Gladiator is finally making its way onto Blu-ray film. The Ridely Scott masterpiece depicting the final days of Marcus Aurelius reign stars an outstanding Russell Crowe as the revengeful gladiator.

Gladiator bluray film is released in crisp 1080p HD resolution with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and spread across two action packed discs. It clockes in at a lenghty but never boring 155  minutes. Well worth an investment to any blu ray movie library.

Gladiator blu ray is to be released on 7th September in the UK.

Not sure what to watch this weekend? How about a double bill of animation brilliance? Family friendly comedy Madagascar was recently released in UK as Blu-ray, both the original and second movie – Madagascar Escape to Africa Blu-ray.

Although I am yet to watch the blu-ray releases myself both blu-ray movies have received strong reviews for its sharp images and pristine Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack.

Easter is here. Now, what to watch… Here are three ideas with some (although very minor) connection to Easter:

1. The house bunny – ridicuolous comedy about a playboy bunny
2. Easter promises – hard boiled drama, let’s hope this is not what your Easter will be like
3. Chicken little – sweet family comedy about a little chick

Finally Friday! Only a couple of more hours until the first pint and a few laughs.  Here’s a couple of ideas for a fun filled evening:

1. Tropic Thunder – Think I haven’t had this much fun at the movies since… ever.. A top comedy from the comedy rat pack.
2. Wall-e – Animated glory from Disney. This little robot will make you laugh without use of words, this is slap stick gold that earned 5 stars in our blu ray review
3. Little Miss Sunshine – A sweet story with a great cast.
4. Be Kind Rewind – Jack Black and Mos Def are stellar in this comedy about a video store gone magnetised.
5. Burn after reading – Although we didn’t give it a rave review, the movie got some high points for Coen fan

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Although the latest Bond installment was released on Monday 23rd, it has already set a new record for 2009 in terms of both DVD and Blu-ray sales.

According to Whathifi.com, already on its first day Quantum of Solace sold 522,926 copies of DVD and Blu-Ray, of which about 10 per cent are blu-ray.

Read our full Quantum of Solace Blu-Ray Review

There’s pretty much two reasons for any actor to be typecast; either you’re clever at leveraging their own unique style to make loads of money off it (e.g. Eddie Murphy), or they’ve just got very limited acting skills and stuck playing the same old character year in year out (e.g. Eugene Levy, the dad in American pie).

My list is focused on British actors that I think are particularly typecast, and is excluding the most obvious ones due to film series, e.g. Sean Connery et al, and Patrick Stewart.

6) Kenneth Branagh -  thou art mighty yet - Perhaps not so much type cast, as “genre cast” by own choice for a couple of years
Movies: Speaking funny in Henry V, Hamlet, and Othello

5) Jude Law - The Lothario. Although he would hate it and has made a real effort not to be typecast, I can’t avoid thinking of Jude Law as a babyfaced ladies man.
Movies: Sweet talking his way through I love you I love you not, Alfie, and Sleuth

4) Clive Owen - The Testosterone High Tough Guy. A proper man’s man.
Films: Being a bad-ass in Croupier, Bourne Identity, King Arthur, Closer, Sin City, and Children of Men to mention a few

3) Gary Oldman – The Villain. Gary has been doing this role since 1991 as he played (supposedly) super villain Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK.
Movies: In addition to JFK, he has played Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a pimp in True Romance, corrupt cop in the Professional, an evil warden in Murder in the First, evil Zorg in Fifth Element, Russian bad guy in Air Force One, and Verger in Hannibal to mention af few.

2) Keira Knightley - Like Branagh, Kiera is enjoying her period pieces where she doesn’t have to wear jeans but instead big fantasy dresses.
Movies: Princess of Thieves, Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Silk, The Duchess

1) Hugh Grant  - The lazy middle aged womanizer. My definite top choice for most typecast British current actor.
Movies: Music and Lyrics, American Dreamz, Bridget Jones movies, Love actually, Nothing Hill, Four Weddings…

So that’s my list, please share your thoughts and own list in the comments below.

This is my list of films, in no particular order, i would love to see on Blu-Ray along with my reasoning behind my choices. There are of course many more i could have included, Citizen Kane, North By Northwest, Withnail & I are all favourites of mine, but these are the ones i’d most like to see on Blu-Ray because of the superior sound and picture.

