Small news for a big feature you may think, but Michael Bay’s bot smackdown finally receiving a Blu-ray release date is still a format highlight in a year of big Blu movies. Following the earthbound battles between the Autobots and the nasty Decepticons expect Transformers to arrive with all the supplements from its HD DVD outing (highlights include PiP and a GPS tracking feature) but, as an added incentive, this incarnation is set to be soundtracked by Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround – a step up from its forebear.

Arriving 02 September expect this to be a big seller all over again.

We all like a good comedy here at HD Review. We laughed at Knocked Up, Superbad and The 40-Year-Old Virgin as much as anyone, and as well as raising the profiles of Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill, and Steve Carell respectively, this trio of films also combine smart, genuinely funny scripts with a real story at their core. Unfortunately, the Hollywood movie machine has become so obsessed with the success of new comedy mogul Judd Apatow and his collective of actors, writers, producers and directors, that movies loosely associated with him, which would normally have the appeal of stale bread, are getting past the quality controllers. Furthermore, the word ‘overexposed’ means nothing to the dream factory; the majority of comedies hitting our screens over the last six months have been marketed, “From the guys that brought you Knocked Up and Superbad.”Judd Apatow directed The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, and the rest of his days are filled in the relatively hands-off roles of writing or producing. During its recent theatrical release, Forgetting Sarah Marshall was billed as “From the guys…”, except the director was Nicholas Stoller (making his feature debut), and first-time scribe Jason Segel also starred. Chuck in the UK’s Russell Brand and you have a distinctly dissimilar film to Knocked Up or The 40-Year-Old Virgin. But Apatow produces, and cohorts Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd show their faces, so the billing sticks. Unfortunately, FSM doesn’t compare to these earlier films, so for the sake of a quick buck the marketing machine dupes a cinemagoer, unlikely to return to Apatow, Rogen et al when they produce their own features because of the dreaded tag: “From the guys that brought you Knocked Up and Superbad.”

Now here’s a story of two halves. Released on freesat’s official website, it seems that the high-definition setup boxes have all sold out and are in short supply. So the service is a hit? Despite anticipation for the canny service still extremely high in the HD Review hub, questions have been raised on numerous blogs. According to some it seems the only reason this has occurred is due to dubious retailers only stocking limited units. Cynics or not, it seems freesat is not without its own aura of controversy/publicity.

Sony has announced the release of the Oscar-nominated animated feature Persepolis, on Blu-ray day and date with the DVD in the US. Based on the semi-autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis follows the fortunes of a young girl growing up during the Iranian revolution. The film, which is coming to the end of its theatrical run in the UK, received a bundle of praise thanks mostly to its hard-hitting themes, but also for its bold visuals, which emulate the style of Satrapi’s original black-and-white artwork. The French production, co-written and directed by Satrapi, features a suitably Gallic cast, although an English language soundtrack was produced for the theatrical US release, with Chiara Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve reprising their key roles in the dubbed version.

The Blu-ray will feature the English language version, with audio commentary by directors Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud and star Chiara Mastroianni on select scenes, as well as featurettes, ‘Hidden Side Of Persepolis’ and ‘Behind The Scenes of Persepolis’, footage from the 2007 Cannes Film Festival Press Conference (where the film won the Jury Prize) and animated scene comparisons with commentary by Satrapi. Technically, the disc will feature 1080p video, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround audio and, despite its deceptively simplistic visuals, we think the film’s unique look will be enhanced on Blu-ray, adding to its charm.

Interview
Golden Compass director Chris Weitz
Walking Hard with Kasdan & Apatow
Tom Dixon talks DTS sound

Review
Alien Verses Predator: Requiem
Juno
Atonement

Technology
Dell Blu-ray laptops launch
High definition hardware on a budget
Toshiba’s new HD range is in for review