Fast and Furious 6
Universal Pictures has announced that a portion of the DVD sales of Fast and Furious 6 will go to Paul Walker’s charity, Reach Out WorldWide. Walker was killed Nov. 30 in a car crash and the future of Fast and Furious 7, slated for summer 2014, is uncertain. In this sixth instalment, Brian (Walker), Dom (Vin Diesel) and the gang are living the high life abroad. Brian is a father now, so the “old life is done,” warns Dom. But an old face calls the crew back into service, chasing a team of bad guys around the globe. Swift action, bikinis, exotic locales, and dialogue you could write on a napkin: it’s a perfect Fast film. Extras on the blu-ray include choice of extended or theatrical versions, deleted scenes, making-of extra, actor commentary, detailed driving scenes, a look at the cars in the film, fight extras and commentary from director Justin Lin.
Battle of the Year
It’s an underdog story, if you can buy into the fact that America is the underdog. Despite being the country that gave birth to break-dancing, the U.S. hasn’t won the almighty Battle of the Year b-boy competition in 15 years, shaming the country’s forefathers and contributing to the country’s credit-rating downgrade. OK, maybe not. But what you will get is an earnest marriage of Hoosiers and Step Up, and Chris Brown gets punched in the face, so keep the “pause” button at the ready. Laz Alonso and Josh Holloway co-star. Special features on the standard disc: a look inside b-boy culture, training and rehearsal footage, and previews.
The Smurfs 2
In this sequel, Smurfette is held hostage by the evil Gargamel and tempted by “the naughties”, Gargumel’s cheeky minions. It’s up to the little blue guys to come to her rescue before Smurfette succumbs to Stockholm syndrome. Parisien locale, acting and voicework by Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Ricci, Katy Perry, John Oliver, Jonathan Winters, George Lopez and more, with Hank Azaria as Gargamel the highlight, once again. Special features on the standard disc include deleted scenes, a Smurfette bonus, and an extra on the cat Azrael.
