NewToDvd Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm making a few changes to the TFT format; comments, suggestions and ideas from regular readers are more than welcome!

*Scott's Gimme Pick!* A Fish Called Wanda (Collector's Edition) -- One of the '80s very best comedies (FINALLY) gets the full-bore special edition it deserves! John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin and the (Oscar-winning) Kevin Kline bounce through this farce that's both sunny and acidic, smart and silly, goofy and great. And this package is absolutely stocked with goodies: Cleese commentary, 30 minutes of deleted scenes, some featurettes, a trivia track... I can't wait to add this into my collection! :)

Home Alone (Family Fun Edition) -- If you're a big fan of this celebration of holiday sweetness and hardcore slapstick, this new re-issue looks to be a solid buy. In addition to a Chris Columbus / Macaulay Culkin yack-track, you'll also get a whole bunch of extra goodies -- most of which are all-new to this edition!

Ice Age: The Meltdown -- Because your kid probably doesn't own enough animated movies about animals. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary return to add some personality to the prehistoric critters, and the DVD is predictably stocked with goodies for both old and young.

An Inconvenient Truth -- Al Gore gets all ecological and scares the bejeezus out of those of us who actually consider global warming a real threat. Extras include a pair of filmmaker commentaries, a few featurettes and a box composed of entirely recycled materials.

Independence Day -- Fox was planning to release a 10th Anniversary edition of this movie until someone reminded them that there'd already been a Special Edition, a Limited Edition and a Five-Star Collection edition. And the movie still kinda stinks.

Miracle on 34th Street (Special Edition) -- The 1947 holiday classic finally hits DVD with a swanky SE that's long overdue. The stocking-load of extras include an audio commentary from actress Maureen O'Hara, the 1955 made-for-TV remake, a bunch of documentaries both new and archival ... and you can choose between the (icky) colorized version or the (glorious) original B&W transfer!

The Punisher (Extended Cut) -- Everyone keeps telling me the extended cut of Daredevil is much better than the theatrical version, and I bet the same holds true for The Punisher. Thomas Jane does some solid work in this fairly standard (yet still watchable) little revenge story. New extras (aside from 17 extra minutes wedged into the main feature) include a still-deleted scene, a look at The Punisher's comic book history and some random featurettes.

Scoop -- Yep, Woody Allen's still making movies. This is the one with Scarlett Johansson and Hugh Jackman, I think. And if you've ever owned a Woody Allen DVD, you know what kind of extras to expect here: None. (I think.)

You, Me & Dupree -- Owen Wilson is a wacky dude who squats in the house of newlyweds Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson. Since I have yet to see the movie, I can only assume that much wackiness ensues before a valuable life lesson is learned. Extras-wise you get a pair of audio commentaries, a few featurettes, some deleted scenes and the ever-popular alternate ending.

After an unexpected and completely unnoticed hiatus, the Tips for Tuesday column is back! Be sure to check back each week to see what the DVD stores are offering. Plus the holidays are coming up and all that jazz, which means the swanky new DVD releases will be hitting the scene pretty soon. And check out all these multi-movie box sets!

Recent Theatrical Films

Cars (Disney) -- Pixar's weakest is still better than most. Expect a flawless transfer, but (oddly) not much in the extras department.

Little Man: Loaded with Extra Crap Edition (Sony) -- Yes, they actually put that on the DVD case; not even the filmmakers like this movie.

Wordplay (IFC) -- The finest documentary about crossword puzzles you're ever likely to see. Commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes aplenty.

Catalog Titles & Collections

Christmas Classics Collection (Fox) -- Miracle on 34th Street ('94), Jingle All the Way, Home Alone and A Christmas Carol ('84).

Cinema Paradiso: Limited Collector's Edition (Weinstein) -- C'mon, you know it made you cry. A little.

Funtastic Adventures Collection (Fox) -- Ice Age, Robots, Ferngully: The Last Rainforest and Once Upon a Forest.

James Bond Ultimate Edition Vol. 1 (MGM) -- The Man with the Golden Gun, Goldfinger, The World is Not Enough, Diamonds are Forever and The Living Daylights.

(Last week was amazingly skimpy, and this one's only marginally more exciting.)

Recent Theatricals

Basic Instinct 2 (Sony) -- We used to have only one movie about Sharon Stone's crotch. Now we have two. (director commentary, featurette, ten deleted scenes, alternate ending, "unrated" edition)

Foreign and Arty

Koko: A Talking Gorilla (Criterion) -- One of the finest documentaries you'll ever see about the relationship between man and his "lesser" cousins. (video interview with co-director Barbet Schroeder)

Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story (HBO) -- All I've heard is that they took an "unfilmable" book and turned it into one weird piece of cinema. Looking forward to it. (filmmaker commentary, deleted & extended scenes, interviews, behind-the-scenes featurette)

Yi Yi (Criterion) -- A three-hour family drama from China. And I hear it's pretty freaking fantastic. (audio commentary, interviews, essay booklet)

Catalog Picks

The Black Swan (Fox) -- One of those old pirate flicks from the '40s that I've always wanted to see. This one's got Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. (audio commentary, restoration comparison)

Grand Prix (Warner) -- Frankenheimer was a guy's guy. And this flick is his 1966 love letter to the sport of car racing. (retrospective documentary, four featurettes)

Direct-to-Video

The Garden (Anchor Bay) -- A low-budget DTV horror movie starring Lance Henriksen. Bizarre, I know. (director commentary, featurette)

Grilled (New Line) -- Ray Romano, Kevin James, Burt Reynolds, Juliette Lewis, Jon Polito, Michael Rapaport, Kim Coates, Sofia Vergara, and Richard Libertini in a comedy about ... meat. (two featurettes, deleted scene)

(Skimpy week!)

Recent Theatricals

The Libertine (WeinsteinCo) -- Johnny Depp apparently does very naughty things in this period piece I've not yet seen and therefore cannot logically comment upon. (director commentary, featurette, 10 deleted scenes)

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (Sony) --  Someone told me it's a sequel to Tron. I think they were kidding. (filmmaker commentary, original short film)

The Matador (WeinsteinCo) -- Pierce Brosnan is drop-dead freakin' hilarious in this movie. I know, I was surprised too. (two commentaries, featurette, 11 deleted scenes, radio interview)

Stoned (Universal) -- The allegedly, maybe, somewhat potentially fact-based story of the young Rolling Stones -- or at least the guy who quit the band and drowned at 27. (no extras)

Catalog Picks

My Chauffeur & My Tutor (Brentwood) -- Nothing says "sex comedy" like the possessive "My." How did nobody think to make My Hooker? (no extras)

(Happy 4th!)