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True Blood: The Complete Third Season (2010)
dir. Alan Ball
True Blood sure is stupid sometimes, but I can't deny it's entertaining as hell and I'm hooked on it. Now if only they would kill Tara.
Product Decsription:
The 12 episodes composing True Blood: The Complete Third Season are either the best yet or the most ridiculous, depending on one's opinion of the increasing number of monsters entering the scene. As last season saw an onslaught of pagan and ancient Greek-derived "supernaturals," as they're called by Bon Temps' citizens, this season welcomes everything from werewolves, to vampire royalty, to that surprise-being that Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) finally discovers she shares genes with. While the first two seasons centered on the spicy love affair between Sookie and Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), this season branches out once again from the vampire-human cultural blender. From the first episode, "Bad Blood," when Bill is whisked off to meet the King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington (Denis O'Hare), whose villainous scheme will inform all ensuing episodes, one gets less of Sookie and Bill, and more of everything else. For example, Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) reveals himself this time around, starting in the pisodes "Beautifully Broken" and "It Hurts Me Too," in which he tracks down members of his past and in turn meets some new family, like his mischievous brother, Tommy Mickens (Marshall Allman). Following up on Eggs's death at the end of season two, Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) and Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) have multiple police dramas, especially in later episodes like "I Smell a Rat" and "Fresh Blood." This season, too, presents some of life's greatest challenges to Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), as if she hadn't suffered enough after her new love Eggs was shot. Hoyt (Jim Parrack) and Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), as a foil couple to Sookie and Bill's vampire-human coupling, have enormous hurdles to jump over simply to continue dating. While all of these dramas make the characters in Bon Temps come alive like never before, the silliest of the plots continues on, unfortunately, as Queen Sophie-Anne Leclerq (Evan Rachel Wood) has to battle King Edgington for Vamp-Blood sales territory. On the up side of that chess-game narrative, Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård) and his femme fatale, Pam De Beaufort (Kristin Bauer), play much larger roles this season, and in the finale, "Evil Is Going On," Eric not only discovers his deep past history but struggles through his rockiest present dangers thus far. Interestingly, though Sookie is still the protagonist, True Blood appears to be shifting to a wider view, emphasizing the overall community and the effects supernatural warfare has on Bon Temps collectively. Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis), still one of the most charming characters, discovers more about his past, thanks to nurse Jesus Velasquez (Kevin Alejandro), and Jason too discovers a new calling, thanks to Crystal Norris (Lindsay Pulsipher). If anything, this season of past recollections and the realizations of future callings will allow for this excellent series to carry on into infinity, as magical creatures continue to grace this setting enriched with full-fledged characters. Vampires were, as the cast confirms this time around, only the beginning. --Trinie Dalton
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Biutiful (2010)
dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu
Product Decsription:
A heartbreakingly direct performance by Javier Bardem anchors Biutiful, a film from Mexican auteur Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, 21 Grams). Uxbal (Bardem) is not an admirable man: he's a criminal middleman, helping human traffickers and illicit street peddlers in Barcelona. But in the thick of his corrupt and compromised world, Uxbal strives to do some modest good: he demands heaters for the cold basement where illegal Chinese laborers sleep and he carefully scrapes together money for his children, whom he deeply adores. On top of all this, Uxbal can commune with the recently dead, and tries to pass on reassurance to the bereaved. When Uxbal himself is diagnosed with severe cancer, he desperately tries to leave behind something better for his children. This plot summary paints a bleak picture, and there's no question this is--much like Iñárritu's other films, including Amores Perros--an emotionally harrowing experience. But Biutiful is also visually rich and deeply humane, and holds moments of grace that can only be found in sadness and loss. The entire cast brings a fullness of life to all of the characters, no matter how briefly they appear, but Bardem almost never leaves the screen and carries the movie with magnetic force. --Bret Fetzer
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Drive Angry (2011)
dir. Patrick Lussier
Product Decsription:
Take lurid 1970s B movies about fast cars and loose women, add a dash of Nicolas Cage at his most deadpan, and sprinkle CGI and 3D technology on top, and you've got Drive Angry 3D. Damned badass Milton (Cage) literally busts out of hell to rescue his infant granddaughter from a Satan-worshiping cult leader named Jonah King (Billy Burke from the Twilight movies). On his way Milton picks up Piper (Amber Heard), a blond waitress with a bad attitude and a worse boyfriend. But hot on their trail is the Accountant (William Fichtner), a demonic emissary of ambiguous intentions but unstoppable power. From there it's a series of car chases, shootouts, and sex scenes, and sometimes sex scenes that are also shootouts (a bit that was done better, it must be said, in the underrated Shoot 'Em Up). Don't ask for coherence or common sense; this is a movie where pretty much any character's main motivation can be summed up as sheer cussedness. Drive Angry 3D maintains a general sleazy good humor, and Fichtner at least is enjoying himself--he's giving exactly the kind of unexpected, offbeat performance that Cage used to specialize in. (Cage himself is pretty lackluster here, sadly, and wearing one of his worst hairpieces to boot.) This is self-conscious trash; think of it as a companion piece, both in intention and quality, to Quentin Tarentino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse compilation. --Bret Fetzer
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Stanley Kubrick: Limited Edition Collection [Blu-ray]
dir. Stanley Kubrick
People are upset that the movies in this collection aren't set to Kubrick's intended ratios, but all I really care about is if they look good. I'm gonna have to do a little research before picking it up. I've been waiting a long time for a definitive Kubrick collection but I doubt it'll ever come around. Might just pick and choose all the best versions of individual movies and say fuck a collection. Pretty much have to do that anyway since some are released by Criterion, and that's always the way to go. I just wish they could somehow magically pick up the rights to ALL his movies; they all deserve the best treatment. White people problems.
Product Decsription:
9 Groundbreaking Movies. 10 Discs. One Visionary Moviemaker. SPARTACUS (1960) The genre-defining epic tale of a bold gladiator (Kirk Douglas) who leads a triumphant Roman slave revolt. LOLITA (1962) Academic Humbert Humbert (James Mason) is obsessed with a blithe teen (Sue Lyon) in a dark comedy from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) “Accidental” nuclear apocalypse, anyone? Peter Sellers heads the cast of one of the most blazingly hilarious movies of all time. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) “The most awesome, beautiful and mentally stimulating science-fiction film of all time” (Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic). A CLOCKWORK ORANGE: 40th Anniversary Edition (2-Discs) (1971) Future world neo-punk Malcolm McDowell becomes the guinea pig for a government cure of his tendency toward “the old ultraviolence.” BARRY LYNDON (1975) The visually spellbinding tale of an 18th-century Irish rogue’s (Ryan O’Neal) climb to wealth and privilege. THE SHINING (1980) In a macabre masterpiece adapted from Stephen King’s novel, Jack Nicholson falls prey to forces haunting a snowbound mountain resort. FULL METAL JACKET (1987) Marine recruits endure basic training under a leather-lunged D.I., then plunge into the hell of Vietnam. EYES WIDE SHUT (1999) A wife’s admission of unfulfilled longing plunges a Manhattan doctor into a bizarre erotic odyssey. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star.
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Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
dir. Sergio Leone
This definitely deserved a HD release. Classic.
Product Decsription:
The so-called spaghetti Western achieved its apotheosis inSergio Leone's magnificently mythic (and utterly outlandish) Once upon a Time in the West. After a series of international hits starring Clint Eastwood (from A Fistful of Dollars to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly), Leone outdid himself with this spectacular, larger-than-life, horse-operatic epic about how the West was won. (And make no mistake: this is the wide, wide West, folks--so the widescreen/letterboxed version is strongly recommended.) The unholy trinity of Italian cinema--Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Dario Argento--concocted the story about a woman (Claudia Cardinale) hanging onto her land in hopes that the transcontinental railroad would reach her before a steely-eyed, black-hearted killer (Fonda) does. (The film's advertising slogan was: "There were three men in her life. One to take her ... one to love her ... and one to kill her.") Meanwhile, Leone shoots his stars' faces as if they were expansive Western landscapes, and their towering bodies as if they were looming rock formations in John Ford's Monument Valley. --Jim Emerson
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Legend (Ultimate Edition) (1985)
dir. Ridley Scott
Haven't seen this movie in forever, might have to pick up the blu if I can find it somewhere cheap.
