Blu-ray Review: Manly Movies Released in Time For Father’s Day

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CHICAGO – It’s that time of year again when studios look deep into their catalogs and pull out a few lucky titles for potential consumers to give dear old dad on Father’s Day. What got the HD upgrade for the 2012 holiday? Warner Bros. has released one underrated gem and two mediocre “manly movies” in “A Perfect World,” “Blood Work,” and “U.S. Marshals.”

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Clint Eastwood’s “A Perfect World” is a very, very good film, the true gem in this trio of holiday releases and the one that I would recommend well above the other two titles. However, one could do a lot worse than “Blood Work” (also directed by Eastwood) or the sequel to “The Fugitive,” “U.S. Marshals.” I suppose if I needed to pick a second place, it would be Eastwood’s flawed-but-entertaining thriller. “U.S. Marshals” just doesn’t hold a candle to the Oscar-winning film that inspired it.

The sad thing about rushed holiday releases like this is that they often come with little fanfare. None of the three releases come with any new special features and “A Perfect World” comes with no bonus material at all. That’s a shame given that next year marks the 20th anniversary of the film and could have made for an opportunity for a real special edition. If you (or dear old dad) owns all three of these movies on DVD already, it’s hard to say that just the HD upgrade is worth the money. If not, and dad is an Eastwood or TLJ fan, pop could do a lot worse than one of these on daddy day.

“Blood Work”

Blood Work was released on Blu-ray on June 5, 2012
Photo credit: WB

Synopsis:
FBI profiler Terry McCaleb almost always gets to the heart of a case. This time, that heart beats inside him. He’s a cardiac patient who received a murder victim’s heart. And the donor’s sister asks him to make good on his second chance by finding the killer. That’s just the first of many twists in a smart, gritty suspense thriller that’s “vintage Eastwood: swift, surprising and very, very exciting” (Jim Svejda, KNX/CBS Radio).

Clint Eastwood produces, directs and stars in this edgy acclaimed mystery based on Michael Connelly’s novel and scripted by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential). With a superb cast brought to a hard boil playing characters to quicken your pulse and hold you spellbound, Blood Work works exceptionally well.

Special Features
o Get to the Heart of This Thriller’s Production in Making Blood Work
o A Conversation in Spanish with Clint Eastwood, Wanda de Jesus and Paul Rodriguez
o Theatrical Trailer
o Teaser Trailer

“A Perfect World”

A Perfect World was released on Blu-ray on June 5, 2012
Photo credit: WB

Synopsis:
Academy Award winners Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood confront each other from opposite sides of the law in A Perfect World, an acclaimed, multilayered manhunt saga (directed by Eastwood) that rumbles down Texas backroads toward a harrowing collision with fate.

Costner plays Butch Haynes, a hardened prison escapee on the lam with a young hostage (T.J. Lowther in a remarkable film debut) who sees in Butch the father figure he never had. Eastwood is wily Texas Ranger Red Garnett, leading deputies and a criminologist (Laura Dern) in a statewide pursuit. Red knows every road and pothole in the Panhandle. What’s more, he knows the elusive Haynes - because their paths have crossed before.

“U.S. Marshals”

U.S. Marshals was released on Blu-ray on June 5, 2012
Photo credit: WB

Synopsis:
We are initiating a hard-target search for a fugitive in an ever-widening perimeter. We will navigate swamps, prowl Manhattan streets, search every house and doghouse. And since Marshal Sam Gerard leads the hunt, we will experience suspense, action and daring twists every step of the way.

Returning to his Oscar-winning role from The Fugitive, Tommy Lee Jones joins Wesley Snipes and Robert Downey Jr. in delivering adrenaline-rush excitement. The chase is highlighted by an out-of-control 727, a death match in a ship’s cargo hold, a 12-stroy plunge onto a moving train and more heart-pounding sequences. Sign up with the U.S. Marshals!

Special Features
o Anatomy of the Plane Crash
o Justice Under the Star
o Commentary by Director Stuart Baird
o Theatrical Trailer

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com