New Blu-Ray Releases: 'The Post', 'Den Of Thieves', 'Paddington 2', 'The Commuter' And More

(Welcome to Not Dead Yet, a feature dedicated to new Blu-ray releases and what special features you should be excited about. Because yes, some of us still like to own physical copies of our movies.)

It's that time again: time to round-up the best Blu-rays available right now. This column is for you, physical media fiends. Don't give up the good fight. This week, we have a great, timely offering from Steven Spielberg; a highly entertaining Heat knock-off; a charming sequel; Liam Neeson on a train; Helen Mirren in a haunted house; and a brutal revisionist Western.

Here are the new Blu-ray releases and their special features you should check out this week.

I've seen more than one person say that The Post is "Spielberg on Autopilot." To which I say: bullshit. The Post may not be Steven Spielberg's flashiest film, but it is a film full of life and energy. If this is Spielberg on autopilot, he's even more talented than I thought he was.Here, Spielberg offers up a masterclass in blocking. Sure, The Post may be a movie about people standing around talking, but a lot of work goes into staging the sequences, and placing the packed cast at just the right spot. Beyond the technical prowess of the film, The Post is also an important celebration of a free press. Can it get preachy at times? Perhaps, but have you seen who occupies the White House right now? Maybe preachy is exactly what we need.If all that wasn't enough to sell you on this thing, there's also that dynamite cast. Spielberg has loaded The Post with a killer line-up of talented people. At the forefront of it all is Meryl Streep. Everyone knows Streep is one of the best actresses of all time, but there are occasions where she'll deliver a performance that doesn't quite resonate. That's not the case here. In fact, I'd say this may be one of Streep's best performances in years. There's a scene where Spielberg pushes in on Streep's face as she weighs a tough decision, and the way the actress uses her eyes to convey the millions of thoughts galloping through her head is quite a sight to behold.Special Features To Note:If your a Spielberg fan, as I am, The Post Blu-ray is loaded with some great behind-the-scenes stuff that will make you nerd-out. Almost all the features present here feature Spielberg talking about his approach to the film, and we also get the added bonus of seeing him on set (sporting those dynamite Spielberg fashions)."Filming the Post" in particular goes into the entire production. Here, Spielberg talks about how he had no plans to make another film while making Ready Player One, but he came across Liz Hannah's script and felt it was too good to pass up. The cast and crew reveal they began prep for the film in March, then were shooting in May – one hell of a turnaround time. On top of all that, there were no rehearsals. Spielberg shot everything in camera, encouraged improv, and even came up with stuff on the spot. It's kind of amazing a film that's so tight had such a freewheeling kind of production.Everyone involved with the film, meanwhile, talks about how surreal it was to be working with Steven Spielberg and Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. Spielberg goes on to say the film had the best ensemble he's ever worked with. There's a lot of emphasis here on how important the story is, and how important a free press is. In addition to that, we also get some features on the huge cast. Casting director Ellen Lewis talks about looking to television for parts, and adds that when she's casting real figures she's not looking for look-a-likes, but rather people who can embody the spirit of the individual they're playing. Overall, this is a great look at a great film. 

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Have you ever seen Heat? What a coincidence! So has Den of Thieves writer-director Christian Gudegast! Den of Thieves is the bloated, hungover offspring of a can of Monster Energy Drink, Heat and The Usual Suspects. It's also surprisingly entertaining. Gudegast may not be the most original filmmaker (he steals so much from Heat here that he should honestly be kicking some of the film's profits back to Michael Mann), but he's undeniably talented. He's a filmmaker that has a grasp on creating really good trash, and that's nothing to sneeze at. It's hard to make trash this good (I'm serious!).B-movie god Gerard Butler drunkenly swaggers through this film as a gruff cop who isn't averse to picking up a dropped donut at a murder scene and taking a bite. Butler and his team of rough and ready cops are trying to take down a crew of thieves lead by Pablo Schreiber (who is, unfortunately, miscast here; he's too bland for such a looney film). You've seen this type of story before, and you've seen it done better, but it's hard not to get wrapped-up in Den of Thieves' trashy narrative. Bring on that damn sequel, I say.Special Features To Note:The special features here are quick and to the point, most of them lasting less than 3 minutes. That's fine. The selling-point for Den of Thieves is the entertainment factor, not the artistry that went into creating it. Still, what we have here are brief looks at the cast, broken into two parts: the cops and the crooks. There's also a featuette about the film's action scenes, particular the big final shootout. Nothing to write home about, but if you end up enjoying Den of Thieves for what it is, you might get a kick out of all this. There's also an alternate ending which is quite different, and not nearly as enjoyable, as the version that ended up in the theatrical cut. 

