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April 2008
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April 29, 2008

'27 Dresses': Give this film an annulment

3:44 PM Tue, Apr 29, 2008 |
Joyce Saenz Harris   E-mail   News tips

I'm not a Grey's Anatomy fan, but I've gotten to like Katherine Heigl anyway. She has smarts, an Everygirl attractiveness and a goofy sense of humor that just might make her the Meg Ryan of the decade. I also like the fact that she hasn't found it necessary thus far to get nekkid on the screen, yet she doesn't exude a cloying good-girl aura, either.

That said, I wonder why she chose to do this movie? 27 Dresses (out on DVD today) doesn't give Ms. Heigl much to do from a comedy standpoint, except to (a) parade in a series of horrible bridemaid's frocks and (b) lead a booze-fueled, sing-along version of Bennie and the Jets in a bar.

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The entry "'27 Dresses': Give this film an annulment" is tagged: 27 Dresses , DVD , Katherine Heigl , Movies


April 22, 2008

What Not to Watch

5:55 PM Tue, Apr 22, 2008 |
Carolyn Poh   E-mail   News tips

One of the biggest cheats of 2007, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, arrives on DVD today. Run, don't walk, away from this one, which is likely to gobble up prime display space at the video store. You may recall its big Christmas Day opening and its lavish ad campaign heralding the final showdown between two icons of sci-fi/horror flicks. If you didn't catch it then, you might think you missed something. You didn't.


April 8, 2008

'Lambs' is like counting sheep

5:25 PM Tue, Apr 08, 2008 |
Carolyn Poh   E-mail   News tips

Ripped from yesterday's newscasts and available on DVD today, Lions for Lambs attempts to be a talker about the Iraq war but winds up a big snoozer instead. The star-studded cast (Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and Robert Redford) tries to deliver the goods, all three looking as if they believe the preachy lines they spout, but in the end there are no goods to deliver. Just talk, talk and more talk. It's not so much a movie as it is a panel discussion, the kind one could catch on Fox News or CNN last year, before the elections and the economy claimed the spotlight.

You'll likely see this one given prime display among the new releases at the video stores, and with the three stars featured prominently on the DVD cover, it's tempting not to bite. After all, with Streep, Cruise and Redford, who did double duty as director, how bad can it be? Well, that depends on how bad you think boring is. If you could use a good night's sleep, this film could get you there. If you think a film should engage the viewer and deliver something resembling a plot, stay away.


March 19, 2008

Best Buy giving $50 gift cards to HD-DVD buyers

2:35 PM Wed, Mar 19, 2008 |
Victor Godinez   E-mail   News tips

bestbuy.jpgIf you were one of the unfortunate souls who invested in Toshiba's now-defunct HD-DVD high definition disc format -- and you bought your player from Best Buy -- you can now get a consolation prize in the form of a $50 gift certificate.

Read all about it at our tech blog.

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The entry "Best Buy giving $50 gift cards to HD-DVD buyers" is tagged: Best Buy , gift certificate , HD-DVD


March 13, 2008

Are movie studios warming up to "managed copy"?

2:46 PM Thu, Mar 13, 2008 |
Victor Godinez   E-mail   News tips

rambo-small.jpgI've got a post up over at our technology blog about a new feature on a handful of high definition Blu-ray movies that lets you legally and easily rip a copy of the movie to your computer's hard drive or to your portable video player (such as the iPhone).

It's a capability that the studios were talking about before either Blu-ray or HD-DVD hit the market, and I have to admit I was skeptical they'd ever actually implement it.

So kudos to Fox and Lionsgate for taking baby steps in this consumer-friendly direction, and let's hope this is just the beginning of a trend.

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The entry "Are movie studios warming up to "managed copy"?" is tagged: Blu-ray , Fox , Lionsgate , managed copy , Rambo


January 16, 2008

iTunes schmiTunes

12:17 PM Wed, Jan 16, 2008 |
Michael Granberry   E-mail   News tips

Don't know about you, but I'm pretty underwhelmed by Apple's entry into the let's-beat-Netflix sweepstakes. If you download the latest version of iTunes (available in Windows and Mac formats), you'll discover that, after yesterday's big announcements at the Mac World convention, Apple is now renting movies on its iTunes Music Store. But it all looked lame to me. Virtually none of the titles jumped out at me. I don't know ... maybe you differ? I like the idea; I just can't applaud the execution. At least not now.

