Welcome to the last DVD column of 2011! There’s been quite a bit of chatter about how dismal of a year it was for film, but while there’s no doubt the box office haul is lower than the year before the same can’t be said for film quality. This week’s releases include the dirty fun of A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, the cool deaths (but little else) of Final Destination 5, two found footage films of varying quality (The Tunnel, Apollo 18) and two future cult classics (Kill List, The Skin I Live In) possibly worth an import for folks who don’t want to wait several more months for US releases. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Fish Story A comet heads toward Earth, but as the planet awaits destruction a few strangers sit in a record shop discussing how a mysterious song from decades ago just might save the world. From that starting point the film moves across space and time to tell a story about friendship, heroism, fate and more. Director Yoshihiro Nakamura (Golden Slumber, A Boy and His Samurai) has a true talent for tying multiple threads  up with real heart and character. The movie is actually a few years old, but it’s also the reason the term ‘blind buy’ was invented. Seriously. This is near perfect mix of whimsy, action, suspense and heart, and deserves to be seen by everyone. Check out Cole Abaius’ full review.

With a title like A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, you should pretty much know what you’re getting yourself into. You’d be expecting things like drinking, nudity, funny situations, and hopefully, an actual orgy sometime in the third act. And in this case, you’d be pretty much right on the money. Co-writers Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck step behind the camera to try their hand at co-directing in this new comedy that does a lot right. Jason Sudeikis stars as Eric, a lovable guy in his 30s who lives to chew bubblegum and party…but he’s all out of bubblegum. Each weekend of the summer season, he and his Manhattan-dwelling friends break the bonds of their monotonous urban lives and escape to the breezy beauty of the Hamptons to throw epic soirees at his dad’s sweet beach house. These fancy fiestas are typically themed nights of debauchery designed to one-up the last drunken bash. Conflict occurs when Eric’s dad decides to put the beach house up for sale, basically forcing Sudeikis and the gang to throw one last huge blowout.

How do you top years of epic parties to honor the last blowout for your party pad? Apparently, you jump into a big pile of naked people. The concept of friends crossing the line with each other has been a staple of the indie drama world for a while now, so it’s interesting to see it get the mainstream treatment complete with higher profile comedians and a pop music sound track. So, yes, this trailer for A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is both as mainstream as it gets and as indie as possible.

Remember a few years ago when we reported on Jason Sudeikis planning a flick called A Good Old Fashioned Orgy? Well, we do. Why? Because Publisher-in-Chief Neil Miller forces us to memorize the site and read it to him as he falls asleep. It doesn’t ever come in handy until a day like today. A bit over two years later, Sony and Samuel Goldwyn have teamed to snag US distribution rights for the movie. That gets this story of one final party (which Sudeikis’s character hopes to turn into a giant orgy) one step closer to getting made. Sudeikis is a great, underrated talent from an otherwise dreary SNL line-up. Plus, according to The Hollywood Reporter, he’ll be joined by Leslie Bibb, Will Forte, Lake Bell, Martin Starr (Bill!), Nick Kroll, Lindsay Sloane (The Other Guys), Lucy Punch (Dinner For Schmucks), Michelle Borth (TiMER), and David Koechner. This will be the first feature film as writer/directors for television veterans Peter Huyck and Alex Gregory.

Sure the title is suggestive, but can the movie live up to it?