Dumb and Dumber and The Mask Announced

On December 9th, Warner Home Entertainment will release two of Jim Carrey's comedy classics Dumb and Dumber and The Mask. Dumb and Dumber will apparently be the unrated cut and will receive a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack (thank goodness). Specs have not been announced for The Mask, yet.

Special features include:
Dumb and Dumber
Behind the story featurette
Two alternate endings
10 additional scenes
Six minutes of footage not seen in theaters
Trailers and TV spots

The Mask
4 featurettes
Commentary with director Charles Russell
Additional scenes with commentary
Theatrical trailer

Dumb and Dumber is one of my favorite comedies of all time, so I'm very excited to see this one being released. The Mask has aged terribly since I saw it at the theater, so I'll be passing on that one. I wish they would've released Ace Ventura instead.

The Mummy 3 Announced

On December 16th, Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The two-disc release a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack with 1080p AVC video.

Special features include:
Disc 1
U-Control
_Scene Explorer Know Your Mummy
_The Dragon Emperor's Challenge
_Picture in Picture
_Visual Commentary with Director Rob Cohen
Deleted and Extended Scenes
The Making of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
From City to Desert
Legacy of the Terra Cotta
Feature Commentary with Director Rob Cohen
BD-Live access
My Scenes Sharing
Exclusive Content

Disc 2
A Call to Action: The Casting Process
Preparing for Battle with Brendan Fraser and Jet Li
Jet Li: Crafting the Emperor Mummy
Creating New and Supernatural Worlds
A Digital Copy

I enjoyed the first Mummy movie immensely, but I felt that the sequel was lackluster. I haven't seen the third one, but I heard it was better than the second.

Sneak Peak: WB in 2009

According to a pamphlet included in new titles from Warner Brothers, several big-name movies are planned for 2009.

The movies listed include:
Amadeus
Being There
Gone with the Wind
King Kong (1933)
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
The Matrix 10th Anniversary
The Notebook
Rush Hour
The Wizard of Oz
Woodstock

Assault on Precinct 13 Announced

On December 2nd, Image Entertainment will release John Carpenter's 1976 cult classic Assault on Precinct 13. Specs have not been announced. If you haven't seen this one, I recommend that you at least check it out. Even though it was only Carpenter's second movie, it still holds up as one of his best.

Home Alone Announced

On December 2nd, Fox Home Entertainment will release the holiday blockbuster Home Alone. I will be back later with specs.

The Dark Knight Announced

On December 9th, Warner Home Entertainment will release the massive blockbuster hit The Dark Knight. The two disc set will include a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack and 1080P VC1 video. This will be WB's first BD-Live accessible title. A collector's edition that comes with a replica of the Batpod will also be available.

Special features include:
A digital copy.
Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene.
Batman Tech: The Incredible Gadgets and Tools in HD.
Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight in HD.
Gotham Tonight: 6 Episodes of Gotham Cable's Premier News Program.
The Galleries: The Joker Cards, Concept Art, Poster Art, Production Stills, Trailers & TV Spots.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Announced

On November 11th, Warner Home Video will release the CG-animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Special features include:
The Clone Wars: The Untold Stories: Preview stories, vehicles, planets, and battles from Season One of The Clone Wars television series in HD.
The Voices of The Clone Wars: Meet the voiceover actors and see them perform their craft in HD.
Gallery of Concept and Production Art in HD.
Webdocs: Six making-of featurettes in HD.
Deleted Scenes.
The New Score: Kevin Kiner leads a 90-piece orchestra to create the unique sound of The Clone Wars movie and series in HD.
Theatrical and videogame trailers in HD.
A digital copy.
Hologram Memory Challenge: Test your skill and memory and unlock three hi-def TV series sneak peeks.

Hellboy II Announced

On November 11th, Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release Hellboy II: The Golden Army. It will include a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack and 1080P video on a BD-50.

