New Release Tuesday! (1/8/13)

The second week of 2013 DVD releases is decent enough, but there really is only one flick to get excited over.  And it looks like that's going to be the case for the first few months of the year.  I'm still waiting to hear word of another Epic Release like last years JAWS, Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Lawrence of Arabia transfers.  Criterion has some typically exciting discs on their way like Badlands, Ministry of Fear, On The Waterfront, etc...  And Scream Factory has some real gems with Lifeforce, Prison, The Vampire Lovers, From Beyond, Phantasm II.  But where are the blu ray upgrades of John Boorman's Point Blank, David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, Orson Welles' Touch of Evil?  Just to name a few off my wish list.  I need me some classics.

MUST BUY DVD OF THE WEEK!

Dredd:  My 8th favorite film of 2012.  Dredd nearly captures everything that's so abysmally pessimistic of the 2000 AD comic series - yes, they could push the fascism a little bit further but I'm just thankful for the lack of "I Knew You'd Say That" catchphrases and SNL sidekicks.  Karl Urban is a perfect Judge Dredd.  His frown is living art.  I only wish the film had been successful cuz I would have loved to have seen the world of Mega City One expanded outside the confines of this siege film.  As is, we'll just have to settle for the ultra violence splattered across the Peach Trees apartment complex.  And, yep, I'm  really looking forward to doubling this up with The Raid - Redemption.  Don't worry folks, there's plenty of room in this world for two corridor-of death movies.

BUY!

The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis:  I'm not going to pretend that I'm the world's biggest Herschell Gordon Lewis fan, but I really do enjoy the hell outta 2000 Maniacs.  And I'm always on the lookout for more greasy exploitation cinema.  This set consists of 3 supposedly lost sexploitation films (Ecstasies of Women, Linda & Abilene, and Black Love) from the Godfather of Gore, and I'm sure they're all reasonably crappy.  But at just over 20 bucks I'm willing to prop them next to my favorite Roger Corman nurse pictures.

RENT!

Frankenweenie:  It's hard to remember a time when I ever enjoyed the films of Tim Burton.  But the man has made some of my favorite movies - Ed Wood, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Batman Returns,  Mars Attacks.  Sigh.  It's such a shame that somewhere in the late 90s (about halfway through Sleepy Hollow) his imagination stunted, and I've had to suffer through far too many Johnny Depp vanity projects.  I'm told that Frankenweenie is a return to form.  I enjoyed the original short and I do love me some stop motion animation...but Dark Shadows was just a few months ago.  And that taste of flop sweat is still far too fresh for me to get my hopes up.

Compliance:  Here's another flick that seems to get a lot of people up in arms.  Some folks are calling it one of 2012's Best, and others are condemning it as deplorable manipulation.  Watching the trailer below, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable.  I'm curious.  Sure.  But I'm also not rushing out to see it.  Agitation Cinema is not why I watch movies.



AVOID!

Stolen:  Ugh.  This last year was a bad one for Nicolas Cage.  Ghost Rider 2, Seeking Justice, Stolen.  The man needs a hit...or at least another trilogy of fun, craptastic flicks like he had in 2011 (Drive Angry!!!!  So good!).  I grabbed Stolen outta a Red Box and despite a few wonderfully goofy moments from villain Josh Lucas, there is nothing worthy of your attention from this Direct-To-DVDer.  Con Air/EX2 director Simon West runs through the motions of this Taken-lite and Cage seems to realize this character is not worth is usually excitable Mega Acting.  Later this year, one time indie darling director David Gordon Green promises to return Cage to his Oscar caliber with their collaboration, Joe.  But I'm not sure the rest of the world can handle that concept anymore.  Personally, I think Cage needs to continue in the direction of Vincent Price admiration and only pick the whackiest of screenplays.  Lets get nuts, lets have fun.

House at the End of the Street:  I do not care how much you love Jennifer Lawrence.  I do not.  From Winter's Bone to X-Men First Class to The Hunger Games.  She's dullsville.  And the idea of her in yet another final girl slasher flick bores me to sleep.  I'm glad to see that Elizabeth Shue is still working even if it means she's been relegated to Mom roles, but that's certainly not reason enough for me to waste my time and dollars on this sophomoric pap.

--Brad