Blu-ray Review: Cornetto Trilogy Now Available in One Set

The three comedies made by writer/director Edgar Wright and stars Simon Pegg & Nick Frost — “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and “The World’s End” — have become collectively known as The Cornetto Trilogy and Universal has been collectively smart enough to release them in one edition, complete with Ultraviolet versions of each beloved film. “The World’s End” is also newly available on Blu-ray and DVD, sure to find legions of loyal fans this holiday season. I like but don’t love “End,” finding it the least satisying of the three films but consider that criticism as coming from someone who adores both “Shaun” and “Fuzz.” There’s still a lot to like here, especially if you want to buy all three.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

“Shaun” was the boys tackling zombie movies, particularly those of George A. Romero, and “Fuzz” saw their sights focused on buddy cop flicks. This time around, they pay homage to end of the world movies like “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and pod people flicks like “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” in a clever riff on both the 12 steps of alcoholism and the idea that you can never truly go home again. They also throw in a little commentary on the general de-personalization of society (also known as Starbucks-ing) and produce quite a few well-choreographed action scenes. I find it all a little too much thematically and narratively as the film gets more cluttered but, man, the cast is just great, especially Pegg & Frost, who one hopes would make a movie together every year. Rosamund Pike should make a movie every few months. She’s great here too. Add in Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, and Paddy Considine and you have a comedy alternative this Oscar season that’s hard to dislike.

The Cornetto Trilogy was released on Blu-ray on November 19, 2013
Photo credit: Universal

Synopsis:
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost reteam with director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) in this wildly entertaining thrill ride that critics call “funny as hell” (Richard Roeper, WLS-AM Chicago) and “sheer comic perfection” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). Twenty years after their first epic pub crawl attempt, the “five musketeers” reunite in their home town to complete the ultimate challenge - one night, five friends, twelve bars - a boozy quest on which only the strongest will survive. But after a bizarre series of encounters with the out-of-this-world locals, they soon realize that reaching their final pub, The World’s End, may be the least of their troubles. They’re having the time of their lives, ready to take on the world… but tonight they may have to save it.

Special Features (The Cornetto Trilogy includes previously-available features for “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”. These are the standalone and trilogy set features for “The World’s End”):
o Storyboard Picture-In-Picture
o Trivia Track
o Edgar & Simon’s Flip Chart
o Deleted Scene
o Outtakes
o Signs & Omens
o Additional Commentaries
o Featurettes
o Completing the Golden Mile: The Making Of The World’s End
o Feature Commentary With Writers Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg

[12]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [13] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [12]