The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Blu-ray
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 starts off with a cutesy chase scene and follows with a romantic interest fans can root for. Unfortunately, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 also offers an array of villains and movie tropes we’ve seen before, cut together so that even a moment of tragedy for our hero isn’t very affecting.
It must be great to play Peter Parker. Even in Spider-Man’s most conflicting moments, Andrew Garfield seems to be having a whole lot of fun. His scenes—especially those shared with character Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone)—are full of verbal wit and a good-natured sense of love and respect. Like all versions of Spider-Man, this Peter Parker is still torn, torn by the life he lives as an average human and his duties toward New York City. When new villain Electro (Jamie Foxx) brings Oscorp back into the picture, Peter Parker must put everything he has on the line.
Director Marc Webb often gets the tone of the comic books right. Regardless, 10 years ago, so did Sam Raimi. With many of the same characters involved and much of the same sorts of plots on the table, it doesn’t really matter how great Garfield is or how interesting the graphics are. It doesn’t even matter how lovely the romantic plotline is. Instead, it feels like a rehash of the same story we’ve seen time and time again. It’s a shame that doing Spider-Man too faithfully is a detriment this time around. While The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not un-enjoyable, it certainly isn’t fresh.
You can order the movie over at Amazon.
Best Special Feature: Some of the bonus features with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 are as stylized as the movie itself. The "The Wages of Heroism: Making The Amazing Spider-Man 2" segment is a multi-part behind-the-scenes look at the movie. We get to check out the feelings of the cast and crew regarding the movie’s story, flair and characters, and why certain people got on board for different ideas. New York City is also explored in-depth, as are the different sets used in the city. If you are looking for interesting information related to the making of the movie, this segment is it.
Other Extras:
Audio Commentary with Filmmakers
Deleted & Alternate Scenes
"The Music of Amazing Spider-Man 2 with Director Marc Webb"
Alicia Keys – "It’s On Again" Music Video
If you get the Target release
Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray
Boardwalk Empire’s fourth season is a tale of grief, loss and new beginnings. It’s a story featuring Nucky Thompson still pushing to expand his empire even as the authorities draw closer and some of the people closest to him draw further away. Season 4 is both tragic and poignant—sometimes in the same moments. It’s the second to last season of a story that seems as if it won’t have a happy ending, but will probably get the ending it deserves.
When Boardwalk Empire returned to the schedule for Season 4 last fall, Terence Winter’s drama didn’t start off with a bang. Nucky (Steve Buscemi) still has old business to attend to, making up with Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg) before moving forward with a deal that takes him to Florida and into the arms of Sally Wheet (a tough-ass Patricia Arquette). Back in Atlantic City, Chalky (Michael Kenneth Williams) must fight for his corner of the town when the well-versed and villainous Narcisse Valentine (Jeffrey Wright) roles around. In Chicago, Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon) sinks deeper underwater in his attempts to get ahead.
Boardwalk Empire has always been a show about life eking forward, slowly and painfully, and its storylines are compelling not for the integrity of its characters but for their capacity to face such challenges without blinking an eye. Season 4 is especially powerful because we finally see Gillian (Gretchen Mol) get her comeuppance and we see Chalky get some real material to work with for the first time. His scenes with Narcisse are some of the most challenging the show has faced, and it opens the audiences’ eyes to a whole new world in Atlantic City. Season 4 is less surprising in a lot of ways than in seasons past, as we’ve grown to know the show’s biggest characters, but its finale is a strong reminder of the reasons it earns critical success, and it sets fans up for one hell of a ride in Season 5.
You can order Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Fourth Season over at Amazon.
Best Special Feature: Disc four of Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Fourth Season offers the bulk of the bonus features, making the set extremely easy to navigate. There’s a touching tribute to Richard Harrow, during which actor Jack Huston clearly is engaged in the character he played for numerous seasons on Boardwalk Empire. Richard was one of the most complex yet emotionally distant characters on the series, and it’s kind of awesome to hear Huston explain how he put together all of Richard’s mannerisms and traits to create one of the most interesting characters on television.
Other Extras:
"New Characters"
"The Onyx Club: A Step Back in Time"
"Season 3: Revisited"
Audio Commentaries
Toy Story of Terror Blu-ray
Over the years, the Toy Story franchise has become synonymous with quality. The animation, the ensemble casts, and the general messages the series imparts about teamwork have all set it apart from other animated fodder out there. Still, choosing to do a television series outside of the realm of a full-length feature could have been a real disaster for the franchise. Luckily, Toy Story of Terror is yet another fun offering from the franchise. The bigger question is whether 21 minutes of footage is worth the list price.
Toy Story of Terror initially aired on ABC last October, bringing back numerous members from the original cast, including Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn and more. This time, the story focuses on cowgirl Jessie, who faces her fears and saves the day after the crew of toys are stolen by a rude individual running a creepy motel outside of town. During the toys’ journey, they make some unexpected friends, including a PEZ Cat (Kate McKinnon) and Combat Carl (Carl Weathers)
It’s a short segment, but a fun one, and it was so successful at the time of its release that ABC has ordered another special to air this Christmas. It’s certainly worth a watch and luckily it’s chock full of enough bonus features that Toy Story of Terror should be worth adding to your collection at home. More on that, below. In the meantime, you can order the set over at Amazon.
Best Special Feature: It’s a veritable fact that people love the Toy Story universe. It’s also a veritable fact that Toy Story of Terror is a pretty short feature. Likely because of these two ideas, Disney’s set is chock full of bonus features, offering a few fully animated toons and a few partially animated deleted scenes with optional introductions. If you are looking for added Toy Story content, the extra footage is humorous and pretty cute, and more importantly, Axel Goedde is on hand to explain exactly why stuff was cut.
Other Extras:
Vintage Toy Commercials
Audio Commentary
"Team of Specialists"
Other August 19 Releases
The Blacklist was a bit ahead of the game last week, releasing its Blu-ray set just before the other studios began pouring out last year’s TV releases. This week, there are big sets coming from most of the big networks, with CBS, ABC and NBC all producing releases for some of the network’s hit shows. Among these, The Good Wife is offering a DVD release for what is probably its most memorable season, yet, featuring a shocking twist ending that will effect anyone interested in the dynamics of Lockhart Gardener and Alicia’s never-ending saga. Unless otherwise noted, sets are available on both Blu-ray and DVD.
Other August 19 Releases:
Once Upon a Time: The Complete Third Season
NCIS: The Eleventh Season DVD
The Good Wife: Season 5 DVD
Parks & Recreation: Season 6
Revolution: The Complete Second and Final Season
The Mindy Project: Season 2
Leviathan
Parenthood: Season 5
Only Lovers Left Behind
Jarhead 2: Field of Fire