Special features include:
Feature Commentary with Director Guillermo del Toro.
Feature Commentary with Cast Members Jeffrey Tambor, Selma Blair and Luke Goss.
Set Visits: Seven mini documentaries provide viewers with unlimited access to the Hellboy II: The Golden Army set.
Troll Market Tour with Guillermo del Toro.
Animated Zinco Epilogue Comic.
Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary by Director Guillermo del Toro.
rologue: A special introduction to the DVD from director Guillermo del Toro.
Pre-Production Vault.
Hellboy: In Service Of The Demon: Over two hours of footage that takes fans into the creation of this film.
Production Workshop: Professor Broom's Puppet Theatre: A special look inside the opening sequence of the film including storyboards and animatics.
Image gallery.
DVD Rom: Hellboy II: The Golden Army Script.
BD-Live access.
My Chat: Using your internet-connected player, host a text chat with your friends who also own Hellboy II: The Golden Army on Blu-ray while you watch the movie in synchronization!
Sneak Peek of Wanted.
My Scenes Sharing: Show your friends your favorite scenes from Hellboy II: The Golden Army via BD-Live.
Comic Book Builder: Create an original downloadable Hellboy adventure by selecting still images from the movie, dropping them into comic book layouts and adding text. The result can be e-mailed to friends or published via BD-Live buddy lists.
4 U-Control features.
A digital copy.

The Blu-ray will also be available as part of a limited edition collector's set that comes with a Golden Army statuette, limited edition poster, director's production journal and certificate of authenticity.

The Day the Earth Stood Still Announced

On December 2nd, Fox Home Entertainment will release the 1951 science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still to coincide with the Keanu Reeves remake of the film in theaters on December 12th. It will include a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack and 1080P AVC video.


The extensive list of special features include:
Interactive Thermin: Create Your Own Score
Gort Command: Interactive Game
Commentary by Robert Wise and Nicolas Meyer
Commentary by Film & Music Historians John Morgan, Steven Smith, William Stromberg and Nick Redman
Isolated Score Track
The Mysterious, Melodious Theremin
The Day The Earth Stood Still Main Title Live Performance By Peter Pringle
The Making of The Day the Earth Stood Still
4 featurettes
Race To Oblivion: A Documentary Short Written And Produced By Edmund North
Farewell To The Master: A Reading By Jamieson K. Price Of The Original Harry Bates Short Story
Interactive Pressbook
Fox Movietonews from 1951
Theatrical Trailer
Advertising Gallery
Behind-The Scenes Gallery
Portrait Gallery
Production Gallery
Spaceship Construction Blueprints
Shooting Script

It's nice to see that Fox is going all out on the special features, but I hope the picture and sound quality won't suffer due to all of this being crammed on one BD-25.

Rumored Paramount Titles

Bill Hunt of thedigitalbits.com, a very credible source, has revealed a number of movies to be released by Paramount in Q4 of this year and Q1 of next year. Remember that this isn't an official list, but it's most likely to be true.

November
Tropic Thunder

December
Eagle Eye (12/16)
Hot Rod (12/16, confirmed)
Old School (12/16, confirmed)
Into the Wild (12/16, confirmed)
Tommy Boy: Holy Schnike Edition (12/16)
Coach Carter (12/16)
The Heartbreak Kid (12/16)
Ghost Town (12/30)
Event Horizon (12/30)
The Truman Show (12/30)
Ghost (12/30)
Last Holiday (12/30)
Days of Thunder (12/30)
The Duchess

January
Election (1/20, confirmed)
Braveheart: Special Collector's Edition (1/20)
Dexter: The Complete First Season
Zodiac

I'm very happy to see that the previously HD-DVD exclusives Into the Wild and Zodiac are finally making their way to Blu-ray. I'm also ecstatic to see that the Chris Farley comedy classic Tommy Boy will be making its hi-def debut.

Journey to the Center of the Earth Announced

On October 28th, Warner Home Video will release Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D starring Brendan Fraser. Unfortunately, it will include a lossy DD 5.1 soundtrack. It appears as if the 3D glasses are the old cardboard style as opposed to the nice plastic polarized ones that they gave you if you saw it at the theater.

Special features include:
4 pairs of 3D glasses
Commentary by Brendan Fraser and filmmakers
3 featurettes
Adventure at the Center of the Earth challenge
A digital copy of the film in 2D

Both X-Files Movies Announced

On December 2nd, Fox Home Entertainment will release both X-Files films individually and as a two-pack. Both will include a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack and 1080P AVC video. Fans of the TV show/films will be very happy to see that Fox will be including an abundance of special features for both films.

Special features include:

Fight the Future
BonusView picture-in-picture commentary by creator Chris Carter, director Rob Bowman, co-producer/writer Frank Spotnitz and producer Daniel Sackheim.
Blackwood: The Making of The X-Files: Fight the Future featurette in HD.
4 In-Movie Features via BD remote direct access.
Visual Effects featurette in HD.
Scoring featurette in HD.
Gag Reel in HD.
Alternate Scene in HD.
Theatrical Trailers in HD.
Still Galleries.
Enhanced for D-Box Motion Code systems.
The Making Of The X-Files Movie featurette (from original DVD).
Commentary by creator Chris Carter and director Rob Bowman (from original DVD).

