Cyborgs, Monsters and Masked Men all team up on store shelves for this week's home entertainment releases on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Cyborgs, Monsters and Masked Men all team up on store shelves for this week's home entertainment releases on Blu-Ray and DVD. Check out the new titles, below, and let us know which ones are on your wish list.
Elysium (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD & Digital)
From Academy Award nominated writer/director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) comes the visionary sci-fi action thriller Elysium, available this week on Blu-ray combo pack, DVD and digital HD UltraViolet from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
The Blu-ray combo pack comes with hours of bonus materials, including an extended scene, and six behind-the-scenes featurettes that give an in-depth look at the making of the film, including the performances, production design, visual effects and the technology of Elysium.
Fans get an inside look at the process of shooting the film’s visual effects scenes, and incorporating CGI environments and vehicles into those scenes in post-production with the featurette “In Support of Story: The Visual Effects of Elysium.” “The Technology of 2154” featurette shows filmmakers discussing the technology of Elysium, from independently functioning Droids to next-generation military technology that gives humans machine-enhanced power. “The Journey to Elysium” explores the pre-production of the film, including the first steps taken to build the “future world” and casting the right actors, followed by a discussion with filmmakers and cast on the journey through production, as well as a post-production diary that gives a look at the editing process, including the challenges of marrying the practical shots with their CGI counterparts. The “Visions of 2154” featurette is an interactive exploration of the art and design of Elysium. Also starring in the film is two-time Academy Award® winner Jodie Foster (1992, Best Actress, The Silence of the Lambs, 1989, Best Actress, The Accused), alongside a strong international supporting cast, including Sharlto Copley (District 9), Alice Braga (I Am Legend), Diego Luna (Y Tu Mama Tambien), Wagner Moura (Elite Squad) and William Fichtner (The Lone Ranger).
Elysium was produced by Bill Block (District 9, Vanilla Sky), Neill Blomkamp, and Simon Kinberg (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, X-Men: First Class), and executive produced by Sue Baden-Powell (The Box, The Invention of Lying).
Kick-Ass 2 (Universal Home Entertainment, Blue-ray, DVD)
The Kick Ass sequel follows self-made superhero Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and sweet-faced, foul-mouthed Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) as they try to return to life as “normal” teenagers. The R-rated duo soon find themselves back on the street fighting crime -- this time joined by a new wave of masked crusaders, led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), and a new crime boss, Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who has re-invented himself as The Mother F***er and assembled an evil league of super-villains, including a gigantic Amazon called Mother Russia.
Extras include extended scenes; "Upping the Game" featurette; "Going Ballistic: Weapons & Stunts" featurette; "Creating a Badass World" featurette; commentary with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz and writer-director Jeff Wadlow. The Blu-ray release adds alternate opening; "Big Daddy Returns: The Unshot Scene"; "An Ass-Kicking Cast" featurette; "Street Rules: Showdown at the Evil Lair"; "Hit Girl Attacks: Creating the Van Sequence." Vitals: Director: Jeff Wadlow.
Directed by Jeff Wadlow, Kick Ass 2 stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Clark Duke, Lyndsy Fonseca, Morris Chestnut, John Leguizamo, Donald Faison, Lindy Booth and Yancy Butler.
The Lone Ranger (Disney, DVD & Blu-Ray)
Disney’s 2013 adaptation of The Lone Ranger, which reunited the filmmaking team behind the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, is billed as a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.
Extras include a Blooper reel and deleted scene; "Riding the Rails of The Lone Ranger" behind-the-scenes featurette on the train sequences; "Armies's Western Road Trip" location tour; "Becoming a Cowboy" featurette that follows the cowboy (and cowgirl) cast to boot camp, where they got a chance to experience what their characters would really be living like in the Wild West.
Director: Gore Verbinski. Stars: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, William Fichtner.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (Twentieth Century Fox, DVD & Blu-Ray)
The second installment in the Percy Jackson franchise continues where the first left off in adapting the teen book series by Rick Riordan. Out to prove he's not just a "one-quest wonder," Percy and his demigod friends embark on a cross-country journey into the treacherous Sea of Monsters, where they battle terrifying creatures, an army of zombies, and the ultimate evil. Their mission: to bring home the fabled Golden Fleece and save their dying safe haven, Camp Half-Blood.
Extras include two featurettes, "Back to Camp Half-Blood" and "It's All in the Eye." The Blu-ray release adds a motion comic, collectible character cards, and the "Deconstructing a Demigod" featurette.
Directed by Thor Freudenthal, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters stars Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Douglas Smith, Leven Rambin, Brandon T. Jackson, Jake Abel, Anthony Head, Stanley Tucci, Sean Bean and Nathan Fillion.
Source: Various
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
