The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
d. Andrew Dominik
c. Brad Pitt, Casey Allfeck
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  • ”Death of an Outlaw” 30-minute documentary – explore the roots of the legend Jesse James and how he has become a man so many people remain interested in talking about 100 years after his death (High Definition Only)

Maybe the best movie of 2008 that you never saw. If you did get a chance to see it, you were one of the lucky ones as it only played a limited release in major cities and unless you got a really cool theater near your town, small town USA missed it completely. If you did see it, you saw one of the most beautiful pictures released last year, and earned cinematographer Roger Deakins his second nomination in this year’s Oscars race (he was also nominated for No Country for Old Men). It also earned Casey Affleck something his brother never achieved – an Oscar nomination for acting. Now if he can pull off the upset win for the Best Supporting Actor award, he can match his big brother’s Oscar wins. He, of course won’t, because Javier Bardem has it pretty much locked up, but Casey can dream. The movie tells the story of the assassination of Jesse James (Brad Pitt) by the coward Roebrt Ford (Casey Affleck) by the way. Oops. Spoiler Alert!!! It will also be released in Blu-Ray and the soon to be archaic HD-DVD.

The Whitest Kids U’ Know
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  • Commentary Tracks on Every Episode

Devin introduced you to this ensemble comedy group last year (although I can’t find his article about it right now). This week you can grab their stuff on DVD. Well, not literally grab their stuff, but … Anyway, the second season of the show will debut on February 10 on IFC, so you have one week to catch up on what you may have missed. The only thing I had seen is the Hitler Rap that Devin linked to, but thanks to D. Richard on the message boards, I was pointed to the IFC website where I was able to watch everything from season 1. That is some funny, funny shit. The DVD advertises it as uncut and uncensored and will include commentary from the group on every episode. That alone should be worth the purchase.

The Apartment (Collector’s Edition)
d. Billy Wilder
c. Jack Lemmon, Fred McMurray
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  • Audio Commentary from Bruce Block, Film Producer, UCLA Professor and AFI Member
  • “Inside the Apartment” documentary
  • “Tribute to Jack Lemmon”

Whenever someone interviews with Steven Spielberg to work with him on a movie, he will at some point turn the conversation to the Billy Wilder movie The Apartment. If the person being interviewed has not seen the movie or can’t add any insightful commentary to the nuances of the film, Spielberg will not work with that person. See, there is a thought process with many of the Hollywood Film Elite that more and more young filmmakers are coming to Hollywood with no knowledge whatsoever of the history of the medium they want to work in. I was talking with one of the producers of The Godfather and he told me about a brand new film school graduate who was working with him on a project. This newbie suggested that they work on a movie he had heard about that he said was completely unique and groundbreaking. The problem was it was not unique, it was not groundbreaking and there was another movie with the exact same storyline made a decade before. The producer called him out on it and the kid had no idea what he was talking about. The producer asked if the guy had ever even seen Citizen Kane. He said he had not and would not watch it because he did not watch black and white films. He said they were old and no one cared about them anymore. The punch line to this story is this recent film school graduate no longer works in Hollywood. The moral of the story? Learn your shit and know about the brilliant films that have been released over the last century. As for this movie, if you have not seen it you don’t even need to know the plotline. Just buy the damn movie. You won’t regret it. If you do, go back and revel in your enjoyment of Meet the Spartans.

Weirdsville
d. Allan Moyle
c. Scott Speedman, Wes Bentley
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In my ever increasing desire to find some new and interesting DVDs among the piles of big budget studio releases, I bring you Weirdsville, directed by Allan Moyle (Empire Records; Pump Up The Volume).  The region 2 release in March has a bunch of special features but I can’t find any information about the region 1 release extras, so there you have it.

Synopsis (thanks to DVD Times): Scott Speedman (Underworld: Evolution) and Wes Bentley (American Beauty) star as Dexter and Royce, a pair of twenty-something stoners who on discovering their friend Matilda (Taryn Manning) has overdosed on a stolen stash of drugs decide that burying her body beneath the local disused drive-in cinema would be a much better idea than contacting the police. Unfortunately, they interrupt a bunch of equally incompetent Satan worshipping preppies who are in the middle of performing a ritual sacrifice. Royce and Dexter find themselves on the run from the bungling Satanists, a vengeful drug dealer and a gang of vertically challenged medieval knights. Good news is Mattie’s not really dead and together the trio has concocted a brand new plan to get themselves out of their ever-deepening hole – a daring heist at the home of a hippy millionaire that involves more than a little bit of help from a garden gnome.

