Movies Worth Buying!

It’s Tuesday once again, and time for another list of stuff that’s out on DVD and Blu-Ray.  I’m running way behind this week because I’ve been finishing up re-writing a movie for a friend of mine.  It’s shooting this weekend, so we’re a little under the gun…but with any luck, I’ll have some fun “behind the scenes” stuff to share soon.  We’ll see how that shakes out.

But that’s not important now.  NOW, it’s time to talk about movies that are already out, and why or why not you might be interested in purchasing and viewing them.  Honestly, it’s not a huge week…but there are a few things worth noting.

Right, let’s move on.  I’m going to go straight into things and get this over with.  I think I may be putting too much work into this, and I’m not sure anybody’s really paying attention.  I mean, I like talking to myself, but why type it all out?  As always, I’m including links to Amazon…but feel free to buy your movies anywhere.

As always, I’ll put the actual list after the jump.

For the week of 1/10/12

Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season

Okay, so this doesn’t exactly have much of a geek bent, but I keep hearing about this damn show, and I’m beginning to believe that I must be wrong by not caring.  It’s an HBO show starring Steve Buscemi as a gangster back in prohibition days.  People seem to really love this show but like I said, I’ve never seen it.  Personally, I’m not big on turning gangsters into role models.  I also don’t like the Godfather movies, Scarface, or the Sopranos.  I also don’t care who knows it.  However, it’s popular, and it’s out this week, so I feel compelled to share it with you.  If you like any of that stuff I don’t, you might give this one a shot.

Moneyball

I have to be honest; I don’t give a crap about this movie.  It’s here because it’s kind of a light week, and I wanted to have more stuff.  I’m told this movie is based on a true story about these guys who changed the game of baseball by doing some math and figuring out what now kinda serves as the basis for fantasy sports.  Supposedly, it’s very good.  If you’re reading this, you likely heard about this movie when it was out in theaters.  Either you care about it or you don’t, and my recommendation, or lack thereof isn’t really going to sway you.  Really, I’m just letting you know it’s out.  Enjoy.  Or don’t.  Up to you.

The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption

And finally, we hit a “genre” title…and it’s a “Scorpion King” movie.  I’m sorry.  What should I say about this movie?  I mean, it’s a direct to video Scorpion King movie for crap-sake!  Is Hollywood so devoid of ideas that they’re even doing sequels to the shittiest of movies now?  What’s next, “Birdemic 2: Electric Boogaloo”?  I’m kidding of course…the Birdemic sequel is titled “The Resurrection” and is in 3D.  No, I’m not kidding.  Yes, I weep for the future.  Anyway, this movie DOES have some things going for it.  The stars are Billy Zane and Ron Perlman…AKA the Phantom and Hellboy!  Perlman’s apparently taking any role he can get his hands on that doesn’t require him to wear the heavy prosthetics he’s known for.  It’s a shame he has such a hard time getting those roles, because he’s really a very good actor.  His voicework resume alone is fairly long and storied, most significantly voicing Deathstroke the Terminator, known only as “Slade” during the Teen Titans cartoon.  Billy Zane’s been kinda off the radar since Titanic, really.  Which is weird, since it looks like he’s done a lot of stuff since then, but damned if I remember seeing any of it.  According to what I’m reading, The Scorpion King, who has lost his kingdom and is neither of these guys, is working as a mercenary and goes on a quest.  Also, it’s a PG-13 movie…so it really is just Conan light.  And the new Conan wasn’t that great to being with. 

Doctor Who: The Android Invasion

Finally!  Something I actually care about!  I fully admit that I didn’t get into Doctor Who until season 5 of the new series…so I’m still a pretty new convert.  However, since I was “In-Doctor-ated” (I hate myself for that joke, honestly), I’ve jumped all in.  I’ve seen EVERY episode of the series since the relaunch, all of Torchwood, and all of the Sarah Jane Chronicles.  So yeah, I’m a fan.  The one thing I haven’t done yet is to start watching the original stuff.  I want to…but there’s SO much of it.  One of these days, I’m going to hit the lotto, and then I’ll have the time to watch, and the money to buy all the releases.  Oh yeah…totally gonna happen.  So this particular collection involves the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and the previously mentioned Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen).  Without giving away too much, they land in a town where something isn’t right, and things only get worse from there.  I like Sarah Jane, so the episodes with her are the ones I’m most interested in, so hopefully someday.  The way I’m reading things, it looks like it’s a very companion heavy story.    

Doctor Who:  Invasionof the Dinosaurs

But wait, there’s more!  There is a second Doctor Who release today, this one starring the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee and is another with Sarah Jane as the companion.  This one involves actual dinosaurs running rampant in 1970’s London.  There’s a nefarious plot, and a road to hell that is paved with genocidal “good intentions”, but come on…it’s DINOSAURS!  There are a lot of episodes of Doctor Who that are just…missing.  For all intents and purposes, they no longer exist.  Up until recently, Invasion of the Dinosaurs was a story among the lost.  It’s really cool when one turns up after all this time. 

Primeval: Volume 3

More from the BBC!  Have you been watching Sherlock?  It’s so awesome.  Saw Hounds of the Baskerville last night, and I’m so sad there’s only one more episode before the end of the season.  But that’s not what this is about.  Primeval is a show about time travel.  My understanding is that it tends to go a bit bat-shit crazy, because they can actually change time and screw with things that have happened.  It’s actually a show that I really want to see, but there are just only so many hours of the day, and I still haven’t watched Being Human.  As far as I can tell, it’s a very good show.  But I would start with season 1 if you’re just getting started.

The Hellstrom Chronicle

SCIENCE!!  So, I know almost nothing about this movie.  I didn’t really find much online, though honestly I didn’t exactly spend tons of time researching.  (Yes, I research these. Shut up)  From what I can tell, when this movie came out in 1971, it billed itself as a science-fiction, “creature from another world” movie.  In fact, it was a science movie bugs.  And now you know as much as I know.  To be perfectly honest, out of this week’s releases, this is the one that has the most chance of getting picked up.  Because I love science.  And bugs.

And that's kinda it for this week.  You might take a look around Amazon's list of the releases though.  There was a decent chunk of stuff on there this week that has been released before, but is now back on the market and usually at a better price.  Like the Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Epic Series (1978) out now for $67.49.  So there's that.  See you next week!