THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 1st, 2009

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON

Special Features

  • Commentaries

Saturday Night Live: The Complete Fifth Season has some of the best odd episodes of the original cast. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi left at the end of season four, but they came back for the 100th episode. Mr. Bill and the supporting bits got more attention. Hell, Bill Murray flourished as the lead male comedian. Murray found new comfort playing against frequent hosts Buck Henry and Steve Martin. Plus, you had the memorable music performances from a lot of new musical faces. Blondie, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and David Bowie made their first bows on SNL this year. Father Guido Sarducci  also got his start this year. They can’t all be gems. If you have Netflix, you can watch this season on Instant View right now.



PAPER HEART

Special Features

  • Music Video
  • Music Performances
  • Featurettes
  • Deleted Scenes

Paper Heart was the indie film that you couldn’t escape this summer. Targeted ads made sure that anyone who has ever been to a movie site would know that the movie was coming. It landed on less than 100 screens, then vanished to the eventual Home Video window. Anchor Bay releases this film on Blu-Ray and DVD on Tuesday. After three or four screenings of the film, I can’t say that I find any reason to watch the movie. Charlyne Yi is charming as hell, but she can’t carry a movie. Playing off the documentary angle allowed the filmmakers some flexibility with the story. But, nothing ever happened. Michael Cera also appears as the guy who craps Arcade Fire CDs.

A CHRISTMAS TALE (CRITERION COLLECTION)

Special Features

  • Featurettes
  • Trailers


A Christmas Tale shows the world that Catherine Deneuve does age. Playing an aging French matriarch, Deneuve gathers her children around her for a Holiday bombshell. She needs a bone marrow donor. The doctors find out which relative can donate the marrow, but a complicated family history causes new problems to arise. The modern Jazz soundtrack makes light of the subject matter. But, it’s French and from Criterion so some arthouse kid will probably find a reason to buy it. Now, onto my Criterion sub-section showboating.

OBSESSIVE DVD NERDS, I BESEECH YOU!

The
Chewer
Nation has been having fun with the little monthly challenges I’ve
thrown down. I’ve got a new one that just might take us through the end
of 2009. What I want us all to do is to review The Criterion
Collection
. But, there’s a catch. The number of words you can use will
be determined by the spine number.

Due to length, click on the titles to access the spine specific reviews.

1. Grand Illusion
2. The Seven Samurai
3. The Lady Vanishes
4. Amarcord
5. The 400 Blows
6. Beauty and the Beast
7. A Night to Remember

8.
The Killer

9.
Hard Boiled
10. Walkabout

11. The Seventh Seal
12. This is Spinal Tap
13. The Silence Of The Lambs
14. Samurai I: Mushashi Miyamoto
15. Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple
16. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
17. Salo or The 120 Days of Sodom
18. The Naked Kiss
19. Shock Corridor
20. Sid & Nancy
21. Dead Ringers
22. Summertime
23. Robocop
24. High and Low
25. Alphaville
26. The Long Good Friday
27. Flesh for Frankenstein
28. Blood for Dracula
29. Picnic at Hanging Rock

30. M

31. Great Expectations
32. Oliver Twist
33. Nanook of the North
34. Andrei Rublev
35. Diabolique
36. The Wages of Fear
37. Time Bandits
38. Branded to Kill
39. Tokyo Drifter
40. Armageddon
41. Henry V
42. Fishing with John
43. Lord of the Flies
44. The Red Shoes
45. A Taste of Cherry
46. The Most Dangerous Game
47. Insomnia
48. Black Orpheus
49. Nights of Cabiria
50. And The Ship Sails On
51. Brazil
52. Sanjuro
53. Yojimbo
54. For All Mankind
55. The Unbearable Lightness of Being
56. The 39 Steps
57. Charade
58. Peeping Tom
59. The Night Porter
60. Autumn Sonata
61. Monty Python’s The Life of Brian
62. The Passion of Joan of Arc
63. Carnival of Souls
64. The Third Man
65. Rushmore
66. The Orphic Trilogy
67. Blood of the Poet
68. Orpheus
69. Testament of Orpheus
70. The Last Temptation of Christ
71. The Magic Flute
72. Le Million
73. Cleo from 5 to 7
74. Vagabond
75. Chasing Amy
76. Brief Encounter
77. And God Created Woman
78. The Bank Dick
79. W.C. Fields – Six Short Films
80. The Element of Crime
81. Variety Lights
82. Hamlet
83. The Harder They Come
84. Good Morning 
85. Pygmalion
86. Eisenstein Box Set – The Sound Years
87. Alexander Nevsky
88. Ivan the Terrible – Parts I and II
89. Sisters
90. Kwaidan
91. The Blob
92. Fiend without a Face
93. Black Narcissus
94. I Know Where I’m Going
95. All That Heaven Allows
96. Written on the Wind
97. Do the Right Thing
98. L’Avventura
99. Gimme Shelter
100. Beastie Boys Video Anthology
104. Double Suicide
116. The Hidden Fortress
151. Traffic
157. The Royal Tenenbaums
175. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

and so on and so on.

Post your Criterion reviews on the CHUD message board.

