BILL & TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
This film has always looked sort of drab on home video – perhaps the Blu will restores some lustre? Personally, I’m holding out for the superior in every way sequel. That’ll probably be gorgeous.
BRAVE
I’m a Pixar apologist – but I’ve gotta’ tell you, this is a film that, for me, does not betray the production strife. It’s lush and wondrous like every Pixar film, and the story – despite its simplicity – resonates.
And it was fantastic in 3D, but as the saying goes – “those who do hate will quite often be found to hate”…
EMPIRE OF THE SUN
One of Beardsley’s best squeaks on to Blu. SWEAR TO ME you’ll pick it up – even if it looks like Amazon’s gonna’ make us pay for it…
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
BUY THE TWO-DISC SET FROM AMAZON!
BUY THE BIG DICK 50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR’S SET FROM AMAZON!
I didn’t get to see this on it’s one day only re-release, but I’ve heard that it looks incredible. Time to upgrade that Special Edition DVD….dammit.
WEEKEND (CRITERION)
Jean Luc Godard takes us on a picturesque road trip in this charming soufflé…
Not really – it’s a ruthless indictment of the upper class, oblivious to the world burning around them…and all too eager to join in the debased horror when the shit hits the fan.
2 Days in New York
Abraham Lincoln
The Barbarian And The Geisha – no longer a Wal-Mart exclusive. Seriously.
The Big Trail
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Brave
Children who Chase Lost Voices
Dark Horse
The David O. Selznick Collection
The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series
Dinotasia
Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part One
The Doobie Brothers: Let the Music Play
Empire Of The Sun
FCA 35 Tour: An Evening with Peter Frampton
Hellsing Ultimate: Volumes 5-8
History in 3D
Lawrence Of Arabia 50th Anniversary Edition
Lost Girl: The Complete Second Season
Musicares Tribute to Barbra Streisand
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 10th Anniversary Edition
Nitro Circus: The Movie – Where’s Jackass 3D when you need it?
Otto Preminger Collection
Painted Skin: The Resurrection
Patti Smith: Live at Montreux 2005
Paul McCartney: Live Kisses
Pearl Jam Twenty
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life (Criterion) – I’m sure it’s incredibly life-affirming…in the Pasolini tradition!
Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 2
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Queen of Versailles
Savages – sounded like an interesting project – then I read Oliver Stone was involved and I lost all hope.
Snowmageddon
Twilight’s Last Gleaming
The Universe in 3D
Vamps
The Watch – haven’t seen it. Can’t speak to it. Heard it’s not great. But still…Richard Ayoade kinda’ rules the Earth.
Weekend (Criterion)
GREEN DAY – ¡DOS!
They tried to make him go to rehab; he said… “Eh, fuck it, I wrote a song about Winehouse, we got a couple more albums in the can already, why not…” And who knows? Maybe rehab for Armstrong will be like the Army for Elvis: he’ll come out reinvigorated with something as awesomely filthy as Elvis is Back! More likely, though, it’ll be more like this latest “Broadway-bound smash”: smoothly tuneful touch-all-the-bases corporate rock (they curse! they rap!) for those still recovering from the exertions of the new Aerosmith.
BRIAN ENO – LUX
For anyone that found last year’s Small Craft On A Milk Sea a bit too uptempo and exhausting for their contemplative moods, Eno’s back in Thursday Afternoon / Music for Airports mode, with the soundtrack he recently prepared for an Italian art installation. Theoretically, there are four discrete (and, god knows, “discreet”) tracks, though you’ll have to pay awfully close attention to the droning piano and gentle synthwashes to determine where one ends and the next begins. The fourth one does add some glockenspiel, though, and should make a killer iPhone app. Rock on.
THE ROLLING STONES – GRRR!
The weird thing about these leering old feebs is that, when they can be arsed to exert themselves, they come up with something like 2005’s A Bigger Bang, the last full album they’ve recorded, and easily their strongest since Tattoo You, if not Some Girls. When all they’re tasked with is tossing off a bone or two to fill out the latest redundant anthology, you get by-the-numbers stuff like… well, like “Doom and Gloom” and “One More Shot”, the two “new” tracks here: recycled riffs, Jagger and Richards going through the motions, Wood staggering randomly around the periphery, Watts still mankind’s savior. Here’s a hint: roughly 50% of their best shit this century has featured Keef drunkenly taking aim at Sinatra’s “One For My Baby (and One More For The Road”); none of it’s on here.
OTHER NOTABLE 5.13 RELEASES:
AC/DC, Live at River Plate
Christina Aguilera, Lotus
Kelly Clarkson, Greatest Hits-Chapter One
Elvis Costello, In Motion Pictures
Deftones, Koi No Yokan
Kid Rock, Rebel Soul
Led Zeppelin, Celebration Day
Stephen Lynch, Lion
Machine Head, Machine F**king Head Live!
Madness, Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da
One Direction, Take Me Home
Phillip Phillips, The World From The Side Of The Moon
Pitbull, Global Warming
Porcupine Tree, Octane Twisted
Rihanna, Unapologetic
Soundgarden, King Animal
Sufjan Stevens, Silver & Gold
Various Artists, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 Soundtrack
The Weeknd, Trilogy
CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II (PC, PS3, 360)
Call of Duty is coming out this week, so we don’t get any other games. I could be mad about this; I like new games. I usually don’t like Call of Duty. But Black Ops II is a little different. It has Michael Keaton AND Michael Rooker. It also has Sam Worthington, but you have to balance out the sheer coolness of Keaton and Rooker somehow. It also has laser weapons, exploding paper airplanes, and zombies. Again – you have to balance out the coolness of laser weapons and exploding paper airplanes somehow…
Yeah…fuck zombies.
FIN.