DVD / Blu-ray New Releases: November 12, 2013: MAN OF STEEL, BLACKFISH

Zach Snyder takes the oft-explored story of America’s favorite superhero, Superman, and turns it on its ear with a deeper delve into the internal conflicts and tough decisions that accompany Clark Kent’s realization of his super powers. Henry Cavill brings a fresh face and humility to this tale of the émigré Kal-El from the planet Krypton as he grows into his man hood and superhero status. Warner Bros. spared no expense with this All-Star cast featuring Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, and Amy Adams. They also appeal to the mass audience and collector alike by releasing the movie in as many formats as possible:  DigiBook, 3D Blu-ray, Limited Collector’s Edition 3D Blu-ray, standard combo pack (BD+DVD+UV), and DVD combo (DVD+UV); in an odd twist, the Blu-ray by itself will not be available until December 10, 2013. The discs feature an ear-popping DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1. The Limited Collector’s Edition comes with a 3D Blu-ray disc plus two other Blu-rays, a DVD, an UltraViolet digital copy, and a limited release metal “S” with an acrylic stand. In addition to the “S” collection, serious collectors will also want to include the Man of Steel Exclusive Action Figure Gift Set in their holiday buying. The set includes 1:16 scale hand-painted 4.5 inch tall figurines of Superman and General Zod made by Gentle Giant Studios.

In DreamWorks’ latest animated offering, Turbo, a lowly, slowly-moving garden snail fantasizes about becoming the fastest snail in the world. A serendipitous occurrence renders him turbo charged and suddenly able to compete with the fastest race cars around. Along the way, he gets to know the owner of an off-the-beaten-path taco stand who, along with his nearby business owners, is in danger of losing his shop. They come up with a plan to enter Turbo in the Indy 500 as a way to save their businesses and help him realize his dream of racing. Turbo is available as a combo pack (BD+DVD+UV), a 3D Blu-ray release, or a single disc DVD+UV; the DVD is also available with a collectible pull back Turbo racing toy.

It should come as no surprise that orcas—popularly known as “killer whales”—kill. Most of them kill other marine life: dolphins, fish, sharks, sometimes other killer whales, and rarely, people. Filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite‘s documentary shot by cinematographers Jonathan Ingalls and Chris Towey, Blackfish, explores the history of one killer whale in particular: Tilikum. In 2010, Tilikum shocked the world by killing his long-time trainer Dawn Brancheau in front of horrified onlookers at a regularly scheduled show at Sea World Orlando. Blackfish examines the circumstances surrounding Brancheau’s death looking at the facts of the case through the prism of SeaWorld’s history of marine shows and Tilikum’s own history of having killed other trainers. OSHA successfully sued SeaWorld over Brancheau’s death resulting in a change to the park’s longtime training practices.

On the eve of the 50^th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Warner Bros. has reissued Oliver Stone’ seminal work, JFK. Stone reconstructed events involving key players and added it to eyewitness accounts, archival footage, and his own ideas to advance an alternate theory:  JFK was assassinated by the CIA to prevent troop withdrawals from Vietnam. JFK stars Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Pesci, Gary Oldman, Walter Matthau, and Jack Lemmon and earned eight Academy Award nominations as well as the Golden Globe for Best Director.

Other notable releases today include:

Dexter: The Complete Series 1-8 Collection

Dexter: The Final Season

The Walking Dead: Seasons 1-3

Spartacus 1-4

All the President’s Men Special Edition

IP Man: The Final Fight

Ambushed

Mother

Prince Avalanche

Ocean Predators 3D

Akira 25^th Anniversary Edition

Oliver! Limited Edition (Limited to 3000)

The Way We Were (Limited to 3000)

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