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January 4, 2008

Picks and pans: DVDs of 2007

2:53 PM Fri, Jan 04, 2008 |
Holly Warren   E-mail   News tips
sg1.jpg

Courtesy

Washington Post writer Jen Chaney breaks down a list of seven exceptional DVD moments from 2007, from Judd Apatow's entertaining commentaries to the thoroughness of Twin Peaks: The Gold Box Edition. Tell us your top picks -- or disappointments -- with this year in home entertainment.

Personally, I have to give props to MGM for its massive Stargate: SG-1 complete series box set. If nothing else, it wins hands down for Shiniest Packaging.

And for Best Use of Extra Space on a DVD: a shout out to BBC for Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series. Video commentaries (especially "The Girl in the Fireplace," with then-coupled co-stars David Tennant and Sophia Myles) that appear as picture-in-picture frames of the episode, and David Tennant's video diaries (think "The Real World" confessional with an actual engaging person inside).

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December 6, 2007

Holiday gift ... splurge?

4:55 PM Thu, Dec 06, 2007 |
Holly Warren   E-mail   News tips
megaclassics.jpg

Amazon.com

Just in cast that $3,819.99 was burning a hole in your pocket...

You'd have to be VERY good this year to get Santa to drop this off at your house. The Warner Mega Classics Collection (released last year) boasts a staggering ... actually, I have no idea how many. And I refuse to count.

It pretty looks like what I imagine the Turner Classic Movies channel vault looks like. Or at least, reminds me of the video store from my childhood. I was pretty addicted to the classics section (only 99 cents to rent!) and American Movie Classics channel (back in the day before TCM). I don't know when I'd ever have time to watch all of these or even store them, but if that's what Santa drops down my chimney, I'd say I've done pretty good.

Want the full list? Click below to keep reading. But I can say that it includes my all-time favorite, Now Voyager. (Movies I've seen in bold. Because I can.)

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November 6, 2007

DVD Pick of the Week: Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1

1:50 PM Tue, Nov 06, 2007 |
Chris Vognar   E-mail   News tips
fish8.jpg

Before there was Nemo Pixar was short (Disney/Pixar)

Once upon a time in the early '80s a few nerdy Northern California guys set out to make waves in the computer animation world. It's safe to say they succeeded. To watch these Pixar shorts in succession is to trace the recent history of animated entertainment. We all know the feature films - Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, etc. But Pixar's purest artistry is on display in these blissful snapshots. From the early breakthroughs of Luxo Jr. (the little lamp that became part of Pixar's logo) and Red's Dream, which blew minds by granting computer animated objects emotion and pathos, to the more recent Lifted and One Man Band, the Pixar shorts represent the perfect cinematic blend of humanity, humor and technology. Also check out the bonus feature The Pixar Shorts: A Short History, in which the principals talk about how it all got started. Pixar maestro John Lasseter probably wasn't thinking about running Disney back then.
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October 29, 2007

IMDb gets 'Peaked'

2:29 PM Mon, Oct 29, 2007 |
Holly Warren   E-mail   News tips

Screen shot of IMDb.com

WOW.

IMDb.com really really wants you to know that Twin Peaks is out on DVD tomorrow.

Like, really.

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October 23, 2007

DVD pick of the week: Breathless

12:36 PM Tue, Oct 23, 2007 |
Chris Vognar   E-mail   News tips
14119985.jpg

See it if you haven't (Criterion)

Breathless wasn't the first major shot fired in the French New Wave revolution; The 400 Blows arrived one year earlier, and in many ways it holds up better. But Jean-Luc Godard's self-aware deconstruction of the gangster movie still hit cinema like a megaton bomb when it landed in 1960. Precocious, playful, fiercely intellectual, it was, and is, a gritty DIY street film that gleefully tore up the rulebook.

