Man, I can’t escape those damn Oscars!! Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in…to writing about..them? (Sigh…I shouldn’t try to be witty or cleverly try to incorporate movie quotes into these intros, should I?) There are a couple of stand-out Hollywood titles here this week, both represented at the 82nd Academy Awards. Outside of those discs and an outstanding anime on Blu debut, this is a pretty barren week. It’s days like these that make me glad I didn’t decide to make this list a Top 10 every week.
1. PRECIOUS
Geez, after all the attention Precious is getting I’m really regretting not requesting a review copy of the Blu-ray disc. Every clip from the film seems to have some of the finest, most naturalistic performances I’ve seen in ages. Looks to be masterful work there. The Blu-ray has a lot of extras included on it, including a bunch of featurettes, a commentary track with director Lee Daniels and the screen test of the brilliant Gabourey Sidibe, star of the film. Precious won the Oscar for adapted screenplay and best supporting actress, Mo’nique.
I just watched Up in the Air. In fact, I chose to watch it over the Oscars (take that, MPAA!) And let me tell you, while it might not exactly live up to all the hype, it’s still a wonderful, if not predictable film. I’ll have a full review of the Blu-ray disc up shortly but in the meantime, this is the only disc on the list that I can unequivocally recommend. I only put Precious before it in the Top 5 list because of the two films, it was the one that took home the Oscar statues. Up in the Air was nominated for six Oscar awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress.
3. EVANGELION 1.11: YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE
I haven’t seen this disc yet and, if you read my previous post about the Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone Blu-ray, you’ll recall that I’m not a huge fan of the series. I can, however, tell you that over the last week or so, I’ve been privy to a host of comments about and reviews of this disc that lead me to believe it may be the best representation of anime on Blu yet! If you’re a fan of Eva, this is a must buy!!
UPDATE – Read my full review here: Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone Blu-ray Disc Review
4. PARIS
If you’ve ever been to Paris, if you’ve ever fallen in love with the city – its alleys and streets, buildings, history, people, food – this film is going to make you want to buy a ticket back, as soon as humanly possible. Paris might not be a perfect film but it is a kind love-letter filled with entertaining character portraits. And who doesn’t love Juliette Binoche?!
Okay, honestly, the title of this film just put me off right away. Also, I’m not a big fan of Richard Gere. But Hachi: A Dog’s Tale does have a few things going for it – it stars Joan Allen (who you may remember from the last two Bourne films), it’s based on a true story from Japan (the dog’s name is actually Hachiko, after the Japanese symbol for good luck) and it’s directed by the extremely talented Lasse Hallström (of The Cider House Rules fame.) That’s good enough to make it on the list today!
AND…
In the “I’m sure some of you will love it but I hated the original so much I pray the sequel Blu-ray self-destructs” category:
BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY
I don’t want to give this film too much press here. Just adding the image of the disc to this release page irks me to some degree. You see, I really hate the original Boondock Saints. I feel like it was everything that was wrong with cinema in the 90s – men posing, unloading hundreds of bullets and doing a lot of violent things in slow motion for the sake of being “cool”, in a vapid and derivative circus of style-above-substance cinema. Note to director Troy Duffy, you’re not John Woo. Even Woo has learned to reign in his old-brand of stylized violence lately. Get with the times, Duffy!
I include the disc here simply because I know that some of you are fans of the original. I don’t know why, but to each his own. The rest of you should be warned that this sequel is more of the same, only ten years older and ten times shittier.
ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:
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