Coming Up This Week: January 27th-February 2nd

Marcus Zuzak's iconic novel The Book Thief comes to the big-screen...
In recent weeks, the frequency of new entertainment releases has been quite subdued in comparison to 2013's final month. The coming seven days, however, appear to signal the turning of the tide, bringing with them a fair number of major contenders for the crown of January 2014's Best Release award at On-Screen.

Let the fun begin again, then, as we conduct a search through the week ahead for its biggest offerings:

• EMPIRE X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST REVEAL- March will set in motion the release of a much-anticipated trio of superhero films, starting with Captain America: The Winter Soldier and culminating with X-Men: Days of Future Past in May. The latter sequel, prequel and crossover outing will be blown open early next week by Empire Magazine, and director Bryan Singer has teased that a new full theatrical trailer is on the way...(Monday 27th)
• RUSH DVD & BLU-RAY- Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl's sports thriller Rush is based on the real-world rivalry between F1 racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, and proved to be one of the best films of 2013. Both the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of Ron Howard's visually-splendid masterpiece boast an impressive array of extra content, including a host of deleted scenes, Race For The Chequered Flag: The Making of Rush and The Real Story of Rush, making this retail package an essential purchase for anyone who missed the film first-time around! (Monday 27th)
• TOMB RAIDER: DEFINITIVE EDITION- The lucky next-generation console owners among you should be utterly thrilled by the prospect of experiencing this particular upgraded release. Square Enix brought the Tomb Raider franchise back with a bang last Spring, and as such, any opportunity to witness the already remarkable visual engine rendered using Xbox One, PS4 and high-res PC technology should be welcomed wholeheartedly. Better yet, by the sounds of it, the development team are hard at work on the series' next instalment, so this HHD update is just the tip of the iceberg...(Friday 31st)
• THE BOOK THIEF- When a new motion picture production stars Pirates of the Caribbean's Geoffrey Rush and War Horse's Emily Blunt, our ears will prick up immediately anyway, but The Book Thief's case is far more compelling still. Adapted from the hit modern teen novel by Marcus Zuzak, this incredibly ambitious World War Two period drama promises to delve into the infinitely difficult terrain of the Jewish Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis. Critical responses so far have been mixed to say the least, but you'll hear our verdict on the film itself to set the record straight very soon. (Friday 31st)
• AND THERE'S MORE- Sunshine On Leith and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones are both set for a DVD and Blu-Ray release on Monday, as well as a Blu-Ray remastered edition of the classic 1980s film RoboCop and the second (and currently final) season of Ripper Street will retail exclusively as a 3-disc DVD boxset on the same day.

Next week,  Dallas Buyers Club makes its UK début along with Lionhead's much-vaunted HD remake Fable: Anniversary (launching exclusively on Xbox 360). And after that? Why, it's time for The LEGO Movie...