New Releases On Blu Ray & DVD: 4/1/14

Adam McKay's highly hyped retro-fitted Ron Burgandy update, ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES, leads the pack of new releases this week on home video. Three different versions of the very funny Will Ferrell film are available in the Blu ray combo pack: the original theatrical cut, the Super-Sized R-Rated cut that was released for a week in theaters last month, and a new unrated cut. 

There are also a ton of extras including an audio commentary (with Writer/Director Mckay, Producer Judd Apatow, and stars Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner), an 18-minute featurette “Behind the Scenes: Newsroom,” Deleted/Extended Scenes, Gag Reel, Line-O-Rama, News-O-Rama, Kench-O-Rama (?), Table Read, Catfight, Auditions, a bunch of trailers, and, uh, much more than I feel like listing. Whew! That's a lot of ANCHORMAN 2! Read my review of the original theatrical version.

A movie I barely even remember coming out last December, Carl Rinsch's fantasy adventure 47 RONIN starring Keanu Reeves as the half-Japanese and half-British hero who leads a band of samurai on a revenge mission (of course). The film was a flop that received horrible reviews (it has a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) so it makes sense that I would forget about it. Special Features: a featurette entitled “Reforging the Legend,” and Deleted Scenes.

A film I did see at a special screening last month at the Colony Theater here in Raleigh, Joe Lynch's crude comedy KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM, starring Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn, and Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage, also drops today on Blu ray and DVD. I didn't laugh very much at but at least it taught me what LARP-ing is (Live Action Role Playing). Bonus material includes interviews with Zahn and Dinklage, out-takes, “Summer Glau: Hottie Montage,” and the San Diego Comic-Con Panel from 2011.

Also out today: Adam Rodger's 2012 rom com AT MIDDLETON, starring Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga; David Grovic's 2014 thriller THE BAG MAN, starring John Cusack, Rebecca Da Costa, and Robert De Niro; and Nate Taylor's 2012 psychodrama FORGETTING THE GIRL, starring Christopher Denham.

On the older film front out today there's Alain Robbe-Grillet’s directorial debut L’IMMORTELLE, Franco Prosperi’s 1976 crime epic MEET HIM AND DIE, and a new edition of Joel & Ethan Coen's 1996 classic FARGO, just in time for the premiere of the new Fargo FX TV series on April 15th.

TV series sets releasing this week: Psych: Season 8, Broadchurch: Season 1, George Gently: Series 6, The Cosby Show: Seasons 3 & 4, and for all you Shatner fans: T.J. Hooker: Seasons 1 & 2.

More later...