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Welcome to another weekly preview of Blu-Ray releases! In this week’s edition, Flight makes a good case for taking the train to your next vacation destination, Here Comes the Boom hits store shelves with a – well with a boom I guess, and a beloved family classic finally gets a Blu-Ray release.

Ready for this week’s Blu-Ray releases? Then read on.

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Starring: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood, and Melissa Leo.

Director: Robert Zemeckis

An American drama film from Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis. It was well received by critics and was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actor (for the film’s star Denzel Washington) and Best Original Screenplay.

Plot: An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunction reveals something troubling.

My Thoughts: I haven’t watched it yet, but I’m looking forward to it. Denzel Washington has done some really fine work and I never have any trouble believing him as a character whenever I see him on the big screen. I’m still a bit pissed at Robert Zemeckis. He brought us Back to the Future II in 1989 and, even though it’s now 2013, I’m still waiting for my hoverboard. Why would you show us something so cool on the big screen Robert, knowing that we could never have it? For your Useless Information Pile: Flight is Zemeckis’ first live-action film since Cast Away, which was released in 2000.

Our Rating: 4.5/5

To see why the film earned such a high rating, check out our review of Flight.

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Starring: Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Rachel Nichols, Jean Reno, Giancarlo Esposito, and Edward Burns.

Director: Rob Cohen

An American crime thriller that was panned by critics but earned praise for actor Tyler Perry, who steps out of his comfort zone to portray Alex Cross ( the main character of a series of excellent novels by author James Patterson) on the big screen.

Plot: After Washington DC detective Alex Cross is told that a family member has been murdered, he vows to track down the killer. He soon discovers that she was not his first victim and that things are not what they seem.

My Thoughts: I haven’t committed to giving this a shot yet. Even though I’m a fan of James Patterson’s novels, and of crime thrillers in general, I may wait for a word-of-mouth recommendation; I’m also not terribly familiar with Tyler Perry’s work. That being said, the film received mostly negative reviews due to many issues with the plot, but many viewers said Perry portrayed a great Alex Cross. Give this a watch if you like the genre or are a Tyler Perry fan. For your Useless Information Pile: the character of Alex Cross was previously portrayed by Morgan Freeman (the man whom I would love to give my eulogy) in Kiss the Girls  and Along Came a Spider.

Our Rating: 4/5

Check out our Alex Cross review to read what our reviewer had to say about the film.

Celeste and Jesse Forever 606s4e

Starring: Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Emma Roberts, Ari Graynor, Chris Messina, and Eric Christian Olsen.

Director: Lee Toland Krieger

A comedy-drama film that received positive reviews from critics and earned writers Rashida Jones and Will McCormack an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay.

Plot: Celeste and Jesse met in high school, married young, and at 30, decide to get divorced but remain best friends while pursuing other relationships.

My Thoughts: I’ll be giving this a watch with the old ball and chain at some point (it’s OK she’s doesn’t read these articles anyway). The film’s been praised for its accurate portrayal of real-life relationships and shrewd approach to the romantic-comedy genre. If you like your romantic comedies bitter sweet, then this is for you.

Here Comes the Boom 59q4k

Starring: Kevin James, Henry Winkler, Salma Hayek, Greg Germann, Gary Valentine, and Reggie Lee.

Director: Frank Coraci

A sports comedy film that received mixed reviews from critics, but was praised for its heart and the ever-likable performance of leading man Kevin James.

Plot: A high school biology teacher looks to become a successful mixed-martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to prevent extra-curricular activities from being axed at his cash-strapped school.

My Thoughts:I enjoyed it but I’m a real softie for heartwarming sports films. I couldn’t help but like Kevin James’ character, mostly because I tend to identify with the underdog in these types of films. As a short and geeky guy, I’ve always been outclassed in any sporting event, and so I love rooting for the expected-loser in these kinds of scenarios. If you’re an MMA fan or just want something light to watch over the weekend, then you should bring home the boom (I can’t believe I wrote that either).

Our Rating: 2.5/5

For a more detailed rundown of the film, check out our review of Here Comes the Boom.

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Starring: David Fincher, Lars von Trier, Christopher Nolan, David Lynch, Robert Rodriguez, and Danny Boyle.

