Let me see if I’ve got this straight: GI Joe is an elite military task force tasked with stopping COBRA, a nefarious terrorist organization who spend all their time attacking GI Joe. Viewed from this perspective, this is completely, inexplicably irrational, making it perhaps the most brilliant satire of military history ever to appear on s
yndicated TV, save for “Charles in Charge.” More likely, though, is that the whole thing is just an elaborate ruse by the armed forces aimed at keeping their most inept recruits busy with their most incompetent foe while the grown-ups get on with the real work of defending the country. That would go a long way to explaining their piss-poor marksmanship, not to mention how William “The Refrigerator” Perry wound up in their ranks.
Still, to their credit, the Joes clearly embrace their diversity. Anyone can be a Joe, provided he isn’t like anyone else on the squad. The practical upshot of this is that they only have one guy capable of doing each job: One pilot, one gunner, one… ninja. (If I ran the military, every battalion would have at least one ninja.) The One Guy Policy either incredibly efficient and optimistic, or the stupidest strategy ever. COBRA may have been inept and ass-backwards, but at least they had a little built-in redundancy. Not to mention really cool headgear. And a floating fortress of death! For a group with no discernible goals or income, they do all right for themselves. Yep, if it weren’t for the whole yelling-their-name-when-they-attack thing, I would totally join COBRA.
At least I would have before GI JOE: THE MOVIE, when we found out that COBRA were really just a front for Cobra-la, an ancient snake cult that lives in the Himalayas. Which makes about as much sense as a bunch of Saharan tribesmen worshipping polar bears, but whatever. Yes, to recap, COBRA, the feared international terrorist army, are being secretly manipulated by an ancient race of reptilians who live in one of the coldest climates on earth. It makes so much sense that I think we should demand that the government send ridiculously expensive expeditions into northern India just to ensure that there aren’t any snake cults lurking there.
Apparently the cultists decided that the mid-80s was finally the right time to emerge from the mountains, perhaps because their outfits had finally come back into fashion. More likely, however, they were looking to turn the human race into drooling, mindless animals, and they figured that “Battle of the Network Stars” had already done most of the work for them. To finish off the other half, they needed to seize control of the transmitter for (and 
this is true) something called BET, which GI Joe is testing out at the start of the film. How exactly Black Entertainment Television figures into world domination is never made explicitly clear, but it’s a safe bet that it involves the mobilization of several hundred Wayanses and possibly a WHITE GIRLS sequel.
Apparently, with the aid of BET, the Cobra-lalians will release spores into the atmosphere. Fortunately for us, since they’re using the COBRA army, we know there’s little chance they will succeed. Unfortunately for us, the Army let GI Joe guard the BET thing, which means there’s a good chance that it will get captured. Apparently for the Joes, guarding a priceless piece of equipment means one or two guys, tops. Maybe if they let themselves have, I don’t know, more than one MP or something. Hell, he doesn’t even have to be a full-timer. Get yourselves a temp, guys, and save on the benefits.
Instead, they task Duke’s mildly retarded brother Falcon with watching the transmitter, which he promptly screws up by bringing an in-disguise COBRA operative in to show it off. Maybe I’m out of touch, but are women really that turned on by giant military vehicles t
hese days? Somebody needs to tell Falcon about tequila shooters. They’re easier to get your hands on, and that way it’s two people at most who are likely to end up brain damaged, not the entire human race. But we all know how little brothers are…
So the BET thing gets stolen, and one of the COBRA bigwigs escapes from the brig, all because Duke was too busy to take his little brother out and get him laid. Sad, really. So what happens to the little runt for crippling the war effort and possibly dooming the entire race to Death by Wayans? Military prison until he’s 80? A severe beating from his fellow Joes? No, he’s sent for more training, which probably should have happened before they let him guard priceless equipment.
In the end, Falcon redeems himself by infiltrating the Cobra-la headquarters and shutting off BET, probably right before “Martin” came on, for which we should all be grateful. COBRA, it seems, will have to live without Sheneneh for one day more.
Alas, the next day, Destro had digital cable installed, which not only had BET but also TV Land and three channels of MTV. I guess you can’t win ’em all.
