Hey folks, Harry here with the latest DVD PICKS & PEEKS – I really love some of the stuff this week. WATCHMEN and CORALINE are wonderful films, but Godard’s MADE IN U.S.A. – I LOVE!!! As usual, the pics and titles are linked to Amazon, where you can learn more on the title and if you like the column and want to help it, go ahead and pick it up via the link and a small portion of that price goes to keep this column cranking. Thanks a lot and enjoy the column…

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

WATCHMEN (Director’s Cut)

The Hollis Mason scene is worth the price by itself. But more than that – the Immersive Maximum Movie Mode is pretty damn hypnotic. I got sent this two weeks ago – and I’ve watched it three times since. It very much shows off my home theater setup – and it happens to be one of my favorite films of 2009 thus far. It is so nice to have this at home in a format like this. There are plans for an even bigger version that creates some mega-opus – but honestly – it isn’t like they’ve shot squiddy. – This will more than do for now. The 24 minutes added are like the additional bits in ALIENS, where it took a movie I loved and made me love it more. Not like THE ABYSS, where I liked the movie, but LOVED THE DIRECTOR’S CUT.

WATCHMEN with OwlShip

Same as the above, but with NiteOwl’s pet! Which makes sounds and lights up. Amazon told me mine shipped about two hours ago. I love stuff like this. Sure, it doesn’t fit in my Blu Ray shelves, but I have spots to set such awesome baubles! I love toys.

CORALINE

Ok – this is another of my fave films of 2009. This did alright at the box office, but from the numbers – I’d say a great many of you didn’t check out this exquisite film by Henry Selick. The resolution of Blu Ray makes this look unbelievably stunning. The image so sharp that you can see all the textures and things that you probably didn’t catch in theaters. The 3D version is anaglyph – meaning RED & BLUE – and isn’t nearly as amazing as the magic of polarized 3D. The making of Coraline is really great. Watching how they solved certain problems – and seeing a demo of how they shot miniaturized 3D… it is flat out amazing. But technical achievements by the side – it all begins with Gaiman’s story – and what a story! It is scary as it should be, it is whimsical as it should be and it is pure magic at 24 frames a second.

CHARLIE’S ANGELS – The Complete Fourth Season

Ok – I’m a total CHARLIE’S ANGELS whore! I love this show. Watched it habitually originally. This season was a lot of fun. I missed not having Jill there every week, but she did come back in this season. Look at those Angels, they could do no wrong.

ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS – Episode II

Loosely structured around EMPIRE STRIKES BACK – this is fucking funny. The unrated version has a few moments of truly risqué humor beyond what we see on Adult Swim. As I said it was loosely based on Empire, but one of the funniest gags concerns the moments leading up to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru’s charcoal experience. I laughed so hard. And Boba Fett’s version of his pre-Sarlac life is one of the funniest damn things I’ve seen making fun of Star Wars. Great job!

300: THE COMPLETE EXPERIENCE

Ok – as a reviewer – I get sent things. I’ve been sent 3 versions of 300 – and this is the one I’m keeping. First off – the metallic, embossed book format is simply sweet. I’m really fond of the packaging. There’s over 2 hours of exclusive extra content – and the extras… well over at Amazon they have a breakdown of it all, but my fave is the original test footage – and the “comprehensive immersion” is really something. It is something very neat. The sort of feature you can show a friend and teaches you a lot about the process in which the film was made. Working with green screen and seeing what they did. That’s cool.

2 OR 3 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER (Criterion)

Brilliant Godard film that’s only been available via PAL for too long, Criterion rectifies that situation. This is all about consumer culture – by way of a housewife/escort. It is a beautiful transfer, far better than the pre-existing PAL version. And here’s what Criterion put together for us:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer
Archival television interviews: the first featuring Vlady on the set of the film, the second with Godard engaged in debate with a government official on the subject of prostitution
New video interview with Godard friend Antoine Bourseiller
A visual essay cataloguing the multiple references in the film
New and improved English subtitle translation

MADE IN U.S.A. (Criterion)

The above film is considered one of Godard’s most important films, this one. This one I love. It is a fever dream of film noir – with such eye candy as Anna Karina and Marianne Faithfull. For those of you that love films that poke a bit of fun at Nixon… well, this was 1966 and Godard was a bit ahead of the curve. As always Criterion has done a great job!

New, restored high-definition digital transfer
Interviews with stars Anna Karina and Lászlo Szábó
A video piece on the personal and the political in Made in U.S.A and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her, featuring Godard biographers Richard Brody and Colin MacCabe
A visual essay cataloguing the multiple references in the film
Original and re-release theatrical trailers
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A new essay by film critic J. Hoberman

MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (Blu Ray)

Before traveling to that exotic locale where they have the best drugs… and before trying to smuggle it back. I highly suggest watching this film. It is pretty much a “lesson” in how living the straight and narrow… well, it’s really the way to go. Seriously. Don’t do it man! I’m telling you. BAD SHIT CAN HAPPEN! Oliver Stone’s script is harrowing, human and it never has a dishonest moment. A truly great film! The Blu Ray is another of those great book format versions – and I love these things. Kinda wish they were all done this way.

VISIONEERS

I wasn’t going to give this film a shot – yes, I love HANGOVER like all of us – and Zach is great in the film. But ya know, I read this quote from M. Spano, “Like a Harold Pinter play got into a fist fight with Office Space, tripped over Lynch and fell into a puddle of Farenheit 451” – Holy Shit! That sounded awesome. Then I noticed that Faye Masterson was in it. Faye is. Well, she’s Faye. She’s kinda amazing in totally different ways than Zach Galifianakis. But this was a very nice surprise indie comedy.

That’s it for this week. Another short list. Next week though, things get a little crazy again. When I get back from Comic Con – I’ll be giving you a preview of FAST & FURIOUS, GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE COMPLETE SERIES (Blu), THE MIDDLEMAN: THE COMPLETE SERIES, DOLLHOUSE: Season One (Blu), REPULSION – Criterion BLU, Spectacular Spider-Man: 1st Season, 12 MONKEYS (Blu), THIS IS SPINAL TAP (Blu), MISS MARCH, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (Blu), THE GREEN HORNET serial, INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (Blu), HOW BRUCE LEE CHANGED THE WORLD, THE 10th VICTIM, GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN, EAGLES OVER LONDON (Blu), BIG MAN JAPAN, ANGEL OF DEATH, TORSO, BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE, AN AMERICAN AFFAIR, THE ASTONISHING WORK OF TEZUKA OSAMU, ISLAND OF THE FISHMEN, BAD BOY BUBBY (Blu), BAD LIEUTENANT, MONIKA, Bill Plympton’s DOG DAYS: A Collection of Short Films 2004-2008, The Animation of Alexeieff, EXTREME ANIMATION: Films By Phil Mulloy, OH! MY ZOMBIE MERMAID and more!