Doogan's Views - Todd's Weekly Release Round-Up

Yeah, yeah, I know: stupid Guitar Hero II. Damn Xbox version's not coming out until later this year. Pfffft. So here I am; still in line waiting until this Thursday's Midnight Madness Sale of PS3 - stinky, tired and generally irritable. Otherwise, there's nothing new to report.

Here's what's coming this week. Enjoy...

New Releases

These are the discs making their premiere this week...

Accepted

Frat humor with the Mac kid. Is it good? I have no idea. Didn't see it. Looks funny enough though.

The Da Vinci Code

Oh poor Da Vinci Code. What's wrong with it? Let's see: Tom Hanks is horribly miscast, Ron Howard is entirely out of his element as director and the exposition is so dense, entire segments of the film play out while people run and talk, walk and talk and sit and talk – you get the idea. What's good? Sir Ian McKellen, Ms. Audrey Tatou and the cinematography is pretty killer. Other than that: if you're a fan of the book - enjoy. If not, you're not missing anything. DVD extras are all featurette based, with no commentary. But there's a special edition with a cryptex replica and journal. Weeeee.

The Groomsmen

Ed Burns writes, directs and stars in this thirty-something coming of middle age story of a guy who is marring his pregers girlfriend (Brittany Murphy) and has one last hoorah in the talky-talk way Burns does his films. His buds are played by a nice collection of character actors (Donal Logue, Jay Mohr, Matthew Lillard and John Leguizamo) and the nature of the show and its pace owes a lot to Diner – another coming of age guy flick. DVD is okay, with well-representative non-anamorphic letterboxed transfer, commentary, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurette and trailer. Burns fans should have a good time.

John Tucker Must Die

Aside from the truly hot ass on the movie poster, I have no good things to say about this.

Joyeux Noel

Not to state the obvious or anything, but trench warfare looks like it sucked. Yet, cinematically, I have to say it's one of the better “styles” of war. Something about it just makes me like it onscreen. Even in slight references like 12 Monkeys I think it looks cool. I should be shot, huh? Anyway, Joyeux Noel is the true story of a cease fire/truce on Christmas Eve 1914 during World War I between the French/Scottish forces and their German enemies– an action deemed treasonous by the company brass. Yes, the film is very anti-war, and yes, it's actually pretty good (nominated for Best Foreign Picture 2005) in its heavy-handed way.

Lassie

No we don't need another Lassie. Yes, they made one.

Strangers with Candy

A sorta prequel to the often brilliant Comedy Central TV series, Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello all join forces to bring Jerri Blank back for one more. Is it necessary? Nah. But it's still pretty funny. Fans of the show will enjoy, for sure. But pedestrians should go pick up the two volumes of the TV series for a better more fulfilling start. Transfer is anamorphic widescreen, audio is DD 5.1 and extras include a commentary with the above three, music video and a nice selection of deleted scenes.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

It's funny not in a ha-ha way, but in jeez, we really screwed ourselves way – but consider the fact that we've painted ourselves into a corner, really. If an electric car was put onto the market; billions of dollars in jobs would disappear. There is a greed element there on a corporate level for sure, but if a car that featured less movable parts and a braking system that needed fewer repairs wouldn't all of the jobs associated with those things also disappear resulting in an epidemic in joblessness? I'm not thinking that the corporations that quietly killed the EV did so in our best interest, but maybe there's more to this story that just the corporations. Who killed the electric car? We all did. This documentary paints the picture in more succinct strokes and does a rather good job drawing you into the murder mystery. It's an interesting story and one worth at least a rental.

The Wild Blue Yonder

I'm not really sure what to think of this one. On one hand, I'm a pretty big Werner Herzog fan. He's a violently active filmmaker, bringing us feature films (scripted and improvised), documentaries, art films and now this – a sort of hybrid of all the above. Culling together archival footage shot in space in 1989, underwater footage from the arctic, documentary interviews with mathematicians and commentary from actor Brad Dourif who plays an alien discussing his races failure to help humans on Earth. The whole thing amounts to a little over 70 minutes of... eh. That's the best word for it. “eh.” Subversive Cinema does an excellent job bring this film to DVD. The anamorphic widescreen transfer is beautiful. Sound is also nice and rich. Extras include a commentary with Herzog and Dourif, a making of, gallery of stills and trailers. If you're a space head like Bill or a Herzog fan like me, you might enjoy it. It's definitely one for the Netflix cue, that's for sure.

Cult Releases

So, here's were we can talk about the really fun discs coming out this week. You know you want 'em. Well, come and get them.

