Bitter Dregs

I don't normally use this blog for personal stuff, but I wanted to note the passing of my Uncle Don Barnes, who died early this morning at the age of 94.

Don had suffered from Alzheimer's for the last 5 years so in a sense, he's been gone for a while. Nonetheless, I wanted to make a short note about this person who had a real influence on me.

Uncle Don, who along with my late Aunt Faith lived in the Rapid City area the entire time I was growing up; the Barnes' were a regular part of our lives during those years. We visited their house a lot when I was younger and if you could see what the place looked like, you'd understand the influence. Don was a retired electrical engineer (he worked for the FAA for some of his career IIRC) and a real pack rat. His garage and basement were stuffed full of all sorts of fascinating old electronics junk. I spent a lot of time in that basement (it was a fun place to play for us kids) and have vivid memories of the place. Don was one of the reasons I'm as into technology as I am. He was pretty much always interested in new tech and we had fun talking about whatever the latest stuff was. I often brought over some piece of audio gear, often in non-working condition. He was always ready to dive in and either get his soldering iron warmed up to fix it or show me what had to be done with it. I learned a lot about how electronics work from him and also have my background knowledge of old tech thanks to him (and my Dad, of course).

Don was also extraordinarily generous, as anyone who knew him could tell you. While he collected a lot of old stuff, he didn't hesitate to provide it to anyone who needed it. When I was done with high school and didn't have a car to drive, he gave me his unused 1962 Mercury Meteor. This old car, which was black with a red interior (and often dubbed "The Batmobile") and had rear fins, got me through several years of regular use.

So Don will not be forgotten in my family. His struggle with Alzheimer's was not easy to watch but we're fortunate that we had so many years with him. RIP, Uncle Don: we all miss you.

I'm going to skip the summary this week, but you can get the list by clicking here.

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

Posted by John Knowles at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As a quick note, we do have another Trek podcast on the way, but it won't be until next week. As always, it'll be worth the wait! (hahaha)

So, what do we have cooking this week?

Bruno (2009) Also on BD.

Darwin's Darkest Hour (2009) Also on BD.

Elvis Costello: Spectacle: Season 1 Also on BD.

Fight Club (1999) The much-loved (but overrated IMHO) Fincher film comes to BD. I was amused by this quote from Roger Ebert's review: "Is Tyler Durden in fact a leader of men with a useful philosophy? 'It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything,' he says, sounding like a man who tripped over the Nietzsche display on his way to the coffee bar in Borders."

Galaxy Quest (1999) Another 1999 film new-to-BD. I do enjoy this one, but I'll wait it out until it drops in price.

Gone with the Wind 70th Anniversary Edition This reissue is apparently quite stunning with a ground-up restoration. As I've probably said before, this is a film I admire more than enjoy. It's good to see at least one of the studios continue to invest in classic film on HD.

Star Trek (2009) Also on BD. As I mentioned previously, I liked the new movie and really look forward to seeing what they do with the new cast. We had a fun discussion about the movie on the podcast. It can be found here.

Wagon Train: Season 1 This is of course appropriate since Gene Roddenberry once referred to Star Trek as "Wagon Train to the Stars."

Posted by John Knowles at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the past weekend, as a really nice birthday present, we went and saw Steely Dan at Northrop Auditorium (complete with Fez!). I've been a fan of the 'Dan for a very long time and had seen them twice before (1996 and 2003). The previous concerts were at sports arenas, but I finally got to see them in a theater venue. Very cool.

On this tour, they feature one of two complete albums: The Royal Scam or Aja. On this show they did the latter. They actually played the album all the way through in order with pretty much the same arrangements and instrumentation. With the exception of "Josie," they did all the tunes in the same key as the originals; pretty impressive for Fagen after all these years. The rest of the show was mostly made up of the expected crowd favorites, though them doing "Show Biz Kids" was a nice surprise.

The band they tour with, as usual, is made up of top drawer jazz pros. The horns were great and the drummer, the same guy they've been using since their "rebirth" in the '90s, was fantastic as always. I thought the bass playing was very good (of course), though 'Dan songs were never vehicles for bass virtuosity like they were for the sax, piano, guitar, and drums. Then again, I couldn't always hear what they guy was doing since he was often buried in the sound mix. A friend who was there as well had a different impression of the sound so it obviously varied depending on where one sat.

In any case, the musicianship was incredible. One thing I like about their shows is the way that Becker and Fagen aren't afraid to let the other players strut their stuff. The guitarist did some great solo work and the piano player even got some time. An added bonus to these guys using many of the same players is how good the overall ensemble sounded. The group was really tight without sounding restrained or canned. So if you like these guys at all, do try and make one their concerts. At their age, it won't last forever.

OK, enough of that music crap, on to this week's new releases:

The Accidental Husband (2007)

Ballast (2008) Also on BD.

Echo (2008) Also on BD.

The General (1927) New to BD with an improved film transfer and multiple musical scores.

Logan's Run (1976) New to BD this week. This might be a good time to revisit this sci fi staple...Eric may want to do a podcast on it, so watch out!

Monsters, Inc. (2001) New to BD.

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 2

Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days

The Ugly Truth (2009) Also on BD.

Up (2009) As usual, DVD buyers get a choice of movie-only or loaded SE while BD buyers have to go for the 4 disc megaset...at least Amazon sold it to me for $20.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We joined the modern console video game age last week with the purchase of a Playstation 3. Our old X-Box has been collecting dust for a while now. A big reason we wanted one was to be able to play the Rock Band (Beatles and otherwise) games, but I also saw it as a chance to simplify the media playback in my basement projection system. This game system, as you probably know can play Blu Ray discs (and of course conventional DVDs): nice, I get a second BD deck and can stop having to move my Panasonic BD-35 around the house. This by itself would probably make it worthwhile, but the PS3 can also play many other kinds of media files. About the only thing it won't play is protected video content purchased from iTunes. So, this machine can replace at least two boxes in the equipment rack and add more funtionality (Netflix streaming is coming soon to the PS3). But who am I kidding: it's another toy!

So far, the console works well. It loads BD movies faster than my old deck and has WiFi on board so it's easy to update the machine's software/firmware and do BD Live, should I ever see something on BD Live that's worth looking at. And, oh yeah, the games are fun...

All right, on to this week's list:

Aliens in the Attic (2009) Also on BD.

The Answer Man Also on BD.

Doctor Who: The Black Guardian Trilogy

Doctor Who - The War Games

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) Also on BD.

Howards End Criterion issues the Merchant-Ivory film on BD. And yes, I know at least one of my readers really doesn't like this movie! Check out DVD Savant's review for a good take on the movie here.

Mission: Impossible: Season 7

North by Northwest 50th Anniversary Edition DVD and BD. A review of the BD is here. This will be a double-dip purchase for me...

Walt Disney Treasures: Zorro - The Complete First Season The second season is also available in the same series of DVDs.

Wings of Desire (1987) Criterion issues the Wim Wenders film on DVD and BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We continue to work our way through the newest Ken Burns docu on BD. Same interesting content and gorgeous images. As I mentioned on FB, we watched The Freshman recently and really enjoyed it. It's slightly dated, but it held up pretty well. It's certainly worth watching for Brando's performance alone, probably the last good thing he did. The DVD we watched was so-so in picture quality, but it's a very old transfer and quite frankly doesn't detract from a film like this. Zero bonuses, save for a trailer. If you're inclined towards this film at all, it's certainly worth a rental revisit.

OK, on to this week's list of new stuff:

Angel and the Badman (2009)

The Barbara Stanwyck Show: Vol. 1 (1960) Hmm, Barbara Stanwyck had a TV show...who knew?

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009) From what I can tell, this is an add-on extended episode that expands the events from the first season. Also on BD.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) Also on BD. "High jinks and hilarity ensue in this fun family adventure that's packed with celebrity voices." Oh goody...

Il Divo (2008) Also on BD.

Monty Python: Almost the Truth (2009) Also on BD. This is the documentary series that ran on IFC.

The Prisoner: The Complete Series Megaset Released to coincide with the remake mini-series, I assume. I hear that there are new bonuses and improved picture/sound. Here's a review of the new set by DVD Savant can be found here. It looks good, but not enough to make me trade up. Also on BD.

Stan Helsing (2009) Also on BD.

Tales from the Darkside: Season 2

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (2009) Also on BD.

Whatever Works (2009) Yes, Woody Allen on BD...scary.

Posted by John Knowles at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Before we start, we recorded another non-Trek podcast last week where we tackled the Battlestar Galactica series finale. Check it out here.

And now here's something we hope you'll really like!

This week's release list:

Black Adder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition One of two BBC classic sitcom re-dos.

Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection Remastered This is the other...the new set does have some bonuses and A/V quality improvements..

The L Word: Season 6

Monsoon Wedding (2001, Criterion version) Also on BD.

Numb3rs: Season 5

Peanuts: 1970's Collection, Vol. 1

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) Also on BD. I know this one's an easy target, but here's a quote from Roger Ebert's review: "The human actors are in a witless sitcom part of the time, and lot of the rest of their time is spent running in slo-mo away from explosions, although--hello!--you can't outrun an explosion. They also make speeches like this one by John Turturro: 'Oh, no! The machine is buried in the pyramid! If they turn it on, it will destroy the sun! Not on my watch!' The humans, including lots of U.S. troops, shoot at the Transformers a lot, although never in the history of science fiction has an alien been harmed by gunfire." Yeah... It makes Waterworld, coming out on BD this week, seem pretty good.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've been watching the new Ken Burns The National Parks: America's Best Idea series and so far it's pretty good. As you'd expect, there are many of the usual Burns documentary techniques being used here with lots of actor voice-overs for the quotations. The pacing of the show is a bit on the deliberate side, but the amount of information there is significant and I do feel like I'm getting a really good picture as to how the whole thing came about. Much of the background on the parks and how the park service was put together was unfamiliar to me.

Speaking of pictures, there are some beautiful shots of the outdoor scenes here; they did a great job combining new shots with old footage and still photos. In HD, the images really look nice. Many of the older photos look very sharp, telling me that they had some very good sources to work with. The BD version looks and sounds great, though the HD broadcast version is almost as good. I could see a bit more film grain on the BD version. Burns apparently still shoots using 16mm film. In any case, the series is worth checking out as a rental at least.

So, now that it's November...oh wait, it just seems like it is with all the snow outside.

Of course when the weather stinks, that means there's more time to check out all the lovely releases coming out this week:

Adoration (2007) Also on BD.

American Violet (2008) Also on BD.

Drag Me to Hell (2009) Also on BD.

Land of the Lost (2009) Also on BD. Of course they're also releasing the old TV show seasons this week.

Married... with Children: Season 11 11 years...

The Proposal (2009) Also on BD.

Rick Wakeman: The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Live at Hampton Court Palace (2009) Prog rock blow-out!

Posted by John Knowles at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night, for some reason, I was thinking about the time when TV Guide was useful. When I was growing up, in the dark ages before the InterTubes, we would often visit my Aunt/Uncle who had a print subscription to TV Guide. Yes, back when it was a real article (they probly still publish it, for all I know) and not just a brand of electronic program guide for DVRs and their ilk. My family never get this at home, so in those days, it was fun to skim through the 'Guide (Yeah, I needed to get out more!) Not only could you see the schedule a couple of weeks in advance, but there was actual detail about the shows! Sure, it wasn't super-accurate, but it was a lot better than what you got in the paper. I always remember the typical TV Guide description for many a Star Trek episode (a show I was always on the lookout for): "Kirk and the landing party beam down to an alien planet where they encounter a strange creature." They used that one a lot. Now there's some real premium content for you!

Enough nostalgia, on to this week's list of new stuff:

Ally McBeal: The Complete Series I guess they sorted out all the music licensing issues...

Bones: Season 4 Also on BD.

The Children (2008) Also on BD.

Contact (1997) New to BD this week. This was one of the first DVDs I bought back in 1998 when the format was new. I may have to re-buy this one.

Dance Flick (2009)

A Hard Day's Night (1964) New to BD...in Canada?

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The Complete Fifth Season

Mister Ed: Season 1

The National Parks: America's Best Idea Also on BD.

Nip/Tuck: Season 5: Part 2

Red Dwarf: Back to Earth Also on BD.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) First time on BD for this classic and an interesting sales strategy. The BD version has both BD and DVD discs. If you only want the DVD version, you have to wait six weeks (the old DVD is out of print). Interesting...

Trick 'r Treat (2008) Also on BD.

Year One (2009) Also on BD. This one looked really stupid...

Posted by John Knowles at 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The weather is taking a turn for the cooler around here and hey, it's about time I suppose. I did pick up the BD of Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2 last week and so far, I'm really liking it. The fact that these new sets have full HD versions of both original and remastered/new CG effects is great. Of course, the original effects shots don't look very good blown up to a large/high resolution screen, but it's still good to have them. The picture quality is certainly the best I've ever seen and may indeed be the best this show is ever going to look, period. You can make out the grain in the original 35mm footage, but the images are quite clean without being overly scrubbed. The new effects shots, as you'd expect, look great in HD. The set offers new re-mixed DTS audio as well as the original mono tracks. I really appreciate having both. Most of the time, I do prefer the new track except for the opening title where they re-recorded the music. The balance of the instruments is different and, well, it doesn't seem right to me.

There are a lot of bonus material on these sets, some of it carried over from the previous season DVD sets. A lot of it is fluff, but one of the features I have enjoyed the most is the "Billy Blackurn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Moments" segments. There's one installment in each season of the show and it has interview snippets with Billy, who was in a lot of the episodes with non-speaking parts. The on-set film footage is fun to see, too bad there isn't more of it. Heck, he was sitting in Chekov's chair for the episode I watched the other night ("The Doomsday Machine," up next on the review schedule). So, a nice upgrade over the old DVDs. Sure, sometimes watching the show in HD gives you more detail than you might want: flaws in the costumes and sets are very apparent. One thing I didn't like so much was the BD "interactivity." I've harped on this before, but waiting for Java apps to load every time you play the disc gets old fast. Plus, there doesn't seem to be a way to resume playback if you stop the player. Plain 'ol DVD was able to do that for crying out loud! Please fix this, people. Also, if you're going to spend all this effort developing online content for these discs, how about something worthwhile? I really like the A/V quality on BD, but we have definitely taken a step backwards in usability.

Okay, so let's see what we've got going this week:

Away We Go (2009) Also on BD.

CSI: NY: Season 5

The Girlfriend Experience (2009) Also on BD.

The Guild: Seasons 1 & 2 This web comedy is hilarious. The DVDs let you see the episodes with better quality and there are some bonuses.

How I Met Your Mother: Season 4

Life on Mars: The Complete Series The aborted US version.

Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) Also on BD.

Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008)

The Patty Duke Show: Season 1

The Unit: Season 4

The Wizard of Oz (70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition) Yes, another chance to re-purchase this classic. The word is, that this latest version on BD is stunning, possibly better than audiences in 1939 saw it (it was hi-res scanned from the camera negatives). As is typical these days, if you want the movie on BD, they only have it available in a mega-uber box set with a bunch of stuff you'll probably never look at...at a much higher price (the DVD version can be bought with or without the box). Except, that this time Target has the BD by itself sans box. All other retailers just get the BD box set. This kind of exclusive retailer crap really gets old...it has inspired me to wait on this one. Besides, I can always go and look at the junk in the *last* "Oz" DVD box set I bought.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow, it's Fall already. It doesn't really feel like it around here, but we'll get the cool weather soon enough. In the meantime, let's see what the video overlords have for us this week:

30 Rock: Season 3

Adam Resurrected (2008) Also on BD.

Battle for Terra (2007) Also on BD.

Book of Blood (2008) Also on BD.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2008) Also on BD.

Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 2 The BD version comes out today. Similar features to the Season 1 set including HD versions of both the original and remastered episodes. I'm picking this one up today as it coincides with my Trek blogging.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection BD debut for the rest of the Trek films, aside from the new one. They're selling "First Contact" separately.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Season 2 Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, let's dive right into this week's list of new releases:

The Big Bang Theory: Season 2

CSI: Miami: Season 7

Crash: Season 1

Easy Virtue (2008) Also on BD.

Gervaise (1956)

Grey's Anatomy: Season 5

The IT Crowd: Series 3 Hmm, two geek sitcoms in the same week...

Meyerling (1936)

My Name Is Earl: Season 4

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2008) Also on BD.

Varsity Blues (1999) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Fall Semester has hit, here at the U and we're running around like...well, like something!

