Blu-ray Buzz – Kino + Keaton = Great Blu-Ray Release

I'm excited about this week's lineup of releases. Kino brings a classic Buster Keaton film to Blu-ray. In brand new releases, film fans get an Oscar-nominated performance from an actor long overdue for one, and a Swedish thriller that's on many critics' list for one of the best of the year. Moreover, there's a classic fantasy flick arriving on Blu-ray.

Pick of the Week
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
The story goes Buster Keaton had access to a steamboat, so he made a movie about one. Even those who have never seen a Buster Keaton film have probably seen the famous shot from this one. The conclusion takes place during a violent windstorm and the side of a building is torn off with Keaton standing directly underneath. Lucky for him, he's standing right where an open window is. No one today, not even Jackie Chan or Tony Jaa, does stunts as crazy as that. As a daredevil or as a comedian, Keaton had impeccable timing. In this film, Keaton plays a prissy college boy who has fallen in love with the daughter of his father's riverboat rival. The tour de force ending makes everything worthwhile in this endearing comedy.

Buy "Steamboat Bill, Jr." on Blu-ray Here!

Queue Qualified
A Single Man
Colin Firth earned his first Oscar nomination for his measured and quietly painful performance in fashion-designer-turned-filmmaker Tom Ford's debut production. Firth plays George, a college professor, who has just lost his lover of 15 years in a car accident. The title is a reference to the stigma of being a middle-aged single man during the early 1960s. The film hints at the challenges of being gay during the era, but focuses more on the depression of it's main character. The best scene in the entire film puts Firth with Julianne Moore, playing a drunk housewife of a rich businessman who has been friends with George for years. Her reaction to him underlines the cultural perception of homosexuality even to those who have known a homosexual all their lives.

Buy "A Single Man" on DVD Here!

Buy "A Single Man" on Blu-ray Here!

Buzzed About
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Based on Stieg Larsson's international bestseller, this Swedish thriller has critics' calling it one of the premiere films of the year. A dishonored journalist teams with a tattooed computer hacker to get to the bottom of a cold case that involves murder and a powerful, but dysfunctional, family. The sequel comes out later this year and the third novel in the series is at the top of the U.S. bestseller's list. I love myself a good thriller.

Buy "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" on DVD Here!

Buy "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" on Blu-ray Here!

Jason and the Argonauts
The film might have been directed by Don Chaffey, but it's Ray Harryhausen's special effects work that has made this fantasy a classic. The Greek legend finds Jason returning from a 20-year journey to claim his throne. But to do so he must rescue a magical golden fleece first. So the hero puts together a crew, which includes Polydeuces and Hercules, and heads back out to sea. Through stop-motion animation, Harryhausen brings to life a 100-foot bronze giant, a snake-headed beast, and an army of skeletons. This should look amazing on Blu-ray.