Today we get a Tarantino-inspired mystery, a Paris Hilton movie (insert sex tape joke here,) and last but not least, yet another opportunity for us to fatten George Lucas’ pocket book.
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What’s that? There are DVDs available at my convinient Wal-Mart or even my nearest Wal-Mart Supercenter for the first time today? Oh my!
Film:
Lucky Number Slevin – The only mystery more difficult to solve than the twist-a-minute plot of Slevin is the one of the film’s lack-luster popularity. Given only a 50% approvel from the guys at Rotten Tomatoes, and making a paltry $22 million in theatres, the Tarantino-inspired hitman mystery never got the chance it deserves so very much. Boasting a cast any summer tent-pole would kill for (with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu, along with multiple other A-Listers,) Slevin weaves its way in and out of complicated but easily-enough understood story with commanding visuals and dialogue so deliciously wound in circles that almost sounds like Dr. Suess wrote it. It already passed you by in theatres, so be sure to catch Slevin on DVD as soon as you can. Of course, not all of us agreed on the film, which you can discover in Alan’s review of the film.
Bottom’s Up – As any pursuist of fine film could tell you, it has been far too long since Paris Hilton has graced a film with her presence. Well, wait no longer! This direct-to-video release stars Jason Mewes in what appears to be his most significant, non-Askewniverse role yet. In the film Mewes, a good ol’ boy from the middle of the country, moves into Hollywood, somehow becomes a part of the system and of course, falls in love along the way.
Goal! – The first of a planned trilogy, it would be wrong to say that Goal!, another athelete-overcomes-the-odds soccer drama, is that great. But at the same time, it’d be wrong to say that the feel-good won’t grab the sucker in all of us and captivate us for a couple of hours. Goal! is about a Mexican-American who never quite got the chance to let his supreme soccer abilities shine in the spot-light, only to find a second chance after he moves to the U.K. chasing the dream he’s carried. The plot, characters, conflicts can all be predicted within the first five minutes; but nevertheless, Goal! is a satisfying peice of film perfect for family viewing.
The Wild – Oh wait, I already own Madagascar. Never mind. But if you want to, you can read Alan’s review by kindly clicking on the link.
Special Edition:
The original editions of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi – Less than two years after George Lucas swore that the original cuts of his Star Wars films, the ones that showed up on screens in the 70s and 80s, would never make it to home video again, comes the original cuts of his Star Wars films. Whether or not it’s just a ploy for the Beard to buy another home away from Skywalker Ranch, fans should have at least a little cause for celebration. Although the audio and video quality of the film are rumored to be sub-par (read a review from our friends at DVD Active here,) the hoarde of bloggers who have been dying to see Greedo get his too-slow gun-drawing ass shot the way it was 29 years ago will get their due. It may be worth mentioning that these discs are essentially individual releases of the films as they were seen in the 2004 release of the trilogy, with the original cuts relegated to a second disc under the title of “Supplimental Material,” but the die-hards out there won’t care as long as they get to see a sans-Hayden Christensen finish to the trilogy to rule them all.
Television:
Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Second Season -Members of age bracket 18 – 34 rejoice! After four long months without having anything to watch, you can finally own the second installment of ABC’s wildly popular Hospital-based soap, Grey’s Anatomy! And on top of that, you get to see it all uncut! That’s right, Hundreds upon Hundreds of seconds more of your favorite hotties as they operate on patients and work on their love-life!
The Office – Season Two – Who would have thought that an Americanized, dumbed down version of the brilliant BBC comedy The Office would have worked so well? Steve Carell is no replacement for Ricky Gervais, but the U.S. version of The Office successfully sits on the edge between a traditional Sitcom and an innovative one, making it funnier than just about any other network television show, while keeping it universally appealing.