I'm thinking about writing a hopefully not-too-long account of my home viewing situation sans cable/satellite. Sure, it's old hat to some of you and it may not be at all interesting, but it goes with the shallow topic I like to talk about here, so write I shall. One comment I'll make about it is concerning using iTunes to watch TV shows. We're using iTunes to keep up with Top Chef these days. This is one of those shows that I like, but don't think it'll be something worth buying on disc down the road. So, I bought a season pass for ca. $25. Sure, it isn't cheap (a lot cheaper than a month's worth of cable/satellite though), but it downloads right to my Mac in the bedroom, has good standard def quality, and no ads/screen logo crap. Sounds great, right? I'm doing the right thing and paying for this show, but the episode doesn't show up for download until a day after it airs, sometimes longer. Last week, it'd been longer than usual, so I checked Hulu.com just for the hell of it and I found the episode there, ready to watch for free (with a few ads). Now, the episode appeared on iTunes not too long after that, but the point is, the freebie site got it first. Of course I don't want to screw over Hulu users, I use the service myself. I know the networks don't want people like me ditching their cable subs and doing this, but at the price I spent, they have to be doing OK with me not watching the ads on Bravo. You'd think that they would make the Hulu users wait, not the ones paying per show. I also have to point out that the episode was more than likely available on a torrent site within a few hours of the airing of the show, and with no ads and as good quality. It shouldn't be that hard to at least match the convenience and quality of the illegal version, should it?

Enough of that for now, on to this week's new stuff:

Crank 2: High Voltage (2009) Also on BD.

Criminal Minds: Season 4

Fringe: Season 1

Homicide (1991)

The Human Condition (1959)

The Office: Season 5 Also on BD.

Parks and Recreation: Season 1

That Hamilton Woman (1941)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another slow week of new releases. click here for the complete list with prices.

Braveheart (1995) First time on BD.

CSI: Season 9

Desperate Housewives: Season 5

Doctor Who: Deadly Assassin

In the Realm of the Senses (1976) Also on BD.

JCVD (2008) Also on BD.

Little Dorrit (2008, BBC)

Spin City: Season 2

Star Trek: The Original Series" - Season 1 TOS comes to BD. You get both original versions and the CG-enhanced versions in HD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm very close to having the latest Star Trek entry up, for those few who are interested.

Here's a status update on the movies/dorky equipment front.

Last night, I finally got around to seeing Quantum of Solace (2008) on BD. Overall I liked the film well enough. Daniel Craig is really good and the movie is loud and expensive-looking. A few things though... I find myself wondering what happened to the humor of James Bond? Does every action movie lead have to have a psychological profile in the Dark Knight mold? It's getting old and doesn't work for me in a James Bond movie. The series has never really been taken very seriously and I'm not seeing that changing very much. Yes, Bond now has this brooding soul, but everything around him is still quite cartoonish. It would work better some tweaking to the character and dialogue. And the right-wing stuff makes its appearance here; the evil "Nature Conservancy" baddie along with a fuel cell-powered luxo hotel that blows sky at the drop of a hat. A few observations:

1. The people who made this movie wanted to make a Bond film that is the opposite of the Roger Moore era ones. Fine, but give Craig a bit more to work with than humorless (save for a few select scenes) brooding thug.

2. These same people wanted to make a combo of the Bourne films and Batman. The action isn't as well crafted/cut as the Bourne trio and Bond just isn't credible as a Dark English Keniggget.

3. This is a Bond film. You're using the characters and the logo. You're trying to have it both ways. If you're going to try and have a "modern" updated "dark" Bond, and then resort to some of the old characterizations (the whole bit with "Strawberry Fields"), it comes off as hollow.

OK, so I'm being way too hard on what's still a fun action movie. And I did enjoy it. However, it should have been MORE fun. We don't need to go back to the Moore stuff, but how about some balance? I'm sure Craig is up to the challenge.

The BD looked and sounded spectacular, as you'd expect. The sound mix is really fun and all the expensive location shots really look nice. I didn't sample the bonuses because, well, do we really care for a film like this?

Also, I'm trying the Computer-as-Video Appliance thing using a Mac Mini in our bedroom system. I've got it set up with Boxee software to access downloaded video as well as streaming offerings from Netflix etc. So far, I'm mixed on it, but it has potential. I'll be doing a more through update after I've used it a bit longer.

But for now, let's launch into this week's new releases:

Caprica (2009) The pilot for the Battlestar Galactica prequel series. I haven't seen it yet, but am curious about it.

Dallas: Season 11 11 seasons!!!

Frost/Nixon (2008) Also on BD.

The Last Word (2008) Also on BD.

Notorious (2009) Also on BD.

Rhoda: Season 1

Tiny Toon Adventures: Season 1: Vol. 2

The Wrestler (2008) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A pretty slow week here for new stuff. We are trying to get the latest Trek podcast done, but schedules aren't cooperating...hopefully soon.

Here's the deal with the new titles this week:

Dark Matter (2007)

House of Saddam (2008)

Knots Landing: Season 2

Mean Girls (2004) Yes, many have been waiting for this one on BD...

Pride and Prejudice (1995, BBC) Now on BD. Since I seem to have lent my DVD of this to somebody and forgot who, I might replace it with this...

The Reader (2008) The BD version comes on 4/28.

The Spirit (2008) Also on BD.

Finally, the DVD Savant guy has a suitably scathing review of the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which can be found here.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello peoples. Time for another round of new flicks:

2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) New to BD.

Bedtime Stories (2008) Also on BD.

Cleopatra (1934)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) Also on BD.

Donkey Punch (2008)

Doubt (2008) Also on BD.

The Goldwyn Follies (1938)

The Paper Chase: Season 1

Pre-Code Hollywood Collection Universal releases some pre-Hayes Code films from the Paramount library. And hey, who doesn't like a film called Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)? DVD Savant has a good write up of the set here.

The Tale of Despereaux (2008) Also on BD.

Yes Man (2008) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy snowy week everyone. Seems like a good time to veg with a flick.

I was outside cleaning stuff up in the yard when I saw this in the neighbor's trash:

A 1980s vintage Sony TV, a victim perhaps of the digital TV transition. It'd obviously failed to sell at a yard sale for $3. Truly a sign of the times. (old codger alert!) Back then, this was a really nice TV that I would have loved to have. This thing, a 19-20", had a full feature remote, all electronic controls, and the very classy two headphone jacks! Older Sony TVs with their distinctive Trinitron tubes really were in a class by themselves and commanded a premium price. Now, Sony makes flat panels like everyone else. Of course modern sets beat the pants off of the old ones, but there was something a wee bit sad about seeing this symbol of technological change.

Anyway, on with the usual stuff...

Here's what they got for us this week:

An American in Paris (1951) The restored version hits BD this week. A good review of the disc by DVD Savant can be found here.

Autopsy (2008)

Danton (1983)

The Fugitive: Season 2 Vol. 2

Gigi (1958) A new BD version of the classic MGM musical.

Il Generale Della Rovere (1959)

Marley & Me (2008) Also on BD: HD Labs!

Ricky Gervais: Out of England: The Stand-Up Special (2008)

Seven Pounds (2008) Also on BD.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Greetings Fellow Video Droogs!

Warners has announced a pretty cool way to both make more cash and satisfy demand for older movies that wouldn't sell well enough to warrant a normal DVD release. The studio, who has the largest catalog of old films by far, will start making movies available directly via their website. One can either order a DVD, which is made when you order it, or a digital download. Supposedly the site will contain a lot of films never released on DVD going all the way back to the silent era. The studio rep claims the films will get good transfers without any crap such as pan and scan. Sounds like a good idea, if you ask me. A story about the program can be found here.

Now, let's see what the video gods are showering us with this week.

The 400 Blows Criterion issues this one on BD.

Big Stan (2007) Also on BD.

Bolt (2008) Also on BD. More CG animated critters...

Charles in Charge: Season 4 Once again, Scott Baio did it...for 4 seasons (sorry, inside joke)!

Craig Ferguson: Wee Bit O' Revolution

Goldfinger (1964) The classic Bond film gets a BD release.

The Last Metro (1980) Also on BD.

Never Say Never Again (1983) Time to reissue this also-ran Bond film.

Quantum of Solace (2008) Also on BD.

Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume Three Another fun set of pre-code Hollywood films. DVD Savant has a good review of the set here.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a gorgeous day we're having here in MN today. Warm and sunny days may not make one think of new video releases, but here we are anyway. As usual, click here for the whole list.

Barney Miller: Season 3

Dodes'ka-Den (1970)

Elegy (2007) Also on BD.

JAG: Season 8

Married... with Children: Season 10

Mr. Belvedere: Seasons 1 & 2 Wow, I've been waiting for this show to appear on DVD for...soooo long!

The Nanny: Season 3 See above...

The Princess Bride (1987) First (and probably not the last) time on BD for this one; same bonuses as the current DVD.

Punisher: War Zone (2008) Also on BD.

The Robe (1953) The first Cinemascope feature gets a new DVD release and a BD issue.

The Three Stooges Collection: Vol. 5: 1946-1948

Twilight (2008) For some odd reason, this is being released this Saturday 3/21. Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Trek entries haven't died off, we're just in the midst of a bout of busy. Hopefully soon.

A few "what I've been watching" bits:

Elizabeth (1998) It's been quite a while since I'd seen this award winner and it does hold up quite well. The cast and performances still shine and it was fun to see both Christopher Eccleston (Dr Who) and Daniel Craig (the current Bond) show up. I wasn't familiar with either of them last time I saw this film. The DVD, which I've had since 2001 or so, still looks pretty decent. No doubt that a HD version would look very nice.

Compulsion (1959) As an Orson Welles fan, I'd been meaning to watch this one for a long while, but didn't until this last week. This was one of three films made about the famous Leopold/Loeb murder case from the 1920s. The performances are really quite good, with Dean Stockwell and Welles standing out. Welles' ending monologue is worth watching the film for, if you like Welles. Not only is the material very good for the speech (supposedly taken from Clarence Darrow's original speech) really good, but Welles delivers it in such a great non-scenery-chewing manner. The ebb and flow of his voice make the speech that much more compelling. Undoubtedly this is thanks to his years of radio work. Welles does typically overdo it with the obnoxious makeup (complete with a false nose) and his (literally) larger than life presence, but the acting itself fits and comes off as genuine Welles, not one of his phoned-in-for-cash deals. The film itself is decent enough though it has to skate around the details of the crime and has this goofy out-of-place 50s crime drama title sequence. The nature of the two murderers' gay relationship is obviously kept vague, but is heavily implied. The tension around this comes off quite effectively, more than you'd expect for a film made at this time. The DVD is a clean black and white 'Scope image with very good sound ('Scope films often had multichannel sound). The clear dynamic sound even benefits Welles' speech; it's one of the better recordings of his voice I've heard.

OK, on to this week's new stuff:

Batman Anthology A box set with all the pre-"Batman Begins" films. Also on BD.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

Cadillac Records (2008) Also on BD.

Escape to Witch Mountain Special Edition I remember thinking this was pretty good...in 1975!

Family Ties: Season 5

Get Smart: Season 2

Howard the Duck (1986) Yes, the "classic" finally makes it to DVD. OK George, now where's the Star Wars Holiday Special?! I mean, really, if you're ok with this one being out, why not go all out?

Let the Right One In (2008) Also on BD.

Milk (2008) Also on BD.

Pinocchio (1940) This one's been out of print since the old 1999 DVD left the shelves. Funny how Disney calls this a "70th Anniversary" version when it came out in 1940...the picture quality on this release is supposedly excellent. DVD Savant writes up the BD version here.

Rachel Getting Married (2008) Also on BD.

Return from Witch Mountain (1978) I found the blurb from IMDB amusing: "Sinister masterminds Christopher Lee and Bette Davis unleash a diabolical plan. The entire city of Los Angeles teeters on the brink of nuclear disaster when the greedy criminals manipulate a young boy's supernatural powers for their own devious gain. But the youth's sister and a streetwise band of truants join forces in a desperate attempt to save the city from destruction." Tee hee.

South Park: Season 12 Crap, that just makes me feel old.

The Starter Wife: Season 1

Transporter 3 (2008) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 6:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I got some good feedback on last week's rant, both in person and over email. It was interesting to hear how people approach this oh-so-important topic!

So, let's take a look at what was released this week:

7th Heaven: Season 8

Ashes of Time Redux (2008)

Australia (2008) Also on BD.

Back to Normandy (2008)

Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) And yes, you can even get this mediocre CG talking dog film on BD.

Doctor Who: A bunch of Who (old series) this week: Key to Time, Armageddon Factor, Power of Kroll, Ribos Operation, Pirate Planet, Stones of Blood, and Androids of Tara (I'd love to hear a Dalek voice doing the "Tomorrow is another day..." speech!).

East of Eden (1981 TV miniseries)

ER: Season 10

The Hills: Season 4

In the Electric Mist (2008) Also on BD.

My Two Dads: Season 1 Yikes! But hey, it does star the betrayer of humanity!

Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986 DVD Savant has a review of this set here.

Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic Also on BD.

Wonder Woman (2009) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 6:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hello kids and welcome to another week of entertainment fun. I assume some of you paid attention to the Oscars last night. Stacie and I chose to skip it once again. I just can't seem to get all that interested in it anymore. Part of it has to do with the fact that I see so few movies in the theaters these days so I hadn't seen any of the big nominees. I'm sure there's some good stuff in there that will be worth a rent on BD. The other thing is my weariness of the whole awards business. I'm just tired of it. I don't have a huge problem with it per se, but don't really find it all that compelling. Guess I'm just gettin' old.

Now for a rant about a business I *do* want to gripe about: cable/satellite TV. You may want to skip this part as I've ranted about this a lot before!

In a few months I will rip the Directv dish off my roof and another will not take its place. I've been a customer of theirs off and on since the late 1990s and have had enough. Our family had cable while I was growing up in Rapid City so we could get a few Denver stations to supplement that weak local channels we had. Needless to say I've found some value in cable for a long time. My specific problem with this company is the fact that I got an HD box from them a while back and a service commitment was part of the deal. I don't really remember agreeing to it at the time, but I'm sure it was there in the fine print somewhere. Okay, so I find that I'm not really watching it and want to cancel. When I call to do that this past year, I am told that due to the commitment, I either have to continue service through January 2009 or pay a nasty cancellation fee. Hmm, that sucks but I choose to ratchet down my service to the cheapest service with the intent of canning it when January came around.

Quick break in the saga: this cheap package, which they offered up when I complained that I was spending $60+/month for a couple of channels I watch on occasion, was their so-called "Family" package. This package has all the kid channels (except for Cartoon Network, natch), all the home shopping channels, all the religious channels, and a couple of misc. channels like Food Network and National Geographic. This does not include *any* cable news channels. The local channels are there, but they cost me zero dollars over the air (and look better with the new Digital TV signals). Also, they make me pay a $10/month "HD Access" fee since I have the HD box. They don't let you opt out of that if you have the HD box. So it's $40/month plus a bunch of fees and taxes for the Food Network (I don't count the locals which cost me nothing). Yep, that has been the only channel I watch on this lineup. Wow, some bargain. They would offer another package that has channels I'm interested in (something besides kids/god/infomercials), but it's at least $25 more per month, which is back where I was when I decided the service wasn't worth it. I simply do not have enough time, even with a Tivo, to watch enough for it to be worth money. This is far form typical in the cable biz. The entertainment companies set it up this way and it appears that an a l'carte system of choosing only the channels you want will probably never happen the way things are structured. It isn't really a technical problem since all satellite and much of cable is already digital with remote-addressable boxes that can do this; it's how they charge you for only HBO and not Showtime. The problem is that the whole cost model is based on packages with "big" channels like ESPN (which accounts for ca. $14/month of the average cable bill) are thrown in with all the niche channels that hardly anyone watches. Take away the bundles and a lot of the small fry will go under. I'm really sure that isn't such a bad thing. ABC Family is a throw-away channel that is probably inferior to some other kid networks, but is artificially kept alive by it being bundled with ESPN and other Disney stuff.

I've read into this a bit and the consensus is that a lot of channels would go dark if I have my way, including some which represent niche and minority interests. Well, that may be unfortunate, but it just says to me that the business model is out of date. This stuff should be on the Internet and while not everyone can afford good Internet, it costs less than your average cable bill.

Which brings me to another point: I am looking forward to the Internet destroying the classic cable tv business model. I really am. The stuff I want to watch that happens to be on cable can easily be sold to me via the 'net. I can get much of it right now, but the companies make it cumbersome and more expensive to do so. The obvious example is TV shows on iTunes. Sure, I can download episodes/seasons of Top Chef, a show I like on cable, but I am being sold it to purchase (at least $30 for a season-15 episodes). Stuff like that for me is disposable: I won't probably want to watch it again. So, why does iTunes rent movies and only sell TV? It has to be the content companies not wanting to have people ditching cable to get the shows they like online. They are discouraging people from having their choice and picking just the shows they want by making it expensive. It's the same kind of tactic that they're using to help BD against downloads. You can only rent HD movies, but you can buy standard def movies. If you want to own a movie in HD, you have to buy it on disc. It's all about choice: I want to choose whether I want to rent or own a movie, TV show, or whatever. That's the problem I have with the system. The obvious solution is to just avoid it altogether (or use less than legal means). Yes, TV is not a necessity and no one is forcing me or anyone else to subscribe. I know a number of you who have done exactly that: just stopped watching the channels (but still catch some content on DVD). I can also believe that some, if not the majority of people out there use cable tv enough to find it worth the money. Getting that same content over the 'net is possible, but much less convenient, by design. This will change and I hope Directv ends up in the same boat as satellite radio.

