With the rise of digital premieres, digital content is taking up more and more space on my monthly list. I’m excited for this. I’ll always love Blu-ray but the types of movies and shows that are simply allowed to exist because of digital are too exciting to ignore. This month we’ve got a Kickstartered fan documentary and a sequel to a cult hit joining new seasons of hit TV shows, extended cuts of summer blockbusters, festival favorites and early ‘90s cult movies, making for a very eclectic mix of Blu-ray and digital recommendations.
The Top 10 Blu-ray and VOD Releases of July 2015
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
The Top 10 Blu-rays and Digital Releases of July 2015
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9. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
Andy Fickman has forever endeared himself to me by referring to his movie as Mall Cop: Blart 2 in the bonus features. Were they even still shooting when the Sony hack happened? Now, let’s not get too carried away about Paul Blart 2’s place on this list. I thought the movie did exactly what it promised/ Kevin James fell over and danced ridiculously, so you’ve got to admire consistency. It’s a good looking Blu-ray with the colorful, shiny Las Vegas resort as the backdrop for said falling and dancing. I was surprised just how much green screen was used, as the bonus features revealed even a set piece on a staircase was not in the real hotel. So this is illuminating enough to take up one spot on this list.
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8. Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser
This is a major precedent in digital cinema, when the streaming arm of a studio can premiere a sequel to a cult hit. It’s more significant than straight to video sequels, which usually don’t feature original cast members. It is a studio like Sony saying Joe Dirt is worth a sequel, but we can’t devote our theatrical infrastructure to it, but we’ll still treat it like a real movie and make it the centerpiece of our Crackle service. The movie has some fun gags, and I’m impressed how much of the actual plot they kept out of the publicity. There are lots of surprises. Unfortunately, Crackle on an HDTV doesn’t look as good as Netflix or Amazon. It’s pixelated, not really HD and colored yellow. But I’m also still on a PS3 so maybe the upgraded app is better. PS3 is a Sony product too though, so it should be able to keep up with other streaming services.
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7. X-Men: Days of Future Past - The Rogue Cut
I think we all believed Bryan Singer and Simon Kinberg when they said that the Rogue subplot was cut from Days of Future Past for a good reason. It’s nice to have the option though, and I was more surprised how short the additional subplot actually is. They go to get Rogue and then she’s there. It’s a good action scene but that’s it. Other additions to the film just hurt the pace. For a big summer tentpole, I expected the HD picture to look a little better. It’s a bit generic looking, a little too gold tinted in parts, and digital noise flares up which should never happen in such an expensive production. I’m nit picking, as well I should, but the Quicksilver scenes still look great.
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6. It Follows
This indie horror hit had a very distinct visual style from director David Robert Mitchell, and the Blu-ray exemplifies his aesthetic. It’s a suburban horror in a timeless era, so the HD image of suburban comfort and pastel teenaged colors increases the unease when the horror comes. The minimal extras - only a critics commentary and interview with the composer - mean It Follows may be due for a real special edition down the road. For now the movie itself looks great and that’s what’s most important.
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5. Veep and Silicon Valley (Tie)
Silicon Valley is literally the anti-Entourage. The characters are forced to make decisions and every decision they make has consequences that carry into subsequent episodes. AndVeep is of course the scathing political commentary. Now that the 2nd season of Silicon and 4th of Veep have aired on HBO, non-subscribers can get the seasons on Blu-ray and DVD, or just go straight to the digital copies. I got my hands on the digitals and I have to say they look great, better than most TV shows look on Blu-ray. Where cable and satellite airings remain a tad soft, the HD digital copies show the entire sets clearly, with no pixelation. With these shows the content trumps the presentation, but it sure is nice to see such presentation of Silicon Valley’s hipster sets and Veep’s ornate political chambers.
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4. What We Do In The Shadows
The hilarious vampire comedy we reviewed at Sundance 2014 is finally on Blu-ray with even more extra vampire absurdity. Of the 30 minutes of deleted scenes, I was particularly tickled by the vampires needing an invitation to enter a hot nightclub, and learning about Facebook. The movie itself looks quite good in HD considering its faux documentary style features mostly dark unlit vampire chambers. You can see everything, and the detail in makeup for the Nosferatu looking Petyr is incredible.
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3. Showdown in Little Tokyo
Do all Warner Archive Blu-rays look this good? I don’t usually watch them because they’re usually more obscure titles that I’m not seeking out. But then they put out the Dolph Lundgren/Brandon Lee classic, and I was super impressed by how consistent this transfer is. It’s not like they did a Godfather Coppola Restoration on Showdown in Little Tokyo but the picture is clear and bright, and it holds up the entire film, all 78 minutes of it. To order from Warner Archive, visit www.wbshop.com and select the Archive title you want to order. It will be manufactured on demand.
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2. Kung Fu Killer
The new Donnie Yen movie has a great looking Blu-ray. It’s even more of a showcase for others as a killer (Baoqiang Wang) challenges great martial artists to fights to the death, each in their own signature style. The police have to call in an imprisoned cop (Yen) to help find him, and we do get an intro to Yen in action, but they really saved the best for the climax between Yang and Wen. The film’s look holds up against David Fincher and James Cameron Blu-rays, sometimes with blue tinted crisp night shoots, other times an industrial green grit for darker killer scenes, and always full of rich detail. You can see the actors sweat and strain as the fights intensify.
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1. The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened
This documentary about the aborted comic book movie is still a great Nicolas Cage movie. Behind the scenes costume tests show Cage developing all the quirky creative decisions that would’ve defined his Superman, even though he never got to play him. The film extrapolates what Superman Lives would have been, and the extensive Blu-ray and digital collections add even more details with extended interviews and reconstructions. I was actually at the Q&A with Kevin Smith and they went for over an hour. Order directly at TDOSLWH.com.
