Welcome to the first DVD Tuesday of the new year! Actually, there have been other DVD Tuesdays, but this is the first one that is so epic, so monumentous, that I could not put off posting about it. So, without further ado…
If you didn’t see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow in the theater, you should have, if only to see the future of filmmaking. You see, director Kerry Conran came up with the story, then developed a green-screen process (using his Macintosh, I might add) to film the entire movie with just the actors, with all of the sets and effects work to be added later. He created a six-minute short using the process, and based on the strength of that work, he was able to sign Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie to work on his film. By combining the big-name actors with this revolutionary digital process, you end up with a $40-million film that looks like it cost $100 million.
The story is a little hackneyed, but the dialogue and action try to capture the feel of movie serials from the 1930s. It is worth purchasing just for his epic vision and sense of style, which also borrows liberally from the old Superman cartoons from the Fleischers. Anyway, for $16.99 at Best Buy, you get the widescreen version of the movie, an impressive Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, two commentaries (one with the director and Jude Law, one with the effects team), a bunch of special features, and the original six-minute short that started it all. Sky Captain earns the distinction of being this week’s Top Pick.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned Coupling before. Coupling is a BBC sitcom that is not the British equivalent of Friends, despite what the advertising for the short-lived American version would lead you to believe. It is a very funny, very sweet, slightly edgy, and wholly creative sitcom. The creators often play with time in the narrative, juxtaposing events from different times for humorous effect. There are other clever techniques that are used, but I’ll let you watch the episodes and judge for yourself.
Unlike American television, British shows usually have only a handful of episodes per season (or series, as it is called over there). But rather than being a hindrance, the smaller number of episodes allows the creators to focus all of their energies on making each one as funny as it can be. Thus, instead of 22 reasonably-good episodes, with a few standouts, you end up with six hilarious episodes. That is definitely the case with Coupling: The Complete Fourth Season, out today. Sure, you have the loss of a main character from the previous seasons, but the new character, while a little tentative at first, ends up being a deeper, more resonant replacement. And as with previous seasons, Season 4 sends the story off in whole new directions. Definitely worth buying…for that matter, you might as well pick up the previous seasons as well. Season 4 is $24.99 at Best Buy.
Can you honestly say anything bad about Alien vs. Predator? Okay, maybe you can, but I still enjoyed it, as you know if you read my earlier review. You get a DTS soundtrack, a couple commentary tracks (one from the director and actor, one from the effects team), an alternate opening, deleted scenes, and a few documentaries, all for only $14.99 at Circuit City, or $15.99 at Best Buy.
And if you’re buying Alien vs. Predator, and you already bought the special edition of Predator, why not round it off by picking up the new special edition of Predator 2? You know the drill…new transfer, DTS sound, two commentary tracks (one by the director, one by the writers), numerous documentary footage, blah blah blah. It’s become so old-hat by now.
Remember back in the glory days of laserdisc, when a commentary track was something rare and special? When even a Dolby Digital soundtrack was something that was worth noting on a release? Now it seems like every DVD has a special edition, multiple commentary tracks, Dolby Digital 5.1 or 5.1 EX or DTS or DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 sound…the wonders of DVD have made the special into the mundane. “Oh, only two commentary tracks? How quaint.” Not that I’m complaining, mind you….
Back to the topic at hand, you can get Predator 2 for only $12.99 at Circuit City, or if you would rather go to Best Buy, you can pay the usurious price of $14.99.
Remember back in the glory days of laserdisc, when most movies were $39.99 or more, and if you found one for $34.99 or $29.99, it was a great deal? And the special editions were $100, but they came with cool special features like a commentary track, a better transfer, maybe a few documentaries….
If you don’t already have the Back to the Future Trilogy, they just dropped the retail price of this one. You can get it at Best Buy on sale this week for $19.99. Oh, and the new release has the corrected framing on the II and III. I know you were very concerned about that, so I thought I would ease your mind.
