Today Panasonic introduced the MN2WS006, the first single chip signal processing LSI for Blu-ray Disc players. The new chip will allow mounting surface to be 50% smaller, it will use 25% less power and it is compatible with profile 2.0 standards, which include functions such as dual-screen simultaneous video playback, high-quality audio playback and network compatibility. The MN2WS006 will have the Panasonic’s updated UniPhier platform and will support all high definition video and audio formats. Before this chip, players required seven external memory chips and separate front and back end LSIs. This new technology will allow Panasonic to make players slimmer.
Panasonic will start having samples shipped out on June.
Warner has announced the specs on the upcoming blu-ray 10,000 B.C. This is a relatively new movie that was just recently on theaters but Warner has already set its release date on blu-ray for June 24th, 2008. The blu-ray version will include two exclusive extras: “A Wild and Wooly Ride” and “Inspiring an Epic”. From director Roland Emmerich, who worked on “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow”, comes a sweeping odyssey into a mythical age of prophesies and gods, when spirits rule the land and mighty mammoths shake the earth.
Synopsis
In a remote mountain tribe, the young hunter D’Leh (Steven Strait) has found his heart’s passion – the beautiful Evolet (Camilla Belle). But when a band of mysterious warlords raid his village and kidnap Evolet, D’Leh leads a small group of hunters to pursue the warlords to the end of the world to save her. As they venture into unknown lands for the first time, the group discovers there are civilizations beyond their own and that mankind’s reach is far greater than they ever knew. At each encounter the group is joined by other tribes who have been attacked by the slave raiders, turning D’Leh’s once-small band into an army. Driven by destiny, the unlikely warriors must battle prehistoric predators while braving the harshest elements. At their heroic journey’s end, they uncover a lost civilization and learn their ultimate fate lies in an empire beyond imagination, where great pyramids reach into the skies……
With several historical inaccuracies such as: Eighteen foot long sabre tooth tigers and mastodons did not exist in Mesopotamia and northeast Africa at the time depicted; Horses did not become domesticated by man until about 4000 years after the setting of this movie; And Chilli Peppers did not leave the Americas until Portuguese sailors brought them to Europe on the 17th century. But all this is fine as the real objective of the movie is not relate facts but entertain its viewers. That, the movie certainly does!
On June 10th Warner brings ‘Natural Born Killers‘ back to life. One of the those “Love it or Hate it” films, it was originally released in 94 and considered among the most controversial films ever made. This Oliver Stone movie shows a completely distorted view of reality. The famous director seems to have outdone himself on this movie. Not only is Natural Born Killers a visual masterpiece with great outdoors and indoors shots. It is also an insane, bloody and brilliant satire that makes you think about the power of media when the story glorifies crazy murderers.
While there is definitely a strong social statement, the story is too erratic and scattered to be completely coherent. Visually however, Natural Born Killers is stunning. It is intensely colorful, unflinchingly violent and innovative in its cinematography. It will be exciting seeing it on HD after so many years! This movie is not for most, but if you decide to try it out, be warned: It is not for the faint of heart, and not for the weak of stomach. Apparently, the Blu-ray version will not have the unrated four minutes of censored footage that was previously released on DVD, it will have only the 118 minutes theatrical version.
Synopsis:
Delivery boy Mickey Knox (Woody Harrelson) falls in love with his customer Mallory Wilson (Juliette Lewis). He soon helps her kill her abusive father (Rodney Dangerfield) and enabling mother (Edie McClurg), beginning their macabre journey down Route 66. Their M.O.: every few miles, they attack everyone within their site, invariably leaving only one person alive to tell the tale. The two are made famous by unscrupulous reporter Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr.), as they run all across the country, pursued by the equally sadistic Jack Scagnetti (Tom Sizemore). Just before the trial, a ratings-whoring interview by the same reporter who made them famous leads to pandemonium, not just within the prison itself, but nationwide.
Specs
BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc
Video Resolution/Codec
1080p/VC-1
Aspect Ratio
1.85:1
Audio Formats
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround
Subtitles/Captions
English SDH
French Subtitles
Spanish Subtitles
Extras
Audio Commentary with Oliver Stone
Deleted Scenes
Alternate Ending
Charlie Rose interview with Oliver Stone
Theatrical Trailer
Exclusive packaging with 42-page book featuring rare photos and press materials plus Oliver Stone’s all-new thought-provoking essay on the film
Men in Black is finally coming to blu-ray! Sony has announced it will come out on June 17th. The disc will be profile 2.0 compatible and will have an exclusive interactive game (Intergalactic Pursuit) via BD-Live. NOTE: Only profile 2.0 compatible players will be able to enjoy this feature! But if you don’t have one, don’t worry, there are many other features for you to play and enjoy!
The picture to the left is from an ad that will come out on ‘Home Media Magazine’ next week. It is great how they used the neat tagline “Blu is the new Black!”. Sony has a suggested retail price of $28.95 for the Blu-ray-YEAH YEAH we know…it is not cheap! Stop complaining! New technology is never cheap.