OK, so where was I...oh yeah, so January comes around and I call them back to cancel. I ask them to confirm that as of that date, all I owe is the current month's programming charges and that's it. The rep says yes, I am clear to go and closes the service for me. I then have to ship the HD receiver back to them. Yes, when you "buy" a satellite box at a store, you don't really own it. In the old days (through 2004ish) you bought the dish and boxes at a store and you just paid for the service. Now they have you buy the box and pay a lease charge. When you terminate the service, they get the box back. Hmm, sounds like cable where you lease a box forever, but at least with cable, they bring the damn thing out to you and don't charge you to "buy" it. Hmm, OK, so I agree to do that (after all, what am I going to do with a Directv box?). A couple of weeks later I get a statement from them saying I owe a $160 "early cancellation fee." WTF? So when I call them to ask about it, they say that the reps got it wrong and I still have three months left so I was hit with the charge. I talked to several people and they would not budge on this. They did not care that they made the mistake and that by the time I knew this, I'd already gotten on the roof and disconnected the dish and boxed up the receiver. Not one dime was offered in discount and I had the choice of paying the charge or turning service back on for 3 more months, which ends up being the same money anyhow. So here I am back with the $40/month Food Network. If Directv had lifted one finger to help, even just cut the fee slightly, I would have just paid it and not bothered to write this (but still think the business model is messed up). They don't give a rat's ass about it, so may their satellites fall from the sky in fiery blazes of doom! (that's showing 'em!)

OK, sorry about that (but why write a blog if you can't go off like that sometimes?), on to this week's new stuff:

Badland (2007)

Breaking Bad: Season 1

The French Connection (1971) New to BD this week. The director did some interesting color changes with the film. Worth a look for film geeks and the good DVD Savant review found here.

FTA (1972)

Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder Also on BD.

Ironweed (1987) First time on DVD for this one.

Just Shoot Me: Season 3

The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008) Yes, another one.

Sex Drive (2008) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello gang. Before the usual list, if you're into Star Trek, go check out this link for the latest poop on the upcoming Trek reissues. Yes, they're preparing a big bag 'o Trek releases to cash in on the new film. The good part, for me at least, is that a lot of stuff is coming to BD. This includes the Original Series (both enhanced and original versions in HD) and the first six feature films. The films are going to be the theatrical versions for the time being. Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek VI theatrical versions were never on DVD before. Also encouraging is the statement that a full blown restoration of Star Trek II has been done. Cool beans. Trek fans, prepare to have your wallets emptied: make it so!

Now, on to this week's stuff:

Body of Lies (2008) Also on BD.

Changeling (2008) Also on BD.

Dead Like Me: The Complete Collection

Faces (1966)

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) Also on BD.

Hobson's Choice (1954) First time on DVD for the David Lean classic.

Quarantine (2008) Also on BD.

Religulous (2008) Not on BD, but take comfort in the fact that The Passion of the Christ is being released in HD this week. Woot!

Posted by John Knowles at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we go, another round of new stuff.

Against the Dark (2008)

Blindness (2008)

The Exterminating Angel (1962)

Friday the 13th: Season 2

Frozen River (2008) Also on BD.

My Name is Bruce (2006) Also on BD.

Miracle at St. Anna (2008) Also on BD.

Nights in Rodanthe (2008) Also on BD.

Simon & Simon: Season 2

Simon of the Desert (1965)

W. (2008) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I thought I'd start out with a few viewing updates...

We finally get started watching season 4 of Battlestar. I wanted to wait until the second half of the season was up and running so there wouldn't be a massive gap between the halves. So far, so good: and weird. The story and characters, as usual, have taken on some new twists. It's one of the things I really enjoy about this series. They are always shaking things up to keep the momentum going. I am really looking forward to getting this on Blu-Ray eventually.

We watched Mamma Mia (2008) the other night. I thought it was very amusing in all its cheesy irony-free fun. The plot, such as it is, isn't really worth discussing (but who cares?). The film doesn't try to be something it isn't. It's a cheesy fun musical and that's OK. Meryl Streep is the real standout in this film. She sings well and is, as usual, fun to watch. She totally gets into the spirit of the film and embraces it head-on. The rest of the cast is good, save for poor Pierce Brosnan. The guy has the looks for the role, but can't sing. This is one of those times where some dubbing would have been a good idea, just like the old days. No producer with computers could fix his shitty tracks (with apologies to Ben Folds).

ABBA fans must have been pleased with the film. Musically, it sounds right. The arrangements have the appropriate levels of over-production, but it doesn't sound out of place. The instrumentation is a bit more modern sounding, but gets the style right. It should sound right since a number of the people playing on the film's music track played on the original ABBA albums. I couldn't help but appreciate the great Euro-pop bass playing by Rutger Gunnarsson.

We watched the standard DVD. It looked very good and I can only speculate that the BD must look very nice with all that beautiful Greek scenery. If I really wanted to see it again, I'd go for the HD version.

The Professionals (1966) I am not a huge fan of Westerns, so when I watch one, I want it to be good (and yes, Westerns can be great movies). This isn't a huge paradigm-shifting, genre-shattering epic, but it is a good example of a big budget Hollywood Western at the end of an era This was right before the Sergio Leone films hit and right before The Wild Bunch shook things up.

The cast is excellent and even Jack Palance playing a Mexican works well. The story moves along well with snappy dialogue and action set pieces to spice things up. Not a true "message" Western, but it does flip the "noble cowboys saving the common people" bit of The Magnificent Seven on its ear. A fun and interesting Western that was well worth the rent.

The BD of this movie looks great. The desert photography really snaps on the HD transfer. This is where you really see the picture advantage of good film and hi res video. The sound was decent if unremarkable (fine for 1966). Extras are pretty minimal, but I didn't have to wait all day for Java BS to load either. No complaints here.

OK, on with this week's stuff:

Being There: Deluxe Edition A re-do on DVD and a title that's getting its first BD release. There are a few new bonuses, but nothing that really compels me to re-buy. The film will never look incredible as it is and the old DVD is probably good enough. A great movie, no doubt.

Brainstorm (1983) In interesting film that I used to like many years ago with some reservations. The ideas and effects are really good, but the ending is quite frustrating. It was Natalie Wood's last film and is being reissued this week as part of a bunch of her films on DVD. It would be interesting to see this one in HD (no BD at the moment) if it was done right. This film has an interesting technical background. Here's a quote from the Wikipedia entry on the film:

---
The "Brainstorm" virtual reality sequences were photographed in Super Panavision 70 at 60 fps with a wide aspect ratio of 2.2:1,but the rest of the film, was shot in 5 perf 70 MM at 24 fps and cropped for standard 35 mm Scope print down with an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. In the original 70 mm theatrical release, the brain-scan playback scenes appeared dramatically wider and much sharper than the regular scenes because they were shot at 60 fps, giving them a sense of heightened reality and excitement. Brainstorm was to be Trumbull's introduction of the full Showscan 60 fps 5 perf 70 MM process, but both MGM and Paramount backed out of a commitment to release the experimental picture in the new format after the death of the principal star Natalie Wood fearing the expensive process launch would not be profitable. Unfortunately, the video and DVD versions have Showscan 70 mm sequences letterboxed in their respective aspect ratios, spoiling the intended effect. The laserdisc release, however, presents the movie as it should be seen: the brain-scan playbacks take the full width of the screen (with black bars on the top and bottom since the presentation is letterboxed) and other scenes are narrower, having black bars on the sides as well. In the theatre the curtain would have been opened to show the entire 2.2:1 sized image so brain-scan playbacks would fill the entire screen making quite an impression while other scenes would be narrower. The sound also changed dramatically between brain-scan playback and other scenes with playback scenes having enhanced surround effects and other scenes being predominantly centre-channel only.

---

Needless to say, BD would be a good way to do this, but since the film is not exactly a blockbuster or a classic, who knows. I have yet to read any reviews of the new DVD, but the old one was bad enough (old analog transfer) that it almost has to be an improvement.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) Also on BD.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIV

Natalie Wood Collection I believe some of these films are new to DVD. DVD Savant has a review of the set here.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) Also on BD and as-seen on college campuses everywhere!

Night Court: Season 2

Our Man in Havana (1959)

The Partridge Family: Season 4

The Secret Life of Bees (2008) Also on BD.

Space Buddies (2009) Also on BD.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'm still behind from start of semester fun and our trip to Denver over the past weekend, but here it is for this week. As usual, clicking here will get you the whole list.

Blossom: Seasons 1 & 2

Cannery Row (1982)

Cheers: The Final Season

College (2008)

Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) First time on DVD for this film.

Fireproof (2008) Also on BD.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) New to DVD.

Hulk Vs. (2009) Also on BD.

The Invaders: Season 2

Lakeview Terrace (2008) Also on BD.

The Love Boat: Season 2: Vol. 1

Pride and Glory (2007) Also on BD.

The Rocker (2008) Also on BD.

RocknRolla (2008) Also on BD.

Warner Bros. Romance Classics Collection

Posted by John Knowles at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First day of class and an impending trip to Colorado means a quick one this week.

Here's the list.

I'll add more later...

Posted by John Knowles at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As we in MN descend into a week of extreme cold (COLD EXTREME!!!!), it seems like a good time to talk about DVDs/BDs.

I'm still glad I bought into Blu-Ray, even if my friends question my wisdom in doing it (or sanity?). I'm still watching them on a projector (XGA) that doesn't really take full advantage of the HD video this format puts out, but BD does look better on a large screen. And when I manage to upgrade this projector, it will look fantastic. I'm still annoyed that moving into BD means a tradeoff regarding portability, but I have to assume that simple solutions for ripping BDs will come at some point. Here are a few discs I've watched lately:

Sleeping Beauty (1959) Here's a movie I really hadn't seen since I was a kid. I can't say that it's one my favorite Disney films, but I have a new respect for it now. The characters and story/dialogue aren't up to the very best, but they work well. There are some sweet and amusing moments in the movie, just not up to what Disney managed with the real classics. The standout here is the look of the animation. More specifically, the background art in this film is just gorgeous. Some times I just ended up looking at the backgrounds and not following the animation, it was that good. I also liked the way the Tchaikovsky music was integrated into the film. Very appropriate.

This film was one of the few Disney animated films produced in a large film format, Technirama. For a very good overview of how this was done, I highly recommend this piece by restorer Robert Harris, found here. Needless to say, they did a great job presenting this film on BD. The colors are lush and you can really make out all the detail in the animation. The sound was very clear and didn't sound over-processed. I really hope Disney does this well with its other animated classics.

The Duchess Some friends brought this one over the other night on DVD. I thought this was pretty good, on the whole. Another look at the "good" old days of 18th Century England. The pacing was slightly uneven at times, but the performances were good and the costumes, quite the essential part of a costume drama, really looked (at least to me) great. Keira Knightley carries the lead part well and Ralph Fiennes, in a pretty thankless role, steps up with a nuanced performance. The character is often so unsympathetic and dour that the when the time comes for him to show a glimmer of humanity, it's a big deal. Fiennes plays it at a good simmer throughout, making the character more interesting. It would certainly be a temptation to play this part as a huge jerk with many leers and nasty/overacted looks. This would have made the part not work at all. The DVD looked OK to me, though I couldn't help but wonder how much better all that great outdoor English scenery would have looked on BD.

High Noon (1952) A discussion with Rob and a recent DVD Savant review, which can be found here, got me thinking about this one again so I dug up my old DVD and took another look. The movie is a genuine classic, no doubt, but the ideas expressed in the film get pretty muddled. I don't know that the review is exactly on, regarding the politics, but there are some confusing ideas contained in the film. One thing I agree with him on is the dismissal of the supposed "liberal" read of the film. It has such a negative view of "common people" that I just don't buy it. The production and performances are great, however, and the flow of the film is very tight. I also really enjoyed the Helen Ramirez (Katy Jurado) character. She's one of the strongest characters in the film. I have the old DVD which is just so-so. The print isn't too bad, but it looks washed out and constrasty at times. If they do a decent HD version, I might have to double dip.

Okay, on to this week's new DVDs/BDs:

'Til Death: Season 2

Appaloosa (2008) Also on BD.

Breakfast At Tiffany's - Paramount Centennial Collection Yet another re-do of the Hepburn classic. This kind of title will most certainly make it to BD in the not-too-distant future, so waiting is good.

Captains and the Kings (1976, TV Series)

Dallas: Season 10 Season 10!

Funny Face - Paramount Centennial Collection Another Hepburn re-do. DVD Savant has a review of this one here.

Matlock: Season 2

Mirrors (2008) Also on BD.

My Best Friend's Girl (2008) Also on BD.

Swing Vote (2008) Also on BD.

Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:13 PM | Permalink

Late again this week. I was down with a stomach bug for a couple of days (such excuses!), but all appears to be well again. As usual, January is the time of really bad theatrical releases (stuff that wasn't considered good enough to release in Fall/Holidays) and throw-away DVD releases. Luckily, they seem to throw some goodies in here and there as well. So let's take a look at what we have this week:

The Alphabet Killer (2008)

Babylon A.D. (2008) Also on BD.

Bangkok Dangerous (2008) Also on BD.

Battlestar Galactica: Season 4 This is a show I will want to pick up on BD, whenever they get around to releasing it.

Disaster Movie (2008) Also on BD.

The Last Emperor (1987) Another Criterion BD release. I'd guess this one will look spectacular in HD.

Michael Powell Double Feature Includes the films Age of Consent and Stairway to Heaven (both new to DVD, at least in the USA).

Pineapple Express (2008) Also on BD.

Righteous Kill (2008) Also on BD.

The Tudors: Season 2

The Wackness (2008) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since I was out in SD this past week and the new releases were few, I'm doing a combo post for this week and last. Hope everyone had/is having a good holiday run. Generally, when we're visiting my family, my Mom wants to go out and see a movie on Christmas night. We looked and looked, but couldn't find anything we were really interested enough in to drag our butts out of the house for. There wasn't even a fun/cheesy action/adventure movie (I guess they all come out in the Summer now).

So, if you want to see the list of titles that came out last week, click here. For this week, click here. I'll list a few of the more notable ones below. BTW, DVD Savant has his Most Impressive Discs of 2008 article here.

An American Carol (2008) Also on BD.

The Dutchess Also on BD.

Eagle Eye (2008) Also on BD.

Ghost Town (2008) Also on BD.

Nip/Tuck: Season 5

Roast of Bob Saget: Uncensored Extended

Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) Also on BD.

See, you really weren't missing much!

Posted by John Knowles at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's feeling like deepest winter here in MN. Damn it's cold! Good weather to stay indoors and watch movies...so let's take a look at the stuff coming out this week (pretty slow):

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Vol. 6

Bottle Rocket (1996) Criterion releases their first set of BD releases this week. One nice thing: the prices are the same as the DVD versions.

Burn After Reading Also on BD.

Mamma Mia! Also on BD.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) Also on BD.

Petticoat Junction - The Official First Season

The Third Man (1949) Another of Criterion's initial BD offerings. It's mostly the same features as the 2006 DVD set. It sounds like they did a great job on this one and since I didn't pick up the 2006 version, I'm very interested in this; one of my favorite films. Check out DVD Savant's review here.

Finally, you film geeks might want to check out this site: http://www.flickr.com/people/nfig/ It's a Flickr group called the Nitrate Film Interest Group. Archives put up scans of film frames that they have not been able to identify and invite people to give them comments as to their origin. Interesting stuff.

Posted by John Knowles at 6:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hello everyone. Here are a few BDs I've caught lately:

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. Go read the linked review if you're curious, but in a nutshell, this is a reworking of the movie using a lot of unused footage. Why did this need to be done? Richard Donner, who did the first Superman movie in 1978, was fired during production and replaced with Richard Lester (who directed A Hard Day's Night). Director's Guild rules said that Lester couldn't take credit unless he shot more than 50% of the movie. By that time, Donner had shot ca. 70% of the film, so they redid a lot of stuff with the cast (the ones who would work with Lester--Gene Hackman, among others, refused) and changed a bunch of things in the film. Let's just say that I don't think either version is all that great, but it's a very interesting look at how a film can be rejiggered with a different director taking over. The two cuts have a number of real differences, including the ending. I suspect that Donner would have done a better film had he been allowed to complete it. I also give him the benefit of the doubt since the first film was good (I've always found it a lot of fun). Besides the different shots/character stuff in the Donner version, we get to see a bunch of Marlon Brando footage. They took all the Brando stuff out of the Lester version so they wouldn't have to pay Brando. The movie is better with him there and introduces a fun father-son dynamic that wasn't there before. Fun stuff.

Wall*E I really enjoyed this one. It may not be the all-out best Pixar, but it's one of my favorites. The BD, as you'd expect is fantastic. The picture is amazing and the soundtrack really has incredible detail. No shock there. One of the BD bonuses I really had fun with was the Geek Talk, Trash Talk & Trivia This is a visual commentary (ala' MST3K) with character team supervisor Bill Wise, co-producer Lindsay Wallace, story artist Derek Thompson and lead animator and story consultant Angus McClain. The track is full of amusing geeky/inside joke stuff that's fun and informal. Needless to say, there are a *lot* of sci fi and pop culture jokes/references in this movie. If you get the chance, check this one out.

