Not a whole lot of action, Blu-ray and DVD-wise, this week, but that could be because Marvel is unleashing a whole ton of heroes in a convenient carrying case. Tesseract included!

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrNdBpGMv8&w=615&h=346]

It was originally the plan to release this massive 10-disc set back in September when the initial Avengers Blu-ray release came out, but a lawsuit of some kind prevented it. At any rate, it’s finally being released today in a spiffy case full of dossiers and things. It includes all the films up to and including The Avengers, which comprise what Marvel calls “Phase One” of their cinematic universe: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers (aka Avengers Assemble in the UK). They’re all quite good movies that I’m sure you’ve all seen. Even the lesser Incredible Hulk film is pretty good, despite having behind-the-scenes turmoil. The latter three films in the set come with 3D Blu-ray discs as well, and there’s a tenth disc of special features.

There’s apparently some sneak-peekery on this tenth disc pertaining to Marvel’s “Phase Two,” which will include Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, and Avengers 2. Not exactly sure what will be included about these, but seeing as Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 are the only ones with footage that could possibly be shown, I’m guessing it’ll just be theoretical stuff. If you still haven’t gotten these movies for your home collection, or just desperately want packaging that doesn’t fit well on your rack, then this is an excellent way to kill six birds with one stone made of money.

UPDATE: And here’s a little of that sneak peek of Phase Two:

Other Releases

John Dies at the End – Phantasm and Bubba Ho-Tep director Don Coscarelli’s dark comedy horror film about two friends who fight the supernatural is an incredibly weird and surrealist film that also happens to he a whole lot of fun.

That Thing You Do! – One of the best rock & roll movies ever made, Tom Hanks’ directorial debut is about as much fun as you can have watching a flick. And just try not to sing that song a billion time after the movie’s over. I dare you.

The Sweeney – This is an adaptation of the British TV cop drama from the 1970s about the Flying Squad, a special branch of the Metropolitan Police specializing in armed robbery and violent crime. The title comes from Cockney rhyming slang: Flying Squad – Sweeney Todd – Sweeney. It stars Ray Winstone, who can’t help but be cool 100% of the time.

Dirk Gently – On DVD, the short-lived British series based on Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently novels about a holistic detective.