My Two Cents
[Editor’s Note: Just as I was completing this post, word came in that actor James Gandolfini has apparently died of a suspected heart attack while in Italy. He was 51. News of this is just breaking on Deadline Hollywood so visit that site for details. More on it tomorrow.]
Evening, folks. I hope this post finds you all well. I’ll be back with my regular news post tomorrow morning, to catch you all up on the usual release news and whatnot from the past week or so. We’ve posted a lot of content here at The Bits over the last week, but not much in the way of news. The reason for that is that I’ve been on vacation for the past 10 days in Alaska – the land of bears, whales and (right now) 19 hours of daylight. Sarah and I went with family on a little wilderness adventure to places like Skagway, Juneau, Anchorage and Denali National Park up near Mt. McKinley.
All right, this is just a really quick update to bring you a couple new reviews, and let you all know that I’ll be back to full news, e-mail and Internet operations tomorrow.
As for those reviews… I’ve turned in my thoughts on Criterion’s excellent Blu-ray upgrade of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low – one of my favorite films from the director. The disc is available in stores now. And the good Doctor has checked in his musings on Universal’s Mama on Blu-ray, directed by Andy Muschietti, presented by Guillermo del Toro and staring Jessica Chastain (of Zero Dark Thirty fame). It’s also now available. Enjoy!
That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with a announcement news update, the weekly Release Dates & Artwork update and more.
Stay tuned!
- Bill Hunt
All right, anyone out there got a bad case of the Mondays? Well, coffee up ‘cause we’ve got a couple things here at the site this morning to help shape you right up...
First, we’re kicking things off this week with a new View from the Cheap Seats column from our own Bud Elder! Ol’ Bud has plenty more great tales to tell from his years in and around the film business, this week featuring none other than a singing cowboy named Jimmy Wakely, another classic western star in the person of Lash LaRue and much more. Don’t miss it!
Also this morning, Tim Salmons has turned in a new Blu-ray Disc review of Paolo Sorrentino’s This Must Be the Place, starring Sean Penn and now available on Blu-ray from Anchor Bay.
Okay, we’re closing out the week with a couple of new Blu-ray Disc reviews…
First up today, Joe Marchese has turned in a review of Cohen Media Group’s Perfect Understanding on Blu-ray Disc. This 1933 film, directed by Cyril Gardner, is now available on Blu-ray. Also today, Dr. Adam Jahnke rounds things out this morning with a review of Scream Factory’s Ninja III: The Domination! This 1984 oddball classic arrived in stores on Blu-ray this past Tuesday. It’s not often you’ll see Jahnke use the word ‘jazzercise’ in a Blu-ray review, but here it is. Enjoy!
We’ve got a couple more great new Blu-ray Disc reviews for you guys today. First up, Joe Marchese has dropped in with his analysis of Jacques Audiard’s recent Rust and Bone (De rouille et d’os), now available on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Classics. Also this morning, Tim has given Paramount’s Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Unrated Cut) a spin. The disc arrived in stores on Tuesday.
Not to be outdone, Mario Boucher has a new Inside Cinema column for you looking at the history of the Fast & Furious franchise. Do give it a look.