Today’s obligatory must own Blu-ray/ DVD is DREDD. I first saw the film at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con. It was a strange experience as Judge Dredd, himself, Karl Urban sat right behind me in the theater. Never was I so aware of yawning during a film. I wasn’t yawning due to boredom, it was the end of a very long day at Comic Con and sitting in a darkened theater doesn’t help.
I had no expectations for DREDD 3D. I knew of the character, thanks to the horrendous Sylvester Stallone film. What I watched, this time, was a thrilling tour de force of action and suspense. I likened the film to Die Hard in my first impression of it (read here). Never once does Judge Dredd take off his mask to reveal the man underneath. At first, I thought that this was problematic. How am I supposed to know the man behind the law? By the end of the film, I applauded director Pete Travis’ efforts. There is no man behind the law, there is only Dredd. It sounds strange, but I completely understood who the character was by the end of the film in a way I never saw in Stallone’s film or after reading “The Day the Law Died”.
This is one of of those films that slipped by many comic book and movie fans. It’s a shame, really, as it was the perfect launching point to have Karl Urban start a whole new franchise. The film was shot in real 3D and it’s sad that many of us won’t ever get to enjoy the comic book panels they created by using that technology. Without a doubt, I recommend picking up DREDD on Blu-ray and DVD this week. I promise you that you will not regret it .
Now, Maniacs, we take a look ahead at al the DVDs and Blu-rays that will be arriving. January is always a tough time, but with each and every week, we get closer and closer to the summer. The DVD Shopping Bag supplies you with a weekly dose of the new titles that get us our genre fix. Remember, all release dates are subject to change.
JANUARY
Branded [Blu-ray] January 15th
Cujo [Blu-ray] January 22nd
Deadly Blessing (Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray] January 22nd
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (Blu-ray/DVD Combo) January 22nd
Ticks [Blu-ray] January 22nd
Young Justice Invasion Destiny Calling: Season 2 January 22nd
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 [Blu-ray] January 29th
Citadel January 29th
Die Hard 25th Anniversary Collection [Blu-ray] January 29th
White Zombie: Kino Classics' Remastered Edition [Blu-ray] January 29th
FEBRUARY
Bela Lugosi: Scared to Death Collection (10-pk) February 5th
Peter Pan (Three-Disc Diamond Edition: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy) February 5th
Ultimate Spider-Man: Avenging Spider-Man Febraury 5th
The Man with the Iron Fists [Blu-ray] February 12th
Zulu Dawn (Blu-ray / DVD Combo) February 12th
Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season February 19th
Highlander 2: Renegade Version [Blu-ray] February 19th
Marvel The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Volume Six February 19th
Monsters, Inc. (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition : 3D Blu-ray / Blu-ray / DVD Combo + Digital Copy) February 19th
The Monster Squad [Blu-ray] February 19th
Prison (Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray/DVD Combo] February 19th
The Nest (BluRay/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray] February 19th
Night of the Demons 2 [Blu-ray] February 19th
The Running Man [Blu-ray] February 19th
The Thief of Bagdad [Blu-ray] February 19th
Top Gun (Two-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / Digital Copy) February 19th
House That Dripped Blood February 26th
MARCH
Westworld [Blu-ray] March 5th
Brother Bear & Brother Bear 2 [Blu-ray] March 12th
The Blob (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] March 12th
The Hunchback of Notre Dame [Blu-ray] March 12th
Mulan / Mulan II [Blu-ray] March 12th
Subspecies Box Set [Blu-ray] March 12th
APRIL
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled (10-Disc Limited Edition Six-Movie Collector's Set) [Blu-ray] April 2nd
New Release for January 8th 2013
ACTION / ADVENTURE / KUNG FU/ THRILLERS / WESTERNS
A Dangerous Place Starring Sal Rendino, Kevin Interdonato, Kristen Dalton
Assassins [Blu-ray] Starring Chow Yun Fat, Yifei Liu, Hiroshi Tamaki and Alec Su
Assassins Starring Chow Yun Fat, Yifei Liu, Hiroshi Tamaki and Alec Su
The Bone Collector [Blu-ray] Starring Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Ed O'Neill
Fear [Blu-ray] Starring Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen
Guns, Girls and Gambling Starring Christian Slater, Powers Boothe, Dane Cook and Jeff Fahey
Guns, Girls and Gambling [Blu-ray] Starring Christian Slater, Powers Boothe, Dane Cook and Jeff Fahey
Gunfight at Yuma Starring Frank Stallone and Joe Estevez
Hit & Run (Two-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) Starring Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Tom Arnold and Kristin Chenoweth
