blu rays dvd News | This Week in Blu-ray / DVD Releases: Jan. 23

This week: The third time is pushing it for Paranormal Activity; lumps in throats with 50/50; and Hugh Jackman makes the Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots movie:

► The frustrating thing about PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 is that the harder it tries, the less scary it is. A much more conventional horror film that the first two entries, it's also the least satisfying. Relying too much on jump scares and familiar tricks (the scene in the closet early on isn't a good sign), it becomes more 'Poltergeist' and strays further from the understated horror of the first two. The budget is bigger this time, and directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman put every penny to use. The question is, should they? More special effects could derail this franchise - there's a reason that first film struck such a chord. It felt like a raw, unnerving experience. Sure, mounting a camera on an oscillating fan makes for a tense scene or two, but it's all about set pieces now. The story will also test your patience, as it revisits sisters Katie and Kristi as kids to show us why they've been targeted by the demon 'Toby' (this time, it's their wedding videographer dad who captures it all on film). If the first two were clinics on how to build suspense, the third feels all too modern and mundane.

► Nothing says comedy like cancer! Resisting the urge to be either maudlin or over-the-top funny, 50/50 finds that perfect balance – a movie that lets us experience the terror, anger and helplessness of cancer without a single sappy note. Breaking the news to his parents about his condition, 27-year-old Adam (Joseph Gordon Levitt) asks if they’ve seen ‘Terms of Endearment,’ which is a sign of what’s to come. Levitt is fantastic here, as is Seth Rogan as his friend Kyle, using the cancer as a way to pick up girls but still the type of bud we’d want in that situation. But it’s Angelica Huston as Adam’s mother who nails the film’s few lump-in-the-throat moments – get ready to lose it when he finally breaks down to her before his life-or-death operation. If anyone’s paying attention, Huston fully deserves an Oscar nomination.

► “It’s The Fighter … with robots!” And there’s your sales pitch for REAL STEEL, which doesn’t have a surprising second to offer but goes down with vanilla, crowd-pleasing ease. It’s 2020, and robots have replaced human boxers (this stupid idea has eight years to catch on). Former slugger Hugh Jackman bonds with his kid by sending an obsolete sparring bot into the ring, leading to the mandatory Rocky finish (I mean, to a tee). Haven’t three Transformer movies quenched our thirst for robot-on-robot violence?

► Sweet merciful Minya … GODZILLA meets The Criterion Collection? It’s here, and no one has ever treated the big lizard better. Included is the original 1954 Japan classic along with the American version which inserted Raymond Burr. The picture has been digitally restored, Godzilla historian David Kalat offers commentary, and there are new interviews with the film’s actors and special effects crew. It doesn’t get much better than this for Big G fans. Criterion, might we suggest ‘Godzilla vs. Megalon’ next?

► Two weird things about the very first Oscars show: 1. All the awards were handed out in about five minutes. 2. WINGS wasn’t actually the first Best Picture winner, it won the ‘Best Production’ award (the first award for Best Picture went to Cimarron in 1931). Still, William Wellman’s silent film about two men in love with the same woman who go off for war is considered the granddad of Oscar’s Best Picture alumni. The aerial dogfight scenes were spectacular for their time, and the Blu-ray includes a new version of the original orchestral score.

► Despite its classic status, Glen Larson’s ‘Battlestar Galactica’ was a colossal failure when it debuted in 1978. Undeterred, he went and made an even worse sci-fi show with BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY. Between Gil Gerard’s hair and Erin Gray’s spandex, the 25th century looks a lot like the late ‘70s. Even as kids, most of us knew this was bad. As adults, it’s pretty much unwatchable. But if you long for the days of Twiki and ‘Space Olympics,’ this is your week. Guest stars in Season One included Jamie Lee Curtis, Julie Newmar and Dorothy Stratten (at least the show had impeccable taste in hotties).

► The haunting HBO documentary THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH AUNT DIANE retraces the final moments of Diane Schuler, who in 2009 drove 70 miles per hour in the wrong direction on a highway and killed eight people in a horrific car wreck, including the five children in her vehicle. Despite convincing evidence, her family refuses to believe she had major problems leading to the tragedy. The security footage and 911 calls will send chills.

► Wait, Woody Allen’s back again? Every few years he drops a flick that reminds everyone how brilliant he is - this year’s entry being ‘Midnight in Paris’ – but for most fans, he never topped his late ‘70s one-two punch of ANNIE HALL and MANHATTAN, both making their Blu-ray debut this week. ‘Annie Hall’ remains the better and more influential movie, but ‘Manhattan,’ with its Gordon Willis cinematography, is by far his most beautiful looking film. Both are absolutely essential.

Also out this week:

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LISTING OF ALL THE COOLEST DVD RELEASES OF THIS WEEK AND THE REST OF THE YEAR!

SO WHAT DVD/BLU-RAYS ARE YOU GUYS STOKED ABOUT THIS WEEK?!

Source: The Digital Dorm