eXistenZ, Office Space (with flair, but not in a giant box), Lost Highway, The Dead Zone (Cronenberg), Videodrome, Alice in Wonderland, The Wicker Man

Guided by Voices - The Electrifying Conclusion

Haven't watched it yet, but it seems like one hell of a solid tour DVD.

My most recent DVD purchase was OR (MY TREASURE), a terrific Israeli film that played at the '04 New York Film Festival (where I originally viewed it) and it had a brief theatrical release in '05.

There were two leads, a prostitute and her daughter and I thought the actress who played the prostitute gave the best female performance in both '04 or '05 and if I had an Academy Award vote she'd get mine.

This is one film that the Israeli tourist board would not doubt blanch at, but it is riveting as it protrays/explores the seamier side of that society.

DVDs I'll probably buy when they come out are SHOPGIRL, a masterpiece that starred Steve Martin and more than makes up for the dreck he starred in in '05, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, and that he's starring in now, INSPECTOR CLOSEAU.

I also plan to buy SYRIANA, which I thought was the the best film I caught in '06, and MUNICH, another great '06 film that featured Steven Spielberg at the top of his game.

DOWN TO THE BONE is probably the only other '05 film I plan to buy. A real sleeper set in upstate New York that features a riveting performance by Vera Fermiglia as a drug-addicted mom, this was a criminally overlooked film. Despite strong reviews, it played in only one NYC theatre. Vermiglia is about to break because she has been cast in a film opening next Friday that stars Paul Walker and reportedly is in Martin Scorsese's next film.

I bought "The Constant Gardener" and "Broken Flowers" last week. Both are great!

I bought Zoolander and Dodgeball recently. Both Ben Stiller Movies, one with Owen Wilson and one with Vince Vaughn so I expected them to be funny and they were.
Zoolander was hilarious in a weird way, but I find weird stuff funny, and Dodgeball was generally enjoyable.

King Kong (2005)
Diabolique (1955)

I also bought a copy of the '05 King Kong recently. It's the one-disc version, watched it last night. Also picked up Memoirs of A Geisha and the Del Tenney double feature, The Horror of Party Beach/The Curse of the Living Corpse.

Wow! I can't believe nobody has posted here since April. My wife and I just picked up some previously viewed DVD's.

The Wedding Date
What Women Want
Layer Cake
Bowfinger - I think this is probably Eddie Murphy's best movie of about the last ten years. He looks pretty good in Dreamgirls too.

My last two dvd purchases were Nashville and The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection. The Holmes set includes the 14 Basil Rathbone films with all but two movies restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archieve. I've only seen the two unrestored movies- The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes- so far. "Adventures" looked pretty sharp, much clearer than "Baskervilles" which was grainy in spots.

Well, I have to wait until Santa delivers, but my Christmas wish list includes three DVDs.

The first is DOWN TO THE BONE, a terrific indie film that came out late last year to good reviews. It played in one small theatre in Manhattan, but it played for quite a while. It was a real breakthrough role for Vera Famiglia, who in '06 had a big role in THE DEPARTED. I think she was the only female in THE DEPARTED. DOWN TO THE BONE is a naturalistic study of two recovering addicts in Upstate New York.

The other two films on by wish list are by Spanish Director Ipciar Bollinger. The first, FLOWERS FROM ANOTHER WORLD, for some unfathomable reason was never picked up for theatrical distribution in the U.S. Basically, three stories of three Spanish guys who meet women at a social. One pair, a rich guy and his black Cuban wife/girlfriend; one a middle age couple find love; and the third and best of the stories involves a Spanish guy (the great Luis Tosar) who lives on a farm with him mother in a rural part of Spain who meets an illegal immigrant Dominican woman with two kids. A great film.

The third film on my list is TAKE MY EYES, which actually did get a brief commercial run in the States this year. The trouble was it played in Manhattan in one theatre for one week after its release was continually pushed back. The reviews I read didn't do justice to the film either. It is the story between a husband (again the brilliant Luis Tosar) and wife in a dysfunctional marriage. The film won the Goya (The Spanish equivalent of the Oscar) the year it was released in Spain.

