Oct 8, 2012

Blu Ray and DVD Geek Picks for the second week of October: Aliens, Engineers, The Beatles, Cruiseliners, Killer Plants, and Mouse Detectives,

Greeting, fellow movie collectors. This week is a pretty big one, so let's get right into it...

E.T. : THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL (BLU RAY)

When I was a kid, this movie made me want to have an alien friend all my own. I love everything about this flick, and it never fails to bring a tear to my eye. When Drew Barrymore breaks into tears when E.T. is dying - damn, that gets me. Now my inner child can cry happy tears over this new high definition presentation of Steven Spielberg's masterpiece.

PROMETHEUS
I really liked this film. A lot of the problems that others had just didn't effect me that much. Sure, some of the characters do stupid things, but, y'know what? People do stupid things. I also had no problem with the lack of Xenomorphs for most of the film. I wasn't expecting ALIEN 5, and I was pleased with the deep, philosophical kind of sci fi that Ridley Scott delivered. Expect an "In Defense of..." article soon.

MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
The Beatles made a few wonderful masterpieces in the world of film. This...well, this is not necessarily one of them. However, I have always had a soft spot for this trippy offering from the Fab Four. The songs are great, and the weirdness is really something to behold. This movie has needed an official release for years now, since the only way to get it on DVD was to pay too much for a near bootleg quality release.


THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (BLU RAY)

This may seem like a weird one to get all excited about, but 14 year old me loved the hell out of this movie about a cruiseship turned upside down. The remake, POSEIDON, was ok, but it never touched the greatness of the Gene Hackman original. The TV miniseries with Steve Guttenberg is a whole other debacle. This is the real deal, folks, and it's finally on Blu Ray.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS: DIRECTOR'S CUT
One of the greatest modern musical ever made is finally on Blu Ray with the option to watch the original "downer" ending. There was a time when I knew every word to every song in this movie, and I'm looking forward to revisiting it in HD. I'll probably pick the theatrical ending more often than the director's cut one, but I still think it's super cool to be able to see those original scenes, fully restored and put back into the movie.

THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE (BLU RAY)
I have  a bit of a Sherlock fascination these days. What with BBC's wonderful SHERLOCK series, and my recent viewing of THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, as well as the fun Robert Downey, Jr. films - well, I'm really into Doyle's famous detective. I'm even reading the original stories currently. My first exposure to that world, however, was this wonderful Disney film. I remember going to see this with my grandma when I was a wee one and being terrified of the bat. Now, when I watch it, it's all about Vincent Price voicing Professor Ratigan. Pure childhood Glee.


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