Aside from the glorious restored HD transfer, Criterion's new two-disc set offers a bevy of goodies, including a pair of provocative video essays: Jonathan Rosenbaum's Breathless as Criticism, a knowing look at the film's many cultural references and threads of commentary; and Mark Rappaport's Jean Seberg, a snapshot of the tragic star who became an American-in-Paris icon selling the New York Herald Tribune in Breathless. No one can match Criterion's ability to present a portable master class on a vital piece of film history.

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October 16, 2007

DVD pick of the week: Squidbillies

1:46 PM Tue, Oct 16, 2007 |
Chris Vognar   E-mail   News tips
Ep10_Shot1.jpg

Git off mah porch: Squidbillies (Warner Home Video)

I don't drink moonshine, mostly because it's hard to get around here. But if I did, I'd pop open a jar and watch me some Squidbillies. In an Adult Swim lineup defined by the bizarre, this one takes the cake. A family of redneck squid resides in the Georgia mountains, where Early, a connoisseur of freebie caps, toils in the drywall business. His drooling sister works in a meth lab and chats with Jesus. There's a bit of Satanism as well, and things seem to catch fire a lot. All told, it makes Aqua Teen Hunger Force look like The Flintstones. Volume One hits stores today.
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October 12, 2007

Poltergeist comes to DVD: *Insert creepy music here*

4:05 AM Fri, Oct 12, 2007 |
Holly Warren   E-mail   News tips
poltergeist.jpg

They're heeee-re. (Courtesy)

Halloween is looming on the horizon. In case you couldn't tell from the calendar, the 25th Anniversary Edition of Poltergeist is new on DVD today. It made you a little scared of trees, clowns, "the light," whether your suburban house was built on sacred Native American burial ground and TV static. Poltergeist never struck me as particularly Halloween-y, but it's definitely one to watch with all the lights on. And you have to admit, there's not much creepier than little blonde-haired Carole Anne sing-songing "There Hee-eere." And don't even get me started on that clown doll... So c'mon, spill. What creepy scenes send you to bed with all the lights on and the covers pulled over your head?
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October 10, 2007

It started with a movie...

3:17 PM Wed, Oct 10, 2007 |
Holly Warren   E-mail   News tips
sg1.jpg

Courtesy

and will end with two more. That's what we call "full circle." Which is appropriate, because we're talking about Stargate. Specifically, Stargate SG-1: The Complete Series, which crossed our desk this week. Actually, "thudded heavily onto" might be more appropriate because this set of all 10 season is nearly 8x8x8. And heavy.

So what does it offer? ...

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October 9, 2007

DVD pick of the week: Man Push Cart

12:07 PM Tue, Oct 09, 2007 |
Chris Vognar   E-mail   News tips
51Cho3QSi4L._AA240_

A man and his cart, alone in the world (Koch)

A skeptic could argue that nothing much happens in Man Push Cart , a sadly lyrical and gritty character study of a Pakistani New Yorker who rises before dawn to sell bagels, coffee and donuts on the street. But that's largely the point. Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) was a minor rock star in his native country before coming to the Big Apple with his wife. Things haven't worked out so well for him. When he pushes (pulls, actually) his cart through the dark streets, he could be Sisyphus forever pushing his boulder uphill. This is a fine New York story that plays a like a gentler version of the Iranian gem Crimson Gold. Cart's director, Ramin Bahrani, has an upcoming film, Chop Shop, that I am now eager to see.
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September 25, 2007

What's in your queue?

2:31 PM Tue, Sep 25, 2007 |
Holly Warren   E-mail   News tips
Brazilposter.jpg

Courtesy

Sitting on my coffee table are two red envelopes. One holds Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead; the other, Brazil. They've been there for more than a month, taunting me.

With the absence of late fees and the convenience of home delivery, renting DVDs is easier - and harder - than ever. I've got some 60 discs in my queue right now, including a half-dozen seasons of TV shows I need to catch up on. Some get mainlined pretty quickly and sent right back (The Fountain, Match Point), some linger around for multiple viewings (Miracle, Primer) and some languish in unwatched ignominy.

