Mike’s August DVD Picks
1. Hidalgo 2. Knight Rider: Season One 3. Something Wicked This Way Comes 4. Bill Engvall: Here's Your Sign Live 5. Crossroads 6. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 7. The Lost Boys: Two-Disc Special Edition 8. Predator: Collector's Edition 9. Bill Cosby: Himself 10. Goodfellas: 2 Disc Special Edition 11. Stir of Echoes: Special Edition 12. Gia 13. The Girl Next Door 14. The Munsters: The Complete First Season 15. Shaolin Soccer 16. The Silence of the Lambs 17. WitchboardHey people, Mike here and I know, I know. I'm WAY late with this month's DVD picks. Having two jobs bites the big one and makes you totally unmotivated to do ANYTHING after work. So as a result, I was forced to tell my second employer, who as a side note was a major DVD rental chain(just think about a big blue ticket) to flush off! So now I'm back with my over the top and extremely hyperactive self to help guide along the ways of DVD entertainment, and this month there is a massive amount to choose from. So with out further ado, here we go!
Hidalgo
Release Date: 8/3/04
Hidalgo is the “true” story of Frank Hopkins, an American who traveled to Arabia in the 1800’s to run a long distance horse race across the Sahara dessert. Now of course, anyone who does even the smallest amount of research into the real Frank Hopkins will see that he was nothing more than a guy telling stories to try and make some money but did that bother me? Not at all. I don’t watch movies because of their cultural significance or whether they are historically accurate. I watch movies to be entertained and “Hidalgo” does a great job of that. It is gorgeously shot and quite honestly is just a really fun movie to watch and Viggo Mortensen has really shown lately that he is a great, epic actor. This movie deserves a place in everyone’s collection.Knight Rider: Season One
Release Date: 8/3/04
Admit it, before his mediocre T&A Baywatch days, Hasselhoff was pretty cool and Knight Rider ruled prime time. As a kid, I would count down the days and hours till Michael Knight and K.I.T.T. flew across my TV. Yeah the stories were a little cliché, but the car was just way too cool. Anyway, while Knight Rider isn’t exactly Academy Award material(that is, if a TV show could get an Academy Award) is was a lot of fun to watch and I think it’s really cool to be able to see it again.Something Wicked This Way Comes
Release Date: 8/3/04
This movie is every kids dream turned nightmare. A carnival rolls into an early 1900’s small town to liven up the lives of it’s bored residents. Then the people start to go missing and two young boys start having frightening encounters with the owner of the carnival. This is a Disney movie so it is a little light on the horror aspect but it is by far the scariest Disney movie I have ever seen. So pick this one up if you like old school family horror.Bill Engvall: Here's Your Sign Live
Release Date: 8/10/04
As I have said before, I love standup comedy. And redneck standup comedy is some of the best…maybe because I grew up in a small TX town and so much of redneck comedy is stuff that I have been laughing at for years anyway but I digress. Bill Engvall is a very funny man and his “Here’s your sign” bit is absolutely hilarious. This DVD so proudly grace any standup collection.Crossroads
Release Date: 8/10/04
“No, not the Brittany Spears movie.” I can’t tell you how sick I am of saying that sentence. Unfortunately I am constantly forced to because every time I tell people Crossroads is one of my favorite movies of all time they ALWAYS bust out laughing. Damn that little teeny bopper demon for stealing the title of one of the coolest guitar player movies ever made. The REAL Crossroads is about two Blues Men…OK, one Blues Man and one kid from Long Island who thinks he’s a Blues Man just because he can play some Robert Johnson tunes on his guitar…who travel down to Mississippi so that Willie can take care of some business, then teach Eugene “Lightnin Boy” Martone Robert Johnson’s lost song. As a guitar player, I have always loved this movie and the final scene with Steve Vai is one of the coolest musical sequences of any movie, ever…even though I could think of a few dozen better actors than Ralph Machio, but I digress. It has LONG been one of my pet peeves that this movie has been unavailable for DVD but now that has been remedied and Crossroads will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine.Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Release Date: 8/10/04
Here is the movie we have all been waiting for, the movie that explains what the hell was going on in Kill Bill: Vol 1. As Mr. Tara ntino himself said, "Vol. 1 is all the questions. Vol. 2 is all the answers." Once again, Quentin gives his nod to the classic Kung-Fu flicks that inspired him(and the rest of us as well) as a kid. This film is cool, stylish and just drips with good, old fashioned vengeance. Besides, David Carradine and Michael Madsen both give the performance of their careers in this one so don't disrespect them by not buying it.The Lost Boys: Two-Disc Special Edition
