I’m going to give a shout out to some of my film festival favorites that are getting Blu-ray releases. I really can’t see doing an extended write-up on each of them, but make a little shelf space for Would You Rather on July 9 and Black Rock on July 30. And I missed The Sapphires on the Fest circuit so maybe I’ll check out the Blu-ray August 6. Maybe. Here are the three Blu-ray announcements for which I am definitely making shelf space, and one I am most certainly not.
I was actually at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011 when Twixt played there but I missed it, and I thought I’d never get another chance to see it. I certainly didn’t expect it to come to home video, since Francis Ford Coppola’s 2011 Comic-Con presentation seemed to indicate it was intended as a live event only. Back then, the plan was to edit the movie and score live so it would be unique for each audience.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard much about that plan or alternate live versions ever since, so maybe it’s just a movie now. In any event, there’s a new Coppola movie coming to Blu-ray this summer! There’s no mention of including alternate versions but it does have a 40-minute “making of” filmed by Gia Coppola. The film stars Val Kilmer as a writer investigating a murder as possible source material, plagued by nightmares about the ghost of the victim (Elle Fanning). Hopefully it’s more Bram Stoker’s Dracula and less Youth Without Youth. But we’ll take Jack at this point. [Editor’s Note: No, we won’t.]
Check out the new cover art for the Pain & Gain Blu-ray. I definitely prefer the theatrical poster with Wahlberg and The Rock in the gym. I guess the movie was considered a bomb so they’re trying to repackage it? I don’t know, I thought a modest budget, modest moneymaker was a good thing. The press release calls it “the action-packed comedy from Michael Bay.” I thought it was more of a drama with dark humor, but decidedly different for Mr. Transformers. Guess when in doubt, go with what works.
I will clear some shelf space for Pain & Gain. I liked the movie, but you’ll have to judge for yourself. If you’re seeing it for the first time on Blu-ray, it’s sure to look great. That is Bay’s strength. ‘90s Miami opulence fits right in. No bonus features whatsoever. I mean, my God, you didn’t even shoot any promo EPK pieces you can throw on there?
We’ve known about this since they announced the start of production, but finally here is something official on the sixth Chucky movie. Curse of Chucky is premiering on DVD and Blu-ray this fall. After Bride of and Seed of it’s understandably back to “scary Chucky” mode, but at least they didn’t just do a gritty “realistic” remake like they did for Freddy, Jason and Michael. Don Mancini, who wrote every single Child’s Play, came back to write and direct this one. It’s still the original talent after 25 years, including Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky.
Now it’s a family franchise. Can I be Family Franchise Fred? Fiona Dourif stars as a young woman settling her mother’s estate with her family, the youngest of whom carries around this Good Guy doll that arrived in the mail. That’s how you keep a franchise going. Forego the theatrical release. They didn’t give the last two theatrical movies very much support (opening Seed weeks after Halloween) so take it straight to the fans and use the limited resources to explore some creative freedoms. We just need a new Chucky every year now. I mean if they’re doing back to back Death Races and Scorpion Kings, Chucky deserves at least that much respect.
Add this to the “movies we already own” announcement section. It happens to be the 20th anniversary of Tim Burton’s Halloween film, and surely a whole bunch of new kids who weren’t even born yet when the last Blu-ray came out. Both the original version and the later 3D conversion are already available if you want it now. No word on new bonus features but there will probably be a few.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Shelf Space Weekly. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
