All Entries in the "DVD Zone" Category
Digital Divide: February 2010
Hey, look! The column’s called something different now. Why? Well, we decided it was time to begin a serious relationship with the 21st century, thanks for asking.
DVD Zone: January 2010
Public Enemies
Universal
We Chicagoans always get so stoked whenever Hollywood comes a-callin’ to shoot one of those fancy moving pictures in our hoods. Forget for a moment that in the early days Chicago was the center of the film-production universe before the industry packed up their toys and moved out west. We still harbor the feeling [...]
DVD Zone: December 2009
Star Trek
Paramount
With franchises such as Batman, Superman, even the Friday The 13th series seeing successful cinematic “reboots” over the past few years, did you think for a second Paramount was going to leave their biggest cash cow sitting on the shelf? Did you think the sun wasn’t gonna come up this morning?
DVD Zone: November 2009
Drag Me To Hell
Universal
Watching director Sam Raimi return to the horror genre he redefined is like rediscovering water in August. With seemingly nine out of 10 horror flicks these days reduced to mere torture porn, Raimi’s deft touch serves notice to everyone working in the field just how it’s supposed to be done.
DVD Zone: October 2009
Listen. I’m gonna drop a little knowledge on you. It may seem a bit controversial, perhaps even scandalous, but you need to hear it: Summer is overrated.
DVD Zone: September 2009
I Love You, Man
Warner Bros.
Face it guys, we’ve all been there. The wife or girlfriend states her desire to stay in and watch a movie. Out of some sort of supposed kindness, she lets you offer up a token suggestion or two as to what might be on the bill for the evening. This, of [...]
DVD Zone: August 2009
Reliving The Cold War
Watchmen
Warner Bros.
After the glut of superhero movies over the past few years, you would think that the public would be starting to tire of the whole genre. Yet the success of Iron Man and The Dark Knight means it isn’t going away anytime soon. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad [...]
DVD Zone: July 2009
Iron Maiden: Flight 666
UMe
If Bruce Dickinson isn’t the coolest person on the planet, I’d be hard-pressed to tell you who is. Not only is he still one of the best and most charismatic frontmen in the business at age 50, but if he needs to catch the afternoon shuttle from London to Cardiff, he can [...]
DVD Zone: June 2009
Revolutionary Road
20th Century Fox
After taking a trip to the Middle East with Jarhead, director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road To Perdition) returns to the fertile ground of middle-American dysfunction with Revolutionary Road. Teaming up again are Titanic co-stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as April and Frank Wheeler, but there are no “king of the [...]
DVD Zone: May 2009
Jeff Beck: Performing This Week . . . Live At Ronnie Scott’s
Eagle
There may be no more daunting task in the music world than trying to figure out the enigma that is Jeff Beck. To quote Marlon Brando, he could have been a contender. As innovative as Hendrix, more rockin’ than Clapton, and just head-and-shoulders better [...]
DVD Zone: April 2009
Quantum Of Solace
20th Century Fox
After years of stale plot lines and tired formulas (no offense, Pierce Brosnan), not to mention getting its British butt kicked by the superior Bourne series, the James Bond franchise got a much needed re-boot in Casino Royale. Starring Daniel Craig as a much more no-nonsense Bond, the series appeared to [...]
DVD Zone: March 2009
SELLING OUT TO THE FAME GAME
How To Lose Friends And Alienate People
20th Century Fox
In the early ’90s, British writer Toby Young founded and co-edited the London- based magazine Modern Review, a publication dedicating itself to snarky articles slamming anything and everything that wasn’t them. Young revealed himself to be most obnoxious, earning a [...]
DVD Zone: February 2009
The Secret Policeman’s Ball
(Shout Factory)
In 1976 Peter Luft, the assistant director of Amnesty International, made a phone call to John Cleese, founding member of the legendary British comedy troupe Monty Python. At the time, Amnesty was a struggling organization barely making ends meet in the fight to bring awareness of human rights violations around the [...]
DVD Zone: January 2009
DVD Zone
Burn After Reading
Universal
Seriously, are there any filmmakers out there with a more varied canon than the Coen brothers? They’ve run the gamut from pitch-perfect film noir (Blood Simple, No Country For Old Men) to surrealistic masterpieces (Barton Fink, O Brother, Where Art Thou?) to works that can only be described as WTF? (The Hudsucker [...]
DVD Zone: December 2008
DVD Zone
The 2008 Holiday DVD Gift Guide
So the economy’s in the tank. Big deal. That shouldn’t keep you from treating those you hold near and dear to some great DVD sets this holiday season. Besides, you’d just spend the money foolishly on stuff like the mortgage, rent, food, or whatever. C’mon, anybody can do that.
