Wednesday, July 8, 2009

DVD Picks of the Week: July 7th, 2009

Better late than never, here's this weeks DVD picks of the week for Tuesday July 7th. I can't say how long this entry will be, but I'm gonna try my hardest unless my overtired nature takes me over.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV [DVD]


One of the greatest (and my favorite) shows ever is Mystery Science Theater 3000. Making bad movies good, the guys aboard the satellite of love riff endlessly on the trash you wouldn't want to watch otherwise. This week comes the fifteenth volume of the television show on DVD. Included in the four film set are The Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy, The Girl In Lovers Lane, Zombie Nightmare, and Racket Girls. I have yet to see any of these, but if they were chosen for the latest release, I'm sure they must be quality and witty episodes. The only problem I have with these DVD releases are the fact that you can't buy the show season by season. It's understandable, of course, as each season contains a good number of 90 minute episodes. Still, for those that like to complete series (like myself), it can be a small pain in the butt. It's similar to the way Beavis and Butt-Head, another one of my favorite shows, has been released. Instead of doing a season by season DVD release a few years ago, they opted for three volumes subtitled The Mike Judge Collection. All three sets are great, including a select number of music videos and other nice bonus features, but it leaves those wanting every episode of every season hanging out to dry. At least we always have the internet to quench our thirst for every MST3K episode.

Knowing [DVD][Blu-ray]


Thanks to Nicolas Cage's recent track record, Knowing at first looked like just another one of the ridiculous and terribly science fiction/action/etc. films the dwindling action star had been leading the way in. But then I realized that the film was indeed directed by Alex Proyas, the man behind one of my favorite science fiction films of all time, Dark City. That alone is enough to gauge my interest a little bit. I still haven't seen this film, but I do plan on watching it at some point, just out of plain curiosity for the whole thing. I don't expect this to do much, outside of a few points of entertainment here and there. I mean after all it is Nic Cage.

Lonely are the Brave [DVD]


This is one of those somewhat unknown, yet damn good (supposedly) flicks that finds its way to DVD after a long time of being in hibernation. This film stars the always great Kirk Douglas as Jack Burns, who in order to free his best friend Bondi, lets himself be imprisoned only to find out that Bondi does not want to escape. Interesting plot. My attention was sparked by the positive review from Jamie S. Rich on DVDTalk a few weeks back. He too had never heard of the film before it was released on DVD. It seems like this film is just another example as to why I love DVD as much as I do. If you are interested, check out the trailer below.



Beau Geste [DVD]


I'll be finishing this short entry on a similar note as the above title. Beau Geste is another intriguing film with a great cast featuring Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Brian Donlevy and more. The film is also directed by William A. Wellman, a man who had a rather long and healthy career, directing numerous stars such as John Wayne. To get more information on this one, I'll just direct you to Jeffrey Kauffman's in-depth review on DVDTalk.com, as he covers as much ground on both the film and its historical background as necessary.

No comments: