Looks like their are plenty of future guilty pleasure being released this week for me to pick from. And while I do love me some Rainn Wilson, I don’t think I am going to be able to bring myself, or more importantly Anna, to go watch The Rocker. Death Race and The House Bunny both look like they will more likely be awful then entertaining, so my choice for new releases this week is Hamlet 2. I’ll go see anything with Steve Coogan in it, and with a solid cast and the chance to be rocked by a sexy Jesus it could be a fun film.
DVD picks this week are a bit more difficult as their are several films I would like to see. The infamous Salò get’s a new release by Criterion which should have cinephiles salivating at the thought of finally getting to watch the film. Besides that Redbelt, Son of Rambow and Chicago 10 are all getting their first release on DVD this upcoming week, and all are worthy of renting.
But my DVD pick this week is a lesser known film called Dante’s Inferno. Dante’s Inferno is performed in a toy theater style using paper sets and puppets to recreate the epic poem. With voices being supplied by James Cromwell and Dermot Mulroney, Dante’s Inferno looks to be one of the more fascinating and unique film releases this year.
Pretty simple update this week as the theatrical new releases all seem to be cowering in fear of The Bat Man. Now I’m sure the movie is great and Heath Ledger is perfection and Christopher Nolan finally has discovered how to shoot an action sequence, but something about the torrential buzz for the film is really giving me a bad taste in my mouth. I’d boycott the film but it seems pop culture would then be legally required to put a bounty on my head.
For DVD releases next Tuesday it all comes down to one simple release, Spaced: The Complete Series. The brilliant brainchild of Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost about a pair of friends (Pegg and Hynes) who lie about being a couple so that they can rent an awesome apartment. But with oodles of geeky references, and fantastic camera work and absurd characters. It is one of the best television shows ever made, and should be required viewing for any fan of the all powerful Pegg/Wright/Frost triumvirate.
So here we are again and I have nothing to recommend for theaters this weekend. Hancock blows, I could care less about Kitt Kittredge and … wait a moment! Gonzo:The Life and Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson comes on this weekend. Go see that post haste. Whether you want to ingest three or four rogue narcotics and a bottle of ether before you watch it is entirely up to you.
DVD releases aren’t much better. The abominable The Ruins is the major release, and I can’t emphasize enough how much I hate hate hated that movie. Please don’t rent it or borrow it or, grrrr, buy it. It’s Little Shop of Horrors, but totally taking itself seriously. Hopefully that blatant and unmarked spoiler totally ruined the film for you.
But their are several Independent releases coming out on DVD this week that might be interesting. The Tracy Fragments is a tiny Canadian (I think, don’t hold me to it) film that stars uber-annoy Ellen Page as some sort of smary, sassy, super intelligent girl who is always three or four steps ahead of every adult in the world. Well, it might not be, but since she’s played that role in every other film she’s been in I feel pretty comfortable on pigeonholing the film straight away.
Also out is the film Chop Shop, about a small boy living in the slums of New York. Don’t know much else but it has garnered some huge praise in spite of its very limited release.
And last, but certainly not least, is the documentary Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten. It covers Strummer’s life before, during and after The Clash as told by a gaggle of people much cooler then you plus Bono.
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