Notable discs this week.
BIG-TICKET ITEMS(the ones everyone but
you will be able
to find at Blockbuster this week)
Children of Men - Alfonso Cuaron's grim, violent vision of the future terrorizes your DVD player. Also available on
HD-DVD.
Curse of the Golden Flower - Zhang Yimou's hollowly attractive epic. It'll probably look nice on disc, though.
Happy Feet - The Oscar-winning dancing penguins. Also available on
Blu-Ray and
HD-DVD.
The Last King Of Scotland - Forest Whitaker won an Oscar for his performance as Idi Amin.
The Pursuit Of Happyness - Will Smith in the true story of a homeless guy who made good. Also available on
Blu-Ray.
Turistas -
Hostel wannabe directed by John Stockwell, who used to be an actor (John Carpenter's
Christine).
Van Wilder: The Rise Of Taj - Kal Penn gets a chance to fly solo.
ACTION-ADVENTUREBuddha's Palm - "From the action director of
Hero and
House of Flying Daggers." By that they mean Ching Siu Tung, not Zhang Yimou. From 2004, and not to be confused with the 1982 Shaw Brothers kung fu flick of the same name.
A Bullet for the General - 1967 spaghetti western with Gian Maria Volonte and Klaus Kinski. See also
Texas, Adios, also out this week from Blue Underground.
Confessions Of A Thug - "A former mob boss schools a college-educated protégé to be his successor in this hip-hop musical."
Constantine and the Cross - "A saga of the early Christians' fight for the freedom to worship. Constantine defeats the Roman armies and employs the Edict of Tolerance." From 1962. You might also enjoy
Giants Of Rome and
Hercules Unchained, also out this week.
Dog Day - "Fugitive Jimmy Cobb hides in a farm, only to face a betrayal by the people who live there. Each wants a different form of payment--at prices that may be too high for Cobb to pay. But when the stakes are a million dollars in cash and a country's reputation, he may have little choice." Starring Lee Marvin. From 1983.
Lock Up - Stallone prison flick.
Pigs - "With the fall of the iron curtain, organized crime has taken hold of Poland. This hard-edged action film finds Franz and Olo, two ex-KGB agents turned cops, assigned with cleaning it up. But, while battling the mob and police superiors suspicious of their Communist pasts, these partners must also forge new identities in a country transformed by political upheaval."
Warriors DVD 3-Pack - Contains
The Patriot, A Knight's Tale, and
Das Boot. So...two Heath Ledger movies and a German war flick. Um. Okay.
CLASSICSErrol Flynn: Signature Collection 2 - Contains
The Adventures Of Don Juan,
The Charge Of The Light Brigade,
The Dawn Patrol,
Dive Bomber, and
Gentleman Jim, also available separately this week.
Buster Crabbe Collection - "7 movies and 12 episodes on 3 DVDs." The episodes are
Flash Gordon.
The Gospel According to St. Matthew - Pier Paolo Pasolini's version of the Christ story.
Inside the Lines - "Based on a 1915 Broadway play set during World War I, two spies behind German lines fall in love with each other though each suspects the other of being a double agent." From 1930.
King Kelly of the U.S.A. - "Romance aboard a luxury liner crossing the Atlantic in this vintage musical." From 1934.
Little Rascals Box Set - Contains
Best of Our Gang,
Best of Spanky, and
Superstars of Our Gang, also sold individually.
School for Scoundrels - Yeah, that Billy Bob Thornton/Jon Heder comedy was a remake of this 1960 British comedy.
Shirley Temple Collection 5 - Contains
The Blue Bird,
The Little Princess, and
Stand Up & Cheer, all also available separately this week.
Sky Racket - "An heiress and a Federal agent are on a mission to roust a gang of ruthless gangsters."
Tarzan and the Green Goddess - "A feature film taken from the 12-chapter Tarzan serial
The New Adventures of Tarzan."
Ticket to Paradise - "An amnesia victim runs off with a young woman in this screwball comedy."
Valley of Wanted Men - "Three men escape in a prison break. One of them was unjustly accused of robbery. His boss's son believes he is innocent as well and sets out to prove it and save his friend who now has a price on his head." From 1935.
COMEDYColor Me Kubrick - John Makovich as a guy who pretended to be Kubrick. Based, believe it or not, on a true story.
Combat Comedy Tour - "Takes us on a road-trip with the USO visiting the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, with stopovers in Kuwait and Dubai for relaxation. Featuring standup-comedy routines by Richard Villa (MTV, MunDos) as well as interviews with the troops on and off duty, including personal greetings to their families back home. A classic look at when soldiers at war take time off to laugh."
