January 6, 2009

The DVD Releases This Week Aim "High"!

Yes, the two quality releases this week heavily make use of the wacky tobaccy, and the other releases are so bad you need to be severely stoned to want to watch them in the first place. My choice for the PICK OF THE WEEK is the less widely seen of the two good flicks, and one of my favorite films from 2008. It's:
The Wackness
A period piece/character study about New York in the 90's, it felt incredibly real and was to me, above all else, incredibly entertaining. If for no other reason, see it for Ben Kingsley doing some real acting for a change.
-Also out we have Pineapple Express, a very good action comedy hybrid from Judd Apatow's house of funny. Seth Rogen is solid as always, and the direction from David Gordon Green is as compelling as in his small scale indie dramas.
-Onto the dregs of the week. First up we have Righteous Kill, which utterly wastes the pairing of De Niro and Pacino in a sad excuse for a film that wants to be like The Departed so bad, it hurts. Next up is Bangkok Dangerous, a remake action flick starring Nicolas Cage. Cage sleepwalks through the film, and so will you. We also have the incredibly nonsensical Vin Diesel sci fi film Babylon A.D., which is pretty damn bad, and the aptly named Disaster Movie, which doesn't even need a joke made about it, just read the title.
-My Vintage pick this week is Steve McQueen's The Great Escape. A real vintage pick, and one that stands the test of time. If you've never seen this POW film, now's the time to correct that blunder.
-What will you guys and gals be watching this week?

3 comments:

  1. I missed Pineapple Express in theaters, I was so pissed.

    Joey, just curious but what do you mean by seeing Ben Kingsley doing "real acting" for a change?

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  2. a bit less of him just showing up and collecting a paycheck, something he's done a time or two too many for my tastes (cough, The Love Guru, cough)

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  3. understandable (wasn't he in BloodRayne?), although Elegy seemed to get him back in the game too, a sort of House of Sand and Fog type for him

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