Film.com DVD Blog

DVD Review - Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... Season 1

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:10:00 PST

One of the surprise debuts of last year had to be Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..., a talk show featuring Costello pulling off the rare triple threat: host, performer, and bandleader. Equal parts interview and jam session, the Sundance series relies upon Costello putting the artists at ease, getting even the prickliest of artists to open up and speak warmly about their influences.

But, as Martin…

DVD Alternatives to This Weekend's Theatrical Offerings

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:41:00 PST

We know how it is: You'd like to go to the movies this weekend, but there's all that sighing and sulking and brooding over your immortal undead lover to do, and that's just exhausting. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, "Hey, did you see New Moon this weekend?" you can reply, "No, I watched some vampire and werewolf movies that don't suck instead."

INSTEAD OF: The Twilight Saga: New Moon, in which --…

The Five Must-Buy Box Sets of the Christmas Season

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:51:00 PST

It's that time again. Time to hang the holly, trim the tree, and fill the stockings. So what should all the good little geek boys and girls be looking for under the tree this year? How about these five awesome box sets?

Paul Newman: The Tribute Collection
One of the very best things to see release this year, the Paul Newman Tribute Collection boasts 17 discs with 13 of his best movies on them (the other four discs are special feature discs. The lure of the set, of course, are the big films: Butc…

DVD Review: My Sister's Keeper

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:33:00 PST

Some people don't like to cry in public but have no qualms about letting it all out in the privacy of their own living rooms. These are the people who will most enjoy My Sister's Keeper on DVD.

In a way, you have to respect a film that so unabashedly wears its intentions on its sleeve. The sadness is so apparent even from the opening scenes, you know the film isn't going to attempt to trick you into thinking everything will turn out OK for cancer-stricken teenager Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) and…

Criterion Review: Downhill Racer Swiftly Pleases

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:33:00 PST

Is it possible that the great American sports film is not about football, baseball, or boxing, but instead about downhill ski racing? Likely not, but Downhill Racer (1969) makes a strong case for the possibility, filled to the brim with heart-pounding slides down snow-covered ravines, the quiet contemplation of an athlete competing against himself, and a realistic scorn for coming in second. The film is about winning and losing, not playing the game. And Downhill Racer is determined to win…

DVD Review: Gone With the Wind Gets Gussied Up for Its Big Birthday

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:20:00 PST

There's box sets, and then there's this 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Gone With the Wind set, which is just insane. In a good way, of course. This isn't for someone who doesn't already know and love the movie, so I'm not even going to bother reviewing the film. Either you know it and you adore it (or you hate it, in which case, you're not gonna buy this anyway), or you've never seen it, in which case, for pete's sake, rent it before you invest in this treasure chest of a set.

…

DVD Alternatives to This Weekend's Theatrical Offerings

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:38:00 PST

We know how it is: You'd like to go to the movies this weekend, but you're gonna be busy escaping the end of the world. You can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, "Hey, did you see 2012 this weekend?" you can reply, "No, I watched all the movies that Roland Emmerich borrowed ideas from instead."

INSTEAD OF: 2012, in which Roland Emmerich destroys Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Yellowstone Park, Washington, D.C., Hawaii,…

DVD Review: Watchmen -- The Ultimate Cut Is This Season's Must-Own DVD Box Set

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:24:00 PST

No property has shown off Warner Brothers skill at multiple releases more than this year's slight disappointment, Watchmen. The first DVD's release came while the film was still in theaters, special feature-loaded extras bundled with the incredible motion comic (setting every frame of the comic book to a book on tape reading of the book) and the animated version of the comic book's comic-within-a-comic, Tales of the Black Freighter. Also on the latter disc was a documentary on the…

Blu-Ray Review: Monsters, Inc.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:08:00 PST

Monsters, Inc. represents something of a pivotal moment for Pixar. It was the first time director John Lasseter turned over the reigns, and coming off of Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life that was probably for the best. Pete Docter (who also went on to direct Up) clearly brought a ton of momentum and innovation to the project. In many ways Monsters, Inc. heralded the second golden era of Pixar, culminating in Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

The Blu-ray looks amazing, and like everything else Pixar…

Blu-Ray Review: Stargate: The Movie -- 15th Anniversary Edition

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:34:00 PST

Fifteen years ago, two cinematic powerhouses came together and teamed up to form a union that would forever become infamous in critical circles but popular on the Hollywood set. Together these two men, Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, would produce and direct (respectively) a number of of blockbuster hits that can only be described as spectacle. But before they rocked the world with films like Independence Day (ID4), The Patriot, or even the abysmal Godzilla, these two men would create one of…