Zombieland (DVD & Blu-ray)
 If there's been a zombie apocalypse and you're road-tripping alone though the wasteland, you could do worse than run into Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a bourbon-swilling bad-boy butt-kicker with a really cool car. This is where the careful hero of Zombieland, a kid nicknamed Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), finds himself early in the film, and you can hardly blame him for hitching a ride with this swaggering Alpha Male. Still, they have their hands full not only with gibbering zombies but also with two sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) who will stop at nothing to reach a Disneyland-like amusement park in L.A. Although Zombieland gets off to a rocky start with Columbus's overly-cute narration (he's got a list of rules for surviving in the zombie world), it settles into an amusing comedy, regularly interrupted by bouts of blood-letting. The road-trip stuff is enough fun that when the movie does arrive at its version of Disneyland, the air goes out of it a little; sure, there's a giant zombie blowout, with entrails flying, but it's not quite the same. Director Ruben Fleischer keeps the gags coming, although the movie is often funnier in its odd little asides (both Eisenberg and Harrelson are expert at this) than in its official jokes. Comic high point: an interlude at the home of a very famous movie star, who plays himself--and we'll leave the spoiler unspoiled, in case anybody hasn't heard about this funny extended cameo. 

Special Features:
 This Blu-ray release of Zombieland comes with a meaty supplemental package that's fit for consumption. First up is the Beyond the Graveyard Picture-in-Picture Track, a nicely produced secondary video track that features a myriad of topics and participants. The track showcases the construction of various scenes both with and without cast and crew commentary, showing scenes in various stages of filmed and digital production, raw behind-the-scenes footage, storyboards, cast and crew interview snippets, and much more. Also included is a standard audio-only commentary track with Actors Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, Director Ruben Fleischer, and Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. For a five-man track, this one flows nicely, never feels jumbled, and offers a wide array of pertinent information but shared with a light and agreeable tone. Topics include the creation of some of the film's more involved shots, the writing of the story, the work of the stuntmen, the performances of the cast, shooting in Georgia, the film's humor, and a whole lot more. The track is a blast of a listen, and fans of the film will definitely want to spend 88 minutes with it. In Search of 'Zombieland' (1080i, 15:57) is a solid making-of piece that looks at the film's origins as an idea for a television show, the combination of horror and humor in the script, the work of the ensemble cast and their characters' traits, and crafting the look of the zombies and applying the gruesome make-up. 

Grade: A-
One of the funniest movies of the year! I recommend any zombie or comedy lovers pick up this movie.


 
Surrogates (DVD & Blu-ray)


Intriguingly scaled more along the lines of a good sci-fi short story than a steroid-enhanced action picture, Surrogates proposes a variation on spectatorship-run-amok. In the near future, human beings need no longer leave their homes: mechanical surrogates, similar in appearance (but younger looking, fitter, with fewer wrinkles and more hair) can move about in the world on the user's behalf, following commands and absorbing physical wear and tear. A cop (Bruce Willis) begins investigating a mystifying case of a user who died when his surrogate got blasted by a fancy ray-gun in the street--that's a definite violation of the company guarantee. In the course of a trim, sub-90-minute running time, the Willis character himself is forced to enter the mean streets in his own flesh-and-blood version, not his surrogate, a move that puzzles both his wife (Rosamund Pike) and partner (Radha Mitchell). In the movie's scheme of perfect surrogates and digitally-smoothed faces, the grizzled humanity of Bruce Willis comes blazing through; what a relief to see a battered human in the midst of the beautiful people. Director Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3) gets the world right, but one waits in vain for a fuller picture of the effects of this surrogate population, or a deeper study of the creator (James Cromwell) of the technology, or a reason to get involved in the rebel leader (Ving Rhames in a fright wig) and his reservation populated by defiant non-surrogates. Sprinting along as it does, Surrogates doesn't find time for these presumably crucial details, and the result feels just a little skin-deep. 

Special Features:
·                 Audio Commentary: Terminator 3 director Jonathan Mostow delivers a thoughtful and informative commentary that covers the differences between Top Shelf Productions' original graphic novel and his adaptation, digs into the story and characters, discusses his work with the actors, and dissects the locales, narrative structure, design work, and special effects that brought the neo-noir world of Surrogates to virtual life. He rarely grows quiet, but does tend to state the obvious a bit too often. Still, I found his track to be an engaging one and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the film itself.
·                 A More Perfect You: The Science of Surrogates: An intriguing featurette in which the cast and crew (along with a number of experts) chat about the production, dissect the film's themes, and introduce the real-world inventions and advancements that point to a future in which beauty, isolationism, robotics, and technology converge to produce a potentially dystopian storm.
·                 Breaking the Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes to Life: This all-too-short overview of Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele's first engrossing graphic novel features animated panels, interviews with its creators, and more. Comic fans should do themselves a favor and pick up both volumes of the book on Amazon.
·                 Deleted Scenes: Four decent deleted scenes (sans finalized special effects) expand Surrogates' mythos, but offer little else of note. ·                 Music Video: "I Will Not Bow" by Breaking Benjamin. 

