Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Look, Tom Cruise may be a whacked out scientologist but don’t let that disuade you from checking out his latest Mission Impossible flick. It’s truly an action packed romp from start to finish. In particular, get ready for the scenes at the Burj Dubai hotel in Dubai (the Blu-Ray cover is a teaser), they are breath taking and actually tied my stomach up in knots watching the high flying acrobatics – it’s rarity to have a movie impact me on a physical level.
I was slightly dubious heading in, and tremendously happy to watch the film again and again afterwards – it’s that entertaining.
$21.99
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo +Digital Copy) from Amazon.com
The Walking Dead – The Complete Second Season on Blu-Ray
The Walking Dead is not a show about Zombies. Well, not entirely. It’s far more about human drama, intrigue and the moral dilema’s that stem from being The Walking Dead. Follow Rick, Shane, Lori, Carl, Glen, Daryl and the rest of the group throughout one of the most impressive season’s of television since the early days of Lost.
After I get my comedy on via Archer, my go to action-drama is the Walking Dead. The show is tightly paced, expertly written and the acting is absolutely top notch. The characters and the world, dissolving around them, are immediately believable and the show will leaving you wanting more.
I can’t stress this enough, if you haven’t given the Walking Dead a chance – do yourself a favour, book a weekend with your couch and get down to business. Because, baby, business is good.
$50
The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray] Amazon.com
Resurrect Dead – The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
I’m a sucker for a good documentary. This, this is a good documentary, by honest, earnest, film makers. I would not suggest something you would not enjoy, and if you have even the slightest ability to enjoy a documentary, you will be riveted.
The first Toynbee tiles started to show up on city streets in the early 80′s, well before you and I had dial-up connections. At first, most people thought they were a local phenomenon, tied to their inner-cities. Then the internet comes barreling along, and people begin to realize – there’s Toynbee tiles in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Florida and even as far south as South America – but what do they mean?
They weren’t graffiti, they weren’t cheap decals, these were handcrafted tiles integrated into the pavement via a tarring process.
You may or may not know of the Toynbee Tile mystery, I had actually come across it years ago in the early days of the internet – I remember visiting the site, marvelling at the eccentricity of it all and loving the viral nature of it.
One point I want to make abundantly clear, the Toynbee tiles were viral before viral marketing became a viable term. The Toynbee tiles were guerrilla marketing long before Banksy and way before the suits in downtown New York ad agencies started to use it as an option for promoting their products. That wasn’t their point, but the effect was the same.
Genius sometimes doesn’t know it’s genius.
$15
Resurrect Dead – The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles from Amazon.com
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larson’s original title in the “Girl who…” trilogy introduces us to Lisbeth and Mikael, the hacker and the journalist who become unlikely bedfellows in a twisted plot to uncover a decades old mystery. Most of you should already be somewhat familiar with the film as the hype that preceded it was quite heavy, and not without merit. David Fincher has crafted yet another brilliant dark film that will have you entranced throughout the duration. It is not a film, or book for that matter, that pulls punches, so prepare yourselves – and you’ll be taken on a whirlwind journey into a dark world where not everything is what it originally appears to be.
Archer Season 1 and Season 2 Blu-Ray
Quite simply, the best show on television right now. Season 3 is rip-roaring it’s way through space right now, or rather, “the danger zone”. Catch up with ISIS mates Sterling, Lana, Malory, Cyril, Cheryl, Pam, Dr. Krieger, Ray and Woodhouse right from the very beginning.
Egotistical, self-serving, insensitive, callous, lacking empathy – that’s Sterling Archer. He’s also ISIS’ most dangerous agent, more so for his unpredictability than anything based on pure skill. And it’s a pleasure to watch it all unfold.
Raised by his valet, Woodhouse, Sterling Archer is Malory Archer’s son. Malory runs ISIS, the International Secret Intelligence Service. Lana is the amazonian beauty who teams with Archer on most missions. Pam and Cheryl are office staff who tend to get involved far more often than they should. Dr Krieger is, well, difficult to fully explain – think crazed maniac and brilliant scientist rolled in to one. Cyril is the ISIS accountant and Ray fills in the need for the gay-agent.
Be sure to catch all the literary and other references from Archer too, they’re hilarious. It’s probably what makes the character so endearing, he’s truly an idiot-savant.
