There's very little to get excited about this week, really just a bunch of TV and a few rentals. And Battleship...so...yeah-whoopdeedoo! But Boardwalk Empire, that's a seriously entertaining show. Sure, sure, sure - it's not Deadwood genius, but let that go already. It should also be noted that Universal is reissuing Vertigo & The Birds on DVD but for some reason, no blu ray. What the hell? Especially with Vertigo toppling Citizen Kane off the Sight & Sound list; it sure would be nice to see Jimmy Stewart go off the deep end in 1080p. Oh well.
BUY!
Boardwalk Empire Season 2: I missed this show upon its initial run on HBO, but similar to Game of Thrones, when I got the blu rays I whipped through the first season in just two days. All this talk of "It's Not As Good As Sopranos" is just nonsense. This is a damn fine show with a damn fine cast and an amazing production crew. In a career marked with amazing, strange, and memorable performances Steve Buscemi gives his best as the ambitious mini-kingpin of Atlantic City. And Michael Shannon is sooooooo utterly terrifying as the G-Man determined to take him down. I know, Shannon is always terrifying but in Boardwalk Empire he's righteously terrifying and his stare is as scary, if not scarier than anything you can find in the horror genre.
Walking Dead Season 2: I go back and forth on this show. Some bits of it are absolutely amazing. But some character choices are also incredibly frustrating. I can appreciate the departures it takes from the far superior comic book series, but Lori needs to make up her damn mind, shut up, and just die already. But the Shane/Rick relationship is far more interesting than it ever was in the comic. And there's a heckuva cool season finale that gets me pumped for the next season. Plus, the gore. Nothing nastier on TV. So yeah, I've got the first season in blu and I will have the second--and if I'm gonna buy it I might as well get the Zombie Head.
RENT!
The Pirates! - Band of Misfits: Nobody in America saw this flick. Well, that's not true. The Wife and I did. And we enjoyed it quite a bit. But after the disappointing box office of this, Paranorman, and the recent shutdown of Henry Selick's latest I guess America just doesn't give a crap about stop motion animation anymore. And that's a damn shame. I love the Pixar stuff as much as the next guy, but I've always been fascinated with the artistry and the time that gets put into stop motion and Aardman Studios are true masters of the craft. But technique is not the be-all and end-all of a good movie. You've got to have a script. And The Pirates is a damn funny send-up of booty flicks like those Johnny Depp blockbusters as well as lesser known gems like Nate & Hays. Plus, Darwin...what a prick.
Headhunters: Norwegian/German production of Jo Nesbo's acclaimed serial killer novel. This got a lot of love from critics and I'm curious to check it out. Since Girl With The Dragon Tattoo everyone's gone gaga for Scandinavian terror flicks, but I have yet to be won over by any of them. Will Headhunters be the one? Don't know. But it's at the top of my Netflix queue.
Screaming in High Heels: Documentary detailing the rise and fall of B Movie actresses Brinke Stevens, Michelle Bauer, and Linnea Quigley. The trailer for the doc don't amaze me, but neither did the trailers for Machete Maidens Unleashed & American Grindhouse and I enjoyed the hell outta those. And these actresses and their crappy little direct-to-video flicks were very important to 13 year old Brad. I'm ready to relive that glorious time of Fred Olen Ray cheapies.
AVOID!
Battleship: Some sick part of me wants to see this again. Was it really as boring as I remember it being? Did Taylor Kitsch actually utter the line "Chicken Burrito Her!" Liam Neeson was cool, right? He's awesome in everything, right? But I can wait another six months before I torture myself with this dull ass summer flick.
--Brad
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