Grade: B-
A good story with good action, but it misses it's mark when it comes to originality or scale. The story takes this movie somwhere less interesting than you first hope.


 
Simpson: Season 20 (DVD & Blu-ray) 



It makes good business sense to release The Complete 20th Season in advance of seasons 13 to 19. When an animated series ties (and has now surpassed) Gunsmoke as prime time's longest running show, attention must be paid (and exploited). But unlike previous sets, there are none of the extras Simpsonites have come to expect. 

Special Features: 

For whatever reason, The Complete Twentieth Season only has one special feature: a teaser for Morgan Spurlock's 20th Anniversary Simpsons special.

Grade: B-   
Now I graded the Simpson's 20th a "B-" because it lacks any special features you expect out of the Simpson's. The episodes themselves are great, especially when they kick into high-def.


Blu-ray Releases


 

The Bourne Identity Racing to unlock the secret of his own identity, amnesiac operative Jason Bourne discovers the deadly truth: he’s the government’s number one target, a $30 million weapon it no longer trusts. Academy Award® winner Matt Damon stars in this super-charged, thrill-a-minute spectacular loaded with “non-stop action!” 

Special Features:

·                 U-Control Features: Three tracks are included. The "Treadstone Files" option allows users to view on-screen factoids whenever prompted, a handful of "Bourne Orientation" cues provide access to a Maximum Movie Mode-esque presentation of barebones movie trivia, and a "Picture-in-Picture" offering provides a more extensive behind-the-scenes overview of The Bourne Identity and its production. While the first two are fairly thin, the third has much more material to offer, digging into the adaptation, the film's casting, Liman's international location shoots, his actors' performances, their stuntwork, and a number of key special effects. The only downside? PiP content is only available during eight of the film's twenty chapters.
·                 Audio Commentary: I love when filmmakers forgo the usual commentary banter and rampant self-congratulations to really rip back the curtain on their films. Thankfully, with disarming humility and refreshing frankness, director Doug Liman does just that. His is a candid track seasoned with matter-of-fact discussions on his characters, actors, style, and tonal intentions, as well as a dissection of Ludlum's novels, Gilroy's original screenplay, and the final cut of his film. Most surprisingly, he points out his mistakes and criticizes the more cliche aspects of Gilroy's script, explaining how he and Damon adjusted the tenor of Bourne and his encounters on the fly. While he grows quiet far too often, he's an engaging, forthcoming speaker. I hung on his every word, so much so that I almost, almost considered giving Jumper another go.
·                 The Ludlum Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum  Three informative featurettes that trace Ludlum's rise as an internationally acclaimed novelist, his creation of the Bourne character and books, and the series transition to Hollywood courtesy of Liman and Damon. Packed with archive Ludlum interviews, as well as thoughtful analysis of both the novels and films, each one is worth watching.
·                 The Birth of The Bourne Identity : A less satisfying EPK that spends far too much time recapping the plot and painting an introductory portrait of the characters.
·                 The Bourne Mastermind: Robert Ludlum : This secondary featurette will be terribly repetitive for anyone who already plowed through "The Ludlum Identity," "Supremacy," and "Ultimatum." For completists only.
·                 From Identity to Supremacy: Jason & Marie : Damon and Potente explain the development of their characters and the unique relationship between action and drama in the first two Bourne films. Unfortunately, their observations are cut short when the featurette abruptly reveals itself as a promotional EPK for The Bourne Supremacy.
·                 The Bourne Diagnosis : Another flashy, over-produced short that investigates amnesia and the physiological symptoms Bourne suffers by its hand.
·                 Cloak and Dagger: Covert Ops : Likewise, this simplified overview of the CIA and its real-world covert operations has some good information, but only touches on the basics before coming to a close.

Grade: A
This is a great movie and a great purchase. The special features are fun.


 
The Bourne Supremacy 

They should have left him alone. Academy Award® winner Matt Damon is back as expert assassin Jason Bourne in this stunning, non-stop action hit. Fuelled by awesome fight scenes and some of the most breathtaking chase sequences ever filmed, it’s a state-of-the-art espionage thriller that explodes into action and never lets up! 