I recently rejoined Columbia House, which is a great way to bulk up your DVD library in a hurry. My first year with them, I bought OVER 100 DVD's for cheap! Just this past month I got:

1.Talladega Nights: The Story of Ricky Bobby: Wondefully funny story on the rise & fall of a race car driver. Starring Will Ferrell!

2.The Island: Sci-Fi adventure involving 2 people who discover a startling secret about who & what they are! Starring Ewen McGregor & Scarlett Johansen.

3.Wedding Crashers: Delightfully funny romantic comedy with Owen Wilson & Vince Vaughn.

4.Gridloc'd: A surprisingly funny & touching comedy about 2 junkies who decide to clean themselves up when a friend of theirs O.D.'s. Starring Tim Roth & Tupac Shakur.

5.16 Blocks: Bruce Willis must get a witness(Mos Def)to a court house 16 blocks from the station. Sound easy? The witness is going to testify against dirty cops who have decided to make the journey as hellish as possible!

6.Swamp Thing: a Wes Craven directed comic book movie!

7.Return of Swamp Thing: A sequel. No Wes at the helm but, Heather Locklear stars!

8.The Descent: A movie most often compared to the first "Alien" movie. It's about 6 women who have gone spelunking & end up in alot of trouble!

9.Derailed: A thrilling movie of a man being blackmailed by a "common thief" who busted in on him when he was about to commit adultery. Starring Clive Owen & Jennifer Aniston.

10.Judgment Night: 4 long time friends, from the suburbs, get lost in the city & witness a murder. Making them targets. Stars Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., & Denis Leary.

11.The Shawshank Redemption (Collector's Edition): A movie about the triumph of the human spirit. When a man is sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit he finds a friend in a man who can get anything. Stars Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman.

12.Commandments: A man is at the end of his rope when he feels God is purposefully seeking to punish him. After losing EVERYTHING, he decides he will break ALL 10 Commandments until he gets the answer he seeks! Courteney Cox & Anthony LaPaglia star.

13.Dead Man on Campus: Campus comedy of two students(Mark Paul-Gosselaar & Tom Everett Scott)who spent the better part of the semester partying & are now in danger of flunking out of school. Their answer? Find a suicidal roommate & push him over the deep end! He dies, they get straight A's!

14.The Gods Must Be Crazy 1&2: 2 documentary styled comedies. The first, a tribe of bushmen find a glass coke bottle &, after a few anger related mishaps, decide the bottle is evil & send one of their own to "the end of the world" to dispose of it. The second, 2 bushmen children are accidently kiddnapped by poachers when the kids climb onto their truck & it's up to their father to find them!

15.My Super Ex-Girlfriend: A man(Luke Wilson)unknowingly begins a relationship with a superheroine(Uma Thurman). When he breaks up with her, he suddenly finds himself in a super fatal attraction!

16.The Replacement Killers (Extended Cut): An asian hitman turns against his crimeboss when he can't complete his final hit. Chow Yun Fat's first American movie! Also stars Mira Sorvino.

17.Running Scared (1986): Billy Crystal & Gregory Hines are 2 cops looking forward to retiring early & owning a bar in Florida, but first, they have to take down a big time drug kingpin(Jimmy Smitts)!

18.Running Scared (2006): Not a remake of the 1986 movie of the same name. This involves a man who works for the mob, who must get back a gun stolen from him by his neighbor's son. The gun was used in a cop shooting & if he doesn't get it back he's a dead man! Stars Paul Walker.

19.The Shadow: Based on a radio show from WAY back in the day, this movie stars Alec Baldwin as the all knowing crime fighter.

20.The Punisher (2004)(Extended Cut): Based on the Marvel comic superhero, this is a dark tale of a man who lost his ENTIRE family to a vicious gangster & the retribution he seeks!Starring Thomas Jane & John Travolta.

21.King Kong (2005)(Extended Cut): A spectacular remake of the 1933 film. The extended cut adds another 20 minutes of Kong roaring action!

22.The Frighteners (Director's Cut): Michael J. Fox is a scam artist who has struck a deal with a couple of ghosts to help him make money in a small town. However, he is soon becoming a suspect in the deaths of many townspeople.

23.Gang Related: 2 cops have a nice little money making sidejob by posing as drugdealers & killing & robbing REAL dealers. Problem? They end up killing an undercover cop! Starring James Belushi & Tupac's final performance on screen!

