Written and compiled by The Film Nest guest contributor “FightinIrish” (peep him in the Comments section)
A big, bad, destructive film comes your way, flanked by smaller works of wonder. Some good. Some not as much. We get our first Dragon Dynasty release, along with an original film whose badly needed remake makes its debut later this month. Although not vast in quantity, there seems to be an abundances of “epic-ness” this week. Go crazy.
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Where do you go from here? Movies like Poseidon, Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow had huge destruction and buildings being demolished, but with this film the world was destroyed. How can you possibly top that in terms of sheer chaos and special f/x disaster? You can’t, outside of Earth going off its axis and slamming into Mars (I just copyrighted that, so hands off Roland). Outside of the chaos and disaster of this “Disaster Movie,” is this worth your 24.99? That depends on what you want and what you expect. If you want and expect a disaster movie formula to the max, visuals and chaos like none other, then sure. If you’re expecting something more, something scientifically accurate, great acting and a film of that nature, look elsewhere. In reality, a film like this is fine by me, I don’t mind being able to go watch stuff get destroyed, just as long as these are the exceptions and not the rules.
Supplements: Audio Commentary, Featurette, Alternate Ending, Deleted Scenes, Music Video, Trailers, PiP Commentary, movieIQ, BD-Live, Interactive Feature, Featurettes, Making-of Music Video, Trailers, Digital Copy
I remember the book when I was a kid, how Max transported himself into the world of these Wild Things, was their kind and was interested to see how a film would be made from that limited material. This got mixed reviews (here’s ours), some put it on their best-of lists while others just passed it off. Spike Jonze is a unique and visionary film director and I’ve enjoyed his work going back to his days with the Beastie Boys and thought his Weezer video for “Buddy Holly” was one of the best videos ever made. If you’re on the fence about this film, I say watch it.
Supplements: 4 Webisodes, Higglety Pigglety Pop All-New Short, HBO First Look, 4 More Exclusive Webisodes
Dragon Dynasty, who’s put out some great Asian films on disc, finally jump to the next level with their first Blu-ray, to be followed in a few weeks with the John Woo classic The Killer. This is a traditional Shaw Bros. kung-fu film, set in one of the previous dynasties in China, dealing with a young man seeking revenge, joining the Shaolin monks to learn their ways to one day get vengeance. I whole-heartedly expected to see a training montage out of Rocky IV, but remembered this is a film of the 70s and that had yet to be in vogue.
Supplements: Music Video For Wu-Tang Clan’s “Gravel Pit”, Interview With Star Gordon Liu, “Shaolin: A Hero Birthplace”, Feature Commentary By The RZA Of Wu-Tang Clan And Film Critic Andy Klein, Interviews With The RZA And Film Scholars David Chute And Andy Klein, Posters & Stills Gallery, Original Theatrical Trailer, Commentator Biographies,
Thank god for computers or Jurassic Park might have gone stop-motion like this “classic.” This is one of those films that’s in many ways so bad it’s good. We’ve all probably seen it and if not, you owe it to yourself to do so. At least before seeing the remake this Spring.
Supplements: A Conversation with Ray Harryhausen, Maps of Myths and Monsters Gallery, Trailers (1981 and 2010)
From the people that brought you Napoleon Dynamite. Now either that sentence intrigues you or makes you turn and fell like you’re evading the cops. Here’s our review.
Supplements: Feature commentary with Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess, One Nutty Movie: Behind the Scenes of Gentlemen Broncos, Outtakes Reel: A Buttload of Keepsakes, Five deleted scenes, 16 mini-documentaries featuring the cast of Gentlemen Broncos
I haven’t seen this film in probably 20 years, but now I know I must go down that path again. It always scared me a bit as a kid, but who wouldn’t want a snail to ride on that was faster than a dragster or a flying dog-dragon-hairy eel-thing? I know I would. This is Wolfgang Peterson’s fist English language film, a fact I never knew.
Supplements: Yet To Be Announced
A spin on the Little Mermaid story, this time about a goldfish who wants to be human. I’ve never really grabbed onto the Japanese animation that Disney’s been releasing stateside, but these films seem to be well-respected and followed. Disney is one of the few studios that truly knows how to handle Blu-rays, so I expect this to be a exceptional release.
Supplements: The World of Ghibli, Behind the Studio, Enter the Lands, Meet Ponyo, Storyboard presentation of the movie
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
I know nothing of this film other than what I have read. This is a film about a woman with a troubled past whose seemingly perfect life as an adult has been turned upside down and now she must do what she can to save the new life she has come to love. With a cast like Robin Wright-Penn, Alan Arkin, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Maria Bello, you’d expect this to be at least halfway decent.
Supplements: Yet To Be Announced
