Weekly DVD Picks – Dec. 21 and Dec. 28

Got any last minute shopping to do? We’ve got
suggestions. This column covers two weeks worth of
releases; details below.

This week is a bit different. Given that most of us
probably won’t be
spending a lot of time on our computers around the
holidays, I’ve
decided to post the picks for Dec. 21 and Dec. 28 in
the same column,
each with their own breakdowns. (There are also very
few titles
released on December 28.) December 21 releases come
first.

First, the genre releases:

Now, the non-genre releases:

  • AMC
    – John
    Wayne 5 Pack    : It has five DVDs, but ten movies.
    It’s a pretty
    good deal. Disturbingly good, actually; if it
    weren’t for the quality
    of Universal’s Abbott and Costello sets, I’d doubt
    this could be
    worthwhile.
  • De-Lovely:
    A decent if unimaginative movie that reveals the life
    of a composer
    whose primary appeal is to a demographic that may not
    be comfortable with
    what they find here. Not bad, but not terribly
    impressive. I do
    remember that I enjoyed it more than I expected to,
    though.
  • Napoleon
    Dynamite    : An independent film that was well
    reviewed.
  • The
    Simpsons –
    Season Five    : Back when it was still in its
    prime.
  • Surviving
    Christmas    : From theaters to video in almost two
    months. (The
    theatrical release was October 22 of this year.) I
    know the
    turnaround times from theaters to video are getting
    faster, but
    getting it out this fast during the holiday crunch on
    DVD production
    can only mean that the studio knew how quickly it
    would tank and
    started the video release process before it hit the
    big screens.
  • Villain
    Still
    Pursued Her    : I haven’t seen it, or even heard of
    it, but it’s got
    Buster Keaton, so it can’t be too bad.
  • What’s
    Up,
    Doc?    : A screwball comedy in the tradition of
    Bringing Up
    Baby    . It’s actually pretty good.

Finally, the pick of the week for the December 21
releases. I’m
sorely tempted to pick Shaun of the Dead
based on reputation
alone, but I haven’t seen it, so I’ll have to go with
the remake of The
Manchurian
Candidate (2004). I haven’t seen the original,
so I don’t know
which was better, but this one is certainly
worthwhile.

If you want to shop for someone and have it arrive
before Christmas,
the items listed below won’t work.

Now, the genre picks for the week of December 28.

The non-genre picks for December 28 are

  • Un
    Chien
    Andalou    : This originally showed up a couple of
    weeks ago, but
    didn’t ship in time. It’s odd, but strange. Not for
    everyone (or
    even very many) but I enjoy it more each
    viewing.

I told you this was a light week. The pick of the
week for December
28 is The
Twilight
Zone – Season 1 (The Definitive Edition). This is
the first season
of the first series, from 1959. It’s a pretty
significant piece of TV
history.

5 replies on “Weekly DVD Picks – Dec. 21 and Dec. 28”

  1. Rumoured?

    Battlestar Galactica (2003 miniseries): This is the new set, that is rumoured to be launching a new series.

    It has launched a new series – the Brits get to see it before us North Americans due to SkyOne ponying up a large sum of cash. Space is supposed to start running it in January up here in Canada (I’m not sure when SciFi is going to start airing it, mostly because they aren’t legally in Canada), but it remains to be seen if they’ll show it in the 16×9 aspect ratio like SkyOne or in the butchered full screen that SciFi is rumoured to be airing it in for some unknown reason.

    Also, do you remember how good the miniseries was? Well, let’s just say you’re in for a treat (I’d say we, but I got impatient…)

  2. Holidaze

    Given that most of us probably won’t be spending a lot of time on our computers around the holidays…

    That would only be if, unlike me, you have a real life. I tend to spend more time on the computer around the holidays (that and the scifi channel).

    By the way, I would like to use this opportunity to say just how much burea42.com is growing on me. I really like this site and want to thank all of you for the hard work you put into it.

  3. Shawn of the Dead
    It was pretty good, actually. I guess I was one of the few who saw it in the theater. It had some really funny moments, and it pretty much follows DoTD’s general storyline.

    I do recommend it if you liked the original. It can be graphic at times.

    Hell, it even uses The Gonk in the closing credits.

    • Re: Shawn of the Dead

      It was pretty good, actually. I guess I was one of the few who saw it in the theater. It had some really funny moments, and it pretty much follows DoTD’s general storyline.

      I do recommend it if you liked the original. It can be graphic at times.

      Hell, it even uses The Gonk in the closing credits.

      “You’ve got red on you”

      I saw it in the theatre, about three weeks ago – the place was so dead that the guy who sold me my ticket asked my friend and I to buy something at the concession so he could go turn on the projector. I’m totally picking this up once tuition is paid.

  4. Ghost in the Shell 2

    The original GITS was OK, but the animation was what made it stand out head and shoulders above the rest. There’s also a GITS series on Adult Swim now that’s pretty good from a hacker standpoint, and it differs from teh typical screaming anime like that damn Inuyasha.

    GITS2 is watchable as a standalone movie, though there’s one bit that only makes sense if you’ve seen the first one. Again, the animation, a mix of computer-generated and regular animation techniques, stands out as way above par. The story is good, and they leave some things to your imagination rather than spell it all out for you.

    I’ll be ordering a copy of it soon.

    Am I the only one going to see these things in the theaters?

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