There’s a lot of stuff that comes out on a weekly basis. We like to let you know what the shot is on them and whether or not you should buy. It’s just what we do. Along with collect lint.
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Battlestar Galactica is the show that has done two major things. One, it has given many sci-fi geeks hope that you can remake a series and have it kick some major ass, provided that foot belongs to the right set of writers and creators. I…think that analogy works like I wanted it to. Anyway, it also proved that the people behind the new Knight Rider never watched it. This first half of the fourth season of the show comes from Universal with ten episodes and an impressive array of bonus bits. First and most importantly, the unrated and extended version of Battlestar Galactica: Razor. Then you’ve got five featurettes, deleted scenes, podcasts, and the producer’s video blogs. Purchase? Yes, well, fans probably already have, actually. But Universal has got enough bonus bits on here to make it worth owning for them. Everyone else should rent. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)
[ad#longpost]So it’s fun these to beat up on Shia LaBeouf. I mean, sure, he was in both Transformers and Indy 4, which were freaking atrocious. But I actually thought he was fine in the former, and Harrison Ford couldn’t even make his part good–and he’s freaking Indy. So I don’t quite get the hate on him…he just picks, you know, questionable projects. But regardless, Eagle Eye made over $100M stateside and I understand the DVD sales are quite brisk. If you’re in the mood for silly mindless action, then you might want to consider this. The two-disc set out from DreamWorks comes with deleted scenes, two on location featurettes, an alternate ending, a making-of, two additional featurettes, a gag reel and photo gallery. Now, there’s a single disc, but it only comes with the deleted scenes and the on location featurette “Road Trip.” The rest is second disc material. The single disc is $14.99 and the double disc is $22.99 as I type this, so at least we’re not looking at one of those inexplicable $14.99/$15.99 deals. I mean, that would make it easier, but you’d need to be a serious action or LaBeouf completist to want to purchase. Rent the two disc and call it good. (Click here to buy the single disc from Amazon or click here to buy the two-disc from Amazon.)
So The Tudors. Or what Dindrane I’m sure refers to as That Damned Thing. It’s the sort of thing that’s so far removed from historical accuracy that Hob Gadling would rather work at a renaissance festival than watch it, I’m sure. Here we have a season devoted to Anne Boleyn, plus lots of people looking hot as hell in various versions of period costume. Oh, and sex. Oh, and last but definitely not least: Peter O’Toole showing that he’s Still Got It as the Pope. Brilliant casting. Ten episodes are here across four discs, plus Anne actress Natalie Dormer visits the Tower of London with a historian, and another featurette has a chat with some descendants of King Henry. The fan of the show might want to snag this, but I see that Showtime On Demand has the entire second season on tap through the end of April. And Showtime proper I’m sure will show the series before the third season hits. So I’ll leave it to you just how badly you want this on your shelf. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)
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Paramount continues their rollout of Centennial Collection editions–let’s start with the Audrey Hepburn/Fred Astaire musical, Funny Face. Gershwin music with the two leads equals probably not the best movie musical but still a darn good one as Hepburn plays the discovered new model and Astaire the photographer in what leads to a May/October romance. You might wonder–as I did–didn’t we just get a release of this? And yes, 2007 saw a 50th Anniversary edition. And it’s from there we get the “Fashion Designer and His Muse” featurette, which covers Hepburn’s work with Herbert de Givenchy. There’s the short “Parisian Dreams,” which talks about Paris, naturally. And the “Paramount in the 50s” retro-featurette which is rather self-explanatory. Adding to those, you get a featurette on actress Kay Thompson, an enjoyable featurette regarding VistaVision, and a featurette covering fashion photographers. There are three photo galleries which the viewer may step through: one with behind-the-scenes shots of cast and crew working, one a collection of color and black and white stills from the film, and a few publicity photos and posters. There’s also galleries and a booklet. The question of course is whether or not you should purchase again so soon after the 50th Anniversary release. And really, even though I know they say it’s mastered in high definition, I can’t tell the difference between this and the previous version. And musicals are one of the few genres I think you really want in hi-def, especially if you’re a musical junkie. And the three new featurettes…well, I don’t know that it’s worth going back to the well for, frankly. If you don’t own it and are a Hepburn, Astaire or musical fan, then it’s worthy enough to own (wish there was a commentary, though), if you already own the previous version, I think you’re probably fine. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)