While most know her from her role as Jerri Blank on Comedy Central’s cult hit Strangers With Candy – or her numerous guest appearances on David Letterman and Sex and the City – friends and family know Amy Sedaris as a hostess par excellence, famed for her parties and dinners, and her fantastic home-cooked cuisine. Seeing the simple act of entertaining guests as an art quickly atrophying in this fast-paced digital age, she’s crafted the ultimate guide to throwing your own shindigs – I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence (Hachette Book Group, $27.99 SRP). Although written with the same wit and delightfully bent perspective that informs her comedy, the book should in no way be taken as a “joke cookbook” – it’s a legitimate presentation of party suggestions (leave marbles in your medicine chest to signal the telltale sound of a nosy guest), hints (like the fact that doing dishes after a party can be a cathartic exercise), recipes (I can’t wait to try her “Crosscut Stump Stew”), and crafts (plastic googly eyes make anything fun) sure to inspire even the most slothlike of hosts and hostesses to send off some invites, fill up the ice tub, fire up the oven, and lay out the welcome mat. An audiobook version read by Sedaris and featuring additional recipes is also available (Hachette, $29.99 SRP).
After seeing the ads for Big Love (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP) in the build-up to its premiere, I was completely nonplussed. Why would I want to watch a drama about an unconventional American family – members of a religious cult who believe in polygamy. Well, I tried to resist watching it, but it stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of the Henrickson clan – which includes 3 wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, & Ginnifer Goodwin) and a passel of kids – who owns a thriving home improvement center in suburban Salt Lake City. I did wind up watching the premiere, and like The Sopranos before it, found that instead of clichés, what I got instead was a nuanced drama filled with the kind of realistic human comedy that shows like Desperate Housewives try desperately to manufacture. And it’s got Bill Paxton. The 5-disc box set contains all 12 first season episodes, plus a pair of audio commentaries and a behind-the-scenes look at the credit sequence.
Of all the regional children’s presenters who rose to national prominence in the 50’s & 60’s, once of the most beloved – and delightfully anarchic – was Soupy Sales. From the originator of the infamous “take a dollar out of your parents wallet and send it in” gag to the endless pie fights, Soupy was a true TV legend. Thankfully, his hijinks have wound their way to DVD via a pair of releases – the 3-disc The Soupy Sales Collection: The Whole Gang Is Here (Morada Vision, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) and Soupy Sales: In Living Black & White (Morada Vision, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). The former contains Sales’ later color work, which was aimed towards adults, while the Black & White disc features the classic kiddie shows that marked a generation of kids.
As Kevin Costner has his Dances With Wolves, Warren Beatty also has a masterpiece of a film on his résumé – and that film is Reds (Paramount, Rated PG, DVD-$19.99 SRP). Based on a true story, Beatty stars as the American communist, journalist, and activist John Reed, whose love affair with writer/feminist Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton) plays out as the titanic events of the Russian Revolution unfold around them. It’s an incredibly epic tale, and much-deserving of this 2-disc 25th anniversary edition, featuring 7 in-depth featurettes charting the making-of the film, as well as the events that inspired it.
If the first season of Wonder Showzen was a surreal experiment that somehow worked comedically, the second season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP) was a confident, brutal, hilarious parody of those classic PBS kiddie shows that filled the youthful minds of the children of the 70’s and 80’s (I weep for the pop culture deficit of modern kids). The 2-disc set features all 8 episodes, plus a pair of commentaries, outtakes, and exclusive Beat Kids featurette, games & time wasters, and outtakes.
Even though Eric has presented Donna with a ring, does that mean she’ll actually say yes? And will Jackie’s secret relationship with Hyde escape Kelso’s notice? Or is he too preoccupied with the idea of becoming a cop after the high school job fair? And can Fez find love at the DMV? Granted, if you watched the fifth season of That 70’s Show (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) when it aired, you know the answers to all these questions. The 4-disc set features all 25 episodes, plus promo spots, a 70’s flashback with Wilmer Valderrama and Danny Masterson, and a 5-minute retrospective of the season.
