Hey folks, Harry here – This is a day late due to my New York travel and family from out of town, hope you’ll still enjoy it. As always if you click on the title or the box art you’ll be taken magically to Amazon where you can learn more on the title in question and if you’re feeling the urge, you can purchase it and a small portion will go to support the efforts of this column to continue to bring you the best from the land of home video. Here ya go…

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

WALL-E

Amongst my very favorite things of 2008. WALL*E is bliss – it is… all at once, an adult science fiction film, a joyful family film, a sobering cautionary tale and a touching love story. Anyone that loves PIXAR films and has a Blu-Ray player already knows how great PIXAR films transfer to this format. Arguably looking even superior to how they look in the theaters. WALL*E is no different. The image is startling. The sound design – a wonder. The extras, plentiful. My favorite is the short, PRESTO, which I watched on repeat for 2 hours – cuz it makes me happy – and I am ‘tarded that way. I just sometimes geek in wonder at something that creates that childlike glaze to my corneas – and PRESTO drips the glaze on my eyes like that blessed Krispy Kreme glaze machine. Consider them coated with terribly awesome images and glee. The new short BURN-E is very very cute, but isn’t on par with PRESTO or WALL*E, but it is pretty damn fun. The making of and in particular the pop-up Geek text feature is wonderful on the film itself.

TROPIC THUNDER

Is there a backlash on this film? Cuz if there is… I just really don’t want to hear it. TROPIC THUNDER is fucking flat-out funny. I do have my little nitpick about Ben Stiller’s character that I mentioned in my full review, but it is a minor misgiving. I’ve seen it twice since getting the disc a couple of weeks back, once with Yoko and then again with a friend. To me the real wonder of the film, is just how wonderful feeling it is to see Tom Cruise dance. You know, the last time I felt this good watching an actor dance, it was Travolta in PULP FICTION – it is just great to feel great watching an actor recapture magic. Cruise’s Producer character in TROPIC THUNDER does that for me. I know, I know… Robert Downey Jr… but I wasn’t expecting Tom to be this amazing. There’s just a glee to his work here. Really great. The Blu-Ray is loaded with features, all in 1080p btw – and there’s tons of fun stuff throughout, including a great Actors commentary with Ben and Jack, but with Robert Downey Jr doing his part completely in character. It is hilarious – at least Moriarty tells me it is, it’s something I’ll catch on my next viewing.

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2

Yes, I actually did watch this. About 2/3rds through though, I just lost all interest. I’m not sure what it was exactly. I don’t have a block against estrogen-filled entertainment. Generally, I just watch to gain in-sight into the wonderful mystery that is women. And to oogle the lovelies. But as I watched this film, I realized – none of the characters did I recognize at any layer or level as having anything to do with anyone that I’ve known in my entire life, or that I’d want to know. I’m not going to spend any effort on slamming this, it just absolutely was not made for me, or anyone I know – other than Jeff Mahler.

THE WHO AT KILBURN: 1977

I love these Blu-Ray concert discs. And I’ve been a WHO fan ever since I had a Levi jacket as a child with PINBALL WIZARD emblazoned across my back. I was 4 or 5 at the time and my parents raised me on the WHO. I’d never seen the Kilburn concert – but damn… I’d love to time travel to this concert and thanks to this disc, I already have!

GONZO: The Life And Work of Dr. Hunter S Thompson

I love this documentary – which does a great job of illustrating and bringing to life the strange and mostly maybe true life of the insanely sane Dr Hunter S Thompson. For those of us that love the good doctor, the documentary is without a doubt a work of love and passion for – without a doubt – the strangest journalist the world has and will ever know. However, for all of you that love this documentary, let me suggest this THE GONZO TAPES: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S THOMPSON they are 5 Cds worth of Hunter’s personal tapes recorded from 1965 through 1975. They are a fantastic further exploration into the Dr’s amazing mind!

