DVD’s I Bought This Week: May 12th

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on May 12, 2009

DVDs I Bought This Week!

Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD.

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The Dana Carvey Show

Pitch: He’s funnier than you remember!  We swear!

Why Rent? Were you even aware that SNL’s Dana Carvey had his own sketch comedy show?  I was apparently intoxicated or incarcerated during it’s short ABC run in 1996, but with a cast that includes Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Robert Smigel (all of whom also served as writers alongside Charlie Kaufman(!)) I knew I had to eventually see it.  All eight episodes, including the final one that never aired, are included.

Blu-ray? No

Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Complete Sixth Season

Pitch: Teller speaks this season… bullshit!  Or not!  (Yay Henry Silva!)

Why Rent? These guys are not only fantastic magicians, they’re also incredibly smart and critical of many widely-held beliefs.  They may not always be right, but they are always entertaining.  Season six shines their skeptical eyes towards New Age beliefs, political correctness, carbon credits, and the ridiculous (and unattainable) desire for world peace.

Blu-ray? No

Taken

Pitch: I will look for you. I will find you. And I will kill you.

Why Buy? Quite simply, Liam Neeson is in France to chew foie gras and kick ass… and he’s all out of foie gras.  Taken is pure entertainment, revenge action style, and that’s a beautiful thing.  It’s a fun movie with a powerful lead performance, car chases, and quick combat, and it’s as enjoyable now as it was when I first reviewed it last December (here).

Blu-ray? Yes

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Kingdom

Pitch: All Lawyers Great and Small

Why Rent? Stephen Fry is a funny guy, a great actor, an excellent writer, a proper British bloke, and a Twatter too!  The first season of his current ITV series follows the misadventures of a small-town lawyer with a refreshing mix of humor, drama, and quirkiness.

Blu-ray? No

Passengers

Pitch: Anne Hathaway and Patrick Wilson ride each other.

Why Rent? Anytime a movie with a bankable cast gets dumped directly to DVD it’s worth a rental just to see what went so wrong.  The surprise here is that Passengers isn’t a bad movie at all.  Depending on your movie knowledge, it’s either an eerie mystery that slowly builds to a surprise ending or an interesting drama that eventually reaches an obvious conclusion.

Blu-ray? Yes

Taking Chance

Pitch: Take a road trip with Kevin Bacon and a dead US soldier!  And don’t forget to pack the Kleenex…

Why Rent? This is a simple but excellent HBO film about loss, duty, and honor.  It might make a good double feature with Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker as they are two rare films that present a realistic story involving the Iraq war without politicizing it.

Blu-ray? No

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Pitch: A hot British chick in leather gets a rise out of some hairy dogs.

Why Rent? You’ve already watched the first two films so you pretty much obligated to finish off the trilogy.  This installment continues the trend of sexy style and action over any real substance, but it’s still sexy style and action is it not?  Although I’m not sure what happened to Kate Beckinsale since Underworld Evolution… she looks like a different person here.  Naughtier maybe.  With fuller lips.

Blu-ray? Yes

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The Grudge 3

Pitch: This creepy little shit needs to just get over it already.

Why Avoid? How do you stop a curse that never dies?  I’ll tell you how… stop buying and renting these ridiculous movies.  I guarantee that will prevent a Grudge 4.

Blu-ray? No

Kill Buljo

Pitch: A Norwegian Kill Bill parody?  No thanks.

Why Avoid? Normally a Dimension Extreme label on the DVD cover is a sign of the quality (ahem) entertainment within, but this import from Norway bucks the trend by being complete crap.  If nothing else, it does prove that the comedic styling and talent of master parodists Jason Friedberg and Adam Seltzer can be outsourced.

Blu-ray? No

S. Darko

Pitch: F. You

Why Avoid? Donnie Darko may not be a masterpiece of modern cinema, but it is a perfect bundle of mystery, wonder, and nostalgia.  The Director’s Cut already went a bit too far in providing too much information and explanation, but the sequel poops on even more of the mystery.  Donnie’s little sister grew up pretty nice though…

Blu-ray? Yes

Two and a Half Men: Complete Fifth Season

Pitch: It’s no “My Two Dads”…

Why Avoid? The only thing that could make this worse would be the inclusion of an “According to Jim” bonus DVD.

Blu-ray? No

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DVD's I Bought This Week


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  • Kangaroo Be Stoned
    Not many DVD releases this week.
  • David G
    Donnie Darko a cult classic. I heard from a firend of a freind and fell in love with the moovie. So eerie. This review for S. Darko makes me want to stay away but I admit that Ill prob rent it just out of curiousity. Underworld was a decent movie. Accurately placed in rental section, since it lacks Beckinsale. Taken Has to be one of the best action thrillers I've seen in a while. Not too many movies out these days that dont feel like they need to add grotesque violence or nudity to be a hit.
  • Chille
    S. Darko sounds awful. The first was good (but over rated), and a bit pretentious, but this is justa cash in.
  • 790
    Donnie Darko was a great film.
    I admit that I almost picked up S Darko, today until I read the premise.

    "She has to put all the pieces together so she can prevent the end of the world"

    Somthing like that,,,, screw that end of the world bs. Its old and boring.
  • frank
    Everyone rips Two and a Half Men, but they have some decent jokes on that show, Sheen is hilarious. there are worse sitcoms out there.



    that being said, i would never buy it on dvd, its good for watching the reruns where nothing else is on
  • I agree! Sheen often says what's on everyones mind. But by the dvd, fagettaboutit.
  • Matt
    Dude Two In A Half Men is an awesome show. WTF?
  • I fully agree, what the hell is wrong with people that's one hilarious show.
  • Killian
    Donnie darko was entartaining but overcomplicated, senseless, overrated, and extraordinarily pretentious. And screw the little goth kids who worship donnie darko and at "you just don't get it" even the director doesn't get what's going on. He just tried to make it less convoluted in the directors cut. It's still fun though. It's a mystery to turn your brain off and watch.
  • I think Two and a Half Men is one of the better shows out there right now. I find Sheen's real-life skankiness distasteful, but his character is unabashedly icky and the show seems to have decent writers.

    Penn & Teller is a pretty good show, too. It seems to be all over the place up here, timeslot-wise, but every time I manage to catch it, I enjoy it.
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