Director: Christopher Kenneally

An American documentary film co-produced and narrated by Bill and Ted‘s Keanu Reeves (whoa!). It premiered at the 2012 Belin International Film Festival and was also shown at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Plot:A documentary exploring the ongoing debate between traditional celluloid and digital film. In conversation with a number of world renowned directors and industry experts including David Lynch, James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, and Anthony Dod Mantle, the documentary tells the story of filmmaking and gives those on both sides of the debate the chance to argue their points and preferences as digital film begins to assert itself as a more cost-effective and accessible means of production.

My Thoughts: I know the plot makes it sound really boring to a mainstream audience, and most likely it is, but this is a must-watch for any film buff. The debate between traditional celluloid and digital film is an interesting one, and it couldn’t be better explored than by some of the biggest names in the film industry. Pick it up if you’re a film aficionado or get it as a gift for the aspiring filmmaker in your life.

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Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Barbra Streisand, Gary Busey, Marta Heflin, Sally Kirkland, and Paul Mazursky.

Director: Frank Pierson

A 1976 rock musical film that received mostly negative reviews from critics, but became an instant classic that went on to win a number of awards (including five Golden Globe awards and an Academy Award for Best Original Song) and made Barbra Streisand a household name.

Plot: A has-been rock star falls in love with a young, up-and-coming songstress.

My Thoughts: I saw it years ago with a friend of mine of the female persuasion, and while I agree with the critics that it isn’t a great film, it’s definitely an entertaining one. I try not to judge older films too harshly because many things have changed in the past three decades, but if you can get past some of the cheesier elements, then you will enjoy it. I highly recommend it for the older woman in your life or any Barbra Streisand fan. For your Useless Information Pile: Neil Diamond, Marlon Brando, and Elvis Presley were all considered for the male lead.

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Starring: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Heather Angel, Bill Thompson, and Paul Collins (I).

Directors:  Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Jack Kinney.

The 1953 Walt Disney animated classic finally arrives on Blu-Ray to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

Plot:  mischievous Peter Pan, the young boy who refuses to grow up, his hot-tempered pixie pal Tinker Bell, and the Darling children as they soar away to the mysterious Never-Never land where childhood lasts forever in this magical, musical adventure.

My Thoughts: I love Peter Pan! It’s genuinely heartfelt and touches the inner child in all of us (who wouldn’t love to stay young forever?). I can’t say enough good things about this movie, and if you’re a parent who hasn’t watched this with your kids yet, then shame on you. A highly recommended addition to any Blu-Ray collection. For your Useless Information Pile: Peter Pan is the final Walt Disney film in which all nine of ‘Disney’s Nine Old Men’ worked together as directing animators.

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Starring: Ian Richardson, Susannah Harker, Miles Anderson , Alphonsia Emmanuel, Malcolm Tierney , and Diane Fletcher.

Director: Various

A 1990 UK political-thriller television series set after the end of Margaret Thatcher’s tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Plot: House of Cards is a spell-binding dissection of naked ambition, greed, and rampant hypocrisy in the corridors of power. The series documents in thrilling detail the rise of Tory Chief Whip Francis Urquhart, a man with unwavering contempt for those with “no background, no bottom.” With the downfall of Margaret Thatcher, a bitter internecine power struggle ensues within the Conservative Party. Urquhart schemes more devilishly than Iago to depose Thatcher’s colorless John Major-style successor. And even Machiavelli would balk at Urquhart’s methods. Any and every act — including murder — is legitimate and the ends very much justify the means.

My Thoughts: A great series with an excellent cast and a must-watch for anyone who enjoys the political genre. The series was very popular when it first aired and was critically praised for its accurate depiction of backdoor political wheeling and dealing. The show has been recently remade into an original series in the US starring Kevin Spacey and directed by David Fincher; the first episode airs tonight.

That’s all for this week. I wish you all a Happy Superbowl Weekend! Eat a lot of chickens wings, drink a lot of beer, and out on the couch at 5:30pm like I do.

Are you a fan of any of this week’s releases? Let us know in the comments below.

