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How Dead Is the Video Rental Business?
Jan 19th, 2010

I was shocked to get a Blockbuster flyer today that offered me, as a potential new member, 30 days of free movie and game rentals. Small print says it’s only one rental at a time and a credit card is required for the video game rentals. Still, that’s a pretty good deal. Almost enough to [...]

Human Target Debuts Tomorrow
Jan 16th, 2010

I’m looking forward to seeing the debut of the Human Target TV series tomorrow night on FOX (before it moves into its Wednesday timeslot starting January 20). It’s loosely based on the DC Comics character, starring Mark Valley (Boston Legal, Swingtown, Fringe) as bodyguard-for-hire Christopher Chance.
I say “loosely based” because the main gimmick of [...]

Leverage Returns Tonight on TNT
Jan 13th, 2010

Leverage returns on TNT with a mini-season of six episodes starting tonight at 10 PM ET. (The first half of the season started last July, and the first season is available on DVD.)
In “The Runway Job”, the team aims to take down a sweatshop exploiter and his wannabe designer wife. This setting of course [...]

Chuck: The Complete Second Season
Jan 12th, 2010

Review by KC Carlson
Chuck is one of the best current shows on TV that you are not watching.
For those of you who ARE watching Chuck, you probably already know that Chuck: The Complete Second Season is now available on DVD, including all 22 episodes, plus the 3-D episode in both standard and 3-D formats. (Two [...]

Mythbusters Marathon and Sweepstakes
Jan 11th, 2010

Next Monday, January 18, which many but not all Americans have off for Martin Luther King Day, will be a Mythbusters marathon on the Discovery Channel. During the all-day marathon, they’ll be announcing a sweepstakes where the prize is a trip to the San Diego Con to meet Adam and Jamie. No details yet on [...]

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Jan 10th, 2010

KC and I were surprised to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus come to Richmond, so we went to see it quickly while we still could. (Back before the newspaper fired the movie critic, every year around Oscar time, he’d list his picks, typical well-reviewed stuff, then note how only about 40% of them had [...]

10 Things I Hate About You
Jan 9th, 2010

We bought the 10th Anniversary re-release of 10 Things I Hate About You because it had extras, and the original DVD release didn’t. One is the commentary; one is a digital copy (which I don’t care about) on a second disc; and one is the extra “10 Things I Love About 10 Things I Hate [...]

Universal Launches Blu-Ray/DVD Flipper Discs With Bourne Movie Re-Releases
Jan 9th, 2010

On January 19, Universal is going to re-release the Bourne movies — The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum — as the first of their Blu-Ray/ DVD “Flipper” Discs.
The Bourne IdentityBuy this DVD
These discs contain both movie formats on one piece of plastic: standard DVD is on one side, Blu-Ray on [...]

Get Ready for Chuck’s Return
Jan 7th, 2010

In preparation for his upcoming review, KC and I have been watching Chuck Season 1 and 2 on DVD.
Chuck Season 2
We loved them even more the second time around! When we watched them on TV, we enjoyed the blend of spy caper action and romantic comedy and geek humor, but when you watch several [...]

Warner Thinks Waiting to Netflix DVDs Will Help Sales
Jan 7th, 2010

In return for more favorable pricing and more catalog movies available for streaming, Netflix agreed not to rent Warner Bros. DVDs for the first 28 days of their release. Warner thinks that a month’s delay will mean more people buying the discs instead of watching for one low monthly fee. I think that someone who [...]

Orphan TV DVDs Include Anything But Love
Dec 28th, 2009

I very much sympathized with this NPR blog piece on how only half of the run of the sitcom Anything But Love is available on DVD. That early-90s show starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Lewis as co-workers and best friends who attempted to navigate their cross-gender relationship. It was often quite funny, and the [...]

Superman Movie Box 75% Off
Dec 26th, 2009

Superman Ultimate Collector’s EditionBuy this DVD set
Earlier this month, Amazon put the Batman movie set on sale for 75% off. Now the Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition is on similar deep discount.
Normally $100, the tin containing six Superman movies (the four original series, Superman Returns, and the alternate director’s cut of the second film) is [...]

Warner Movie DVDs Will All Have Blu-Ray
Dec 17th, 2009

From their press release:
Beginning in the first quarter of 2010, Warner Home Video will be releasing its entire Theatrical New Release slate as Blu-Ray combo packs, containing a Blu-Ray disc of the film with exclusive special features and exciting BD-Live interactivity, a standard-definition DVD, and a Digital Copy of the film. For no additional [...]

Have You Ever Heard of Gertrude Berg?
Dec 12th, 2009

There’s a documentary out in limited release called Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg about Gertrude Berg. She created the TV sitcom in 1949 when she moved her show The Goldbergs from radio (where it had been running since the early thirties) to the new medium of television. Not only did she star in the show, she also [...]

Batman Movie DVD Set on Sale
Dec 9th, 2009

Batman: The Motion Picture AnthologyBuy this DVD set
Right now at Amazon, the box set of the two-disc special editions of the first four Batman movies — Batman (with Michael Keaton), Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin — is on sale for $20. That’s 75% off the list price of $80.
I figured for [...]

Whiteout Bonus Features Blu-Ray Only
Dec 2nd, 2009

Got the ad for the upcoming Whiteout DVD and Blu-Ray today, and I was disappointed to see that the bonus features, for the most part, were only announced for the Blu-Ray version.

The film wasn’t very good, but I was still interested in seeing the featurette discussing the graphic novel and its trip to film, [...]

A Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Dec 1st, 2009

(My thanks to Ed and KC for their help with this review; they provided company and insight watching the film.)
A Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian remains the best advertising possible for the museums that make up the Nation’s Attic. As a movie, though, it’s a bit overstuffed. That’s what some people [...]

Castle DVD Case Oddity
Nov 19th, 2009

KC and I really enjoy Castle, the mystery show with Nathan Fillon (Firefly) as a thriller writer who helps the police solve murders.
Castle: The Complete First SeasonBuy this DVD set
So since the Complete First Season DVD set has been on deep discount this week ($17 bucks or so compared to a list price of [...]

Trade in Warner DVDs for Blu-Ray
Nov 17th, 2009

Warner has announced a trade-in program called DVD2BLU. In short, you choose DVDs to trade in, you pay $8 or $10 a disc (plus $5 shipping if you order less than $25 worth), and you get Blu-Rays in return. (US only, allow 4-5 weeks to receive replacement.)
Now, this is a nice offer if you want [...]

Pirate Radio
Nov 15th, 2009

I don’t think I’ve laughed so much at any movie in a theater as I did at Pirate Radio. (Known as The Boat That Rocked in its original UK release.)

Like Richard Curtis’ other feature as writer/director, Love Actually, it’s a sprawling story with a variety of goofy character bits, an ensemble comedy composed of [...]

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