Juno's Blu-ray Cover is Awesome

The Blu-ray cover for Juno's upcoming April 15th DVD release is well worth a second look.

I enjoyed Juno. I thought it was a good film and I had a good time watching it. However, I didn't buy into the hype. I think the film has been awarded a ton of recognition that it doesn't deserve but understand why it has gotten so much attention. I was therefore uncertain whether or not I'd be picking up the DVD come it April 15th shelf date. That was until I saw the Blu-ray cover.



The cover for Juno is by far the best cover currently out there for a Blu-ray disc. It's a great original piece of art that pops out at you all the while keeping with the film's forced independent feel. It's almost as good as the HD DVD cover for David Fincher's Zodiac. Many overlook the importance of a good cover when it comes to a DVD release. I'm often swayed by excellent cover art and can be completely turned off of a good film's DVD simply because of a poor presentation.

The Juno DVD also comes with a digital copy that you can upload to any computer with a valid iTunes account. The movie file can then be downloaded to your iPod or iPhone and viewed on the go. Whether or not the digital version will be in high-def has not been announced but I would assume it will be. Apple announced this feature last month and currently Fox is the only studio taking part.

Juno comes out on DVD on April 15th and will feature a single-disc and two-disc release along with Blu-ray. Click HERE to pre-order your copy at Amazon.

What are some of your favourite DVD covers? Post a comment and let me know.

Cheers.

Subscribe in a reader

October 2009 is Where the Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze's problematic adaptation of the children's book will hit cinemas in October 2009.

Spike Jonze has had a ton of trouble with the film adaptaion of Where the Wild Things Are. The Being John Malkovich director had originally planned to release the film through Universal in 2001, it didn't work out. He then took his ideas to Warner Bros. who bought the rights to the film and pre-production soon got underway. In April of 2006 Jonze began shooting the film in Australia, a production that lasted a long nine months. The film has been in post-production since February of 2007.



It now appears Warner Bros. wants to go back and re-shoot the majority of the movie. The studio showcased the partially-completed film in front of three test audiences in Pasadena and found that it didn't work out as expected. Warner thinks the tone of Jonze's film is too dark and scary and not suited for children. The studio also has problems with actor Max Records playing the lead role in the film and stated that it's hard to connect with his character. Re-shooting the majority of the film will take months and therefore the release date has been pushed back until October 2009, a date 20 months away.

While I understand Where the Wild Things Are is a children's book and the film should be aimed at a younger audience I'd love to see Jonze's more adult-themed adaptation. The footage of the film released two weeks ago looked great and while it was clearly a work in progress it showed a great amount of potential. Maybe Jonze's original WTWTA will be pressed onto a director's cut DVD someday, you never know.

Haven't seen the clip, check it out below. Keep in mind that this is merely a proof of concept test and doesn't include the real voices or completed effects from the film.

Hopefully Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are is able to go problem-free from this point on and manages to hit theatres in October 2009.

Cheers.

Subscribe in a reader

New Hulk, Wolverine Pics

Empire Online has revealed some new pictures from Marvel's upcoming franchise reboots.
New images from both this summer's The Incredible Hulk and next year's X-Men Origins: Wolverine have popped up over at Empire Online.

There are two images from Hulk, one showing Ed Norton losing his cool and the other of William Hurt as General Ross. Both of these pictures are fairly interesting but what I really want to see is a film still of The Hulk in action. Marvel probably won't show one until closer to the film's June release date but I can wait. Click HERE to check out the Empire Hulk pics.



The picture released from X-Men Origins: Wolverine is similar to the first official picture from the film. The image portrays Hugh Jackman's Wolverine to be more aggressive this go around. Hopefully this means we'll see a grittier Logan come next summer. Check out the picture HERE.

MediaZEALOT will continue to post updates on The Incredible Hulk and X-Men Origins: Wolverine leading up their release dates.

Cheers.

Subscribe in a reader

Harley Quinn in TDK?

Soap Opera star's agent lists The Dark Knight as one of her current productions.

RDF Management, a talent agency based out of London, has listed the role of Harley Quinn in The Dark Knight on one of its client's pages. Click HERE to check it out. According to the agency Sarah Jayne Dunn will play the supervillainess in this summer's Batman film. Christopher Nolan has denied the character's involvement in the film up to this point but has not yet commented on today's recent discovery.



I doubt that Dunn will be showing off the red and black tights in TDK. Nolan wouldn't introduce a third villain into the mix and I doubt that it would be kept secret for this long if he had done so. I can see the British actress playing a small role as one of The Joker's accomplices in the film but not in traditional Harley Quinn form.