Sony Home Entertainment has announced Frank Coraci’s Here Comes the Boom for Blu-Ray release in February. The film stars Kevin James and Salma Hayek.

Honestly, I’d never torture myself with a film like Here Comes the Boom. There are bad-looking flicks and then there are movies that star Kevin James. There’s just something about the talentless schlub that rubs me the wrong way and makes me run for the hills without hesitation.

His latest film put him in the role of a teacher turned UFC fighter. I don’t really recall exactly why he made the career change in the film, but I’m sure whatever the reason is there was comedy involved. How James continues to get work is beyond me, but then I immediately that he’s buddies with Adam Sandler.

Luckily for me I didn’t have to sit through this one, but our very own Jonathan Lack wasn’t as lucky and he had this to say about the film in his review:

Here Comes the Boom is slightly above average for this sort of broad comedy, but is hampered by too many significant issues to be worth a watch.

The film will be coming to Blu-Ray with the following bonus material:

• Gag Reel
• 18 Deleted Scenes
• Here Comes The Cast – Featurette
• Five Blu-ray Exclusive Featurettes:
  • The Pros
  • Three Amigos
  • Back to School
  • Learning How to Fight
  • Gino Vs. Richie
• UltraViolet Digital Copy

Here Comes the Boom will be available for purchase at your local retailer on February 5th, 2013.

As tedious and forgettable as the film may be, I find I cannot completely dismiss Frank Coraci’s Here Comes The Boom, for the film’s heart is undoubtedly in the right place. This is not a good or inspired comedy, but unlike many of its similarly broad, Adam Sandler-produced peers, it is not soulless or vapid either. The film is actually built around an idea, a fairly universal and relatable philosophy about education: That when it comes to our children, we should fight hard every day to make sure they have every possible opportunity.

To drive this point home, the story operates around a grand metaphor, wherein protagonist Mr. Voss (Kevin James), a bored high school biology teacher, becomes an MMA fighter to raise enough money to fund the school’s endangered music program.

Therein lies the problem: While the film stresses over and over again how heroically symbolic Mr. Voss’ actions are, I am fairly confident no one involved in the production of Here Comes The Boom actually understands what a metaphor is. Saying one is going to ‘fight’ for their children or ‘fight’ for education is a metaphor, because you are not actually fighting, but using the phrase to connote intent to work hard and tirelessly towards a goal. But when Mr. Voss steps into the ring and starts having his face pounded in, or begins tirelessly pummeling his opponent, it’s no longer a metaphor. It’s just literal fighting, and at that point, all that’s ‘symbolized’ is that violence is, apparently, an easy answer to financial problems.

Or that using and abusing one’s body for spectatorship is a good solution when one falls on hard times. Take your pick. Either way, throwing oneself into America’s most dangerous (legal) fighting arena without any significant experience sets a pretty bad example, especially when one is ostensibly doing it for the good of impressionable teenagers. Mr. Voss, and the film, may mean well, but horribly abusing one’s body to get money is, I think we can all agree, a bad thing to do, and doing it for the ‘right’ reasons does not negate the truly terrible example Mr. Voss sets for his students and community.

It’s a shame, because as I said before, I do respect the film for wanting to tackle the issue of educational lethargy, even if it is a very surface-level analysis. America is far too ive about the importance of education and the vast difference good teaching can make on a young person’s life, and the film’s core message – that teachers and parents should work vigorously and enthusiastically for their students – is a very good one to build a story around. I just do not believe, for a single second, that MMA fighting has any place in that conversation, because violence severely muddles the morality and deeper meaning of the discussion. The decision to make the metaphor literal is a mistake, crippling the entire story and dragging both sides of the narrative – the education component and the MMA physical comedy component – down into unenjoyable territory.

The writing is not particularly accomplished in the first place – few of the jokes are cringe-worthy, but I found none of them to be truly funny or engaging – and Coraci’s flat direction is no more engaging than a high-budget network TV episode. The MMA fights are competently choreographed, but over-rely on implausibly brutal punch streams that scream too strongly of life-altering brain damage.