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We really do not deserve movies this good and this kind. If you thought the first Paddington was good (and it was), you'll be even more charmed by Paddington 2. Paddington is once again in a dangerous situation, but the bear's inherent goodness is infectious, spreading to all the other characters. Director Paul King taps into silent movie slapstick to create a funny, charming, highly entertaining film. The real world is a cesspool of pain and misery – escaping it by watching a film like Paddington 2 can help keep you sane.Paddington 2 improves on the original formula by adding even more memorable characters into the mix. There's Brendan Gleeson as the marmalade-loving prison chef 'Knuckles' McGinty, and then there's Hugh Grant, who steals the whole film as master-of-disguise Phoenix Buchanan. We as a species have done nothing to warrant such a kind, funny, charming movie like Paddington 2, but I'll gladly take it. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll develop a craving for marmalade.Special Features To Note:Like Paddington 2 itself, all the special features on the Blu-ray release are very nice and very kind. "The Bear Truth", for instance, is just all about how goddamn nice Paddington is and how warm the world of the film is like. It's like a being wrapped in a warm blanket, it's so darn comforting. If you're feeling blue, turn on Paddington 2 and then watch all these special features – you'll feel better, I promise. Hell, there's even a feature entirely devoted to how to make a marmalade sandwich (yes, it's charming, just like everything else about the movie). The best feature, though, is the musical number that concludes the film, sung by Hugh Grant. It's an absolutely delight. 

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Lord do I love style-is-substance king Jaume Collet-Serra, who once again works with his go-to leading man Liam Neeson on The Commuter. Collet-Serra makes stupid movies that never seem that stupid – an incredible feat. Here, he has Neeson as a commuter (just like the title!) who is caught in the middle of a deadly game on a speeding train. It's pretty ludicrous, but Collet-Serra and Neeson play it all very straight, and that's what makes it work. There are so many camera tricks on display here that at times it feels like The Commuter is less a movie and more a magic show. Before the opening credits have even ended, Collet-Serra has staged an amusing, captivating montage that takes us through several months in Neeson's life to introduce us to him and his family. As long as Collet-Serra is making movies like this, I will happily watch them.Special Features To Note:We only get two special features here. The first is "End of the Line", a super-quick behind-the-scenes featurette about the writing of the script, and the basics of the story. Boiler-plate, although at one point one of the writers has the nerve to compare the story to something Hitchcock would make – that takes guts! Then there's "Off the Rails", which is all about Jaume Collet-Serra's stylistic direction. This is brief, but it's worth watching just because Collet-Serra is such a fascinating filmmaker. This featurette also stresses that, overall, The Commuter is a simple story that just happens to feature a very complicated (perhaps overly complicated) construction.

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Winchester has way too many jump scares, but as an exercise in production design and gothic melodrama, it's a winner. Helen Mirren is Sarah Winchester, an heiress to a fortune built on blood. What's a lonely rich widow to do but continually have her giant house under construction to stave off ghosts? This is all pretty preposterous, but Mirren is such a pro that she makes it work. Also helping matters: Jason Clarke, as a tormented doctor sent to see if Sarah Winchester might be crazy and making this whole ghost business up.A smarter script could've turned Winchester into a meditation on gun control – the ghosts are apparently the spirits of those murdered by Winchester weapons. But the Winchester script is never wise or clever enough to make this work. I was never once interested in the story Winchester is telling, but I did find myself entranced by the look of the film – from the cinematography to the set design, Winchester is a feast for the eyes. Also, there's a scene in this film where Mirren tells a horde of ghosts, "Go to your rooms!" as if she's grounding them. And best of all: the ghosts listen, stalking off and slamming doors like a group of grumpy kids.Special Features To Note:There's only one special feature here, "Driven by the Spirits: The Making of Winchester", but it ends up being a  pretty in-depth look at the making of the film. The primary focus of this featurette isn't really on the story, though – it's on the sets and costume design, which should probably tell you everything you need to know about Winchester.  We learn that the filmmakers tried very hard to recreate the actual house from scratch on sound stages. There's also a lot of focus on Helen Mirren, which makes sense – she's so damn good she elevates this material, and it was a boon to get her for this film. 

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Hostiles is unrelentingly bleak and grim, so much so that when I first saw it, I mentally checked-out. It felt like misery for the sake of misery, and I just wasn't in the mood. Revisiting the film, however, I was more receptive to the revisionist Western that director Scott Cooper was trying to craft. I still don't think Hostiles is 100% successful, but it's a film with a lot on its mind, and it deserves to be experienced (if you can stomach all the violence). Christian Bale is, as usual, very good, playing an army captain forced to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi, fantastic here) back to tribal land. Rosamund Pike steals most of the movie as a traumatized widow who joins the party. What follows is a meditative anti-Western that conjures up memories of The Assassination of Jesse James. It's ultimately a brutal film about brutal people traversing a brutal landscape, but there's poetry in here too.Special Features To Note:"A Journey to the Soul: The Making of Hostiles" is a three part documentary all about the making of the film. It's a bit dry, and a bit too self-serious at times. Still, there's a lot of insight here, and it's clear that this was a project very important to director Scott Cooper. Cooper says he always wanted to make a Western, but that he also wanted it to have it have relevance to what's happening in America today. He goes on to call the film a journey into a heart of darkness, adding: "It's a film about understanding the ways and lives of others." The cast also talk about their parts, and Christian Bale goes into his process a little bit. He reveals that when it comes time for him to pick a role, he tends to go with a gut-feeling rather than anything else. It's a small but pivotal insight into one of the best actors working today. 

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