All right, so I finally saw Man of Steel last night… and I actually think it’s pretty damn good.  More on that at another time.  The point is, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Blu-ray pre-orders for the film go live on Amazon in the next couple weeks, so be sure to watch for them.

Meanwhile, BD, BD3D and DVD pre-orders for Paramount’s Iron Man 3are now live on Amazon.  There are no official details or cover artwork yet, but they’re definitely up for pre-order so click on the links provided if you’d care to do so.

Before we begin today, I want to call attention to a pair of great new History, Legacy and Showmanship columns by our own Michael Coate that went up here while I was away: 007… Fifty Years Strong (featuring interviews with noted Bond franchise historians) and Cleopatra: The Roadshow Engagements (looking back at the roadshow history of the film on the occasion of its 50th anniversary).  Both are well worth your time, so do check them out.

All right, the big catalog news from the last week is that Warner and Paramount are releasing Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection on Blu-ray on 9/13 (SRP $129.95 – it’s just $91 on Amazon).  The set will include all 10 original films plus Freddy vs. Jason and the 2009 remake (7 of which are new to Blu-ray), 11 hours of all-new extras, a Killer Bonus DVD disc with additional extras, a 40-page book with excerpts from Crystal Lake Memories, a Cam Crystal Lake counselor patch and limited tin packaging.  You can see the cover art below.  Warner has also set Paramount’s Airplane II: The Sequel for BD release on 10/8.

[Editor’s Note: Just as I was completing this post, word came in that actor James Gandolfini has apparently died of a suspected heart attack while in Italy. He was 51. News of this is just breaking on Deadline Hollywood so visit that site for details. More on it tomorrow.]

Evening, folks. I hope this post finds you all well. I’ll be back with my regular news post tomorrow morning, to catch you all up on the usual release news and whatnot from the past week or so. We’ve posted a lot of content here at The Bits over the last week, but not much in the way of news. The reason for that is that I’ve been on vacation for the past 10 days in Alaska – the land of bears, whales and (right now) 19 hours of daylight. Sarah and I went with family on a little wilderness adventure to places like Skagway, Juneau, Anchorage and Denali National Park up near Mt. McKinley.

Time for this week’s round-up of what’s new in MOD from the Warner Archive Collection. In addition, Sony last week quietly added some new titles to their own MOD program, the Sony Pictures Choice Collection. Don’t forget that the Warner Archive website offers one-stop shopping for Warner, Sony and MGM releases.

WARNER ARCHIVE – NEW THIS WEEK

Black Market Babies (1945) – Another ripped-from-today’s-headlines exploitation expose from Poverty Row studio Monogram Pictures. Ralph Morgan stars as a disgraced, alcoholic doctor who teams up with lowlife Kane Richmond to create a “private maternity ward” for new mothers to dump off their unwanted brats.

All right, anyone out there got a bad case of the Mondays?  Well, coffee up ‘cause we’ve got a couple things here at the site this morning to help shape you right up...

First, we’re kicking things off this week with a new View from the Cheap Seats column from our own Bud Elder!  Ol’ Bud has plenty more great tales to tell from his years in and around the film business, this week featuring none other than a singing cowboy named Jimmy Wakely, another classic western star in the person of Lash LaRue and much more.  Don’t miss it!

Also this morning, Tim Salmons has turned in a new Blu-ray Disc review of Paolo Sorrentino’s This Must Be the Place, starring Sean Penn and now available on Blu-ray from Anchor Bay.

Seriously, is there anything more gloriously American than the singing cowboy?  A white hat-wearing, square-jawed male specimen equipped with a sharp aim, a stout heart and a dramatic tenor, the performance of which would cause even a tone deaf villain to tip his hat?

We seem to have the singing cowboy on our minds here in Oklahoma – Roy and Dale were actually married in Davis, and Ol’ Gene has an entire town that bears his moniker – the only such in America named for a movie star. 

But today it is not of the first team we speak – no, our long legged guitar pickin’ men also enjoyed “B” picture status and played for teams bearing names such as Monogram.  We speak today of Oklahoma born Jimmy Wakely, whose cinematic exploits have recently been released in wonderful box sets from Warner Archive.

Okay, we’re closing out the week with a couple of new Blu-ray Disc reviews…

First up today, Joe Marchese has turned in a review of Cohen Media Group’s Perfect Understanding on Blu-ray Disc.  This 1933 film, directed by Cyril Gardner, is now available on Blu-ray.  Also today, Dr. Adam Jahnke rounds things out this morning with a review of Scream Factory’s Ninja III: The Domination!  This 1984 oddball classic arrived in stores on Blu-ray this past Tuesday.  It’s not often you’ll see Jahnke use the word ‘jazzercise’ in a Blu-ray review, but here it is.  Enjoy!

We’ve got a couple more great new Blu-ray Disc reviews for you guys today.  First up, Joe Marchese has dropped in with his analysis of Jacques Audiard’s recent Rust and Bone (De rouille et d’os), now available on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Classics.  Also this morning, Tim has given Paramount’s Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Unrated Cut) a spin.  The disc arrived in stores on Tuesday.

Not to be outdone, Mario Boucher has a new Inside Cinema column for you looking at the history of the Fast & Furious franchise.  Do give it a look.

All right, this is just a really quick update to bring you a couple new reviews, and let you all know that I’ll be back to full news, e-mail and Internet operations tomorrow.

As for those reviews… I’ve turned in my thoughts on Criterion’s excellent Blu-ray upgrade of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low – one of my favorite films from the director.  The disc is available in stores now.  And the good Doctor has checked in his musings on Universal’s Mama on Blu-ray, directed by Andy Muschietti, presented by Guillermo del Toro and staring Jessica Chastain (of Zero Dark Thirty fame).  It’s also now available.  Enjoy!

That’s it for now.  Back tomorrow with a announcement news update, the weekly Release Dates & Artwork update and more.

Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt

[Note: This piece includes spoilers for all six films in the Fast & Furious series – you’ve been warned!]

The Fast & Furious movies are a combination of fast cars, diverse casts and simple plotlines that add up to a guilty pleasure. 

None of the Fast & Furious movies are classic by any stretch but there’s something undeniable about the level of entertainment they provide to the audience.  When the original The Fast and The Furious came out in 2001, not much was expected of it.  The cast was largely unknown and the idea rather simple.  But the movie became a franchise, with some sputtering along the way.