Angry Web

Last week, Walmart, who acquired the video streaming service VUDU, announced a program that would allow movie lovers to bring their DVDs and Blu Rays into Walmart stores and have them uploaded to the cloud. This program supports titles from Paramount Home Media Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Customers can bring in discs from their library which can later be accessed on VUDU and UltraViolet supported devices (like the Sony PlayStation 3). The nice part about this is that once a disc has been verified and added to your VUDU or UltraViolet account, you can keep your DVD or Blu Ray discs.

DVDs and Blu Rays from the mentioned studios will be converted for $2 each and will be available in the relative definition (i.e. DVDs will be available to users in standard definition and Blu Rays will be available in high definition).

Users can upgrade the DVDs to high definition for $5 per unit if they wish. Disney titles will not be available through this program as the company has their own service for streaming titles.

This is a huge win for consumers as Walmart and VUDU have given movie owners the chance to access their media on a wide range of devices without having to invest more in their collection. There will always be those that want to spend the seemingly endless hours ripping them to our hard drive but at the end of the day, time is money and hard drives fill up.

Hey Harry Potter fans! Do you have $449 you’re looking to blow on a Blu Ray box set? If not, you’re not alone.

This week, Amazon started taking pre orders on the “Harry Potter” Wizard’s Collection. After a $50 price break, fans can expect to spend $449 on this set and fans are not happy about it. Similar to what we saw with the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy being released on Blu Ray without the extended versions and the “Star Wars” Blu Rays being released as the special editions, this product has already racked up over 50 1 star ratings and I’m sure this is just the beginning of fans being vocal about an over priced box set which offers little incentive to buy.

The HP Wizard’s Collection includes the following movies and features:

• Contains 31 discs, inclusive of all content ever previously released, in addition to over 5 hours of never before seen special features, in a limited and numbered edition.
• 18 movie discs
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Theatrical Version and Extended Cut
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Theatrical Version and Extended Cut
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 2D and 3D Versions
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 2D and 3D Versions
• 13 Special feature discs
• Includes multiple specially-produced, collectible memorabilia items, including concept art, a Map of Hogwarts and much more!

I know this isn’t really headlining the current event pages but when we were invited to a screening of “The Big Year”, we turned it down due to lack of time and interest. Just by looking at the cast, you expect a gut busting comedy whether your into Steve Martin’s vintage style of humor or Jack Black’s over-the-top physical comedy…you won’t really get either, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I checked out some of the reviews of this film dating back to its original theatrical release and they weren’t all that great. Rotten Tomatoes rounded it to a 39% and that will usually deter me from seeing a film. When the Blu Ray was announced for a release date of January 31st, I decided to give it a spin and see what it was all about.

The first thing the viewer needs to remember when seeing “The Big Year”, is that just because it has an A-List cast within the comedic genre, you’re not going to be on the floor laughing. TBY makes light of some pretty serious mantras that I feel most people can align themselves with. Read the rest of this entry »

DC is bringing back the actors who provided the voices for the Justice League in the cartoon series “Justice League Unlimited”. Kevin Conroy as Batman, Michael Rosenbaum as Flash, Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman, Carl Lumbly as Martian Manhunter and Bumper Robinson joins the cast as Cyborg. “Justice League: Doom”, featuring the last film script written by the late Dwayne McDuffie, is coming to DVD/Blu-Ray on Feb 28, 2012.

Frank Miller is a genius storyteller. Choosing to focus only on the writing and teaming up with illustrator David Mazzucchelli, Batman: Year One, this four-issue series, totally blew me away. It got to the heart of everything I’ve always loved about Batman, while giving equal time to Commissioner Gordon (still a lieutenant in Year One).

Gordon has always been one of my favorite supporting characters in Batman’s world, and I think he rarely gets his due, so it was nice to read a story that focused almost as much on him as it did on Bruce Wayne. Now this classic retelling comic makes its full-length animated debut in Batman: Year One, PG-13 rated will be released on October 18, 2011 on Blu-ray and DVD. Planned for release the same day as Batman: Arkham City.

Team Charles or Team Erik? This is the important question for those of you planning on purchasing X-Men: First Class on Blu-ray and DVD this Friday.

This reboot of the popular franchise stunned audiences, fans and newcomers alike. Being a long-time fan of the X-men comics as a child, it was easy for someone like me to see many inconsistencies between the movie and the original comics. Did this matter? My answer: NO. X-Men: First Class was a movie with a fantastic plot containing tons of action to maintain excitement. Although it had an absence of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, and the traditional Angel, it is apparent that the filmmakers wanted to show off some never-before-used mutants.

This movie took the opportunity to focus on the crucial development of the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, successfully portrayed by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, respectively.The Blu-ray will include: Deleted Scenes, an 8-part behind the scenes featurette giving us a look from pre-production to post-production, an interactive mutant database, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and many more.

For those of you that enjoyed the movie and those of you who have yet to see it (what’s wrong with you?), X-Men: First Class releases on Blu-ray and DVD this Friday, September 9th.