Check out the book of Archer we featured earlier this year, here.
Archer: The Complete Season One [Blu-ray] from Amazon.com
Archer: The Complete Season Two [Blu-ray] from Amazon.com
Follow the man himself on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/codenameduchess
Lana: Okay, that was a fluke.
Sterling: Yeah, a fluke of nature. Because I happen to have perfect situational awareness, Lana. Which cannot be taught, by the way. Like a poet’s … mind for … to make the perfect words.
Eastbound & Down: The Complete Second Season
After a failed return to the “normal” life in season 1, season 2 finds Kenny in Mexico, trying to find himself, his game, his father and a new lease on life. As with all that Kenny does, hilarity inevitably ensues.
With the third season currently in mid-season form, this is a must for your collection.
$23.99
Eastbound & Down: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray] from Amazon.com
Tower Heist
I had Adam Sandler movie like expectations heading in to this movie. It’s so nice to be pleasantly surprised. Tower Heist is a nicely paced, silly, fun and overall entertaining movie that will keep your interest for the duration. These days, that’s high praise.
Without question, the best Ben Stiller vehicle in a very long time. In fact, considering the size of the very well appointed supporting case (Casey Affleck, Mathew Broderick, Alan Alda, etc) I thought both Stiller and Murphy were contained within their roles and neither tried to overpower the movie with “-isms”, be they Stiller-ism’s or Murphy-ism’s.
The plot follows a theme closely tied to the recent financial collapse and in particular the Bernie Madoff scandal, which really must’ve been a hit in Hollywood, as writer after writer has chosen it as a backdrop.
I wouldn’t steer you wrong. It’s an enjoyable little film, nothing more, nothing less. I can dig that.
$22.99
Buy the Tower Heist [Blu-ray] at Amazon.com
A Lonely Place to Die
A film I wasn’t expecting much from but has subsequently surprised me; a Lonely Place to Die is a taught and tightly paced action thriller that had me entertained for the duration, which was a short 99 minutes by today’s standards.
A group of friends mountain climbing in the Scottish Highlands come across a young girl, who is she? It soon becomes obvious that whoever left the girl there will soon be returning. And you just know that’s when the real heart pounding drama is going to unfold.
It’s not going to win any awards as there’s some plot holes, budget issues and it could’ve been edited a touch cleaner – but it’s beautifully shot, very cinematic and atmospheric. The acting is top notch, Melissa George does a great job – the villans are modern and believable. All things considered, I would definitely recommend – highly enjoyable film. A nice break from Hollywood actors and American scripts.
$26.99
A Lonely Place to Die [Blu-ray] from Amazon.com
Transformers Limited Edition Collector’s Trilogy
I know this is elsewhere, a few times over, but I can’t pass it up. It’s Transformers, and while Michael Bay might take a lot of shit from the Hollywood establishment – I want to say something loud and clear – as far as I’m concerned, the man is quite simply a masterful film maker.
Transformers
“I bought a car. Turned out to be an alien robot. Who knew?” deadpans Sam Witwicky, hero and human heart of Michael Bay’s rollicking robot-smackdown fest, Transformers. Witwicky (the sweetly nerdy Shia LaBeouf, channeling a young John Cusack) is the perfect counterpoint to the nearly nonstop exhilarating action. The plot is simple: an alien civil war (the Autobots vs. the evil Decepticons) has spilled onto Earth, and young Sam is caught in the fray by his newly purchased souped-up Camaro. Which has a mind–and identity, as a noble-warrior robot named Bumblebee–of its own. The effects, especially the mind-blowing transformations of the robots into their earthly forms and back again, are stellar.
