On Blu-ray This Week: June 30 to July 5, 2008

This week, we have usual healthy mix of content from Blu-ray releases again. The line-up, however, is anything but ‘usual’ because we have blockbusters that star big shots ranging from Adam West, Clint Eastwood, Keanu reeves, and Leonardo DiCaprio. You can check out what these flicks are by clicking on the jump!

It’s time for another batch of Blu-ray movies this week! This batch features your usual healthy mix of content – drama, music, comedy – but this week’s theme seems to be action as they comprise the bulk of eleven releases.

Headlining this batch is none other than the Caped Crusader of Gotham himself in Batman The Movie: Special Edition. If you’re thinking that this is Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson as Batman and the Jiker respectively, you’re mistaken. This one stars Adam West from way back in the heyday of the TV show. Watch old-school Batman battle fiends like the Penguin, The Riddler, and of course, The Joker.

More action follows with Leonardo DiCaprio as he assumes the role of Amsterdam, a 19th-century New Yorker whose father was slain by resident city bad-asses. What he uncovers later on is a bloody trail of gang-related violence that leads to the cause of his father’s murder. If this flick leaves you craving for more psychological action, then Vantage Point is another one worth recommending. It tells the story behind the assassination attempt on the American president as captured in an amateur video, dissected to reveal a stunning truth.

Speaking of presidential assassinations, you probably remember Clint Eastwood’s In the Line of Fire. In this movie, Clint takes on the role of retired Secret Service agent Frank Horrgan who can’t get over his failure to foil the Kennedy assassination in his youth. When a psychotic assassin calling himself Booth surfaces and threatens to kill the current President, Horrgan is the only one who takes it seriously and hunts down the potential assassin to make up for his past failure.

On that note, you may also want to grab Point Break: Pure Adrenaline which takes you on an intense ride aboard the Southern California waves. Keanu Reeves stars as undercover agent Johnny Utah as he infiltrates a gang of surfers suspected to be behind a series of bank robberies. With skills on the board and cunning to stay low-profile, Utah must fulfill a mission that can potentially end up with hing sleeping with the fishes.

Okay, enough meanie-gritty stuff. Over to the lighter side of things, this week offers up a barrel of laughs with Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control while maintaining some action elements. Want more comedy hybrids? how about Meet the Browns: Special Edition or Sex and Death 101 ? They offer up a bittersweet blend of drama and comedy. Laughing and crying in one movie seems weird, but it can happen.

Or you can go for Drillbit Taylor: Extended Survival Edition if you just want the laugh minus the action and the drama. It explores the world of high school freshmen getting their feet wet on adolescence, running into mischief and lessons along the way.

If pure, unadulterated boo-hoos are your cup of tea, then you might want to consider getting Mad Men: Season One. In the cutthroat world of advertising in 1960’s New York, is there a place for love, life, and friendship among highly-competitive ad professionals? You can find out by watching the maiden season of this TV series.

For those seeking some good music, we’ve got extremes waiting on the wings. For those who want their music loud and aggressive, Korn: Live at Montreux should be the bomb. If you’re more of an easy listener, you can go for John Mayer: Where the Light Is and enjoy some light riffs.

Finally, we have the documentary Ganges which gives us an in-depth view of India‘s sacred river. More than the body of water, this video will show the subcontinent’s rich culture and how it was built around this holy place.

That’s it for now. Stick around and we’ll update you on next week’s up and coming Blu-ray releases. Happy viewing!