Product Decsription:
This strange, 1985 experiment by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) starred the up-and-coming Tom Cruise in a fairy-tale world of dwarfs and unicorns and demons. After the horn of a unicorn is broken, darkness and winter descend upon the world. Cruise's character, helped along by a magic sprite played by David Bennent (The Tin Drum), descends into hell to save paradise. This movie is almost a classic case of art direction gone amok. The somewhat amorphous Cruise doesn't lend much dramatic focus or artistic definition, but the drama between Tim Curry's satanic majesty and Mia Sara's character, who becomes a sort of princess of the netherworld, is pretty captivating. A mixed experience all around that makes one wish it had been more successful. --Tom Keogh
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The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971)
dir. Dario Argento
Product Decsription:
When a simple robbery at a research institute leads to a series of brutal murders, a blind puzzle maker (Academy Award(r) winner Karl Malden of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) and a tenacious reporter (James Franciscus of BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES) begin their own investigation of the crimes. With nine different clues to follow, they uncover a shocking web of twisted genetics and dark sexual secrets that will finally lead them to a shattering climax of violence and suspense. Originally released in 1971, THE CAT O'NINE TAILS secured the international reputation of director Dario Argento as 'The Italian Hitchcock.' This is the definitive version of Argento's masterful second film, presented completely uncut and uncensored in a brand-new High Definition transfer from its original camera negative!
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DVD Picks for June 7th, 2011
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True Grit (2010)
dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
I went and saw this movie a second time in the theater simply to listen to the dialog. I wasn't blown away by the whole thing...it LOOKED amazing, and everyone in it was great, but I don't know...maybe it's just because, since it's the Coen bros, my expectations going in are ridiculously high. Still a great movie, though.
Product Decsription:
A 14-year-old girl needs a man with "true grit" to help her bring in the fugitive who killed her father. That she settles on Rooster Cogburn--a one-eyed, booze-soaked, potbellied U.S. marshal on the downward curve of his career in law enforcement--is the glorious springboard for all versions of True Grit: the Charles Portis novel, the 1969 western that won an Oscar for John Wayne, and the 2010 Coen brothers adaptation. The Coens have some mighty shoes to fill in their version, and their choice for the eye-patch is Jeff Bridges, who growls his way through an understated take on Rooster. Matt Damon plays LaBoeuf, the Texas Ranger who joins the hunt; Josh Brolin is the scurvy killer; and Barry Pepper is the leader of the outlaw gang. Working as usual with cinematographer Roger Deakins, the Coens exhibit their clear, crisp view of western places, thrillingly creating new takes on recognizable vistas such as the frontier town, the snowy forest, and the isolated cabin at night. The Coens revel in the incredibly ornate dialogue, which allows their sardonic attitude to bleed into the material--young actress Hailee Steinfeld doesn't seem at all fazed by the language, which may be a key reason she got the job as heroine Mattie Ross. While True Grit doesn't have the heft of the best films in the Coens' arsenal (there's something very formal and even a wee bit academic about their stroll through this familiar text), they do create a pleasant sense of a good yarn, retold around the campfire for the umpteenth time. --Robert Horton
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Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season (2010)
dir. Vince Gilligan
I'm watching the whole series over again before season 4 starts next month. Damn this show is so good. Like it's unfair to other shows how good this show is. Best on TV right now, for sure.
Product Decsription:
Winner of two 2010 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Bryan Cranston and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season returns, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "the best show on television." Even though his cancer's in remission, chemistry teacher-turned-meth maker Walter White (Cranston) still can't catch a break. his wife (Anna Gunn) has filed for divorce, his DEA agent brother-in-law (Dean Norris) is out to bust him and a Mexican cartel just wants him dead. But with his family's future still at stake Walt cooks up a deal that will make him a fortune, a scheme with a terrible price. Executive produced by Vince Gilligan and Mark Johnson.