THE UNIVERSE: The Complete Series 1 (Blu Ray)

This stuff is crack for us Science geeks that look up at the stars. I catch episodes from time to time on my HD HISTORY Channel on cable, but having the whole season on hand… well, when my nephew asks a question about the Universe, it’s fun to whip this out and say, HERE YA GO KID!

STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES – SEASON 3 Remastered

I’m so annoyed that we don’t have the second and third season in 1080p, but I do have the first season in HD DVD. I assume at some point in advance of the release of JJ’s TREK, we’ll see the Blu-Ray release – Til then, this is what we got.

STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES (Remastered)

And if you don’t plan on converting to HD at any point soon – here’s the whole damn remastered series. I’ll be writing more on STAR TREK in the upcoming days – regarding the STAR TREK footage and my thoughts on the relaunch and this original 3 seasons. I’m still organizing my thoughts. I love this series dearly. The great with the not so great. The series never failed to at least be fun and often times it was poignant and gave way to fascinating thoughts about humanity and our potential as a species and our faults. But more on that later.

MONTY PYTHON HOLY TRINITY ( Monty Python and the Holy Grail / Monty Python’s Life Of Brian / Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life )

You need a triple heap of sacrelicious fun? Well, Monty Python does it better than anyone. Personally, I’d hold off for the Blu Rays hit, but at 30 bucks, this is a great deal for you DVD folks, getting all 3 movies each with a dvd of devoted extras to each. Great stuff!

HEATHERS (Blu Ray)

I have the Magnets on my fridge, gave the T-Shirt to a friend and have the locker on my Blu-Ray shelves, cuz while this does have a 2-DVD set, it also has the BLU-RAY disc to make my snotty High Res loving ass happy! I really love the LOCKER gag. This film has been released and re-released so many times, I’ve lost count, but now that I have it in Blu-Ray – I’m happy. The crazy locker and extra bits… well it’s just fun extras. The film is, for most of us, all we need or want.

ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD

This is my first 1080p Herzog flick. Sure – I wish I had AGUIRRE or FITZCARRALDO, but ya know… I’ll take every Herzog I can get – there’s a raw beauty to his collective works that I’ve loved. But here… Herzog gives us his eye’s view of Antartica – and ya know. Give me Herzog’s view of the ass end of the Earth any day over MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. This is just stunning.

SOUTHLAND TALES

Many hate it, fewer love it, but I come down with the minority opinion – I love the film. It is absurdist, sardonic and a pessimistic view of where this country was once headed, have we averted this future, I feel so, but 48% of the country would probably disagree.

MIRRORMASK (Blu Ray)

Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean and Jim Henson’s folks? Blu Ray. Um, yes please. This is a surrealist’s wet dream. I love the film. It is remarkably beautiful and haunting. It isn’t as narratively successful or entertaining as LABYRINTH or DARK CRYSTAL – but it isn’t that kind of story… not really. It works on dream logic and at that level it succeeds wildly, though many have not enjoyed it as much as I have. Their loss, my gain. MIRRORMASK is stunning on Blu-Ray.

DAVID LYNCH – The Lime Green Set ( ERASERHEAD remastered, ERASERHEAD soundtrack, THE SHORT FILMS OF DAVID LYNCH, THE ELEPHANT MAN, A premiere DVD of ELEPHANT MAN extras!, WILD AT HEART, INDUSTRIAL SYMPHONY # 1 first time available, BLUE VELVET in 5.1 first time available, DUMBLAND first time available, and a special Lynch Mystery Disc and a 40 page picture book!)

At $130, this is a pricey set – but if you’re a Lynch fan – you’ll lay that down in a heartbeat for this collection of rare treats, many of which you’ll be seeing for the very first time anywhere. And that price is $50 off the initial price! So explore the bizarre and the brilliant!