Comeback Season - Bruce McCulloch directed this Canadian entry starring Ray Liotta, Glenne Headly and Rachel Blanchard.
Dick Van Dyke: In Rare Form - "This revelatory and highly entertaining collection of vintage performances — many not seen since the 1950s — showcase a comic legend in the making."
Funny Money - "Chevy Chase plays a factory worker who finds himself in possession of a briefcase containing five million dollars in this mob-themed comedy." It's nice that Chevy is still getting work.
Groucho Marx & Redd Foxx - "Comic greats Redd Foxx and Groucho Marx headline this hilarious double bill of old school style stand-up comedy, performed live in front of a studio audience."
Giuseppe in Warsaw - "Legendary Polish screen stars Zbigniew Cybulski and Elzbieta Czyzewski lead this light-hearted comedy set in occupied Poland during World War II." From 1964.
Heartbreak High - Raunchy 1981 football comedy with John Vernon, Norman Fell, and Robert Forster.
Lovers and Liars - Goldie Hawn romantic comedy from 1980.
Old Boyfriends - Talia Shire goes around trying to contact all her, yes, old boyfriends. Co-starring Keith Carradine and John Belushi. It's from 1979.
Pervert! - "With a nod to the sexploitation classics of the past, PERVERT! combines horror and comedy with eye-popping results." Porn star turned politician Mary Carey is in it.
The Pickle - Re-issue of Paul Mazursky's Hollywood satire. Mazursky's 1982
Tempest also comes out this week.
Premium - "A struggling African-American actor tries to win back the love of his life. The twist in the tale is that she's getting married in just 38 hours, leading to a frantic race to win her heart."
Sex Sells - "Director Chuck Steak is making his last film and wants to go out with a bang by concocting the biggest and most absurdly complicated adult film ever made. Along the way everything that can possibly go wrong does; tempers flare, secrets are revealed and a hidden past is exposed. Sex Sells is wild, hilarious and heartwarming; a Boogie Nights meets Spinal Tap mockumentary with a big bottom line."
CRITERIONEarly Bergman - Five-disc set containing
Torment, Crisis, Port of Call, Thirst, and
To Joy.
Fires On The Plain - "An agonizing portrait of desperate Japanese soldiers stranded in a strange land during World War II, Kon Ichikawa’s
Fires on the Plain is a compelling descent into psychological and physical oblivion."
CULT10 Violent Women - "What happens when ten sexy, frustrated working women decide to throw away their 9 to 5 lifestyle and become jewelry robbers? Ted V. Mikels'
10 Violent Women dares to imagine the answer to this question, employing a cast of beautiful actresses to play the ten lovely women gone on a crime spree. Although the ladies originally meet with success, their most daring theft lands two of them in prison, where they must deal with the sexual demands of a predatory female warden." Mikels'
The Doll Squad is also out this week.
42nd Street Forever: XXX-Treme Special Edition - Vintage trailers for porn flicks. Adults only.
Blonde Comet - "A female race car driver races to save her dad's tire company." From 1941, starring Virginia Vale.
Dust Devil: Final Cut - For those who didn't want to spring for the 3-disc edition of Richard Stanley's sophomore effort, here's a cheaper single-disc edition.
The Goddess of 1967 - A Japanese man goes looking for the car that was in
Le Samourai. Instead he finds Rose Byrne (whose post-
Casino Royale fame is probably why this 2000 film is hitting DVD now).
Hundra - "It's the Dark Ages, and savage men enslave all women, except for Hundra the Invincible. She leads a valiant tribe of women who dare to be free." A 1983 non-classic directed by Matt Cimber (
Butterfly,
The Lonely Lady). It warrants a 2-disc edition for some reason.
Miike Madness, Vol. 2 - Contains two more films from Japan's most notorious and prolific director, Takashi Miike:
The Bird People in China and
Osaka Tough Guys.
DOCUMENTARYBottom of the Ninth - "Directed by Oscar nominee Chuck Braverman (
Curtain Call,
American Time Capsule),
Bottom of the Ninth is a real-life
Bull Durham story. This documentary chronicles a season with the Somerset Patriots, a minor league baseball team in a race for the championship."
Celtic Tides: A Musical Odyssey - "This video version of Putumayo's collection of music features rare interviews and performances, while showcasing the Celtic ruins and dramatic landscapes which form the environmental influences on the artists featured."
Children of War: The Evacuees - "Relates the stories, sometimes heart-warming and sometimes tragic, of the city children that a well-intentioned but possibly misguided government sent to seek shelter in the countryside. Compiled from archive photographs and film, the subject is explored by experts in this field and the memories of the children themselves. Now grown old, their scars have still not healed."