The Master of Suspense returns with 39 more classic episodes in the 2nd season of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 5-discs are packed chock full of guest stars, including Vic Morrow, Rip Torn, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and many more. Have a “Good evening…” indeed.
If you want to support a pair of fantastic New Orleans charities – the Louisiana Children’s Museum & Habitat For Humanity’s Musician’s Village Project in New Orleans- and add some wonderful music to your collection, pick up New Orleans Playground & New Orleans Christmas (Putumayo World Music, $15.98 SRP each), a pair of discs featuring some legendary luminaries from the Crescent City, including Dr. John (whose take on “Row Row Your Boat” is memorable, to say the least), The Meters, Buckwheat Zydeco, Fats Domino, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, and many more.
When the somewhat dim, disconnected president of the United States (Dennis Quaid) decides to reconnect with the public by getting involved in the live finale of the hugely popular network reality show American Dreamz (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Imagine an even more tacky and wildly popular version of American Idol, where the finalists are an opportunistic middle American sweetheart (Mandy Moore) and a naïve, showtunes-loving young Arab boy – who just may inadvertently cause the night to completely derail in the most unwanted kind of fireworks you can imagine. The flick is actually a very sly satire (I’ll leave the interpretations up to you) and an enjoyable night in front of the TV. The DVD features an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Take an obscure Japanese game show from the early 90’s that placed teams of contestants in unbelievably awkward and dangerous stunts, dub over it with an incredibly funny commentary from your “hosts” Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship (not to mention field marshal Captain Tanneal and sideline reporter Guy LaDouche) and you have the sublimely brilliant MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (Magnolia, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP). This 2-disc set features all 13 first season episodes, plus select episode commentary, the original sales presentation for the show, a reel of the most painful eliminations, and even an episode of the show in its original Japanese form (known as Takeshi’s Castle).
In terms of British sitcoms, the long-running My Family is an anomaly. Unlike most Britcoms, which are usually written by a single writer or a writing duo, My Family had an American-style writing staff headed up by former Larry Sanders and Seinfeld exec producer Fred Barron. It certainly brings a slightly different flavor to this family comedy about a pair of hapless but loving parents (Robert Lindsay & Zoe Wannamaker) at the mercy of their children. Check out the complete first and second seasons (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP each) and see if you notice the difference a Yank makes.
Her Fox sitcom never really knew how to properly utilize Wanda Sykes. When you check out her caustically hilarious stand-up special, Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP), you’ll understand why no mainstream network could be capable of using her correctly, and why she’s the perfect fit for things like her frequent guest appearances on Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. The DVD features 15 minutes of additional footage, plus an audience Q&A and a radio interview.
A series of unfortunate events needs an equally gothic soundtrack, and Stephen Merritt’s The Tragic Treasury: Songs From A Series Of Unfortunate Events (Nonesuch, $18.98 SRP) is exactly that, with songs from each of the 13 books comprising Lemony Snicket’s chronicle of the trials and tribulations of the Baudelaire orphans.
Never really a fan of the CSI franchise, I have found that whenever I run across an episode of CSI: New York, I’ll find myself drawn in – not by the increasingly overplayed procedural aspects, but by star Gary Sinise as Detective Mac Taylor, whose forensics team faces a bit of a shake-up in the show’s sophomore season, plus a crossover with David Caruso’s Miami contingent. The 6-disc complete second season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP) features audio commentaries on 5 episodes, and 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Loaded with gore and a low-budget energy, Feast (Dimension, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is the winner of the last Project Greenlight, which found John Gulager at the helm of a horror film. The final product should make many Fango fans happy, as it has many of the elements of the genre’s heyday. The unrated DVD features deleted scenes, outtakes, commentary, a making-of featurette, and a look at the practical effects.
Peta Wilson’s turn as the sexy secret agent codenamed Josephine wraps up in the fifth and final season of La Femme Nikita (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), featuring the resolution of her long-standing quest to find out exactly why she was chosen for her most dangerous position within the spy network Section. The 3-disc set features all 8 episodes, plus deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and an internet teaser by director Jon Cassar.
