Did everyone have a nice Christmas break? As the year winds down, we don’t have a whole lot going on around here, so this will be another short week for the blog. It looks like the home video studios have decided to take it easy as well. Be honest, you weren’t really planning to buy any new Blu-rays anyway, were you?
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‘The Equalizer‘ – Allegedly based on a popular 1980s TV series, this in-name-only adaptation is more obviously patterned after ‘Taken’. Despite looking like a fairly generic revenge thriller, the Denzel Washington star vehicle was a pretty solid hit earlier this year, and is the only new Blu-ray to likely to generate much interest this week.
‘Tusk‘ – Didn’t Kevin Smith swear he was done making movies a while back? What happened to that promise? I suppose Smith deserves a little credit for trying new things, but this body-horror thriller in which a maniac surgically transformers Justin Long into a walrus-man looks like the sort of thing only a die-hard Kevin Smith fan could possibly want to watch. That rules me out, so I will pass.
Television
From the vast TV wasteland comes the fourth season of Showtime’s ‘Shameless‘ and the second season of Cinemax’s ‘Banshee‘. One episode was all I could take of ‘Shameless’ and I have no idea how it’s remained on the air so long. I don’t get Cinemax and have no opinion about ‘Banshee’ one way or the other.
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I’ve got other things to do this week, and none of these Blu-rays interests me enough to buy. Is ‘The Equalizer’ worth a rent, at least?
William Henley
I picked ordered The Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie on Blu-Ray this morning. It came out a week or two ago, but it sold out in just a couple of hours of its release. Amazon had more stock this morning, but not sure how long that will last. Anyways, I plan to watch that on New Years.
Julian
Ah, I didn’t know you were a fan, William. Good taste, ye has! I’ve watched every Nerd episode since 2006.
William Henley
It’s unique, and he pulls it off really well. Only James could make me think that maybe Super Mario Bros 3 really is the spawn of Satan, and entertain me while doing it!
William Henley
So here is my Amazon review for AVGN
So let’s start with the obvious – this movie will probably never be loomed at as being a good movie, but it wasn’t trying to be. This was made with the idea of being a low-budget B grade cheesy movie, and in that sense the movie succeeded. TheNerd has a niche audience, and this is very much a labor of love for them.
The movie has an absolutely crazy story, several plot holes, bad costumes some really bad green screen effects and some awful CG, but it was made that way on purpose. I fully understand what James was going for and the movie excels at that. He is not just poking fun at video games here but is giving a loving homage to bad movies.
The movie is destined to become a cult classic.
Now, once you realize what James is trying to accomplish here, you see just how talented he is. I do not think that I can think of a single director who would take on something of this scale as a first movie. The cast chemistry is excellent, the camera work, shot composition, directing, cutting and editing is brilliant, the soundtrack is wonderful. The miniatures used in Vegas are stunning and actually are on par with some of the better Godzilla movies.
Video wise this looks great as well. The team clearly understands lighting and how to use a camera colors are beautiful and natural. There is some really bad digital artifacts in some of the shots, but I don’t think this is an issue with the transfer,but rather with the source material and the budget on the equipment they were using.
The special features are fantastic, and has one of the most unique features I have ever seen – an audience reaction track that was recorded at a screening. Very interesting
If you have never seen AVGN, or if you are looking for a good movie you may be disappointed. But if you want a fun movie by someone whom we are sure to hear more from in the future, and am a fan of his webisodes, pick this up – its a ton of fun in a mindless sort of way.
Csm101
I’m interested in The Equalizer and Tusk, but I’m just going to redbox them for now.
Krawk
If I were to buy anything this week, and I mean *anything* it would be The Equalizer. But from what I’ve read here on the Blog it might be worth skipping.
Csm101
I’m glad I ordered my Fright Night 30th anniversary. I had to call it in because the server was so busy. I just checked the website and it already sold out.