There are a fairly large number of mediocre titles
coming out this week. Also, based on last week’s
response, I’m only going to mention HD-DVD and Blu-Ray
titles when they are releases of new movies, so the
two releases of older movies this week won’t get
mentioned.
First, the genre releases:
- 20,000
Leagues
Under The Sea: This 1997 adaptation stars Michael
Caine, and was
directed by Rod Hardy. - Aeon
Flux
(Widescreen Special Collector’s Edition): Last
fall’s adaptation
of the MTV cartoon that I need to get around to
reviewing. - Angel
Links –
Anime Legends Complete Collection: This “Anime
Legends Complete
Collection” series is sure churning out the
titles. - Brain
Powered:
Anime Legends Complete Collection: Another in the
series. - Doctor
Dolittle 3: The sequel they couldn’t get Eddie
Murphy for. What
does that tell you these days? - Final
Fantasy
VII – Advent Children: This is a sequel to the
video game. I
ordered my copy through Diamond Comics Distributors,
so we’ll see when
it actually arrives. - Gunparade
March-TV Series Perfect Collection: More anime,
this time an
alternate history story. - Inspector
Gadget: The Original Series: Though you wouldn’t
know from the
title, this contains about a quarter of the series.
(22 episodes).
There are plans to release the entire thing over
time. - Odyssey
5 –
The Complete Series: I’ve heard good things about
this short lived
series.
Now, the non-genre releases:
- The
Avengers
’62: Complete Set: Patrick Macnee and Honor
Blackman. - Casualties
of
War (Extended Cut): Brian De Palma directs Michael
J. Fox and Sean
Penn. - Classic
Musicals from the Dream Factor: Includes
Ziegfeld
Follies, Till the Clouds Roll By,
Three Little
Words, Summer Stock, and It’s Always
Fair
Weather. - Crumb:
A
documentary on a messed up comic creator. - Elevator
to
the Gallows – Criterion Collection: A Louis Malle
film. - Fists
in the
Pocket – Criterion Collection: When does Criterion
go wrong? - Forgotten
Noir, Vol. 1 (Portland Expose / They Were So
Young): I’m a sucker
for all films noir. - Guys
and Dolls
(Widescreen Deluxe Edition): This is one of the
better musicals,
written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and the source of a
recent “Aunt May”
quote in Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man
about getting
cider in one’s ear. - Law
and Order:
Trial by Jury – The Complete Series: This one
didn’t last as long
as the series it spun off from. - The
Passenger: Michelangelo Antonioni directs Jack
Nicholson. - The
Patriot
(Extended Cut): This one is closer to three
hours. - Penn
and
Teller: Off the Deep End: These two crack me
up. - Reba
– Season
3: This looks OK. I’ve never actually tuned in to
watch it,
though. - The
Replacement Killers (Widescreen Extended Cut):
Chow Yun-Fat and
Mira Sorvino. - The
Robert
Altman Collection: Includes M*A*S*H,
A Perfect
Couple, Quintet, and A
Wedding. - Shopgirl:
Steve Martin and Claire Danes. - Tristan
and
Isolde: Last year’s update of Romeo and
Juliet. - The
Waltons –
The Complete Third Season: I never have watched
the show. - The
Wedding
Singer – Totally Awesome Edition: One of the few
Adam Sandler
movies I enjoy. - What
80
Million Women Want: A 1913 documentary on the
suffrage movement. - Windtalkers
(Director’s Cut): The Nicholas Cage movie,
directed by John Woo.
Finally, the pick of the week. While I’ve no doubt
the Criterion or
Altman releases are the best products hitting the
market, I haven’t
actually seen them, so I won’t recommend them right
now. I have seen
every episode of Inspector Gadget, often
repeatedly. That
was a great show to grow up with, and I’ve very
tempted to start
collecting it now.
Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children:
I was under the impression that it was a movie OF the videogame, as in, one long cutscene. Not a sequel, the same story remade in another format.
Re: Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children:
It’s not – it’s a complete movie unto itself, following after the events that take place in FF7 (it has some problems with that though, as those who haven’t played the game aren’t going to know some of these people just by looking at them – but for those who have, the emotional response is immense).
I abused my managerial powers and brought home my copy yesterday, and at some point I may even watch it in English just to see how good/bad the voices are.
Re: Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children:
You might be mixing it up with the OVA included with the DVD (forgot the title) which is a cell animated feature recapping how Cloud and met up with Sephiroth and Zack and his subsequent escape from Shinra after the events at Nebelheim.
Re: Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children:
It’s called Last Order, and unless I’ve gone blind or it’s a rather well-hidden easter egg, it’s not on the Advent Children DVD – something I’m rather upset about as I was looking forward to it (I’ve only ever seen it as a crappy .avi file that had bad sound synch and froze repeatedly).
Go Go Gadget DVD Player!
’nuff said.
Odyssey 5
Odyssey 5 had potential at the start then turned into a joke. By the end I was slamming my head against the wall at how idiotic the storylines had turned, especially the final episode.
Damien