Welcome to the Atomic DVD Shelf. Right here, every Tuesday, we’ll be taking a peek at all of the latest Bluray and dvd releases. In addition to info on extras and our own personal ratings, I’ll also dish up my own recommended disc of the week.

Let’s get started.

HALO Legends

Nate’s rating:

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Leading this week’s eclectic pack is a disc I never really expected to see, but here it is nonetheless.  Halo Legends is a collection of animated vignettes culled from the universe of the popular X-box game and brought to life by Japanese animators. The result is something very similar to The Animatrix or the Batman: Gotham Knight anthologies from a few years back. The animation and storytelling styles vary, but with Frank O’Connor overseeing most of what goes on here, true Halo fans have little to worry about. The Flood, the Elite, Master Chief and the Spartans; they are all here in 8  entertaining and visually stunning shorts.  There are several special features in the disc including ‘The Making of Halo Legends’ and ‘Halo: Gaming’ involved but the most interesting bit is far and away the Audio commentary by Frank O’Connor and Joseph Chou. Nice stuff for fans of the series.

Law Abiding Citizen

AP rating:

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Okay, I still have yet to see this Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler action thriller but Matt had good things to say about it in his review of the film back in October. There he called it a ‘great, fast paced thrill ride’ and I’ve heard similar things from other fellow movie fiends. This one looks ridiculous and implausible, with one of those messages that argues that if revenge looks like justice, it’s all good. Which means it will probably make a great Friday night popcorn flick with some beer and pizza. This edition has a few making of features and a commentary by the film’s producers, Lucas Foster and Alan Siegel.

Coco Before Chanel

Nate’s rating:

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

I’m rather mixed on this biopic of the life of fashion designer Coco Chanel. You’ve got Audrey Tatou giving a really solid and at times wonderful performance in a film that feels like it’s been hammered together out of all the wrong bits. I enjoyed the set design and the costuming well enough, and again Tatou has enough screen presence for three well-meaning biopics. In the end, though, this rags-to-riches story didn’t quite captivate me or move me too care that much about Coco herself. Good for a rental, but I’d skip buying this one sight unseen. For an alternate take on the film, check out our review from last fall.  Coco Before Chanel is in French with English subtitles and there’s a making of and behind the scenes featurette on the disc, including a commentary byFontaine.

Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever

Nate’s rating:

Rating: ★½☆☆☆ 

Yeech! If you were one of those people who watched the first Cabin Fever and thought, “Gee, needs more flesh-ripping and goopy skin scraping scenes”, then this movie was made for you. Inexplicably directed by Ti West, the guy responsible for the expertly creepy and remarkably tame House of the Devil last year, CF2 moves the flesh-eating contagion out into a larger environment with gorier results. I hated the first movie and found its sense of humor to be alternatingly boring and loathsome. This one at least, is aiming solely at the gore audience and I imagine it’s likely to be a real treat for that demographic. Either way, it blows Eli Roth out of the water. Special Features? how ’bout a barf bag? Instead you get the usual ‘making of’ and a commentary by West, no doubt explaining what bills needed to be paid in order to get him in the director’s chair. Ooh, Ooh, there’s a gore reel too!

Nathan’s Pick of the Week: Black Dynamite

Nate’s rating:

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Terrifically silly and legitimately funny, Black Dynamite isn’t just taking big juicy bites out of the blacksploitation genre, like I’m Gonna Git You Sucka! Instead, it shows genuine affection for them and the entire culture they grew out of. Michael Jai White, usually playing the sidelines in lesser movies, is front and center here and he gives a great comedic performance while channeling Richard Roundtree, Fred Williamson and Melvin Peebles perfectly. Theres’ not much substance, but baby, is there style! The highlight is a kung-fu battle between BD and Richard Nixon in the White House. Nunchakus have never been put to better use! The special features push this one over the top though. There’s a great bit called ’70′s : Back in Action’ that really gives you a feel for what the filmmakers were going for. The deleted scenes are hilarious and not just throw-away filler and the commentary is quite spirited.

And finally, because it’s here and I can’t help myself:

Small Wonder: Season 1

I’m sort of amazed that in the 80′s worshipping culture we live in, this took so long to get here. I’m also equally horrified that it’s here at all. Makes me nervous that maybe Tim Burton is planning a dark remake wherein Vicki realizes what an odd, lonely thing she is and sets out to meet her fate far from the cloistered walls of suburbia. Eh, probably not. It will likely go to Michael Bay and Vicki will be a young 20 something robot that fires rockets from her….Nevermind, I’m getting carried away. All that needs to be said is this.  Back in 1985, this was still odd and creepy and in the spirit of full disclosure, I had a crush on the little robot girl.

Yea, that’s just about enough for this week. See you next time with releases for The Box, Sorority Row, The Informant, and Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant.

Utter the words Indiana Jones and immediately everybody knows what you’re talking about.  You’re talking about fast-paced, globe-trotting quests for long-lost artifacts, ancient deathtraps and amazing action sequences.  But most importantly, you’re talking about a cinematic icon who has become a household name for any film buff.  From the fedora hat to the bullwhip, Indiana Jones the character is one whom almost everybody loves.