Fans of the earlier film and TV series will be thrilled at this cutting-edge incarnation, but this version should please all fans of high-adrenaline action. Director Bay gleefully salts the movie with homages to pop-culture touchstones like Raiders of the Lost Ark, King Kong, and the early technothriller WarGames. The actors, though clearly all supporting those kickass robots, are uniformly on-target, including the dashing Josh Duhamel as a U.S. Army sergeant fighting an enemy he never anticipated; Jon Voight, as a tough yet sympathetic Secretary of Defense in over his head; and John Turturro, whose special agent manages to be confidently unctuous, even stripped to his undies. But the film belongs to Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and the dastardly Megatron–and the wicked stunts they collide in all over the globe. Long live Transformers! –A.T. HurleyTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Pure. Popcorn. Entertainment. That’s an exact classification of director Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Think of Transformers 1 on crack. In other words, this sequel took all of the extreme elements that made fans love the first movie and increased them exponentially. The action is nonstop, with battles and explosions from start to finish. The camera (without any subtlety) exploits Megan Fox’s hotness to the max. As if she weren’t enough, a new sex kitten (Isabel Lucas) is thrown into the equation. Shia LaBeouf is as charismatic as ever, and fills the starring role with ease. And then there’s the humor. Sam’s parents (Kevin Dunn and Julie White)provided some semi-raunchy laugh-out-loud moments in the first movie, but now they take it to the next level. Sometimes it seems like they are trying a little too hard, but it is still hilarious.
As far as the “plot” goes, the writers didn’t waste much time–it’s really just a context for the giant-robot death matches and dramatic slow-mo sequences. The movie kicks off two years later where the Autobots have formed an alliance with the U.S. government, creating an elite team led by Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel), in an effort to snuff out any remaining Decepticons that show up. The bad guys keep coming, and it turns out that a much more menacing force than Megatron is out there–and it is looking for something on Earth that is tied to the very origin of the Transformers race. Fans of the franchise will be delighted by the addition of many new robot characters (there are well over 40 in the sequel, versus only 13 in the first). The second Transformers has shaped up to be one of the worst reviewed and most successful movies of all time. This strange pairing is really just an indication that this movie has one purpose: to entertain. The creators didn’t want to waste time bogging down the action and drama with substance–which was arguably a good decision. –Jordan Thompson
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Talk about “transforming.” Michael Bay tested the patience of even the most devoted Transformers fan with the second installment of the franchise, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but the hyperactive director bounces back in energetic form with number three, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. From the long opening sequence (a zany alternate-history reading of the NASA moon program, complete with cameos by John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon) through the predictably extended action climax, Bay is actually on his best behavior. Sure, his taste is as vulgar as ever (is introducing your leading lady via a lingering butt shot part of the director’s personal signature?), but the story line is streamlined and the action is coherent: the constant chop-chop of the fighting sequences in Revenge is gone, replaced by a long-take approach that actually shows us who’s fighting who. Plus, it’s hard to resist a tilting skyscraper that allows the protagonists to slide down its glassy exterior. I know, right?
Shia LaBeouf returns, armed with a new and improbably bodacious girlfriend (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley); although initially unemployed, he’s drawn back into protecting the planet from giant outer-space robots, as the Decepticons menace the Earth once again. John Turturro and Josh Duhamel return to help, and Frances McDormand and John Malkovich join the club. Let’s reduce critical expectations and say that if you’re going to make a dumb movie about mass destruction, this is the way to do it (and if that sounds like faint praise, compare the movie to its abysmal predecessor). Throw in Hangover funnyman Ken Jeong, computer nerd Alan Tudyk doing a German accent, and the voice of Leonard Nimoy as Sentinel Prime, and you’ve got yourself a three-ring circus of extremely spirited nonsense. Just how Michael Bay wants it. –Robert HortonProduct Description
- Includes all three Transformers movies on DVD and Blu-ray and Transformers: Dark of the Moon on Blu-ray 3D
- Loaded with over 10 hours of bonus features and packaged in exclusive trophy display packaging
- Features a movie plaque signed by director Michael Bay with images from all three films
- Limited quantity
Is Michael is fantastic art-house film maker? No. Does he understand how to integrate good dialog? Not really, no. Is he able craft a coherent plot? Once in awhile, yes. The point is this, much the same as Michael Bay can not do what Martin Scorsese does, nor can Martin Scorsese do what Michael Bay does. Scorsese makes films for critics and film buffs, Bay makes films for the general public. Can you imagine a Transformers film by Scorsese? It would be fall-off-your-seat boring. Never forget that there’s always a place for over-the-top.
So if any film grad tries to tell you Michael Bay is a terrible directory – ask them to show you a better director with overall gross sales figures higher than Bay’s. They won’t be able to.
Moneyball
A heavily massaged take on Billy Beane’s “Moneyball” philosophy championed with the early 2000′s Oakland Athletics. You’ll have to wade through quite a bit of Pitt-ism’s in this film, you know what I mean, all his cool little movements, looks and gestures that you can just tell he spends hours a day practising in the mirror. Yeah, there’s lots of that.