Clarkson: Heaven And Hell - "Jeremy Clarkson is an irascible British television personality whose automotive expertise has lit up shows such as
Top Gear. In
Heaven and Hell Clarkson offers an indispensable guide to both the best and worst cars on the market, and gives them all a rigorous test-drive to show how good or bad they really are."
Docurama Film Festival III - A box set of ten documentaries. One has been released before (
Naked States). The other nine are new to DVD, and are also available separately this week:
Dark Circle;
Following Sean;
Gitmo: The New Rules Of War;
Leona's Sister Gerri;
Music From The Inside Out;
Of Civil Wrongs & Rights;
Stagedoor;
Well Founded Fear; and
Yellow Brick Road.
Extreme Private Eros Love Song 1974 - "This provocative documentary by Japanese filmmaker Kazuo Hara takes an intimate look at his former lover, Takeda Miyuki. Using the camera as a basis for continued interaction, Hara probes the dissolution of their relationship, and Miyuki's place as a feminist and bisexual within the traditional confines of 1970s Japan."
The Films of Luc Moullet: Anatomy of a Relationship & Genesis of a Meal - "Luc Moullet, original member of the French New Wave and long-time critic for
Cahiers du Cinema, directed these distinctive documentaries that resonate with his absurdist view and maverick vision." If you like these, there are two other Moullet discs.
Hacking Democracy - "Filmed for HBO, this documentary takes a detailed look at the voting process, with a particular focus on how votes are counted. An inspirational grandmother, Bev Harris, leads a pack of activists as they uncover some startling facts and take on Diebold — the company responsible for manufacturing electronic voting machines."
Hip Hop Legends - "It all started with two turntables and a microphone. Uncover the real history of Hip Hop, with exclusive interviews from the original gangsters, the pioneers of Hip Hop from the South Bronx." With DMC, Afrika Bambaataa & the Zulu Nation, Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five, Busy Bee, Kurtis Blow, DJ Skribble, Crash Crew, Grandmaster Caz, Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock.
IMAX: Deep Sea 3-D - "Famed oceanic filmmaker Howard Hall guides this immersive adventure that lets you swim alongside some of the most exotic creatures of the planet. Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet provide the narration."
Little Dieter Needs To Fly - Reissue of Werner Herzog's documentary, timed to cash in on Herzog's upcoming narrative film on the subject,
Rescue Dawn.
Motherland Afghanistan - "Filmmaker Sedika Mojadidi and her father, Dr. Qudrat Mojadidi, are Afghans who have made a home in the United States. After the US-led invasion to oust the Taliban, Dr. Mojadidi, a specialist in women's health, decides to return to his war-ravaged homeland to help rebuild and modernize the hospitals and clinics which serve the women of Afghanistan. Sedika, camera in hand, accompanies her father in order to document this most difficult yet rewarding journey."
N Is a Number - "A wandering documentary capturing the essence of mathematician Paul Erdos, this film follows him through four countries as he continues his metaphysical battle with God to discover the secrets of the universe."
Origins of the Mafia - "This insightful program traces the humble beginnings of the Mafia. Its roots are discovered in 16th-century Sicily, and then followed as they flourish into an organized crime outfit."
Panama Deception - "This documentary details the case that the 1989 invasion of Panama by the US was motivated not by the need to protect American soldiers, restore democracy or even capture Noriega. It was to force Panama to submit to the will of the United States after Noriega had exhausted his usefulness."
Relentless Enemies - "Lions and buffalos are deadly rivals in the wild, and this film shows how brutal their confrontations can get. Produced for the National Geographic channel, award-winning filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert (
Eye of the Leopard) capture some remarkable footage on film." Also available on
Blu-Ray and
HD-DVD.
Tokyo Underground - "Gives a glimpse into Japan's street racing subculture."
DRAMA20 Fingers - "First-time director Mania Akbari explores the heartbreak and joy of romantic relationships through the stories of seven couples searching for happiness. Composed of seven vignettes, the film features the same two actors in each episode, playing different characters." From Iran. Another Iranian film out this week:
Men at Work.
The Bow - Korean drama. "A sixty-year-old man has been raising a young girl since she was six years old and plans to marry her next month when she turns seventeen. Living their lives together on a fishing boat, he is very protective of her and will gladly put an arrow into anyone who touches her. She’s content with her life until a young man shows up and introduces her to a world beyond — which changes everything."
Candy - "Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish play Dan and Candy, two young bohemians who fall madly in love while shooting heroin together." All righty then.
Cast Away - If you missed out on the 2-disc special edition of this Tom Hanks survival fable after Fox put it on moratorium, here it is again.