Now I'm faced with two choices: send the films back, unwatched, after wasting nearly a month of new films. Or, hold on to them a little longer because I am omgtotally going to watch them now, for reals. Right.

So what's your queue drama? Is it ambitiously overflowing or pathetically empty? Are you constantly sending discs back to find out just how many "unlimited" is in a single month? Or does that copy of The Bourne Identity have a two-inch layer of dust on it? Vent - it's good for the soul.

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August 24, 2007

DVD pick o' the week: A taste of Dallas with Robocop

3:12 PM Fri, Aug 24, 2007 |
Chris Vognar   E-mail   News tips
1800112338p.jpg

Take me to Lower Greenville or suffer my wrath: Robocop digs on Dallas (MGM/Fox/Orion)

Robocop has come out on DVD more than once before, and frankly the new 20th anniversary Collector's Edition doesn't offer a whole lot new. But if you haven't seen it in a while, or ever, it's a kick to see Dallas' featured role.

The producers chose Big D to play "New Detroit" for its tripped-out techno skyline and sleek architecture. The coolest parts of the movie play the skyscrapers against the more industrial streets of West Dallas (actually one chase looks like it was shot down on Industrial or nearby, not far from Reunion Tower, which sticks its head up in the near distance). In another scene, The I.M. Pei-designed Fountain Place (otherwise known as that beveled glass building downtown) can be spotted in all its modern glory. (Incidentally, the building opened in 1986, one year before Robocop came out).

So: What's your favorite movie that made good use of our fair burg?

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August 21, 2007

My favorite movie this year ...

1:39 PM Tue, Aug 21, 2007 |
Bridgette Williams   E-mail   News tips

... Boy Culture .
Now don't freak out about the subject matter. It's not nearly as graphic as it could be. And, honestly, Derek Magyar and Darryl Stephens make delightful eye candy no matter what they're doing.
What surprised me was how good the movie actually is. It's a pretty cool love story as well. I was all drawn in with the ups and downs of X, the main character, and his room mates.
Hey, did I menition the eye candy thing? Good flick, snappy dialogue, believable characters, but did I mention the eye candy?

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August 8, 2007

A case full of bonuses

6:32 PM Wed, Aug 08, 2007 |
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Hang on, Deckard. There's more where that came from. (Warner Bros.)

So it's just been announced that there will be (after years of speculation) a definitive "final cut" of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (recently added to AFI's 100 best films list) coming in December. Other options will include a two-disc version (with the new cut plus a three-and-a-half-dour documentary called "Dangerous Days," about the grueling production), a four-disc version (the aforementioned materials plus three other cuts and another disc of bonus material), a 5-disc ultimate collector's edition (which includes a "workprint" version and more features), as well as HD-DVD and Blu-ray incarnations. Phew. It's more Blade Runner than anyone can probably handle. At least in one sitting.

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What movie scarred your childhood?

2:24 PM Wed, Aug 08, 2007 |
Chris Vognar   E-mail   News tips
invasion2.jpg

Donald Sutherland opens wide and ruins my childhood (United Artists)

My DVD pick o' the week is a rather personal selection (then again, when are movie not personal?) My mom, bless her heart, took me to see Philip Kaufman's remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1978, when I was eight years old. You could say it freaked me out. But it also helped foster an appreciation of film's haunting power on the imagination. The fact that it was set across the bay from us, in San Francisco, accentuated the effect. As did the fact that SF was in the midst of its own weirdness at the time, what with Jonestown and Dan White.

I'm happy to report that Kaufman's film holds up quite well on the new Collector's Edition DVD, which comes with cleverly designated "pods" of special features. The '50s Red Scare brainwashing fear that fueled the 1956 original somehow works for the '70s Me Decade. Back then, though, I just knew it freaked me out. (Yet another variation, The Invasion, is due out next week).