This year, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released after a 19 year-long wait, and the results were for the most part a mixed bag for everyone.  Of course there were those (myself included) who continued to be thrilled and fascinated by everything, however there were also those who were disappointed by it.  All I have to say to those people is were you watching the same movie I was?  Because the “Indy 4″ I’ve now seen a total of five times retains everything that made the original three so great, making for yet another solid entry in the franchise.  Yes, i agree that sometimes it does stretch the boundaries of logic even by Indy standards (i.e. the whole refrigerator scene and a piece of the jungle sequence), but overall it’s a very fun ride that returns us to the world of a hero missing from the big screen for too long.

Without going into great detail about the plot, the fourth film involves a hunt for an ancient artifact that may contain clues to extraterrestrials.  Yes, aliens actually made an appearance in an Indy movie, although they’re commonly referred to as ‘interdimensional beings’ in the movie.  Along for the ride is Indy’s long-lost son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), a double-crossing friend (Ray Winstone), and old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).  This time, the Russians are the bad guys and they’re led by the cold Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett).  Everyone’s after the Crystal Skull, which has a mystery surrounding it that has to do ith the mythical Lost City of Gold.

This 2-Disc Limited  Edition is loaded with behind-the-scenes features that detail every step of the filmmaking process.  Along with the film itself on the first disc are two short featurettes:  “The Return Of A Legend” and “Pre-Production”.  “Pre-Production”, of course, gives a brief glimpse into how Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and the others went about developing the idea for “Kingdom” and “Return Of A Legend” pretty much does the same thing, only it focuses more on the collaborative team behind Indy talking about how the dream of a fourth Indiana Jones movie finally became a reality.  The second disc includes more behind-the-scenes goodness, with a detailed 12-part look at the creation of the film.  With this multi-part documentary as well as the one featured on the “Iron Man” Special Edition gives me a renewed faith in the “Making-Of” features for blockbuster DVDs in the future.  Also included are Pre-Visualization Sequences that show exactly how three of the film’s most exciting sequences were conceived, prepped and executed AS WELL AS Galleries, Trailers and a Game Demo for the LEGO Indiana Jones XBOX 360 game.

All in all, this is a must-buy for anyone who enjoyed the film, or any Indy fan period.

“Cloverfield”, the high-profile monster movie produced by Master of Mystery J.J. Abrahms, has been on DVD for a few months now.  And if you were one of the many who caught the film in theaters back at the beginning of the year, then more likely it’s already in your DVD library.  However, for those of you who haven’t caught it on home video yet, then here’s the rundown on how the film itself looks on the small screen and how good the extras are.

The film takes place over the course of one terrifying night, when Manhattan is abruptly attacked by an enormous creature that looks like a cross between a praying mantis and a spider.  We follow a group of twenty-somethings who happened to be throwing a “Going Away” party for their best friend Rob as they embark upon a rescue mission to save Rob’s true love, Beth.  Of course, everybody knows that the movie was filmed in a unique way, namely from the perspective of the viewfinder of an extremely jiggly video camera, one being manned by Hud.  It’s obvious that this idea was inspired by “The Blair Witch Project”, which was another revolutionary thriller during its time because it too employed the use of of the shaky cam.

There were many complaints from people who saw “Cloverfield” during its theatrical run about how the film’s constant camera movements caused uneasiness where their stomachs were concerned, but I personally didn’t have that problem, so I can’t really say if watching the movie on a regular T.V. screen makes a difference where that issue is concerned.  “Cloverfield” is presented in its original theatrical exhibition of the 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio, and the transfer is pretty well-handled.  However, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a guy who pays attention to the sharpness of a movie’s digital transfer, so suffice it to say that for the most part the picture looks good.

The extras on the disc include a feature commentary by director Matt Reeves, deleted scenes and alternate endings, multiple “making of” featurettes, and looks into how the film’s visual effects were done.  The deleted scenes aren’t really that special; just extra fluff that easily leant itself to editing.  The two alternate endings aren’t any better, as they just include the same ending in terms of what happens to the characters, but here the very last scene before the credits is changed.  However, the making of features are particularly interesting, as they show exactly how the monster was conceived and constructed, in addition to how the movie itself was filmed.  Believe it or not, the filmmakers actually let the actor portraying Hud hold the camera as they filmed everything.  Also included is a link to a website called www.cloverfieldfiles.com, which contains some extra secrets about the film.

All in all, I’d say the “Cloverfield” DVD is definitely worth buying for those who liked the movie.  It’s certainly interesting to see how such a unique monster movie was pieced together, and the glimpse of all the behind-the-scenes magic makes you appreciate just how creative this chilling film really is.

Movie Rating: 3.5 stars

DVD Rating: 3 stars

Well this is some news that I am pretty darned excited about. I loved Iron Man and cannot wait for my Blu-Ray system to blow my mind once again. Below are the details about the Blu-Ray disc and the standard(crappy) version of the DVD.