Like death with a typewriter, Angela Lansbury’s crime-solving novelist Jessica Fletcher returns in the complete fourth season of Murder, She Wrote (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Joining her these season (and nimbly avoiding the scythe) is Tom Bosley – gotta love Tom Bosley. These season also features one of my favorite Fletcher death run, with guest star Frank Gorshin. The 5-disc set features all 22 episodes, plus a bonus episode from season 5 (“Snow White, Blood Red”).
Comfortable that they’ve become a long-running supernatural soap that has made it past cast changes and behind-the-scenes dust-ups, the sixth season of Charmed (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP) was one of wild abandon. Our witchy trio become Valkyries to take on an island full of Amazons, travel through time (via go-go power), fight a spider-demon, and even handily handle Phoebe becoming a genie. As with previous sets, there are still no bonus features – unless they require a magic key to find them which, sadly, I do not possess.
In the mood for a trashy horror flick to pass a chilly October evening? Why not try Rest Stop (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), a gorefest about pretty people making an ill-fated stop along the road. Bonus features include alternate endings, galleries, and a trailer.
CSI: NY was forged in the wake of 911, with its central character Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) tortured by the fact that his wife died in the terrorist attacks. This first season was considered dark, with its heroes dwelling in a dank, dark office space, and most of its cast being very New York and angry and accented. Apparently word came from the top that to go forward the series must “lighten up,” literally. As season two begins the medicals are moving upstairs to glass walled open offices, and there is also some cast housekeeping. This is the season in which Vanessa Ferlito’s Detective Aiden Burn is fired and replaced by Detective Lindsay Monroe (Anna Belknap), a wholesome girl from Montana who has some of the aspect of Pam from The Office. Later, Aiden dies violently. Also added is Hill Harper as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes. CBS shows ideally like to have both a male brainiac and a kooky female tech person, and Hawkes represents the addition of the brainiac.
While most know her from her role as Jerri Blank on Comedy Central’s cult hit Strangers With Candy – or her numerous guest appearances on David Letterman and Sex and the City – friends and family know Amy Sedaris as a hostess par excellence, famed for her parties and dinners, and her fantastic home-cooked cuisine.
SEDARIS: Well, I’ve had, like, 20 people in my apartment for big events, and I’ve had just small gatherings. I can’t get any more than 20 in my apartment…
Check out the preview to the Image comic Jeff writes…
Almost instantly, I got just enough praise to encourage me, and some very constructive criticism as well. So I set out to fix the problems I agreed with, and change a couple of the choices for “Choose Hero.” I replaced Ann Coulter and Charlton Heston with Tom Delay and Pat Robertson, because I realized Charlton Heston didn’t deserve to be lumped in with the rest of those jerks, and Ann Coulter is simply too vile to be used in a comedy piece.
The montage at the beginning blew my mind. Aside from the fact I can’t imagine how long it took to go through all those, come up with their favorite scenes, and edit those scenes together to produce two smooth cycles of Stephen’s entire green screen performance, there were a lot in there I had never seen that were really good. That drove it home even harder just how big a deal it was that I won over all those other great entries.
Then came the other contestant. I still fully expected it was a real contestant. As soon as Stephen said, “he joins us in the studio” I thought, “Hey, no fair, how come the other contestant got to be in the studio?” But that thought only lasted about 3 seconds. When George Lucas walked out, I laughed my head off. I realized instantly, “They tricked me!” As if this whole experience wasn’t surreal enough as it was, now part of the joke is I beat George Lucas! Not only will this episode go down in Colbert Report history, it’s going to be part of Star Wars history! It’s one of The Colbert Report‘s longest-running experiments/games, it’s being played out for the enjoyment of all, and this time I’m not just watching it on TV, I’m participating in it! Okay, it’s not as big as curing cancer, but it’s bigger than winning my middle school skateboard contest. It’s called BFD relativism.
Check out the preview to…
It’s rather appropriate (and crafted as such) that the tragic tale of the Baudelaire orphans comes to a close on Friday the 13th of October. A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 13: The End (HarperCollins, $12.99 SRP) certainly lives up to its title, as Violet, Klaus, and Sunny have their final confrontation with the evil Count Olaf, but there are plenty of unexpected surprises in store. Will it all have a happy ending? Is there such a thing?
