Displaying items by tag: The Digital Bits

All right, I’ve finally got my review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on Blu-ray for you to check out. The movie is fun – better than the first go-round for those keeping score – and the Blu-ray itself delivers all the quality and extras you’d expect from the Theatrical Cut BD release. The disc streets today, so check out the review… then pick up your copy and enjoy! [Read on here…]

It’s a mixed bag of MOD madness this week, with animation, musicals and some wonders and oddities coming back into print after a long absence. Plus, there’s word of a couple new Blu-ray releases coming from Warner Archive in the near future: the 1955 musical Hit The Deck and John Milius’ The Wind And The Lion with Sean Connery. More on those gems when they arrive but for now, as per usual, click on the sassy l’il banner on this page to head over to the Warner Archive shop and head over to Amazon for all your Fox needs and desires. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a new Blu-ray Disc review for you today. Dr. Jahnke has given Twilight Time’s new Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia Blu-ray a spin – a Sam Peckinpah classic. The film is great and it sounds as though Twilight’s done a very nice job on the disc’s A/V quality and extras too. Don’t miss it.

Just to let you know, I’ll be back early tomorrow morning with my review of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on Blu-ray – the theatrical edition that arrives in stores tomorrow.

Also here at The Bits today, our own Russell Hammond has updated the Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray and DVD cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, anything you order from them in the same session after clicking through our links helps support our work here at The Bits and we surely do appreciate it. [Read on here…]

All right, it’s a slow news day today so we’re focusing on getting some new Blu-rays done for you for next week, including The Desolation of Smaug. Watch for that starting on Monday.

Meanwhile, Warner Home Video has now officially announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of the Veronica Mars movie on 5/6 (SRP $29.98 and $28.98). Extras will include the By the Fans: The Making of the Veronica Mars Movie documentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and 6 More On-Set Fun featurettes (including Welcome to Keith Mars Investigation, Game Show with Kristen Bell and Chris Lowell, On Set with Max Greenfield, Veronica Mars’ Backers, “It’s Not All About You, Monkey”, and Young Veronica). [Read on here...]

We’ve got more announcement news for you today, including a smattering of pre-order and Region B news.

First though, your friend and ours – the good Dr. Jahnke – has turned in a new An Honor to Be Nominated installment of his Jahnke’s Electric Theater column here at The Bits, featuring a look back at Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Don’t miss it!

Now then… first up on the classic front, Raro Video has set Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1953 I Vinti (Vanquished) for Blu-ray release on 6/10.  [Read on here…]

If it can be difficult to remember who won the Academy Award for Best Picture, it’s downright mind-bending trying to remember everything else it was up against. In An Honor To Be Nominated, I’ll be taking a look back at some of the movies the Oscar didn’t go to and trying to determine if they were robbed, if the Academy got it right, or if they should ever have been nominated in the first place.  [Read on here…]

The big news today is that Amazon has announced that it’s getting into the set-top box business, with their own streaming content device that’s designed to be hooked up to your TV and compete with Apple TV, Roku and Microsoft’s Xbox. The Amazon FireTV sells for just $99, and includes access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, Pandora Radio, Showtime Anytime and more. It also offers voice search, a quad-core processor, a dedicated GPU, 2 GB of memory, dual-band Wi-Fi, and of course it’s 1080p HD compatible with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. And you can download and play select games. More on all that here. And here’s what the device looks like (click on the image to visit Amazon’s announcement page)... [Read on here...]

A very merry “Fool’s Day” to you all! Hope you’re enjoying the usual hilarity. We’ve only got real news for you here this afternoon, so let’s get right to it.

First though, our own Todd Doogan has turned in a newly-revised installment of his weekly Doogan’s Queue column running down his picks for the best of the new Blu-ray and DVD titles available in stores TODAY. It’s a good read, so do check it out.

Also today, the good Dr. Jahnke has his latest installment of Burnt Offerings: MOD DVD for you covering the latest in small-batch, “hand-crafted,” aged-in-oak Manufactured on Demand titles from the likes of the Warner Archive, 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives and the Sony Pictures Choice Collection. Do partake liberally. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got another new Blu-ray review for you today. Tim Salmons has turned in his thoughts on Luis Buñuel’s Tristana on Blu-ray from the Cohen Film Collection. We’ve got more reviews coming this week too, including a little something with hobbits in it, so be sure to check back.

Also today, our own Russell Hammond has updated the Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray and DVD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, a portion of absolutely anything you order from Amazon (Blu-rays, tires, power tools, computers – you name it) after clicking through our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits. So please use our links when you shop with them – we sure do appreciate it.  [Read on here…]

So the big news today is that Warner Home Video has announced their Batman 75th Anniversary celebration plans. As many of you know, the character first appeared in the comic book Detective Comics #27, which hit newsstands on March 30, 1939. That makes this Sunday the character’s official 75th Anniversary. And if the deliberate leak by WHV earlier this year (with assist by Conan O’Brien) wasn’t official enough, the studio has now confirmed that the classic Adam West and Burt Ward Batman ‘66 TV series will arrive on Blu-ray and DVD this year, though they are still yet to announce a street date (we suspect you’ll hear more at Warner’s Batman 75th panel at WonderCon in Anaheim next month, or at San Diego Comic-Con in July). Warner has also set the all-new animated films Son of Batman for release on BD/DVD on 5/6, followed by Assault on Arkham this summer. Warner also has a pair of new animated shorts coming this year from Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series) and Darwyn Cooke (Batman Beyond). You’ll get a new Batman: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release of the Tim Burton film. Obviously, there’s the new Gotham TV series coming to FOX later this year. And production begins this year on the new Batman vs. Superman feature film. Lotta Batman for one year. We’d sure love to see the Bruce Timm animated series find its way to Blu-ray this year, but no sign of it yet. Anyway... [Read on here...]