Then again, Sarah Jayne Dunn is a soap opera star. It's hard to believe someone from mid-afternoon TV would have a chance at coming out on top in an audition for Chris Nolan.

We'll find out soon enough whether or not Harley Quinn will be a part of The Dark Knight. MediaZEALOT will keep you posted on all things TDK up until its release in July.

Cheers.

Subscribe in a reader

Metal Gear Solid 4 Release Date Announced

Konami has revealed that MGS4 will have a street date of June 12th.

It appears that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots finally has a release date. Konami has announced they plan to ship the game for a June 12th street date and that a Metal Gear PS3 bundle will come out around the same time.



This is the game the PS3 needs to gain momentum as a gaming system. The PS3 has been picking up quite a bit of steam lately with the recent success of Sony's Blu-ray format. However, many are viewing the console as a cheap Blu-ray player and not as a gaming system. Sony needs to start releasing quality games for their machine as MGS4 will be a giant step in the right direction.

Sony has plans to release a Metal Gear PS3 bundle around the same time as the game's release in June. The bundle will include an 80GB PS3, a recently announced Dual Shock 3 controller, and Metal Gear 4 along with an online start pack.

Speaking of online, Sony has revealed that gamers who pre-order Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be accepted into an online beta similar to what Bungie did with Halo 3 last spring. The beta plans to begin in late April and there has been no word on how long it will last.

Metal Gear 4 should be a great game and provide the push Sony needs to sell their PS3 as a gaming system. Keep checking back to MediaZEALOT as we'll provide MGS4 updates leading up to its release.

Cheers.

Subscribe in a reader

THIS WEEK ON DVD: February 26th

MediaZEALOT weighs in the top DVDs hitting shelves on February 26th.

While the list of films hitting DVD this week isn't as well-rounded as last week's there are still quite a few good titles worth picking up. Click either the DVD box-art or title to get paged through to Amazon.

30 Days of Night
David Slade's first movie since 2005's Hard Candy is the film adaptation of Steve Niles' horror comic book 30 Days of Night. The film is a decent suspense picture as Slade sets a dark mood and maintains it throughout the visually stylistic film. Josh Hartnett and Melissa George lend good performances while Ben Foster and Danny Huston are great as always. I'll be picking this one up on Blu-ray later today and will post a review as soon as I can.
VERDICT: Buy if you are a suspense fan.

The Darjeeling Limited
I really enjoyed The Darjeeling Limited when I saw it in theatres back in October and have been anticipating its release on DVD. The film's comedic in a way only Wes Anderson can be and feels right at home along with The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic. Darjeeling Limited was one of the best overlooked films of 2007 and I hope it gets the attention it deserves on DVD.
VERDICT: Buy if you enjoy Wes Anderson films.


Beowulf
I skipped watching Beowulf in theatres for reasons unknown. I wasn't that interested in the film then but wanted to catch it in Imax 3D. I don't mind Robert Zemeckis as he's a very talented director but I'm not sure this style of CGI filmmaking is for me. However, I will give this unrated DVD a rent and check it out. It's out on HD DVD and, while I don't recommend buying into the failed format, I do think this film would look amazing in HD.
VERDICT: Rent the HD DVD or wait for Blu-ray.

Justice League: The New Frontier
DC's animated adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's 2003 comic event of the same name arrives on DVD today. I haven't heard much about the disc but it looks pretty neat. The art looks like it has captured Cooke's style perfectly, let's hope the story can recreate what made the comic series so great. New Frontier is available as a single-disc, part of a two-disc special edition, or on Blu-ray and HD DVD.
VERDICT: Buy if you're a fan of the DC heroes.


Today's Other Releases:

Death at a Funeral - Frank Oz's comedy about a dysfunctional British family has had mixed reviews. The film stars Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, and Alan Tudyk.

Goya's Ghosts - Milos Forman's tale of painted Francisco Goya has flown under the radar after disappointing reviews and a mere $743,000 box office. However, with the recent Oscar win of Javier Bardem the film will most likely earn some attention on DVD. Natalie Portman also stars in the film.

The Last Emperor - Criterion Collection - Bernardo Bertolucci's oriental epic has withstood the test of time over the past 20 years and is well deserving of being a member of the Criterion Collection. The visuals in this film are truly remarkable. The film stars John Lone, Joan Chen, and Peter O'Toole.

That's all for this week. Check back next week for more DVD releases including Awake, Into the Wild, and Things We Lost in the Fire.

Buy a DVD today? Post a comment and tell us what you picked up or what you are planning to buy.

Cheers.

Subscribe in a reader