The IRON MAN Ultimate Edition two-DVD set is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. Total runtime is 125 minutes. Bonus features include

Disc 1:

* Feature film
* Deleted/Extended Scenes

Disc 2:

* I Am Iron Man
o The Journey Begin
o The Suit that makes the Iron Man
o The Walk of Destruction
o Grounded In Reality
o Beneath the Armor
o It’s All in the Details
o A Good Story, Well Told
* The Invincible Iron Man
o Origins

o Friends & Foes
o The Definitive Iron Man
o Demon in a Bottle
o Extremis and Beyond
o Ultimate Iron Man
* Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man
* Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test
* The Actor’s Process (scene rehearsal with cast)
* The Onion “Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer to be Adapted into Full Length Film”
* Image Galleries

Soaring Hi-Def Features on Blu-ray: One of the most anticipated releases of the year, the IRON MAN Blu-ray presentation offers even more exclusive content for an incredible entertainment experience including a “Hall of Armor” that allows fans to enter the Stark database to zoom in on any of the three Iron Man suits – or Iron Monger. They can then activate the digital 3-D schematics to check out every weapon and the full high-definition renders let users fly around each suit to explore each of the armors in comprehensive detail.

The “Iron Man IQ” is a user-friendly web application that lets users create and share new multiple choice quizzes based on clips from the film. Fans can also download other users’ challenges via BD-Live.

The IRON MAN Ultimate Edition two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition with English 5.1 Dolby True HD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles. Bonus features include:

Disc 1:

* Hall of Armor
* The Invincible Iron Man (HD)
o Origins
o Friends & Foes
o The Definitive Iron Man
o Demon in a Bottle
o Extremis and Beyond
o Ultimate Iron Man
* Deleted/Extended Scenes (HD)
* BD Live:
* Iron Man IQ

Disc 2:

* I Am Iron Man (HD)
o The Journey Begins
o The Suit that makes the Iron Man
o The Walk of Destruction
o Grounded In Reality
o Beneath the Armor
o It’s All in the Details
o A Good Story, Well Told
* Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man (HD)
* Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test (HD)
* The Actor’s Process (scene rehearsal with cast) (HD)
* The Onion “Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer to be Adapted into Full Length Film” (HD)
* Theatrical Trailers (HD)
* Image Galleries

Single-disc DVD: The IRON MAN single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features include the deleted and extended scenes.

Which one will you purchase? I for one will only get the Blu-Ray!!

Does this frustrate you as much as me? Films that I do not end up catching in the theater or hear about via other critics (I do occasionally skim a few especially those of writer/critic David Edelstein of New York magazine), I put in the saved section of my Netflix queue.

The Assassination of Jesse James lasted only a few weeks in Boston theaters, despite the supporting role of hometown hero Casey Affleck. On February 5, it released on DVD. It is still listed as a Long Wait on my Netflix queue. Also Moolade (short wait and released on February 19), In the Valley of Elah (long wait—released on February 19), The Brave One (short wait—released on February 5) and Lust, Caution (long wait—also a February 19 release date). This is just for this month. It happens quite often. I get some DVDs from the library (great place to get classics and foreign films) but do enjoy the convenience of Netflix which is, let’s be honest, and holds a monopoly on this type of service.

But back to my outrage. A friend told me that I watch a ton of DVDs. Anywhere from 2-4 a week and that was why I wasn’t getting DVDs as fast as I would like. I’ve been a member for years and have the 4-at-a-time membership. I decided to call the customer service line at Netflix to get some answers.

I spoke with Matthew at netflix online dvd rental tonight February 29 at 6:45.

I explained to him my frustrations with the constant long and short waits. I said that I put films in my saved section and as soon as I saw a release date listed, I would move the film to the top of my queue.

Amy: Why does this happen?

Matthew, Netflix customer service rep: “Quite a few other customers do the same thing as you do and that is something we factor in if the demand exceeds the supply. Another factor is how frequently another customer uses our services.”

Amy: So you are telling me that because I watch a few DVDs per week I am penalized?

Matthew: Some people rennet less and we want them to get as much out of the service since they aren’t renting as much they aren’t getting as much value and they get DVDs ahead of you by a few weeks or so.

Amy: That’s fair? And a few weeks or so? That’s a long time! When new release comes out, I want to see it the week it comes out. The Assassination of Jesse James came out on February 4, a month ago. How can that be a fair system to allocate DVDs. I’ve been a Netflix member for a long time. And I shouldn’t have to go to a video store to rent something. Although I will (I got Lust, Caution today and I think Hollywood Video is getting cut off at the knees by some “Blockbuster Exclusives” because I didn’t see Moolade or The Assassination of Jesse James).

Matthew: Okay, well since you keep mentioning The Assassination of Jesse James, I can move it to the top of your queue and give you a bonus selection and get that out to you.

Amy: So if you bitch and complain enough, you’re basically saying, you can get the releases. [At this point, I don’t think he really wanted to acknowledge that remark so we ended the conversation]

update: I just checked my queue and The Assassination of Jesse James is shipping out on Monday. Being a bitch is kick-ass! It’s just like getting free movie tickets when I complain about people taking cell phone calls. And they were for silly films like Mad Money, so I was annoyed but would have been really mad if it were something else.