That being said, the characters and performances are largely appealing, and that keeps the film watchable at all times. Kevin James is very good here, as confident and charismatic as ever, and while I wish the man would one day find a better, more substantive vehicle for his talents, one can never accuse him of phoning in a performance. Similarly, Salma Hayek is likable and engaging even in an extremely thin ‘love interest’ part, and UFC champion-turned-actor Bas Rutten has a great deal of fun in the stock ‘trainer’ role. The biggest surprise is Henry Winkler, who actually turns in a great little performance as the school’s heartfelt music teacher; he is authentically warm and ionate in all the ways a good educator, and person, should be, and a real joy to watch.

The same cannot be said of Here Comes The Boom as the whole, even if it is slightly above average for this sort of comedy. I do not recommend the film, especially on a weekend where there are at least two other excellent new releases, but if one catches it while channel-surfing several years down the line, it may prove an acceptable way to kill time.

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Sony Pictures is gearing up for a new year of releases and as always, they have a ton of exciting films for their fans to look forward to.

Daniel Craig, the latest (and greatest?) James Bond to-date is returning to the big screen in Skyfall in late 2012 (November 9th). Until audiences get the opportunity to be wowed by whatever crazy antics 007 has up his sleeve, they can be comforted by this sneak peak at what it’s going to be all about.

Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in Skyfain late 2012 (November 9th). Until audiences get the opportunity to be wowed by whatever crazy antics 007 has up his sleeve, they can be comforted by this sneak peak at what it’s going to be all about.ll, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Before you get serious with Bond, take a chill pill with Adam Sandler. Sandler will be making (or trying to make) you laugh this summer (June 15) with the comedy, I Hate You Dad. ing in on the fun is SNL star Andy Samberg.

While still in his teens, Donny (Adam Sandler) fathered a son, Todd (Andy Samberg), and raised him as a single parent up until Todd’s 18th birthday. Now, after not seeing each other for years, Todd’s world comes crashing down on the eve of his wedding when an uninvited Donny suddenly shows up. Trying desperately to reconnect with his son, Donny is now forced to deal with the repercussions of his bad parenting skills.

Next up, Hotel Transylvania. Adam Sandler also stars in this animated feature along with Miley Cyrus and Kevin James. The monster comedy is due out in the fall, September 21st.

Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s (Adam Sandler) lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them.  On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world’s most famous monsters – Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more – to celebrate his daughter Mavis’s 118th birthday.  For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.

Kevin James, like Sandler, has another comedy coming out this year. He’s starring in Here Comes The Boom with Salma Hayek. The film is another fall feature, hitting theaters on October 12th.

In the comedy “Here Comes the Boom”, former collegiate wrester Scott Voss (Kevin James) is a 42-year-old apathetic biology teacher in a failing high school. When cutbacks threaten to cancel the music program and lay off its teacher (Henry Winkler) Scott begins to raise money by moonlighting as a mixed martial arts fighter. Everyone thinks Scott is crazy – most of all the school nurse, Bella (Salma Hayek) – but in his quest, Scott gains something he never expected as he becomes a sensation that rallies the entire school.

Lastly, the year wouldn’t be complete without a remake and Total Recall is there to fill the voice. Look for it in theaters on August 3rd.

“Total Recall” is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story “We Can It For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he’s got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs.

But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.

Do any of these films perk your interest? Let us know in the comments below.

After Hours, just what is After Hours, well it is a movie column named after one of my favorite Martin Scorsese films. After Hours will feature any movie news we might have missed during the day. After all we human.

Kate Mara and Treat Williams have ed Blackbird and will play opposite previously-announced stars Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde. (Variety)

IFC has released the first poster for Super.

Sony has released their summer movie line-up: Men in Black 3 in 3D (May 25) and The Amazing Spider-Man in 3D (July 3), I Hate You, Dad, starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg, on June 22, Here Comes the Boom, starring Kevin James, on July 27, and a re-imagining of Total Recall, starring Colin Farrell, on August 3.

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Youtube RelmVision has created a video using clips from Scott Pilgrim and mashed it with the Ludacris song How Low Can You Go.

Universal Pictures has acquired an untitled comedy pitch from writer Paula Pell that will be produced by Tina Fey through her Little Stranger production company.

No details about the storyline were made available. (Variety)

Simon Pegg tweeted about the untitled Star Trek sequel script.