Damned If You Don't - One of several discs out this week from the trailblazing lesbian filmmaker Su Friedrich; see also
Hide and Seek,
Odds of Recovery,
Sink or Swim, and
The Ties That Bind.
The Great Match - "Each of the three groups - Mongolian nomads, Brazilian natives, and Niger tribesmen - endeavor to view a World Cup soccer game on television."
The Incredible Journey Of Mary Bryant - "This biopic is based on the life of Mary Bryant, an escaped convict who undertook an epic and perilous journey as she fled from Australia in an attempt to return to her native England in 1788."
Judi Dench Collection - Judi, Judi, Judi. Eight discs' worth of Judi. In addition to
The Cherry Orchard (1981/1962) , which is available separately this week, there are also
Talking to a Stranger, Parts 1-4; Keep an Eye on Amelie; Make and Break; Langrishe, Go Down; Absolute Hell; Ghosts; Can You Hear Me Thinking?; and
Going Gently.
The Lady and the Highwayman - 1989 swashbuckler/romance starring Hugh Grant and Emma Samms.
Lola - "Marks the stunning feature debut of Mexico’s leading female director, Maria Novaro, who offers a different perspective on motherhood, a prominent theme in Latin American cinema." From 1989.
Princesas - "Director and screenwriter Fernando León de Aranoa takes to the streets of Spain for this drama, which focuses on the lives and aspirations of a group of prostitutes."
Roman - "Angela Bettis reunites with
May's director, Lucky McKee, but the tables are turned in
Roman, with her behind the camera and him in front. McKee plays the title character, an awkward man consumed by his love for a young beauty (Kristen Bell). But when he finally comes face to face with the object of his obsession, things turn gruesome. Written by McKee,
Roman features the same dark sensibility that made
May such a favorite with horror fans." Hmmmm. Verrry interesting, since I'm a big fan of
May.
Sunsplit - "In the tradition of
Crash,
Sunsplit is an absorbing tale of three unique Los Angeles individuals." Does that mean this will be preachy and overrated, too?
HORRORAfter Dark Horror Fest - A collection of low-budget horror films that were shown as a festival in some cities last Halloween. They're also all available separately, and they are:
Dark Ride;
The Gravedancers;
The Hamiltons;
Penny Dreadful;
Reincarnation;
Unrest; and
Wicked Little Things.
Albert Fish - Docudrama about "the elderly cannibal, sadomasochist, and serial killer, who lured children to their deaths in Depression-era New York City."
Cinema of Death - Five short underground horror films:
Adoration,
Dislandia, Pig, Hollywood Babylon, and
Le Poeme. It's reviewed
here if you need to know more.
Omoo Omoo, the Shark God - "A cheapie horror film about plunderers of a sacred voodoo shrine who are haunted by the curse of the Shark God. Based on the novel by Herman Melville." From 1949.
Pumpkinhead: Ashes To Ashes - "Horror icons Doug Bradley and Lance Henriksen star in this riveting continuation of the
Pumpkinhead series."
Shutter - "A young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past." Thai horror.
TV50's TV Comedy Double Feature: Life of Riley/Our Miss Brooks7th Heaven: Season #4The Addams Family: Volume #2 The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series Family Affair: Season #3 Full House: Seasons #1-#6 The Jeffersons: Season #6 Mary Hartman Mary Hartman Vol. 1 Midsomer Murders: Set 8Mind Of Mencia: Season #2 One Foot In The Grave: Season #1 One Foot In The Grave: Season #2 The Shield: Season #5 Sleepers (BBC)
Touched By An Angel: Season #4 v1Whose Line Is It Anyway: Seasons #1#-2
KIDSBob the Builder: Top TeamThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair (BBC)
Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes 1 The New Adventures of He-Man: Vol. 2 Noisy Nora & More Stories About Mischief The Pebble & the Penguin Sonic The Hedgehog: The Complete Series
ANIMEAkira Kurosawa's Samurai 7: The Complete SeriesBasilisk: Vol. 6: Fate's Finest HourBleach: Vol. 3Countdown AkiraCoyote Ragtime Show: Vol. 2: CliffhangerGaoGaiGar: King of Braves: Vol 4: Hammer of HeroesGenshiken: Economy Collection Hikaru no Go: Vol. 7: The Young Lions Tournament Moeyo Ken TV: Vol. 2: Shanghai a Go-Go Naruto: Vol. 10: Surviving the Cut! Rumbling Hearts: Vol. 3 Tactics: Vol. 4 To Heart Vol. 1: New Feelings Tokko: Vol. 1
BLU-RAYMarch Of The Penguins
HD-DVDHDScape SamplerMarch Of The Penguins
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