Speed Racer
d. The Wachowski brothers
c. Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon
The biggest flop of the summer of 2008 is the adaptation of an old cartoon directed by the guys who brought us The Matrix. A lot of people hated the sequels to The Matrix (I am not one of them) and ignoring the fact that they were pretty responsible for the excellent V for Vendetta, ignored their return. Forget the convoluted storyline that made one too many filmgoers scratch their heads in confusion during Neo’s adventures, the boys created a fantastic world and used a technology that was state of the art for their time. What makes you think they wouldn’t do something just as amazing here. Well, blame marketing or whoever you want, but the movie was completely ignored. Hell, blame Iron Man for coming out the week before and blowing audiences away. Whoever you blame, don’t blame the brothers because they gave us what was promised – a balls to the wall action adventure for the entire family. And it deserved much better than the painful death it was given. Blame who you want, but pick it up on DVD, watch it on the best TV you own and appreciate it for what it is. Both the regular and Blu-ray edition will include a feature called Spritle in the Big Leagues, a making of called Car-Fu, and a feature over the cars and trucks used in the film called Speed Racer: Super Charged. The Blu-ray also includes a digital download and a DVD game called Speed Racer Crucible Challenge.
88 Minutes
d. Jon Avnet
c. Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, William Forsythe
I hear a lot of bitching about Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro’s career choices as of late. I can understand people being concerned about DeNiro’s attempts at comedy but I don’t see too much to complain about when it comes to Pacino. Yeah, his movies have not been all that awesome, but they are at least in the genre I want to see him acting in. Look at his last few flicks. He was great in Ocean’s Thirteen. Two for the Money was completely forgettable but Merchant of Venice I can let slide because everyone should get to do their period pieces. Gigli was horrible and Simone was horrible – okay, I can see what people are complaining about. But I like seeing him in things like this weekend’s Righteous Kill and even if people say it is not GREAT, it is still the type of movie I want Pacino in. At least he isn’t seeing a psychiatrist played by Billy Crystal or meeting a new son-in-law played by Ben Stiller. Bitch all you want about Pacino’s film choices but from 1995-2002, he was in Insomnia, Any Given Sunday, The Insider, Donnie Brasco and Heat. I will take any of those movies and defend them. His last few choices have done nothing to soil his legacy. I haven’t seen 88 Minutes, but it’s got William Forsythe, so it can’t be all bad. Extras include a commentary with Director Jon Avnet, an alternate ending, and 2 featurettes called Director’s Point of View and The Character Within.
Blood Simple
d. The Coen brothers
c. Francis McDormand, John Getz, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
With the release this past weekend of the new Coen flick Burn After Reading, as well as last week’s nice special edition of The Big Lebowski, it is a nice time to be a fan. Blood Simple is being re-released this week in the form of it’s Director’s Cut. I think between the release last week and the one this week, you have a pretty good representation of what Burn After Reading felt like. Add in a little Barton Fink, and you have the mixture of this past weekend’s number one film. I don’t think it will find a wide audience and when the people who just go to see Brad Pitt and George Clooney tell their sewing circles what happened in the film, there will be a definite drop off next weekend. I agree with much of what has been said about the movie, as I was not sure leaving what I thought of it. I loved No Country for Old Men after the first viewing but it took me a long time to appreciate Barton Fink, and I think this is one of those movies that will grow on me. What about Blood Simple? It is a 24-year old film, and that makes me feel really old. It still seems hard to believe the Coen’s have been making their brand of cinema since 1984 (not including their work on friend’s projects such as Evil Dead). Blood Simple is a great fucking movie and if you re-watch it before watching Burn After Reading, you can really appreciate what the brothers have done over the last two-and-a-half decades. I am pretty sure this is the exact same version as the one that is now OOP with a new cover.
