To celebrate the home entertainment release of the X-Men: Days of Future Past Rogue Cut Blu-ray on July 14th, fans at San Diego Comic-Con were treated to a special advance screening of the extended version of the film. Shown on four screens simultaneously at the Reading Cinema in downtown San Diego on Saturday, July 11, the Rogue Cut features an extra 17 minutes of footage including bringing Anna Paquin’s Rogue into the film’s main plot.

The additional scenes add some more humor and action to the film. It’s important to note that although the Rogue storyline accounts for probably 50% of the extra footage, the other 50% is equally as golden. Highlights of the later portions include some very funny bantering between Quicksilver and Magneto and a romantic scene between Beast and Mystique. Several fans at the SDCC screening pointed out they had already seen these portions online as deleted scenes.

As for the Rogue bits, they fit and strangely enough they seem essential to the plot. Sadly, since we’ve all seen how the film carries on without, they end up feeling more superfluous than they were intended to be. That said, that Bryan Singer was able to take Rogue out and still make Days of Future Past work and work well is commendable. It couldn’t have been easy to re-work scenes, dialogue, and climatic moments all to remove one character.

Dolph Lundgren. Whatever that name means to you, he’s had quite the career since he first came onto the scene as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Now, almost 30 years later, Dolph is still around and still making movies. Some of them even with Stallone. This isn’t one of those.

Instead, Lundgren stars in Battle of the Dammed with some lesser-knows. Not that that makes them bad actors, they’re just no Stallone. Make of that what you will.

We have a trailer for after the break. But first, here’s all you need to know:

When a deadly virus is accidentally released into a major city, its population is quarantined by military blockade. And for a wealthy industrialist desperate to rescue his daughter from inside the rabid chaos, his only hope is former commando Max Gatling (Lundgren). Now Gatling has one day to bust in, blast through hordes of the undead, find the girl, and hunt for a way to get them both out alive.

But will a small band of survivors and an army of killer robots turn his mission into maximum slaughter?

Maybe. But we’re gonna guess it won’t happen without a lot of bloodshed and stuff blowing up. Look for Battle of the Dammed to arrive on Blu-ray on February 18th. Check out the trailer after the break.

Before I go too far with this review of the Blu-ray Combo Pack release of director Dennis Villeneuve’s film Prisoners, I need to make a couple things clear. First, I’m a Hugh Jackman fan. I think he’s a very good actor who’s almost always a pleasure to watch.

Even in less-than-stellar movies, he usually stands out. That’s not to say Prisoners is one of those movies, it isn’t. It’s just so you know where I’m coming from.

The second thing I need to point out is my love of a adult drama. For a time Hollywood made a lot of these kinds of movies and they were often quite good. Occasionally, even excellent. Standouts in the past like The Fugitive, Jagged Edge and Presumed Innocent come to mind.

Plus, more recent films like Argo and Silver linings Playbook are also good examples. But most of the time the industry seems consumed with the need to make and market movies for kids and skimp on things like character or story. I worry about the future of adult drama.

Fortunately, a movie occasionally comes along that restores my faith, at least temporarily, that this art form will not be lost forever. Prisoners is one of those movies and it manages to deliver on almost every level.

Fans of excellent animated superhero adventures are in for a treat today as Warner Bros. is releasing the next installment of their DC Universe animated original movie series. This one, called Superman: Unbound, looks to be great fun and we’ve got some preview images and a video clip to share with you today.

The movie “is based on the Geoff Johns/Gary Frank 2008 release Superman: Brainiac and features the Man of Steel aptly handling day-to-day crime while helping acclimate Supergirl to Earth’s customs and managing Lois Lane’s expectations for their relationship. Personal issues take a back seat when the horrific force responsible for the destruction of Krypton – Brainiac – begins his descent upon Earth.

Brainiac has crossed the universe, collecting cities from interesting planets – including Supergirl’s home city of Kandor – and now the all-knowing, ever-improving android has his sights fixed on Metropolis. Superman must summon all of his physical and intellectual resources to protect his city, the love of his life and his newly-arrived cousin.”

