Sunshine Blu-ray Exchange Program offered by FOX

Blu-ray owners of the Danny Boyle film Sunshine that have been experiencing problems with certain Blu-ray players not allowing you to playback the film without the picture-in-picture track playing over the main feature now have their solution.

20th Century Fox has begun an exchange program for owners of the Blu-ray disc. Contact customer service at 888-223-4369. You will be asked you for your Blu-ray player model , name, and address. They state it should take 1 to 2 weeks to receive your replacement disc.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Motion Comic - Blu-ray Disc Review

***SYNOPSIS***
Proving once and for all that you can’t keep a good Slayer down, Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight Motion Comic picks up where the smash hit TV show left off! Based on the Dark Horse comic book series, these eye-popping motion comic adventures breathe new life into the Buffyverse for long-time fans and new “watchers” alike.


The Hellmouth may have been destroyed, but the world still needs saving and Buffy Summers is back at her butt-kicking, demon-slaying best to do the job. She’s relocated her base of operations to a castle in Scotland to lead the Scooby Gang, including hundreds of newly activated Slayers scattered around the world to battle the supernatural forces of evil. But in the wake of Sunnydale’s destruction, the U.S. government thinks Buffy and her legions of followers have grown too powerful and are now terrorist threats. Meanwhile, a seemingly unstoppable group of Japanese vampires hatch a nefarious plot, while the biggest, baddest Big Bad of them all, Twilight, is on a mission to destroy every Slayer on Earth!



***MOVIE REVIEW***

I have been a fan of Joss Whedon's work and his most beloved creation Buffy The Vampire Slayer since the late 1997. The brilliant writing a perfect casting made Buffy my favorite show of all time until LOST appeared on tv screens one year after the wonderful series finale of Buffy titled "Chosen". When I read that Joss Whedon had plans to work with Dark Horse Comics I honestly had mixed emotions. I felt the series had a perfect ending, but would also love to see what happened to the characters.
Now that FOX has released the first 19 issues of Season 8 in motion comic form it was worth the wait. Taking the story to comic book form helps to expand the action and overall scope. The witty dialogue is still here. I was shocked at the end of the first episode when a recurring character returned in dramatic fashion. There is one problem that I have with Season 8 and that is none of the original cast was used for the voices. Admittedly the voice talent on hand here do a decent job but sometimes I felt they read the lines very dry without the smart, wry cadence that was exhibited from the live action show. I found once I got into the story that the voices weren't as noticeable and overall it was a great time watching new Buffy content. 8.5/10


***VIDEO QUALITY***

Buffy: Season 8 arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080i transfer utilizing the in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. This is an almost flawless presentation. Colors are deep and rich. Blacks are inky. Detail in the artwork is razor sharp. I noticed a few instances of banding in the image but those moments were thankfully sporadic. Another solid job from FOX. 9/10


***AUDIO QUALITY***

Audio is provided by a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. I first noticed the great sense of atmosphere this track exhibited. Surrounds were engaged consistently. LFE performance was strong adding a nice depth to the score. Dialogue was crisp and clean throughout. A really nice mix was done for this series and it was appreciated in bringing me back into the Buffyverse. 9/10


***SPECIAL FEATURES***

* Under Buffy’s Spell (5min18sec, HD)
* Buffy Season 8 Motion Comic Test Pilot (5min34sec)
* The Buffy Trivia Experience – If you're as big a fan of Buffy as I am you will get a higher ranking score and be treated to a special bonus.
* Season 8 Comic Book Covers Gallery (HD) - A nice look at the great artwork used for the physical comic book covers.
* Live Extras:
- Exclusive: Covering Jo Chen (HD) – A short interview with the amazing artist.

* DVD – A standard definition DVD presentation.
- DVD exclusive bonus: Tooncast Studio DVD-ROM where fans can create their very own Buffy comic.
* The Long Way Home, Part 1 Comic Book - A nice mini version of the first comic.

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Blu-ray Disc Review

***SYNOPSIS*** - Academy Award-winning Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney (Up In The Air) and Meryl Streep (It’s Complicated) lend their voices to the hilarious, heartwarming and dazzling stop-motion animated adventure from visionary director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenebaums). In there-imagined classic family tale, Mr. and Mrs. Fox (Clooney and Streep) live a happy home life with their eccentric son Ash (Jason Schwartzman: The Darjeeling Limited) and visiting nephew Kristopherson. That is until Mr. Fox slips into his sneaky, old ways and plots the greatest heist the animal world has ever seen. When mean old farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean join forces to surround Mr. Fox and his family, they don’t realize they are not dealing with any old fox – it’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and he has a fantastic master plan to save the day!

***VIDEO QUALITY*** - 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer utilizing the AVC MPEG-4 codec in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. In a word this transfer is flawless. The best aspect of this presentation is the opportunity it affords to take in the superb character design and fantastically detailed sets. Colors are strikingly bold with no signs of bleeding. Everything is razor sharp to the point I felt as if I was there in person looking at the beautiful craftsmanship that went into this film. Detail reveals the lifelike fur textures and minute details on clothing and accessories were a delight to watch. Black levels are solid throughout. No signs of DNR or Edge Enhancement were noticed. FOX has done justice to this wonderous film with a breathtaking high definition presentation. 10/10

***AUDIO QUALITY*** - Audio is provided by a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Wes Andersons' eclectic taste in music is the highlight of this crisp and detailed audio presentation. Choice cuts from The Beach Boys, Cole Porter, and more fit the look and feel of this film to a tee. Dialogue was clean and audible throughout. Surrounds were engaged with subtle effects of the natural nature sounds that were recorded for the film. The LFE channel comes through with tight, rich bass when called upon. In closing this track complements this delightful tale perfectly. 9/10

