Mike’s July DVD Picks
1. Butterfly Effect 2. Red Sonja 3. Air America: Special Edition 4. Highlander 2: Special Edition 5. Hellboy 6. The Whole Ten Yards 7. WitchboardHey people, Mike here and I'm back with another thrilling episode DVD release picks for July. As I sit here with Henry Rollins wafting in the background I eagerly encourage you to get your wallets, purses, or whatever you carry your green in ready to go because we've got some good stuff coming out this month.
Butterfly Effect
Release Date: 7/6/04
You know, I'm actually not that big of an Ashton Kutcher fan. I mean, Punk'd is kind of cool, because who doesn't (besides my fiancée) like watching celebrities squirm as horrific practical jokes are played on them and I did really liked the first couple seasons of That 70's Show. Other than that, though, I find him a little obnoxious and had NO desire to see him in any kind of dramatic role…that is until I saw The Butterfly Effect. HOLY SHIT! This movie is insane, literally.
Basically, you have this little kid named Evan(Kutcher) who blacks out every time a traumatic event happens to him and he can never remember, even years later, what happened. His mother takes him to a therapist because his father is now in a mental institution for a similar condition and his mother doesn't want the same thing to happen to Evan. So the therapist has him keep a journal to try and jog his memories but unfortunately this just doesn't do much good as far as his remembering his black outs.
Well, the little kid grows up and stops having these blackouts but one day while reading his old journals he figures out that he can relive these events that he up till now, couldn't remember. The only problem is, every time he tries to fix something bad that happened, things get a lot worse. I mean, a LOT worse. This movie goes to show that even the most annoying actor can on occasion pull off a killer role. You better believe this movie will grace my collection when it is released and I recommend the same for all of you.Red Sonja
Release Date: 7/6/04
OK, now comes the obligatory AA style intro. Hi, my name is Mike and I love sword and loin cloth fantasy movies. I grew up watching USA Up All Night, Joe Bob Briggs, and Saturday afternoon TBS. Can you really blame me for liking this stuff? Anyway, Birgitte Nielson was trying to get her career going after he split with Stalone so she decided to make…a fantasy movie. Maybe someone should have told her that unless you're Arnold, fantasy movies in the 80's weren't quite the way to springboard yourself to stardom, but I digress.
If this story seems a little Conan-ish there is good reason. Robert Howard created both characters(as well as Kull the Conqueror) so don't walk away from Red Sonja thinking it is just a female Conan rip off. As far as quality of story goes, it is similar to Conan the Destroyer(not the better of the two Conan movies) but I still like this movie. You have a chic with an amazonian body who can kick ass with a sword, Arnold himself doing his usual muscle bulging and a lesbian villainess. Everything you need for a cool 80's fantasy movie.Air America
Release Date: 7/20/04
You know, I have to admit. I didn't really like this movie a whole lot when it was originally released, but I was kind of young at the time and didn't understand a lot of the implications of the film. I have since the ere of my ways though and have come to love this movie. The film focuses on the CIA's not-so-secret airline operation in Laos during the Vietnam War that delivers food and supplies for the villagers. Air America is filled with good laughs, which you might expect from Mel Gibson and Robert Downey, Jr., but it also says a lot about how the pilots themselves were feeling while this was going on. All in all, a good movie with a lot of humor and a strong social message.Highlander 2: Special Edition
Release Date: 7/20/04
Highlander 2, man most Highlander fans DO NOT like this movie. I can understand this as it TOTALLY shits on the story set forth in the original. I however actually saw Highlander 2 before I saw Highlander and though I admit that the original was much better than the sequel , I can't deny that I still enjoy the Highlander 2 very much. As a result, I prefer to think of Highlander 2 as a stand alone movie as opposed to a sequel, and I think if more people could look at it that way then they might enjoy it the same way I do, as an interesting sci-fi flick. So remember, there can be only one so there is no REAL sequel to Highlander.Hellboy
Release Date: 7/27/04
Man, with few exceptions(Daredevil, The Punisher…either version) I really dig all the new movies coming out based on comic book heroes. We all know that both the Spider-man and X-Men movies rocked nuts and The Hulk was above average as compared to what we were used to. So it is with pleasure that I put Hellboy on my list this month. Hellboy is a stylish, dark and fun movie in a real world infested with demons setting. Is it as incredible as Spider-man? No, but I think it's not far off the mark. I have been a fan of Ron Perlman since Ice Pirates and he steals the show as Hellboy, a demon brought to our world to help conquer it by Nazis but who intern is recruited to try and save it. If this sounds like a fun movie to you then you should definitely pick it up, and if it doesn't then maybe you should be reading an article by "Ebert and Roper". Trust me, you should DEFINITELY check out this movie.The Whole Ten Yards
Release Date: 7/27/04
Once again, I must recommend a movie that I haven't actually seen yet but The Whole Nine Yards was absolutely hilarious. Bruce Willis rocks in just about everything he's in and I think he doesn't get NEARLY enough credit for his fairly rare comedic roles. Even though it didn't do well at the Box Office I still think Hudson Hawk is one of the all-time great comedic action films. Anyway, I love the Jimmy "The Tulip"(Willis) character and Mathew Perry is a comic genius(OK, that maybe stretching it but he is WAY funny). Besides, I always find it encouraging when a sequel gets all of the original cast back so give it a try, you just might like it.Witchboard
Release Date: 7/27/04
I'm not always a big fan of horror movies but for some reason I have always dug this one. Maybe it's because it deals with sneaky ghosts communicating through a ouija board, I mean ghosts and the afterlife have always fascinated me. Honestly though, it's probably because Tawney Kitaen has a full frontal nudity scene…yeah baby! Anyway, this movie is filled with some fairly creepy scenes and has an interesting ending so check it out if you have some cash left over at the end of the month.