The Queen A good movie with very compelling performances, 'nuff said. This BD didn't have anything that interesting feature-wise, but the image has really quite natural and film-like. There was real grain in the image, but it remained sharp and clear. A very "organic" looking video presentation. I like to see this sometimes with HD when they resist the temptation to over-sharpen images to make them look more "eye-popping." This one reminded me of a good film presentation and that's as good in its own way as the CG sharpness of Wall*E.

Okay, on to this week's new stuff

The Dark Knight (2008) Available in 1 or 2 disc DVD and BD.

Deadwood: The Complete Series

Europa (1991)

Gunsmoke: Season 3 Volume 1

Happy Days: Season 4

Horton Hears a Who! (2008) More CG-animated celebrity voice fun! Also on BD.

I Am Legend: Ultimate Collectors Edition Wow, that didn't take long. The deal here is that there's a bonus disc with an alternate version of the film that, if you believe DVD Savant, improves the movie, particularly the last section which is what I had the most trouble with. Check out his review here. Also on BD.

Lost: Season 4 Also on BD.

Man on Wire (2008)

Murnau, Borzage and Fox Box Set Fox releases some of its earlier films, including some new-to-DVD silients.

Rawhide: Season 3: Vol. 2

The Wire: The Complete Series

Posted by John Knowles at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy December everyone. Hope you all had a nice holiday and stayed safe in the retail jungle, those of you who braved it. I didn't go near any retail on Friday and was just fine with that (Amazon had some good deals and no risk of bodily harm). So, let's see what we have this week:

Casablanca: Ultimate Collectors Edition Yes, another reissue of the 1942 classic. This time they put the previous 2003 set (which is very good) in with a third DVD of extras in a box with lobby cards and other swag. Whatever. The set *is* also available on BD which is very cool. The crummy part is that there is no option to buy the movie on BD by itself; you have to buy the deluxe set to get the movie in HD. No thanks, I'll wait.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) Also available on BD.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) The good news is that this title is coming out on BD as well (the standard DVD gets some new bonuses as well). The bad news is that it's to promote a remake with Keanu Reeves that will probably stink. Such is the home video biz.

Perry Mason: Season 3: Vol. 2

Saturday Night Live: Season 4

Step Brothers (2008) Also on BD.

Wanted (2008) Also on BD.

White Dog (1982)

The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we are, another Thanksgiving almost upon us (damn, I'm starting to sound like a Peanuts holiday special!). Now that I have a BD player, I'm almost tempted to brave the Black Friday sales to score a couple of titles I might have bought, had the regular price not been so high. I've said it before, but BD movies on the whole are too expensive. I know the companies want to recoup their R&D costs, but if they want the market to grow much beyond the enthusiast realm, they need to be selling new hit movies for less; $25 is not a good price for most people. BD has the most potential to compete with the growing download market as it has a leg-up in quality. DVD doesn't and it's in the studios' best interests (assuming they want to keep selling discs) to ramp this thing up quickly. I know that the prices on these movies will come down, which is why I'm mainly using rental to enjoy the new format. And yes, the new BDs look very good. Like I said last time, the difference on my admittedly limited setup (1080i scaled to XGA) isn't dramatic, but it does look better. And I will be able to reap the benefits of the 1080p picture when I get a better display down the road. Blah blah blah...let's get on to this week's new stuff:

24: Redemption

Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 6

Bottle Rocket (1996) Criterion issues the Wes Anderson film.

Chungking Express (1994, Criterion version).

A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All (2008) I may have to give this one a rent...

Fred Claus (2007) Also on BD.

Hancock (2008) Also on BD.

Lady with the Dog (1960)

Meet Dave (2008) Also on BD.

The Mod Squad: Season 2, Vol. 1

Sounder (1972)

Space Chimps (2008) And yes, even this one is available on BD!

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) Criterion reissues this cold war classic as a 2 disc set. The existing DVD is featureless, so this should be very good. I will certainly buy this when it makes it to BD as this is a favorite of mine.

Superman Doomsday Gotta love an animated Superman where the Man of Steel is voiced by Jayne (Adam Baldwin) from Firefly! Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow, some actual hits this week. It appears that those who can afford to buy stuff this holiday season will be getting some deals ($129 BD players/$700 50" plasmas). Me? I'm really going to try and cut back this year; a number of people I know have said the same thing. Not a good year for the retail biz (or many others actually). So, let's get to it:

Bones: Season 3

Daniel Boone: Season 6

Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series

Encounters at the End of the World (2007) Also on BD (I'm going to be lazy and use this abbreviation for Blu-Ray Disc from now on).

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2007)

Priceless (2006) Also on BD.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008) Also on BD.

Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 3 Remastered

Tropic Thunder (2008) Also on BD.

WALL-E Also on BD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have an update on my recent venture into Blu-Ray below. But first, here's what we have coming out this week on DVD/Blu-Ray.

The Boys in the Band (1970)

Father Knows Best: Season 2

Firefly: The Complete Series Now on Blu-Ray. I'm trying to find out if this version has any new features or just the series in HD. Serenity is coming on 12/30.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army Also on Blu-Ray.

JFK: Ultimate Collectors Edition Another reissue of the Stone film, both formats this time. DVD Savant reviews the Blu-Ray version, which is worth a read for his take on the film in a post-Bush/Cheney era. It can be found here. "Does JFK seem more credible now because the Garrison/Stone theories have been supported by new evidence --- or because we've become more convinced that our government is capable of lies and conspiracies?"

Mind of Mencia: Uncensored: Season 4

Night Gallery: Season 2

Scrubs: Season 7

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Also on Blu-Ray.

Walt Disney Treasures Another series of Disney material, new to DVD. This round includes three releases (in the usual tins): The Chronological Donald, Vol. 4 - 1951-1961, The Mickey Mouse Club Presents Annette - 1957-1958, and Dr. Syn–Alias the Scarecrow.

Over the weekend, I jumped into the Blu-Ray market (thanks to my Mom: generous birthday present!) by acquiring the Panasonic DMP-BD30K. It is last year's model, but is a very solid machine with great A/V quality. It was also a great deal. This is what's known as a profile 1.1 player. The newest models are 2.0. The main thing I don't get on this player that the newer (2.0) ones have is a network connection for interactive features and firmware updates over the Internet. Neither of these are a huge deal for me since I have yet to see any 2.0 'net features that appeal to me and I am capable of burning CDRs for firmware updates. I also figure that by the time I get another player, they'll all have the more advanced features at a lower price anyway.

Alas, firmware updates seem to be a fact of life for Blu-Ray owners. Often, older players (and some new ones) need updates to even play some of the newer discs. Blu-Ray players are really dedicated PCs that have much more complex hardware/software than DVD players. The newer BD movies that are loaded up with bonuses tend to "break" the player code that runs the machine. The recent James Bond discs required firmware updates from several manufacturers to even play, let alone run all the bonuses. Any disc-based home video format that wants to succeed in the mass market is going to need to get beyond this kind of thing. While I, a tech geek can cope with mucking about downloading updates, your average consumer isn't going to tolerate it so easily. They'd best get their act together if HD video on disc is going to survive long-term in the face of competition from cable on-demand and downloads.

It was just over ten years ago that I bought my first DVD player (yes, nostalgia about A/V formats!), a Panasonic A110. The A110 was a second generation player, so it seems somehow appropriate that the BD player I just got is a second gen one itself. In addition, the first title I picked up in the new format was L.A. Confidential (1997). This was one of the first movies I bought on the then-year-old DVD format. The new Blu-Ray version looks fantastic (the movie is still great itself) and is a nice upgrade to the old disc, which was no slouch back in '98.

Blu-Ray is cool and for the moment the highest quality form of video one can get in the home. Having said this, I had some hesitation about buying into yet another video format. After all, I've been through Betmax, VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD. With the exception of VHS, each was an improvement over what I had before. I had the thought of buying some kind of HD network media box, such as the AppleTV or the Popcorn Hour box. I do watch a fair amount of 'net-acquired video; these devices are really nice for this material. However, the quality of what you can download, legally or not, isn't up to the level of Blu-Ray. Plus, I already have DVD players that can play this stuff. Maybe one day I'll get a device that does both (a PS3 is an option here, but I didn't want to spend that much).

Ah, the media format. I still like owning a physical copy of the films I truly care about, even if I've moved toward downloaded copies of more throw-away entertainment, such as TV show. I realize that this may be the last physical media format I own. One of the first pre-recorded movies I ever bought was a Beta copy of Star Trek III in 1985 (hey, I'm 40 now so I'm gonna do a "get off my lawn" blog moment!).

Yes, I still own it.

The tape cost around $30. This is nearly $60 in 2008 dollars for a tape in pan/scan with analog sub-480 resolution. In 1985, this was the best way to watch this at home. It also had hi-fi-stereo sound. Yes, it was way cool to own a movie like this uncut, not taped off TV, but if you played it back on a hi-fi VCR, it sounded great. The difference between conventional mono VHS/Beta soundtracks and the hi-fi (VHS had a similar upgraded sound track) track was not subtle. I really loved watching that tape, even on a 19" analog TV. Today, it's junk. So, my fondness (or sickness) for owning movies (or music, but that's another blog) on a physical media format goes way back.

I'm looking forward to watching more films on the new format, even though the fact that I can't play the discs on any other machines is annoying. Also annoying is the fact that I can't even play it back on any of my Macs, let alone rip it and transfer it to another device. I'm sure this will change, but for the moment, BD is an elite exclusive format. Stay tuned...

Posted by John Knowles at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's over 70 degress here today; gorgeous weather. Maybe the last for a long time.

So, what better time to check out this week's new releases! A lot of the items on the linked list are box sets of previously released movies, in time for the sure-to-be-bountiful holiday buying season! If you're really curious, go check them out...

Chill (2007)

Futurama: Bender's Game (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Get Smart (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

King Fu Panda (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Spin City: Season 1

Transsiberian (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Good luck voting tomorrow!

...you *are* going to vote, right?!...

Posted by John Knowles at 7:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Howdy, digital video-consuming folks!

This seems to be a pretty quiet week, no huge hits coming out.

As usual, click here for the complete rundown.

Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection

Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens

Dead Space (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

The Donna Reed Show: Season 1

Death Defying Acts (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) In 3D and on Blu-Ray.

The L Word: Season 5

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006) Zombie Chickens!

Tinker Bell (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Zombie Strippers (2008) Who says Blu-Ray isn't going mainstream?!

Posted by John Knowles at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A bit late this week, being down with a cold will do that.

So here's what's out this week.

According to Jim: Season 1

Family Guy: Vol. 6: Season 6

Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 4

The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Fifth Season

The Incredible Hulk (2008) Also on Hulking Blu-Ray!

James Bond: Yes, it's another round of 007 video reissues. And, of course, they release a mix of old/good and new/bad movies. The features seem to be the same as the previous versions. This round includes: Dr. No, Die Another Day, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love, and Thunderball. Also on Blu-Ray (a first) and can be bought separately.

The Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Vol. 6 I think they're getting near the bottom of the 'Tunes barrel here.

Missing (1982) Criterion releases this long out-of-print Jack Lemmon film.

Posted by John Knowles at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The studios are starting to release more in anticipation of the coming (perhaps gloomy) holiday season. Let's see what they have out this week.

Arch of Triumph (1948)

Back to You: Season 1

CSI: Season 8

Dance of the Dead (2008)

Holiday Inn The 1942 film gets another DVD release (the third, IIRC). This one has three discs, including a colorized version (!) as well as a CD of the soundtrack. Now you can have a CD of "Abraham!"

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull There's a review of the Blu-Ray version here. I have to say this was better than I was expecting. Not great, but still better than Temple 'O Doom.

Mongol (2007)

Nash Bridges: Season 1

The New World - The Extended Cut

The Partridge Family: Season 3

The Sarah Silverman Program: Season 2: Vol. 1

Short Cuts The Altman film gets a Criterion release.

A couple items of interest:

There are some stills from the upcoming Star Trek film out. Check them out here.

And, restoration guru Robert Harris has a piece about the restored Disney Sleeping Beauty (out last week) Blu-Ray/DVD. It's worth a read and can be found here.

Posted by John Knowles at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greetings consumer comrades!

What better way to take your mind off the political races than some new DVDs!

30 Rock: Season 2

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) A new special edition and Blu-Ray. Anyone else remember liking this one growing up? It seemed to be on TV quite often.

Alice Faye Collection Volume 2

The Beverly Hillbillies: The Official Second Season

How I Met Your Mother: Season 3

Le Deuxième Souffle (1966)

Le Doulos (1962)

Martin: Season 5

Over-sexed Rugsuckers from Mars (1989) No, I am not making this one up!

Robot Chicken: Season 3

The Simpsons: Season 11

Sleeping Beauty (1959) The Blu-Ray version includes a standard DVD copy: one for the kids, one for the grownups...

The Smurfs: Season 1: Vol. 2

Touch Of Evil (50th Anniversary Edition) This release of the Welles noir includes three different cuts of the film. DVD Savant has a review here.

The Visitor (2007)

Watership Down (Deluxe Edition

You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Posted by John Knowles at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another week, another batch of new DVDs and Blu-Ray.

Adam 12: Season 2

An Autumn Afternoon (1962)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Iron Man (2008) Available in basic 1 disc, 2 disc SE, or Blu-Ray. DVD Savant has a good review of the flick/disc here.

My Name Is Earl: Season 3

My Three Sons: Season 1: Vol. 1 One of the classic conservative family sitcoms. It ran for 12 seasons (!) and starred Fred MacMurray. Fred really could act well (just watch him in his Billy Wilder films), but seemed to mostly do the nice guy/father roles on TV or live-action Disney films. One of the interesting things about this show was Fred's contract: they had to shoot all his scenes for the entire season first. Quite the deal. I doubt the show suffered much from this kind of production.

Sports Night: The Complete Series 10th Anniversary Edition A second DVD release for the Sorkin series. The original DVD set was featureless; this one throws in a bunch of new bonus material, some of it good, according to the reviews.

Posted by John Knowles at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Before I begin, I thought I'd share something.

I am a bit of a packrat (NO WAY!). One of the things I seem to still have sitting around the house is a pile of old A/V magazines: Stereophile and its spinoff, UltimateAV (formally Stereophile Guide to Home Theater). I've been skimming through them a bit lately; here are a few tidbits that caught my attention.

From an issue in 2000:

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab had just gone out of business. Their major retail distributor had just gone kaput and couldn't pay their debts. This dragged the otherwise healthy MoFi down with it (sounds somewhat like our current financial situation). MoFi is back in business; the resurrected company already has out-of-print releases.

There was much talk about the impact that DVD Jon's breaking of DVD encryption would have on the impending launch of the DVD-Audio format. Jon's work is everywhere now and DVD-Audio is dead and buried.

The RCA brand was relaunched by Thompson . Their notable products: Satellite TV receivers (now made only by the satellite providers) and a "promising" new mp3 player. No one had yet heard of this thing called the iPod.

Quite a lot of article and reader letter space was devoted to how audio dealers will deal with this thing called E-Commerce. Those that didn't are probably long gone.

UltimateAV from 2003:

The big DVD news: the Indiana Jones films are coming to DVD (remember that DVD has been around since 1997). This year marked a re-release of the films on DVD and with a few exceptions, the big sought-after movie titles are out on ye olde DVD.

Disney launched, with much fanfare in the A/V press, Moviebeam, a pay-per-view service that used a proprietary box that downloaded movies over the air. Disney dumped it a couple of years ago and it's since been shuttered.

One of the big equipment reviews in the magazine was of a Sony 34 inch HDTV (ca. $3,000) using a CRT. Yes, a 3k tube TV. Sure, CRTs can deliver very good pictures (I still use them), but that size and that amount of money; it seems quaint.

It's all old stuff now, but it wasn't that long ago. Blu-Ray wasn't even on the horizon, let alone the format war that's been fought and won.

Okay, back to the present...and this week's list of new DVDs/Blu-Rays.

Affair in Trinidad (1952)

The Anderson Tapes (1971) DVD Savant reviews this one here.

Boston Legal: Season 4

Cashmere Mafia: The Complete Series

Desception (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

The Garment Jungle (1957) DVD Savant takes a look at this one here.

The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration Giftset This is one of those re-dos that's probably worthwhile. The films (yes, all three) have been restored with the help of restoration heavyweight Robert Harris. By all accounts, the films look fabulous. The Blu-Ray versions apparently nail the look these films had in their original release. DVD Savant has a good review of them here. I'll be buying this, no doubt (even if I never watch Part III).

L.A. Confidential This was an early release on the DVD format and was one of the first movies I bought when I got my first player. It's a great movie and now there's an improved special edition of it. I'm sure I'll be getting the Blu-Ray version at some point.

Leatherheads (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Run, Fat Boy, Run (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Sex and the City: The Movie Also on Blu-Ray.

This American Life: Season 1

Two and a Half Men: Season 4

Posted by John Knowles at 1:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we go, another week of new DVDs and Blu-Rays. And, there's another Star Trek blog/podcast on the way for you to look out for/avoid.