Killer Pad
d. Robert Englund
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With today’s news about the new film to be directed by Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), and the question of when we might actually see it, I bring you the news of this weeks release of another Englund directorial effort – Killer Pad. I know, I know, it sounds like a woman’s worst horror but this movie has nothing to do with that kind of killer pad. Here is the synopsis from the movie’s official web site:

One of the most important milestones in every young man’s life is the day he moves out of his parents house and into a place all his own. Well, for Doug, Craig & Brody, three best friends, that day has arrived. Due to an equitable settlement they collected after their dog, Ballsy, suffered a minor maiming accident, the boys purchased a KILLER PAD nestled in the affluent hills of Hollywood. Little did they know that the house has a history. From the man who brought you “Freddy Krueger” and the producer of “Dude, Where’s My Car?“, Killer Pad is a horror/comedy that serves up a killer plate of laughs and scares. Are you on the guest list?

Come on Shawn! Tell us what’s on those popular DVDs!!!

Elizabeth – The Golden Age
Elizabeth – The Golden Age (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]

  • Deleted Scenes
  • The Reign Continues: Making ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’
  • Inside Elizabeth’s World
  • Commanding the Winds: Creating the Armada
  • Towers, Courts and Cathedrals
  • Audio Commentary with Director Shekhar Kapur

Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Across the Universe [Blu-ray]

  • Eight extended musical performances
  • Deleted Scene: “And I Love Her” – with Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy
  • Commentary from director Taymor and composer Elliot Goldenthal
  • “Creating the Universe” – cast and crew discuss the making of the film
  • “Stars of Tomorrow” – an inside look at the cast of rising stars
  • “All About the Music” – an inside look at the film’s unforgettable music
  • “FX on the Universe” – exploring the film’s visual effects with VFX supervisor Kyle Cooper
  • “Moving Across the Universe” – a featurette on the choreography including an interview with choreographer Daniel Ezralow
  • DVD exclusive photo gallery with over 100 images
  • Blu-ray exclusive art gallery of “Jude’s” drawings, drawn by Don Nace

The Brave One (Widescreen Edition)
The Brave One [Blu-ray]

  • Featurette I Walk The City (22 mins)
  • Additional Scenes (7 mins)

Tootsie – 25th Anniversary Edition

  • “A Better Man: The Making of Tootsie”, a 3-part documentary boasting interviews with director Sydney Pollack, stars Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman and writers Larry Gelbart & Murray Schisgal
  • Newly Discovered Deleted Scenes
  • Original Screen Test Footage from the Hal Ashby Collection at the Academy Film Archive. This was one of the first on-camera screen tests that shows Dustin Hoffman as the character of Dorothy.

Midnight Express

  • The Producers’ Featurette
  • The Production Featurette
  • The Finished Film Featurette
  • Commentary with Director Alan Parker
  • Photo Gallery
  • Original Midnight Express Theatrical Trailer
  • Photo booklet & Essay from Parker’s on-set experiences

You’ve Got Mail (Deluxe Edition)

  • Audio commentary by director Nora Ephron and producer Lauren Shuler Donner
  • Delivering You’ve Got Mail feature
  • You’ve Got Chemistry feature
  • HBO First Look: A Conversation with Nora Ephron.
  • Carole King Anyone at All music video
  • Interactive Discover New York’s Upper West Side Map Tour
  • Music-only audio track

The Aristocats (Special Edition)

  • Never-Before-Seen Deleted song
  • Games and Activities: Disney Virtual Kitten ROM, English Read-Along The Aristocats
  • Disney Song Selection
  • Bonus Short – “Bath Day” a cartoon short from 1946 featuring Figaro
  • Backstage Disney: The Aristocats Scrapbook

OK.  What else can we spend all our money on?

