Blu Ray Releases for 9/30 Previewed Briefly by Blue

* The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Universal) - A genuinely funny and rewatchable movie that I have no desire really to own in blu ray.

* Angel in the Family (Echo Bridge) - TV movie with Meredith Baxter. Nuff said.

* Can't Hardly Wait (Sony) - Falls into the small subcategory of Teen Movies Made Post-John Hughes Era That I Do Not Hate, though in the lower end of that range. It's no 10 Things I Hate About You, that's for sure.

* A Christmas Visitor (Echo Bridge) - ANOTHER TV movie with Meredith Baxter. WTF Echo Bridge, WTF.

* Daredevil: Director's Cut (Fox) - I've always heard this director's cut was significantly better than the theatrical cut, and indeed it has an extra half hour of footage and is Rated R to the theatrical cut's PG-13. I have to admit though that I didn't think the theatrical cut was all that bad, and frankly the addition of a subplot starring Coolio/Busta Rhymes(I forget which) does not make me think that anything *good* was cut out. Besides, wasn't most people's problems with this film the casting? Half an hour extra of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner(playing a Greek!) doesn't seem to me to be quite the salve that people say.

* Dawn of the Dead (2004) (Universal) - That odd beast, the horror remake that wasn't bad. One character is insufferably stupid, but really a cool film overall.

* Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) - I was SICK TO DEATH of Judd Apatow movies but my friend Charles convinced me to see this and despite the presence of blatant male genitalia I thought it was one of the better in Apatow's oeuvre, particularly because of the awesomeness that is the DRACULA PUPPET MUSICAL.

* Halloween Starter Pack ['The Thing (1982),' 'Land of the Dead,' 'Dawn of the Dead (2004)'] (Universal) - I like all these films seperately but frankly as a starter-pack they're mismatched. You've got the second scariest movie ever made(IMO) with two zombie movies that are more less related. Though I can't fault the films individually. They're all worth picking up or experiencing for the first time.

* Iron Man (2008) (Paramount) - I liked this movie a lot in the theater but it's suffered in my mind in retrospect, mostly because the high point is Downey's performance and the low point is the generic plot, and the plot tends to stick with you longer. That said, must buy.

* Jethro Tull: Live at Montreux 2003 (Eagles Rock) - Meh.

* Knocked Up (Universal) - Liked it in the theater, but this is right about when the Apatow wave rolled back into the ocean for me. Kind of meh, will probably never ever watch it again.

* Land of the Dead (Universal) - Unfairly maligned because it's not one of the TEN BEST HORROR FILMS EVER MADE like the first three. Although really Day wasn't that good either, it has great stuff like Bub and Captain Rhodes but lame stuff like extremely poor production quality. Land of the Dead otoh has less great moments but overall is the best-made Romero film ever, it actually looks like a movie with a real budget! And considering that budget was under $20mil that's saying a lot - it looks more like a $50mil to my eyes. Recommended.

* Legends: Live at Montreux 1997 (Eagle Rock) - Eh.

* The Man Who Saved Christmas (Echo Bridge) - Well, no Meredith Baxter, at least. But Jason Alexander post-Seinfeld is perhaps the most uninspiring casting you can get.

* Roy Orbison: A Black & White Night (Image) - Eh. I should mention that while it seems like I dismiss all the music blu rays that appear on this list, that dismissal is completely intentional, and yes, is intended to be insulting. Nobody needs this stuff on blu ray. It might sound better, but if you're seriously watching CONCERTS on blu ray you've got more time to spare than I, so you earn my contempt.

* Salem Witch Trials (Echo Bridge) - No smarmy family theme(probably), no Meredith Baxter, score one for Echo Bridge. Still probably awful - it has Gloria Reubens in it, were there even black people in Salem at that time? Also, post-Cheers Kirstie Alley appearance = lame.

* The Sixth Sense (Walt Disney) - Okay, so people keep pointing back to this film as being the M Night Shyamalan movie that was really good. BULL SHIT I SAY. I figured out the twist halfway through, just because it didn't make any sense that no one talked to him except the kid(who we're frequently reminded TALKS TO DEAD PEOPLE), and really, dramatically it's boring. A ghost story by someone who never saw a ghost story movie.

* The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1973) (Dark Sky Films) - Wow, this is one of the two movies that I watched as an adult that frightened me the first time I saw them. Hell this movie still unnerves me. The remake substituted the dread and waking terror of this film with shaky cam, noise, and gore, not one of which is a substitute for the sheer elegant horror Tobe Hooper evoked with a less than $100,000 budget back in the seventies. This blu ray is from a new HD transfer by Don May Jr. of Synapse Films, which most of you probably have never heard of, but suffice it to say that May is THE go-to guy for restoring horror films and releasing them on disc. He cofounded the legendary laserdisc/dvd company called Elite that more or less invented the special feature, and pioneered widescreen transfers on home video. This new transfer is the best the movie has EVER looked according to people who've been following the film over the course of it's existence. Highest possible recommendation.

* The Thing (1982) (Universal) - What's this? What's this? The SECOND of two movies that actually scared me as an adult, released the same week as the other(see above). The Thing is many things besides scary, it is also one of the best, most evocative science fiction films ever made. It contains Kurt Russell's best performance, and is one of the three films he made with director John Carpenter that stand out as classics. I may wait on this blu ray, however, because this is basically the same transfer as was used in the latest dvd, and was really intended for dvd, so it may not exactly be to the highest blu ray standards. Which is fine, not every disc can be, but paying first week prices for a lackluster effort by Universal is not my cup of tea. I will likely wait for this to appear in some Amazon Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale later this year.

* Ultimate Unrated Comedy Collection (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) (Universal) - See my thoughts on the individual movies above.

* When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions (Image) - If you're a space buff this will likely be a must-buy, NASA's imagery on blu ray sounds like a dream come true. I'll likely pass, unless my dad gets a blu ray player then I'll buy it for him for christmas.