88 Minutes Also on Blu-Ray.

An American in Paris (1951) A new 2 DVD special edition.

The Busby Collection, Vol. 2

Chuck: Season 1

Dirty Sexy Money: Season 1

The Earrings of Madame de... (1953)

La Ronde (1950)

The Love Guru Also on Blu-Ray.

Pushing Daisies: Season 1

Speed Racer Also on Blu-Ray.

Torchwood: Season 2 Bloody Torchwood!

Tortured (2008)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I didn't get to the blog last week: it was the first week of classes and things were thick. Here's the list of new stuff from last week. I didn't notice anything earthshattering, but you might want to check it out. This week's list can be found here.

Slate has an interesting article on the movies that many Netflix subscribers tend to leave sitting at home unwatched. Check it out here.

DVD Savant has a good article up about DVD menus: a good summary of all the annoying things on DVDs. It can be found here.

Baby Mama (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

The Big Lebowski - 10th Anniversary Limited Edition Another re-release of this one. It's a favorite of mine, but new bonuses aren't going to cut it for me. No Blu-Ray as of yet.

Cool Hand Luke: Deluxe Edition Also on Blu-Ray.

The Fall (2006) Also on Blu-Ray.

The Forbidden Kingdom Also on Blu-Ray.

How The West Was Won (1962) A new transfer that apparently looks much better than the previous DVD. The Blu-Ray version has the film presented in both conventional widescreen (really wide: 2.89:1) and Smilebox formats. The movie isn't that great, but it's quite the visual spectacle and is getting rave reviews on HD for its picture/sound quality.

Medium: Season 4

Smallville: Season 7 Also on Blu-Ray.

Ugly Betty: Season 2

Posted by John Knowles at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Over the weekend I had a chance to compare Blu-Ray vs. standard DVD on my home system. I looked at the first Pirates of the Carribean film. The difference wasn't huge, but the Blu-Ray did look better. Color looked a bit cleaner and there was more detail in the picture; a more film-like appearance. I have no doubt that it would be more of a contrast if I was viewing it on a more modern display. My current system includes an eight-year-old CRT-based HD set. The set was very nice in its day, but it looks a bit on the dull side compared to the newer all-digital displays (the fact that it's probably full of dust doesn't help--it's a boxy rear projection set). It still has nice color and very good black levels, but it wasn't going to blow me out of the water with sharpness. The player I was trying, the previous generation Sony, ran fine but was very slow to do pretty much everything. It took 90 seconds just to power up and the Pirates disc took forever to load (all that Java-based interactive crap loading). They say the newer player and the Playstation 3 are much speedier. I really hope so! So, I liked the picture and still want a player sometime soon (I had this one on loan) and know it will kick butt whenever I upgrade my display.

Now, onto this week's new discs.

Cimarron (1960)

Entourage: Season 4

Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)

Everybody Hates Chris Season 3

Heroes Season 2 Also on Blu Ray.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008) Shouldn't it be, "Ariel Begins"???

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) A new special edition and Blu-Ray version.

One Tree Hill: Season 5

Postal Also on Blu-Ray.

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) Have any of you film fans seen this? Check out DVD Savant's review of it here. I am curious about this one, though I'm not sure I'm curious enough to sit through it.

What Happens in Vegas Also on Blu-Ray.

Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm finally getting back in the groove after our trip this past weekend to Rapid City for my sister's wedding. Fun was had by all and my family gains another Englishman! While I was there, my brother gave me an autographed copy of William Shatner's latest book. Come on, I *know* you're jealous! I also learned that my older brother Scott scored the new Sony Blu-Ray player. Damned early-adopter siblings! I may just have to get one of these before the year is out...

In the meantime, let's see what came out this week on DVD/Blu:

Camp Rock (2008) And yes, even the Disney/Teen pop stuff is available on Blu-Ray. I tell you, this format has arrived!

Chronicle of an Escape (2006)

The Fletch Collection Both Fletch films on one cheapish DVD.

Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour (2007) See the above comment on Blu-Ray...

House, M.D.: Season 4

The Life Before Her Eyes (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Married... with Children: Season 9

Nixon (Election Year Edition Extended Director's Cut) DVD Savant reviews the Blu-Ray version here.

Prom Night (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

The Proposition (2006) Also on Blu-Ray.

Recount (2008)

The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior Also on Blu-Ray.

Street Kings (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Season 1 Also on Blu-Ray.

Twenty-Four Eyes (1954)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's late Summer and the crappy movies get released. The DVD releases aren't much better....but hey, at least "xXx: State of the Union" is coming on Blu-Ray!

Aftermath: Population Zero (National Geographic)

The American Mall (2008)

The Art of War 2: Betrayal

Bra Boys (2007)

Brand Upon the Brain (2007)

Caroline in the City: Season 1

Eclipse Series 11: Larisa Shepitko

Felon (2008)

The Love Boat: Season 1: Vol. 2

Prison Break: Season 3

Smart People (2008)

South Park: Season 11

The Wire: Season 5

Posted by John Knowles at 7:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A pretty slow week, DVD-wise. As usual, clicking here will give you the whole list with prices, even the stuff I don't bother to list...

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations: Collection 3

The Counterfeiters (2007) DVD Savant has a review of the Blu-Ray version here.

Family Ties: Season 4

Fortress (1993) This one's for you, Rob!

Get Smart: Season 1 This show was previously available as a whole series set, now being released season-by-season.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Vol. 3

The Killing of John Lennon (2006)

Lonesome Dove (1989) Also on Blu-Ray.

Nim's Island Also on Blu-Ray.

Robin Hood: Season 2 (BBC)

Wild China (BBC) Also on Blu-Ray.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hello again and welcome to another round of new DVD fun!

Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 5

Centennial: The Complete Series (1978)

Dark City Director's Cut The 1998 Sci-Fi/Noir gets a new release with a different cut of the film. The set also includes the theatrical version plus a Blu-Ray disc is available. I really liked this film last time I saw it and look forward to checking out the new cut. It should look great in HD.

Doomsday (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) Also available as an EXTREME BLU-RAY!!!!

Inglorious Bastards (1978)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Seventh Year

Lips of Blood (1975)

Shine a Light (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Stargate Continuum

Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection

War Games (25th Anniversary Edition) Yep, this one's 25 years old now. This DVD has a new film transfer, which was needed, as well as a second DVD of new bonus features.

Witchblade: The Complete Series

Vengeance (2008)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We didn't get out to a movie this past weekend, but we did manage to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End last night. I really enjoy the first one, thought the second one was just okay, and this one? A critical quote that sums it up for me would be, "an entertaining mess." First off, this was never going to top the original; it was fresh at the time. This time, the cast is still very good, natch. The effects are flashy and expensive-looking. however, the real issue here is that the whole thing is way too long, perhaps an hour too long. This screenplay could have used some serious chopping; entire subplots should have been axed. I have to wonder if Bruckheimer and co. knew that this was going to rake in the cash and didn't need to be careful about details like that. At times, the film really took itself too seriously, which is a problem for a film like this. It's a shame, really. This could have been a fun, if frivolous installment in the franchise. Instead, I felt as though I had to endure a lot of nonsense to get to the things that are worthwhile: the quirky, over-the-top performances and the action set pieces. Next on my list of newish films to catch up on: Batman Begins so I can get to The Dark Knight (since everyone and their dog seems to think it's the greatest thing since sliced bunloaf...sorry, inside joke).

So, what do we have coming on DVD this week?

21 (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Bird: Special Edition (1988) The Clint Eastwood-directed biopic gets the 2 disc treatment. I remember liking this pretty well, last time I saw it (a number of years ago), with Forest Whitaker's performance standing out.

Blues in the Night (1941)

Earth: The Biography (2008, BBC) Also on Blu-Ray.

High and Low (1963)

Robot Chicken Star Wars

Vampyr (1932) Criterion releases a restored version of the Dreyer classic. Apparently, the public domain DVDs out there really stink, so this should be most welcome. DVD Savant reviews it here.

Posted by John Knowles at 6:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hmm, a pretty ho-hum week in DVD country.

On the plus side, I caught Wall-E over the weekend and liked it pretty well. The first half or so is really something; the visual imagery alone is worth the price of admission. The ending was a bit of a letdown for me, but overall, I liked it. Pixar still has the stuff, no question. And bonus: very little celebrity voice talent!

Here's the list for this week:

The Bank Job (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell It has a funny name at least.

College Road Trip

Dallas: Season 9

Eureka: Season 2 Anyone ever watched this show?

Penelope

Saving Grace: Season 1

Shutter Also on Blu Ray.

Trafic (1971) Criterion issues another Tati film.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A couple of things before this week's list.

Much of the missing footage from Fritz Lang's Metropolis, believed lost since 1927, has been unearthed in Argentina. Details can be seen here. It's also been announced that the missing footage will be part of a new DVD/Blu-Ray release for 2009.

The Godfather films have had a complete restoration by Robert Harris and will be coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray on 9/23. The films supposedly look fantastic and I have to say that this is one of those films I will want to own in HD.

Now, on to this week's new stuff:

Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan: Season 3

I Dream of Jeannie: Season 5 She's gonna get us high!

Monk: Season 6

Mon Oncle Antoine (1971)

The Mummy (1932) Universal gives you yet another chance to buy this one with some new bonuses.

The Ruins (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Stargate Atlantis: Season 4

Superhero Movie (2008)

My, that was quite the pantload!

Posted by John Knowles at 7:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So I'm back from my long trip. I hope you all enjoyed the blogging I did while I was on the Rotterdam; if you didn't catch those entries (and want to), they're all available on the main page of the blog. I didn't do any DVD coverage since the Internet access aboard was slow and expensive. Today it's catch-up time.

For the list of what came out the week of 6/10, click here. The highlights from that week include:

John Adams (HBO Mini-Series)
Jumper
The Other Boleyn Girl Saw that one on the ship and thought it was pretty good, if not extraordinary.
Witless Protection

For the week of 6/17, click here. Highlights were:

Be Kind Rewind
Fool's Gold
Sword in the Stone 45th Anniv. Edition
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

For the week of 6/24, click here. Highlights that week included:

10,000 BC
Charlie Bartlett
Definitely, Maybe
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
Persepolis
The Spiderwick Chronicles

Which brings us to this week:

City of Men (2007)

The Closer: Season 3

Drillbit Taylor

Heathers (20th Anniversary Edition)

Mad Men Season 1

The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945)

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
(1985)

My Blueberry Nights

Patriotism (1966)

Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns

Vantage Point Saw this one on the ship as well. The idea for the film isn't so bad, but the characters and dialogue are so bad that you want it to end ASAP.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hello all,

I may or may not be updating the blog next week. I'm off on a long trip to Europe this weekend and I don't know what 'net access will be like. I'm planning on not only doing the weekly DVD stuff, but also some trip blogging. But if all is quiet, it's probably because I'm not getting online.

So, here's what's up this week:

American Crude (2007)

The Andromeda Strain (2008, TV Movie)

CHiPs: Season 2

Control (2007)

Dante's Cove: Season 3

Dead Zone: The Final Season

Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition A less expensive 2 DVD set is also available, as is a Blu-Ray version.

Doctor Who - Beneath The Surface

The Eye (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Fearless Planet

Flawless (2007)

Houdini (1953)

The Incredible Hulk: Season 3 Season 4 also out this week.

Mannix: Season 1

The Onion Movie (2008)

Semi-Pro (2008) Also on Blu-ray.

The Stan Laurel Collection 2 Yes, Laurel made films without Hardy...

Weeds: Season 3

Posted by John Knowles at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's a chat transcript up with Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro about the upcoming Hobbit film (currently in pre-production). Check it out here.

A pretty slow week, DVD-wise...check the whole thing out here:

The Air That I Breathe (2007)

Cassandra’s Dream (2007)

Darfur Now (2007)

Grace is Gone (2007)

Gunsmoke: Season 2: Vol. 2

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Vol. 2

Lipstick Jungle: Season 1

Rambo (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

Rawhide: Season 3: Vol. 1

The Thief of Bagdad (1940, Criterion DVD). DVD Savant has a good review of this one here.

The Walker (2007)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here we go with another round 'o new DVDs:

Charles in Charge: Season 3 ?!?!?!?!?!

Company (2007, PBS)

Cranford (2007, BBC)

The Flock

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: Season 4

The Muppet Show: Season 3

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) Hey kids, did you know there's a stairway at Mt. Rushmore that leads over the hill to Sylvan Lake?!?! The things you learn in a dumb Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Also on Blu Ray.

The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968)

Penn & Teller - Bullsh*t! - The Complete Fifth Season

Square Pegs - The Complete Series

Posted by John Knowles at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Before I get started, I wanted to say that the Star Trek review project hasn't been abandoned. We should be back with another installment verrrrry soon!

Another week, another round of new DVDs:

The Big Trail (1930)

Drawn Together: Season 3

The Fire Within (1963)

There are three Sinatra DVD sets being released this week, presumably to coincide with this being the 10th anniversary of his death. I've never quite gotten the whole "death anniversary" thing. It reeks of something made up by a marketing department. But good news for Sinatra fans as the sets contain some new-to-DVD titles and are aggressively priced.

Frank Sinatra - The Early Years Collection

The Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly Collection

Frank Sinatra - The Golden Years Collection

The Great Debaters (2007)

Indiana Jones Adventure Collection A reissue of the first three films, a real shocker! It looks like there are a few new bonuses thrown in, but I can't imagine why you'd re-purchase them for that. No word on a Blu-Ray version, though many expect the new Indy film will get a HD release before the end of the year. The one positive thing here is that you can finally buy the films individually (hence skipping Temple of Doom).

The Lovers (1958)

Man of the West (1958) Another Anthony Mann western gets a DVD release. I caught this one on TCM a while back and liked it. It's a dark, complex character piece for a Western and has a lot in common with Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World New this week on Blu-Ray. This is one of those titles I am going to go rent when I get a Blu player. It's such beautiful film, visually, that I really want to see how it looks in hi def.

Mission: Impossible Season 4

The Rat Patrol: The Complete Series

Saturday Night Live: The Complete Third Season

Stargate Infinity: The Complete Series

Posted by John Knowles at 11:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spring has finally arrived here in MN and while I'm grateful for the end of the cold, I find myself in denial about Summer being so close...yes, it's May.

So let's see what the entertainment overlords have for us this week:

The 4400: Season 4

Bella (2006)

Bewitched: Season 6

Crossing Jordan: Season 1

First Sunday (2008) Also on Blu-Ray.

I'm Not There (2007)

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) This was released in the late 1990s on DVD but has been out of print for so long that it almost qualifies as a new-to-DVD release. The lack of any extras makes me think the delay had to do with legal, rather than technical or talent-related issues.

P.S. I Love You (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Twister: Special Edition (1996) If, for some strange reason, you've wanted to own this on DVD and haven't bought it, here's an updated DVD. Also being released on Blu-Ray (they're finally releasing the "classics" on Blu!).

Posted by John Knowles at 5:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello everyone and welcome to another week of new DVDs:

27 Dresses (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Vol. 3

Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 4

The Big Gay Sketch Show: Season 1 and 2

Cheers: Season 9

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

The Fall of the Roman Empire: Deluxe Edition (1964) First time on DVD.

The Golden Compass (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Paddle to the Sea (1966)

The Red Balloon (1953)

The Waltons: Season 7

Posted by John Knowles at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's finally beginning to feel like Spring around here. My pathetic strands of raspberry plants are sprouting green stuff and the tulips that won't die have once again poked up through the ruins of our former flower patch. Can you tell how serious I am about gardening? Anyway, here's what we have coming this week for new DVDs:

Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

Cloverfield (2007)

Death of a Cyclist (1955) Gee, just in time for...cycling weather???

Eclipse Series 10 - Silent Ozu-Three Family Comedies

Friday Night Lights: Season 2

Gumby: The Movie (1995)

Laverne & Shirley: Season 4

The Major and the Minor (1942) Billy Wilder's first film hits DVD.

Midnight (1939)

One Missed Call (2008)

The Orphanage (2007)

The Savages (2007)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was out of town over the weekend, playing a symphony concert out in Rapid City. Among other things, we did Beethoven's 5th symphony (one of the non-"ultra-violent" ones). I honestly felt that I played it as well or better than I ever have before. Granted, I know the piece very well and have worked on the bass part a lot, but it just sounded good with a technical comfort level I don't recall having with this challenging piece of music. There's no reason I should be playing this better than I would have in college when I was younger and playing hard every day. Who knows, maybe I'm being delusional. Or, even as I play less and get older, my musicianship continues to improve, bit by tiny bit. Whatever it is, it was a fun gig that I felt good about. And to my Dad, who's conducted this group for may years: I've always been amazed at the amount of quality you squeeze out of this rag-tag collection of players. The road there isn't always pretty, but you and the orchestra always manage to make it work. Bravo! What does this have to do with new DVD releases? Not a damn thing! I just felt like writing about it at the moment.

Another thing: I watched a fryer burst into flames at my local McDonald's. Seriously. There were flames shooting up out of the grease before the fire suppression system doused the thing. Tee hee. The staff, after the fire was out, seemed to be at a loss as to what should be done. I really can't blame them.

