Tuesday, March 31, 2009

DVD Picks of the Week: March 31, 2009

Another week, another way to spend some money! We've got a pretty good selection of film goodness to check out this week, so let's begin.

Slumdog Millionaire [DVD][Blu-ray]


It should come as no surprise that I'm leading off this week's selection of essential DVDs with the Oscar-dominating Danny Boyle film, Slumdog Millionaire. This is an outstanding film full of beauty. Whether you've seen the film already or are a repeat viewer like myself, this is a must-own DVD. I already have mine on order for $10 through Columbia House (god bless you buy one get one free) and can't wait to find it in my mailbox in the coming days.

*UPDATE*: As rumored, a lot of the retail versions of the STANDARD DVD release has been mixed up with the rental versions Fox planned to release sans-special features. If you purchase a DVD copy that has no extras outside of trailers, you can get a replacement by calling Fox customer service or emailing them. Guess greedy bastards like Fox get what's coming to them. Have fun with the extra work load, you pieces of shit!

The Matrix [10th Anniversary Blu-ray]


Believe it or not, but science-fiction classic The Matrix is 10 years old. I know, I know, this one makes us all feel a bit older than we are, but its the way she goes. If you're lucky enough to have a home theater system that can benefit from the addition of this film, more power to you. I've seen this film in HD, and while the trilogy already has seen a Blu-ray release, this is the first time you can own just the first film in the series on BR. A must buy for fans capable of enjoying The Matrix in high definition.

Cat in the Brain [DVD]


Admittedly, not every film I feature are films that I've seen. Sometimes they are simply items high on my want list that are finally seeing the light of day. Cat in the Brain, a film by Italian horror master Lucio Fulci, is one of these titles. Not so much for the film itself, but because its simply just another Fulci title to watch. I've never heard of the film prior to it getting a DVD release, but it sure does look appetizing, if the genre is your thing. Fulci is responsible for some of the gorier films in the genre including The Beyond and Zombie 2. More Fulci is good. And the cover sure looks cool, doesn't it?

The Sinful Dwarf [DVD]


I am not about to let you leave before knowing that this film exists. The quote on the top of the DVD case claims this film is "The mother of all dwarfsploitation films!" so you know it's an essential film to see. You can't go wrong. And now you know this exists.

Timecrimes [DVD]


Timecrimes is a neat little science-fiction film from Spain that I intend to check out and suggest you do as well. I've got nothing more to say on the film, so why don't you just view the trailer?


Now, due to time constraints, I'll give you the short list of other titles I myself think are worth checking out this week: Ichi The Killer [Blu-ray], Generale Della Rovere [Criterion], Two Evil Eyes [Blu-ray], Ip Man, Tell No One, Danton [Criterion], The Cremator.

What to stay away from: Hannah Montana: Keeping it Real. Okay, yeah, partly because it's Hannah Montana. The other part is that its just 5 episodes from the series thrown onto a disc to capitalize on the new film being release in a short while. It's cheap business, but it's also Disney, so we shouldn't be too surprised.

Anyways, that's all I've got for you this week. There's lots to sift through and lots worth checking out and if I had the money and time to do it all, I probably would. Hope you found something worthwhile.

The release of Slumdog Millionaire kicks off what we will know as continuous weeks of Oscar-nominated films being put onto DVD shelves. Check back next week to see the tremendous film Doubt get its release alongside a fantastic Pre-Code Hollywood Collection. Should be an interesting week. Until then, peace.

1 comment:

Alicia C said...

I still have not seen Slumdog Millionaire, though of course I am intrigued, seeing as how it's the best picture of the year with the best song and all that. I think I'm just going to have to and get it so I can finally see what all the fuss is about. (Though I know it's all good fuss...)