Couch Potato - DVDs out this week

It’s Tuesday, a day the Greeks consider to be an unlucky day. I, on the other-hand, happen to think is really rather lucky, because we get a whole batch of brand new DVDs to watch from the comfort of our own homes.

This particular Tuesday sees the release of a really quite excellent horror film from genre master Sam Raimi, a fun summer computer animated B-movie homage, a Hallowe’en themed direct-to-DVD horror, and another batch of TV shows from the States.Drag Me to Hell is Sam Raimi’s long awaited return to his horror roots, having taken some time out to work on a franchise about a web-slinging superhero. The story, which was written by Raimi alongside brother Ivan before taking the Spiderman job, centres on loan officer Christine Brown, who tries to impress her boss by refusing to extend a loan to a gypsy woman by the name of Mrs. Ganush. In retaliation, Ganush places a curse on Christine which, if not passed on to someone else within three days, will plunge her into the depths of Hell to burn for eternity. Elements of the film’s story come from the British horror film Night of the Demon which featured similar shaped demons and the three day curse theme. Overall the movie is excellent, with Alison Loman, who inherited the job after first-choice Ellen Page dropped out, outstanding in the lead role. The movie, like Raimi’s Evil Dead series, has scary moments which are offset brilliantly by the humorous and campy overall tone. I’ll be adding this to my collection very shortly. The film is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Second up is Monsters vs Aliens, a computer-animated 3-D feature film from DreamWorks Animation. The movie is a creative homage/piss-take on the B-Movie monsters of the 1950s and was the first computer animated movie to be directly produced in a stereoscopic 3-D format. Okay, that’s the nerdy facts out of the way. The basic plot is that aliens have landed and the Earth’s only hope for defence is the top-secret government project which has been keeping monsters locked up out of harms way. The movie itself plain good old fashioned fun, sure it’s nonsense but it’s fast-paced exciting nonsense. The voice cast is excellent with Hugh Laurie’s Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. and Seth Rogen’s B.O.B. highly entertaining. The show is stolen however by Kiefer Sutherland’s maniac General W.R. Monger who is just this side of Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. If you’re after a fun filled family film, then look no further. The movie is available on 1 Disc DVD, 2 Disc: Special Edition DVD (featuring B.O.B.’s Big Break) and Blu-Ray.

Last movie of the week is a Hallowe’en shocker, directed by X-Men 2 and Superman Returns writer Mike Dougherty, and produced by the director of those two, Brian Singer. Trick ‘r Treat is the direct-to-DVD feature based on Dougherty’s short film Season’s Greetings. The movie is basically four Halloween-related scary stories with one element tying the stories together. That element is the presence of Sam, a mysterious pint-sized trick-or-treater with a burlap pumpkin mask, who makes an appearance in all the stories, as a ‘friendly-reminder’ to those who break the Halloween traditions. Positive reviews abound for this movie so I will definitely have to check it out as soon as I can. The film is currently only available on DVD but there is a Region Blu-Ray so we should get one soon.

The TV releases this week are Bones: Season 4; Lost: Season 5; and True Blood: Season 1.
Bones: Season 4 focuses on the forensic anthropology team of Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth, played by Emily Deschanel (sister of Culch fave Zooey) and Angel star David Boreanaz. The show is loosely based on the books of producer Kathy Reichs. I don’t actually watch it so I’ve no idea if it’s any good but 4 seasons would seem to indicate that it’s popular. Available on DVD.
Lost: Season 5 follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles crashes somewhere in the South Pacific. I lost interest in the show after Season 2 but if it’s your bag the show is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
True Blood: Season 1 details the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional small Louisiana town. The series centres on Sookie Stackhouse played by X-Men alum Anna Paquin, a telepathic waitress, who falls in love with a vampire. The series is actually a pretty solid part mystery, part fantasy, part comedy show. While it’ll never be Buffy, it’s certainly better than Twilight. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray.