DVD and Blu-Ray Releases for August 3, 2010

Cadavers, Pirahnas, Humanoids, and more. Check out the DVD & Blu-Ray Releases for August 3, 2010 beyond the break.

All Product Descriptions are taken from Amazon.com unless noted otherwise. Don’t forget that if you are thinking of purchasing a movie via Amazon.com, click on the links for the appropriate movie to thank us for putting this list together – it does take a while.

After.Life

2010
Starring: Liam Neeson, Justin Long, Christina Ricci
d. Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo
Rated: R
Format: DVD | Blu-Ray

Reviewed Here!

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After car accident, woman “wakes” up in funeral home.

After.Life on Netflix

Death Sport / Battle Truck (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)

Death Sport
1978
starring: David Carradine, Richard Lynch
d. Allan Arkush
Rated: R

Battle Truck
1982
starring: Michael Beck, James Wainwright
d. Harley Cokeliss
Rated: PG

Format: DVD
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A Double Feature Of Future Mayhem!

Battletruck: After the Oil Wars, gasoline has become a precious commodity. On his marauding search to commandeer all of the oil in existence to feed his massive, heavily armored battletruck, Colonel Straker (James Wainwright) ravages a peaceful commune. A mysterious man on a motorcycle (Michael Beck, The Warriors) comes to the aid of these peaceful people to help protect them and take down Straker, with the help of his runaway daughter. Also released under the alternate title Warlords Of The Twenty-First Century, BattleTruck costars Bruno Lawrence ( The Quiet Earth), Annie McEnroe ( Beetle Juice, Wall Street) and John Ratzenberger ( Cheers, Toy Story). The films cinematographer, Chris Menges, went on to shoot The Killing Fields, The Mission and The Reader.

Deathsport: One thousand years into the future, following the Great Neutron Wars, the world is divided into desert wastes and isolated city-states. Lord Zirpola captures the notorious Desert Ranger Kaz (David Carradine) to fight to the death in his game, Deathsport. Now Kaz must face his past and fight to save himself and his city from the war that Lord Zirpola is about to wage. Costarring with Carradine is beautiful B-movie starlet Claudia Jennings (Great Texas Dynamite Chase, Gator Bait), Jesse Vint (Forbidden World, Macon County Line) and Richard Lynch (The Sword And The Sorcerer, Bad Dreams).
DEATHSPORT Bonus Features:
* Audio Commentary With Codirector Allan Arkush and Editor Larry Bock
* Original Theatrical Trailers
* Still Gallery
* Trailer and TV Spots

BATTLETRUCK Bonus Features:
* Audio Commentray With Director Harley Cokliss
* Trailers

Deathsport on Netflix

Escape from New York

1981
Starring: Kurt Russell, Adrienne Barbeau
d. John Carpenter
Rated: R
Format: Blu-Ray & DVD Combo
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In the future, crime is out of control and New York City is a maximum security prison. Grabbing a bargaining chip right out of the air, convicts bring down the President’s plane in bad old Gotham. Gruff Snake Plissken, a one-eyed warrior new to prison life, is coerced into bringing the President, and his cargo, out of this land of undesirables. Kurt Russell put his Disney days behind him as the nicest bad guy in the picture. All comic-book sensibilities and macho posturing, this is one of writer-director John Carpenter’s better brainless escapes. There are snappy one-liners and explosive action scenes. However, the film lacks tension and some believability even within the realm of SF fantasy. Even when it fails to gel, though, it always manages to amuse, thanks in great part to a varied and unusual supporting cast (watch for Ernest Borgnine as a cabdriver). Followed in 1996 by Carpenter’s overdone and campy Escape from L.A. –Rochelle O’Gorman

Escape from New York on Netflix

Humanoids from the Deep (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)

1980
Starring: Doug McClure , Ann Turkel
d. Barbara Peters
Rated: R
Format: DVD | Blu-Ray
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For The First Time On Home Video, The Complete Uncut Version Of The Cult Classic!

Something evil is happening in the sleepy fishing village of Noyo. Fishlike humanoid creatures, spawned by mutant DNA, begin rising from the ocean looking to mate with the local women. Scientist Susan Drake (Ann Turkel) along with local fisherman Jim Hill (Doug McClure, The Land That Time Forgot) seek to investigate the cause of this invasion of creatures from the ocean floor. But when the annual Salmon Festival begins, some unwanted guests are about to crash the festivities. Also starring Vic Morrow (Message From Space), Cindy Weintraub (The Prowler) and Denise Galik (Dont Answer The Phone).

The film features an early score from Academy Award winning composer James Horner (Avatar, Braveheart, Titanic), who started his career with Roger Corman, and special effects/creature designs by Oscar nominee Rob Bottin (Robocop, The Thing, Se7en, Total Recall).

Bonus Features:
* New High-Definition Transfer Of The Uncut International Version
* Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
* Trailers, TV And Radio Spots
* Leonard Maltin Interviews Roger Corman On The Making Of The Film
* The Making Of Humanoids From The Deep Featuring New Interviews With Composer James Horner, And Second Unit/Assistant Director James Sbardellati.
* New World Trailers

Humanoids from the Deep on Netflix

James and the Giant Peach

1996
Starring: Paul Terry , Joanna Lumley
d. Henry Selick
Rated: PG
Format: Blu-Ray/DVD Combo
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In an all-new digitally restored special edition from Tim Burton, the acclaimed director of Alice In Wonderland, comes the astounding film that captured the hearts of fans and critics all across the world. Inspired by Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book, Burton, Denise Di Novi and director Henry Selick combine a fascinating mix of live-action, stop-motion animation and computer-generated special effects to create a world beyond your imagination in this new Special Edition DVD.

After the daring rescue of a spider, a young boy named James finds gains possession of some magic crocodile tongues. When James spills them in the garden, out sprouts an enormous peach! Climbing inside, he meets an astonishing cast of characters and embarks on a magical odyssey full of thrills and adventure. Voiced by an all-star cast, including legendary actors Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Simon Callow and Jane Leeves, and featuring the celebrated music of Randy Newman, this classic story is delicious entertainment for the whole family!

James and the Giant Peach on Netflix

Kalifornia (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

1993
Starring: Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis
d. Dominic Sena
Rated: R (Theatrical) & Unrated (Director’s Cut)
Format: Blu-Ray/DVD Combo
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David Duchovny is a blocked author with a fascination for outlaw killers who hatches a plan to road trip through America’s mass-murder landmarks to finish his book. He enlists his frustrated photographer girlfriend Michelle Forbes, who desperately wants to leave the East Coast for L.A., to illustrate the tome, and they advertise for riding partners. Luckily for them, they wind up with a veteran killer, the greasy trailer-park ex-con Brad Pitt, who decides to skip parole with his cowering child-woman girlfriend Juliette Lewis. Duchovny is enamored by gun-toting Pitt’s recklessness and lawless disregard for, well, everything; he’s simultaneously terrified and thrilled by Pitt’s brutal beating of a barfly. Meanwhile, Pitt’s leaving a trail of corpses in their wake.

Directed with a cool remove by Dominic Sena (Gone in 60 Seconds 2000), Kalifornia falls somewhere between Badlands and Natural Born Killers. Pitt brings a ferocious magnetism to his part, but it’s still hard to buy genial Duchovny’s odd attraction; Juliette Lewis conveys a terrifying sense of victimization with her poor dumb creature. Despite the film’s best efforts, it never really plumbs the psyche of Pitt’s simmering psycho–he’s just plain bad, you know–but it does fashion an effective little thriller out of the tensions brewing in the restless quartet. –Sean Axmaker