Superman: Unbound arrives today on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand. Check out the preview and all the pics after the jump.

Great news fans of post-apocalyptic action, the entire Mad Max trilogy is finally hitting Blu-ray this Summer in one awesome box set. That’s right, all three movies, including Mad Max, The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome, are getting the Blu-ray, box set treatment.

There’s no word yet on what special features the trilogy box set will contain, but you can bet it will likely have lots of behind-the-scenes goodies, making-of videos, photos and more for you to enjoy. Plus, expect interviews with the filmmakers and probably Mad Max himself, Mel Gibson, to grace the set too.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Mad Max or The Road Warrior have graced a Blu-ray release. This is, however, the first time Beyond Thunderdome has and is also the first time all three movies have been put together and given this kind of box set treatment.

So, if you’ve been waiting for an excuse (and an opportunity) to get all three of these great movies on Blu-ray, looks like this might be a great time to do it. The collection is currently priced at $49.99 and will hit store shelves on June 4th.

The Avengers is a phenomenal movie, there is not a whole lot more hyperbole we can throw onto the film at this point. So as the Blu-Ray release approaches we must find another angle in these news items. Thankfully a recently released alternate opening has been released over on Yahoo! for us all to marvel at.

I say we are thankful because this alternate opening provides us with something  substantial to say about the film that has already had so much said about it. The alternate opening is actually not all that good, or more precisely not as good of a way to start the film. Compared to the ‘jump right in’ action of the eventual opening, this concept takes a ‘teasing look forward at the end’ approach.

So with out heaping even more praise on the final film, we are now able to appropriately shower Joss Whedon and his editorial staff for making the right cinematic decision. Other than to pat the filmmakers on the back for a cut well done there is not much else in this minute and a half clip that feels all that important.

We know there is a ton of deleted content that would have made it to the film if an over three-hour Avengers film was feasible, but this scene is not a part of that promised quality content, which is ultimately why it was released in advance of the Blu-Ray.  To give us a tease of what is to come when we all pick up our copies September 25th.

So take a look at the alternate opening after the jump, and keep your eyes peeled to The Flickcast as this release creeps closer.

E.T. is a film that was massively influential in its time. In the early 80’s this film transcended genres to become one of the most beloved movie experiences of a generation. It still resonates today as an important coming of age tale for all ages.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the original release of this classic tale, and Universal decided now would be the perfect time to finally bring one of Spielberg’s most beloved masterpieces to the world of High Definition.

The anniversary edition is centered around the original theatrical version of the movie, which means those menacing guns will be intact. It is good to see Spielberg reconsider some of his Lucas-esque mistakes during the 20th anniversary window. That said, because leaving anything out on a Blu-Ray seems rather silly, you can still see the added scenes from 2002 in deleted scene format.

The Blu-Ray will be hitting store shelves on October 9th, and will include the Blu-Ray disc, a DVD and an ultra-violet digital copy. You can check out the full list of features for the upcoming Blu-Ray release after the jump.

As skeptical as I was when Ben Affleck took his first turn as director, he managed to prove himself more than adequate to the task with his first film Gone Baby Gone. Now with his latest directorial effort, The Town, he proves once again that all those years spent working with other directors, with a bit of his own talent thrown in, is more than enough to craft a suspenseful and entertaining crime thriller.

As this is a review of the Blu-ray Ultimate Edition of the film and not a full review of the film itself, suffice it to say I enjoyed The Town enough to watch it more than once. In fact, I’ve seen it at least three times. First, in a theater. Then, on Blu-ray and then again on Blu-ray in this Ultimate Collectors’s Edition.

The cast is excellent, especially Jeremy Renner and, somewhat surprisingly, Blake Lively. I also enjoyed watching Jon Hamm’s performance and, sadly, one of the last onscreen appearances of Pete Postlethwaite. Affleck is also quite good in the movie and has matured as an actor. At this point I can almost forgive him for Daredevil. Almost.