Beetlejuice (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
d. Tim Burton
c. Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder
I don’t know if this movie has held up to the test of time. I absolutely loved it when it was first released. I watched it many, many times and loved everything about it. Not even the appearance of the always annoying Winona Ryder swayed me otherwise. Forget Batman, this is my favorite Michael Keaton role of the time period. Now it is twenty years later and we get an anniversary edition. First the good news – it will also be available on Blu-ray. That’s it for the good news. The other news is that the only special features on this so-called “deluxe” edition are three Beetlejuice cartoons (A-Ha, Skeletons in the Closet, Spooky Boo-tique) from the TV series produced by Burton and David Geffen which ran for four seasons. Nothing from Burton. Nothing from Keaton. Nothing from Baldwin. Nothing Nothing Nothing. Fuck.
The Love Guru
d. Marco Schnabel
c. Michael Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Verne Troyer
I loved all three Austin Powers movies and might be one of the few people who actually liked each sequel a little better than the prior ones. Maybe it was more Dr. Evil, who is much more brilliant of a character than Austin Powers himself. However, if you go all the way back to Why I Married an Axe Murderer, you will see that Mike Myers was a one-trick pony, that being a voice comic. I wouldn’t call him an impersonator, though. Dana Carvey is an impersonator (and if you have not seen Carvey’s latest stand up act, you need to grab that DVD now). Myers is more of a vocalist who does accents, mostly Scottish. That makes him perfect for things like Shrek. That makes him hit or miss when it comes to movies. He hits with great characters like Dr. Evil. He misses with stupid characters like The Cat in the Hat. It is discouraging because he can be a good actor (54 is a great example of that). I think he might be lazy and prefers to make funny voices and hope people will come to see him. This time, they did not. Myers shouldn’t care. He has been in one of the most successful franchises in the history of cinema (Shrek) and has grossed more money than anyone to come from Saturday Night Live, with the exception of Eddie Murphy (Thanks Shrek!). When Speed Racer flops, its DVD gets shit. When The Love Guru flops, they assume people were waiting for the DVD and they stack some good shit on it. Go figure. Extras include three featurettes: One Hellava Elephant, Hockey Training for Actors, and Back In The Booth With Trent and Jay, 11 deleted and extended scenes, bloopers, and the films theatrical trailer. The two-disc edition includes all that plus a digital download. You know the protocol for that shit.
TELEVISION ON DVD
OTHERS
COMING SOON
THE NEXT MONTH (aka MY TOP FIVE PICKS)
SEPTEMBER 23
The Godfather Collection – Four-Disc Coppola Restoration [Blu-ray]
L.A. Confidential [Blu-ray]
Friday The 13th – The Series: The First Season
Run, Fat Boy, Run
Leatherheads
SEPTEMBER 30
Iron Man (Ultimate 2-Disc Edition)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Three-Disc Unrated Collector’s Edition)
The Thing [Blu-ray]
Daredevil – The Director’s Cut [Blu-ray]
The Sixth Sense [Blu-ray]
OCTOBER 07
Touch Of Evil (50th Anniversary Edition)
Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition [Blu-ray]
Rear Window (Universal Legacy Series)
Psycho (Special Edition) (Universal Legacy Series)
Vertigo (Universal Legacy Series)
OCTOBER 14
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2-Disc Special Edition)
The Ultimate Matrix Collection [Blu-ray]
Poltergeist [Blu-ray]
War, Inc.
