One of the first reviews I did for this site was for Hot Fuzz — a quirky action parody that I enjoyed a lot on the big screen.
It has now arrived on DVD, regular and HD.
I enjoyed watching it with the trivia subtitle track turned on. What blew me away was how much thought went into every detail and how even the most trivial of items was really a setup for the payoff in the end. The other usual extras are on the DVD; the only downside is that the HD version is rumored to have some extras not included in the regular version.
My advice: well if you had listened to me to begin with, you would have seen it in the theaters and now own it on DVD; if you didn’t, redeem yourself now by catching it on DVD…
When I did my review of Looney Tunes: Back in Action, I discussed my Saturday morning ritual cartoon watching. From 1977-1980, one of my absolute favorites was the Filmation series of Batman cartoons. So imagine my happiness now to see them released in a box set on DVD.
I bought them the first week out and watched some of the episodes. While the flaws are more visible to me now, there was a sense of nostalgia that enveloped me while watching them. Of course the biggest annoyance then and now was the introduction of Bat-Mite, a poor man’s Great Kazoo.
The key to remember is that this is the Batman of the 70’s — Frank Miller and Tim Burton had not yet created their dark versions of the Dark Knight. In this series, the villains are shown as buffoons out for some fun.
Not a lot of extras on thise set — Warners did this set cheaply.
My advice: If you grew up on this, let your inner child out some and catch a couple of episodes…
As I have mentioned before, movies are an important part of birthdays in my family — I know, I know, you are thinking, “Umm Matt, when are movies not an important part of anything in your family…?” I actually saw Superman Returns in the theaters during the weekend of my birthday in 06. While I was glad to have seen it on the big screen, I remember walking away from the theater feeling apathetic about the experience.
So I popped the disc into the old DVD player to give the movie a second chance. Unfortunately, I still had the same feelings a year later.
Kevin Spacey was the lone bright spot — great commitment, and a more convincing Luthor than Hackman was. Kate Bosworth was made to look like Rachel McAdams playing Lois Lane and several times I was wishing that Lois was being played McAdams. Brandon Routh nailed the Clark part, channeling Christopher Reeve’s performance; but his Superman was as wooden as any pirate’s peg leg.
The story was a basic retelling of Superman (1978) , with some minor updates. this is probably why I wasn’t wowed with it — I had already seen it 30 years earlier.
My advice: not bad for a Saturday afternoon — you could make worse choices…
With the release of Superman Returns on DVD, Warner Brothers decided to make up a special set, similar to what they did with the Alien series and The Matrix series. In a nice metal tin, all of the Christopher Reeves’ Superman movies, Superman Returns, and bonus discs were included. One of the bonus disc contained a documentary made 6 months prior to coincide with the release of Superman Returns in theaters.
The Amazing Story of Superman is not just another piece of PR fluff. It is a fairly well-done documentary chronicling the beginnings of Superman in comics, TV, movies, and American culture. Kevin Spacey does great job as narrator, taking us through the time periods as easily as if he were telling us tales of his childhood. While I knew most of the big facts, there were several nuggets that surprised me.
My advice: Look for this documentary on cable or find it on DVD. A must-see for anyone who has enjoyed any of these movies, TV shows, or comics.
As I have stated before, I am ok with movies not having sequels; sequels tend to disappoint. My biggest example of this is the Matrix series, but I digress.
When The Bourne Identity was over, I was satisfied — I did not need to see another reason to make more. Then I found out that it was actually book one of a series, so that means sequels would be coming soon.
I was disappointed in the second one, mainly due to the shaky-cam process. It hurt my eyes to watch and overall caused me to not recommend the movie. I will say that the effect is not as bad on DVD.
The story is good and so is the pacing. The DVD has the usual extras.
My advice: definitely watch before going to see The Bourne Ultimatum….