The disc will come with all the extras from the 2001 standard DVD release including “Telestrator Commentary” (with director Barry Sonnenfeld and Tommy Lee Jones), second “Technical Commentary” (with Sonnenfeld, effects artist Rick Baker, and the Industrial Light & Magic Team), deleted and alternate scenes, the “Metamorphosis of Men in Black ” vignette, visual effects scene deconstructions with optional technical commentary, character animation studies, storyboards, two still galleries (with concept art and production photos), a “Scene Editing Workshop,” the “Men in Black ” music video with Will Smith and Mikey, and theatrical trailer.
This was a huge blockbuster and I am sure most people know the movie but for those who have been space traveling or in deep coma for the last 10 years, we have a small synopsis:
In present-day America, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) is a member of an organization that has been keeping track of extra-terrestrial aliens on Earth for over 40 years. When K finds himself in need of a new partner, a brash NYPD detective, James Edwards (Will Smith) fills the position, becoming Agent J. Armed with space-age technology (which J barely understands) and their razor-sharp wits, J and K investigate a newcomer who is bad news for Earth. He is searching for a super energy source called “The Galaxy”. Now, Agents J and K must stop the bug before it can escape with the “Galaxy”.
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Technical Specs
Blu-ray
BD-Live Enabled
Region A
Video Resolution/Codec
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio(s)
1.85:1
Audio Formats
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround
Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles/Captions
English SDH, subtitle options including French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai.
Based on the best selling science-fiction novel by Steven Gould, Jumper is a movie with a new theme, something not over explored by Hollywood. It has something new and cool every five minutes. A journey through space and time, Jumper stars Hayden Christensen from “Star Wars”, the great Samuel L. Jackson and Diane Lane from “Untraceable”. David Rice (Hayden Christensen) is a young man who discovers he has the ability to teleport himself anywhere in the world by visualizing his destination. Loving his new gift, he starts enjoying to the fullest until he discovers that he is not the only person with those abilities. There are other “Jumpers” and all of them are pursued by a group of fanatics who sworn to destroy those with that gift because they beleive only God should have the power to be everywhere. David then forms alliance with another young Jumper named Griffin (Jamie Bell; King Kong, Flags of our Fathers) and becomes a key player in a thousand year-old war between jumpers and those who hunt them down.
Jumper was directed by Doug Liman the same Director from Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Bourne Identity and brings some very nice special effects. The Blu-ray is scheduled to be released June 10th.
Blu-ray Specs:
BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc
Bonus View (Profile 1.1)
Region A
Video Resolution/Codec
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio(s)
2.40:1
Audio Formats
English DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround (48kHz/24-bit)
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Subtitles/Captions
English SDH
French Subtitles
Spanish Subtitles
Cantonese Subtitles
Korean Subtitles
Mandarin Subtitles
Extras
Audio commentary by director Doug Liman, writer-producer Simon Kinberg and producer Lucas Foster
This June Blu-ray will get a great new release: The Recruit. The film stars Colin Farrell, Al Pacino and Bridget Moynahan. Its Video will be presented as 1080p AVC and sound as 5.1 PCM soundtrack. The Extras will be the same as the DVD release.
A story about a brilliant young man who is approached while working at a night club by Walter Burke (Al Pacino), a CIA recruiter. He is asked to join the elite branch of American intelligence but later discovers how complex and dangerous the job can be. James Clayton (Colin Farrell) who graduated at top of his class at MIT and is pondering his next move while he works as a bartender. Walter Burke (Al Pacino) describes himself as “a scary judge of talent” and believes Clayton is just the sort of man the CIA needs. Clayton accepts the offer as he also suspects his father (whom Burke claims to have known) worked for the Agency. Clayton is then sent CIA’s secret training camp and soon becomes obvious that Burke’s intuition has not failed him. While training in the secret camp, Clayton develops a special interest at one of his fellow students, Layla (Bridget Moynahan), a beautiful woman whose skills equal his own. In spite of the clear attraction Clayton tries to keep in mind Burke’s dictum that “nothing is as it seems,” especially when Clayton is given a special assignment — find the mole within the Agency’s training program who is actually feeding information to America’s enemies.
This is a great movie that catches your attention from beginning to end. It has a great plot and now we will see if the high definition will add even more to this successful movie.
Special Features
-”Spy School: Inside the CIA Training Program” — never-before-seen look inside the CIA
- Deleted scenes with optional commentary
- Feature commentary with director Roger Donaldson and Colin Farrell
- Director’s original 1.77:1 aspect ratio shows more of the film than was presented to theaters
- Widescreen enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions
- DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- THX-certified
- French-language track
- Spanish subtitles
Today Panasonic introduced the MN2WS006, the first single chip signal processing LSI for Blu-ray Disc players. The new chip will allow mounting surface to be 50% smaller, it will use 25% less power and it is compatible with profile 2.0 standards, which include functions such as dual-screen simultaneous video playback, high-quality audio playback and network compatibility. The MN2WS006 will have the Panasonic’s updated UniPhier platform and will support all high definition video and audio formats. Before this chip, players required seven external memory chips and separate front and back end LSIs. This new technology will allow Panasonic to make players slimmer.
Synopsis
Based on the best selling science-fiction novel by Steven Gould, Jumper is a movie with a new theme, something not over explored by 
