New DVD Releases: Frost/Nixon, The Wrestler, Top Gear
This week, we have another Best Picture nominee Frost/Nixon and two-time Oscar contender The Wrestler hitting shelves, along with England’s most popular show, “Top Gear” an incredible true story of World War II, and a whole lot more.
Check out the list below…
FEATURE FILMS
Starring: Frank Langella and Michael Sheen
There are underrated performances, forgotten flashes of greatness, and then there are brilliant performances so completely forgotten about that people forget they were even in the movie to begin with. Michael Sheen suffered that unfortunate fate for his dynamite portrayal of David Frost in this Best Picture nominee.
Sure, Langella was phenomenal as Nixon, but Sheen was every bit his equal sharing both top billing and his character’s name in the title. Despite this, he was actually campaigned for a supporting Oscar while his costar cruised to a lead nomination. How soon before people start thinking the “Frost” of the title simply referred to Nixon’s personality.
So buy the DVD and see this pair of great performances before it’s only remembered as a solo piece.
Starring: Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei
The biggest Oscar snub of the year came from this film. It had nothing to do with acting, writing, directing or the overall quality of the movie. It was the titular song. Bruce Springsteen’s latest masterpiece that left the entire audience of a sold out show at the Arclight in Sherman Oaks firmly planted in their seats until the last haunting note echoed through the end of the credits.
If it weren’t for a dance sequence, nobody would have sat more than two seconds to listen to “Jai Ho.” How did this song not get nominated?
Of course, there’s also a movie in there somewhere. If you’re into that thing, you might want to buy the DVD.
Also:
- “Notorious” – Learn More – Buy Now
TV ON DVD
“Top Gear”: Season 10
If you need a perfect example of why NBC is in such a massive hole that it’s essentially becoming AM radio with Jay Leno’s new 10PM talk show, consider this?
“Top Gear” is essentially the most popular show in Europe. It’s watched by millions who couldn’t care less about cars. It’s pretty low budget (essentially a reality show) and can benefit from massive product placement revenue.
So NBC spends tens of millions of dollars trying to bring the show to the US. They put Adam Carolla (a perfect choice) at the helm and plan to have guest spots from the ubiquitous Leno. After all that money and all that planning – they simply scrap the project despite its popularity worldwide and low budget. And networks do that for dozens and dozens of shows every year.
And that business model is no longer successful with shrinking audiences? Shocker!
Luckily, we still have the original to enjoy on DVD.
Also:
- “Caprica” – Buy Now
- “Dallas”: Season 11 – Buy Now
- “Freakazoid”: Season 1 & 2 – Buy Now
- “Hawaii Five-O”: Season 6 – Buy Now
- “My Own Worst Enemy”: Complete Series – Buy Now
- “Rhoda”: Season 1 – Buy Now
- Ron White: Behavioral Problems – Buy Now
SPECIAL EDITION OF THE WEEK
Voyage of the Damned
Only one special edition this week, but it’s one of those lost classics nobody’s seen, but everybody should. This tells the little-known story of a group of Jewish refugees sent by the Nazi government to Cuba as a means of showing the world they weren’t out to kill the Jews, only get them out of their country.
Of course, this was not the case, and Cuba had no idea it was supposed to welcome a boat full of German refugees, and sent them away. As did several other islands and even America.
Sounds like a very interesting flick right? Too bad the DVD offers no special features at all. This movie deserves some documentaries – like on the actual event maybe?
HORRIBLE STRAIGHT-TO-DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK
Three terrible movies, three new DVDs. Which is the worst? Cast your vote and tell the world!
The nominees are:
Into the Blue 2: The ReefThe Case to Vote for It: Unnecessary sequels are a great way to get yourself on this list of shame. When that sequel stars nobody from the original movie, it gets even worse.
And when that sequel is advertising itself as “Unrated” with people in swimsuits on the cover just to move a few copies, then it is definitely horrible.
The Poker ClubThe Case to Vote for It: Some movies get lumped into this category simply on the strength of their tagline. The line on the box for this poker-themed thriller is a doozy: “The hand you’re dealt could be murder”.
Ummm. Fold?
The Case to Vote for It: This one has it all. Really lame title, really lame catchphrase (Temptation Has Its Consequences – really? Thanks.) and a DVD box that looks like it was made in Microsoft Paint in about fourteen seconds.
C’mon Maverick Entertainment, throw some money into your graphics department!