DVD releases are almost universally awful this week, so much so that I am not going to recommend any film release this week, but I do have something much much better. That would be the release of The Dana Carvey Show on DVD. One of the more innovative and edgy sketch comedies ever to air, directly do to the monster roster of comedy and writing giants that comprised the writing staff. Sure the show borders on bizarre and never goes for a cheap laugh, which makes it even more amazing that it ever aired. Be sure to check out the truly amazing show.

As for theatrical releases, the easy choice is Star Trek, and while I’ve been a fan of Star Trek for over 20 years but that’s not my recommendation this week. No, my choice is Anvil! The Story of Anvil. Sure it helps that they will be in town this weekend performing at The Uptown, but I’m a documentary fan at heart and this looks like it could be one of the better documentaries of the year.

As always trailers are after the break!

(more…)

And the blockbuster season begins not with a bang, but a crappy X-Men film. Huzzah!

As for those of you brave souls who want to try something besides this week’s must see movie, there are some interesting films being released, though my favorite is easily Michael Caine’s latest, Is Anybody There? Far darker and morbid then I imagined, the film opens with a boy tape recording the sounds of a man dying and then continually listening to it, the film is not the old man bonding with young boy film that it is being marketed as. Besides the off kilter storyline, be sure to pay attention for the outstanding cinematography. Great use of negative space and using depth of field, it is truly one of the more artistically shot films of the year. As an extra added bonus, their is a guillotine scene that is worth the price of admission!

As for DVD releases, the big name is clearly the Criterion release of Benjamin Button, which I’m sure will be a fabulous disc from one of the premiere specialty DVD companies working right now. But outside of that release there isn’t a whole hell of a lot coming out, but I do have my eye on a small French supernatural thriller, Écoute le temps. Focusing on a woman (Émilie Dequenne) who’s mother was recently murdered, she returns to her home and begins to discover that their may b a connection to her mother’s murder and past events that occurred in the home. The trailer doesn’t give much away, but I’m all for seeing a French ghost story, especially after the overload of Asian ghost stories these past few years.

As always trailers are after the break!

(more…)

Another light week for both DVD and theatrical releases, though their are some solid choices. The easy pick for DVD releases is The Wrestler, a good film that is greatly helped by hinging everything on Mickey Rourke’s outstanding performance as Randy “The Ram”. It is certainly worth a watch if you haven’t been able to catch it yet.

As for theatrical releases, the pick is a lesser known film about illegal immigrants attempting to reach the US. While I had low expectations going into the film, it turned out to be a film far more interesting and unique film then I anticipated. Sin Nombre is easily my choice for the week.

As always trailers are after the break!

(more…)

Finally a week in which their are multiple quality selections to choose from for theatrical releases. Granted the mainstream offerings at the multiplex are awful, but between Alien Trespass, 12 and Adventureland you have plenty of quality options to choose from. Though my recommendation is for Adventureland, which is nothing like the baudy sex comedy that it is being marketed as. Rather it is a rich coming of age story that is surprisingly dark, very dense and very rich. I might even say it is the fillet of this weeks offerings.

As for DVD releases, they are almost universally crap, excepot for one lone, rogue film. You might know it as the film I used to launch a totally unprevoked, and ultimately futile, attack of Star Tribune film critic Colin Covert. That’s right, just two weeks after it was released in theaters, Shuttle is being released on DVD. So now is your chance to rent the film, and discover for yourself just how right, or wrong Colin is.

As always trailers are after the break!

(more…)

Pretty easy to choose a film to watch this weekend, as the mainstream releases are awful and the Indie releases aren’t much better. Only decent movie coming out is the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, which really is fantastic. Following the story of how a group of women peacefully protested to end civil war in Liberia, it is a fascinating account on the power of peaceful protest. These women changed the course of the country, and they deserve every bit of praise they receive for this remarkable accomplishment.

DVD releases are just as dry, with hardly anything worth even a rental, let alone a purchase. But at least leading the charge is Ashes of Time Redux, Wong Kar Wai’s martial arts epic. Originally released in 1994, Wai has re-edited and re-mastered the film for its re-release. Not a re-make. Not a re-imagining. It is a re-awakening. Re-ally.

As always trailers are after the break!

(more…)