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The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro (2011)
Ahhh, nostalgia. Not something I would buy, but I'd watch the shit out of it if it shows up on Netflix. By the way, that History of Wrestlemania is on Netflix, and it is great. The Top 50 Wrestlers DVD however(or 25, cant remember), is a fucking joke.
Product Decsription:
WCW was a long-standing rival of WWE and attempted to take the battle to Monday nights with Monday Nitro, a show that competed directly with Monday Night Raw for 6 years, creating a wealth of famous in-ring moments for sports entertainment fans. Now, for the first time ever, the greatest moments and matches in the history of Monday Nitro are collected in The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro, a 3-disc set that captures the best of WCW from the show that almost ended WWE.
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Just Go With It (2011)
dir. Dennis Dugan
Product Decsription:
It all comes down to chemistry. And the two main stars of Just Go with It, Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, thankfully, have chemistry to spare. Both actors have plenty of sheer likability and honest ease, as well as sparks in just the right places, which helps propel Just Go with It to its satisfying (if a bit predictable) conclusion. (Hollywood execs: Consider an update of Moonlighting starring these two.) If the premise, loosely based on the Goldie Hawn film Cactus Flower, stretches reality, the capability of the whole cast makes Just Go with It an enjoyable ride. Sandler plays Danny, a surgeon who falls for a much-younger bombshell, Palmer (swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker, a surprisingly natural actress). But when Palmer finds the fake wedding band that commitment-phobe Danny has used for his no-strings-attached previous relationships, the web of fibs begins. Danny asks his assistant, Katherine (Aniston), to pretend to be his soon-to-be-ex-wife, and Aniston plays it to the hilt. But soon Danny's wobbly house of cards includes Katherine's children--and, in the ultimate romantic-comedy trope, a group trip to Hawaii to work things out. The cast really is stellar, including very small supporting roles by Nicole Kidman and singer Dave Matthews, as an insufferable couple disliked intensely by Katherine. (Of course they end up in Hawaii with the gang, too.) Minka Kelly, Kevin Nealon, and Rachel Dratch also make memorable cameos. But it's Sandler and Aniston, along with the snappy direction by Dennis Dugan (Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy), who make Just Go with It one of the more romantic--and funny--romantic comedies in recent memory. Our advice: Sit back, and just go with it. --A.T. Hurley
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The Company Men (2010)
dir. John Wells
Product Decsription:
In creating ER, writer-director John Wells launched the career of George Clooney, who starred in Up in the Air, which could serve as a prequel to The Company Men. When times get tough, Boston shipping conglomerate GTX sheds employees--while CEO James Salinger (Craig T. Nelson) retains his $22 million salary. HR director Sally Wilcox (Maria Bello), the companion of married cofounder Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones, the standout in a strong cast), fires sales manager Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) during the first round of cuts. Though Bobby's wife, Maggie (Mad Men's Rosemarie DeWitt), doesn't think any less of him, her husband feels like a failure. She returns to work, while Bobby enters a job placement program, but he only meets with rejection. During the next round, Sally fires Gene and Phil (Chris Cooper). While the former has a financial cushion, Phil's situation mirrors Bobby's, except he's 23 years older, making the situation more difficult. When Maggie's brother, Jack (Kevin Costner), offers Bobby a construction job, he declines--until fate forces his hand. He soon comes to find that Salinger's way of running a business isn't the only way. His education reflects the filmmaker's concern about men who define themselves by their jobs, but an underlying message involves overly confident execs who fail to save for a rainy day. The Company Men charts the path of those who fail to adapt to a changing landscape, and those who do, making for a film that's far more sobering than depressing. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Muammar El Qaddafi - King Of Kings (2010)
dir. n/a
Not only is the cover just ridiculous, but I liked the quote from Qaddafi on the box...."I do not fear anything. If you fear God, you do not fear anything." Uhhh....what?
Product Decsription:
Muammar El-Qaddafi is one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world. In 1969, at the tender age of 27, he strategically became the ruler of Libya. His uncanny ability to organize, while simultaneously annihilating his enemies, has allowed him to reign over Libya for over 40 years. This is the riveting and controversial story of how a modest desert nomad transcended into a major power in the Middle East.
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