DVD Weekly
DVD’s I Bought This Week - February 5, 2008
Posted by Brian C. Gibson (brian@filmschoolrejects.com) on February 5, 2008
A wise man once said “It’s not just about seeing Star Wars two weeks before everyone else. You’ve gotta plow through crap like Marie Antoinette and Catwoman as well.” I have the fortune of being able to see all of the films that I want, and find out that they are only worth one viewing (or less) before I would willingly pay for the DVD…and subsequently end up hating myself later. But for every The Whoopee Boys there has to be an Indiana Jones, and because of the great films I am able to put myself further in debt every week.
DVD’s I Bought - Week of February 5th
| Across The Universe | |
  |
Beatles music can make just about anything be better as a whole. In the case of Across The Universe though, I really felt as if the Beatles music was made better by this fantastic film. I know that is sort of like music blasphemy but I’m willing to say it because of what this film does for the tone and lyrics of the original songs. One of the most original musicals ever produced, and laced with eye popping imagery. A must buy. |
| Elizabeth: The Golden Age | |
  |
C’mon, pass up on a film starring Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen? Are you kidding? A great film with some fantastic performances. Elizabeth - The Golden Age is not for everyone, but is a great piece of cinema. |
| The Aristocats | |
  |
Another Disney classic is pried from Walt’s frozen hands and brought out of the vault. Wouldn’t you know it? Aristocats is being re-released just in times for Valentine’s Day. Buy it, and some roses, and…nevermind, I always get this one mixed up with Lady and The Tramp. You know you want to buy it though, before it goes back into Walt’s coffin. |
| Perfect Strangers - First and Second Seasons | |
  |
The 80’s version of The Odd Couple, Perfect Strangers gave us another Mork in the form of Balki Bartokomous. It is worth every penny. |
| Tootsie - 25th Anniversary Edition | |
  |
A film featuring cross-dressing as it’s plot anchor, that was nominated for 10 Academy Awards is well worth a purchase. Dustin Hoffman is at his best as Tootsie, and Sydney Pollack really made a gem here. |
| Midnight Express | |
  |
It seems like they are bringing all of these old Oscar giants out of retirement but I would never complain. Midnight Express was nominated for 6 Oscars and won two. Besides, you pretty much can’t go wrong with Alan Parker. |
DVD’s I Didn’t Buy - Week of February 5th
| The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | |
  |
Can a great score and great cinematography save this one? There was nothing to see in The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, other than beautiful scenery, for nearly 3 hours. |
| The Brave One | |
  |
Jodie Foster needs to quit, and Neil Jordan is a hack. Terrence Howard needs to stop accepting roles as if they were free lapdances and read some scripts. I can’t believe The Brave One has a 7.0 on IMDB. You may like it, but I hated this garbage. Now give me back my dog! |
Read more articles by Brian C. Gibson
3 Comments
February 5th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Neil. Oh, Neil. I’m not sure how you got suckered into liking Across the Universe. Almost everything in that movie was made so that the 50 year olds in the audience could say under their breath (but still loud enough for me to hear) to their spouse, “That’s from a Beatles song!”
“She came in through the bathroom window”? Gag me. We get it. It’s from the Beatles.
And eye-popping visuals? Really? Really, Neil? The psychedelic scene looks like it was made in photoshop, and everything else is pretty standard. It was like they took the most obvious ideas and correlations to other peoples’ music and put it up on screen.
Oh, and Prudence’s storyline was completely unnecessary.
I could go on.
But ooo, Perfect Strangers is out? Sweet!
February 5th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
But, Neil didn’t write it!
February 7th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I’m with you Cole, Neil doesn’t know what he is talking about…but Perfect Strangers is awesome!