***SPECIAL FEATURES***

**Disc One**

* Making Mr. Fox Fantastic (HD,44min)
* The Look Of Fantastic Mr. Fox (HD,8min)
* From Script To Screen (HD,7min)
* The Puppet Makers (HD,8min)
* Still Life (Puppet Animation) (HD,7min)
* The Cast (HD,6min)
* Bill And His Badger (HD,8min)
* A Beginner’s Guide To Whack-Bat (HD,1min )
* Fantastic Mr. Fox: The World Of Roald Dahl (HD,3min)

**Disc Two**

* Fantastic Mr. Fox widescreen feature film DVD disc (SD)
* From Script to Screen (SD)
* Still Life (Puppet Animation) (SD)
* A Beginner’s Guide to Whack-Bat (SD)

**Disc Three**

* Digital Copy of the feature length film.

My Most Wanted Blu-ray Titles Yet To Be Officially Announced

Hello dear readers. It's been a slow week for me here and was thinking of what movies still have not been announced or released yet on Blu-ray that I'm hoping for the most. Below is a list of my most wanted titles in no particular ranking.

STAR WARS SAGA

The best possible version I can imagine would be all 6 films in full 1080p with DTS-HD MA 5.1 tracks. The prequels would include all the deleted scenes with the choice to watch them reintegrated into the films or the original theatrical versions. The original trilogy would include both the original theatrical versions and special editions as a choice. A great addition would be the deleted scenes from those 3 films digitally restored and put back into the films. As for the special features I really enjoyed all the footage that has been included on the previous DVD releases of the saga so a nice surprise would be HD special features when available and more fly-on-the-wall footage from the prequels that made "The Phantom Menace" DVD worth owning just for the making-of documentary. I would be in heaven if their was a Blu-ray disc that included all of John Williams greatest score. I hope George Lucas and 20th Century Fox come through with this megaset in the next year or two.

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

Imagine a new 4k transfer of David Lean's masterpiece with a new DTS-HD MA track to envelop you with the beautiful score by Maurice Jarre. I cannot even fathom how gorgeous the sunrise sequence is going to look in HD . Special features ported over from the 2- disc DVD edition plus maybe a longer documentary would be fine.

THE TALENTED MR.RIPLEY

The late director Anthony Minghella created a masterpiece of storytelling an tension and this is one of the very best films of the last 15 years. From the perfect performances from everyone involved to the perfect soundtrack and accompanying score this is a film I watch at least 3 times a year. This would be an excellent addition to Paramount's Sapphire Series and would hopefully include an isolated score and a new retrospective documentary.

BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY

"88 miles per hour" ...I love all three films and correctly framed transfers (the DVD release was not framed properly until replacement discs were pressed) with DTS-HD MA tracks would be the start. The special features from the DVD release would be welcomed ports as well as maybe some new documentaries. A nice bonus disc would be all the classic songs that featured in the films on a Blu-ray disc. I feel Universal will be revisiting this trilogy soon.

JAWS

One of the greatest films of all time that I can rewatch at least 5 times a year. You know the drill, new transfer in full 1080p with a new DTS-HD MA track to highlight John Williams's iconic score. The special features on the last DVD release were very well done so ports of those would be appreciated and if possible an HD presentation of the documentary "The Shark Is Still Working".

E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL

E.T. is my favorite film. I still remember that warm summer afternoon that my Mother took me to see this beautiful tale of an adorable alien botanist who is left all alone on Earth and is in a race against time to return to his home. The bond that form between E.T. and Elliot is heartbreaking and the performance by Henry Thomas is the most natural I've ever seen by a child actor. John Williams's score is exquisite. Steven Spielberg created in my opinion his best and most personal film(Yes even over Schindler's List). Seriously just a new transfer of the theatrical version of the film and a new DTS-HD MA track plus isolated score would be enough for me. Any new features past the already well made extras for the Special Edition DVD would be icing on the cake.

JURASSIC PARK TRILOGY

Frankly just the first, classic film would be good for now. But if Universal decides to release all 3 as a box set count me in as well. Steven Spielberg brought back a sens of wonder to film in 1993 when Jurassic Park was releases. I remember having tears in my eyes , my dad included when we saw our first dinosaur and another iconic score from John Williams's kicked in to add to the emotion of seeing a realistic dinosaur on the big screen for the first time. The artists at ILM have to be commended as well for their innovation in the CGI effects used in the film. DTS-HD MA tracks are a must and any new bonus features would be welcomed. I would hope that no Digital Copies are included as these film's need to be watched on a large screen.

MOULIN ROUGE!

Can you imagine the jaw dropping images of Baz Luhrmann's musical masterpiece in a stunning HD transfer and a DTS-HD MA track pumping out the wonderful musical choices made for this film? I can and it looks glorious, I hope Fox makes this a reality soon. The Special Edition DVD had more bonus material than one could ask for on one production so ports would be fine and it would be great to have a look back with the primary cast and crew. Maybe a 10th Anniversary Edition in 2011? one can hope.

INDIANA JONES TRILOGY

Since "Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull" is already available on Blu I would hope Paramount would just release the original 3 films as a box set. New 4k transfers and DTS-HD MA tracks to showcase John Williams's iconic scores for all 3 films. The DVD versions are of the highest order and upconverted look almost HD in some scenes but these Steven Spielberg films deserve to be seen in the highest quality possible. I really enjoyed the previous extras from the DVD Trilogy release so anything that would continue a great set of features would be welcomed. A nice faux leather box would really set this off perfectly.