Apparently, most of the U.S. was out celebrating Memorial Day weekend. After all, the UK seems to be dominating the Blu-ray releases this week -- at least the good ones.
So we're giving our spotlight slot to Doctor Who: Series Seven - Part Two. This is the second half of the insanely popular British sci-fi series. If you're buying that, you're probably also going to want the Christmas special. Well, the BBC also has an entire release dedicated to Doctor Who: The Snowmen.
Of course, not everyone was knee-deep in burgers this weekend. Studios are hoping you'll want to check out Keri Russell delving into the supernatual, John Cusack going deep undercover, and Elizabeth Taylor -- well, acting like the queen that she was.
Did we miss one of your favorites for the week? Have something to say about one of this week's new releases? Sound off in the comments below. Otherwise, all of these titles are out as of May 28, 2013, except where noted. Enjoy!
Doctor Who: Series Seven - Part Two
About six months after the first part of the series got a Blu-ray, the good Doctor is back. This is the second half of the season with the current Doctor (Matt Smith). Even more important, it marks the introduction of Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman). Featuring episodes written by Steven Moffat, Neil Gaiman and Mark Gatiss, this season also has a slew of special guest stars. Be on the lookout for Celia Imrie, Richard E Grant, Warwick Davies, Jessica Raine, Dougray Scott and Tamzin Outhwaite, as well as mother-daughter combo Dame Diana Rigg and Rachael Stirling.
This 2-disc set has episodes 6 through 13. If you're seeking out the 2012 Christmas special, that can be had with the separate, stand-alone release, Doctor Who: The Snowmen, which is also out this week. As far as the Series Seven set is concerned, all of the episodes have a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. There's also two shorts about "The Snowmen," as well as a prequel for "The Bells of Saint John," and 45 minutes for "The Companions." [BBC]
Cleopatra: 50th Anniversary Limited Edition
Elizabeth Taylor was the queen of Hollywood. Here, she's the queen of Egypt -- in one of her most well known roles. It's love, betrayal and one of Taylor's best performances. Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown, Hume Cronyn and Martin Landau also star in this epic drama.
This isn't Cleopatra's first rodeo. The film has been on Blu-ray before. However, this is a 50th anniversary release, which comes packing a 2.35:1 image, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, and a Dolby Digital 4.0 track. The 2-disc set also has commentary across two discs, several short featurettes, and the feature-length "Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood," all of which is packaged up a special, limited-edition digibook. [Fox]
The Numbers Station
It's absolutely criminal that John Cusack doesn't want to do the sequel to Hot Tub Time Machine. Does he need to free up his schedule to do more films like this? Here he plays Emerson Kent, a veteran CIA black ops agent with something to prove. His mission? To protect Malin Akerman, an uber-hot code operator. Of course, he also needs to deal with the top-secret remote CIA "Numbers Station," where encrypted messages are sent and received.
Image Entertainment has given this single-disc release a 2.40:1 image, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, and a 15-minute making-of featurette. [Image Entertainment]
Dark Skies
To many, Keri Russell will always be Felicity Porter, so it may be difficult to see her fending off aliens in this supernatural thriller. Well, it may be difficult anyway. That said, a big-screen mom's got to do what she's got to do, when said aliens are looking to harm her offspring. Josh Hamilton and J.K. Simmons also star.
The movie isn't the greatest, but the AV presentation is a whole other story -- and it's not a scary one! Expect a 2.40:1 image, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, the standard-def DVD and an UltraViolet Digital Copy. Other than that, there's a collection of deleted scenes and commentary with director Scott Stewart, producer Jason Brum, executive producer Brian Kavanugh-Jones and editor Peter Gvozdas. [Anchor Bay]
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