Special Features: 

·                 U-Control Features: Like The Bourne Identity, the Blu-ray edition of The Bourne Supremacy includes three U-Control features. "The Bourne Dossier" provides on-the-fly CIA intelligence about the characters and there whereabouts, and a handful of "Bourne Orientation" options break away from the film to serve up Maximum Movie Mode-esque PiP segments brimming with trivia and additional videos. But the real meat of the U-Control package comes in the form of a "Picture-in-Picture" experience; one that delivers a steady stream of extensive behind-the-scenes content, endless interviews, animatics and storyboards, thoughtful analysis of the film and its tone from key members of the cast and crew, and much, much more. Best of all, there's hardly any break in the flow of content spilling from its depths. Unlike Identity's PiP track (which only placed content on eight of the film's twenty chapters), Supremacy's track has enough material to fill out every chapter.
·                 Audio Commentary: While director Paul Greengrass' commentary is reminiscent of a stream-of-consciousness exercise, that isn't exactly a bad thing. His thoughts are certainly sparse at times -- he gets caught up watching his efforts unfold –
·                 Matching Identities: A surprisingly thoughtful featurette that digs into the character of Jason Bourne and Supremacy's casting choices. It gets a tad promotional before all is said and done, but it's still better than the usual crop of EPKs.
·                 Keeping It Real: Story and drive, tone and atmosphere, photography and shooting style, there's little doubt Greengrass shook up the status quo. Join the cast and crew, as well as the director himself, as they share their thoughts on his contributions.
·                 Blowing Things Up: An all-too-brief look at the tenor of one of the film's most realistic action beats, a thrilling blink-and-you'll-miss-it explosion accomplished with innovative practical effects.
·                 On the Move with Jason Bourne: Tour the international locations -- Berlin, Moscow, and Goa chief among them -- Greengrass chose for the film.
·                 Bourne to Be Wild: The film's fight training, choreography, and stuntwork is quickly explored in yet another engaging but truncated featurette.
·                 Crash Cam: Racing Through the Streets of Moscow : Learn how Greengrass and crew shot the film's jaw-dropping Russian chase sequence.
·                 The Go-Mobile Revs Up the Action : An initially jarring, ultimately satisfying introduction to the rig Greengrass' cameramen used to capture many of the film's close-car shots.
·                 The Bourne Mastermind : Like The Bourne Identity, Supremacy provides a glimpse into the life and mind of Robert Ludlum, the author of the original Bourne novels.
·                 The Bourne Diagnosis: An examination of the sequel and how it upped the ante after The Bourne Identity.  

Grade: A
A very fast paced movie with tons of extra's! U-control really shows it's abilities in this disc!

 
The Bourne Ultimatum 

Highly trained assassin Jason Bourne is on the hunt for the agents who stole his memory and true identity. With a new generation of skilled CIA operatives tracking his every move, Bourne is in a non-stop race around the globe as he finally learns the truth behind his mysterious past. Loaded with incredible fight and chase sequences, it’s the exhilarating movie with “mind-blowing action” that you can’t afford to miss! 

Special Features: 

Commentary by Director Paul Greengrass
"I wanted to set the tempo high from the off...from the first frame I wanted the tempo to be high." Greengrass' quiet but endlessly insightful commentary is largely concerned with the film's pacing, and I'm not sure I've heard a better explanation of the importance of balancing action and character in a big budget thriller. An excellent listen all around.

Deleted Scenes
A standard assemblage of deleted scenes, most of which seem to have been cut, appropriately enough, for pacing.

Be Bourne Spy Training
"Welcome, Covert Ops Trainee, to the Spy Aptitude Test." Here, you're shown five movie clips and are asked to answer multiple choice questions that test your ability to visually capture information, Jason Bourne-style.

Man on the Move: Jason Bourne
Bourne is quite the jet setter, and these behind-the-scenes featurettes follow the production of The Bourne Ultimatum through six countries. Features sections for Berlin (doubling as Moscow), Paris, London, Madrid, and Tangier.

Rooftop Pursuit
Camera geeks will love seeing the cinematographers operate the CableCam, a camera that's literally mounted on a zip line. We also get to see a stuntman holding a camera and following Matt Damon's flying leap from a rooftop and through a window.

Planning the Punches
Joey Anseh, who plays Desh, shows off some of his capoeira moves, and stunt choreographer Jeff Imada leads us through rehearsals for the film's big hand-to-hand fight in Tangier.

Driving School
It wouldn't be a Bourne film without a crazy car chase or two (or three), and here we see Matt Damon practicing his own driving stunts, like a flawlessly executed reverse 180.

New York Chase
"New York is not a place where people do car chases," says Matt Damon, but that doesn't keep the Bourne crew from trying—and succeeding. In this segment, we get to see all the absolutely insane stunt work that goes into filming a grade-A chase scene.

U-Control
For U-Control fans, you'll likely be pleased with the various "tracks" which are offered here. "Blackbriar Files" gives us a high-techish interface that shows info on places and people in the film, "Bourne Orientation" redundantly over-explains plot points, and "Picture in Picture"—the only track that’s really worth your time—gives us a variety of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the director, actors, and crew members. There's also a one-off "Volkswagon: Get More Info" segment, which provides some stats on the Toureg V10 TDI.

Grade: A
This is one of my favorite movies of the last decade, every man should be given a copy once they reach puberty. Bourne Rocks!