I respected them as performers and magicians, but with their Showtime series Bullshit (Showtime/CBS, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), Penn & Teller have performed – in my opinion – a public service. With their engaging style of presentation and a keen sense of puncturing modern myths and hypocrisy, they’ve tackled some dangerous topics in the course of their three seasons on the air, exposing the truth behind incredibly foolish – to incredibly dangerous – social dogma. Over the course of the 13 episodes collected in the 3-disc set of the third season, those topics include endangered species, circumcision, conspiracy theories, gun control, ghostbusting, life coaching, college, and more. Unfortunately, there’s no bonus features this go round (past seasons have at least contained deleted footage), but it’s great that – at the very least – the show is still getting released on DVD.
Never having read Vice before, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the first in their series of DVDs collecting a clutch of short films based around a particular topic, The Vice Guide To Travel (Vice, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). Instead of some slapdash road punk version of Girls Gone Wild (which was my chief fear, admittedly), I found it to be a remarkable travelogue of sometimes forgotten, sometimes dangerous, but altogether fascinating locales that are the very epitome of the phrase “off the beaten track.” From hunting mutant game in the ruins of Chernobyl to the deadly black markets of Bulgaria and Pakistan, there wasn’t a slack moment. The disc comes packaged in a hardcover book offering additional insights and interviews on each piece. All in all, it’s an incredible visual document, and the first in what I hope is a long series of releases.
It’s fun to observe the evolution and maturation of Adam Sandler as the years go by. Watching Click (Sony, Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.95 SRP), we get to see Sandler as fully-evolved a family man named Michael Newman, with a wife and two kids and a house and a dog and a job – and all the stress that goes with them. It’s a far cry from Happy Gilmore, to be sure. So frazzled is his life as an underappreciated architect (with a boss played by David Hasslehoff, it’s to be expected), that he seeks some measure of respite by seeking out a common convenience for his busy life – a universal remote. Finding most stores closed during his impulse search, he finds store open – Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Not finding the remote anywhere in the store, he stumbles upon the hereto unknown “Beyond” section, where he finds an eccentric employee (played, of course, by Christopher Walken) who gives him a truly universal remote – one which he soon finds allows him to control all aspects in his life, from muting the dog to fast-forwarding through awkward moments. As you can expect from mature, latter-day Sandler, lessons about cherishing the small moments in life is the central theme. And you know what? I think I like the mature Sandler. Bonus features include deleted scenes, featurettes on the make-up effects (let’s just say his character’s love of Twinkies is not a good thing), special effects featurettes, and more.
The fourth season of Scrubs (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) is when the show began to veer more towards the wacky side, losing some of the delicate balance between comedy and drama that it was brilliantly able to capture in previous years. Still, even off-kilter Scrubs is better than the bulk of TV today. Bonus features include deleted scenes, alternate lines, an interview with Donald Faison, and 4 behind-the-scenes featurettes. The biggest disappointment is a measly pair of commentaries, marking a disturbing decline in the number we’ve been getting with each successive set.
One would think it impossible, but the 13 episodes featured on the second volume of Harvey Birdman (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) manage to be even more surreal – and funny – than the adult swim original’s first 13. No small feat, to be sure. The 2-disc set features audio commentaries (including series regular Stephen Colbert, which makes me hope he’ll take the time to do something for The Venture Bros.‘ second season set on his Professor Impossible episode), deleted scenes, a completely clothes-less “naked scene,” behind-the-scenes video of the voice actors, promos, and more.
Cover versions of classic hits – particularly when they focus on a single, legendary band – can sometime be a spotty, even embarrassing affair. There are very few clunkers amongst the 18 tracks featured on Paint It Black (Virgin EMI, $15.99 SRP), which – as you might have guessed – contains a compilation of Rolling Stones cover tunes. From David Bowie’s “Let’s Spend The Night Together” to Aretha Franklin’s take on “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” I can honestly say there wasn’t a single embarrassing moment amongst the cuts.
