BluTuesday - April 8, 2014
What’s good, ProFans? Joseph here, and I’m taking a break from working eleventy billion hours at work to bring you the newest releases in home media for April 8, 2014. In this week’s episode, we discuss little people with furry feet, Julia Roberts, and septuagenarians duking it out in the ring. Ready to go? Let’s go.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (PG-13)
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 75%
Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), his mighty band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), and wise wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) embark on a crusade to reclaim Erebor from the vicious dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) in this sweeping fantasy adventure that picks up where the events of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey left off. Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) once again directs from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Guillermo del Toro. This movie is available in a five-disc 3D Bluray/Bluray/DVD + Digital Copy version, a five-disc 3D Bluray/Bluray/DVD + Digital Copy collectors edition, a thee-disc Bluray/DVD + Digital Copy version, and a two-disc DVD version. This is a great movie to watch, although I recommend packing a lunch first. This is also my pick of the week.
August: Osage County (R)
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 64%
Academy Award® Winners Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts star in the darkly hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives converge when a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional mother who raised them. Based on Tracy Letts Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, Director John Wells skillfully translates from stage to screen, leading an all-star cast that includes Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard and Misty Upham. This movie comes in both a two-disc Bluray/DVD + Digital Copy version and a single-disc DVD version. This movie has been rather maligned, with one side loving it and one side wanting to throw it in a pit of fire. I don’t have an opinion one way or the other, so I’ll just shrug my shoulders and move on.
Grudge Match (PG-13)
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 30%
Two retired boxers (Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro) decide to settle a long-standing beef by heading back into the ring in this sports comedy from director Peter Segal. Back in the day, Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (De Niro) and Henry “Razor” Sharp (Stallone) were the two biggest bruisers in the Pittsburgh boxing scene. Their fierce rivalry drawing nationwide attention, Razor and The Kid were deadlocked for the title of overall champion when the former announced his retirement just before the decisive 1983 match that would have determined the supreme champion. Three decades later, enterprising boxing promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Kevin Hart) lures the aging pugilists back into the ring for the fight that everyone has been waiting for. Meanwhile, when Razor and The Kid see each other for the first time in 30 years, the cameras are rolling as tempers suddenly flare. In no time that unscheduled scuffle goes viral, prompting both fighters to resume their intensive training in a bid to be the one who delivers the knockout blow during the highly anticipated bout. Alan Arkin, Kim Basinger, and Jon Bernthal costar. This movie comes in both a two-disc Bluray/DVD + Digital Copy version and a single-disc DVD version. You know what? I’m good…
That’s all I got for this week. Got any questions or comments? Did I miss something you wanted to talk about? Hit me up in the comments section below.
Until next time..
