This Week in DVD

Into the Wild: Sure, it's essentially a movie about a young guy who just chose to essentially wander off and risk drifting into nothingness. Sure, it's 2 hours and 40 minutes of this guy. Sure, it's--wait a minute, I'm having trouble remembering the "BUT" that tells you why you need to see this. Hal Holbrook? I don't know. Let me think about it a while.


101 Dalamatians Platinum Edition: Given that Disney has released some recent "Special Editions" and such that haven't been so special or have had technical issues, it's nice to read the strong reviews for this one. It looks like this release is truly worthy of the Platinum Edition hoo-hah. And by that I mean "big deal" or "hoopla." Maybe I should have just said "hoopla," but doesn't the idea of Al Pacino in "101 Dalmatians" excite you? "Somebody clean UP after those DOGS! HOO-HAH!" No? Well, fine. Who asked you?


12 Angry Men: And nearly the 12th release of this classic movie. It's said to be a fine edition, but why should we trust them that THIS TIME they finally got it right?


Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium: I never expected this to be a classic, but I figured it could at least be a decent family time-killer. I was stunned, then, to see the critics trash it like it was "Daddy Day Camp." Heck, it might have been trashed even more than "Daddy Day Camp"--and that one had critical trash magnet Cuba Gooding, for cry-yi-yi.


Things We Lost in the Fire: This week's "Whoa, did that movie even come out in theaters?" selection. Yes, it did, for about a week or two, I think, but here's your chance to catch up with this heavy, real heavy, man drama starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro.


The Love Boat Season 1 Part 1: Stop me if you've heard this one before: Yes, Paramount is getting the shows out, but it's in extra-free ripoff split-season packages. Hey, you didn't stop me. "Entertainment Weekly" finally got on the ball this week and called out the studio for doing it. Funny that the battle is waged against "The Love Boat," of all shows. Well, anyway, here it is. And let me take this opportunity to emphasize that while Isaac the Bartender deservedly endures as an Icon of Cool of the era, Captain Stubing and the Ship's Doctor were pretty damn cool in their own right,
too, you know.


TCM Archives: Forbidden Hollywood Volume 2: Warner Bros does it again with this TCM-branded collection featuring a handful of films of the fabled Pre-Code era and a wonderful documentary putting them in perspective. Pre-Code Hollywood gets so much hype that sometimes I wonder if today's viewer tuning into a 1932 drama on TCM winds up let down because he doesn't get some kind of wild X-rated orgy/splatterfest. These movies are risque, yes, and their frequent refusal to conform to conventional morality is refreshing even today. But don't expect them to be TOO wild. They are, though, often damn entertaining, and isn't that really what it's all about? Of this batch, I particularly recommend Night Nurse and Three on a Match for sheer fun.