Ed. Note: Please welcome Hunter Duesing to the BH family. For a while now he’s put together a terrific weekly review of new DVD releases for our friends over at Parcbench. My thanks to both for allowing us to syndicate the column here. — J.N. 

I have plenty of nostalgia for Tron, it was a neato movie that seemed to interpret computer and video game culture in a manner that was cutting-edge for the time.  In anticipation of the sequel, I revisited the original, and I was very surprised to find it didn’t quite hold up.  I’m not saying it’s bad movie, but rather, it hasn’t exactly aged well.  The tech jargon that once seemed hip now seems rather quaint.  Technology never slows down, but it seems that movies that dwell in the day’s latest tech culture are always riding a wave that eventually breaks and turns to muck when it washes up on the shore.  Still, when looked at as a tech time capsule, Tron is pretty neat, but my disappointment in revisiting it killed my enthusiasm for catching Tron: Legacy in the theater.  Despite the lukewarm critical reaction, people I trust actually had great things to say about, and given I’ve already taken to Daft Punk’s excellent score, I plan to give it a shot on Blu-ray.  This week, Disney is releasing not only Tron: Legacy on Blu-ray and DVD, but its predecessor as well.  The original film’s lack of availability prior to and during the theatrical run of the sequel was baffling, however the entire Tron experience will be available for all in hi-def, so you can now take a trip down memory lane with the original and enjoy the new film back-to-back at your leisure.

Tron is available on Blu-ray/DVD combo

Tron: Legacy is available on 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo

Both are available together in a collector’s package

If you’re a super-hardcore Tron fan, then this monstrosity is probably what you’re looking for…

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We all know that for decades Hollywood has been creating preachy, leftist films all with the sole intention of annoying conservatives.  Conservatives have responded with numerous complaints, and then with complacency.  We now tend to ignore the liberal themes and watch the movies anyway, cheering on the hero, regardless of whether or not we actually believe in his ultimate goal.  Recently, however, Hollywood has pulled another weapon out of its arsenal to annoy conservatives, but it is destroying comedy in the process.

As the readers of Big Hollywood know too well, Hollywood began its attacks by ridiculing those of us who hold our values dear—claiming a pluralistic high ground that all beliefs are equal and we shouldn’t judge others (unless you happen to be one of those white, bigoted, hillbilly Jesus freaks).  Now that pluralism no longer seems to ignite conservatives with the same fervent anger, Hollywood has turned to nihilism; because, after all, when everything is true, nothing is true.  With no truth, Hollywood can no longer give its heroes any reason to mature or chase after dreams because lives and journeys have no meaning, draining the enjoyment out of their films. (more…)