Celluloid Sell-Out: Where No Man Has Gone Before...

Christmas is coming, and with that, every studio is rushing to get all of their biggest releases out to capitalize of the gift-giving season. How are we, as consumers going to cope in this, an economic slowdown? Do we get the single-disc version with no features? Or do we buy the 2-disc with extra digital copy? The DVD/Blu-Ray market is one of confusion for the average consumer. Thank God, you have someone like me to sort through all of the Palaver... This is Celluloid Sell-Out.

So today, November 17th, we see a number of releases coming out on Home Video... What are they, let's take a look!

On the "New Release Wall" this week we have three new-to-video titles. The biggest release of the week, undoubtedly is "Star Trek" (Forch Rating for the Film: 9.75/10) The J.J. Abrams-helmed reboot of the Star Trek franchise got even the hardcore geeks drooling with anticipation a full year before its theatrical release, and the film did not fail at all in the theaters, becoming a sure-fire hit, and ensuring sequels for (hopefully) years to come.

The film has 2 major DVD releases, the first being the single-disc version (Paramount/Dreamworks always does this with Action films that hit big, See: Transformers, G.I. Joe) which has basically just the film itself, and then of course, the 2-disc edition, which features a gaggle of special features on the second disc and as well, a digital copy of the film. Guess which I got. If you're lucky enough, there is also a "Steelbox" edition, but it's available at select places around here (Best Buy, Future Shop).(See my review of the DVD, in the next article.)

The next "New Release" of this week is the (Shudder) hit film starring Sasha Baron Cohen: "Bruno". The movie itself did much less business than its predecessor: Borat. But that was to be expected, as Cohen's humor appeals to only a select few (In comparison to most comedies, which have a broader appeal). I have not seen the movie myself, but I think that it'll be rented soon enough. Like Borat, I will probably only be able to see it once, and that's it.

The third "New Release" of the week is: "My Sister's Keeper" which features Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin. The film didn't make much of a splash in theaters, and the plot would really appeal more to the "Emotional Drama" crowd. The plot revolves around a child's plight to emancipate from her parents in order to help her terminally ill sister, which right there confuses and baffles me. I'll wait for this one to come on HBO, I think...

In other releases....

"Gone With the Wind" is celebrating its 70th anniversary, and what better way with a massive box set? It's a 5-DVD set which is in a limited edition "Numbered" velvet box, and includes a bunch of goodies. There's also a 2-disc "Non-limited" edition as well for those of you who'd rather just watch the movie.

"Rome: The Complete Series" comes to DVD this week as well. The HBO mega-hit, which has been on DVD for some time, looks to be given a fresh boxed set just in time for the holidays! If you have not seen the series, check it out. It is a very well produced series. Kevin McKidd (Journeyman, Grey's Anatomy) and Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone) are both excellent in it, and this may be a set that I might look for under the Christmas tree this year!

For those of you who love your TV like me, there are very few DVD sets this week, the most noteworthy has to be "Scrubs" Season 8. Come to think of it, if Scrubs is the biggest TV DVD that I can find this week, it's really a lackluster week for TV on DVD...


So that's about it for this week, next week there are going to be more films coming our way, most notable: "Angels and Demons", the followup to "The DaVinci Code". So until next time, the Basement lights are off, and I am going to take a nap!








By: Forch F. Fortier (Who reminds you to stay tuned to TNTM 2.0 this week, because he has a scathing article in the works about "Spaceballs". What could that be? Tune in and find out!)