The New World – The Extended Cut
THE BARGAIN BIN
The Love Guru $16.99
The Love Guru: 2 Disc Special Edition w/Digital Copy $22.99
88 Minutes $16.99
Made Of Honor $15.99
Speed Racer $15.99
Young @ Heart $14.99
$4.99 DVDs:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Eragon, Speed Racer: The Next Generation – The Beginning, Speed Racer: Volume IV
$12.99 DVDs:
The Fox & The Hound: 25th Anniversary Edition, The Fox & The Hound 2, Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition, Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas, Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas
2 DVDs For $30 (single price listed):
101 Dalmations $19.99
102 Dalmations $19.99
101 Dalmations II: Patch’s London Adventure $19.99
The Little Mermaid III: Ariel’s Beginning $19.99
The Nightmare Before Christmas: 2 Disc Collector’s Edition w/Digital Copy $24.99
$14.99 DVDs:
What Happens In Vegas, Doomsday, The Scorpion King 2, The Bank Job, 21, The Eye, Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns, First Sunday, Untraceable, There Will Be Blood, Drillbit Taylor: Extended Survival Edition, Witless Protection, Vantage Point, The Other Boleyn Girl, Nim’s Island, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day
Blu-Ray
Stargate $14.99
Total Recall $14.99
Terminator 2: Judgment Day $14.99
Sunshine $24.99
I, Robot $24.99
Robocop $24.99
Alien vs. Predator – Requiem: Extreme Unrated Cut $24.99
Alien vs. Predator $24.99
1408 $24.99
Risky Business $24.99
Married Life $29.99
What Happens In Vegas $24.99
Doomsday $24.99
The Scorpion King 2 $24.99
Pushing Daisies: Season 1 $34.99
Buy Any 2 Blu-Rays From This Section & Save $5:
Speed Racer w/Digital Copy $27.99
Made Of Honor $29.99
The Love Guru w/Digital Copy $29.99
Knocked Up $24.99
The 40 Year Old Virgin: Unrated $24.99
88 Minutes $29.99
Stephen King’s The Mist $29.99
Pirates Of The Caribbean 3 Movie Collection $57.99
DVD Sets:
30 Rock: Season 2 $27.99
30 Rock: Season 1 $34.99
Torchwood: Season 2 $59.99
Chuck: Season 1 $27.99
Pushing Daisies: Season 1 $24.99
Will & Grace: Season 8 $29.99
Will & Grace: The Complete Series $179.99
Criminal Minds: Season 3 $39.99
Criminal Minds: Season 1 / 2 $29.99 each
Avatar, The Last Airbender: Complete Book 3 Collection $44.99
Private Practice: Season 1 $29.99 *
Dirty Sexy Money: Season 1 $29.99 *
* Buy Private Practice: Season 1 & Dirty Sexy Money: Season 1 together on the same receipt and save $10
Dragon Ball Z: Season 6 $39.99 *
Dragonball Z Double Feature: Tree Of Might / Lord Slug > $19.99 *
* Buy the marked Dragonball Z titles together on the same receipt and get both for $45
Speed Racer w/Digital Copy Download $14.99
The Love Guru $17.99
The Love Guru : 2 DIsc w/Digital Copy $22.99
27 Dresses $14.99
88 Minutes $17.99
Vantage Point $17.99
Disney’s 101 Dalmations $19.99
Disney’s 102 Dalmations $19.99
Disney’s 101 Dalmations II: Patch’s London Adventure $19.99
Made Of Honor $14.99 *
* 50 free downloads from eMusic with purchase
$4.99 DVDs:
The Manchurian Candidate (D. Washington), Patriot Games, The Hunt For Red October, Spy Game, For The Love Of The Game, The Legend Of Bagger Vance, 8 Mile, The Order, Double Jeopardy, Jacob’s Ladder, The Road To Perdition, Vanilla Sky, Romeo Must Die, Enemy At The Gates
$6.99 DVDs:
The Family Stone, Legally Blonde, Fools Rush In, 13 Going On 30: Fun & Flirty Edition, Guess Who?, Something’s Gotta Give, Say Anything, Punch Drunk Love, The Girl Next Door, Garden State, Shallow Hal, Friends With Money, Ever After, Sleepless In Seattle: 10th Anniversary Edition, Fever Pitch, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, 50 First Dates, Hitch, Jerry Maguire, Just Married
Blu-Ray
Made Of Honor $27.99
Speed Racer w/Digital Copy $29.99
The Love Guru w/Digital Copy $29.99
DVD Sets:
Dragonball Z: Season 6 $29.99
Will & Grace: Season 8 $29.99
Dirty Sexy Money: Season 1 $29.99 *
Private Practice: Season 1 $29.99 *
* Purchase both marked TV sets together on same receipt and Save $10
Chuck: Season 1 $29.99 *
* Includes a Madden Demo & digital copy included