Oct 16, 2007,
Dre Rivas
You know the score. It's Tuesday. You have the money; I have the recap. I'm weak on the "Strong Buys" this Tuesday, but we have a healthy load of rentals in store. Let's go DVD hunting!
Strong Buy:
1. Transformers
I can't even begin to imagine how sick this will look on HD. The wonderful thing about DVD, of course, is you can chapter-skip through all the crummy dialogue and dirt-poor acting. The trick will be knowing when to stop, but once you memorize when all of the great action scenes are happening that shouldn't be a problem anymore.
Rental:
2. A Mighty Heart
The story of Daniel Pearl and his wife's determination to find out what happened to him isn't exactly a fun night at home, but I'll see anything director Michael Winterbottom has his mitts on.
3. The Hoax
I'd been waiting for Lasse Hallstrom to make a decent movie again and I have my fingers crossed for this one. This is a true story about two guys who wrote a phony autobiography for Howard Hughes and got busted for it. This was one of my most disappointing missed appointments on the big screen this year.
4. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - Season One
I always wanted to check this show out because I loved the idea (a behind-the-scenes look at an SNL-like TV show) but I never got around to it. I remember reading somewhere that it's one of the most DVR'd shows on TV which I'm guessing is a really nice way of saying its ratings sucked. But maybe I'm sleeping on the DVR, non-live viewers. Maybe they're Nixon's silent majority. Aaron Sorkin's involvement peaks my interest, so count me in.
5. That '70s Show - Season 7
Here's a show I've at least seen on reruns. Something always bugged me, though. As I understand it, when the show aired it began in 1976. There were eight seasons. Almost every season there was a holiday episode, right? And yet, that last episode ended in 1980. Somehow, there were like seven Christmas holidays in a four-year span. I shouldn't care about things like this. But I care about things like this.
Probably Not:
6. Grindhouse: Planet Terror
Grindhouse is still one of my favorite experiences at the theater this year and fellow movie geeks have to love the goofy high this purposely-bad (but so bad it's good) flick injects into the viewer. But put your foot down, buyer. Do not give in. There will be a special edition of Grindhouse in the coming year that will feature both Planet Terror and Death Proof as well as those hilarious trailer spoofs. This is just an attempt to rob DVD collectors blind.
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Dre writes three times a week for Film.com. We swear he watches movies. Email him!
