Welcome back! Well, to some of you, anyway. To the rest of you, glad you decided to stop by and I hope 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.
Full disclosure: I have not seen many of these titles, and what follows are not necessarily reviews, but opinions based upon what I know of the titles I pluck from the new release lists I peruse. The opinions I give based on the new releases are my own, and my recommendations are based on my personal interest. In any case, I hope you enjoy and perhaps find something you like or a title to point me towards.
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (also Blu-ray).This movie is wildly imaginative, and is one of the best cinematic mind-twisters to come along in some time. I find no shame in saying that while I understood the movie, I also did not understand it. Terry Gilliam has crafted a visually stunning film whose through story is easy to follow, but there is a lot of nuance and elements that will take a few more viewings to understand. This also happens to be Heath Ledger's final movie, and another bright spot on his too-brief career. The film involves a traveling carnival act whose centerpiece is a mirror that will show you the inside of the mind. Too few saw this on the big screen; now you can catch up.
Tombstone (Blu-ray). This was the movie that changed my mind about Westerns. I was never a big fan, but then prior to this film I never really gave them a chance. This movie is just fantastic, exciting, action-packed, dramatic, touches of humor. Val Kilmer steals the show as Doc Holliday. This is the sort of Western that is easy to like and I suspect it will look good on Blu-ray.
Armageddon (Blu-ray). Everybody knows about this movie. A Michael Bay offering that is everything that is evil about a Bay movie and everything that is good. There is nothing that compares to a Michael Bay explosion. He just knows how to do it. Sadly it is one of the only things he does right. Still, these are big, often fun, popcorn movies and I enjoy a bunch of them. I bet this will look spectacular on Blu-ray, although I do not think it will help the overall quality.
Dune (Blu-ray). This should look pretty good, although I do not think I'm going to get it. I got the last DVD some time ago and still have not watched it. This is the David Lynch helmed adaptation of the Frank Herbert epic. Not quite like the book, not quite successful, but definitely odd and unique.
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