Each week DVDs come out. Some of them are worth your time and money and some aren’t. Some of them are movies I’ve seen, and some of them aren’t. Regardless, I give you my opinion on the big releases of the week. Take it or leave it, here’s the DVD Blend.
The Amityville Collection - The first of this week’s attempts to cash in on theatrical releases, this collection of the first three Amityville films is coming out just in time for the remake of The Amityville Horror to hit theaters. Fortunately this four disc set avoids the later made-for-tv Amityville sequels and sticks to the theatrical three as well as a fourth supplementary disc. Don’t want Amityville 3-D or don’t care about the supplementary disc? The movies are also being made available outside of the collection so you can pick and choose as you want, although the discs won’t have any bonus features individually. Still, while the remake does look promising, you just can’t beat James Brolin in the original Amityville Horror.
Catwoman/Gothika Two Pack - Wow - someone got the bright idea to combine Halle Berry’s greatest hits into one collection. Check out the Oscar Award winning actress (man it pains me to say that) as she swings around with little leather strips, clawing and meowing and fighting Sharon Stone. Then, if you’re still sober after sitting through that, check out her “intellectual thriller” where she may or may not be crazy and may or may not be seeing dead people. Now that’s what I call an evening worthy of alcohol poisoning and maybe, if you’re lucky, a trip to the hospital.
Dragon’s World: A Fantasy Made Real - Because Dinosaurs roaming the earth could only take up so many hours of television, the folks over at Columbia Pictures are presenting a hypothetical existence of dragons. Created by the effects company behind “Walking with Dinosaurs”, “Dragons” works off hypothesis by Harry and Charlie Foley as well as the imagination of Neil Gaiman to create a case that dragons might really have been around at one point. The theories are interesting enough for anyone who has ever wanted to believe the mythological beasts could be real, and the visuals make you want to believe. This DVD contains almost an hour more than its television broadcast, which had its debut on American TV just a few weeks ago.
Elektra - Jennifer Garner comes close to breaking boyfriend Ben Affleck’s record for quickest turn around time from theater to DVD with this spin off from their super-hero flick Daredevil. Elektra actually managed to make Daredevil look like an Oscar-worthy film in a lot of critic's eyes, drawing flack for being just about as flat as a movie can get. Do you think the two of them cuddle up on a cold evening and compare the disaster’s they’ve starred in? “I’ll see your 13 Going on 30 and raise you Pearl Harbor.” “Oh, you can’t count that - both of us were in Pearl Harbor” “Yeah, but I starred in it. You were just a nurse.” Yup, the conversations they must have while attempting to produce the next generation of beautiful actors and actresses to star in dull, languid movies.
The Greatest American Hero - Season Two - We’ve only been doing the DVD Blend for about a month and a half now and it feels like just a few weeks ago I mentioned the release of Season One of this show. Oh, it was. You’d think if they had Season Two ready this close to Season One they’d just go ahead and release both seasons together, especially since Season One only had nine episodes. Apparently not though - Anchor Bay has to squeeze the 80’s fans for all the money they can get. There were only three seasons of “The Greatest American Hero”, leaving William Katt free to move on to films like House IV and Problem Child 3. Still, “Hero” was a pretty funny television show, even if a little dated. Check out season two as “The Greatest American Hero” joins the circus, pitches in the World Series, and prevents World War III.
Highlander - The Final Dimension (Director’s Cut) - Do we really need yet another edit of one of the Highlander films? Given, The Final Dimension is probably the best sequel to The Highlander, a franchise that should have ended with the first film. This film does what fans everywhere wish they could do and disregards the existence of The Quickening altogether. This time Connor MacLeod is up against a sorcerer immortal named Kane, played by Mario Van Peebles. The rumored changes coming with this Director’s Cut involve more risque sex scenes, returning the film to a Rated-R status (the theatrical cut was a PG-13). As long as Final Dimension ignores that the second film ever existed, there’s nothing a director’s cut can do to hurt it.
