BluTuesday - September 3, 2013
What’s going on, ProFans! Joseph here, nad I’m shrugging off the dust from Labor Day weekend to bring you the latest and in home releases for September 3, 2013. In this week’s episode, we discuss magicians, sharks, vampires, sex and violence in ancient Rome, police procedurals, Kerry Washington, surveillance used for good, power outages, and more trouble in Maine. Well, we have a lot of stuff to get to, so let’s get to it.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 49%
In this visually spectacular blend of astonishing illusions and exhilarating action from director Louis Leterrier (Clash of the Titans), four talented magicians mesmerize an international audience with a series of bold and original heists, all the while pursuing a hidden agenda that has the FBI and Interpol scrambling to anticipate their next move. This movie comes in both a two disc Bluray/DVD + Ultraviolet extended edition, and a single disc DVD + Digital Copy edition. I’ve always wanted to see this movie, but I neder had the time while it was in theaters. Guess what I’ll be focusing on here shortly.
When a freak hurricane swamps Los Angeles, thousands of sharks terrorize the waterlogged populace, and nature’s deadliest killer rules sea, land, and air. This SyFy original is only available in a single disc Bluray version. Inexplicably, this became kind of a big deal; we even did a ProFanity featuring it. Hell, it even had a theatrical release. I’m flabbergasted by the popularity of this movie, but I get that it’s not made for me. So, moving on…
The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fourth Season [Blu-ray]
Senior year is finally here, and Elena (Nina Dobrev) should be having the time of her life. Instead, she faces her worst nightmare, struggling with the painful transformation from human to vampire. As Damon (Ian Somerhalder) mentors Elena into a supernatural life, their repressed passions explode, causing Stefan (Paul Wesley) to undertake a desperate quest to restore humanity to the girl he adores. But as Elena ruthlessly quenches her newfound thirst for blood, and her friends race to find a vampire cure based on clues inked onto Jeremy’s (McQueen) flesh, the world around them falls prey to a host of sinister forces. Mystic Falls takes on vampire hunters, a hybrid rebellion and more. This series comes in both a nine disc Bluray/DVD + Ultraviolet version and a five disc DVD version. This series is sexy and fun, and if you’re a fan of the series and the books it came from, this is for you.
Spartacus: War of the Damned - The Complete Third Season [Blu-ray]
Spartacus: War of the Damned takes place following the defeat of Roman commander Gaius Claudius Glaber, with Spartacus (Liam McIntyre) and his men having amassed major victories against the Romans after the Battle of Vesuvius. These victories have not only forged the legend of Spartacus, but have greatly increased the ranks of the rebellion slaves to more than 30,000. Rome is indeed beginning to tremble at the threat Spartacus now represents. The series also stars Manu Bennett as Crixus, Dustin Clare as Gannicus, Dan Feuerriegel as Agron, Simon Merrells as Crassus, Todd Lasance as Caesar and Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Naevia. This series comes in both a three disc Bluray version, and a three disc DVD version. This has been an amazing series, and it ends on a high note. Watch and enjoy.
Criminal Minds: The Eighth Season
Criminal Minds revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country’s most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit’s most prominent agent is David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), a founding member of the BAU, who returns to help the team solve new cases, while pursuing some unfinished business of his own. Each member brings his or her own area of expertise to the table as they pinpoint predators’ motivations and identify their emotional triggers in the attempt to stop them. This DVD only season is available in a six disc set. If you like CBS police procedurals, check this one out, as well as the other series a little further down on this list. But first…
Scandal: The Complete Second Season
Experience every breathless, jaw-dropping moment as Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and her team of “gladiators in suits” turn up the heat and raise the stakes in Scandal: The Complete Second Season. For Olivia Pope and Associates, cleaning up other people’s messes takes a shattering personal toll. Season 2 blows the lid off Quinn’s identity, exposes Huck’s dark past, and uncovers Olivia’s darkest secret - something so shocking and enormous that it threatens the entire nation. This series – only available on DVD – is available in a five disc set. I don’t get the appeal of this show, but like Sharknado, I’m willing to concede that this isn’t for me. That being said, I accept that its popularity is through the roof, and that – along with the fact that my editor would kill me if I chose otherwise – is why it’s my pick of the week.
Person of Interest: Season Two [Blu-ray]
This crime thriller follows presumed-dead former CIA agent, John Reese, who teams up with mysterious billionaire Harold Finch to prevent violent crimes with high-tech surveillance and their own brand of vigilante justice. Reese’s special training in covert operations appeals to Finch, a software genius who invented a program, aka “The Machine,” that can identify people soon to be involved in violent crimes. With Finch missing – kidnapped in last season’s finale cliffhanger – Reese enlists Detectives Joss Carter and Lionel Fusco to join the search for his friend on the second season premiere. Will Reese and his team find Finch before its too late? Or will Finch’s kidnapper learn of The Machine’s location first? Who will be the next person of interest? Find out in these 22 riveting episodes of Season Two. This series comes in two different versions: it comes in a TEN disc Bluray/DVD + Ultraviolet version and a six disc DVD version. This is the second CBS procedural on home release today, but it’s still worth giving it a go. Besides, it has Taraji P. Henson in it, and if she’s good enough for Jody, she’s good enough for me.
Revolution: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]
In this epic adventure thriller from Supernatural’s Eric Kripke and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, a family struggles to reunite in a post-apocalyptic American landscape: a world of empty cities, local militias and heroic freedom fighters, where every single piece of technology computers, planes, cars, phones, even lights has mysteriously blacked out forever. Revolution: The Complete First Season is a grand romantic saga with sweeping scope and intimate focus yet it is also about family both the family you’re born into and the family you choose. This is a swashbuckling journey of hope and rebirth, seen through the eyes of one strong-willed young woman. This series is available in a both a nine disc Bluray version and a five disc DVD version. This is one of the few shows that came out last season that survived the death toll of last year’s carnage on TV, so it must be good, right? I saw the first episode and liked what it had to offer, but I didn’t continue on with it, because I was watching something else. This is my time to catch up.
Haven: Complete Third Season [Blu-ray] (2012)
When FBI Agent Audrey Parker arrives in Haven, Maine on a routine case, she quickly finds herself involved in the return of the Troubles, a series of supernatural afflictions that have long cursed the seaside town and its residents. Joining the Haven Police Department, Audrey began to realize that it was fate – not luck – that brought her to this place and that she is inexplicably linked to the mysteries of Haven. This series – which I have never heard of – is available in both a four disc Bluray version and a four disc DVD version. I don’t have anything snarky to add to this because I know nothing about it…although I’ll give Steven King credit: he certainly knows how to hype up his home state.
Well, I think that’s more than enough for now, don’t you? But…if you feel that I missed something, or you have any questions or comments, hit me up in the comments section below.
Until next time…
