DVDs This Week

Pick of the Week:

Mad Men: Season 1 – One of the very finest US import shows of the past few years, Mad Men stands as a beacon, as the final moment of American television greatness in the Sopranos/Wire-era. It concerns itself with Madison Avenue ad men in the early 1960s, hungover with the sexism and other societal issues that plagued the previous decade are beginning to fall. It’s about manhood being brought back and a host of other lofty explorations of archetype. Mostly though, it’s about great acting, beautiful writing and a perfect sense of place. Wonderful.

Also out:

Futurama: Beast with a Billion Backs – See the review on Screenjabber for more info but my take; Bender is too funny and overawes everyone else. Thankfully, he’s so funny that it’s still great.
Other Boleyn Girl – Haven’t seen it and don’t really want to. Portman and Johannson may be pretty but they never really deliver the goods when the part truly demands. Well, Portman sometimes.
The Bank Job – Again not seen but probably will as it has Jason Statham and our household has a truly unhealthy obsession with his craft.
Diary of the Dead – Tom’s verdict: Worst movie he’s seen this year.
Oz Season 5 – Still a brutal, bleak masterwork of American television, rarely bettered.
Taxi to the Dark Side – An oppressively bleak and angering work that’s absolutely essential viewing.
Be Kind Rewind – Very enjoyable little comedy with a slight loss of tone occasionally but a big beating heart at its core.
Picnic at Hanging Rock – Peter Weir’s lyrical, hypnotic cult classic.
Garage – Anne Marie Duff is in it so there’s a solid reason to watch. Maybe the most underrated actress in England.
L’Avventura – Antonioni’s masterpiece and the Sight & Sound reader’s second favourite film ever.
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit – A great book becomes a brilliantly acted piece of drama.

DVDs This Week May 19

Pick of the Week: Dexter: Season 1 – The complete first salvo from this terrific Showtime series in which the protagonist is a semi-moralistic serial killer. Michael C Hall steals the show as Dexter but the whole series has a nicely worked blackly comic tone and the shooting, in the glistening silver suns of Florida, sweats off the screen.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Slightly overrated but still pretty enjoyable musical gore-fest from Tim Burton.
The Deal – Still the finest thing Peter Morgan has done on film yet, this dramatisation of the working of the Blair/Brown government features excellent performances and overall, its ten times more interesting than the TV movie mediocrity of The Queen.
Bee Movie – Jerry Seinfeld’s ill-fated return which I haven’t seen yet, mostly due to complete indifference to what looks a truly dull movie.
Prison Break: Season 3 – I don’t get the appeal of this but its popularity speaks volumes. You could never accuse it of getting ideas above its station though and as television popcorn, its all right.
My Kid Could Paint That – Reasonably good documentary about a four-year old modern art prodigy which asks interesting questions but isn’t all that good in itself. Certainly a conversation starter though.

Region 1
Diary of the Dead – Pretty shocking excuse for filmmaking from George Romero but the man earned our time.
James Stewart: The Westerns Collection – Absolutely fantastic set of Stewart-starring western including his Anthony Mann trilogy of Destry Rides Again, Winchester ’73 and Bend of the River. Peerless filmmaking.
Short Circuit – Steve Guttenberg before he became a creepy cult leader-like crazy. Also, a really heartwarming little picture.

Review: Rambo

Rambo
Dir: Sylvester Stallone
Rating: 2/5

So long on, Sly decides to make another long-‘awaited’ sequel, this time for his Vietnam vet and socio-military revisionist John Rambo. First Blood, his debut outing, stands up extremely well. It remains a well rendered exploration of veteran treatment in the US and just an elegant, quality movie closer to the spirit of the 1970s in which Rocky was born rather than the muscle-clad 80s action porn that Rambo would eventually come to personify.

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Slate has reviews of Jumper and Diary of the Dead.

Want to see Christopher Walken cross-dressing humorously?

Obama is receiving endorsements from all over the shop.

PopMatters strokes its beard regarding what Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot means.

Jane Fonda… well. Nice one.

Rock Sellout has some new Gnarls Barkley.

Drowned in Sound talks to Les Savy Fav.

Finally, I know at least three people in our house who want this Elmo.

Link ‘n’ Juice

The strike is over. Pick you your mighty pens and write-on and damn, will someone tell the writers on Heroes/Desperate Housewives/Grey’s Anatomy/a whole host of other shows to start earning their money.

Check out this video for ‘Myriad Harbour’ by the New Pornographers.

I have no idea why, but I just love Achewood. Today’s is especially odd.

Knight Rider clips. I guess, Yay?

Who would like to own one of Shakira’s bras? No-one? Oh.

The Guardian investigates whether we’ve lost the art of putting together a great music magazine cover.

Also from the above, Obama swept past Clinton last night. Come on, America!!

The AV Club interview zombie king George Romero.

Slate, in defence of Winehouse.

Entertainment Weekly lists fourteen great movies about writers.

Joel Surnow has left 24. Also on the Hollywood Reporter, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and Gael Garcia Bernal are in the new Jim Jarmusch movie.

Gary Coleman got married. Secretly. Which is a shame. Because I would love to have gone just for that one moment when the catchphrase could’ve come out. ‘Do you take this woman?’. ‘What you talkin’ ’bout Reverend?’.

Billboard has the track listing for Scarlett Johansson’s Tom Waits covers record. It also has news that the first trio of records by The Replacements (plus and EP) are being reissued.