To those unfamiliar with radio as an art form, the idea of a film based upon a live broadcast of a radio show might seem like an evening spent at the proverbial opera. In Robert Altman’s presentation of the fictional final recording of Garrison Keillor’s long-running A Prairie Home Companion (New Line, Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98 SRP) – as the theater’s new owner (Tommy Lee Jones) evicts the show in order to tear the place down – what comes to the fore is just what makes radio so special – ironically enough, presented with visuals. As you watch the melancholy of the surreal family that makes up the cast – including singing cowboys (Woody Harrelson & John C. Reilly), sisters (Lily Tomlin & Meryl Streep), a hard-boiled security man (Kevin Kline), and GK himself – you realize that radio is all about these types of extreme, easily relatable archetypes, be it radio drama, comedy, or talk radio. As for the film, it’s a beautiful confection – and I didn’t even mention the literal angel of death stalking the theater, or a sober Lindsey Lohan’s memorable turn as Streep’s suicide-obsessed daughter. And Altman, as he gets older, makes tighter and tighter pieces that seem to fly by –I don’t know what happened, but he seems to have snatched the mojo Woody Allen has lost. Bonus features include an audio commentary with Altman and Kevin Kline, a making-of documentary, and additional scenes.
I think it’s safe to say that everyone was a bit surprised that the 13-episode 5th season of The A-Team (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) turned out to be the end of the line for our heroes. This is even after they brought in Robert Vaughn to fill the shoes of the oft-mentioned General Stockwell. The 3-disc set features a brand new interview with series creator Stephen J. Cannell – but still no Mr. T commentary.
For the “Everything’s Duckie Edition” of Pretty In Pink (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$14.99 SRP), the powers-that-be have added 5 new featurettes to the complement of extras featured on the original DVD release, which included an audio commentary from director Howard Deutch, the original ending, and a retrospective featurette. Those 5 new featurettes include a making-of, a spotlight on the “Zoids and Richies,” prom stories from the cast & crew, a featurette about the film’s fashions, and a spotlight on Molly Ringwald entitled – appropriately enough – “Prom Queen: All About Molly.” But where, oh where, is writer/producer/teen auteur John Hughes? He’s become the 80’s comedy version of Stanley Kubrick.
As time passes, its regrettable that the current generation never got a chance to experience firsthand one of the true dynamos of modern comedy, the late Sam Kinison. For a taste of what made the man such a force to be reckoned with – and an influence on scores of comedians – look no further than the documentary Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh? (S’More/Image, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP), which tries to come to some conclusion, via interviews with his friends, family, & colleagues, what made the man tick. Also included is a CD of Kinison preaching his last sermon in the ministry after his success in comedy.
One of the biggest double-dipping trends has become the unrated “Director’s Cut,” and you can add Terry Zwigoff’s caustically funny Bad Santa (Dimension, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) to the list. If you don’t recall the flick, it’s the one with Billy Bob Thornton as a boozing, lecherous, thoroughly and hilariously reprehensible mall Santa. Yeah. Now you remember. The DVD features a new audio commentary with Zwigoff and editor Robert Hoffman, deleted/alternate scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and outtakes.
Speaking of Zwigoff, Art School Confidential (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$26.96 SRP) that you desperately want to be better than it is, but it sadly never quite accomplishes that desire. As a viewer, I wanted it to be a fantastic satire on the pretension, selfishness, delusion, and high comedy of the art school mentality. Instead, it’s a genial, sometimes semi-fiery look at that world, focusing on a talented young artist named Jerome Platz (Max Minghella) and his journey from a large high school to an exclusive East Coast art school filled with too-stereotypical arty types. Ah well, I guess my wait for the perfect satire goes on. Bonus features include deleted scenes, making-of & Sundance featurettes, and a blooper reel.
You’d think that Numb3rs‘ premise would eventually wear thin, but golly help me, I can’t get enough of the improbable duo of FBI agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his mathematician little brother Charlie (David Krumholtz), solving crimes with math. Yes. Match. But Krumholtz is a fascinatingly engaging actor (as is Morrow, who was vital to the appeal of Northern Exposure), and kudos to the producers and writers for realizing that keeping Peter MacNicol as Dr. Larry Fleinhardt would be a very fun thing, indeed. The 6-disc second season set (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$54.99 SRP) features all 24 episodes, plus audio commentaries on select episodes, interview with David Krumholtz & creator Nicolas Falacci, and a season 2 retrospective featurette.
