Zombie Flesh Eaters
Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Starring Ian McCulloch, Tisa Farrow, Richard Johnson
Arrow Films
Release Date: December 3, 2012

Right night, Amazon has the Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy Blu-Ray Edition Gift Set for only $47.99 (that’s 60% off the list price of $119.98).

Also, the price of the standard edition Blu-Ray is down to $39.96 (that’s 50% off the list price of $79.98), while the DVD has been reduced to only $24.99 (that’s 50% off the list price of $49.98) [...]

Samsara
Blu-ray | DVD | Instant Video
Directed by Ron Fricke
Theatrical Release Date: August 24, 2012
Blu-Ray Release Date: January 8, 2013

From the creators of the 1992 award-winning documentary Baraka comes Samsara – a visual treasure beyond price. Both films are non-verbal and gather an overwhelming fund of thought and a very remarkable volume of rare images of locations on planet Earth that have the tendency to both startle and hypnotize. Baraka acknowledged our planet and the life that inhabits it. It was astonishing in its vast extent of novel images that have not been replicated since. The vivid freshness of that film’s imagination was once thought to be unparalleled. In 2012, Baraka’s director Ron Fricke and his production team released to our senses Samsara, which, uncannily, harbored the same eye-popping 70mm format its predecessor used and even discerning more distinctness this vast planet of ours tends to hide from us.

Samsara provides for its audience images that are more disturbing than the scenic, contemplative ones apparent in Baraka. This is clearly deliberate because Samsara is not concerned with meditating on the magnificence that earth supplies, rather it is a somewhat unsettling film that roams the vastness of this planet (25 countries filmed over the course of five years) with an intent on discovering images that coincide with the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth within Hinduism and Buddhism [...]

The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day over at Amazon today is the Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection Blu-ray box set for $249.99 (that’s 50% off the list price of $499.99).

This 31-disc box set comes with all 8 Harry Potter films in Blu-ray, DVD, and UltraViolet digital format, as well as over 37 hours of special features, including new ones for this limited-edition set.

- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 [...]

On March 19, 2013, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey comes to DVD ($14.99), Blu-ray (for $25.99), and 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack (for $27.99). If you pre-order now, you’ll lock in those lower prices (the retail price is 28%-48% higher than the pre-order prices); Also, if you purchase the Lego Lord of the Rings video game for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or Nintendo Wii, you can receive $15 off your pre-order purchase of The Hobbit 3D Blu-ray or Blu-ray editions. Visit the Sale page to make your purchases.

To coincide with the release of The Hobbit, Amazon has The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray box set on sale right now for only $49.99 (that’s 58% off the list price of $119.98 and $30 less than the usual discounted price at Amazon).

The 15-disc extended edition LoTR Blu-ray set box contains the extended versions of all three of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films — The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King — along with over 26 hours of behind-the-scenes and making-of bonus material, including the Costa Botes documentaries. It also comes with the digital versions of the films [...]

The recent Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven, Traffic) thriller Side Effects is making its way to home video with the announcement that the movie will be arriving on Blu-ray and DVD on May 21st. If you can’t wait until then, it will also be available via digital download beginning on May 7th.

The movie stars Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network) as a woman who begins suffering from terrifying anxiety after her husband (Channing Tatum — Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street) is released from prison for insider trading. Seeking an answer, she sees psychiatrist Dr. Banks (Jude Law — Sherlock Holmes, Road to Perdition), who prescribes her an experimental new drug, which ends up having deadly side effects. [...]

Wreck-It Ralph
4-Disc 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital l 2-Disc Blu-ray/DVD l DVD
Directed by Rich Moore
Starring John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Mindy Kaling, Ed O’Neill, Dennis Haysbert
Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: March 5, 2013

Get your head in the game. Disney’s best video game is not one you can play, but rather one you watch, as Wreck-It Ralph jazzes up the screen with pure fun and affection. Now the giant hit movie arrives on Blu-ray shelves. Press start for this Disney In Depth Blu-ray review of Wreck-It Ralph.

The bad guy doesn’t want to be a bad guy. Have we seen this plot before? Maybe to some respect, but Ralph takes this concept to a most pioneering level where puns and references a plenty do not interfere with sophisticated storytelling. Supposedly-villainous Ralph just wants some appreciation, so he ventures outside his ’80s-era game to prove his worth. He attains that value via unexpected means, meets some crazy folks along the way, and realizes his potential in who he has always been. [...]

Monsters Inc.
5-Disc Blu-ray/3D/DVD/Digital | 3-Disc Blu-ray/DVD
Directed by Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, David Silverman
Starring John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly, Frank Oz
Disney•Pixar
Release Date: February 19, 2013

Open the door to an exciting new way to experience Monsters, Inc. Pixar’s fantastic fourth film arrives on a new “Ultimate Collector’s Edition,” among Disney-Pixar’s finest releases.

Enter the monster world and forever be enraptured by the fun and heart of one of Pixar’s finest features. By chance you have never watched a frame of this buddy comedy, let me set up the story. Mike Wazowski and his best friend James P. “Sulley” Sullivan reside in Monstropolis, what seems to be your average city – with the exception that both of these beasts are charismatic monsters living in Monstropolis, the monster society. They are employed at Monsters, Inc., the energy factory where scarers like Sulley produce screams. How so? They generate this energy through frightening human children, accessing their worlds through opening doors. More screams equates to more energy. Simple, right? But when one child, which Sulley affectionately names “Boo” creeps into Monstropolis, chaos erupts. Humans are seen as toxic. They cannot exist here, so it seems. But what happens when you form a bond with a child? Tricky. [...]

Cosmopolis
Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by David Cronenberg
Screenplay by David Cronenberg
Based on the novel by Don DeLillo
Starring Robert Pattinson, Paul Giamatti, and Juliette Binoche
Entertainment One
Release Date: January 1, 2013

With his sizable personal fortune – not to mention the future of his company – hanging in the balance after making a high risk bet on the Chinese yuan, 27-year-old billionaire asset manager Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson) just wants to get a haircut, and for some reason it requires a lengthy car trip across New York. Ensconced within the technologically-advanced interior of his stretch limousine, Eric’s journey is perennially delayed by traffic jams caused by the President’s visit to the city and riots being instigated by anti-capitalist revolutionaries waving dead rats and chanting “a specter is haunting the world – the specter of capitalism.” [...]

Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season
Blu-ray | DVD
CREATORS: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, George R. R. Martin (author)
STARRING: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Richard Madden, Emilia Clarke, Michelle Fairley, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Stephen Dillane, Conleth Hill, Aidan Gillen, Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, Iain Glen, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Jack Gleeson, Sophie Turner, Alfie Allen, Liam Cunningham, James Cosmo, Rory McCann, Gethin Anthony, Gwendoline Christie, Carice van Houten, Joe Dempsie, Charles Dance, Donald Sumpter, Kristian Nairn, John Bradley, Sibel Kekilli, Natalia Tena, Finn Jones, Oona Chaplin, Natalie Dormer, Nonso Anozie, Rose Leslie
HBO
RELEASE DATE: February 19, 2013

I’ve developed something of a young tradition, one that I hope to continue for the next handful of years or so…if the old gods and the new see fit. As someone who was introduced to George R.R. Martin‘s “A Song of Ice and Fire” universe by HBO’s adaptation of the books (I read, but not nearly as much as others), Game of Thrones, I, like many others—much to the chagrin of readers who had been singing its praises for years—instantly found myself obsessed with this incredibly detailed world, its unique and complex characters, and a long, rich history that could force many aspiring writers to retire their quills for the rest of their days. [...]

Are you a massive fan of HBO’s Game of Thrones? Are you planning to pick up Season 2 of the show when it’s released on Blu-ray and DVD this upcoming Tuesday, February 19th? Do you also just so happen to live in the general area of New York City’s Union Square?

If so, then we have a very cool quickie contest for you to enter!

This Monday evening (February 18) beginning at 8pm a special event is being held at the Union Square Best Buy in New York City in celebration of the midnight release of the Season 2 Blu-ray and DVD. The first 300 people in line will receive an awesome Game of Thrones gift bag, and there will be music, food, and other things to check out as well.

But for TWO of our lucky readers near Union Square, you’ll get special VIP access, which means early entry to the event and a guaranteed gift bag!

Be sure to continue reading for details on what will be going on at the event and how you can enter! [...]

Peter Pan
3-Disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital l 2-Disc Blu-ray/DVD
Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Starring Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried
Paul Collins, Tommy Luske
Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 5, 2013

The boy who never grew up flies onto Blu-ray. Here’s my review of the Peter Pan Diamond Edition on Blu-ray.

Six decades ago Walt Disney released this classic feature, which has stood the test of time – Tick Tock the crocodile would agree with that statement – and represents one of the most enduring Disney animated films. Consider that presently Tinker Bell leads a whole series of direct-to-video films and that Jake and The Neverland Pirates is one of Disney Junior channel’s greatest hits. [...]

Right now Amazon has The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-ray box set on sale for only $24.99 (that’s 62% off the list price of $64.99).

This set contains each film in the Matrix trilogy – The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions – along with the animated anthology movie The Animatrix. Every disc is stocked with hours of informative supplements including critic and philosopher commentaries on the three live-action films, director commentaries on several segments of The Animatrix, behind-the-scenes documentaries, briefer featurettes exploring individual aspects of the movies, scenes filmed for the Enter the Matrix video game, and more. In addition to the four movie discs, the set also comes with an additional pair of bonus discs featuring documentaries about the philosophy and science behind the Matrix trilogy, multiple still galleries including production photos, storyboards, and theatrical posters, and an extensive media gallery with every trailer and TV spot created for the release of The Matrix and its sequels [...]

Right now Amazon has The Godfather Collection: The Coppola Restoration Blu-ray on sale for only $17.99 (that’s 69% off the list price of $57.99).

The 4-disc blu-ray box set includes all three films in the epic cinematic saga of the Corleone crime family, from the groundbreaking 1972 Oscar-winning classic original, The Godfather, to the much-maligned 1990 third chapter, plus a fourth disc containing hours of bonus features including extensive documentaries, deleted scenes (many of which were reintegrated into the first two films when director Francis Ford Coppola was preparing The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television back in 1977), vintage featurettes, photo and storyboard galleries, theatrical trailers, and much more.

Each film has been fully restored under the supervision of Robert Harris – who has performed similar duties in the past on David Lean’s masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia among many others – and master cinematographer Gordon Willis and comes with a comprehensive audio commentary by Coppola. The grand tragedy of the Corleone clan has never looked or sounded better on home video [...]

The Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection Blu-ray box set is currently on sale at Amazon for only $79.99 (that’s 50% off the list price of $159.98).

This 8-disc Blu-ray set comes with 8 films of the Universal Monsters collection now digitally restored and in high definition for the first time ever: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera, Creature from the Black Lagoon. The set also comes with collectible 48-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters, correspondence and much more. Each monster movie is accompanied by tons of bonus features, including behind-the-scenes documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, storyboards, photo galleries, and trailers [...]