Still, a very enjoyable baseball movie, that, at it’s core, is a very simple story of taking a different approach to managing a baseball club.
To be honest, I felt as though the premise was a bit dumb, I mean, honestly, if Billy Beane hadn’t figured out that you can’t compete with the New York Yankee’s when they spend $140 million to your $40 million using traditional means, someone else would have. So – yes, the whole thing is way over dramatized. The movie knows it too, and tries to deal with it at the end of the film in an effort to wrap things up in a bit of a bow and allow the viewer to understand the impact to the overall game. It still doesn’t change the fact that prior to the movie no one cared, nor do they really care now. But, at the end of the day, whether or not the story is important to the annals of baseball isn’t all that important to you and I, the fact is it’s an enjoyable movie to be entertained by.
$19.99
Check it out here.
Contagion
Contagion is a Steven Soderbergh, known for his work on the “Oceans” (Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 12, etc) series, “Erin Brockovich”, “Solaris” and the gritty “Traffic”, film.
When you recognize the director, you’ll immediately recognize the directorial style in Contagion.
Which is what I think is confusing people about this movie. Most people will get geared up, pop their popcorn, grab their favourite beverage and settle in for they think is going to be another Dustin Hoffman “Outbreak” type of movie, where there’s lots of explosions and helicopters and other exciting things to look at. There would also probably be a very dramatic score attached to the film, with lots of swells and sharp jolts. Contagion does not have these things, it’s not an action film.
Knowing those two things, knowing that it’s not an action film, and it’s directed by Steven Soderbergh – recognize what kind of movie it is likely to be, and you’ll recognize why it’s so much better than all your friends thought it was.
One caveat, if I were to watch it again, I think it’s probably a more effective piece of art – without sound. Seems funny to say that, doesn’t it? Trust me, watch the movie – and then when you’re done, think back and you’ll see what I mean.
Oh, and there’s at least TWO, yes indeedy-doo, TWO MONTAGES in this film. I love a good montage.
$24.99
Check it out here, from Amazon.com
Senna – The Documentary – Bluray
A lot of people don’t realize what it was that made Senna special. They think he was simply the most talented F1 pilot of our era, that’s probably not true – Michael Schumacher, in his prime, was probably faster – and was already pushing Senna hard just prior to his death. Alain Prost probably more efficient and intelligent. Alonso probably naturally quicker. Gilles Villenueve might have been crazier. No, those aren’t the attributes that made Senna special. What made him what he was, was simply passion.
He was the most passionate driver the world has ever known, and the world was passionate about him in return. Combine that passion with the greatest traits from each of the other drivers I’ve mentioned above, roll it all up into one, and what you have is Senna.
$39.99
Check it out here.
Louis CK – Live at the Beacon Theatre
Presented as a social experiment (didn’t Radiohead say the same thing?) I knew as soon as read the AMA on reddit this was going to be a massive success. Louis himself has already stated that within a day, a single day, he’s already made back his production costs plus $200,000 in profit. Not too shabby.
So what are you waiting for? Buy the thing already!
The Killing – AMC
After the runaway success of The Walking Dead, let’s not forget about AMC’s other standout performer – “The Killing”.
The Killing is actually a remake of the wildly popular Danish TV show, “Forbrydelsen”. The premise of the show is as a classic “Whodunit”, with the popular tagline being “Who killed Rosie Larsen…?” Each episode takes you further and further into the depths of the case and characters involved. Truly riveting stuff, shot and produced in the same manner as The Walking Dead.
The show is very Twin Peaks, but without all the silly quirks that made Twin Peaks, well, silly.
$53.99 – Bluray.
The IT Crowd – All four seasons
Recently, it was confirmed that there will not be a season five of the IT crowd – and that the series was effectively over. However, writer/director Graham Linehan has left the door open for any number of opportunities to see Roy, Moss and Jen again. He’s floated the idea of Christmas special, or even a movie.
Suffice to say, if you don’t know or haven’t watched the IT Crowd you owe it to yourself to allow the show to grow on you. By the end of the fourth season, you’ll have watched one of the best comedies of the past 10 years. There, I said it – call me liar.
You can get the whole series here, all 4 seasons.
