February’s DVD reviews, Part II
Titus, 1999 - Remember how cool Baz Lurman’s Romeo & Juliet was in the late ’90s? This was a misguided attempt to replicate it. This film is plenty over the top to the point that it gets just plain ridiculous, but I kind of liked it for that. More interestingly, I was surprised to find that Shakespear was pretty fuckin’ brutal in some of the plays we never got to read in high school!
Time Code, 2000 - Remember how cool Christopher Nolan’s Momento was because it had a gimmick but didn’t let everything ride on it? Well, here’s another time-distorting gimmick only without the substance. Skip it and save your time.
Classic Albums: Judas Priest: British Steel, 2001 - I like the band (but not in a gay way… not that there’s anything wrong with that), but there’s nothing interesting to report here.
Candid Camera: 5 Decades of Smiles: Disc 5, 1949 - The date is deceptive here as the disc actually goes through the ’70s. Most surprising thing caught on camera here: Allen Funt’s wardrobe. WTF?
Weeds, Season 2, Discs 1&2, 2007 - It’s kind of a cartoon, but no one has thrown these elements together in quite this way, and that makes it interesting even though it really isn’t challenging. It isn’t a sitcom, just something different. I think that’s HBO’s motto or something.
Jaws, 1975 - A lot of people regard this as a classic, but it really is an absolute classic. I hadn’t seen it since I was maybe ten, so another trip to these waters was long overdue. Same goes for you.
G’n'R: Use Your Illusion II, 1992 - This is more embarrassing on so many levels than the fact I’m admitting having watched it. The performance by all is lackluster at best and, frankly, pretty bad in spots. Axl is a parody of himself with his costume changes literally every other song. This is so from removed what good management and therapy should have pulled out of these guys that it’s more tragic than Titus.
Thinner, 2003 - Really bad adaptation of the first Stephen King book I tried to read and never bothered to finish.
Riding the Bullet, 2004 - Really, really bad adaptation of something else I never read by Stephen King.
Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, 2007 - Just a VH1 special that’s all talk and no music.
Baadasssss!, 2003 - The made-for-cable true story of some badass filmmaking.
Disturbia, 2007 - Rear Window meets The Burbs meets American Pie. However, in spite of the obvious sources, the movie itself is surprisingly compelling thanks to a likable performance from that kid in Transformers and a great ass on his next-door neighbor. That is, until it starts to get stupid toward the end.
Jesus Camp, 2006 - You ever have a mentally ill friend or family member and constantly find yourself torn between anger at the situation and pity for the fact they’ll likely never find a way to pull themselves out of it? If you enjoy that kind of rush of conflicting but entirely negative emotions, this is the film for you.
Desperate Housewives: Season 3, Discs 3&4 - Better than the second season, not as good as the first. Felicity Huffman’s still my favorite though, I don’t care what you say.
Twin Peaks definitive edition, Discs 9&10 - I rented it for the extras (having seen the series at least three times through by this point). And the extras are awesome! …at least if you’re a big Peaks-freak like myself. One of the best and most thorough collections of interviews, promos, and other goodies and leftovers (not many deleted scenes though, sadly). Well worth the seemingly interminable wait for Lynch to get his shit together here.
Away from Her, 2006 - Quiet little movie about Alzheimer’s by (unexpectedly) first-time director Sarah Polley. Slow (though appropriately so), but very good.
The Science of Sleep, 2006 - Michel Gondry’s rehash of leftover ideas from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Lots of good stuff here that never gels.
PICKS OF THE LITTER: Titus is such a train wreck in some ways and genius in others that it ought to be rediscovered and Disturbia does a great job of elevating mediocre material through good direction and fun performances. And the last gasp from Twin Peaks is a treat for those imprinted by the series in the ’90s.
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