BluTuesday - July 10th 2012

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Howdy, folks! Joseph here, and I have some new BluRay releases for you this week. Today, we get to say hello to an old friend who was stuck in DVD hell – and may be destined to go RIGHT back, a fangy superhero, a time-traveler’s worst nightmare, and an outer space headache.  So, without further lining, here we go!

American Reunion (R)
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 43%

This movie came to theaters on April 6, 2012 to a bit of fanfare.  This was the continuation of the American Pie franchise proper, as it brought back everyone from the original cast.  Most of them hadn’t done a whole lot since American Wedding, with the notable exception of Alyson Hannigan, who is a star on How I Met Your Mother.  So, the prevailing hope would be that this would restart the American Pie franchise and save it from the dregs of the straight-to-DVD hell it had been in.  Sadly, this won’t be the one to revitalize it.  The movie opened at #2 behind The Hunger Games, and it immediately dropped to #5 the next week.  From everything I’ve read about the movie itself, it was one of those films that had home release written all over it.  Maybe this will fare better there.

Blade II (R)
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 59%

The second movie in the Blade film trilogy, released on March 22, 2002, brought back Wesley Snipes as Blade, a special type of vampire called a Daywalker - meaning that he could walk around during the daytime without fear of becoming the Human Torch – and not in a good way.  His mission is to find his mentor Whistler, and face off against evil vampire Eli Damaskinos. This movie was one of the films that helped to make director Guillermo del Toro a household name.  When it was initially released, it opened at #1 before dropping to #4 the next week.  Unlike the first movie, which was more of an action comedy, this one had more of a horror feel.  I’m not much of a horror fan, but that made me happy.

 

Frequency (PG-13)
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 70%

Released on April 28, 2000, Frequency turned a tried and true setting of time travel into a capable father-son drama.  The movie stars Jim Caviezel as John Sullivan, an NYPD detective who is trying to catch a serial killer, all the while still mourning the loss of his firefighter  father – played by Dennis Quaid – while fighting a fire.  Somehow, he stumbles upon his father’s old ham radio, and ends up inadvertently contacting his father Frank, played by Dennis Quaid.   He ends up saving his father, but losing his mother due to the serial killer he was tracking.  Using his knowledge of the past, he saves his father and his mother, and changes everyone’s lives for the better; righting wrongs, and ensuring that his next leap – oh, I’m sorry…that’s Quantum Leap.  The film opened at #3, and was a steady money grabber.  I highly recommend giving this a go.

 

The Astronaut’s Wife (R)
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 16%

This movie, released on August 27, 1999, stars Johnny Depp as Commander Spencer Armacost, and Charlize Theron as his wife, Jillian.  During a spacewalk, Spencer and a fellow astronaut lose contact with NASA for about two minutes.  When they return to Earth, neither astronaut speaks of the ordeal, but the other astronaut flips out on Spencer, eventually dying.  Jillian notices some changes in Spencer, and begins to investigate what happened to her husband, unraveling a whole new ordeal in the process.  When it was released, the movie didn’t crack the top 5, opening at #8, and it all but disappeared out of theaters three weeks later.

So, there you have it, folks; some of the top movies coming to your home this week.  Which one tickles your fancy?  Which one will you be avoiding like the plague?  I would really like to know in the comments below.

Until next time…