Which brings us to the question: What childhood movie watching experience gave you the Willies? More important: Have you recovered yet?

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August 6, 2007

Suckered by the double feature

1:58 PM Mon, Aug 06, 2007 |
Bridgette Williams   E-mail   News tips

Ok, so I bought 300 on DVD yesterday for $19.96, and it came with a "final super-swank director's cut" of Alexander.

Alexander was on the Big List of DVDs I Want. But "I Want" tends to translate to "only if I come across them in a big bi somewhere for about $5." So you see, attaching it 300 made me spend about $5 on Alexander than I normally would have. Smart marketing based on the convenience factor and the Ancient Story Told with Pretty Boys with Swords factor. But annoying nonetheless.

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The Lives of Others

12:34 PM Mon, Aug 06, 2007 |
Nancy Churnin   E-mail   News tips

I never would have thought that two of the best movies I've seen this year are foreign and star German movie star Sebastian Koch (whom I had never heard of before)! Koch plays a Nazi officer in the emotionally complicated Black Book, out of theaters now and heading to DVD Sept. 25. And I just watched a DVD of The Lives of Others in which he plays an East German playwright under surveillance by the East German police before the Berlin Wall came down. As much as I now like Koch, the most fascinating character in The Lives of Others is played by Ulrich Muhe as the guy who does the surveillance. There's a remarkable arc in which he starts out as a pitiless Javert-like inspector for whom everything is black and white. As he spies on the playwright, he is slowly and subtly changed by him. It is truly a remarkable story. It will be released Aug. 21 and I really recommend it.

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August 2, 2007

Skipping DVD? Scratch that.

2:46 PM Thu, Aug 02, 2007 |
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Sometimes you just want to stay home. The movie theater doesn't have what you're interested in. Or it's packed. Or you don't feel like paying 9 bucks a pop to see stuff blow up. So you go to Hollywood Video (or, God forbid, Blockbuster) or even some local libraries to rent a DVD. You get an hour or so into your movie and the screen freezes. How many times has this happened to you? Frankly, I'm sick of paying money to rent a scratched-up DVD. Are stores going to have to go back to "Be Kind" stickers? Instead of reminding customers to rewind, remind them that DVDs are not:

-Frisbees
-knife sharpeners
-coasters

Remember. These are movies. People who rent it want to see the whole thing. So take care of the DVDs you rent.

Postscript: What have you faithful blog readers found as alternatives to chains? Netflix? Premiere Video? Let us know.

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August 1, 2007

More NetFlix love

11:59 AM Wed, Aug 01, 2007 |
Bridgette Williams   E-mail   News tips

NetFlix is the best thing ever. I have decided. Of course, it might be just the act of getting DVDs in the mail. But I have managed to broaden my movie horizons. Chris Vognar will be proud of me. I have added The Seventh Seal to my queue. It's like the 80th flick in line, but still. It was an important gesture.

Besides, 300 came out on DVD yesterday, and Leonidas get my attention first

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July 26, 2007

Wild about Wilder

10:39 AM Thu, Jul 26, 2007 |
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So, after years of putting it off, saying I'd eventually get around to it, I finally buckled down and watched the incredible Sunset Blvd. last night. It wasn't at all what I had expected. I expected some noirish touches and have a lot to do with lost fame, but I had no idea it would be a pitch-black comedy, a May-December romance (sort of), and a deep, rich study of delusional behavior. It's got to be one of the most original, fascinating and downright bizarre movies I've ever seen. And Gloria Swanson's performance has got to be one of the all-time greats. I think my favorite Wilder picture will always be Double Indemnity, but he's got so many great works. Having said that, and given all the love for the recent DVD release of Ace in the Hole (which I'm still dying to see), I'd like to make a bid that, for his body of work, Billy Wilder is the greatest director of all time. Would anyone like to refute this? I'd love to hear your answers.

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July 20, 2007

DVDs: the new panties

8:28 AM Fri, Jul 20, 2007 |
Bridgette Williams   E-mail   News tips

Yes, it's a girl thing. Women have one Thing we look for when we're in a store, mall or on