Hit & Run Starring Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Tom Arnold and Kristin Chenoweth
Pathfinders: In the Company of Strangers Starring Michael Conner Humphreys and Christopher Serrone
Pathfinders: In the Company of Strangers [Blu-ray] Starring Michael Conner Humphreys and Christopher Serron
Seal Team Six: The Raid On Osama Bin Laden Starring Cam Gigandet, Anson Mount, Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner
Seal Team Six: The Raid On Osama Bin Laden [Blu-ray] Starring Cam Gigandet, Anson Mount, Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner
Sleep Tight [Blu-ray] Starring Luis Tosar and Marta Etura
Sleep Tight Starring Luis Tosar and Marta Etura
Stalingrad [Blu-ray] Starring Dominique Horwitz and Thomas Kretschmann
Stalingrad Starring Dominique Horwitz and Thomas Kretschmann
Stolen (Blu-Ray) Starring Nicolas Cage, Malin Akerman, Sami Gayle and Danny Houston
Stolen (DVD + Digital Copy) Starring Nicolas Cage, Malin Akerman, Sami Gayle and Danny Houston
Trespass / Bad Lieutenant Port of Call Double Feat Starring Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman and Eva Mendes
ANIME
Bodacious Space Pirates
Bodacious Space Pirates [Blu-ray]
Jubei-Chan: The Ninja Girl
CARTOONS
Archer: Season Three Starring H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer, Amber Nash and Chris Parnell
Archer: Season Three [Blu-ray] Starring H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer, Amber Nash and Chris Parnell
Frankenweenie Starring Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Landau
Frankenweenie (Four-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy) Starring Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short
Frankenweenie (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) Starring Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Landau
The Goode Family: The Complete Series Starring Mike Judge, Nancy Carell and Linda Cardellini
Happy Feet / Ant Bully / Scooby-Doo: The Movie [Blu-ray]
Steven Spielberg: Tiny Toon Adventures 3
CLASSICS
Jazz Singer [Blu-ray] Starring Al Jolson, William Dermarest, May McAvoy and Warner Oland
Cape Fear (1962) [Blu-ray] Starring Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen
Grand Hotel [Blu-ray] Starring Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford
Mrs Miniver [Blu-ray]
COMEDY AND LOVE Mania Style
Scrooged [Blu-ray] Starring Carol Kane, Alfre Woodard, Karen Allen and John Forsythe
CRITERION COLLECTION
The Spirit of the Beehive (Criterion Collection) Starring Ana Torrent, Isabel Telleria, Fernando Fernan Gomez
Two-Lane Blacktop (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Starring James Taylor, Dennis Wilson and Laurie Bird
HORROR
Bloody Flesh Starring Adriana Herrán, David Guerrero, Santiago García
Ghoul Starring Nolan Gould, Andrea Frankle, Mattie Liptak and Glen Warner
Hansel & Gretel [Blu-ray] Starring Dee Wallace, Brent Lydic, Stephanie Greco and Clark Perry
Haunted Dollhouse
House at the End of the Street [Blu-ray] Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Elisabeth Shue
House at the End of the Street Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Elisabeth Shue
MODERN CLASSICS on BLU-RAY
Driving Miss Daisy [Blu-ray] Starring Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd and Patti Lupone
SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY
The Brothers Grimm Starring Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Monica Bellucci and Petr Ratimec
Brothers Grimm [Blu-ray] Starring Heath Ledger, Matt Damon and Jeremy Robson
Dredd [3D Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet] Starring Karl Urban and Lena Headey
Dredd [DVD + Digital Copy] Starring Karl Urban and Lena Headey
Goonies / Gremlins / Gremlins 2: The New Batch [Blu-ray] Starring Shannon Tweed, Sam Hennings, Colleen Coffey
Timekeeper Starring Anthony Medwitz
Time Traveler's Wife / P. S. I Love You / Lake [Blu-ray] Starring Shannon Tweed, Sam Hennings, Colleen Coffey
TV LAND
Dallas: The Complete First Season Starring Josh Henderson, Jesse Metcalfe, Jordana Brewster
Enlightened: The Complete First Season Starring Laura Dern, Diane Ladd and Luke Wilson
Episodes: Seasons 1 & 2 Starring Matt LeBlanc, John Pankow, Stephen Mangan and Edward Lemont
Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) Starring Harry Lloyd, Mark Addy, Alfie Allen and Sean Bean
Hour: Season Two Starring Tom Burke and Peter Capaldi
Midsomer Murders, Set 21 Starring Jason Hughes
Midsomer Murders, Set 21 [Blu-ray] Starring John Nettles and Barry Jackson
Smash: Season One Starring Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Anjelica Huston
3rd Rock From the Sun - Season 5 Starring John Lithgow, Kirsten Johnston and French Stewart
3rd Rock From the Sun - Season 6 Starring John Lithgow, Kirsten Johnston and French Stewart
VR Troopers: Season One, Vol. 2 Starring Michael Sorich, Mike Reynolds and Gardner Baldwin
BOX SETS
Veronica Mars: Complete Seasons 1-3