Hey folks, Harry here with this week’s DVD column – some interesting stuff here. I’ve been watching THE LORD OF THE RINGS: EXPANDED EDITIONS as I’ve been writing this and god damn – I’m dying to see and hear more on THE HOBBIT and seriously – when do we get these editions on BluRay? These are some of the best DVDs ever mastered. Sigh. Anyway – let’s get on with it. As usual, by clicking on the box art and the titles you’ll be taken to Amazon where you can learn more about the releases – and if you feel like it you can purchase them there – where a small portion of the price will go to support this column, which I hope you enjoy. I certainly enjoy making it.

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

THE WIRE – THE COMPLETE Fifth Season

A show better than we deserve. And this is the end of it. The final season of one of the finer shows we’ve been lucky enough to have on TV. Set in and around an amazing Baltimore – If you’re a fan, you’ve already ordered it. If not, you’ll one day be a fan, and should go ahead and commit.

SOUTH PARK: The Complete Eleventh Season

Ahhhh – I’m not sure what my favorite episode from this season is… I really do love the Zombie/Homeless episode or the Cartman photograph with Butters episode, the Easter episode is hilarious and features Jesus with the Glaive! By no means – the best season yet, but a fun one. Besides – you must own them all!

SMART PEOPLE

Ellen Page is just way too adorable. Here she’s kinda playing Alex P Keaton with chest bumps. Super smart Republican over-achiever. Her dad (Dennis Quaid) plays a English College professor, who has a seizure and needs a driver for 9 months. He falls for his doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker), who it turns out was a student of his – and his bum-ish brother, Thomas Haden Church brings much hilarity and outside perspective on his dysfunctional family. It’s a very good film, not quite as great as JUNO, but it’s still very very good. Everyone does their part very well here.

DC SUPER HEROES: THE FILMATION ADVENTURES

Wow – this is old school – Long before the SUPER FRIENDS… all the way back in the 1960s – they did this and they’re pretty awesome – the great thing is – this is Silver Age DC Heroes made in the Silver Age. They’re very surprising. And an absolute treasure to have at this quality. I wish it was BluRay – just because I can’t imagine that quality on these – I’ve only ever had 4th generation Convention dupes of these – and even then I think I only ever had a few. These are treasures!

THE DOORS – BluRay

This is one of my favorite fun Oliver Stone movies. Fun? Well, yes – we all know the ending, but it’s just so much fun to see Val Kilmer’s fantastic transformation into the man-god Morrison. It’s also rare for a filmmaker to be so in love with his subject – and every frame of THE DOORS – exquisitely presented here – is doused in Stone’s love and respect for this “spirit animal” of the Sixties. The film is psychedelic, hypnotic and a trip into the mind, myth and reality of Jim Morrison – what more could you want?

BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! – Criterion Collection

One of the true Artists of modern cinema – this crazy cinematic Canuck, Guy Maddin has one of his trippiest bizarre artistic wonders preserved and presented by the wizards at Criterion! This modern silent masterpiece is all at once purely geek and awesome. With elements of science fiction comic books and oddly german expressionism – Guy Maddin creates something wholly unique in the times we live… something original, striking and notably non-commercial but very cool. Check it out!

FELON

I have a hard and fast rule with all starring Val Kilmer… SEE THEM! Val Kilmer may be one of our oddest personalities, but as an actor… on the screen – he is captivating. Fascinating. He is someone to watch. It takes faith on a movie being released directly to DVD & BluRay – but in addition to Kilmer – you have Anne Archer, Sam Shepard and Stephen Dorff, who can suck, but doesn’t here. Sadly – this is one of those fantastic films that a studio just never gave two shits about, because it didn’t have a top star that they loved and who knew how to market. Instead as close to film as you’ll see this film is on BluRay at a good home theater. Shame, audiences are missing out on a damn fine theatrical experience

MAXIMUM RISK

I can’t believe that I get to watch crap Van Damme movies with Natasha Henstridge in BluRay now! LOL! It’s like a drive-in in my living room. If I pretend just a little, I can believe my pommeranian is a giant grindhouse theater rat nestling at my feet – and I need to buy trashy hose and mini-skirts for my wife to pretend I’m seeing this movie in the proper environment in which it deserves to be seen. That said. I love this crap film.

THE SEARCH FOR JOHN GISSING

Imagine THE OFFICE – had Ricky Gervais been played by FUCKING ALAN RICKMAN!!! Now run – watch this fantastic funny as fuck office comedy! Go Go Go!!!

