Finally 2010 gives us some home movie and television releases worth talking about. With the snow slowly starting to melt around the country it is once again safe to venture outside the door and persue visual treats to bring back to the family.
The big movie release this week is The Taking of Pelham 123. Directed by Tony Scott this remake of the 1974 classic, itself based on the novel of the same name by Morton Freedgood, stars Denzel Washington and John Travolta. The plot sees four heavily armed men, led by the mysterious Ryder, board the New York City subway 6 train departed from Pelham Bay Park Station at 1:23 p.m., and proceed hijack it. Meanwhile at dispatch Walter Garber is struggling to make sense of why his life has suddenly gone to hell and why one of his trains is acting erratic. The two men are set for a titanic battles of wits and cunning with the passengers lives hanging in the balance. Travolta plays madmen quite well and relishes the freedom of his character Ryder. Washington gives the more centred controlled performance and though the pair share little screen-time the cat-and-mouse stuff is good. Tony Scott, directing like a hyperactive rabbit tries to many visual stunts and oftentimes distracts more than aids the story. It’s an enjoyable romp of a movie, not the most celebral ever, but still definitely worth seeing. It’s available now on DVD and Blu-Ray.
The second release of the week is the somewhat controversial Antichrist starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg and directed by Lars von Trier. The movie focuses on a grieving couple retreat to “Eden”, their isolated cabin in the woods, where they hope to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse. The movie has split critics and audiences alike for it’s explicit sex, genital self-mutilation and other horrific scenes, some praising the rawness, others hating it. Personally it’s not my kind of thing but Gainsbourg did win Best Actress at Cannes and the movie has picked up other awards signifying that if you can stomach it then you’re in for a treat. Out now on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Movie is another remake, Sorority Row, this time of the 1983 slasher film The House on Sorority Row. The movie sees a group of Sorority sisters swear to trust one another, keep secrets and practice solidarity no matter what. Their loyalty is tested when a prank goes terribly wrong and ends a brutal murder. Rather than confess to the crime, the girls agree to hide the bloody corpse and keep their secret forever. A year later, as they prepare to say goodbye to the house and each, the girls are confident their dark secret will remain buried, but will it? It’s safe to say that this isn’t a good movie, not even the gratuitous nudity can save it from the hole-ridden plot and terrible acting. The nudity will appeal to some teenage boys who are the base audience of this kind of thing and therefore it will sell some copies somewhere. Avoid the DVD and Blu-ray like the plague.
Television releases:
Doctor Who - The Complete Specials: This releases includes all the Doctor Who Specials from 2009 (The Next Doctor/Planet of the Dead/Waters of Mars and The End of Time). Including a raft of additional bonus material, including Commentary with Cast & Crew, Deleted Scenes and David Tennant Video Diary, this is a must have for any fans of the time-travelling doctor. If you’ve never seen the show then please start with Christopher Eccleston’s first outing as the Doctor and watch from there. Out in individual parts or the complete set and available on both DVD and Blu-Ray.
Hustle - Season 5: This BBC series follows the exploits of five money-hungry grifters as they travel from the grey skies of London to the neon lights of Hollywood and Vegas. This release contains every episode from the show’s fifth series, so one for the fans but new comers may be lost.
Law & Order UK - Season 1: The British spin-off of the hit US television series LAW AND ORDER. Haven’t watched it but it looks interesting.