While a good friend of mine was working on a screenplay about a famous ballerina whose life and career was marked by tragedy, he would tell me tales of the legendary choreographer George Balanchine. It was with those stories in mind that I dove into the PBS documentary on the man, simply titled Balanchine (Digital Classics DVD, Not Rated, DVD-£9.99 SRP). The documentary features interviews, archival audio and video, and footage from the ballets themselves.
With a little nephew to entertain, I’m always on the lookout for DVDs that will capture his attention for a long enough time that I can rest a bit (you can only push a hot wheel down a ramp so many times), and the latest discs to pass the “he likes it” test are the double-length Dora The Explorer: World Adventure! (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) and The Backyardigans: Mission To Mars (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP each). Even better, both titles also contain a pair of bonus adventures. Huzzah!
As Halloween bears down on us, those more ghoulishly-minded amongst you are already planning your evening’s festivities – which I’m sure include a scary flick or two. If you haven’t gotten the films previously, no might be the best time to get the 6-disc The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$42.98 SRP) – which features the 2-disc original (both the theatrical and director’s cuts), Exorcist 2: The Heretic, Exorcist III, Exorcist: Dominion, and Exorcist: The Beginning. All of the discs feature the same bonus features as their previous individual releases.
As far as female comedy duos, if the UK has French & Saunders, then the closest the US has is Kathy & Mo. The Complete Kathy & Mo Show: Parallel Lives /The Dark Side (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) collects both of Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney’s critically-acclaimed specials. The 2-disc set also features audio commentary from the duo, plus rare film clips of early performances.
Black Rain (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$14.99 SRP) is one of those “lost flicks” that are often made when a gifted filmmaker is going through the doldrums before rediscovering their muse. Here, the filmmaker in question is Ridley Scott, and while there’s anything particularly wrong about this flick – that finds a New York cop (Michael Douglas) and his partner (Andy Garcia) escorting a killer back to his native Japan and accidentally delivering him into the hands of his own gang – it just lacks the spark that ignites Scott’s more memorable films. It’s interesting that they’ve gone-all out to give it a special edition, featuring an audio commentary from Scott, and a 4-part series of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
I mentioned it a few weeks back, but Docurama has been releasing a new batch of amazing documentaries to DVD that had previously only been seen at select festivals around the country. Their DVD-based “Docurama Film Festival” (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP each) has been giving many of these films a shot at the spotlight and audiences. New entries in the “Fest” that are worth your time and effort to pick up include Waging a Living (which follows four of America’s “working poor” as they try and navigate the increasingly difficult American dream), Passin’ It On (about Bronx-born Dhoruba Bin Wahad and his involvement in the Black Power movement of the 60’s and 70’s before being sent to prison – and acquitted 19 years later – for the wounding and disfigurement of two police officers), Farmingville (a shocking portrait of a small suburban town that explodes under the pressures of its burgeoning illegal immigrant population and an act of violence that sets the powder keg off), Con Man (the story of James Arthur Hogue, who conned his way into a scholarship at Princeton and lived a life as a master imposter until the law caught up with him), The Lady In Question Is Charles Busch (about the actor, writer, drag artist, and leading lady and star of the cult hit Die Mommy Die!), and The Shvitz (a look behind the doors at the last remaining American bathhouses and the unique communal clubhouse culture they exemplified). All in all, it’s a great, diverse selection of flicks.
Slamming together a clutch of pulp heroes – Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician (along with bodyguard Lothar) – and pitting them against the galaxy-conquering threat of Ming the Merciless, Defenders of the Earth (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) is one of those odd early 90’s animated series that seemed to throw a bunch of properties against the wall and hope that something stuck. For as marginal a show as this, kudos once again to BCI for pulling out all the stops in regards to bonus materials, which include a commentary, interview with the creators, storyboards, and the original pilot.
I’m not sure how I missed the release of the sixth season of Everybody Loves Raymond (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP), but I did. The 5-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus six audio commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers, and a retrospective look back on the show’s first 6 seasons.
