This Week on DVD and Blu-ray - June 2nd, 2009

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Welcome back DVDTOWN.com citizens to my sophomore effort on This Week in DVD and Blu-Ray. June 2 yields a variety of releases including quite a hefty haul for those of you looking to upgrade to high definition.

James Bond, Sabretooth, and Billy Elliot team up to fight Nazis in "Defiance" which hits DVD and Blu-Ray this week. Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell play the Bielski Brothers who shepherded thousands of Jews into the Belorussian forests during World War II. It's an incredible true-life story that many have never heard of, partly because the real Bielskis never sought any type of honor or recognition for their brave efforts. The film is directed by Edward Zwick who also directed "Glory," "The Last Samurai," and "Blood Diamond," among others. Head over to John J. Puccio's review for more on "Defiance" while James Plath has a review up for the Blu-Ray version of "Glory."

Another high-profile new release is "Revolutionary Road" which features the reunion of "Titanic" stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Oscar winner Kate Winslet. "Revolutionary Road" is the latest entry in the 'suburban malaise' sub-genre and was directed by Sam Mendes whose "American Beauty" is practically the dictionary definition for the topic. Based on the acclaimed novel by Richard Yates, Leo and Kate play a married couple struggling with their structured and expected lives in the 1950's. Mr. Puccio has reviews online for both the standard edition Blu-Ray.

The romantic comedy "He's Just Not That Into You" boasts an A-list ensemble cast that includes Jennifer Connelly, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson, "Entourage" star Kevin Connolly, and Kris Kristofferson. How's that old "Sesame Street" bit go? One of these things is not like the other...Anyways, the film was based on, of all things, a self-help book which itself is inspired by an episode of "Sex and the City." "He's Just Not That Into You" hits

Remember when Eddie Murphy was funny? Long before "Meet Dave" and "Pluto Nash" stunk up a theater near you, Murphy was one of the most successful stand-up comics ever. Relive those happy days with the new 2-disc, 25th anniversary edition of "Eddie Murphy: Delirious." A then 22-year old Eddie Murphy played to a captive audience in our nation's capital for this uproarious concert film. If you can get past the crass gay jokes in the opening, Murphy brings plenty of the funny including some spot-on impressions of Michael Jackson, Elvis, and James Brown.

TV gets some lovin' too this week. The fourth and final season of Fox's "Prison Break" comes out on DVD only while "Weeds: Season 4" (featuring the lovely Mary Louise Parker on the cover) comes out on both DVD and Blu-Ray. I've got the first two seasons of each show, but I've yet to watch them.

A whole grip of movies make their debut on Blu-Ray this week. Sony leads off with Harrison Ford as the president who kicks ass in "Air Force One" which James Plath has helpfully reviewed for everyone. Sony will also release "Anaconda" (which is almost worth seeing for Jon Voight's Cajun accent) and the CGI-anime "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children." The standard DVD of "FFVII" was gorgeous and I'm sure the Blu-Ray will be reference material.

Universal brings us Blu-Rays of the Jim Carrey comedy "Bruce Almighty," the infinitely quotable 80's classic "Fletch", and the Spike Lee-helmed "Inside Man". The latter two releases have been reviewed by Dean Winkelspecht and come highly recommended.

Finally, MGM is putting out a horde of catalog releases this week on BD with an additional disc in standard format. These releases include the classic "The Graduate" as well as "Dark Blue," "Out of Time," "Road House," the 2002 remake of "Rollerball," "To Live and Die in L.A.," and The Rock actioner "Walking Tall."

That's it for this week. Tune in next week, same DVDTOWN.com time, same DVDTOWN.com channel.

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Please Note - More details:
Be sure to check out the full details under related releases.

For other releases:
DVD & Blu-ray release calendar »

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