24.Hostage: Bruce Willis was a hostage negotiator until a day goes bad. He moves to a quiet town where nothing ever happens...until today!

25.John Q.: A boy needs a new heart & his insurance won't pay for it, so his father takes matters into his own hands! Denzel Washington stars.

26.Palmetto: A writer(Woody Harrelson) is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit & all he got was an apology. To get back at the system he gets involved in a "fake" kiddnapping that takes a horrible turn! Also stars Elisabeth Shue & Michael Rapaport.

Just purchased the DVD Conversations With Other Women with Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter. It's pretty cool the way it is shot in split screen - faintly reminiscent of "Timecode" but a lot more interesting and a better story - altogether a better film.

I just bought Extras - Season 1 on dvd. I am a ridiculously big fan of Ricky Gervais and the British Office. I think the Office is the most brilliant tv show ever (although I don't care for the american version).

Anyway, Extras is his show that followed the Office. It's about an aspiring actor who only gets cast as an extra. Lots of guest stars on Season one including: Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet (love her!), Samuel Jackson and Patrick Stewart.

Can't wait to check it out this weekend.

I got a lot of dvds for Christmas but I recently purchased: pirates of the carribean: deadman's chest, marilyn monroe signature collection, pulse, idiocracy, pulse, and I preordered flyboys and flicka. That should give me something to watch.

Bought the 50th anniversary, 2 dvd edition of Forbidden Planet. Widescreen, deleted scenes, 3 documentaries and comes with 2 follow-up Robby the Robot features- The Invisible Boy film and an episode of The Thin Man. Woo-hoo!

I don't buy many films, probably less than 5 a year, no more than 10. The next DVD I plan to buy is THE DEPARTED. That is one I want to own. I also may buy THE QUEEN.

I FINALLY got "Ruthless People" on DVD! It stars Danny DeVito & Bette Midler as a very unhappy married couple. So unhappy that when Midler is kidnapped & held for ransom, DeVito refuses to pay hoping they'll kill her! I found it while browsing through the lousy DVD selection at Walgreen's as I was waiting for a RX. I never expected I'd find this little treasure stacked away in there!

Next on the list is the extended cut of "The Passion of the Christ". I was really disappointed at the lack of special features on the original release so, I'm VERY happy to find this 2-disk set with documentaries & commentaries. The only disappointment I have with this new release is there is no DTS, only Dolby Digital. I hate when they take a step down in the sound.

I'm also on the look out for all available seasons of 'Scrubs', a surprisingly funny television comedy about interns becoming resident doctors. It's comedy on the level of 'Arrested Development'. Yet, quite a few episodes end with alot of heart & even some sad & touching moments.

Well, we got our income tax refund & I grabbed the first 4 seasons of'Scrubs'! I couldn't believe they had 1-4 at Best Buy seeing as how I couldn't find the first 2 seasons anywhere! I've only seen syndicated reruns & have never seen some of the earlier episodes, so this is gonna be fun! I wanted to get more(last year, I bought over 20 movies that I had been wanting but, couldn't really afford),but, the wife needed a new car, so my cut was limited.

Am I a lucky man or what? My wife just walked through the door with the extended cut of "The Passion of the Christ". She bought her car & just walked through the door with it. Even though she hates my addiction to DVD's, she still feeds it. Guess she figures it's better than drugs or alchohol.

Edit:
Turns out it is not an extended cut DVD but, just a recut version of the movie. It's still the same length, just alternate scenes have been placed here & there.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Monkey_Boy,

I just got the Four Disk Extended Edition of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe" & Hellboy: Sword of Storms.

I thought the theatrical release of "Narnia" was alright but, I was disappointed with the battle scenes. I was hoping for a more "Lord of the Rings" feel to them. With so many different creatures in battle, they mostly focused on the children. What made me buy the extended cut was the fact that they said they added more to the battle scenes. Now that's what I'm talking about!

The "Hellboy" movie is an animated direct to video release with the cast from the live action movie doing the voices. The only exception is David Hyde Pierce who voiced Abe Sapien. The voice for Abe in the 'toon is the actor who ACTUALLY was Abe on screen, Doug Jones. It's well worth the $15 on I spent on it.