For the longest time growing up, I would always confuse sleuthing siblings Simon & Simon (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) with Simon & Garfunkel. Yeah, sometimes I wasn’t the sharpest tool – and I can’t think of a single crime ever solved while the duo was singing “I Am A Rock.” As for Simon & Simon, you can now snap up the complete first season of brotherly action.
Try as I might – and despite the presence of Patricia Arquette – I’ve never gotten into Medium (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$54.99 SRP). It combines aspects of some of my least favorite show – CSI and Touched By An Angel – along with a healthy dose of The Dead Zone. So not only does it seem like I’ve seen the show before, but it’s tainted by the feel of those crap influences as well. Still, I know there are plenty of fans out there that will be picking up the 6-disc complete second season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$ SRP) featuring all 22 episodes,. Plus audio commentaries on 4 episodes, featurettes (“The Story of Medium,” “A Day In The Life of The Dubois Daughters,” & “Medium In Another Dimension” – focusing on the 3-D episode), the Museum of Television & Radio Q&A, and a gag reel. The set also contains a pair of 3-D glasses.
All you fans of ABC’s medical soap-on-a-rope can program your listening day to the second McDreamy Grey’s Anatomy Soundtrack (Hollywood Records, $18.98 SRP), featuring 15 tracks from the show from the likes of Moonbabies, Snow Patrol, Foy Vance, Metric, and Jim Noir.
No one can not look at the existence of the Garfield sequel Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP) and not think that it must be some elaborate fulfillment of a contractual obligation. Who could possibly have walked out of the first film thinking, “You know, that was such an incredibly good flick that I can’t wait for the follow-up.” If you’re one of those people, please let me know. I’d like to hit you. Bonus features include a music video, a drawing featurette with Jim Davis (in which he actually draws his own characters), an exclusive Garfield comic strip, and a photo gallery.
For all intents and purposes, by the fifth season of Magnum P.I. (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), everything was on autopilot. Cruising the Hawaiian isles, solving crimes, being all Tom Selleck-y – it’s pretty much all there. Oh, Higgins grows a beard. There’s that. The sole bonus features of the 5-disc set is an episode from season 6, “The Treasure of Kalaniopu’u.”
Watching the sketches featured in the 8 episodes comprising the second season of The Andy Milonakis Show (Paramount, Not rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP), I’m struck by the feeling that it’s like watching both the best and worst of a single man-child’s YouTube output. Occasionally you laugh, occasionally you think it’s genius, and sometimes you wonder who thought this crap should ever see the light of day. But no matter what, Milonakis kinda weirds me out. He just does. The 2-disc set features audio commentaries, un-aired skits, outtakes, and a music video.
No one can call The Fox and the Hound (Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$29.99 SRP) a Disney animated classic, but it does have the distinction of being the final film to have involved the “old guard” of animators from Disney’s heyday, who worked alongside (and effectively passed the baton) to the young turks (who were about to fall on their face with The Black Cauldron before dusting themselves off and launching Disney’s second golden age). So for those reasons, Fox and the Hound is a historical curiosity – sadly, as a film, it’s a disjointed, boring mess. Not counting all the garbage Disney tends to throw on their DVDs now, the newly remastered film also features a “Passing the Baton” featurette, a gallery, and the short “Lambert The Sheepish Lion.”
While I was initially a fan of Carlos Mencia’s Mind of Mencia, I’ve found that his act has devolved into almost braying schtick that relies almost entirely on “dangerous” racial and stereotype humor that often falls flat, and never hits the insights of more insightful comedians like Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, or the late, great Richard Pryor. Nowhere is his unfortunately laugh-deprived more evident than in his stand-up special, Carlos Mencia: No Strings Attached (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). Judge for yourself, as the DVD contains an extended edition of the special, plus his original Comedy Central Presents spotlight.
If you’ve got a daughter, niece, or just any ol’ young girl on your holiday shopping list, you might want to snag a pair of new releases featuring Kay Thompson’s Eloise – Me, Eloise and Little Miss Christmas (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each).
Check out the preview to the Image comic Jeff writes…