CJ7

I LOVE THIS MOVIE. It’s the least Stephen Chow-centric Stephen Chow films he’s made. Stephen is a supporting cast member to the character of his son. Chow plays an overwhelmed single impoverished father trying everything he can to give his son a life better than the one he has. He somehow manages to pay for his son’s private school, but can’t afford new shoes or clothes or even a fan for their shack – and least of all a robot dog for his son. He mines the dump trying to find the best leftovers for his son. But the boy is at a school with surrealistically rich and evil children. And then there’s CJ7 – the ultra cute toy from outer space. This is a great family film. Truly great. So much fun – and at the same time it’s such a rip-off of ET, but set in such a different universe that I don’t think about that film at all as I watch. It’s part of that hyper-universe that Stephen Chow makes his wondrous films in, but this is no Science Fiction Martial Arts film – there’s almost none on display here at all. This is just a filmmaker breaking tradition with his schtick to do something different.

MULAN / MULAN II

So you’ve been watching the Olympics with your kids – why not give them some fun Chinese background DISNEY fashion with the story of MULAN. And MULAN II. Perhaps the best selling point is that this 3 Disc set is selling for half of the previous individual dvds sale price. I genuinely like MULAN even though Mushu drives me up the wall. And Mulan 2 is nowhere near as good as the original, but a fun flick as well.

DRIVE – IN CULT CLASSICS 2: ( THE HEARSE / LAND OF THE MINOTAUR / THE CREEPING TERROR / BLOODLUST / THEY SAVED HITLER’S BRAIN / THE DEVIL’S HAND / TERRIFIED / THE MADMEN OF MANDORAS )

AW YEAH! This is crazy weird fucking movies. Bizarre shit that you’d see at drive ins in the early Sixties. 2 films about the potential evil of Hitler’s Brain. There’s a funky version of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME starring one of the Brady Brunch. A nightmarish honeymoon with Alien terrors lurking about. There’s Satanic cults and the horror of being buried alive. The films are lurid, creepy, funky and fun. It is exactly what the box promises – 8 black & white horror and cult films readyyou’re your digestion.

NINJA CHEERLEADERS

You know – George Takei is in this. The concept was so brilliant that George Takei took a look at the cash and the script and said, “Why the fuck not?!” Now – I have to admit – I haven’t seen this film – but it sounds brilliant. The product description at Amazon says, “They fight, they cheer, they strip and they’re headed for Brown!” That’s amazing. And it stars George Takei!!!

BURBANK DRIVE-IN COLLECTION: BETWEEN THE COVERS/SWINGING WIVES

The tagline on SWINGING WIVES is the greatest thing ever, “I DO” IS ONLY THE BEGINNING! These are funky 70s sexploitation comedies and SWINGING WIVES is actually quite a bit of fun. I haven’t gotten to BETWEEN THE COVERS yet, but soon… soon… I love the shoddy cover on this DVD – it feels much dirtier than the film I’ve seen on the set so far actually was.

I’M THROUGH WITH WHITE GIRLS

The film was written by Courtney Lily – who wrote for ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT – I had no interest in watching this – but my wife picked up the box and read the back and excitedly started shrieking that the writer on ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT wrote it and we have to see it. Ya know – sometimes a good writer writes good movies, what do ya know?

PREACHING TO THE PERVERTED: Guinevere Turner Signature Edition

I haven’t seen this yet, but I ordered it. Perhaps some of our British readers can tell us more about it below – but from what I gather a character is hired to infiltrate a BDSM club in London and document what he sees and witnesses for prosecution – but he gets caught up in the scene and falls for Mistress Tanya Cheex (Guinevere Turner) whom I am told is a Sex Goddess by EMPIRE. Well, if there’s a sex goddess that I’m unfamiliar with, I need to fix that asap!

FYI – I haven’t mentioned it – but Paramount announced the release of IRON MAN on BluRay on September 30th. Figured you’d want to know! Click below for more info:

And that’s all the DVD news that I have for this week. Come back next week when I’ll be discussing: TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, CAMP ROCK: EXTENDED ROCK STAR EDITION, HANNAH MONTANA – BEST OF BOTH WORLDS CONCERT: THE 3D MOVIE (I’m not kidding, I’ve watched it on BluRay), MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY, RECOUNT, STREET KINGS, PIXAR Ultimate 8-Movie Collection, SCORPION KING 2, PROM NIGHT, TWENTY-FOUR EYES – Criterion, NIXON (BluRay), THE PROPOSITION (BluRay), THE WIZARD OF GORE, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: Season One BluRay, THE FLETCH COLLECTION, THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES, DON QUIXOTE, THE UNSEEN, TELEVISION UNDER THE SWASTIKA and much much more!