apparently the decision to put nipples on the batsuit was such a sin Joel Schumacher is now directing direct-to-video horror/thrillers. However, this one has Michael Fassbender in it which is the main reason I still haven't filed it away and have it in my "To Watch" pile. Who knows, perhaps it's better than its awful title suggests. Dammit, now I want to watch it. Maybe I'll have a review for you in the next few days.

• Weeds: Season Five
• Damages: The Complete Second Season
• Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening
• Artie Lange: Jack and Coke
• The Keeper (Steven Seagal)
• No Impact Man
• Chantal Akerman in the Seventies (Eclipse Series 19)

• The Men Who Stare at Goats (buy now)
  Releasing on March 23, 2010
• Ride with the Devil (Criterion Collection)
  Releasing on April 27, 2010
• Summer Hours (Criterion Collection)
  Releasing on April 20, 2010
• Vivre sa vie (Criterion Collection)
  Releasing on April 20, 2010
• The Fugitive Kind (Criterion Collection)
  Releasing on April 27, 2010
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon
  Releasing on March 20, 2010
• Cold Souls (buy now)
  Releasing on March 2, 2010
• The Fourth Kind (buy now)
  Releasing on March 16, 2010

• The Men Who Stare at Goats (buy now)
  Releasing on March 23, 2010
• Ride with the Devil (Criterion Collection)
  Releasing on April 27, 2010
• Summer Hours (Criterion Collection)
  Releasing on April 20, 2010
• Vivre sa vie (Criterion Collection)
  Releasing on April 20, 2010
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon
  Releasing on March 20, 2010
• The Fourth Kind (buy now)
  Releasing on March 16, 2010
• Boogie Nights (buy now)
  Releasing on January 19, 2010
• Collateral (buy now)
  Releasing on March 30, 2010