How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
September 7, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For people who would most certainly take their entire enclave of co-workers to their wedding ceremony and reception: The Office: Season 6
Oh, boy. Season Six of The Office was not a delight.
I’m thinking about what to write about here, and I’m racking my brain for something clever, or witty… or interesting. Truth is, the sixth season just didn’t do it for me. There seemed to be no direction on where to take the series post-Jim and Pam wedding. (Which, by the way, was episode four of a lengthy 26-episode season). I mean really, anybody out there got any ideas?
Season six marked the first time when I didn’t care when I watched The Office. Some, like “The Delivery,” “St. Patrick’s Day” and “New Leads,” – that ep with what I heard was a pretty awful garbage dump fight between Michael and Dwight – I didn’t even bother to watch. And this is coming from probably the most devoted of viewers prior to the current season.
On the topic of Jim and Pam weddings, though, I will say that “Niagara” was one of the show’s best to date. It very well could have been the series finale. Jim and Pam get married, of course. But as well during the hour-long, each character had some funny material to chew on, culminating with Stanley and Kevin and Kelly and Ryan, and Erin and Meredith and Creed and Oscar dancin’ down the aisle.
Angela walked gingerly, Phyllis bounced around sexily with her husband, Bob, and Dwight mistakenly kicked a woman in the face. It was awesome. And, it makes me wonder how else the show plans to give equal attention to its characters when the actual series finale comes ‘round.
Season seven, Steve Carell’s last as Michael Scott, starts September 23rd.
Disc includes: Blooper reel, deleted scenes, Welcome to Sabre Company Video featurette
For people who can’t help but open doors that go bump in the night: The Skeleton Key [Blu-ray]
I think The Skeleton Key is one of the most underrated horror movies to come around in the last five or so years. It’s been some time since I’ve seen it, yet I remember loving the thing. The flick stars Kate Hudson, who plays a nurse who accepts a job as caretaker of a New Orleans plantation home, and in so doing is thrust into a mind game involving the house she cares for, its past and present inhabitants and the supposed magic and supernatural that went on there.
The skeleton key comes into play because within the house is a door that Kate Hudson’s character is told to never open. A Skeleton Key will do the trick, but not without serious consequence to the person who does what they shouldn’t be doing with the door.
Sure, it’s spooky and all, but I think my positive response to it is due to two things: 1) The Southern history and voodoo magic that is both described and seen on screen, and 2) A wicked crazy ending that I never saw coming, yet believed without kickback. I want to say as far as twist endings go, The Skeleton Key’s is one of the more memorable ones of recent memory.
The movie maybe gets a new generation of viewers thanks to today’s release in Blu-ray. I don’t know that the format is completely necessary to enjoy the movie, but the update at least gives me an excuse to talk about it.
Disc includes: Kate Hudson’s Ghost Story featurette, Exploring Voodoo/Hoodoo featurette, Behind the Locked Door featurette, Blues in the Bayuo featurette, audio commentary
For people who dare to dream that a 30-second sketch can be stretched – successfully – into something 200 times as long: MacGruber
A better sketch than it would be a feature film, the idea of a MacGruber movie never made that much sense to me.
The funniest thing about it, of course, was that it always ended with MacGruber spending too much time working out the intricacies of his predicament, or getting distracted by red herrings, or being racist. His and his compadres’ area of confinement would explode, they’d all die and the screen would cut to black.
Again, that for me was the highlight of the MacGruber sketch. And the movie could really only get away with doing it a handful of times, or maybe just once. At the end. The other 90 or so minutes would have to be, well, funny.
I didn’t bother to see MacGruber and don’t really regret it. It’s considered Rotten over at Rotten Tomatoes with a 48% score. Top critics rated it even less at 29%. This is about par with Saturday Night Live sketches adapted for the silver screen. I think save for Wayne’s World, they’re generally poorly received by critics.
In the movie - which does take place outside of a 10x10 room! - MacGruber assembles a team of experts (Ryan Phillippe and Kristen Wiig among them) to help take down his nemesis, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), who stole nuclear warheads.
Disc includes: Deleted scene, gag reel, audio commentary
September 7, 2010
Blu-ray
Airborne Toxic: All I Ever Wanted Live
Being Michael Madsen
The Black Dahlia
Blood Into Wine
Broken Arrow
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
Chain Reaction
Chuck: The Complete Third Season
Courage Under Fire
Forbidden Planet
Full Metal Panic: Season One
Hatchet
In Cold Blood
Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale
Killers
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
Lost In Space
MacGruber
Mars Attacks!
The Matrix Reloaded
Megadeth: Rust In Peace
Numb
O'Jays: Live in Concert
The Office: Season 6
Peanuts: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Peanuts: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The Phantom
The Player
Poltergeist
Pulse
Rising Sun
Scotland Revealed
The Skeleton Key
Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season
Solitary Man
Stardust
Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season
That Evening Sun
THX 1138
Tommy
UFC Presents: The Best of WEC
Wonders of the Solar System
DVD
Airborne Toxic: All I Ever Wanted Live
American Chopper Season 6 Collection (Set)
Being Michael Madsen
Blood Into Wine
Boy Meets World: The Complete First Season
Boy Meets World: The Complete Second Season
Boy Meets World: The Complete Third Season
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
Charles Bukowski Live: The Last Straw
Charles Bukowski: Live, October 12, 1979
Chuck: The Complete Third Season
Clatterford: The Complete Season Three
Criminal Minds: Season 5
Criminal Minds: Seasons 1-5 (Set)
Dr. Who: Planet Of Fire
Dr. Who: The Creature from the Pit
Dr. Who: The King's Demons
Full Metal Panic: Season One (Remastered)
The Guardian: The Second Season
Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale
Killers
L.A. Ink: Season 2, Volume 1
Less Than Perfect: The Complete First Season
Little People, Big World: Season 3, Volume 1
MacGruber (Unrated)
The Norm Show: The Complete Series
O'Jays: Live in Concert
The Office: Season 6
Peanuts: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Peanuts: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Scotland Revealed
Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season
Solitary Man
Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season
That Evening Sun
Wall Street (Special Edition)
Wonders of the Solar System