How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
July 7, 2009
Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP's look at the latest DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Two oldies get a little better lookin', John Michael Higgins questions his sexuality and Nic Cage saves us from total damnation.Pick of the WeekFor people who think Walter Matthau is one ugly dude: Grumpy Old Men [Blu-ray]
Movies with old people are usually not so good. (Unless, of course, your name is Bob Barker and you signed on for a cameo in Happy Gilmore). Grumpy Old Men is the exception. I love this movie. Out today is a Blu-ray version of the 1993 classic about two guys – who were so old during the making of this movie that they're both now dead – who can't stand each other.
Like any good rivalry, save for those decades-old sports feuds that rely on cheap shots spouting from the mouths of boozed up drunkards, John (Jack Lemmon) and Max's (Walter Matthau) little spat arose from a girl. (Max's inability to lock it down in childhood, and John's dumb luck to strike while the iron's hot). Their rivalry's renewed when a new neighbor (Ann-Margret) moves in, leading the boys to fight for her affection.
Disc includes: Trailer
For people who think John Michael Higgins is the man: Kath & Kim: Season 1
I'm surely going to lose a How to Spend $20 reader or two when I admit, here and now, that I watched Kath & Kim. BUUUUUT, before you go ready the witch hunt, I'd like to add that my viewing habits were by no means regular. In fact, out of the 17 episodes that aired on NBC last season, I maybe caught the first half dozen or so before I called it quits. OK? OK??!
The comedy in this thing was completely mindless – i.e. Paris Hilton could've scored a job in the writers' room. But what kept me coming back were the stellar performances by Molly Shannon (who I've dearly missed since her SNL departure) and especially John Michael Higgins, who's nearly always the funniest guy in the Christopher Guest movies. Their "chemistry" – if you can even call it that, given Higgins' ease at playing the perfect ambiguously gay guy – was one of the only reasons I kept going back.
Disc includes: Deleted scenes, gag reel, audio commentaries
For people who are in need of some cheap entertainment while they anxiously await another "exciting" chapter in the National Treasure franchise: Knowing
Here's the thing. We're all destined to die from some apocalyptic calamity. Doesn't matter what. It's deadly. Well, unless Nic Cage steps in at the right time to save us all from sure death.
I'll pause a minute while you laugh your ass off.
That's the watered-down premise of Cage's latest release, a sci-fi flick that debuted at the end of March and racked up close to $80 million in domestic dollars. Whoever wasn't among the lame ducks who spit green at this one's U.S. cume knew like I did that a more entertaining Saturday afternoon would have been spent watching their folks ingest a dietary supplement. That, or watching The Wicker Man four times in a row.
Disc includes: Audio commentary, Knowing All: The Making of a Futuristic Killer featurette, Versions of the Apocalypse featurette
For people who think it's high time for Charlie to play something other than football: Peanuts: 1960s Collection
Charlie Brown snobs (is there such a thing?) are rejoicing today with the release of Peanuts: 1960s Collection, a DVD packed with six movie specials – including two that previously were never released on DVD. Five of the six even won Emmys or merely earned a nod – an impressive feat, even if their source material happens to be one of the most popular comic strips of all time.
Here's hoping more collections like this will be released a little bit later down the road. The ‘60s collection accounts for just 14% of all Charlie Brown specials. (I'll save you the trouble. There have been 41 total, with the most recent being 2006's He's a Bully, Charlie Brown – or You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown on DVD).
Disc includes: A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown's All-Stars, It's the Great Pumpkin, You're in Love, He's Your Dog, It Was a Short Summer
July 7, 2009
Blu-ray
The Deep
Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone
King of the Streets
Knowing
Night Train
Push
The Unborn (Unrated)
The Universe: The Complete Season Two
DVD
The Deep
John Barrymore Collection 1920-1928 (Set)
King of the Streets
Matlock: Seasons 1-3 (Set)
Matlock: The Third Season
Murder She Wrote: The Complete Tenth Season
Mystery Science 3000 Collection: XV
Night Train
One Missed Call 3: Final
The Peacekeepers
Petticoat Junction: The Official Second Season
Pittsburgh Penguins: 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Champs (Widescreen)
Push
Reclaiming the Blade (Special Edition)
Reno 911: The Complete Sixth Season
Ruby: Favorite Episodes From Season 1
Third Watch: Seasons 1 & 2
Third Watch: The Complete Second Season
The Twelve Kingdoms Complete Series (Set)
The Unborn (Unrated)
The Universe: The Complete Season Two
WWE: Extreme Rules 2009
Yellowjackets: Paris Concert
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