American Horror Story [Blu-ray] Season 1

Brace yourself for an addictive thrill ride! American Horror Story is TV's most original new drama, a deeply stylish psychosexual haunt devised to keep you on the edge of your seat. The Harmon's (Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton) fresh start in a new home deviously twists to reveal discoveries of love, sex and murderous revenge. Featuring a Golden Glober -winning performance by Jessica Lange, Season One scares up a host of engrossing extras.                                                  American Horror story follows a family of three as they move into a new home called "Murder House" by the locals. Since the 1920's, people have been murdered in various ways and their spirits have stayed behind, trapped in the very place they died. In this case, the ghosts from all eras can take physical form as well as vanish in an instant. You slowly learn about the past of each spirit, which adds another element of depth.

• Format: Color, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1 
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: FX
• DVD Release Date: September 25, 2012

Overall: If a mix of horror, suspense and drama is your thing, you have to experience this truly bizarre and interesting creation. I'm not a fan of this type of series ( Not a horror fan), but I'm sure lots of people love it, I gotta go the popcorn's ready.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season One [Blu-ray]

Warping into syndication in 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation successfully launched its seven-season "continuing mission" of the starship Enterprise, and this classy DVD boxed set gathers the show's inaugural season in crisp picture clarity and dazzling 5.1-channel sound. A ratings leader with a sharp ensemble cast, this revamped Trek honored series creator Gene Roddenberry's original Trek concept, nurtured by returning veterans like producer Robert H. Justman and writers D.C. Fontana and David Gerrold. Several first-season episodes have original-series counterparts, and while the season was awkwardly inconsistent for all involved (including Roddenberry's heir apparent, producer Rick Berman), in retrospect the series began on remarkably solid footing.

Patrick Stewart was perfect as Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard, while Marina Sirtis struggled with a wretched hair bun and an ill-defined character, eventually blessing Counselor Troi with delicate nuance. Denise Crosby made a strong but underutilized impression as Security Chief Tasha Yar, and left the series before season's end, allowing writers to develop Klingon Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) into a fan favorite. Brent Spiner transcended Spock comparisons with his triumphant portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data; and while Jonathan Frakes was accepted as First Officer Will Riker, fans ultimately rejected Wil Wheaton as ensign Wesley Crusher, the teenaged son of the ship's doctor (Gates McFadden). Still, these 25 episodes laid a firm foundation for subsequent seasons, and highlights include the Raymond Chandleresque "holo- novel" of "The Big Goodbye," Data's backstory in "Datalore," the Klingon rituals of "Heart of Glory," and a Romulan encounter in "The Neutral Zone." The DVD supplements (all on the seventh disc) are good enough to make anyone wish for more: four featurettes recall myriad first-season challenges, filled with insider perspective and enough NextGen trivia to satiate all but the most obsessive Trekkers back on Earth. 

• Format: Box set, Full Screen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1 
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: July 24, 2012
• Run Time: 1184 minutes

Overall: This collection of the first season of  Star Trek - TNG  is a must have for collector's of all ages. What better way to start your  Blu ray collection, besides having the episodes, you will get behind the scenes footage and allot more, like interview with cast members. Season 2 is set for blu ray release in early December.

Modern Family: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray

Modern Family: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this excellent Blu-ray release Join TV’s #1 family for another hilarious and refreshingly original season of Modern Family, winner of eleven Emmy® Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series two years in a row! As the extended Pritchett/Dunphy clan faces an uproariously unpredictable array of family vacations, holiday hassles, troublesome in-laws, and surprising secrets, they still somehow manage to thrive together as one big, loving family — even as they drive each other absolutely insane! Season Three features a hilarious gag reel and never-before-seen couch confessions that will make you laugh out loud and remind you why viewers and critics alike have fallen in love with this thoroughly Modern Family.

Format: AC-3, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 3

Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Release Date: Sep 18 2012

Overall:  MODERN FAMILY shows no signs of age or wearing out going into its Third Season, as a matter of fact the show recently won 5 Emmy's including best comedy. Family fun for all is here and the series remains Highly Recommended! 

