This week's list boasts a couple of high spots in the horror genre and a lot of filler, but if you look closely, I'm sure you'll find a couple of gems hidden amongst the dross.
Of major interest this week is the DVD release of 28 Weeks Later, this year's follow-up to the well-received 28 Days Later. Following in Danny Boyle's footsteps, director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo carries the story forward with this post-modern zombie tale. I've only seen the first film, but I'm tempted to put this one in my Netflix queue, especially with Halloween coming up.
Fans of classic horror will be interested in a newly remastered edition of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring the inimitable Lon Chaney. The product description on Amazon notes that it's been remastered in high definition from an original print, has a new symphonic score, and contains an audio commentary track by a Lon Chaney scholar. Along these same lines, look for the re-release of 1927's The Cat and the Canary and some other horrific goodies sprinkled among the long list.
Other recent theatrical releases due to hit store shelves this week are the poorly-reviewed Evan Almighty, which apparently managed to take the funny out of Steve Carell, and Reign Over Me, a 9/11-themed tale of loss and friendship. Reign Over Me boasts an interesting cast in Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler — I like Sandler better when he's not funny, and Cheadle is good enough to elevate pretty much anything he appears in, so this one is probably worth a rental.
MGM is releasing a box set of five musicals, aptly named MGM Classic Musicals. The movies are a rather motley selection — West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang — so it's not clear what the unifying theme is underlying the set. They're not the titles that leap to mind when one thinks of "classic" musicals (or even MGM musicals, come to think of it), but they're all good films in their own right (well, okay, I've never actually seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but I've heard stuff), and this might be a worthwhile acquisition for fans of the genre.
For those of you who live to browse, the long list:
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