dvd releases Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Australia
This felt like it would be one of those epic films that came, saw, and conquered. In the past, Baz Luhrman has made some impressive shows, from star-crossed lovers to sexy dancing and pop tunes, but Australia never knew what it wanted to be, and suffered for it. As JMA wrote in his review: "It's too bad that he had to waste the all-encompassing title Australia on such a mixed mess." Skip it on DVD and Blu-ray.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read Jeffrey M. Anderson's Review

Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Where one like Australia fizzled, Beverly Hills Chihuahua shocked even Eric D. Snider: "[it] isn't the braying, garish nightmare that the trailers make it out to be, or that we've come to expect from Disney's live-action-excrement factory." Rent it on DVD and Blu-ray.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon | Read Eric D. Snider's Review

Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective
I can only hope that this film isn't the first in a long line of comedic offspring: Zoolander: Mini Male Models, Step Brothers: When Kids are Kids. Unsurprisingly, Cinematical never reviewed this gem of a film, but you can read through our news about it here. Skip it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic
Right in time for the long-awaited release of Watchmen, we're getting the complete motion comic. Now this isn't an entirely animated film, but rather the comic amped up with some movement and a voiceover. DVD Talk says: "these motion comics offer up a unique presentation of the material that is just about as faithful as anything short of a reprint could be, while still offering something new." But there are faults, like Tom Stechschulte voicing ALL of the characters, even the women, but it still looks worthwhile. Rent it on DVD and Blu-ray.

Buy at Amazon

The DVD business is this insidious virus that messes with your mental state, stings your wallet like an unfriendly bee, and clutters up your home, your local used store, and landfills with previously-loved recordings that have been thrown out like old cell phones.

The main culprit are those mean, money-hungry re-releases. Sometimes, the hints of discs-to-come are very strong -- enough that you know a new version is inevitable. When Donnie Darko dipped to $9 a disc, you just knew that a new release was on the horizon, and this week, those under-$10 Ice Storm discs have paved the way for a new Criterion release. But it is not always so cut and dry.

Sometimes you get a handful of releases for one single movie, often with competing features. The fifteen billion Army of Darkness releases, for example, offer battling quotes. If you want to hear "Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun," you better make sure that you have the right version; otherwise, you'll get the painfully inferior: "I'm not that good." The same goes for: "Maybe, just maybe my boys can protect the book. Yeah, and maybe I'm a Chinese jet pilot," which became the much less quotable: "I need more men." It becomes not only a race for the best disc features, but also a race to get the movie you remember, and the quotes you love.

I don't remember how old I was the first time I saw Walt Disney's 101 Dalmatians, but I do know that I fell in love with the film from the first time I saw it. I didn't know, as a kid, that the abstract line art and blocks of color used in the film were a ground-breaking departure for Disney's animation department, or that the film was the first to use a Xerox copier to transfer the animator's line art onto the cells for the film.

I didn't appreciate, back then, the incredible amount of work it took to put all those little black spots in just the right places, or the sheer artistry of the brilliant opening credits sequence. Back then, I saw the film as my own kids see it today -- just a great story, full of suspense and humor, full of cute, cuddly spotted puppies, and anchored by one of the greatest villains ever to grace a cinema screen, Cruella De Vil.

Lonesome Jim, helmed by actor-director Steve Buscemi, debuted at Sundance way back in 2005, made its way through the festival circuit, and is now finally getting a DVD release on August 28. The film, which stars Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler, is about a 27-year-old guy who, after failing miserably at making it on his own, moves back in with his parents -- kind of a "coming-of-age" tale, only the character should have come of age a few years back. Our own Christopher Campbell, who reviewed the film back in March, found it hilarious, and maybe you will, too. All you have to do is write the best caption for the above still from the film. The best entrant (as judged by a pack of trained flying monkeys I keep in my attic, or by Cinematical staff, whoever has more free time) will win a lovely DVD of Lonesome Jim. You know how to play, folks. Put on those thinking caps and take your best shot in the comments. You have until Sunday, August 27 at 5PM EDT to enter your caption. Winner will be announced next week.