Indiana Jones Collection (Blu-ray)

Indiana Jones Collection (Blu-ray)

Raiders of the Lost ArkIndiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is no ordinary archeologist. When we first see him, he is somewhere in the Peruvian jungle in 1936, running a booby-trapped gauntlet (complete with an over-sized rolling boulder) to fetch a solid-gold idol. He loses this artifact to his chief rival, a French archeologist named Belloq (Paul Freeman), who then prepares to kill our hero. In the first of many serial-like escapes, Indy eludes Belloq by hopping into a convenient plane. So, then: is Indiana Jones afraid of anything? Yes, snakes. The next time we see Jones, he's a soft-spoken, bespectacled professor. He is then summoned from his ivy-covered environs by Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) to find the long-lost Ark of the Covenant. The Nazis, it seems, are already searching for the Ark, which the mystical-minded Hitler hopes to use to make his stormtroopers invincible. But to find the Ark, Indy must first secure a medallion kept under the protection of Indy's old friend Abner Ravenwood, whose daughter, Marion (Karen Allen), evidently has a "history" with Jones. Whatever their personal differences, Indy and Marion become partners in one action-packed adventure after another, ranging from wandering the snake pits of the Well of Souls to surviving the pyrotechnic unearthing of the sacred Ark. A joint project of Hollywood prodigies George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, with a script co-written by Lawrence Kasdan and Philip Kaufman, among others, Raiders of the Lost Ark is not so much a movie as a 115-minute thrill ride. Costing 22 million dollars (nearly three times the original estimate), Raiders of the Lost Ark reaped 200 million dollars during its first run. It was followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1985) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), as well as a short-lived TV-series "prequel." 

Temple of DoomThe second of the George Lucas/Steven Spielberg Indiana Jones epics is set a year or so before the events in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1984). After a brief brouhaha involving a precious vial and a wild ride down a raging Himalyan river, Indy (Harrison Ford) gets down to the problem at hand: retrieving a precious gem and several kidnapped young boys on behalf of a remote East Indian village. His companions this time around include a dimbulbed, easily frightened nightclub chanteuse (Kate Capshaw), and a feisty 12-year-old kid named Short Round (Quan Ke Huy). Throughout, the plot takes second place to the thrills, which include a harrowing rollercoaster ride in an abandoned mineshaft and Indy's rescue of the heroine from a ritual sacrifice. There are also a couple of cute references to Raiders of the Lost Ark, notably a funny variation of Indy's shooting of the Sherpa warrior. 

Last CrusadeThe third installment in the widely beloved Spielberg/Lucas Indiana Jones saga begins with an introduction to a younger Indy (played by the late River Phoenix), who, through a fast-paced prologue, gives the audience insight into the roots of his taste for adventure, fear of snakes, and dogged determination to take historical artifacts out of the hands of bad guys and into the museums in which they belong. A grown-up Indy (Harrison Ford) reveals himself shortly afterward in a familiar classroom scene, teaching archeology to a disproportionate number of starry-eyed female college students in 1938. Once again, however, Mr. Jones is drawn away from his day job after an art collector (Julian Glover) approaches him with a proposition to find the much sought after Holy Grail. Circumstances reveal that there was another avid archeologist in search of the famed cup — Indiana Jones' father, Dr. Henry Jones (Sean Connery) — who had recently disappeared during his efforts. The junior and senior members of the Jones family find themselves in a series of tough situations in locales ranging from Venice to the most treacherous spots in the Middle East. Complicating the situation further is the presence of Elsa (Alison Doody), a beautiful and intelligent woman with one fatal flaw: she's an undercover Nazi agent. The search for the grail is a dangerous quest, and its discovery may prove fatal to those who seek it for personal gain. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade earned a then record-breaking $50 million in its first week of release. 

Kingdom of the Crystal SkullSteven Spielberg and George Lucas bring you the greatest adventurer of all time in “a nonstop thrill ride” (Richard Corliss, TIME) that’s packed with “sensational, awe-inspiring spectacles” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull finds Indy (Harrison Ford) trying to outrace a brilliant and beautiful agent (Cate Blanchett) for the mystical, all-powerful Crystal Skull of Akator. Teaming up with a rebellious young biker (Shia LaBeouf) and his spirited original love Marion (Karen Allen), Indy takes you on a breathtaking action-packed adventure in the exciting tradition of the classic Indiana Jones movies! 