THE REST OF THE DVDs THIS WEEK

Ben 10: Alien Swarm
Best Laid Plans (Special Edition)
Better Off Ted: The Complete First Season
The Brooklyn Heist
Le Chevalier D’Eon: The Complete Collection
A Christmas Tale (The Criterion Collection)
Code Geass Leouch Of The Rebellion: R2, Pt. 3 (Standard Edition)
Code Geass Leouch Of The Rebellion: R2, Pt. 3 (Limited Edition)
Daydreamer
Deadline
Death Warrior
The Donna Reed Show: Season Three
Frat Party
The Girl In The Park
Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino – OVA
Harry Potter: Wizarding World (DVD Game)
Hayate The Combat Butler, Vol. 3
Hunter X Hunter, Vol. 4
IMAX: Ride Around The World
Into The Storm
The Jazz Singer: 30th Anniversary Edition
Knife Of Ice
Legend Of The Dragon
Little Red Devil
Live!
Love Comes Softly: The Complete Collection
Mental: The Complete First Season
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Choo-Choo Express
Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Pt. 3 (Standard Edition)
Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Pt. 3 (Special Edition)
My Z-Hime: My Otome – Complete Collection (Anime Legends)
Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XVI
Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian
Pale Force
Paper Heart
Sahara Cross
Saturday Night Live: The Complete Fifth Season
Silent Night, Deadly Night III, IV And V (Three-Disc Set)
Staggered
Sukisho! Complete
Terminator Salvation (Theatrical Cut)
Toward The Terra: Complete Collection
2 Turntables And A Microphone: The Life And Death Of Jam Master Jay
UFC 102: Couture Vs Nogueira
UFC 103: Franklin Vs Belfort
White Out
WWE: The History Of The World Heavyweight Championship

BLU-RAY: IT’S GETTING CHEAPER

Ben 10: Alien Swarm
BluScenes: The Classic Fireplace
BluScenes: Coral Reef Aquarium
BluScenes: Journey Through Space
A Christmas Tale (The Criterion Collection)
Deadline
Death Warrior
The Green Mile (Book Packaging)
Gremlins
IMAX: Ride Around The World
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels
The Mask Of Zorro
Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)
Night At The Museum/Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian (Double Pack)
Paper Heart
The Rolling Stones: Gimme Shelter (The Criterion Collection)
Secondhand Lions
Snatch
Terminator Salvation (Director’s Cut)
The Wizard Of Oz

SPEND YOUR MONEY!

NEW RELEASES


*Blu-Ray prices are in BOLD BLUE

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian       $15.99 $22.99 $22.99
Terminator: Salvation                                              $15.99 $22.99  $19.99

$14.99 DVD Sale

I Love You, Beth Cooper
Aliens in the Attic
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

$10 DVD Sale

Ice Age: The Meltdown
Night at the Museum
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Horton Hears a Who (recent CG version)

DVD Gift Sets

Superman I-IV DVD set  $8.99
Batman (The Burton/Schumacher Years) Gift Set  $8.99
Ocean’s Eleven Gift Set          $8.99
Police Academy I-IV gift set    $8.99
Jurassic Park Trilogy               $12.99
The Bourne Trilogy                 $16.99

Great Battles of World War II      $6.99
John Wayne: Public Domain Collection   $6.99

$15 TV on DVD Sale

That 70s Show: Seasons 4-6
Roseanne:Seasons 6-9
Charlie’s Angels: The Complete First Season
NCIS: The Complete First Season
Bewitched: The First Season in Color
Dora the Explorer: Dora’s Double-Length Adventures


———————————————–

NEW RELEASES

*Blu-Ray prices are in BOLD BLUE

Terminator: Salvation                                          $15.99 $19.99  $34.99
Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian    $15.99 $22.99  $22.99
Terminator: Salvation – The Machinima Series     $4.99 
Paper Heart                                                       $16.99
Star Trek (2009)                                                $29.99 
Marley and Me                                                  $9.99  $19.99
Night at the Museum                                          $9.99  $19.99
Alvin and the Chipmunks                                    $9.99  $19.99
Angels and Demons                                            $24.99

$9.99 BLU-RAY BONANZA!

Risky Business
In the Valley of Elah
Patton
The Pelican Brief
A Time to Kill
Donnie Darko
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

$12.99 BLU-RAY BONANZA!

The Monster Squad
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
The Ninth Gate
Requiem for a Dream

$14.99 BLU-RAY BONANZA!

Dogma
Ghost Rider
The Pink Panther
A Knight’s Tale



$19.99 BLU-RAY BONANZA!

Shorts
My Sister’s Keeper
Up
Four Christmases
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Bruno
Snatch

$39.99 BLU-RAY BOX-SET BLOWOUT!

X-MEN TRILOGY
ROCKY: THE UNDISPUTED COLLECTION
FOX SEARCHLIGHT COLLECTION: VOL. 1
WAR HERO COLLECTION (FOX)
007 VOLUME 3 COLLECTION

$9.99 DVD Sale
(BUY 5, GET A $20 GIFT CARD INSTANTLY)

Jumper
Max Payne
3:10 to Yuma
Mirrors
Punisher: War Zone
Office Space
Transporter 3
27 Dresses
Forbidden Kingdom
Death Race: Unrated
Back to the Future
Gandhi
Hulk (2008)
The Big Lebowski
The Tale of Despereaux
Role Models
Snatch
Forgetting Sarah Marshall


CHRISTMAS MOVIE SALE

Elf                                                    $9.99
Home Alone                                     $9.99
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer     $9.99
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)           $9.99
A Charlie Brown Christmas      $14.99
Fred Claus                               $14.99
Muppet Christmas Carol           $14.99
A Christmas Carol (1951)         $14.99
Santa Buddies                           $19.99
3-DVD Disney Princess Pack    $19.99
3-DVD Disney Holiday Pack                          $29.99
3-DVD Disney Dogs Pack                              $29.99
3-DVD Disney High School Musical Pack       $39.99
3-DVD Disney Concert Pack                          $39.99