My Two Cents
Monday, 10 September 2018 15:24

Ant-Man and the Wasp, Incredibles 2, X-Men Trilogy, Pixar Short Films 3, Carpenter 4K, Sharp Objects, Space: 1999 & more

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All right, we have a bunch of news to catch you all up on. But first, we have a bunch of new and recent reviews to catch you up on as well...

First up, I’ve taken an in-depth look at J.A. Bayona’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. The disc streets on 9/18 from Universal.

Also, David has looked at a few recent Sony MOD Blu-ray titles, including George Schaefer’s Pendulum (1969), Brian De Palma’s Casualties of War (1989), and Michael Haneke’s Happy End (2017).

And Dennis has reviewed Gary Ross’ new Ocean’s 8 on Blu-ray from Warner Bros, along with Peter Markle’s Bat*21 on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. He’s also updated his review of Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life on Blu-ray from Criterion with details on the new longer cut of the film, so be sure to take a look.

We have LOTS more Blu-ray and 4K reviews on the way for you guys this week, including my review of Solo: A Star Wars Story on 4K Ultra HD. So be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]

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Now then... the big news today is that Disney has just officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp on 10/16, with the Digital release expected on 10/2. The 4K disc will feature Dolby Atmos, while the Blu-ray will have 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. HDR is likely to be HDR10. Extras on the Blu-ray versions will include Director’s Intro by Peyton Reed, 4 featurettes (Back in the Ant Suit: Scott Lang, A Suit of Her Own: The Wasp, Subatomic Super Heroes: Hank & Janet, Quantum Perspective: The VFX and Production Design of Ant-Man and The Wasp), a Gag Reel, Stan Lee Outtakes, Tim Heidecker Outtakes, and 2 Deleted Scenes. There will also be 2 digital-exclusive features. You can see the final cover artwork to the left and also below.

Also, Disney and Pixar have announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Brad Bird’s The Incredibles 2 on 11/6, with the Digital release expected on 10/23. Extras will include audio commentary with the filmmakers, the Bao animated short, several behind the scenes featurettes, the all-new short Auntie Edna and much more.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has just officially announced the X-Men: 3-Film Collection for 4K Ultra HD release on 9/25, including the original X-Men, X2: X-Men United, and X-Men: The Last Stand. We have no word yet what the audio and HDR formats will be, but it’s likely the same audio formats from Blu-ray will carry over, and HDR will be HDR10.

Also on the 4K front, Studio Canal has announced the European 4K Ultra HD release of John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980) and They Live (1988) on 10/29, followed by Escape from New York (1981) and Prince of Darkness (1987) on 11/26. Each is reported to have been restored in 4K from the original camera negatives with color grading approved by cinematographers Gary B. Kibbe and Dean Cundy.

And Lionsgate has officially set The Spy Who Dumped Me for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 10/30, with the Digital release expected on 10/16. The 4K release will include both Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision HDR. Extras will include 4 featurettes (Covert Operations: The Making of The Spy Who Dumped Me, Gary Powell: The King of Action, Makin’ Friends with Hasan Minhaj, and Off Script), deleted scenes, and outtakes.

Meanwhile, back to Pixar for a moment. Disney has just announced the Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 3 for Blu-ray release on 11/13. The disc will include the animated shorts Bao, LOU, Piper, Lava, Sanjay’s Super Team, Riley’s First Date?, The Radiator Springs 500 1/2, Party Central, The Blue Umbrella, The Legend of Mor’du, Partysaurus Rex, Marine Life Interviews, and Miss Fritter’s Racing Skoool.

HBO has set Sharp Objects for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/7. It’s now available digitally. Extras will include 4 featurettes (Creating Wind Gap, Inside the Mind of Gillian Flynn, Anatomy of a Scene: Calhoun Day, and Character Pieces).Shout! Factory has announced the extras you’ll find on their Dances with Wolves: Limited Edition Blu-ray on 11/13. The three-disc set will include the 181-minute Theatrical Cut (available for the first time ever on Blu-ray), along with the 234-minute Extended Cut, which will have audio commentaries by director/star Kevin Costner and producer Jim Wilson and DP Dean Semler and editor Neil Travis. The third disc will include extras, among them The Creation of an Epic: A Retrospective Documentary, A Day in the Life on the Western Frontier, The Original Making of Dances with Wolves, a music video, 5 featurettes (Second Wind, Confederate March and Music, Getting the Point, Burying the Hatchet, and Animatronic Buffalo, TV spots, the theatrical trailer, and poster and photo galleries.

And here’s a gem: Shout! has announced that the Clint Eastwood western Hang ’Em High is going to be a December Shout Select Blu-ray title in honor of the film’s 50th Anniversary Edition. Details and exact street date are TBA.

Shout! Factory has also announced that Neil Simon’s Murder by Death is coming to Blu-ray on 12/18 as a Shout Select release.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed that Burt Lancaster’s The Midnight Man (1974) and Todd Haynes’ Far from Heaven (2002) are coming soon to Blu-ray and DVD. Also newly announced to be coming in 2019 is Burt Reynolds’ Stick (1985).

UK label Indicator and Powerhouse Films have announced the November Blu-ray release of Gregory Girl (1966), The Wrong Box (1966), Charlie Bubbles (1968), and Age of Consent (1969) on 11/19.

Here’s a surprise: BBC Home Entertainment is releasing the classic series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy TV series on Blu-ray on 10/1 (October 1st) in the UK.

Also today, we’ve gotten word from studio sources that Sony’s Panic Room – and possibly The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as well – on 4K Ultra HD MAY be pushed until 2019. As of now, they’re still listed at Best Buy and other retailers. The moment we know more, we’ll let you know.

And here’s a fun little surprise. Are any of you guys Shout! Factory TV subscribers? You may be surprised to learn that episodes of the classic Gerry Anderson/Network British shows Space: 1999 and UFO are currently available for streaming on their service. We’ve confirmed that Shout! does indeed have a U.S. streaming deal for these shows. There’s nothing to report yet about a possible/eventual Blu-ray release of both series here in the States, but we’d say this streaming deal is a good sign. And as we’ve long maintained, Shout! would be the perfect label to handle them here. So fingers crossed.

Finally today, we want to take a moment acknowledge the passing of actors Burt Reynolds, of Smokey and the Bandit, Deliverance, The Longest Yard, The Cannonball Run, and Boogie Nights fame, as well as Bill Daily, best known to classic TV fans as Roger Healey on I Dream of Jeannie and Howard Borden on The Bob Newhart Show. Both will be missed.

We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for a few of the tiles mentioned above and more (click to pre-order them on Amazon if available there)...

Ant-Man and the Wasp (4K Ultra HD) Ant-Man and the Wasp (Blu-ray Disc) The Incredibles 2 (4K Ultra HD)

The Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 3 (Blu-ray Disc) Dances with Wolves (Blu-ray Disc) Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time (4K Ultra HD)

Back tomorrow. Stay tuned...

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