Welcome back! Well, to some of you, anyway. To the rest of you, glad you decided to stop by and I hope that this humble column helps you navigate the stacks of new releases each week. My goal is to point you toward titles of interest and warn you away from those films that seek to do nothing but leech away your time and give you nothing in return.
This week brings a decent selection of titles — so decent that I had a hard time selecting my pick for this week. At first it was obvious, and it was that first pick that eventually one out, but there were a few that challenged for the top spot. Hopefully you will also see a number of worthwhile films in here.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: 2 Disc Collector's Edition. Here is a movie that I missed the first (and second) time around on the big screen. I was one of the many who discovered it and fell in love on VHS (that's right, VHS). This is a beautiful example of the magic contained within Tim Burton's mind, not to mention his stop-motion skills combined with those of director Henry Selick (who would also direct James and the Giant Peach). This dark fairy tale is funny, magical, and slightly creepy. The songs... the imagery... everything just works so beautifully. This is, I believe, the third DVD incarnation, but it will assuredly be better than its predecessors. Why? First off this will be the first time it has been released anamorphically, plus it will have a host of new extras and a digital copy for your iPod. It is also being released on Blu-ray. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)
Heroes: Season 2. The second season was nowhere near as good as the first, but it still made for good television, getting better the longer it went on. Unfortunately, the season was cut short by the writers' strike, necessitating a change in the season finale to close it out with the ability to begin the third season fresh. This DVD set will include the originally planned finale climax. Hopefully, season three will be a step up. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. I could have sworn Disney was going to stop doing these direct-to-video sequels. I guess I was either wrong or just wasn't paying attention. Not being in the target age group, I can only say that I wish they left these classics alone. If you are going to do direct-to-video stuff, at least do it with new characters. However, doing that might not make good business sense. In any case, I doubt I will watch this. (BUY, RENT, SKIP)
Article comments
1 - Derek Fleek
Great DVD pick. I absolutely loved The Nightmare Before Christmas. As for postal, which I just recently wrote a review on, I like your metaphore: "Everyone like a good train wreck, makes us glad were not involved." That is a great use of words.
2 - Jordan Richardson
Delicatessan is bloody excellent. It isn't the first region 1 DVD of the film, though. It was released on DVD in May of 2006. This latest release is the Special Edition.