Please see the release calendar for releases from countries outside the US.
After the critical success of his first film Moon, director Duncan Jones has gone on to prove that he is not only the sun of a famous musician, but also an accomplished director. Today's Blu-ray release of Source Code doesn't hit the same sci-fi level of his previous outing, but behind the drama and the action is true science fiction that plays more to the general moviegoer than Moon ever will.
For the Source Code Blu-ray review , staff reviewer Martin Liebman commented, "Source Code is an imperfect but nevertheless enthralling Science Fiction film that's more or less equal parts thinking man's picture and general crowd pleaser." He continues, "Summit's Blu-ray release of Source Code yields, as expected, stellar video and audio, but fans might be slightly disappointed with the limited selection of extras."
Universal is releasing a pair of Blu-ray releases today that encompass the best work by one of the funniest men of all time – John Belushi. Upon each viewing of the now comedy classics The Blues Brothers and National Lampoon's Animal House, it is a tragic reminder of how the personal demons of some comedians cause us to laugh as they silently destroy a human being. Not the first (nor the last) comedian to have his life cut too short, John Belushi will always be remember for his work, most especially two films presented on Blu-ray today.
Staff reviewer Kenneth Brown commented in his The Blues Brothers Blu-ray review , "Landis' musical comedy is as much a part of the blues as the blues is a part of it; the two are as inseparable as any film and its inspiration can be." He continues, "Universal's Blu-ray release stands tall as well, even if it's supplemental package has merely been recycled from the 2005 25th Anniversary Edition DVD. Its video transfer is outstanding (and approved by Landis to boot) and its DTS 5.1 audio, while a lossy mix, is a 768kbps treat."
Kenneth Brown also comments in his National Lampoon's Animal House Blu-ray review , "Animal House may not be for everyone, but it remains a late '70s comedy classic, an early milestone in the gross-out subgenre and, for some, one of the funniest comedies of all time." Continuing, "It isn't so hard to expect more from a Blu-ray release, though. Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is a success, but the quality of its video transfer decreases as edge enhancement and noise reduction increase, and its supplemental package comes up short."
Digging a little deeper into today's release line-up, some of you may notice that Fox is releasing Donnie Darko: 10th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray, which is a double-dip on the cult classic. Now, the film is one my favorites of all time (as I'm sure it is to some of you), but heed this warning from staff reviewer Casey Broadwater in his Donnie Darko Blu-ray review, "This new "10th Anniversary Edition" of Donnie Darko contains the exact same Blu-ray disc as the 2009 "Collector's Edition," which will surely come as a disappointment to fans hoping for a remastered high-definition transfer. He continues, "What differentiates the "10th Anniversary Edition" is the inclusion of an on-disc digital copy, as well as a copy of the original 2002 DVD, which contains a few (inessential) special features that weren't included with the 2009 Blu-ray."
Conclusion: If you already own the original Blu-ray release, don't bother with this one. If you don't, or have yet to see this wonderful film, dig in to the new release.
Pre-ordered Blues Brothers and Animal house from amazon. So everyone knows Amazon is offering $10 off if you buy any of the following together. Blues Brothers, Animal House, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dazed and Confused, Your Highness, and Paul.
I'd go for the Amazon deal usually, but Best Buy has both the Blues Brothers and Animal House for 14.99 and there is a $5 off coupon floating around good till the end of July. Now if Amazon would price match the 14.99 on both and still give the $10 off, I'd be ordering from them.
I like the Amazon deal for Blues Brothers and Animal House, but I promised myself I wouldn't spend more than $10 to replace any DVD I own with a blu-ray, so I'll wait for the price to come down. Shouldn't take too long.
I would not recommend blind buying Source Code. It was a good standard thriller but nothing special. But I wouldn't recommend blind buying in general, unless your rich.
I just watched Source Code and my wife and I both enjoyed it quite a bit. Like others have said it is probably not as good as moon, but it probably has more mainstream appeal.
Duncan Jones' 'Moon' is the sci-fi movie that brings back what sci-fi really should be. Not only that, it's original (which is hard to come by these days), and a "thinkers" movie.
Duncan Jones' 'Source Code' on the other hand, is a different kind of sci-fi movie. It is definitely more mainstream for one, and you can more easily pinpoint ideas that you have seen and heard of elsewhere. But, irregardless of that, it is still a fast-paced, entertaining movie, with an interesting twist that will leave you thinking for a little while...just nowheres near the length you will with Moon.
In my opinion, if Source Code is a movie you think you would have gone to see in theaters and would have bought two tickets to see it...I'd definitely give you the thumbs up for a blind buy...if not...definitely give it a rent.
I watched Source Code (via Netflix) last night. I liked it. It was engrossing. However, it's one of those action movies that, once you figure out what's going on, doesn't deviate much from the formula. For what it's worth, I enjoyed it more than Moon.
I picked up IronClad this week. It's a good historical action flick definitely worth watching and one that I would watch again sometime. Rented Source Code. Not bad and I too thought it was better than Moon. Moon was sort of off beat for me and I couldn't tune into it as well as I could Source Code. However, I'm not adding Source Code to my collection either. I don't really have an urge to see it again.
Alright! So far, no puns (about the Blues Brothers anyway...)! Let's keep it that way.
I want to order it, but the lossy audio is holding me back. Seriously, what were they thinking?! This movie NEEDS lossless audio!
@Boothill: OK, I'll bite. Moon was a decent movie, but in my opinion--and clearly that of at least one other person--it just wasn't *that* great. The whole thing builds up to the "gotcha" moment that really isn't a gotcha moment at all if you're paying attention to what's going on. And like someone else said, it's the closest thing we've seen to the classic (Bradbury, Heinlein, etc.) sci-fi stories so many of us read growing up in that it contemplates human identity and our relationship with technology, but still...