Also out from the Centennial Collection is Breakfast at Tiffany’s. More Audrey Hepburn, but also George Peppard (good viewing for those who only remember him from A-Team and Buddy Ebsen (for those who only remember him from Beverly Hillbillies) and it was directed by Blake Edwards. This two-disc set again keeps the features that you found on the 2006 release: a commentary from producer Richard Shepherd, a making-of, a featurette on Hepburn’s style, and two featurettes about Tiffany’s–one regarding the letter that Hepburn wrote for the store’s book on their anniversary. New to this edition are a featurette about the party sequence, a featurette on composer Henry Mancini, and a featurette on the modern day reaction to the miscasting of Mr. Yunioshi. I’m not great about telling the difference between video qualities, I admit–I can tell you I can’t see anything that would warrant double-dipping if you already have the previous 2006 release. And the new bits, while nice, don’t really make me want to go back to the well. That being said, if you don’t already have this film and want it, then there’s nothing wrong with snagging this. I’ll just leave it to you whether it’s worth a re-snag or not. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)
I never thought too much of Criss Angel…granted, I had never seen too much of his work…but I didn’t have an opinion either way. The notion that I needed to fix that came from hearing him on Penn Jillette’s radio show and Penn seems to appreciate the guy. I have huge respect for Penn. So the matter is sealed. Especially when Penn gave Angel props for coming up with a show title that could basically skirt profanity: Mindfreak. Whereas Penn and Teller have Bullshit, which they constantly run into problems with. Nice. The fourth season of the show hits from A&E with eighteen episodes across three discs. Those episodes include an escape from a set-to-implode building, messing with Gene Simmons, and tries to get his ass cremated. It also comes with behind the scenes stuff and additional footage. It’s $25.99 on Amazon right now, and the show doesn’t appear to be airing from what I can tell. So at less than $1.50 an episode, I’ll leave it to the fan to decide whether or not that’s worthwhile. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)
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Max Payne stars Mark Wahlberg as a cop whose family is murdered and he goes on the hunt to figure out what the hell happened and who’s responsible. Sounds a bit like The Punisher, I know, but this one involves drugs and then giant winged angel-like beings…wait that sounds like a later version of The Punisher. Anyway, Doc explained the game to me one time, and it made sense at the time. Regardless, this shoot em up revenge story comes in a two-disc set. On the first disc you’ve got the theatrical and the extended, unrated cut of the film. Director John Moore and others provide an audio commentary on the unrated cut. You’ve got the “Michelle Payne” animated graphic novel, the digital copy of the film, and also part one of the production featurette. That’s the trouble with this–you get part one, about thirty minutes’ worth. Part two is exclusively on the Blu-Ray release. And I’m not sure who they’re trying to get with that stunt. The people who own a Blu-Ray player are going to buy Blu-Ray to begin with. And no offense to the filmmakers, but this movie is not going to be the tipping point to convince people that they’ve got to drop the coin on a player. So that’s pretty lame, I have to say. I would say this is good for a rental. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)
George Wallace is presented here like a feature film, and it might be, even though it’s got a three-hour running time total. Because with John Frankenheimer directing, Gary Sinise in the title role, and Angelina Jolie plays his second wife Cornelia (who died just this month of cancer, apparently). The film deals with Wallace’s assassination attempt (which left him paraplegic) and his quest for political power. And, of course, that the guy was a racist. This is a two-disc set out from Warner Brothers but the only bonus bit is a retrospective featurette on both the making of the film and on working with Frankenheimer. Unlike many of these featurettes, though, they did get the main actors, including Sinise and Jolie, to take part. So there’s that. The two-disc set is $18.49 at present on Amazon, but unless you’re a Sinise completist (because he is here, like almost always, damn good) you’ll probably be fine with a rental. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)
Okay, I don’t normally just outright quote other people’s reviews of discs, but this one is freaking hysterical: the LA Daily News said of this show, “Skins would be the result if Kids and Gossip Girl ever met at a party, got wasted, ‘roofied’ one another, mated like ferrets and had a kid.” And that folks, is why that person gets paid better than me. Because that rocks. It does feature Nicholas Hoult, the kid from About a Boy, who’s needless to say grown up a bit. But you can get it from the quote that we’re talking about a bit of a rather hedonistic look at British teens. The set is three discs and comes with video diaries and deleted bits. They’re airing season one episodes at the moment on BBC America–but since I don’t own cable I don’t know if it’s uncut on television. So I’ll leave it up to a fan to decide whether or not. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)