Crimson Tide [Blu-ray]
Wall Street [Blu-ray]
Me, Myself & Irene [Blu-Ray]
The Jewish Americans
Beauty and the Beast – The Final Season
Iron Maiden: Live After Death (Two-Disc Set)
Snow Buddies
Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas – A New Day [Blu-ray]
Third Watch – The Complete First Season
Perfect Strangers – The Complete First and Second Seasons
Portrait In Black / Madame X (Double Feature)
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection – Volume 10.2 (Giant Gila Monster / Swamp Diamonds / Teenage Strangler / Giant Spider Invasion)
McLeod’s Daughter’s – The Complete Fifth Season
Soul Food – The Third Season
Slings & Arrows: The Complete Collection
When a Man Falls
Feast of Love
Two Days in Paris
Dresden
Descent (Original ‘NC-17’ Version)
Breaker Morant [Blu-ray]
Fierce People
Suburban Girl [Blu-ray]
Storm Warning
Blind Dating
Blonde & Blonder
A Stranger’s Heart
Roxy Hunter & The Mystery of the Moody Ghost
Campfire Homecoming
Imitation Of Life (Two-Movie Special Edition) (Universal Legacy Series)
The Ten Commandments
Phantom Empire
Care Bears: Grizzle-Ly Adventures
Gallipoli
9 Star Hotel
All In
Romeo and Juliet Get Married
Deathlands: Homeward Bound
Demon Seduction
Niagara Motel
Croc
8 of Diamonds
The Lawless
Blackout
Flogging Margaret
Stomping on the Yard
The Legend of Butch and Sundance
Gangsta Rap: The Glockumentary

THE BARGAIN BIN

BEST BUY

You’ve Got Mail: Deluxe Edition – $12.99
The Ten Commandments – $14.99
Blonde & Blonder – $14.99
Elmo’s World: Opposites – $9.99
Go Diego Go!: Diego’s Magical Missions – $12.99
Christina Aquilera: Back To Basics – Live And Down Under – $14.99
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Runnin’ Down A Dream – $29.99

Snow Buddies – $16.99 *
The Aristocats – $16.99 *
Hannah Montana: One In A Million – $16.99 *
* Buy TWO of the marked DVDs and get both titles for $30

Save $5 when you buy any two DVDs from this list:
The Brave One – $14.99
The Brave One Blu-Ray – $29.99
Elizabeth: The Golden Age – $19.99
Elizabeth: The Golden Age HD-DVD – $29.99
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford – $19.99
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford Blu-Ray – $29.99
Fierce People – $19.99
2 Days In Paris – $19.99
Feast Of Love – $19.99
Blind Dating – $19.99
The Legend Of Butch & Sundance – $19.99
Across The Universe – $19.99 *
Across The Universe Blu-Ray – $29.99
* Free CD Case Included with purchase of Across The Universe DVD

$7.49 EACH:
Friends With Money, The Holiday, The Pursuit Of Happyness, Georgia Rule, Marie Antoinette, Flower Drum Song, Running With Scissors, The Last Kiss, BIG: Extended Edition, Grease: Rockin’ Rydell Edition, Fried Green Tomatoes: Anniversary Edition, Flicka, Borat, The Princess Bride, John Tucker Must Die, Because I Said So, Sixteen Candles (Looks Like Reunion Version), Catch & Release, Fun With Dick & Jane (Jim Carrey), Paris, Je Taime, Freedom Writers, RENT, Memoirs Of A Geisha

Blu-Ray Discs:
$14.99 EACH:
Blood Diamond
GoodFellas
Beerfest
March Of The Penguins

DVD Sets:
Devil May Cry: Volume I – $19.99
Perfect Strangers: Season 1 + 2 – $24.99
Third Watch: Season 1 – $39.99
Friends: Season 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 – $16.99 each
The O.C.: Season 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 – $16.99 each
The Gilmore Girls: Season 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 – $19.99 each
Veronica Mars: Season 1 / 2 / 3 – $19.99 each
One Tree Hill: Season 1 / 2 / 3 – $19.99 each
Entourage: Season 1 / 2 / 3.1 / 3.2 – $19.99 each
House: Season 1 / 2 / 3 – $34.99 each

TARGET

The Brave One – $16.99
The Brave One Blu-Ray – $29.99
Across The Universe – $16.99
Across The Universe: Deluxe Edition – $22.99 w/Beatles Booklet
Across The Universe Blu-Ray – $29.99
The Jane Austen Book Club – $19.99
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford – $19.99
Elizabeth: The Golden Age – $19.99
Elizabeth: The Golden Age HD-DVD – $29.99
The Simpsons Movie – $15.99
Rush Hour 3 – $15.99
The Kingdom – $15.99
The Bourne Ultimatum – $15.99

Snow Buddies – $16.99 *
The Aristocats – $19.99 *
* Get A Free $5 Target Gift Card with the combined purchase of Snow Buddies & The Aristocats

$4.75 DVDs:
City Slickers, As Good As It Gets, The Aviator, Sense & Sensibility: Special Edition

$10.00 DVDs:
Casino Royale (Daniel Craig), License To Wed, We Are Marshall, Little Miss Sunshine

DVD Sets:
Third Watch: Season 1 – $39.99