BOND 50
I know for most of you, this week is all about THE AVENGERS, but, for me, this is the big win for movie collectors tomorrow. I have had this preordered for months now, and I'm counting the hours until I can inundate my evenings with everyone's favorite gentleman spy.
I've been a HUGE fan of James Bond since 1995, when I saw every film in a matter of months in preparation for his big return to the silver screen, GOLDENEYE. Since then, I've seen all of these films multiple times, and have bought them all on two different occasions. Hopefully, this will be the last time. Well, until the inevitable 3D set, or the holographic projector set, or the brainjack set, or whatever other kinds of formats the future brings us. For now, though, this is the most perfect collection of all 22 James Bond films - From DR. NO to QUANTUM OF SOLACE. Some may be confused by the lack of NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, but I feel the need to remind them that that film was never part of the canon. Same for the David Niven version of CASINO ROYALE (which is, incidentally, available in its own glorious Blu edition).
From what I've read, this set includes most of the special features from previous sets as well as some new stuff. The real star of the set though is the films themselves, all gloriously restored in high definition. I'm particularly curious how the Connery films look in the format. Same for ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, which has always been one of my favorites.
Of course, if there is one caveat, it's that I will have to buy SKYFALL when it hits Blu next year, and it will look a little lonely on the shelf next to its siblings all in one box. I have heard a rumor, though, that there is an empty slot for that film in the box, but we shall see.
I got my copy on Amazon for $149.99, and it comes with a hardcover book featuring posters from the series. Christmas may be months away, but mine is coming this Tuesday.
THE AVENGERS
Now, for those of you immune to Mr. Bond's charms, this is the big title of the week. Even though I'm giving my money to the Bond box, I assure you I will be getting this next week. Personally, I'm going for the four disc set with the 3D disc.
This movie seemed impossible years ago. It seemed unthinkable that anyone could manage to make a superhero film that took characters from different films and put them together as a team. Sure, it worked in the comics, but what works on the page doesn't always translate well to the screen. Our fears were unfounded, however, since Joss Whedon totally knocked this out of the park. It was big, explosive comic book fun and audiences rewarded it with tons of ticket sales.
For me, and a lot of others, the highlight of this movie was Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk. The character had been done on film before, but never as successfully as in this film. I really liked the Ed Norton take on the character, so I was resistant to the switching of actors. Once seeing it all play out, though, I was very happy with how it all turned out.
Overall, this movie was an excellent thrill ride kind of flick. As my boys get older, I'm sure this will get played a lot. We're still raising them DC, though. Speaking of which...
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, PART 1
One of the greatest Batman tales ever has been adapted into an animated feature. I love these animated DC flicks almost as much as I hate the new DC logo. My favorite so far has been ALL STAR SUPERMAN. My only problem with that tale, however, was how much of the comic story got excised to fit in the film's run time. I am hopeful that splitting Frank Miller's future based Batman story into two parts will allow for more of the story on the page to make it into the film.
AMERICAN HORROR STORY
I haven't seen a single frame of this, but I hear really good things. I'm typically anti-horror, but I like the idea of a horror tale getting a whole season to flesh itself out. Here's hoping this is one of the rare scare fests that breaks through my resistance to the genre.
FREDDIE MERCURY: THE GREAT PRETENDER
I've been a huge fan of Queen for as long as I can remember. That being said, I have heard very little about this doc. I do know that it focuses more on what Freddie was doing outside of Queen - solo projects and such. Looking very forward to giving this a spin. Hopefully, it paints a complete portrait of the greatest frontman to ever make love to a microphone stand. I do expect to be saddened near the end, though. Mercury's passing is up there with Lennon's assassination as far as music tragedy goes.
ARACHNOPHOBIA
I haven't seen this since I was very young, but I remember really liking it. As a kid who was never big on horror, I always enjoyed a movie that delivered soft scares and laughs. Movies like GREMLINS, or GHOSTBUSTERS. I also liked pretty much anything with the word Amblin on the poster, as it indicated involvement from Steven Spielberg. The main thing I remember about this film was that John Goodman played an exterminator and there were tons of spiders. The film has been on DVD for years, but is getting the Blu treatment for the first time this week.
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