So, on that note, let's see what we have on DVD this week:

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

American Dad!: Season 3

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Blast of Silence (1961)

Juno (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

A Passage to India (1984) A new special edition, also being issued on Blu-Ray.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For this week's new DVDs, click here.

Before I begin, I thought I'd mention something I've been watching lately: St. Elsewhere. Fox has released the first season of this 1982 medical drama on DVD (no word yet on the rest of the series). It's cheap enough that I picked it up to see how it held up (I used to watch it when it was in first-run).

All in all, the show holds up well. The writing is great and the ensemble cast mostly excellent. This show, which had relatively poor ratings at the time, covered a lot of controversial ground in its stories. In just the first half of the season, besides various medical/personal problems, they deal with issues such as terrorism (a bit tame compared to today's dramas, but it was something for a network show to even deal with in the early 80s), abortion, racism, the homeless, and transsexuals.

I don't know that they were the first to have their characters grapple with these topics, but I don't believe it was too common at the time. The issue of abortion is dealt with in a sensitive and nonpolitical way. The people dealing with it seem very realistic. Far too often, shows are afraid to deal with topics like this for fear of alienating parts of the audience. They seemed to have little fear of this on this show. It can get a bit preachy once in a while (the episodes I saw about racism were pretty blunt), but usually they assume a certain intelligence in their audience.

The show was done in a serial form, while common today, wasn't so much on American television then. The style and pacing of the show reminds me a bit of The West Wing, particularly the way they do frequent camera follows of characters walking down hallways, with passing of the narrative to another group of people talking in mid-conversation. I'd be shocked if Aaron Sorkin hadn't seen St. Elsewhere.

The hair, clothes, computers (TRS-80!), and other things are fun and 80s-dated, but once you get into the groove of the show, it doesn't distract. The DVDs look just okay. I don't know what sort of film stock they shot this show on, but it looks very flat and grainy. I suspect the DVDs look about as good as this show is capable of. There are a couple of short featurettes on the set and an okay commentary on one episode. But for the cheap price this show goes for, who cares!

So, what do we have this week?

The 11th Hour (2007)

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) I've always had a fondness for this film. There's already a new special edition out on DVD; now it's on Blu-Ray. Cool!

Bette Davis Centenary Celebration Collection

Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 3

The Cosby Show: Season 7 Season 8 also comes out this week.

Hell's Kitchen: Season 1 This is the American version. The only reason I could think of to watch this show again would be for the DVD's uncensored track.

Lions for Lambs (2007)

Matlock: Season 1 Yes, fans of this show actually own DVD players: time to release it!

Resurrecting the Champ (2007)

Sense and Sensibility (2008, BBC)

There Will Be Blood

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hmm, and I thought last week was a slow one...this week may top it: here it is.

Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) And yes, you can get this masterpiece on Blu-Ray.

The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3 DVD Savant has a review of this set here.

Father Knows Best: Season 1 (1954)

Martin: Season 4

Murder, She Wrote: Season 8

Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) DVD Savant reviews the disc here.

That '70s Show: Season 8 The final season of the sitcom that went on almost as long as the actual 1970s.

Posted by John Knowles at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Looks like a pretty slow week, but let's check it out anyway. Click here for the whole thing.

Bonnie and Clyde - Ultimate Collector's Edition The 1967 film gets a deluxe DVD treatment. Also on Blu-Ray, reviewed here by DVD Savant.

Frisky Dingo: Season 1

Invisible Man: Season 1 (1959)

Lost Highway (1997) The first US DVD release for this film.

The Mist (2007)

Party of Five: Season 3

Sliders: Season 4

Taras Bulba (1962)

Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3

Posted by John Knowles at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The large mounds of dirty ice are melting and the campus has been emptied by spring break. Sounds like a good time to check out some new DVDs:

Atonement

Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 They took their time releasing this season, considering it's been on DVD in Europe for 6 months...

The Bionic Woman Volume 1

Conspiracy (2008)

Enchanted Also on Blu Ray.

I Am Legend (2007) Available in 1 disc, 2 disc, or Blu Ray.

The Ice Storm (1997) Criterion reissues the Ang Lee film.

Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) Tee hee...

Mafioso (1962)

McHale's Navy Season 3

The Wild Wild West: Season 4

Posted by John Knowles at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Wow, 40 degrees here today: feels like...victory(?).

Here's this week's list.

Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Bee Movie

Dan in Real Life (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Dangerous Crossing (1953)

Hitman (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Nancy Drew (2007)

No Country for Old Men (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Sleuth (2007) Also on Blu Ray.

Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's the list and off we go!

12 Angry Men 50th Anniversary Edition (1957) MGM updates the previous bare-bones version.

Awake (2007)

Into the Wild (2007)

The Love Boat: Season 1: Vol. 1 The Saturday night 1970s staple comes to DVD.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) Disney re-releases this one as a 2 DVD set.

TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2 Another box set from Warner of pre-production code films.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

So, did any of you watch the Oscars last night? I skipped them again this year. Just couldn't get too excited about it somehow.

Here's what we have coming up this week:

30 Days of Night (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Beowulf (2007) Also being released on HD-DVD: there are some titles that were already in the pipeline when the format's demise was announced.

The Darjeeling Limited

Death at a Funeral (2007)

Family Affair: Season 5

The Last Emperor (1987) Criterion issues a new version (and the old one really stinks) of this epic, complete with theatrical and extended versions. There is some controversy over this one since the director and DP asked Criterion to transfer the film cropped to a 2.0:1 aspect ratio (the film was shot and projected 2.35:1). Check out a review thread here.

Newhart: Season 1 (1982)

Silk (2007)

Slipstream (2007) Anthony Hopkins acts, writes, and directs...

The Smurfs: Season 1: Vol. 1 (1981) All you children of the 80s have been waiting for this, haven't you?

Posted by John Knowles at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hey there everyone. The big news today of course is the fact that the HD format war is officially over. Read the press release here if you're so inclined. Toshiba has thrown in the towel which paves the way for Blu-Ray to succeed or fail in the mass market. Yes, it could still fail overall. Many are still happy with the quality of standard DVD and there's still the factor of HD via downloads or cable/satellite on-demand. Blu Ray has the edge in quality, but its success is by no means assured.

Oh yeah, some shmoe named Castro has stepped down in Cuba.... :-)

So, what do we have for new stuff this week?

American Gangster (2007) This may be one of the last hits to be released on HD-DVD (I'm sure a Blu-Ray version will be announced).

Coach: Season 3

Dragon Ball Z - Season Four

German Expressionism Collection

In the Valley of Elah (2007) DVD Savant reviews this disc here. Also on Blu-Ray.

Lust, Caution (2007) Ang Lee's latest.

Michael Clayton (2007) Also on Blu Ray.

Pierrot Le Fou (1965)

Rendition (2007)

Walker (1987)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Holy crap it's cold around here! Still, no matter the weather, the new DVDs march on.

The Amateurs (2005) Also on Blu-Ray.

Becoming Jane (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Blade: The Series

Dallas: Season 8

The Equalizer: Season 1

Family Ties: Season 3

George of the Jungle: The Complete Series (1967)

Gone Baby Gone (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

The Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 2

No Reservations (2007) Also on Blu-Ray.

Peter's Friends (1992)

Romance & Cigarettes (2005)

We Own The Night (2007)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We finally finished watching Battlestar Galactica season three over the weekend. A really good finale, can't wait to see how they wrap the series up later this year. Certainly one of the best shows I've seen lately; I'm going to be buying this in HD sometime down the line.

So, what do we have this week?

2 Days in Paris (2007)

Across the Universe (2007) I have to wonder if this movie got green-lit due to its potential to sell soundtrack cds of Beatles covers....also on Blu Ray.

The Apartment: Collector's Edition The Wilder classic finally gets a decent DVD with a new transfer and bonuses. If this had been released a year or two ago, I would have sprung for it since the old DVD is pretty lackluster. Now, I'm set to wait for the inevitable Blu Ray release. This attitude is not uncommon throughout the film fan community.

The Aristocats The 1970 Disney flick gets its second DVD release.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) Also on Blu-Ray

Beauty and the Beast: Season 3

The Brave One (2007) Also on Blu Ray.

Descent (2007)

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) Galadriel puts on some armor and kicks butt!

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection - Volume 10.2

Tootsie - 25th Anniversary Edition A new SE replaces the old bare-bones DVD.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we go again with another week of new DVDs:

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Vol. 5

Bordertown (2006)

The Comebacks (2007)

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 6

Daddy Day Camp Aren't you glad this one's also available in Blu-Ray???

El Cid (1961) First DVD release for the Bronston/Mann epic. DVD Savant has a review here.

Emergency!: Season 4

Groundhog Day - 15th Anniversary Edition The third and perhaps final DVD release before the inevitable HD version(s).

The Invasion (2007) Also Blu Ray.

King of California (2007) Also on Blu-Day.

The King of Kong (2007)

Mansfield Park (2007 UK TV)

Lake Placid 2

Monty Python's Life Of Brian - The Immaculate Edition New special edition, also in Blu Ray.

The Nines (2006)

Pioneers of Television (2008, PBS)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Late entry this week; first week of classes for the semester here at the U....sounds like a good excuse at least!

Here's the whole list of new DVDs and the "highlights."

4 by Agnès Varda

Adrift in Manhattan (2007)

Barney Miller: Season 2

ER: Season 8

The Game Plan (2007) Also on Blu Ray...what a great showcase for HD!

Hawaii Five-O: Season 3

The Hunting Party (2007)

Hustle: Season 4

Miss Julie (1951)

Saved From The Flames - 54 Rare and Restored Films 1896 - 1944

Saw IV And another classic comes to Blu Ray!

Sydney White (2007)

This Sporting Life (1963)

Torchwood: Season 1

Posted by John Knowles at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let's talk HD format war for a second. In case you hadn't heard, Warner Bros. decided to end the stalemate in the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format war last week by declaring they'd go Blu Ray exclusive within six months. It seems that, sooner or later, HD-DVD is going to go away. IMO, they made this choice not a moment too soon. Why? Two reasons:

1) Apple just began video rentals over iTunes. Now, Apple isn't the first to do this, but having rentals on such a popular service pushes movie downloads further toward the consumer mainstream. This is just the beginning. I don't know how long it will take for downloads to become popular for movies, but I believe it will become mainstream sooner or later. This is a problem for those who want HD media to succeed; and when I say HD media, I mean HD on discs. Apple is offering movies in HD resolution (Microsoft already had them via its XBox console), 720p. Now, this isn't the same quality as you get on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, it's more akin to broadcast HD quality. 720p isn't mind-blowing, but it's better than standard DVD and may be good enough for most people. If the various electronics companies and studios want HD on disc to be anything more than the Laserdisc of the 21st century, they need to stop screwing around and get the format out there before iTunes and Co. make "just OK" HD the norm. I am attracted to the idea of getting movies, especially rentals, electronically, but know it will be a long time before downloads have full 1080p/lossless audio. The bandwidth just isn't there yet.

2) Simple: I want to start buying movies in HD, but don't want to invest in a player while there are two formats!

OK, on to the usual:

Here's the whole list, and here's the highlights:

'Allo 'Allo!: Series 7

Alex Haley's Queen

Already Dead (2007)

Breaker Morant (1980, also on Blu Ray)

Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956)

Extras - The Complete Series

Family Guy: Blue Harvest (2007)

Good Luck Chuck (2007, also on Blu Ray)

Mr. Woodcock (2007, also on Blu Ray)

The Naked Prey (1966)

Post-War Kurosawa Box

The Rockford Files: Season 5

She's Gotta Have It (1986)

Suburban Girl

Posted by John Knowles at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let's get right into it with the new DVDs of the week:

3:10 To Yuma (2007) Since Warners is attempting to end the HD format war, I"m going to start mentioning Blu Ray releases. This movie is also being released in Blu-Ray Disc (BR).

Boogeyman 2 Electric Boogeyloo???

Gunsmoke: Season 2: Vol. 1

Joshua (2007)

MI-5: Volume 5

SunshineSunshine (2007) Also in Blu Ray.

White Noise 2 (2007)

Zodiac (2007)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all had a nice holiday. Needless to say, there wasn't much happening last week in the realm of DVDs (other than lots of them being bought), so I took the week off. We journeyed to the land where I grew up: Rapid City, SD. We had a nice time hanging out with the family and just being away from the everyday stuff. We even saw a movie, the masterpiece, National Treasure: Book of Secrets. My oh my, what a silly film. It's one of those movies I actually find fun to watch with the right people. We all got a good chuckle out of the preposterous story and dumb dialogue (I'm not sure the rest of the theater understood what we were laughing about).

While most of the family was playing in church Christmas Eve, my Dad and I got to wait for a while for my brother's incoming flight at the fabulous Rapid City airport. The real upside to this time waiting was that we had time for a scotch at the bar where we ran into the former basketball coach from my old high school. He and my dad (former band director, same school) know each other, even if they aren't exactly friends, but they had a nice chat. The coach, who I hadn't seen since I graduated, went out of his way to say how much he appreciated the pep band being at the games. I don't think this guy is such a smooth character that he would have bothered to say this if he didn't mean it. I really thought this was a nice thing, particularly due to the fact that my friends and I in band didn't exactly "feel the love" from the jock side of the school. Not that we really cared, but it was a good thing and made the evening somehow worthwhile.

So, let's see what we've got for new stuff this week (I've combined the releases from last and this week):

American Pie Presents: Beta House Ah, another installment in the AP empire.

Eastern Promises (2007)

Galactica 1980: The Complete Series I used to love the original BG show when I was a kid. Needless to say it hasn't aged that well, but I thought this follow-up show was bad even in 1980.

The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

The Kingdom (2007)

Lost and Found: The Harry Langdon Collection

Resident Evil: Extinction

Seasquest DSV: Season 2

Shoot 'Em Up (2007)

War (2007)

Posted by John Knowles at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we are at the final week of the holiday buying season. December's almost gone; scary ain't it? click here for the list of the week.

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Vol. 2

Balls of Fury (2007)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut This contains the new spruced up version of the film. Besides some cleanup and a few tweaks, it doesn't seem like this version is substantially different than the 1992 version. The DVD comes in 2 DVD (new cut and bonuses), 4 DVD (new cut, bonuses, plus all previous versions of the film), and 5 DVD with a briefcase and a bunch of other swag. I'm actually going for the 4 disc since I think it'd be fun to have the other versions. All versions are also available on both HD disc formats.

Bring It On: In It to Win It (2007) The latest installment in the Bring It On "saga."

Cinderella II (2001)

The Mod Squad: Season 1: Vol. 1

Rawhide: Season 2: Vol. 2

The Simpsons Movie

Stardust

DVD Savant has his annual Best-Of article up; always worth a read. Check it out here.

And, I'll have another TOS Rewind installment up soon as well.

Posted by John Knowles at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We're in it now, the point where the home video big guns get released to give a last minute boost to the buying season. Let's see what they've got for us this week, eh?

Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 3

Big Love: Season 2

The Bourne Ultimatum

Bugs! (2006)

Dirt: Season 1

Frasier: Season 10

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: Season 3

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix You get your usual choice of basic 1 disc or extras-loaded 2 disc versions. This also marks the release of the HP films on both High Def formats.

High School Musical 2

Lost: Season 3

The man Who Could Work Miracles (1937)

Two-Lane Blacktop (1971, Criterion)

Walt Disney Treasures - The Chronological Donald, Volume Three (1947 - 1950)

Walt Disney Treasures - Disneyland - Secrets, Stories & Magic

Walt Disney Treasures - The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Disney's pre-Mickey cartoon critter.

Finally, DVD Savant has two new reviews worth checking out:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition (already released) and Blade Runner 4 Disc Collection (available next week).

Posted by John Knowles at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome to winter in MN. We had the winter temperatures, now we have the snow to match. At home we're still playing WoW, but have made time for a few odds and ends such as Heroes and Kitchen Nightmares (the UK version, haven't really watched the US version yet). Now on to this week's new DVDs:

24: Season 6

Battlestar Galactica: Razor The 2 hour TV movie that aired last month; it serves as a bridge between seasons 3 and 4.

Dante's Cove - Season 1-2 & Original Pilot

Erik the Viking: Director’s Son’s Cut

Ford at Fox - The Collection A huge box set containing pretty much everything John Ford did at Fox; 24 films plus a documentary.

Lubitsch in Berlin

MGM Movie Legends: Bob Hope

The Nanny Diaries

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Saturday Night Live: Season 2

Superbad

Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures

Will & Grace: Season 7

Posted by John Knowles at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So, did everyone have a good holiday? We had a pretty relaxing weekend and the smoked turkey was as good as ever. We also completely skipped shopping on Black Friday. Ah well, I'm sure I'll be OK with that somehow...

So, let's see what we have coming this week:

Bratz I can tell already that this is going to be a BIG week!

Drunken Angel (1948) This has nothing whatsoever to do with this particular Kurosawa film, but this reminded me of the other night: we watched the Dr. Who (current show, 3rd season) episode, "Blink." Great episode, one of the best yet. Drunken (weeping/killer) Angel indeed!

