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. If the releases sound like something you want to buy, just click the link to go to amazon.com and you’ll support Cinema Blend with a few pennies. Take it or leave it, here’s the DVD Blend.
- From the moment this picture was announced I was totally stoked about it. As a huge fan of Get Shorty I couldn’t wait to see the continued adventures of Chili Palmer. Surprisingly I missed the movie in theaters, which may have been a good thing. Despite an eclectic star-studded cast, including The Rock and Vince Vaughn, Be Cool wasn’t wildly received, especially by fans of the first film. Just as I was anticipating its theatrical release, I’m anxious for it to come out on DVD so I can finally give it a chance. Not surprisingly, the DVD looks like it’s being tailored to be similar to the recent special edition of Get Shorty, so if you liked that release, you might want to check this one out.
- Cinema Blend declared this as the worst movie of the year, declaring Kevin Spacey as overrated. Meanwhile Ebert and Roeper gave it a rousing two thumbs up. What the hell does that mean? Well, it means it’s either a really good movie that some people hate, or it’s a mediocre movie that some people were blind and loved. Which is it? I don’t know, I missed this pic in theaters. To be honest though, the life of Bobby Darin and his marriage to Sandra Dee isn’t exactly compelling me to see this movie on DVD either. I’ll go so far as to say I don’t think Spacey is overrated in general though. He typically is quite brilliant with his acting. Check back with us to see what another Cinema Blend critic thinks of Beyond the Sea’s DVD release.
Coyote Ugly (Unrated Special Edition)
- There’s a reason this movie isn’t being highlighted by most websites out there as coming out on DVD this week - the movie sucks. If it wasn’t for Buena Vista Home Entertainment sending us an unrequested screener I’d never even know this was hitting shelves. That’s just how bad the movie is. They have to force screeners on us in order to get us to review the movie. Well ha-ha! Buena Vista - we gave this screener to one of our female critics. That’s right - half naked women dancing on bars won’t help you get a better rating this time. All I can say is the “unrated” part had better either be nudity, or a lesbian sex scene that offends our critic. Then I might think about picking this one up.
Gone in 60 Seconds (Director's Cut)
- Here’s another one BV had to force on us just to get us to take notice of the movie’s release. Here’s some trivia for you - Nicolas Cage appears in more DVDs subject to Director’s Cuts than any other actor. Actually, I have no idea whether that’s true or not, but it certainly sounds good, doesn’t it? I’m not sure what is getting extended in this Director’s Cut, but with Bruckheimer as the producer I’m pretty certain there has to be a couple bigger explosions or something. Maybe there’s a crossover scene where Nicolas Cage visits the girls of Coyote Ugly. I mean, that would explain why two mediocre movies get director’s cut releases during the same week.
- You have to admit, Christian Bale is getting good at being insane. First he was American Psycho and then came The Machinist where Bale plays an industrial worker who hasn’t slept and has barely eaten in a year, causing him to question his own sanity. Bale lost massive weight for this role and frankly looks like a walking corpse. You have to wonder who looked at him while this movie was filming and decided he’d make a good Bruce Wayne/Batman. Of course, the Bat has never exactly been playing with a full deck either, making Bale perfect for the role. Catch The Machinist before Batman Begins hits theaters to appreciate just how diverse an actor Bale is.
- Chucky’s back and this time he’s brought his whole family. Just having an annoying-as-hell wife in the last film wasn’t enough, so now a kid has been added to the mix, voiced by hobbit Billy Boyd. The show is really stolen by John Waters though, which is just evidence as to how strange Waters is. I mean, when three serial-killer dolls can’t overshadow you in their own movie, you know you’re weird as hell. While I’ve been a fan of Chucky (or as one of our readers wrote - chuchy) since his early days, I have to admit I’ve lost interest as the franchise has continued on. Maybe instead of Jennifer Tilly the producers should have added Christian Bale to the mix.
- Sling Blade brings us the most famous retarded murderer since Of Mice and Men, played, written, and directed by everyone’s favorite real life mentally challenged fellow - Billy Bob Thorton. Before Sling Blade Thorton was relegated to background roles and really only known as the fat comic relief fellow on “Hearts Afire”. Thanks to some slow played “hmmmm”s and a kaiser blade, Thorton found his way into celebritydom and Angelina Jolie’s pants. I’m not sure which one of those makes me hate Sling Blade more. Probably the making-Thorton-famous part. After all, Jolie already saw fit to leave him. Now if Hollywood would only do the same.
Star Trek: Insurrection (Extended Collector's Edition)
- Finally a movie in this week’s releases that I’ve seen. I guess that comes as a real surprise - Rafe’s seen the Star Trek flick. However, just because I’ve seen it doesn’t mean I’m going to recommend it. As you’ve already no doubt noticed, Insurrection has not won this week’s CB Pick of the Week, that’s already been given to one of the more honorable choices above that I haven’t even seen. Yup, a movie I’ve yet to see wins over Insurrection. It’s not all bad though. Thanks to Insurrection you can watch Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart engage in a rendition of a Gilbert and Sullivan tune, and watch as F. Murray Abraham questions where he went wrong with his career. (Just for the record, it was when you did The Last Action Hero Abe)
- Last but not least we have the only other film in this week’s bunch worthy of running for the CB Pick. Stripes really defined what Bill Murray’s on-screen persona would be for the rest of his career, and showed what Ivan Reitman was capable of. Despite the fact that Reitman hasn’t moved into the twenty first century with much success, his early days were fantastic and with a cast including Murray, Harold Ramis, John Candy, and John Larroquette, he certainly had the talent to pull off a sophomoric military film like Stripes. If you haven’t seen this one yet it’s definitely worth a looksee. If you have, then you know this is a good one to add to your collection.
TV on DVD Wow what a week for the faithful television genre fan. Just in time for the upcoming new episodes, Johnny Smith hits DVD again with the third season of The Dead Zone
. Watch Lynda Carter twirl around in circles in the third season of Wonder Woman
. Of course those circles are worlds better than watching Dean Cain jump out of the camera shot (theoretically to “fly”) in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
which debuts on DVD this week with its first season.
For Father’s Day a couple other sets might appeal depending on what kind of father you have. For the tough love kind of dad, the fifth season of The Sopranos
might be right. If your dad is more heroic, you might want to try the first season of Rescue Me
. For the more creative dad you can go two directions - the second seasons of Home Improvement
for the zany or MacGyver
for the truly clever. Or maybe your dad is an animated lion, in which case Father of the Pride
might do the trick.