Christmas Evil

A cult Christmas flick from Synapse? Can't wait. Don says I'm getting a copy in my stocking, so I may be reviewing this when it comes. Fingers crossed – I've been a good boy this year.

Dynamic: 1 - Best of DavidLynch.com

Fan of Lynch – rejoice. A new DVD comes out today, featuring a selection of short films previously only available on Lynch's personal website (one that requires a membership). Seven shorts, three camera experiments and Lynch answering questions sent to his website by fans. I'll be picking this one up.

Playboy: Women of Media

Again, I'm here to trumpet Playboy. Haven't seen this one, but I like women. I like media. So I'm sure to like what they have with this set. Am I a pig? God, I hope so. And yes Kara, you're right, there's no such thing as too much Doogan.

Giovannona, Long-Thigh, Last Days of Mussolini & Ubalda, All Naked and Warm

Three flicks from NoShame. I don't know anything about the films, nor do I really know anything about NoShame. But these look fun: two Italian sex films starring Pippo Franco and a flick with Rod Steiger as Mussolini. None could be bad, right?

The Ol' Double Dip

Here's some titles that have made more than one trip to the woodshed on DVD so far...

Forbidden Planet: Ultimate Collector's Edition

Read Bill's review of the special edition here.

The Green Mile: Special Edition

Also from Warner; finally a two-disc special edition of the second of Frank Darabont's high-brow translations of Stephen King. I'm a fan of both of Darabont's King films, but I'm anxious and a mo-fo to see The Mist. That is going to be super-cool. Like the Shawshank SE, this one features a new Drew Struzan cover, a six-part documentary, commentary by Darabont, additional scenes with optional commentary, make-up and screen tests, trailers and everything that was on the original release.

King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition

For those of you holding out for the “better” edition you just knew was coming... your wait is over. The “Rings” edition is here. This is the 3 and a half hour version of the film with new action sequences, more character development and a much thourough viewing experience. Extras include a gag reel, long documentary and for those who pick up the gift set – a statue of Kong on the Empire State Building.

Maniac Cop

Synapse Films second release of the week is a big one for genre fans. Originally released by Don May Jr.'s old company Elite, Maniac Cop is a major entry for fans of 80s horror and since this has been off the market for a while, it makes it a bit better than your typical “double-dip.” Featuring a brand new transfer, remastered sound in DD 5.1 (as well as the original DD2.0) and the same extras as the original release (trailers, commentary and extended scenes shot for Japanese TV broadcast), the disc ups the ante with a new interview with the Maniac Cop himself Robert Z'Dar. Fans of the film will want to pick this one up.

Oldboy: Ultimate Collector's Edition

Don't know much about this one, although I'm a huge fan of the flick – so with this clocking in at 3-discs, I have to think it's worth checking out.

TV on DVD

I gots nothing on these. But damn there's a lot this week. More good stuff here that there is on actual TV. Wow.

3rd Rock: From the Sun: Season 6, Adventures of Superman: The Complete Seasons 5 & 6, Alex Borstein: Drop Dead Gorgeous, The Best of The Electric Company: Volume 2, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers: Volume 2, Columbo: The Complete Sixth & Seventh Season, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Sixth Season, DuckTales: Volume 2, Family Guy: Volume Four, Friends: The Complete Series, Golden Girls: Season Six, He Changed Our World: Steve Irwin Memorial Tribute, Home Improvement: Season Five, Homicide: Live on the Streets - The Complete Series, Lois & Clark: The Complete 4th Season, Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4, Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 4, Masters of Horror: Haeckel's Tale, Midnight Blue Collection: Limited Edition, NCIS: The Complete Second Season, NFL Cheerleaders Making the Squad: Miami Dolphins, NFL Cheerleaders Making the Squad: San Diego, NFL Cheerleaders Making the Squad: Tampa Bay, Northern Exposure: The Complete Fifth Season, Pablo Francisco: Ouch! Live from San Jose, Quantum Leap: The Complete Fifth Season, Reba: The Complete Fourth Season, Six Feet Under: The Complete Series and That Girl: Season 2

Back to the grind for me. And by grind I mean waiting in this line. Will I get a PS3? Can I even afford one? Will Blu-ray rock my world? Find out in a week. But it doesn't look hopeful on any of those fronts.

By the way, you can all Friend me on my Digital Bits MySpace page. I'm trying to feel like a big man and raise my friend count up from 19. Man I suck. Once your there, you can Friend The Bits as well. Isn't Internet Technology the best? I feel like a 12 year-old.

Go out and buy some DVDs. F the new formats. You spin your discs and I'll spin mine.

See you next time,

Doogan
todddoogan@thedigitalbits.com
Somewhere Out There, 11/14/06