New to Blu: August 18-24

It’s a kick-ass week for Blu-ray releases if you like your vigilante superhero movies to pack a real “POW!”

Indeed, Empire magazine went so far as to dub Kick-Ass “a ridiculously entertaining, perfectly paced, ultra-violent cinematic rush that kicks the places other movies struggle to reach”.

Blu-ray critics have been less effusive about the HD transfer, with Hi-Def Digest citing “a heaping mass of noise, inconsistent black levels and some crushing issues”. But it praised the exclusive Blu-ray making-of documentary, A New Kind of Superhero, which runs 113 minutes.

Blu-ray.com also had misgivings about the transfer, stopping short of calling it subpar, “but there are frequent moments in the film where something feels slightly ‘off'”.

However, Home Theater Forum thought the clarity and detail “terrific with a fine dynamic range of image. There is no overt DNR or edge enhancement, however, there is some minimal black crush apparent”.

Also new from Wednesday are the Steve Carell-Tina Fey comedy, Date Night, the art house classic, A Room With a View, the martial arts prequel, IP Man 2, and last week’s holdover, The Road.