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME

Here very shortly there is going to be an increase in incredibly smart Time Travel films. Trust me on that (more on that in the future) – This is one that might have slipped by you, especially if you have a bad taste for Anime. I don’t spend a lot of time going through Anime titles as the animation style doesn’t always do it for me, but I do read AICN ANIME looking for the jewels, and trust me – this one is indeed a jewel. The story is rock solid. The character work is great and the animation by Studio Madhouse is gorgeous. If you love Time Travel Science Fiction – don’t let it being animated put you off – you’d be missing a great story.

PARIS, JE T’AIME (Blu Ray)

A love letter to Paris by such noted directors as Alexander Payne, Alfonso Cuaron, Bruno Podalydes, Christopher Doyle, the Coen Brothers and Daniela Thomas. Paris is a city meant to be seen in exacting detail and a cinematic love letter should always be delivered in the highest of resolutions. The work here is gorgeous, even if – like all jigsaw films – some pieces are far better than others. The love and the passion for Paris is never lost.

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (Blu Ray)

My first Blu-Ray Argento – is sadly not DEEP RED, bummer. But THE STENDHAL SYNDROME is far from the master’s worst work. I prefer the first half – and feel the last half just doesn’t work that well. That said – it kicks off my High Def Argento collection.

Griffith Masterworks 2 (WAY DOWN EAST / D.W. Griffith: Father of Film / THE AVENGING CONSCIENCE / ABRAHAM LINCOLN / THE STRUGGLE / SALLY OF THE SAWDUST )

Of these films – I’ve only ever seen the Griffith Documentary – which is amazing. AND – I’ve seen the great ABRAHAM LINCOLN featuring a riveting performance by Walter Huston. It is a completely different Huston from his great roles as the Devil and in TREASURE OF SIERRE MADRE – and the most powerful character of his career. It is also the definitive performance of Lincoln, yet caught on celluloid – we’ll see if Spielberg and Liam Neeson can touch it… if they ever make their version. As for the silent films here – Griffith’s silents are something to behold – and I’m looking forward to discovering them on this set. A set for real film buffs.

CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL: 13th Anniversary Edition

Matt & Trey were not quite the geniuses they are today, but their passion for absurdist musical work… well, it shines through the performances and lack of budget and is perhaps even enhanced by those short-comings. There’s additional deleted material here for you to enjoy and an hour of interviews – but really – you just want to laugh, right?

SOPHIE SCHOLL – THE FINAL DAYS (Blu Ray)

It could be quite some time till this comes Stateside in High Def – till then, this ALL-REGION BLU-RAY will be your only chance to see this Best Foreign Film nominee from 2005. This disc has nearly 4 hours of extras and the film itself… well it’s a fascinating tale about the White Rose resistance group and what happened when they were caught. This is riveting work!

PINK PANTHER ULTIMATE COLLECTION

Do you passionately love Friz Freleng and Peter Sellers? If the answer is, “Yes!” – Then you’ll be clicking the above with a crazed zeal… Unless of course – like me you already have both halves of this collection. Yup, I have the complete animated set and I have the complete Movie collection. And yes, there’s nothing really additional to be had here. But if you have neither – then here’s a chance to save some money and be labeled a cat so cool you could only be a Pink Panther!

That’s it for this week – here’s a release coming up the first Tuesday of December that has me drooling…

But before we get that, we have another November Tuesday, where we’ll be checking out: HANCOCK, A COLBERT CHRISTMAS, THE KINGDOM (Blu Ray), BOTTLE ROCKET Criterion, CHUNGKING EXPRESS Criterion, SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD Criterion, MOD SQUAD second season, BECKET Blu Ray, SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY BluRay, WALK THE LINE Blu Ray, ABBA: THE MOVIE Blu Ray, STILL LIFE, JARHEAD (blu ray), GEORGE CARLIN: IT’S BAD FOR YA, ATOMIC CAFÉ, FREAKS & GEEKS: YEARBOOK EDITION, GIRLS IN CHAINS, BLACK NARCISSUS (Blu Ray) and much more!