Kick-Ass After a tremendous amount of buzz and good reviews to boot, maybe it was the beatings a little girl took that turned audiences off at the box office. Never you mind that. This terrific movie about a group of do-it-yourself superheroes isn’t just a funny send-up of the genre, it’s a genuinely good movie about friendship, heart and doing the right thing—and yeah, there’s plenty of ass-kicking to go around too. There’s nothing not to like. Extras: Featurettes on the comic book origins, writer-director Matthew Vaughn’s commentary and art gallery (DVD/BD); that plus the making-of, “bonus view mode”multimedia presentation (BD)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid A wisecracking pre-teen learns how to navigate the troubled waters of middle school (which included social landmines like bullies, the lunch room, wediges, and not to mention a gross molding piece of cheese) in this family comedy based on the best-selling illustrated novel. Extras: 10 deleted scenes, feature commentary with the writer and director (DVD/BD)
The Ghost Writer Ewan McGregor stars as a mysterious “ghost writer” hired by the British Prime Minister to finish the work done by the first biographer hired who died under strange circumstances. Roman Polanski’s thriller is well crafted and well acted. Extras: Featurette on the original novel upon which the movie was based, cast interviews, an interview with Roman Polanski (fascinatingly, he reveals that the beach house in which much of the action is set was built completely on a set—nothing was real, not the breathtaking views or even the weather.) (DVD/BD)
After.Life Promisingly cheesy thriller with Liam Neeson and Christina Ricci about a young woman caught between life and death and the funeral director who might just bury her alive ends up not as interesting or campy as its premise, with an unsatisfying ending that never lives up to what it could have been.
A Prophet Cannes Fest Grand Jury winner about a young prisoner who rises through the jail ranks by performing drug trafficking jobs and brutal hits for a Corsican gang.
The Elvis 75th Anniversary Collection (DVD) and Elvis on Tour (DVD/BD) Are you lonesome tonight? You won’t be with this box set care of Warner Home Video. It includes 17 films including 14 features (Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas among them) as well as three documentaries and the brand-new Elvis on Tour, a Golden Globe-winning chronicle of the superstar’s 1972 U.S. tour that is considered to be his final film before his 1977 death. With all that comes a 40-page book, 10 reproduction collectibles like correspondence and signed checks, all packaged in a sparkly holographic package. Fit for the King. Check out an exclusive clip from the DVD about the recording of 'Jailhouse Rock!'
New to Blu
The Breakfast Club 25th Anniversary Edition Don’t you forget about John Hughes’s classic ‘80s coming-of-age tale, which debuts on Blu-ray with this special edition that includes a 12-part docu with Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall; featurette on the origins of the Brat Pack, commentary with several stars and more.
Escape From New York Kurt Russell’s hugely entertaining 1981 thriller introduced Snake Plissken to the world; Kalifornia showed us a different side of Brad Pitt as he and Juliette Lewis play a pair of killers traveling west.