• Format: AC-3, Box set, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: September 18, 2012
• Run Time: 481 minutes

Overall: Great collection for Indiana Jones fans and now finally on Blu ray! The first 3 movies are still the best by far, the Crystal Skull was not that great a movie, if you love extras there are lots here the 5th disc is full of great behind the scenes stuff. This set would make a great gift.

I gotta go the popcorn's ready, I'm Larry Bennett and this week on Bluray.

Battleship (Two-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) (2012)

No one can deny that these film makers put their money on the screen. The CGI effects were eye-popping and many of the on-location physical sets were amazing, such as the scene when they first contact the alien vessel at sea. The stunt work was also impressive. As so many others have noted, please leave your brain at the door and simply enjoy it for what it is. That said, I did admire the writers for coming up with a refreshing take on the Aliens. In so may other films they are portrayed as slimy, insect-like monstrosities but these aliens are somewhat human-like and they exhibited qualities that defy the norm, such as their rescue mission to retrieve one of their crew members captured by the humans. Also, they were not mindlessly violent, such as the when the scientist encounters one is the communications shed - it lets him leave unharmed? I didn't see that coming. I also liked the fact that the film makers found a role for some disabled and retired veterans.

I don't care what people say I watch a  movie to be entertained not to see if I'm seeing the new gone with the wind! I was entertained so I like it.

• Format: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1 
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Universal
• DVD Release Date: August 28, 2012
• Run Time: 131 minutes

The Dictator - BANNED & UNRATED Version (Two-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2012)

"The Dictator" is a comedy film starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Admiral General Hafez Aladeen the supreme leader of the fictional North African country Wadiya.

Due to international pressure Aladeen is forced to face the United Nations Assembly in New York City.

The narrative essentially focuses on his time in New York where he is secretly deposed and assumed dead. Aladeen is left to fend for himself with no power over those around him and this is the source of many enjoyable scenes and dialogue.

Admirers of Baron Cohen's work will feel right at home with plenty of crude and politically incorrect humour.

There are some viewers though who will find the movie too vulgar but I encourage those who are undecided to watch the film previews before deciding whether to see it.

Whilst the movie is amusing it may not knock some loyal Baron Cohen viewers off their seats with laughter but it will give them plenty to smile about.

Baron Cohen has invented a new character which further confirms his excellent comedic range.

• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1 
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: August 21, 2012
• Run Time: 83 minutes

I gotta go the popcorn's ready.

I'm Larry Bennett and that's this week on Blu ray.

Titanic (4-Discs Edition) (Blu-ray Combo) (1997)

Director James Cameron spared no expense in bringing his simple yet powerful love story to life, building a 90% scale model of the ship, fussing over the tiniest details, and ultimately spending some $200 million dollars. A worldwide smash, TITANIC received fourteen Academy Award nominations and 11 wins, including Best Picture. Despite all the lavish sets and special effects, the film would be nothing without the emotional core provided by stars Winslet and DiCaprio, who give star making performances as the tragic young lovers.

Featuring spectacular special effects set amidst the backdrop of one of the most tragic events of the 20th century, James Cameron's award-winning TITANIC stands as one of the greatest Hollywood spectaculars of all time. Beginning with an undersea expedition in the 1990s, in which scuba divers are searching the sunken ship for lost relics, a painting of young Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) is found. This triggers a flashback to the young woman's story as it happened on the doomed Titanic. Rose is a daughter of privilege on her way to be married to an arrogant but wealthy young man (Billy Zane). Despairing, Rose finds herself falling in love with Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a carefree and poor young artist who is also aboard. When the great ship strikes an iceberg and begins to sink, Rose and Jack have only each other as their world falls apart around them.

• Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1 
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: September 10, 2012
• Run Time: 194 minutes
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I gotta go the popcorn's ready. I'm Larry Bennett and "That's this week on Blu ray"