How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
November 2, 2010
Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP’s look at the latest Blu-ray discs and DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Toy Story completes its arc, Elizabeth Mitchell fends off a reptilian attack and Lady goes Gaga for sequins.
Pick of the Week
For people who think you’re never too old for toys: Toy Story 3 (2-Disc Edition)
Kim Hollis will disown me for this – I make this claim every time I dislike an animated film – but Toy Story 3? Not so good.
I went into the theater with really no expectations. Well, I had the thought that Toy Story 3 would be at least as good as its predecessor I guess. And then I was underwhelmed with a movie that I felt was the direct-to-DVD sequel Disney thought it was getting with Toy Story 2. As we know, that sequel turned our rather brilliant and got big play at the box office.
I’ll be the first to admit that animation (the whole thing, really) isn’t my favorite movie style. This isn’t to say I haven’t liked certain titles, because I have. Kung Fu Panda was delightful, as was WALL-E. I also really dug The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Oh, and How to Train Your Dragon, too.
Anyway, I felt the story was rather weak for a Pixar film – some would say all the Toy Storys are elementary compared to the studio’s later movies – and the action so dialogue driven so as to make me queasy. That evil plush Teddy Bear was lame and that scene inside the incinerator didn’t have me on the edge of my seat in the way everybody else said it did. The movie, for me, felt like a sequel, and I don’t know that it could stand on its own.
I even had a beer or two in me thinking it would add extra punch to those scenes that were intended to be nostalgic for the 20-somethings who first saw Toy Story when they were kids or pre-teens – nope!
What worked, though, was the idea of closing out the trilogy. Toy Story and its follow up were pretty extraordinary movies – as I recall – and the idea of Andy rushing off to college and shelving his toys for good felt right. Like Pixar, too, closing the door on toys for good by continuing to challenge itself continuing to output quality and entertaining movies.
Disc includes: Day & Night short, Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: The Science of Adventure featurette, Toy Story Trivia Dash, Cine-Explorer with Director Lee Unkrich & Producer Darla Anderson, Beginnings: Setting a Story in Motion featurette, Bonnie’s Playtime featurette, Roundin’ Up a Western Opening featurette, Beyond the Toy Box featurette, Path to Pixar: Editorial featurette, 3 Studio Stories featurette, The Gangs All Here: A Look at the Returning Voice Talent featurette
For people who miss Juliet: V (2009): The Complete First Season
V was mostly a win for the suits at ABC. They realized, though, that V wasn’t the next Lost when it debuted to the tune of 14.3 million, and then never achieved anything remotely close to that in later weeks. (The series’ 2010 episodes, actually, averaged just 5.72 million viewers). And then they realized V really wasn’t the next Lost when the network stupidly aired that obnoxious V countdown clock in late March during one of the final original episodes of Lost, and Losties… went… wild. Like Smokey-on-the-kill wild.
So why’s it a win? Well, it isn’t FlashForward, which got canned after a full 22-episode season. Instead, it’s what I’ve read to be a smart alien drama with a legion of followers that has already survived one timeslot change. (Another is on the way when V’s second season premieres in early January in, well, Lost’s old timeslot).
Disc includes: N/A
For people who don’t know a good title when they see one: Lady Gaga: One Sequin at a Time
We’re addressing all things Gaga, and you wanna talk sequins? Sequins?! The woman, as we all remember, strutted around earlier this year in an outfit made of raw meat, and the docu title producers went with addresses those generic shinies wannabe designers attach to clothing and other things to give ‘em pop? That’s like crediting the bubble iMac as Steve Jobs’ proudest achievement.
Disc includes: N/A
November 2, 2010
Blu-ray
The Bridge On The River Kwai (Collector's Edition)
Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales
Centurion
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Come Hell or High Water
ExTerminators
Fallen
The Goonies (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
Highlander
Highlander 2: The Quickening
Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax: The Big 4
Ocean Odyssey
Once Fallen
The Pacific
Phil Collins: Going Back Live at Roseland
The Riverman
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead
The Sound Of Music (Collector's Edition)
South of the Border
Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage
Toy Story 3 (2-Disc Edition)
UFC: Ultimate 100 Box Set
V (2009): The Complete First Season
Van Gogh: Brush with Genius (IMAX)
White Christmas
DVD
10 Things I Hate About You (New Packaging)
Agatha Christie: Marple (Collector's Edition)
Anywhere But Here
Beverly Hills 90210: The Complete Series (Set)
Beverly Hills 90210: The Final Season
The Bridge On The River Kwai (Collector's Edition)
Centurion
Come Hell or High Water
Deadliest Catch: Complete Season 6
Dr. Who: Revenge of the Cybermen
Dr. Who: Silver Nemesis
ExTerminators
The Facts of Life: The Complete Fifth Season
Flipping Out: 1st Season
Flipping Out: 2nd Season
The Goonies (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
I Am (Widescreen)
Kathy Griffin My Life On The D-List: 2nd Season
Lady Gaga: One Sequin at a Time
The Larry Sanders Show: The Complete Second Season
The Larry Sanders Show: The Complete Series (Set)
Mad About You: The Complete Fifth Season
Nip/Tuck: The Complete Series
Ocean Odyssey
Once Fallen
The Pacific
The Riverman
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead
The Sound Of Music (Collector's Edition)
Toy Story 3 (2-Disc Edition)
V (2009): The Complete First Season
Van Gogh: Brush with Genius (IMAX)
White Christmas (Holiday Edition)
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