How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
December 15, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For people who wonder what the world would be like if World War II really went down like this: Inglourious Basterds (Special Edition)
My favorite movie (so far) of 2009 is Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's epic World War II dramedy that goes off the textbook, so to speak, in its faux telling of two plots to assassinate Hitler and the Nazi political leadership, with one being undertaken by a group of American soldiers dubbed the Basterds. From Brad Pitt's thick, ridiculous accent to that horrifically excellent opening scene to Christoph Waltz's genius as Hans "The Jew Hunter" Landa, some circles have named Inglorious Basterds a masterpiece, and I'll have to agree. It's richly entertaining and oddly never drags – even though many of its scenes are on the longer side and the movie itself clocks in at a Tarantino-sized 152 minutes.
Though I found a lot to like in both volumes of Kill Bill and feel the same way about Pulp Fiction as everyone else, for reasons not completely known by me I was never overly excited to go see Inglourious Basterds up until a few days before I went with a friend to see it. I'll go ahead and blame the marketing department, which on one level failed to capture my interest in the project. It's silly for me to think back on the time I lacked avid interest in the movie, as it ended up providing me one of the best theater-going experiences I can recall in some time. When Tarantino thickly laid on the humor, the audience ate it up with delight. And likewise with the movie's more dramatic moments, which at times were unexpectedly gruesome and profound.
Disc includes: Extended and alternate scenes, Nation's Pride: The Film within the Film, roundtable discussion with Quentin Tarantino and others, The Making of Nation's Pride featurette, Quentin Tarantino's Camera Angel featurette
For people who've never seen a better end credits sequence: The Hangover (Special Edition)
Who knew that by the beginning of the summer box office season, Brad Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis would solidify themselves as household names after their $35 million R-rated comedy movie, The Hangover, opened to a bigger-than-expected $45 million, en route to a disgusting $277 million domestic cume? Its $277 million, in fact, places the movie first all time as far as R-rated comedies go. Even more impressive, I think, is that the movie ranks #3 all-time when taking all R-rated movies into account, behind just The Passion of the Christ and The Matrix Reloaded. To no one's surprise, a Hangover sequel is already planned, with production expected to begin next year for a summer 2011 release.
The Hangover follows four friends (Cooper, Helms, Galifianakis and Justin Bartha) who journey to Las Vegas for Bartha's bachelor party. The morning after, none of them can recall what happened the previous night. Even worse, Bartha is missing. Even more worse, there are, among other things, a live tiger and a baby in their Vegas hotel room. The remaining three members of the original bachelor party group take it upon themselves to figure out what happened in Vegas, and more importantly, what happened to Bartha, who's expected to get married the next day.
The comedy is, frankly, outrageous. This one's even got Mike Tyson singing to Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," which is just as hilarious as you'd expect it to be. While there are moments I didn't particularly care for, the comedy in The Hangover is satisfying and worthy of home viewing if you haven't seen it already.
Disc includes: Gag reel, The Dan Band Performs Fame featurette, Ken Jeong's Non-stop Hilarious Improv featurette
For people who weren't there for the real thing: Taking Woodstock
Taking Woodstock is a dramedy about how the famed ‘60s music festival came to be, based on a same-named memoir by Elliott Tiber. The movie follows Demetri Martin's character, Elliott, who plans to hold a small music festival in upstate New York and obtains a permit from the town, Bethel, to do so. When he learns the organizers of the Woodstock Festival face opposition against the agreed location of the event, Elliott offers his permit, among other things. The ball starts rolling from there.
If anything, the trailer to Taking Woodstock promised a rocking soundtrack and a cross-dressing Liev Schreiber, so the movie quickly made its way to my to-do list. However, much like the rest of the country, I never got around to seeing the Ang Lee-directed flick. Against a budget of $30 million, the film took home just $7.5 million in the States and another $2.4 million overseas.
Disc includes: Deleted scenes; Peace, Love and Cinema featurette; audio commentary
For people who think this one looks a lot like Robert Zemeckis's Used Cars: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
You know it's a slow week when you go back and forth on whether to plug Jeremy Piven's The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard or G-Force, that CGI movie about trained secret agent guinea pigs with guns. Both movies looked pretty awful. Consider my Goods pick as choosing the lesser of two evils.
On the most recent season of Big Brother, the HouseGuests met Jeremy Piven and then went outside to engage in some brainless game. What did the winners of the game receive? A special screening of The Goods, which they were forced to watch in the comforts of their cushy reality TV home. A similar, broadened strategy would have helped Paramount Vantage make a little more green from the movie as The Goods earned just a little over $15 million in box office receipts. Not so good when your stars include Piven, David Koechner, Ed Helms and a solid number of celebrity cameos.
Disc includes: Not specified
Because 26 World Series championships just weren't quite enough: New York Yankees: 2009 World Series Champions
I'm not bitter.
Disc includes: Not specified
December 15, 2009
Blu-ray
Basilisk Box Set
Beyonce: I Am... Yours, An Intimate Performance
G-Force
The Hangover (Special Edition)
HD Moods: Blu Ocean
Inglourious Basterds (Special Edition)
La Boheme Film: Netrebko & Villazon
The Mel Brooks Collection Blu-ray
New York Yankees: 2009 World Series Champions
The Other Man
Samurai Champloo Complete Set
Star Trek Original Series: Seasons 1-3
Star Trek The Original Series: Season Three
Taking Woodstock
DVD
Cake Boss
Criss Angel Mindfreak: Collector's Edition (Set)
Criss Angel Mindfreak: The 5 Lives Of
G-Force (Deluxe Edition)
George Lopez: Tall, Dark & Chicano
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
The Hangover (Special Edition)
Ice Road Truckers: The Complete Season Three
Inglourious Basterds (Special Edition)
Miss Mend (Deluxe Edition)
New York Yankees: 2009 World Series Champions
The Other Man
Paper Chase: Season Two
Robot Chicken: Season 4
Robot Chicken: Seasons 1-4
The Sherlock Holmes Collection
Star Trek Original Series: Seasons 1-3 (Set)
Star Trek The Original Series: Season Three
Taking Woodstock
Throttle
The Tudors: The Complete Third Season
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (Extended Edition)
WWE: The History Of The WWE Championship (Set)