Release Date: 8/10/04
OK, so The Lost Boys isn’t exactly the most historically accurate vampire movie ever made. It is, however, the coolest one. While not exactly scary, this movie was super hip for it’s day and can still hold it’s own, in my opinion, even with the ultra cheesiness of “the Coreys”. I’m not even going to bother giving you a plot rundown as you should already know this one by heart…and if you don’t, I think it’s time you moved on to another website. Anyway, buy this movie ASAP or vampires on motorcycles just might come for you.Predator: Collector's Edition
Release Date: 8/10/04
Once upon a time, Arnold made really cool movies. Anyone who says that The Terminator didn’t scare the hell out of them the first time they saw it is lying.Bill Cosby: Himself
Release Date: 8/17/04
Goodfellas: 2 Disc Special Edition
Release Date: 8/17/04
Goodfellas is probably the greatest gangster flick EVER. I mean EVERYBODY gets whacked. Ever actor in this movie is movie is totally at the top of their game. There’s nothing like Ray Liotta showing up in some guys driveway and pistol-whipping him in broad daylight. Or Joe Pesci shooting anyone and everyone even looks at him cross-eyed. And with all the special features of this one, if you don’t pick it up, you just might get whacked. Oh, you think I’m funny?Stir of Echoes: Special Edition
Release Date: 8/17/04
You know, most of the time “scary” movies just make me laugh. I’m just not a huge fan of the horror genre because most of the time I simply don’t find the stuff all that scary or even appealing to be honest. Then came Stir of Echoes. Holy shit this movie freaked me out. I mean right off the bat when the little kid is in the bath tub with Kevin Bacon in the background. He is talking and you assume that he is talking to Kevin Bacon, who you assume is simply not listening. Then Kevin Bacon walks out of the room to get his pj’s and the kid turns to the screen and asks if it hurts to be dead. Man this scene just sets the tone for the whole film. Stir of Echoes tells the story of a man who, at a party, is hypnotized and is suddenly made sensitive to paranormal activity. It’s great because Kevin Bacon starts the film as a total skeptic and when he starts seeing and hearing all these things it really frays his sanity. Add to this all the extras on this special edition and you‘ve got yourself a title that you REALLY need in your collection. This movie is one of Kevin Bacon’s best in my opinion and if you like him you really owe it to yourself to see this one…just don’t watch it at night, alone, in a dark room.Gia (Unrated)
Release Date: 8/24/04
Gia is the story of one of America’s first supermodels back in the early 80’s. She was wild, I mean REALLY wild. She was beautiful, did lot’s of drugs and had lots of sexual partners. As you might expect though, she was also one of the first celebrity victims of AIDS. The film tells the story of a woman who was constantly on the edge of control and who finally, in the end, lost the battle. Aww, who am I kidding? Get this movie because Angelina Jolie is VERY naked through about half this movie.The Girl Next Door
Release Date: 8/24/04
Basically the only reason I’m recommending this one is because it’s EVERY high school guy’s wet dream. Basically, you have the typical shy, awkward high school guy doing the same old, same old, when all of a sudden a super hottie moves in next door. Not only this but the supper hottie miraculously seems to like the dork. Then of course the dork’s friend lets him in on the big secret. The super hottie next door is actually a famous porn star. SCORE! Now the dork wants to get the porn star to quit so he can have her all to himself. And you can understand how he feels because who wants their girlfriend to be a participant in a 500 man gang bang? How can you pass a plot like this one up?The Munsters: The Complete First Season
Release Date: 8/24/04
Shaolin Soccer
Release Date: 8/24/04
What could be better than a kung fu movie? That’s right, a kung fu soccer movie baby! This movie is hilarious. It’s about a man trying to get his country interested in Kung Fu again who runs into an ex-soccer player. The soccer player teaches the Kung Fu master and his brothers how to play soccer and then they enter a tournament with a 1 million dollar prize. The wire work is killer and the movie just entertains completely from start to end. EVERY self respecting martial arts enthusiast should have this one in their collection.The Silence of the Lambs
Release Date: 8/24/04
Witchboard
Release Date: 8/24/04
OK, I know. I had this one on my list for last month but the release date got pushed back so here it is again. And you know what? If it gets pushed back again it will be on next months list as well, it’s my website damnit.