Kalifornia on Netflix

Kick-Ass

2010
Starring: Nicolas Cage , Mark Strong
d. Matthew Vaughn
Rated: R
Format: DVD | Blu-Ray/DVD+Digital Copy Combo
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“How come nobody’s ever tried to be a superhero?” When Dave Lizewski – ordinary New York teenager and rabid comic-book geek – dons a green-and-yellow Internet-bought wetsuit to become the no-nonsense vigilante Kick-Ass, he soon finds an answer to his own question: because it hurts. But, over coming all the odds, the eager yet inexperienced Dave quickly becomes a phenomenon, capturing the imagination of the public. However, he’s not the only superhero out there – the fearless and highly trained father-daughter crime-fighting duo, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, have been slowly but surely taking down the criminal empire of local mafioso Frank D’Amico. And, as Kick-Ass gets drawn into their no-holds-barred world of bullets and bloodletting with Frank’s son Chris, now reborn as Kick-Ass’s arch-nemesis Red Mist, the stage is set for a final showdown between the forces of good and evil, in which the DIY hero will have to live up to his name. Or die trying…

Kick-Ass on Netflix

Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn

1983
Starring: Jeffrey Byron, Michael Preston, Tim Thomerson, Kelly Preston, Richard Moll
d. Charles Band
Rated: PG
Format: DVD
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Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn is the science fiction battle of the ages with giant cyclopes and intergalactic magicians in this futuristic adventure set on the desert planet of Lemuria. A miner and his daughter Dhyana (Kelly Preston) fall prey to the evil dictator Jared-Syn’s reign of terror. Dogen (Jeffrey Byron), the brave peacekeeping ranger, must save Dhyana and the rest of her planet from the forces of Jared-Syn (Mike Preston), his son, Baal (R. David Smith) and the hideous cyclopean warlord, Hurok (Richard Moll). If Dogen does not find Dhyana in time, she will be sacrificed to Jared-Syn’s strange life-giving crystal. Take a space-age journey into the farthest reaches of the imagination with dazzling special effects and a story that will excite fantasy fans of all ages.

Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn on Netflix

Open House

2010
Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Rachel Blanchard
d. Andrew Paquin
Rated: R
Format: DVD | Blu-Ray

Reviewed Here!

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A couple on the verge of a nasty divorce attempt to sell their empty love nest and move on with their lives, separately. After a successful open house, they are horrified to discover, days later, that a potential buyer didn’t leave their home. While Alice is being held captive in the basement, the unannounced houseguest moves in upstairs. She senses her capture is being kept a rebellious secret. She knows her only way out, if she can only get out alive.

Open House on Netflix

Piranha (Roger Corman Cult Classics)

1978
Starring: Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn
d. Joe Dante
Rated: R
Format: DVD | Blu-Ray
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While searching for missing teenagers, novice skip tracer Maggie McKeown (Heather Menzies) and local town boozer Paul Grogan (Bradford Dillman) stumble upon a top-secret Army laboratory conducting genetic research on piranha fish for the purpose of developing biological warfare. When the deadly eating machines are accidently released from the compound, they are soon headed downstream and consuming everything, and anything, in their path.

Bonus Features:
* New Anamorphic Widescreen Version (1.85:1)
* Audio Commentary With Director Joe Dante and Producer Jon Davison
* Behind-the-Scenes Footage
* The Making of Piranha Featurette With New Interviews From Roger Corman, Joe Dante, Dick Miller, Belinda Balaski and Many More
* Bloopers and Outtakes
* Piranha Trailer With Commentary by Producer Jon Davison Courtesy of Trailers From Hell
* Stills Gallery With Photos and Posters From Around the World
* Behind-the-Scenes Stills Gallery Featuring Photos From Phil Tippetts Personal Collection
* Additional Scenes From the Network Television Version
* Radio and TV Spots
* New World Trailers

Piranha on Netflix

Spike

2008
Starring: Edward Gusts, Sarah Livingston Evans, Anna-Marie Wayne, Nancy P. Corbo, Jared Edwards
d. Robert Beaucage
Rated: Not Rated
Format: DVD
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After skidding off the road in the dead of night, four friends find themselves lost in the forest and tangled in a twisted love story. As they are each picked off one by one by a bizarre beast it becomes clear that none of them will make it out of this forest alive; unless the one the monster so desires is left behind. Will they stick together and find their way out of the grips of this love sick monster or will they turn on each other and perish in this dark fairytale?

Spike on Netflix