Futurama: Bender's Big Score! The 2007 TV movie.

Happy Days: Season 3

Hot Rod

I Know Who Killed Me (2007)

Laverne & Shirley: Season 3

Mork & Mindy: Season 3

Mr. Bean's Holiday

The Namesake

Paprika

Waitress

Posted by John Knowles at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Welcome all, to Thanksgiving week, home of Black Friday. These days I pause to give thanks for, among other things, not having to work retail! Let's see what my former employer will be hustling this week:

Bill Maher: The Decider

Charles in Charge: The Complete Season 2 I'm sure they'll be lining up in front of Best Buy waiting for this one...after all, Scott Baio did it.

CSI: Season 7

The Doris Day Show: Season 5

Hairspray (2007)

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991) First time on DVD for this excellent documentary.

The Lady Vanishes Criterion reissues the Hitchcock classic.

Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

Mission: Impossible: Season 3

Queer as Folk - The Complete Series

The Santa Clause 3 - The Escape Clause (2006)

Star Trek The Original Series - The Complete First Season This is the CG-enhanced version of the show; combo DVD/HD-DVD.

The Wild Wild West: Season 3

Have a great holiday everyone!

Posted by John Knowles at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we go again; another week, another round of new DVDs:

Amazing Grace (2007)

Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980)

Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition The Spielberg film gets another DVD release, this time in a 3 disc set that includes all three cuts of the film. It's also the first Spielberg film to be released in HD (Blu Ray).

Gilmore Girls: Season 7 The final season.

La Vie en Rose (2007)

The McCartney Years A collection of Sir Paul's music videos and concert films.

Ocean's Thirteen (2007)

Paris, Je T'aime (2007)

Shrek the Third

Posted by John Knowles at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Before I get into the new stuff this week, I thought I'd share this. I just read a piece about the declining fortunes of Blockbuster. As a former employee, I found it rather....satisfying. Check it out here.

Now for the new DVDs of the week:

The Best of the Colbert Report

A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)

Chinatown Special Collector's Edition The Polanski classic gets an upgrade.

Deck The Halls (2006)

Doctor Who: Season 3

Full House: Season 8

Help! (1965) The long out-of-print Beatles film gets a reissue as a 2 DVD edition. If you want to go all the way on this one, you can pop for the Limited Edition which has a book, screenplay, and other goodies.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)

Opus & Bill: A Wish for Wings That Work (1991)

Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 1 Disney is hitting the Pixar content hard this week on Blu-Ray (and regular DVD), along with Cars and Ratatouille.

Ratatouille (2007)

Sicko (2007) Michael Moore's latest.

Posted by John Knowles at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here we go, into November when the bigger hits of the past year start to roll out onto video. Last night, we actually watched something on our Tivo, something we hadn't done in a long time; it was quite, uh, novel? Anyway, here's what we have coming this week:

Angel - Seasons 1-5

Barbara Stanwyck - The Signature Collection A box containing six of her films (also available separately): Annie Oakley, East Side, West Side, Executive Suite, Jeopardy, My Reputation, and To Please a Lady.

Captivity (2007)

CSI: Miami: Season 5

Family Affair - Season 4

Looney Tunes - Golden Collection, Volume Five

Magnum P.I.: Season 7

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 12

Scrubs: Season 6

Spider-Man 3

Talk to Me (2007)

Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition The whole series in one set, including the pilot and new bonuses.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello again Yankee consumers! Shall we take a look at what we have to look forward to this week?

The Adventures of Aquaman Collection

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Vol. 1 The first time on DVD for this series.

Breathless (1960) Criterion releases their version of the Godard film.

Christmas Carol Ultimate Collector's Edition (1951)

The Company (2007)

Days of Heaven (1978) Criterion issues the Malick film with a new film transfer and bonuses.

Hostel: Part II

The L Word: Season 4

Monarch of the Glen: Series 7

The Sopranos: Season 6: Part 2

Under the Volcano (1984)

Veronica Mars: Season 3

Warner Directors Series - Stanley Kubrick This will be the third Warner Kubrick box set on DVD (and yes, I bought both previous sets). The new one is notable for the inclusion of new extras as well as well as The Shining and Full Metal Jacket being released in enhanced widescreen for the first time (there is debate on those titles as to which way, open matte/4x3 or widescreen is the director-sanctioned way of viewing them). The "Life in Pictures" documentary is held over from the last set. However, the new box doesn't include Dr. Strangelove, Lolita, or Barry Lyndon. Also, Eyes Wide Shut will be the unrated international version without the CG censorship that was required to get the R rating from the MPAA. Finally, this set is being released on both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD this week. This set will be one of the first things I buy when I finally get a HD player.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Since I was out of town over the weekend, I can use that as an excuse for not getting the next Trek installment out. And, it's a 2 part episode, so I need twice as long to write it....yeah, that's it!

In the meantime, here's what we have in the land of DVD this week:

Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy

The Hoax (2006)

Ironside: Season 2

The Jazz Singer (1927) Warners releases the first talkie film on DVD for the first time as a loaded 3 DVD set. I've gotta say that while I appreciate the historical significance of this film and Jolson's performances, the film itself doesn't do a lot for me. The DVD set however, looks like a really nice edition with gobs of extras and restored early Vitaphone shorts. DVD Savant has a good review of the set here.

Medium: Season 3

The Reaping (2007)

Roseanne: Season 9.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Complete Series Sorkin's 1 season wonder hits DVD. I really hope he manages to come back after the failure of this show. There were some great things about it, but it just didn't work in the end.

That '70s Show: Season 7

Transformers (2007)

Treasures from American Film Archives: Vol. 3 Another great set of curiosities from the cinematic past; this time, the theme is social issues. DVD Savant reviews this set here.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello again everyone. I haven't seen many films recently. My viewing time has been devoured by WoW and catching up on some TV shows I've missed. In particular, the 3rd season of Dr. Who (which has been very good), re-watching Firefly with some friends who never caught it before, and various Gordon Ramsay shows (some of these are really guilty pleasures). Anyone seen anything notable lately?

Well, here's this week's list of new DVDs:

28 Weeks Later (2007)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season 3 (1957)

CSI: NY: Season 3

Evan Almighty (2006)

Everybody Hates Chris: Season 2

Family Ties: Season 2

Mala Noche (1985)

Reign Over Me (2007)

Roots The 1977 mini series come back into print.

Stargate SG-1: Complete Series

Surf's Up (2007)

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) The first time on DVD for this one.

Posted by John Knowles at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week's complete list is here.

1408

Caligula: Imperial Edition Yes, another reissue...

Civic Duty (2006)

Criminal Minds: Season 2

Entourage: Season 3: Part 2

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

How I Met Your Mother: Season 2

The Jungle Book (1967) The Disney film returns to DVD and is now in widescreen, unlike the 1999 DVD.

The Sarah Silverman Program: Season 1

The War - A Film By Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

Posted by John Knowles at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The DVD release parade marches on into the Fall. click here for the whole thing.

Black Book (2006) DVD Savant has a review of this one here. Looks like this might be the first Paul Verhoeven film worth checking out in a long while.

The Bronx is Burning

Count Dracula (1977 BBC series)

Drawn Together: Season 2

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) Where the students of St. Olaf battle the outlaws of Jesse James' gang!

The Hand (1981)

The King of Queens: Season 9

Knocked Up Judd Apatow's latest.

My Name Is Earl: Season 2

Numb3rs: Season 3

The Streets of San Francisco: Season 1: Vol. 2

Suspiria (1977)

The Untouchables: Season 1: Vol. 2 (1959)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The link of the week is here and the list is...

here

Beyond the Gates (2005)

Boston Legal: Season 3

Deliverance 35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition DVD Savant has a good review here.

Everybody Loves Raymond: Season 9

Family Guy: Vol. 5: Season 5

Ghost Whisperer: Season 2

Gracie (2007)

Josie and the Pussycats: The Complete Series And yes, Kasey Kasem is in it.

Martha Graham: Dance on Film (1957)

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

Stargate Atlantis: Season 3

The Threepenny Opera (1931)

We Are Marshall (2006)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, so I was having this discussion with Stacie today at lunch about our eventually getting some kind of HD disc player. She said, no way, not until the format war is over. Fair enough. However, she also mentioned that I could end the war right here and now by buying a player. Why? Because my family has a distinguished history of choosing the losing technology in format wars. Don't believe me? How about Betamax, Intellivision, and the TI 99/4A, to name a few. Heck, the Macintosh may have beaten Windows if I hadn't bought one. Her point was, if I buy one of these players, I'll spare the world the continuation of this nasty format war by prematurely deciding the loser. To quote Stephen Colbert, "The one that wins is the one you don't buy." Clearly my buying, say a HD-DVD player is needed for the public good. Right?

But for now, off to the realm of standard DVD for this week's new releases:

The Addams Family: Vol. 3

Away From Her (2006) Don't let the subject matter scare you off. Julie Christie and the rest of the cast are great; well worth seeing.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)

Charmed: The Final Season It's the end of the line for Chaaaahhhhmed!

Dirty Sanchez (2006)

Fraggle Rock: Season 3

The Graduate: 40th Anniversary Edition

Grey's Anatomy: Season 3

I Dream of Jeannie: Season 4

Masada (1981)

McHale's Navy: Season 2

Tom and Jerry: Spotlight Collection, Vol. 3

The Valentino Collection

Posted by John Knowles at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Happy September, all. Things are crazy busy around here, but there's always time for the DVD fun, no?

click here for the whole list, as always.

30 Rock: Season 1 A very funny show that I hope gets another season.

The Black Donnellys: The Complete Series

Bosom Buddies: Season 2

Delta Farce

Desperate Housewives: Season 3

Georgia Rule

Night on Earth (1991)

Nip/Tuck: Season 4

The Office: Season 3

Prison Break: Season 2

Stranger than Paradise (1984)

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry about the incredible lameness this week. We were out of town and the semester begins on Tuesday here, so the blog must suffer...but do go and check out these two links:

The list of new DVDs (natch!)

DVD Savant's excellent review of the new Robocop DVD; the review of the film is worth a read.

Posted by John Knowles at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's a rainy, slow week for new DVDs. Here's the list and here's my bit:

Broken English (2007)

The Dark Backward (1991)

Dexter: Season 1

Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan: Season 2

The Ex

House, M.D. - Season Three

House of Games (1987) Criterion issues the David Mamet film.

The Milky Way (1969)

Perfect Stranger (2007)

Serenity: Collector's Edition All right Joss fans, time for a double (or triple if you want it in HD) dip for all those new features.

She (1935)

South Park: Season 10

Ugly Betty: Season 1

Posted by John Knowles at 7:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Greetings DVD consumers! Let's jump right in and see what we have this week:

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD (2007) Yes, the movie with the terrorist ad campaign has come to DVD.

The Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 3 Fox digs into the vaults for another round of Warner Oland Chan films: Behind That Curtain, Charlie Chan's Secret, Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo, Charlie Chan on Broadway, and The Black Camel.

Cria Cuervos (1977)

The Dark Crystal: 25th Anniversary Edition

Inland Empire (2006) David Lynch's latest.

Dynasty: Season 2

The First Films of Sam Fuller (1949-1951) Check out DVD Savan'ts review for details.

Fracture (2007)

The Fugitive: Season 1: Vol. 1

Hamlet (1996) The film that some of us have been waiting for some ten years, finally comes out of DVD for the first time. I'm looking forward to seeing it again, though I know it won't be as fun as seeing it in true 70mm form.

Labyrinth Special Edition

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) Yes, starring James Cagney...seems odd, but OK!

Othello (1965, Olivier version)

Romeo and Juliet (1936)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week there seems to be a bit more happening in DVDland. As always, click here for the whole list and pricing.

8 Simple Rules: Season 1

Brigitte Bardot Collection A box set featuring five of her films, new to DVD: Naughty Girl, Love on a Pillow, The Vixen, Come Dance With Me, and Two Weeks in September.

Daniel Boone: Season 5 This thing ran for five seasons?!

Disturbia (2007) Also available on Blu Ray and HD-DVD.

The Dresden Files: Season 1

Flash Gordon Saviour of the Universe Edition The camp film gets the SE treatment. DVD Savant has a great review of the disc here.

Home Improvement: Season 7

The Muppet Show: Season 2

Myrna Loy & William Powell Collection Warners puts together a pack of non-Thin Man Loy/Powell films: Manhattan Melodrama, Evelyn Prentice, Double Wedding, I Love You Again, and Love Crazy. DVD Savant reviews the set at this link.

Rome: Season 2

Roseanne: Season 8

The Simpsons: Season 10

TMNT (2007) Another classic being released on Blu Ray and HD-DVD.

Finally, be sure to go read DVD Savant's (he's had some good stuff up lately) review of the new Showgirls DVD, "It's so far beyond bad that the words 'bad movie' seem inadequate. The combined inner demons of Verhoeven and Eszterhaus seem to have created a cinematic Monster from the Id, a hateful pile of irredeemable ugliness for the growing heap of cultural garbage. I'm totally against fundamentalist watchdogs proclaiming Hollywood to be a modern Sodom in need of heavenly bolts of lightning, but I'd not like to be defending Tinseltown if this picture was introduced as evidence for the prosecution." Read the whole thing here.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hey there everyone and welcome to another fun-filled week of DVD-ness. As usual, clicking here will get you the whole list and prices. Before I start, just a bit of news for Battlestar Galactica fans. There's been an announcement about the upcoming 4th and final season, which airs in January, as well as the two hour TV movie that will air on Sci Fi in November. For more details, check out this article.

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) DVD Savant has a review of the Harryhausen film here.

300

The Archie Show: The Complete Series

Babylon 5: The Lost Tales

Dallas: Season 7

Everything's Gone Green

Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 Warners continues the mine their back catalog: Art of Violence, Mystery Street, Crime Wave, Decoy, Illegal, The Big Steal, They Live By Night, Side Street, Where Danger Lives, and Tension.

Firehouse Dog

Hawaii 5-O - The Second Season

Hot Fuzz

Pathfinder

Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Season 2 And speaking of "classics"....

Finally, another Trek TOS entry should be coming soon...

Posted by John Knowles at 7:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you click over to this week's complete list of new releases, you'll see a lot of re-dos, including a bunch of "Cliffs Notes" versions of previously-released classics. However, let's see what actual new releases we have:

Benson - The Complete First Season

Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 2 It's pretty cool that Warner continues to release new-to-DVD classics. It's a good thing since they have the largest classic film library. This set of MGM musicals includes two films that were available on DVD in poor public domain copies, the rest are new on DVD: The Pirate, Words and Music, That's Dancing, The Belle of New York, Royal Wedding, That Midnight Kiss, and The Toast of New Orleans.

Hard Boiled Ultimate Edition (1992) Wanna bet that this isn't the ultimate edition of the movie?

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Vol. 3

Host (2006)

Ivan's Childhood (1962)

Land of the Giants - The Full Series

The Real McCoys: Complete Season 1

Stargate SG-1 - Season 10

Tales from the Crypt: The Complete Sixth Season

The Number 23

Zodiac

And stay tuned for more Trek coming soon!

Posted by John Knowles at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello everyone and welcome to another hot (and in the case of today, literally) week of DVD new releases:

Ace in the Hole (1951) Criterion issues the Billy Wilder classic. DVD Savant has a really nice review of the film here.

Esther Williams Collection Warner tackles the Esther Williams MGM catalog: Bathing Beauty, Easy to Wed, On an Island With You, Neptune’s Daughter, and Dangerous When Wet.

Factory Girl

Gunsmoke - The First Season A whole season of fun in Artful Dodge City!

The Hills Have Eyes 2

Premonition (2007)

Red Dawn (Collector's Edition) Ah finally, an SE of the Patrick Swayze "classic."

Showgirls - Fully Exposed Edition A comment from the IMDB crowd: "The first movie in history that jiggles you into a stupor of boredom."

Posted by John Knowles at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After the last two posts, this one's gonna seem mighty small...tee hee...as always, click here for this week's list of new stuff.

After the Wedding (2007)

The Astronaut Farmer (2006)

Beauty and the Beast: Season 2

Bewitched - The Complete Fifth Season

A Bullet for Joey (1955)

The Contractor (2007)

Extras: The Complete Second Season

Frankie & Annette: MGM Movie Legends Collection MGM mines the back catalog for some Summer Fluff: : Beach Blanket Bingo, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, Beach Party, Bikini Beach, Fireball 500, Thundr Alley, Muscle Beach Party, and Ski Party. Boomers, get out yer wallets!

The Last Mimzy (2007)

The Stranger (1946) This may be the first time this has been on DVD in a non-public domain cheapie form.

Posted by John Knowles at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy July 4th everyone. Shall we see what patriotic DVDs are being released this week?