1. Se7en
   David Finchers masterpiece got a great remastering for the 2-Disc special dvd a couple of years back and this crime opus deserves the treatment on Blu-Ray.
2. Saving Private Ryan
   Spielberg at his best, and who wouldnt love to see and hear the Omaha beach landing in 1080p and DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio?
3. Lord of the Rings
   Heard rumours of a 2009 release but no confirmation yet. But imagine those battle scenes on Blu-ray, enough said.
4. Fight Club
   No real reason for this other than i love the film!
5. Star Wars
   The original trilogy please. C’mon Mr Lucas pull your finger out.
6. Leon
   Yes im aware of the dodgy imports you can buy off Amazon and Ebay for about £40  but i want this cracking thriller on a bona fide disc not some iffy German dvd please!
7. The Great Escape
   Probably my favourite film of all time. Been watching this yearly since i was about 3!
8. Jurassic Park
   Just because you know it’ll look and sound sensational.
9. Heat
   Great film, best gunfight ever filmed too. I cant wait to hear those bullets fly in TRUEHD or DTS-HD.
10. Aliens
    Great film, would be even greater on Blu-Ray, c’mon FOX you’ve done the crappy AVP’s now do the proper films in HD.

Well thats my list, though my tastes and favourites change by the month depending on my mood these are all films i have viewed over and over through the years and will continue to do so, though hopefully soon i will be able to do it on Blu-Ray. So do you agree with my list? Have i missed anything off you want to see? Have you heard of anything on the release dates grapevine? Let us know.

Here's ten easy steps to the Wire rehab and you will look as happy as McNulty again

So you’ve watched all five seasons of the Wire, and feel a big and utter void in your TV schedule. What to do? Well, there’s both good news and bad news. The bad news are that there’s currently no show on air or elsewhere to match the greatness of the Wire, but the good news is that there are still many movies and TV series box sets that are very good and in clever combination can give you a healthy dose of “natural police”, gangsters, junkies and life on the streets, and provide as a poor mans substitute in wait for a the Wire Blu-Ray release.

Here’s our Top Ten List of The Wire Cop and Gang Substitute Movies and Series

10) The Sopranos (Blu-Ray)
This was a pretty obvious one to start the list, right? Tony’s antics as a modern mob man has attracted many the Wire fans already. It is perhaps not in the same league in terms of being authentic, but the slow burning drama and character development makes it an excellent watch on its own. And as there’s plenty of seasons available on DVD this will help fill that void for some time. Unfortunately the complete series is not yet available on Blu-Ray, but you can at least get the US import of Season 6 on Blu-Ray.

9 ) Heat (DVD)
A very intelligent action flick with some of the silver-screen greatest; De niro and Pacino at once!  They got this one right, but unfortunately their take two with righteous kill wasn’t as lucky. No Blu-Ray release yet…

8 ) The Departed (Blu-Ray)
Another movie with a great cast and a script that can carry them through. Great characters, splendid acting and intriguing story.

7 ) Cop Land (DVD)
Sylvester Stallone is doing a stellar performance, which by default makes this a remarkable movie worth watching for pure historic significance. No Blu-Ray release yet…

6 ) Training Day (Blu-Ray)
Denzel Washington’s bad ass cop is phenomenal. You love him and hate him. A bit off an Omar Little in terms of being violent, but not much else. Omar, we miss you!

5 ) Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (DVD)
The Tarantino of UK tries on the gangster genre quite successfully. A lot of grit and guns, and a few laughs. No Blu-Ray release yet…

4 ) Pulp Fiction (DVD)
A brilliant movie all around. The actors, the script, the story and the execution. If you haven’t seen this masterpiece yet, shame on you. Travolta is on top as small-time gangster Vincent Vega and Samuel L Jacksons quotes are all around the web since 1994 – it’s that good. No Blu-Ray release yet…

3 ) City of God (DVD)
Brazil is surely a world apart from Baltimore, but as in the Wire you’ll get the violence, the drugs and the people in the midst of it all. If you can cope with reading subtitles it’s a must-see.

2 ) Generation Kill (Blu-Ray)
From the creators of the Wire comes generation kill. This mini series is the latest finalised project by mr Burns and David Simon. Just as in the Wire they spent a ton of time on research to be able to depict the soldiers life with great authenticity. You’re getting quite close to a full the Wire fix here.

1 ) The Corner (DVD)
You didn’t know about this one, did you!? A mini series based on the book The Corner, written by the Wire creators David Simon and Ed Burns. This is the story that finally evolved into the five series long The Wire. You’re basically there baby, you’ve got your fix. Straight in the vain; enjoy!

Those of you who thought the original Blu-Ray edition of the Coen Brothers Oscar winning masterpiece lacked a little in the bonus content department probably wont be surprised to hear that Walt Disney have announced a new 3-Disc Collectors edition.

It will be hitting american shores on April 7th though as usual a UK version isnt rumoured to be coming until at least a month or so later.

Expect over 5 hours of new extras including extensive backstage access and new cast and crew interviews as well a digital copy for your PC. Heres hoping they dont make us wait to long!

If you’re feeling more tempted to be out and about enjoying the weather this weekend than sitting in front of the telly, then good on you. But if you make time for one single movie; this is the one to watch. Dead Poets Society is a true classic and one of Robin Willams’s best performances. Playing the role of an insipiring and unconventional English teacher, he turns the boys prep school on its head.

Yesterday saw the release of the Blu-Ray version, well worth a look.