February's DVD Reviews,
Part II
Quick reviews from my Netflix queue and/or
the library.
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 Shakespeare 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.
Copyright 2008
Ale[x]plorer.