I Want to Believe
Includes both the Theatrical Version and Unrated Extended Cut of the film.
Audio commentary by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz.
The X-Files Complete Interactive Timeline.
Picture-in-picture commentary with Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz.
The X-Files Dossier: Agent Dakota Whitney Files.
Isolated Score track.
Body Parts: Special Make-up Effects featurette.
Chris Carter: Statements on Green Production featurette.
Deleted Scenes.
Gag Reel.
Music Slideshow.
Theatrical Trailers.
Still Galleries.
4 In-Movie Features via BD remote direct access.
Enhanced for D-Box Motion Code systems.
Digital Copy of the film for portable media players.

Open Season 2 Specs Released

In an earlier post, we revealed that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the direct-to-video sequel to Open Season on January 27th, and now they have released more info. It will include a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack and 1080P AVC MPEG-4 video.




Special features include:
BD-Live access
2 featurettes
Deleted scenes
"Save Mr. Weenie!" interactive game

False Advertising from Warner Brothers

If you plan on buying Speed Racer for it's included digital copy, then you might want to cancel that purchase. The sticker on the slipcover claims that the digital copy will work with iTunes, but it doesn't. Meanwhile, the claim code sheet inside the box says that it isn't compatible with iTunes. I've tried it myself, and it's only playable with Windows Media Player and a select few outdated mobile media devices. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't like being a victim of false advertising.

I have contacted WB through email and I am eagerly waiting for their response. Warner Brothers has got some explaining to do.

9-25-08 UPDATE: WB responded to my email and sent me a code to download Speed Racer for free on iTunes. That was an honorable move on their part. Thank you very much for doing the right thing WB!

Here is the photographic evidence:

Shawshank Redemption Delayed

Source: Highdefdigest.com

The Shawshank Redemption has been bumped from November 4th to December 2nd. The movie will arrive in Warner's Digi-book packaging on a BD-50 disc. It will include a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack and 1080P AVC MPEG-4 video. Special features will include audio commentary by director Frank Darabont, a pair of documentaries, a still gallery, additional storyboards, a Charlie Rose Show interview, and a theatrical trailer.

2 Blu-ray Editions for Heathers

Source: Highdefdigest.com

On November 18th, Anchor Bay will release the 1988 cult classic Heathers in standard and limited edition versions. Both versions will come with remastered 1080p AVC MPEG-4 video and a DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. The "Limited Edition Locker Set" will also contain a standard DVD edition of the film, and come housed in a deluxe package with additional collectibles.

I've never seen this movie, but I've always heard about how good it is. It sounds like Anchor Bay is serious about making this one a quality release, so that's a plus in itself.

Open Season 2 Announced

Source: thehollywoodreporter.com


On January 27th, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the direct-to-video sequel to Open Season on Blu-ray. Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher will not be providing their voices for the sequel. New voices will be provided by Mike Epps, Crispin Glover, and Joel McHale from E! Entertainment's The Soup.

I'm glad to see that they made a sequel because I thoroughly enjoyed the first one. Joel McHale is hilarious, so he is a welcomed upgrade over Ashton Kutcher.

Hell Ride Announced

Source: Blu-ray.com

On October 28th, The Weinstein Company will release the Quentin Tarantino produced
Hell Ride. It will include a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack and 1080P video on a BD-50.




Special features include:
Commentary with Bishop and director of photography Scott Kevan
4 featurettes
Video diary by Michael Madsen.

Diary of the Dead Announced

Source: Blu-ray.com

On October 21st, The Weinstein Company will release George A. Romero's latest zombie movie Diary of the Dead. No specs have been announced.

No Ghostbusters In 2008?

Source: Highdefdigest.com

Even though Sony had heavily advertised the Blu-ray release of Ghostbusters at Comic-Con, it appears as if they have canceled it indefinitely. The rumored release date had been October 21st. Sony has given no explanation for canceling the highly anticipated title. Since the Ghostbusters video game publisher recently dropped it, my guess is that Sony wants to wait until some other company publishes the game and cross-promote the two. Ghostbuster's 25th anniversary is next year, so that could be another reason for postponement.

I am personally very upset that Sony has decided to postpone this one, especially since it will probably be released in October of 2009. That seems like an eternity to wait after eagerly anticipating it since Comic-Con.