01. “The Creeping Flesh”
02. “Just Before Dawn”
03. “Sorry, Wrong Number”
04. “Far from Heaven”
05. “Velvet Goldmine”
06. “Croupier”
07. “Fast Company”
08. “Calendar”
09. “Family Viewing”
10. “Next of Kin”
11. “Ararat”
12. “Speaking Parts”
13. “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms”
14. “Re-Animator”
15. “I Heart Huckabees”
16. “Igby Goes Down”
17. “Chuck & Buck”
18. “Bride of the Monster”
19. “Glen or Glenda”
20. “Jail Bait”
DVD
Top Five of ’05
For lack of anything more exciting on a dreary and rainy day, here’s a listing of my favorites from this past year in movies, dvds, music and books. Kick it!
Top Five in Movies
1. “The Constant Gardener”
2. “Syriana”
3. “Serenity”
4. “Batman Begins”
5. “Haute Tension”
Top Five in DVD
1. “The Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection”
2. “The Fly” 2-Disc Special Edition
3. “The Wizard of Oz” 3-Disc Special Edition
4. “King Kong” 2-Disc Special Edition (1933)
5. “Lost” The Complete First Season
Top Five in Music
1. “The Forgotten Arm” Aimee Mann
2. “Bleed Like Me” Garbage
3. “With Teeth” Nine Inch Nails
4. “The Scream” Siouxise and the Banshees (Reissue)
5. “Plans” Death Cab for Cutie
Top Five in Books
1. “The Complete Peanuts: 1955-1956” by Charles Schultz
2. “The Complete Peanuts: 1957-1958” by Charles Schultz
3. “The Penultimate Peril” Lemony Snicket
4. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling
5. “A Crack in the Edge of the World : America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906” Simon Winchester
“Manderlay” in the House
My Danish Region 2 DVD of Lars Von Trier’s “Manderlay” has finally arrived. So, I am gonna have to make some time over the holiday weekend to see if it lives up to (or at least matches) “Dogville.”
More Kong-ness
I found this “Rumor Mill” article on davisdvd.com to be quite amusing …
King Kong (2005)
Word has it that director Peter Jackson’s King Kong will be released in April as an elaborate two-disc set. According to DVD producer Michael Pellerin, they’ve saved a lot of behind-the-scenes material for this release that wasn’t included on the recently released Kong Production Diaries. No word yet if Universal and Jackson will also release an “ultimate edition” extended cut a la New Line’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Honestly, how could they release an “ultimate edition extended cut” of “King Kong?”
Some Daily Randomness
“Serenity” DVD:
The major coolness is the audio commentary by Joss Whedon. It’s some good, good stuff. The other extras are a little too scrimpy for my taste especially since Universal knows how rabid the fan base for the show/movie is. There are a few featurettes and some deleted scenes. Whoo. [That’s said with sarcasm.] I imagine the reason for the so-so extras goes back to the fact that the movie wasn’t a smash hit in theatrical release.
Spring Street Cafe in Sylva:
Went and had dinner with Michelle and a few folks from the OITM Yahoo Group. Spring Street has good food and it was made even better last night with what went down. My $20 entree apparently had a smaller portion of meat than they normally do, so it was gonna be discounted to $16. Then, one of the ladies with a similar meat dish to mine didn’t like her portion (she said the meat part was just “bad”). I told them mine was just fine ’cause it was, but the waitress came back and said we would both be discounted to $8 for the entree. Yow! My $30 meal (with drinks) ended up being $15. So, there’s some holiday cheer for me.
Christmas Weekend Movies coming from Netflix:
“The Old Dark House” Directed by James Whale (1932)
“White Zombie” Directed by Victor Halperin (1932)
“Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages” Directed by Benjamin Christensen (1922)
Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” on DVD next year:
Yes! The four-hour, epic movie version of “Hamlet” directed by Kenneth Branagh will finally see the light of day on dvd next year. The movie features excellent performances from Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie and Kate Winslet (amoung many, many others). The movie also holds a special place in my heart ’cause I got to see it in 70-MM in it’s theatrical run. Spectacular!
“Wolf Creek” in Theaters:
Hmmmmm. Might have to check out “Wolf Creek” as it’s been getting more good reviews than bad. I still find it interesting that a horror movie is being released on Christmas day. I think the last horror offering that got a major Chritsmas release was the super crappy “Dracula 2000.”
The Serenity Report
So, not only is “Serenity” a really kick-ass space adventure … the men (Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Sean Maher) are nothing to sneeze at either. Re-watching the movie last night on DVD was a nice distraction from my bad mood.
I’m Going to Bovine University!
You know, it’s always nice to get “The Simpsons” on dvd. They have been playing in syndication for so long that we get used to seeing them in their edited form. For those of you who don’t know, all syndicated shows are edited down by a few minutes to allow for more advertising time. So, there are always some nice surprises when watching them un-edited on disc … you get jokes and small dialogue sequences that haven’t been seen for 10 years.
Now Offering …
An Open Letter
Dear Fox Video,
Screw you. You should have stuck to your guns and released only the “Marge Head” packaging for the release of the Complete Seventh Season of “The Simpsons” instead of offering it and an alternative “standard box.” By offering a standard box, you have ensured the death (at least in terms of sales) of the head boxes as the most major retailers in middle America are gonna readily stock the “Standard” and not the “Head.” I will give you points though for finally starting to design really nice and creative booklets to go with the new seasons.
I’m There Right Now …
For lack of anything more exciting (well, I think this is exciting), I took some pictures last night of the new MK2 Limited Edition of David Lynch’s “Lost Highway.” The set is a holgram box housing the 2-disc edition of the movie and a 78 page book with essays about the film. As for the hologram cover, the photos switch from Alice Wakefield & Pete Dayton to Renee Madison to the Mystery Man with Fred Madison remaining the constant in the center. Super sweet! Clickity-clickity to see some more pictures of the set. Continue reading “I’m There Right Now …”
Dick Laurant is Dead.
My copy of the MK2 release of Lynch’s most excellent “Lost Highway” arrived yesterday. It has some of the coolest packaging I have ever seen … so expect some photos later today or first thing tomorrow (maybe even a video of the super neat hologram cover). The 78-page booklet that’s included looks like it’s packed with cool essays and such about the movie. Too bad I don’t read French. [Insert frowny face emoticon here.]
Gone International
Golly. Having a Region Free DVD player makes me just about wet myself all the time ’cause I can get the cool shit that ain’t available in the good ole U-S-of-A.
“Lost Highway” 2-Disc Limited Edition (France)
David Lynch’s excellent 1997 film-noir/horror film has never been released domestically on DVD.
Disc One:
New Anamorphic Widescreen High Definition Transfer
Original 5.1 mix transfered in DTS
Disc Two:
New interview with David Lynch from 2005
Making-of
Interview with David Lynch when the movie came out
Interview with Bill Pullman
Interview with Patricia Arquette
Interview with Robert Loggia
EPK (Electronic Press Kit)
Trailer
This release also comes with a limited edition hologram cover and 78 page booklet (which, unfortunately for me, will be in French).
“Manderlay” 2-Disc Edition (Denmark)
“Manderlay,” the sequel to “Dogville” and Part II of Lars Von Trier’s USA Trilogy, won’t hit theaters here in the states until (at the very earliest) February of next year. This Danish DVD will be released next Tuesday.
Disc One:
Widescreen Version
5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack
Commentary track by von Trier
Trailers
Disc Two:
Making of Documentary “The Road to Manderlay”
Cannes Featurette
Interviews
Poster Artwork
Production Design featurette
Visual Effects Featurette
Dead Yet?
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