Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.

WHAT: The year is 2031 AD, and after a failed global-warming experiment has frozen the planet, killing off nearly all life in the process, the lucky few survivors live aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that perpetually travels around the globe. With a class system in place that divides the population by train car, lower-class passenger Curtis (Chris Evans) leads a rebellion against the oppressors in an attempt to take control of the engine and the fates of his fellow people.

WHY: Fans of Korean director Bong Joon-ho (“The Host”) have been awaiting his English-language debut for quite some time, and that wait was extended even longer when The Weinstein Company delayed its U.S. release over a dispute about the film’s original cut. In the end, Bong was successful in protecting his vision, which is a major victory for both the filmmaker and his would-be audience, especially for a movie as refreshingly unique as “Snowpiercer.” Though it’s not the sci-fi masterpiece that many have lauded it as, the film is one of the better post-apocalyptic thrillers in recent memory. A lot of that credit actually goes to the creators of the French graphic novel on which its based, but Bong brings plenty to the table as well, including some gorgeous visuals and the casting of frequent collaborator Song Kang-ho in a vital role. Chris Evans also turns in a solid performance as the de facto leader of the lower class rebels, while Tilda Swinton steals the show with an amusingly quirky turn as the right-hand woman of the train’s mysterious engineer. The blending of art house sensibilities with mainstream appeal makes for a really intriguing finished product, but the ending is so disappointing that it undermines the ambition and imagination of everything that precedes it.

EXTRAS: The Blu-ray release includes an audio commentary by film critics like Scott Weinberg, James Rocchi and Jen Yamato, a documentary about the making of the movie, additional featurettes on the production process, an interview with Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton, a behind-the-scenes look at the promotional tour, concept art galleries and an animated prologue.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

WHAT: Desperate to add a little spice back into their life, married couple Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) decide to make a sex tape trying out every position from “The Joy of Sex.” But when they wake up the next day to discover that the video was accidentally uploaded to the iPads that Jay gifted to various family and friends, they go on a frantic search to track them all down before anyone has a chance to see it.

WHY: “Sex Tape” is an infuriating movie to watch, especially if you don’t like characters that have no common sense. Despite being one giant commercial for the iPad (at one point, Segel’s character even declares how well constructed it is), it doesn’t understand the technology behind the device. Anyone with a basic knowledge of smartphones, tablets and the Cloud knows that Jay’s videos wouldn’t automatically sync to the other iPads unless they were still connected to his Apple account, but there’s absolutely no reason the recipients would do this, because it would essentially render their devices useless. Worse yet, the identity of the mysterious “villain” blackmailing Jay and Annie is an absolute joke, threatening them with putting the video on a popular internet porn site unless they pay a hefty bounty. Jay could just call the website and have them take it down, but they chose a much more excessive method because it seems funnier, even though it’s really not. Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel fail to display a fraction of the chemistry that they had in “Bad Teacher,” and although there are some amusing comments on parenthood in the opening act, once the hunt for the sex tape kicks into gear, the film nosedives quicker than a kamikaze fighter pilot.

EXTRAS: In addition to a selection of deleted scenes, alternate takes and bloopers, there’s a featurette on the chemistry between director Jake Kasdan and his two leads, as well as a discussion with psychotherapist Dr. Jenn Berman about the film.

FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

Read the rest of this entry »

The summer season is typically reserved for the year’s biggest films, and although May certainly delivered in that department, this month’s slate is in remarkably short supply of tentpole movies. There are a few surefire blockbusters on tap – like “22 Jump Street,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and the latest Transformers flick – but the rest of June is mostly comprised of smaller dramas that don’t fit the traditional summer mold. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s a little strange for a time of year where studios tend to live by the mantra that bigger is better.

Who: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson
What: A military officer is dropped into battle against an alien race, only to find that he’s caught in a time loop that allows him to replay the day over and over again.
When: June 6th
Why: It’s a shame that the studio felt the need to replace the film’s playfully offbeat original title (“All You Need Is Kill”) with something so safe and generic, because “Edge of Tomorrow” looks a lot more interesting than it sounds. The whole “Groundhog Day” concept isn’t exactly new, and it’s not even the first time that it’s been used in a sci-fi movie, but it does provide a unique angle to the clichéd alien invasion premise that should please genre fans. Plus, it features cool exoskeleton suits, a solid cast led by Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, and a director in Doug Liman who’s not only willing to take risks, but hungry to atone for the disappointment of his last sci-fi venture, “Jumper.”

Who: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff and Willem Dafoe
What: Teenagers Hazel and Gus meet and fall in love at a cancer support group.
When: June 6th
Why: “The Fault in Our Stars” isn’t the kind of movie you’d normally expect to see released during the summer, so you really have to applaud 20th Century Fox for placing so much confidence in the teen drama. It’s also not the kind of movie that would normally interest me, but between the casting of Shailene Woodley and the almost unanimous admiration for the John Green novel on which it’s based, there’s a certain air to the project that suggests it’ll be much better than the typical young adult book adaptation. If it’s anything like 2012’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” – and judging by the trailer, that’s a pretty fair comparison – then moviegoers are in for a real treat.

Who: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ice Cube, Peter Stormare and Dave Franco
What: After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt and Jenko when they go deep undercover at a local college.
When: June 13th
Why: “21 Jump Street” proved that it’s possible to make a good movie based on a hit TV show, but the sequel has a much more difficult task: doing it all over again, only this time, even bigger and better. Of course, if anyone is capable of handling that sort of pressure, then surely it’s the directing duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who seem to turn everything they touch into gold. Not only was “The LEGO Movie” a critical and commercial success, but “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” is one of the funniest new comedies on TV, and it’s hard to imagine that “22 Jump Street” won’t continue that streak, especially with a pair of stars that have such great chemistry as Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.