“Snowpiercer” and “The Purge: Anarchy” Top Week’s New Blu-Rays

There’s a little something for everybody among Blu-Ray releases for the week of October 20.

Snowpiercer – One of the best sci-fi adventures of the past few years, Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer takes place in a future where an attempt to control global warming has accidentally frozen the world. The only survivors continually span the globe on a perpetual-motion train. Chris Evans plays one of the poor, who are confined to the dirty, overcrowded rear cars. He leads a revolt to get up front, where the wealthy are, and take control.

Stylishly photographed and filled with exciting action, Snowpiercer is also a film with great substance, as it uses a sci-fi concept to explore issues of class warfare and economic repression. It’s riveting from start to finish, and not to be missed.

Bonus features are a nearly hour-long making-of documentary, two additional behind-the-scenes featurettes, an animated prologue, a segment with stars Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton, conceptual art galleries, and a look at the film’s promotional tour through Texas. Most intriguing is a full-length commentary, moderated by Geek Nation’s Scott Weinberg, that brings together a group of passionate film critics to analyze the movie.

The Purge: AnarchyThis sequel follows another group of people trying to survive an annual ritual wherein all crime is legal for one night. Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, and Zach Gilford star.

Bonus features are rather limited, but there is a short making-of doc and, on Blu-Ray only, some deleted scenes.

Sex Tape – Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel play a married couple who film themselves having sex to spice up their love life. The resulting video is improbably delivered to all their friends and family members, setting off a manic quest to prevent anyone from seeing it. The execution of this premise is neither as raunchy nor as funny as it sounds.

Blu-Ray features are a blooper reel, three deleted/extended scenes, a montage of alternate jokes, a short piece featuring the two stars and director Jake Kasdan discussing the film’s sexual material, and a segment in which a real-life relationship counselor discusses how the story’s themes apply in the real world.

Also hitting Blu this week are the comedy documentary The Fluffy Movie, starring Gabriel Iglesias; the zombie rom-com Life After Beth, with Dane DeHaan and Aubrey Plaza; the kids’ fantasy Earth to Echo; the horror sequel See No Evil 2 (directed by the Soska Sisters); Scream Factory’s awesome box set, The Vincent Price Collection Vol. II, and the delightfully bonkers sci-fi adventure The Scribbler.

What are you planning to buy on Blu-Ray this week? Let us know in the comments section.


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Author Profile: Consumer Expert Mike McGranaghan

Mike McGranaghan is the film critic for The Aisle Seat. His film writing can also be found at Film Racket and Daily Grindhouse, and his reviews are heard weekly on the radio stations of Sunbury Broadcasting Corporation. He is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Online Film Critics Society, as well as the author of two books, "Straight-Up Blatant" and "My Year of Chevy."

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