Another week gone and it’s once again time for me to take you through my DVD picks of the week:
Grab ‘Em Right Away:
Where the Wild Things Are
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Written by: Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers
Starring: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener & Paul Dano
Why should you buy this? It is one of the most emotional films of 2009. It was my #2 film of 2009 when I made my top ten list, and I’ve actually already preordered this on BluRay. I love how we are given a child with such intense emotional issues that he isn’t able to handle the situation around him so he runs away and takes a journey into himself to finally face all these deep seeded problems. It’s a 90-minute therapy session through the eyes of a youngster. The visuals are gorgeous and you can’t help but be taken into Jonze’s wonderful imagination as he merges puppetry and computer imagery, creating something like the 80s children films like Labyrinth and improving upon them.
Give it a Chance:
2012
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Written by: Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser
Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chewitel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt & Woody Harrelson
Why should you rent this? If there’s one thing I like from a big studio movie, it’s sweeping spectacle. The film isn’t going to win any awards and I know that not that many “film” people like it, but it’s a fun adventure film that moves from set piece to set piece with the main characters hemming and hawing about whether they will live or die. I’m sure this is a must get for BluRay owners, because I cannot imagine how jaw-dropping the visuals are in 1080p. You will laugh a lot, but more than that you will just want to get on the next action sequence and watch Mr. Emmerich finally perfect destroying the world on screen for us.
Ponyo on the Cliff
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Written by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Yuria Nara, Hiroki Doi, Joji Tokoro & Tomoko Yamaguchi
Why should you rent this? If you’re a Miyazaki fan then you know what to expect from him. However, he departs from his usual action/adventure genre that we love so much to give us this very odd character driven piece which feels like a very weak adventure film. It has some of the best visuals you’ve seen in animation all year and is definitely one of the examples bloggers will be citing for the next decade as why traditional hand-drawn animation shouldn’t die, but suffers in my eyes as being a lesser Miyazaki story. When I watch a Miyazaki film I know that I’m going to gripping the edge of my seat the whole time watching a grand adventure across some new landscape that he’s created for me, but with this film I just felt like I was watching these characters going through the motions. It also made me feel even cheaper that it’s really just a glorified adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Definitely a must watch if you have children in the house and want to keep them entertained for a while.
Avoid It Like The Plague:
Gentlemen Broncos
Directed by: Jared Hess
Written by: Jared Hess & Jerusha Hess
Starring: Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell & Michael Angarano
Why should you not bother stealing the young writer’s manuscript? It’s one of those indie movies that’s decided to make fun of the indie genre by trying to make every aspect of it so quirky and unfashionable that you can’t find any of it funny but just too weird to enjoy. I was mildly interested in this film for the reason that it starred Jemaine Clement, from The Flight 0f the Conchords, and I think he is hilarious. But in this film you can’t even find his character mildly amusing. He just talks in an annoying arrogant voice with an annoying arrogant tone in every line of his dialogue. In the end, you just want to hit all of the characters in this film. I should have known better when I realized it was directed/written by the guy who did Napoleon Dynamite, another indie comedy that was so bland it wasn’t funny.
Cold Souls
Directed by: Sophie Barthes
Written by: Sophie Barthes
Starring: Paul Giamatti
Why should you keep your soul to yourself? The movie plays itself as a ridiculous comedy with real people doing stupid things. Paul Giamatti plays himself as an actor having trouble connecting properly with his character for an upcoming play he’s working on and decides the solution to his problem is to remove his soul. When he eventually decides this isn’t what he wants he discovers his soul has been stolen and smuggled to Russia. It’s great to see Giamatti playing the lead, however it turns into a film that’s not clear on what it’s trying to do/say, what’s a crazy serious moment or what’s really funny. There are a few honestly funny moments in this film, but nowhere near enough for me to recommend this film to anyone.
Jordan’s Blu-ray Deals of the Week:
Gattaca [$10.99]
Run Lola Run [$10.99]
The Rest
My Neighbor Totoro: Special Edition
Castle in the Sky: Special Edition
Kiki’s Delivery Service: Special Edition
Alice in Wonderland (1933)
Bitch Slap (UNRATED)
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
We Live in Public
BluRay
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
The Neverending Story
Clash of the Titans (1981)
What are you picking up this week?