Weeks like this are rare. It was a bit of a struggle to make a pick this week. Nothing really struck me as being a must have. Of course, there are titles that interest me and I was able to make a choice. So let us just move along, shall we?
I thought I would take a trip back to my childhood when we youngsters could take our lunch and camp out in front of the TV with its endless stream of Hanna Barbera cartoons. This week has a few such releases. Coming to a store shelf near you are the complete series releases of Magilla Gorilla and Hong Kong Phooey.
The former I was never much of a fan of, but the latter I had completely forgotten about until the release list for this week. I loved the crime-fighting mutt. By day he was a janitor at a police station, but at the first hint of trouble he would leap into his closet, don a mask, get ahold of his feline sidekick, and head off to thwart the evildoers. He would also never be too far away from his instruction manual. Great stuff. It will be nice to revisit my youth with this release.
Also coming out this week:
- Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier. This would have been my pick had it included the wonderful documentary, Hearts of Darkness, but it does not. It does have both the theatrical version and the longer version released in 2001.
- L'Enfant. This looks like an interesting film. It is about a young couple who have a child and the father sells the child on the black market. The film looks into their lives in the aftermath of that decision.
- Masters of Horror: Dario Argento - Jenifer. The latest release of this Showtime series from the Italian Master.
- Rome: The Complete First Season. Only saw one episode of this, but it was pretty good. I wouldn't mind seeing more of it.
- RV. This is a warning, do not see this stinker.
- Scary Movie 4. Surprisingly funny and a much better entry than the previous two sequels.
- The Simpsons: The Complete Eigth Season. I liked the early seasons, but stopped getting them a few seasons back.
What are you getting this week?
Article comments
1 - Snarkattack
So you've not actually seen 'Hong Kong Phooey'? Gosh, that really takes me back - I still lived in England when I used to watch this! Can still hear the theme song in my mind...
2 - Chris Beaumont
No, I've seen it, but it has been a long time and my memories are a bit fuzzy. I do remember liking it very much.
3 - Snarkattack
Likewise Chris, with the memories being fuzzy and all.
I guess I meant 'rewatched' - not that long ago I saw an episode of 'Thundercats' and one of the characters I thought of as a super tough guy when I was little seemed rather...different to my adult mind. I'd still buy it on DVD though, was a fantastic cartoon. As was the, uh, Care Bears.
4 - Chris Beaumont
Different as an adult... I hope my childhood memories remain unchanged with the upcoming Voltron set. I remember in college a classmate edited portions of the CB Movie with Predator. Funny stuff! I haven't rewatched any of Thunderctas yet. However, I noticed how strange it was watching Transformers again.....
5 - Dynamo of Eternia
I picked up the new Simpsons release, but I do agree about this being around the time the show started going south.
I remember during my Senior year of high school (I graduated in 1998)talking with friends about how the Simpsons wasn't as funny as it used to be. Yet, here we are, almost a decade later, and its still on.
One particular conversation I had with a friend back around the time resulted in him mentioning an article he had read in the newspaper on how the Simpsons' quality was dropping, pinpointing the Mary Poppins parody episode (which is on this new DVD set) as the exact point when the show started to lose it's steam. While he and I both enjoyed that particular episode, the article as a whole had a point.
I still watch new episodes on occasion if I happen to be tuning in at the time, but I don't go out of my way to make sure that I don't miss it. Sometimes I laugh, most of the time I don't. Even when I do, it's still usually not as good as it once was, and I just prefer the days when the show was still at it's peak.
I'm sure there are many fans who will disagree with me and even want to flame me for my opinions, but it is how I feel, and I know I am not alone in this opinion.
Well, on the bright side with this particular boxed set, at least it has Mr. Sparkle on the side of the box. That was a funny little extra touch.