The Island of Dr. Moreau (Unrated Director’s Cut) - You have to wonder how much of Dr Moreau’s eccentricity in this film was scripted, and how much was just because by the time this film was made Marlon Brando was a few fries short of a Happy Meal. The classic H.G. Wells story is brought to life in this movie by Brando, David Thewlis, and a constantly bored Val Kilmer. This director’s cut offers four whole minutes of additional gratuitous footage, as well as interviews with the primary members of the cast and a director’s commentary. If I had any faith in commentary tracks anymore I’d say this would be one worth checking out. John Frankenheimer took over the direction of the film at the eleventh hour and then had to deal with dramatics from both Kilmer and Brando. I’m sure there’s some great stories to be told about making this film... I just doubt they’ll be told here.
Miss Congeniality/Cinderella Story Two Pack - Wait a minute, didn’t Warner Brothers already try to cash in on the theatrical release of Miss Congeniality 2 with a deluxe edition of the first film? Well, here they try for a second attempt at squeezing blood from a stone by releasing this double pack with the deluxe edition of Miss Congeniality packed in with a Cinderella Story. This probably wouldn’t have been a completely terrible idea, if it didn’t come a week after the sequel’s dismal opening weekend. Now, with Sin City in theaters, most people aren’t giving Sandra Bullock’s silly sequel a second thought. Still, it’s better than the “Halle Berry sucks” two pack.
Reform School Girl - “Has Disney ever done any soft-core porn?” was the message I got from Josh regarding this one. Now obviously that phrase threw my overactive imagination in full gear. Imagining Mickey in a pimp outfit, Goofy in bondage gear... well, that made my recent trip to Walt Disney World seem completely different. Luckily Josh quickly clarified - this is almost a soft-core porn flick, released by Dimension films (a sub-section of Miramax which is a sub-section of Disney). Starring Heather Graham’s less attractive younger sister, and a young Matt “Friends” LaBlanc, the movie explores the love that exists between women at an all-girls reform school. Or at least that’s what we wish it explored. Instead of getting naked and having a pillow fight, the film tries to have a plot, which quickly ruins any of it’s potential that wasn’t already ruined given its second rate cast.
Primer - It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for well told time-travel stories. Unfortunately that “well told” part seldom comes into play. All too often the film’s creators expect audiences to overlook paradoxes or leaps in logic in order to enjoy the story. Primer falls on the other side of the spectrum - accused of being overly logical and too scientific, it tells the story of four entrepreneurs who develop an invention that allows time travel and suddenly make chaos of the timeline. Primer was made for $7,000 and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, which means it’s gotten little exposure, but received accolades by those who have seen it. Check back later this week for our look at this independent film.
Sideways - Every part of Sideways works perfectly, except for that hack Paul Giamatti, who couldn’t even manage to keep up with his Academy nominated cast. The truth is, there is absolutely no excuse for Giamatti being ignored by the Academy. When you have a film like this that is part buddy film, and part romantic movie, with both parts involving a character attempting to find his identity, it’s impossible to nominate anyone without recognizing the brilliance of the actor who serves as the glue to the whole movie. Thomas Hayden Church and Virginia Madsen were nothing in this film without Giamatti, and while Madsen certainly has her moments in the film, they are only made powerful with the contrast of Giamatti’s performance. Sideways is definitely worth checking out, and although it’s not a happy comedy, it is a funny one.
Silverado - There has been a small version of Silverado out for years containing the film and a “making of” featurette. This blows that version away though. Not only is it a “Superbit” version of the movie (which means they aren’t double dipping with a separate bare-bones “Superbit” version like normal) but it’s a two disc set loaded with features. History takes the focus of the set with a historian’s commentary and a John Cleese narrated look at the old west. Throw in a set of Silverado playing cards, as well as a fantastic western, and you’ve got a great release. Silverado is often one of those overlooked gems out there, discarded as “just a western”. Take it from someone who isn’t a huge western fan - Silverado is worth picking up.
Spanglish - Months after seeing it in theaters, Spanglish continues to disappoint me, although at the same time my wife and I reference several lines from the film quite often. The movie’s advertisements were primarily responsible for my disappointment, setting the film up as something other than it is. If you want to awe at Adam Sandler’s ability to do both comedy and drama, put this film behind several of his others, because this really isn’t an Adam Sandler vehicle. Instead it’s a film focusing on newcomer Paz Vega which tries to show the differences in philosophies and cultures between two different sets of parents. As a James L. Brooks film, this really should have been a better film then it was and if you want to check it out I suggest just giving it a rental.