Baa Baa Black Sheep, Vol. 2

Batfink: The Complete Series (1966)

Driving Lessons (2006)

Eureka: Season One

George Lopez: America's Mexican

Just the Two of Us (1975) So check out the description of this one: "In this classic lesbian sexploitation flick, married neighbors Adria (Alisa Courtney) and Denise (Elizabeth Plumb) plunge into a secret affair. But when hot young actor Jim (John Aprea) turns Adria's fickle head, Denise becomes desperate to recapture her illicit love. Soon, however, devious British temptress Mona (Elizabeth Knowles) sets her sights on the lonely Denise -- and her intentions are definitely not honorable." Tee hee

Neverwas (2005)

Our Very Own (2005)

Puccini for Beginners (2006)

Raid on Entebbe (1977)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

And we're off for another week of DVD FUN!

Black Snake Moan (2007)

Cult Camp Classics: Volume 1 (Sci-Fi Thrillers) It's cheesy retro movie week with four Warner box sets: Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1958), Giant Behemoth, and Queen of Outer Space. DVD Savant reviews the set here.

Cult Camp Classics: Volume 2 (Women in Peril): The Big Cube, Caged, and Trog. Check out the review here.

Cult Camp Classics: Volume 3 (Terrorized Travelers): Hot Rods to Hell, Skyjacked, and Zero Hour.

Cult Camp Classics: Volume 4 (Historical Epics): Colossus of Rhodes, The Prodigal, and Land of the Pharoahs. DVD Savant takes a look at them here

Dead Silence (2007)

La Jetee/Sans Soleil (1963)

Miami Vice: Season 5

Monk: Season 5

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Vol. 11

Pride (2006)

Shooter (2007) Wow, they've made a film about Dick Cheney!

And I just had to leave you with this image:

Posted by John Knowles at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, what do we have this week?

The Abandoned (2007)

Animaniacs: Vol. 3

Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

Daniel Boone: Season 4

If... (1968) Criterion releases the film starring a pre-Clockwork Orange Malcolm McDowell.

Lucille Ball Film Collection A box with six of Ball's feature films: Critic’s Choice, Dance Girl Dance, Du Barry Was a Lady, The Big Street, Mame, Best Foot Forward.

Perry Mason: Season 2: Vol. 1

Picket Fences: Season 1

Pinky and the Brain: Vol. 3

Powerpuff Girls: Season 1 This is quite the week for modern TV animation.

Reno 911! - Miami

Silver Spoons - The Complete First Season

Sweet Movie (1974)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hello again everyone and welcome to another fun week of DVD new releases. Nothing really earth-shattering coming out this week, but more than we had last week. click here for the complete list with prices.

Blood and Chocolate

Breach (2007)

Days of Glory (2007)

Deadwood - The Complete Third Season

Ghost Rider

The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries: Season Two Woo hoo! Another DVD release for Shaun Cassidy fans!

The Hustler The Newman film gets the 2 disc SE treatment.

James Stewart – Screen Legends Collection This box set includes: : The Glenn Miller Story, Next Time We Love, Shenandoah, Thunder Bay, and You Gotta Stay Happy.

Late Ozu

The Practice - Volume One

The Rat Patrol - The Complete Second Season

The Two of Us (1967)

Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete First Season

Posted by John Knowles at 7:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, but no real entry this week due to me being in a very foul mood (ask me if you're curious).

Here's this week's link.

Posted by John Knowles at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A slow week in DVDland...check out the whole thing here.

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Series

The Closer - The Complete Second Season

Hannibal Rising

The Hawk is Dying (2006)

Katharine Hepburn Collection Warner issues a box set of new-to-DVD Hepburn films: The Corn is Green, Dragon Seed, Morning Glory, Sylvia Scarlett, Undercurrent, and Without Love.

Rawhide - The Second Season, Vol. 1

And since this week was such a snore, here's a good DVD Savant review of the recently-released Apocalypto.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello everyone. I was going to actually write something other than the usual recap, but today's dealings with the fine city in which I live have put me in an especially foul mood. So, I'll leave it for another day when I'm not quite as annoyed. In the meantime, have fun with this week's new DVDs:

Army of Shadows (1969) DVD Savant reviews this DVD here.

Banacek - The First Season

Becket (1964) For a review, click here.

Coach - The Second Season

ER: Season 7

The Fountain (2006)

Frasier: Season 9

Home Improvement - The Complete Sixth Season

MASH: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

Monarch of the Glen: Series 6

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

The Rockford Files: Season Four

Stomp the Yard

Vengeance Is Mine (1979)

Posted by John Knowles at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think I'll get around to my post this about a few books I've found interesting...but for today, let's see what we have for new DVDs:

The 4400 - The Complete Third Season

Battlestar Galactica: Seasons 2.0 & 2.5 A repackaging of the second season in one set.

Because I Said So

Cagney & Lacey - Season 1

Catch and Release

Daniel Boone - Season Three

Deliver Us from Evil (2006)

Everybody Loves Raymond - The Complete Eighth Season

The Guns of Navarone (1961) The WWII film gets the SE treatment.

Jason of Star Command Yes, now you can own the complete 1979 series...

Music and Lyrics (2006)

The Painted Veil (2006)

That '70s Show - Season 6

That Thing You Do! - The Director's Cut

Voltron: Defender of the Universe: Vol. 3

The Waltons - The Complete Fifth Season

And finally, Warners has announced the release date for Hamlet (1996) as a 2 disc set (also being released in HD-DVD and Blu-Ray) on 8/14. This will be the first time the film's been on DVD and it's long overdue. They're also including it in a Shakespeare box set on the same date; click here for more details. I have to say that this is the first HD release that will seriously tempt me to make the HD disc plunge.

Posted by John Knowles at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's the end of the semester, here in U Land, so I'm pushing this week's update out late...I'm sure you're all really choked up about it. So, what fresh (and not so fresh) DVDs were released this week?

Alpha Dog (2006) Gee, this reminds me of a certain black dog...

Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 2

Dreamgirls (2006) Co-starring "cousin" Beyonce' (according to one of my brothers!).

Fletch (1985) The 80s comedy hit gets a SE. I remember liking this...when I was in high school.

Happily N'Ever After (2006)

The Hitcher (2007)

The King of Queens: Season 8

Melrose Place: Season 2

Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days The 2006 BBC series gets a DVD release.

An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) Another SE re-do.

Tyrone Power: The Swashbuckler Box Set Fox releases a set of new-to-DVD Power films: Blood and Sand, Son of Fury, The Black Rose, Prince of Foxes, and The Captain from Castile.

Will & Grace: Season 8

Posted by John Knowles at 7:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

OK, here's the link and here's the list:

Al Franken: God Spoke (2006)

Anna Karenina (1948) This DVD also includes the 1915 version.

Deja Vu (2006)

The Documentaries of Louis Malle - Eclipse Series 2

The Drew Carey Show: Season 1

The Fighting 69th (1940)

Flipper - The Original Series, Season 1

Jane Eyre (1944)

Kidnapped: The Complete Series

Night at the Museum

The Odd Couple: Season 1

One Day at a Time: Season 1 Another Lear sitcom comes to DVD...or is it a series about a certain blog???

Planet Earth: The Complete Collection

The Purple Heart (1944) Just in time for Fathers Day...a WWII propaganda movie. DVD Savant reviews the film/disc here.

The Queen (2006)

WKRP in Cincinnati: Season 1 Well, it was always a matter of either getting the show with missing scenes (some scenes that have dialogue surrounding a particular pop song that they couldn't license) and music substituted with generic low-cost stuff or not having the show on DVD period. This is better than nothing, but still a disappointment.

Posted by John Knowles at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The weather here in MN is quite lovely today, so much so that I am going to get this entry done ASAP so I can find an excuse to be outside! So click this link for the whole thing and here are some highlights for this week:

Brute Force (1947) Criterion issues the early Burt Lancaster film.

Freedom Writers (2007) Hey man, is that Freedom Writers? Turn it up!

Happy Days - Season 2

La Haine (1995)

The Last King of Scotland (2006) Did anyone see this? Sounds like it's worth checking out.

Laverne & Shirley - Season 2

Mork & Mindy: Season 2

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Overlord (1975)

Smokin' Aces (2007)

Spider-Man 2.1 - Unrated, Extended Cut

Posted by John Knowles at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well hello again all. First, a couple of notes before I dive into this week:

First, let's all root for the speedy recovery of Danielle's dog Peyton who had his spleen removed over the weekend. He's apparently up and eating, so keep it up, you big sweet goofy dog!

Second, there was a good op-ed in the NY Times about the record industry, "Spinning Into Oblivion". It's pretty short and worth a read, so check it out here.

So, let's see what we have on tap this week DVD-wise:

The Aura (2005)

Bobby (2006)

The Doris Day Collection, Vol. 2 Warners delivers another box 'o Dorris: Romance on the High Seas, My Dream Is Yours, On Moonlight Bay, I'll See You in My Dreams, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and Lucky Me

Flannel Pajamas (2006)

How William Shatner Changed the World The TV docu comes out on DVD. This was actually not bad, assuming you can deal with Shatner's ego.

Major League Special Edition (1989)

Payback - The Director's Cut

The Pride of the Yankees Anniversary Edition (1942)

Scooby Doo, Where Are You! - The Complete Third Season

Shanghai Surprise - Special Edition Wow, they'll make a deluxe DVD out of anything these days!

Sleeping Dogs Lie (2006)

The Untouchables - Season One, Vol. 1 (1959)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Another week...time to make the donuts...Jelly Donuts!

For the whole selection, click here:

All That Jazz - Music Edition The 1979 Fosse film gets a redo with more extras.

Bedazzled (1967)

Black Christmas (2006)

Charlotte's Web (2006)

Copying Beethoven

Entourage: Season Three Part 1

The Good Shepherd

Law & Order - The Fifth Year

The Mario Bava Collection, Volume 1 A box set containing five of the directors horror films. For a revew and details, check out DVD Savant's review here.

The Natural: Director's Cut Extended version plus bonuses.

Twin Peaks - The Second Season After being stuck in studio limbo, the second season finally comes out for the first time on DVD. Buy/rent it now before the rights get sold and the DVDs pulled out of print!

Volver (2006)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ten years ago this week, the DVD format was introduced here in the US. DVD is pretty passe' now, but back in the late 1990s, it was (well, to some of us) all quite interesting. It was by no means certain that the format would take (Circuit City's ill-conceived DIVX "rental" DVD format didn't help). Not all the studios were onboard and the selection of titles was slim. Even though I've bemoaned the small number of good films available on the HD formats (they have been tending to focus on action spectacles or bad sci fi), the number of titles being released is actually higher than it was in the first year of DVD.

I'd say that it's very possible that DVD was the last successful packaged media launch. Even without the HD format war, HD-DVD and Blu Ray (many are now predicting Blu Ray's upcoming victory) may be too little too late. DVD came along at the right time and was a huge improvement over VHS; I was always less than impressed with VHS's picture quality. As interested as I am about the new formats, I observe it with more of a detached interest. You just know it isn't going to catch fire like DVD did. The rollout of DVD was a sea change for the movie business as it set the stage for the huge sell-through video market we have now. Rental is still there, but not as the overwhelming business it was prior to DVD's breakthrough success. Going forward, we see new delivery methods pushing ahead, for better or worse.

Ten years...

So, here we are with another week of new DVDs:

7th Heaven - The Complete Fourth Season See, ten years out and there are still big titles left to release!

The Addams Family - Volume 2

Children of Men

Color Me Kubrick (2005)

The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 2 Another Warner classic film box set that I don't have time for! This one includes: The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), Gentleman Jim (1942), The Adventures of Don Juan (1948), The Dawn Patrol (1938), and Dive Bomber (1942).

Family Affair - Season Three

Full House - The Complete Sixth Season

Happy Feet

The Jeffersons - The Complete Sixth Season

The Judi Dench Collection This set contains nine plays and original productions made for the BBC, click here for more details.

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman - Volume 1 Another Lear show makes it to DVD.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

School For Scoundrels (1960)

The Shield - Season 5

The Tempest (1982)

Whose Line Is It Anyway?: The Original British Series - The Complete Seasons 1 & 2

Posted by John Knowles at 7:35 PM | Permalink

A bit late this week, but we were out in SD over the weekend enjoying the warm weather, among other things. I'm going to write an entry about some books I've been digging into, but I'm going to hold off until I've finished the one I'm reading right now. For now, here's what we've got on DVD for this week:

Blood Diamond

The Care Bears Movie: 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Yikes, this merits an "anniversary" edition?!

Christy - The Complete Series

Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner - Extended and Uncensored This version supposedly has an extra 20 minutes of Shatner-iffic roasting.

Eragon

Maude - The Complete First Season Another Lear spinoff series make its way to DVD.

McHale's Navy - Season One

Miami Vice Season 3

The Naked City Criterion releases the noir classic.

The Nativity Story All right, just in time for...Easter?! The entry on Netflix sez,

"Enjoyed By Members Who Enjoyed
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

The Passion of the Christ

Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story

Ice Princess

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace"

NewsRadio - The Complete Fifth Season The final season arrives on DVD.

Rocky Balboa

Sleep er Cell - Season 2

The W.C. Fields Comedy Collection Volume 2 This set contains: The Man on the Flying Trapeze, Never Give A Sucker An Even Break, You're Telling Me!, The Old Fashioned Way, and Poppy.

The Wild Wild West - The Complete Second Season

Posted by John Knowles at 7:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm thinking of writing an entry on, god help me, books! We'll see if I ever get to it...but for now, let's see what we have coming out this week:

Bosom Buddies - The First Season

The Burmese Harp (1952)

Casino Royale (2006)

Fires on the Plain (1959)

Ghost: Special Collector's Edition All you Patrick Swayze, um, fans, can buy this movie again as a SE.

The Holiday (2006)

I Love Lucy - The Final Seasons: 7, 8 & 9 This set contains all the post-season 6 shows, which were a series of specials, AKA, The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show.

The Man Who Sued God (2001)

Mile High - The Complete First Season

Robin of Sherwood: Set 1 (1984)

Shortbus

Without a Trace - The Complete Second Season

Posted by John Knowles at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The slate of DVDs this week looks a bit bigger than we've had recently. The HD format war rages on, but we don't care about that right now....do we? In any case, let's see what we have this week:

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Cinderella Liberty (1973)

Commissar (1967)

Confetti (2006)

The Ernest Hemingway Film Collection This box set includes: The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), The Sun Also Rises (1957), A Farewell to Arms (1957), Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962), and Under My Skin (1950).

Fast Food Nation (2006) Mmm, I think it's time for a tasty Shamrock shake!

The Full Monty: The Fully Exposed Edition The 1997 hit gets a new and needed upgrade over the old bare-bones non anamorphic DVD.

Hawaii Five-O - The First Season

Jesse James (1939)

Literary Classics Collection The latest Warner classics set (all available separately): The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 and 1952 versions), The Three Musketeers (1948, Gene Kelly), Madame Bovary (1949), Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), and Billy Budd (1962). DVD Savant reviews the set here.

The Loop: Season 1

Moonlighting: Season 5

Northern Exposure - The Complete Sixth Season

Peter Pan: Platinum Edition (1953) The Disney Pan gets a new DVD release.

Sabrina, The Teenage Witch - The Complete First Season I know we've been waiting so long for this one...

South Park - The Complete Ninth Season

Stargate Atlantis: Season 2

Posted by John Knowles at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, did anyone watch the Oscars last night? We chose to skip it this year. Lame? Well, perhaps. I was glad to hear that Martin Scorsese finally won a directing Oscar after all these years. So let's see what we have for new DVDs this week:

Alice in Cartoonland A collection of very early Walt Disney cartoons from the late 1920s

Alexander - The Final Cut (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) Oliver Stone takes another crack at his epic...with an extra 40 minutes of material.

Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back - 65 Tour Deluxe Edition

The Doris Day Show - Season 4

A Good Year

Magnum PI - Season 6

The Return

The Rockford Files - Season Three

Stranger Than Fiction Will Ferrell alert!!!

Posted by John Knowles at 7:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Crap, this month is going fast! Our MN cold snap seems to be coming a merciful end. Anything above 20 degrees seems warm right now. If you've got a few minutes, go read this article called "Pirates of the Multiplex," which is a good look at the bit torrent site, Pirate Bay (yes, it's on the Vanity Fair site...go figure). WoW, is still sucking up my free time, so we're even more behind on DVDs, but for those of you who are ready for new stuff, here's this week's list of new DVDs:

49th Parallel (1941) Criterion issues this early Powell/Pressburger film, which was intended to influence the American public to support entering WW2. DVD Savant has an interesting review of the disc here.

Alias Smith and Jones - Season One

Babel (2006)

Bicycle Thieves (1948) Criterion issues a SE of the classic.

Family Ties - The Complete First Season As cheesy as this show was at times, I have to give them a little credit for inserting politics (albeit a jokey kind of "discourse") into a post-Archie Bunker 80s sitcom.

Flushed Away The first (and last?) CG animated film from Aardman (Wallace & Gromit).

For Your Consideration (2006) Christopher Guest's latest mockumentary.

Gandhi: 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition"> New transfer and extras...and I still have never seen this one all the way through...

A Man for All Seasons (1966) A redo of the film with an allegedly better transfer and some new bonus features.

Man of the Year (2006)

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)

Posted by John Knowles at 7:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)