It’s not a very busy week with DVD releases, but we have a good variety of films and TV shows.
DVD
Drag Me To Hell – Sam Raimi’s return to the horror genre was greeted with enthusiastic reviews from critics, but unfortunately the film was ignored by audiences when it was released in the summer. Hopefully the film finds an audience on DVD. It should with Raimi’s name attached to it. The film stars Alison Lohman and Justin Long, as a young woman who has a curse put on her. The film is apparently a lot of fun, and Raimi shows why he is a master of horror films, by expertly playing with the audience throughout the film. There are two cuts, with the unrated cut being slightly shorter than the theatrical cut (when does that happen!). Although I have not seen the film, I will be picking it up on Tuesday, and for anyone who is a fan of Sam Raimi, I suggest you do the same. A perfectly timed release, right before Halloween
The Proposal – This film was a big summer hit at the box office and was a consistent performer from week-to-week. The film stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as co-workers who despise each other. Bullock is a manager (from Canada) who is about to be deported, but in some quick thinking, she says she is getting engaged to Ryan Reynolds. Could this mismatched couple find happiness by the end of the film? I’m sure we all know the answer. I read an interesting article that compared Sex and the City to The Proposal. Do you remember all the hype that surrounded Sex and the City and how it was a phenomenon? Guess what – The Proposal actually grossed more. Sex and the City grossed $152.6 million and The Proposal $163.3 million. This one is definitely a formula film, but it connected with audiences and should do well on DVD.
Land of the Lost – This was considered to be a big disappointment in the summer. Based on the TV Show, Will Ferrell stars as an explorer who finds a space-time vortex. He gets sucked into it, and lands in an alternate universe. Along with his assistant and a survivalist they explore the new world, and ultimately try and find their way home. I’m intrigued by this film because I really did not hear good things about it, but I like Will Ferrell, so I want to see what went wrong with the film. I wasn’t a big fan of the promotional campaign, which I think turned off a lot of people, but we’ll see if the film finds an audience on DVD.
TV SHOWS ON DVD
Married With Children: The Complete Eleventh Season – Can you believe this show ran for eleven seasons? Kudos to that. Unfortunately the show never got a proper send-off, and just faded away, which you will notice in the final episodes. I’ll admit, I used to watch the show during its peak in the 80’s. It was rude and crude, but Ed O’Neill completely owned the character of Al Bundy, and he was the main reason why I watched the show. As I grew older, I didn’t find it to be all that funny anymore, but in its prime Married With Children made me laugh. My favourite episode is from an earlier season when Al bowls the game of his life, and then Peg starts bowling and has the opportunity to bowl a perfect game. Al does everything he can to sabotage this from happening. If you buy this, it is definitely a nostalgia purchase.
Flashpoint: The First Season – This show is shot in Toronto and is essentially about a tactical unit (The Strategic Response Unit) that rescues hostages, busts gangs, defuses bombs, as well as other tough cases (thanks to IMDB for helping me out with that description). I have never watched an episode of Flashpoint, but it has been doing all right in the ratings. Season 1 is only nine episodes, so if you want to get started, you might want to pick this one up on Tuesday.
Until Next Tuesday!