One of the great ancillary effects of the popularity of The Hunger Games is the renewed exposure it is generating for the certified classic, Battle Royal. The Japanese film is a bit over a decade old and has grown a huge international following, yet it never really broken out overseas.

Hopefully that will change now that the film is getting it’s first US official Blu-Ray release.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Battle Royal here is the official synopsis:

In the near future, the economy has collapsed, unemployment has soared and juvenile crime has exploded. Fearful of their nation’s youth, the Japanese government passes The BR Law: Each year, a 9th grade class is sent to a remote island where they will be locked into exploding neck collars, given a random weapon, and forced to hunt and kill each other until there is only one survivor left.

To celebrate the new release we have two new clips from the impending blu-ray set. The first clip is from the film itself and showcases some of the harsh brutality of the film. Keep in mind this is a red band clip, but for those of you who are on the fence this should help convince you. The second showcases  behind the scenes footage of that same scene, giving you a sense of how deep the extras content truly goes.

The Blu-Ray set hits March 20th and you can check out the clips after the jump.

If there’s one thing that never seems to get old no matter how many times I watch it’s Monty Python movies like Holy Grail and Meaning of Life. So naturally when word came that Holy Grail was coming to Blu-ray, I was pretty excited.

In fact, it’s not just coming to Blu-ray, it has arrived. Oh happy day. Here’s all the details from the official press release. Plus, be sure to check out the trailer for Monty Python and the Holy Grail after the break.

Join King Arthur and his knights as they embark on a quest for the Holy Grail and battle against the Black Knight, the Killer Rabbit, The Knights Who Say ‘Ni!’ and the Black Beast of Aaaargh! The Blu-ray set is brimming with coconuts, shrubberies and swallows (African or European), OOPS, we mean loads of bonus materials, including over 30 minutes of new Blu-ray exclusive special features.

The Monty Python team are at it again in their second movie. This time we follow King Arthur and his knights in their search for the Holy Grail. This isn’t your average medieval knights and horses story – for a start, due to a shortage in the kingdom, all the horses have been replaced by servants clopping coconuts together!

Texas Killing Fields is a strong, straightforward crime thriller which tells the story of three cops running the gauntlet in an attempt to solve two brutal crimes. But the film is particularly notable for its haunting tone and superlative acting.

Director Ami Canaan Mann does everything she can to give the movie an infectious gloom, an impressive imitation of the sprawling claustrophobia specific to Southern poverty. Mann, daughter of the legendary Michael Mann (who also co-produced the film), makes a lot of smart choices here, but none more crucial than the cast.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Sam Worthington bring their own unique intensity to their natural good cop/bad cop relationship, and a pre-Oscar nomination Jessica Chastain (The Help) brings a fiery quality to a supporting role. As usual, the 12-year-old Chloe Moretz shows remarkably advanced nuance for an actor her age.

Catch .44 is the embodiment of style over substance.

The film looks great. Writer/director Aaron Harvey clearly has a good eye. If the budget is as low as he implies in the audio commentary, Harvey needs to marry his production designer and his cinematographer. A lot of the visual effects are a little clunky (think the fight sequences in Deadliest Warrior), but good for the budget (which bodes well for the future of indie film).

The acting is also very strong, which is not unexpected given a cast that includes veterans Bruce Willis, Brad Dourif, and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker. Most of the fun that can be squeezed from watching Catch .44 is seeing the actors play.

But the twisty crime thriller genre is all about story, and there just isn’t one here. Unlike The Usual Suspects and Reservoir Dogs, to which the marketing compares the film, Catch.44 doesn’t have any surprises, any secrets, or any tension. It’s mostly just people saying they are going to shoot each other and then, in fact, shooting each other.

The characters are poorly drawn and, with the possible exception of Whitaker’s confused psycho, unmemorable. Most have no arcs to speak of. The script doesn’t even keep you entertained with clever banter or intimidating tough-guy talk, another staple of the genre. The dialogue in Catch .44 is clumsy and lacking originality.