Amazon Blogs: Armchair Commentary Daily Digest

Check out these Updates from Armchair Commentary for October 6, 2010.

“Avatar”: Are These The Special Features You’ve Been Looking For? October 6, 2010 When Avatar came out on Blu-ray and DVD in April 2010, it instantly became a bestseller and made a lot of fans happy that they could add it to their home collections. But the release also received its fair share of complaints for its lack of special features. Nestled in the four-star review given to it by Amazon.com customers were 277 one-star reviews with comments like the following: "This early release version contains NO EXTRAS OF ANY KIND (i.e. no additional scenes, no running commentary, no trailers, no anything!)" "...if making of docs and whatnot are of importance to you, then your best bet is to rent this version..." "I was disappointed with the lack of any features besides just the theatrical release. If you want to own this movie, wait for a more feature-rich version." True to what many of our reviewers predicted, Fox now has announced a "feature-rich" version to bow on Blu-ray and DVD on Nov. 16, 2010. The three-disc extended collector's edition of Avatar offers three editions of the movie: the original theatrical release from 2009, the special theatrical re-release from last summer, and an extended cut with never-before-seen footage including an alternate opening on Earth (sorry, still no Blu-ray 3D edition). Both the DVD and Blu-ray have 45 minutes of deleted scenes and a feature-length documentary on the 16-year journey to create the movie. But the Blu-ray set offers much more. It contains more than eight hours of extras in total. Along with what's already been mentioned--plus screen tests, on-set footage, the art of Avatar, and a bunch of production featurettes--the final "Pandora's Box" disc has a feature that lets customers interactively explore 17 scenes in three different modes of production. There's also extras out on BD-Live for anyone with a capable player that's connected to the Internet. Will this extended collector's edition give you what you want? Will you buy it even if you have the first Blu-ray or DVD in your library? --Aaron Knopf –Aaron Knopf Chilling Children: 12 Movie Tots Who Terrified Before "Case 39" October 6, 2010 Though Paramount doesn't seem to have much faith in the supernatural thriller Case 39 , with Renee Zellwegger as a social worker investigating a mysterious young girl ( Jodelle Ferland from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ) -- after beginning production in 2006, it's... read more

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