The Best of Fall DVD Releases
By: Sam Roberts |
Thursday September 13, 2007 |
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What to watch.. |
| What to watch.. Fall. A time when summer ends and school starts again. A time when shorts and t-shirts are replaced with jeans and sweatshirts. And a time when summer reality television and reruns give way to the return of quality TV. And, with these new TV seasons starting soon, and Christmas only 4 months away, companies start flooding the market with releases So, while we mourn the loss of another summer, let us take heart, knowing that we will be able to take solace in our beloved Home Theaters. To help you sort through the upcoming flood of releases, I present my “The Best of Fall DVD Releases.” Friday Night Lights Season 1 Already Out Available: DVD Price: $19.99 Friday Night Lights is the story of a small town and its High School Football team. While those not interested in teen drama or football may be initially turned off, Friday Night Lights rises above that simple mold to offer a show that presents some of the best character drama in recent memory. Friday Night Lights has garnered positive buzz from many different sources, winning an Emmy award for outstanding cast in a drama series, and it was nominated for program of the year by the Television Critics Association. In addition, it is only $19.99 for the entire first season. NBC will even refund your money (see fnlgurantee.com for details) if you don't like the show. So, give it a chance- maybe you'll like it. And if you don't, you get your money back. It is a win-win situation. Tidbit: This TV show is based on a book that was originally turned into the 2004 movie of the same name, Friday Night Lights. Heroes: Season 1 Already Out Available on: DVD and HD-DVD Price: $39.99/$69.95 This show is absolutely fantastic. It quickly became the breakout hit of the 2006-2007 TV season, resonating with both critics and audiences. Taking a cue from Lost- a group of strangers thrust together in strange circumstances, with something deeper lurking behind the scenes- Heroes is an amazing show. As each character learns more about their powers and their destiny, the story continually ramps up and each episode gets better and better, always leaving the viewer wondering what is going to happen next. Highly recommended; if you only buy one thing from this list, make it this. Tidbit: The DVD includes the unaired, 73 minute original pilot, which took a much different approach. Let's just say this: The current approach is MUCH better, as the pilot was confusing as it went in to many different directions at once. Still a good watch for those interested in the evolution of the Heroes mythology. Family Guy Vol. 5- September 18th Available: DVD Price: $25.99 Family Guy is one of the funniest shows on TV, no question about it. Its mockery of everything about our society is what makes this show so special. And, with the release of Volume 5, you can enjoy the antics of the Griffin family whenever you want! Seriously, just go buy it. It is one of the funniest shows on TV, and will make you laugh for hours on end. Or until you run out of episodes to watch. Grindhouse Presents: Death Proof Grindhourse Presents: Planet Terror Availible: September 18th and October 16h, Respectively Price: $21.99 Although some may disagree about the success of Quentin Tarantino's and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse project, featuring Death Proof and Planet Terror, as it only pulled in $25 million at the box office, there is no denying that the end product lived up to the Grindhouse legacy, with a horrifying thriller and a zombie movie packed together in one that took the violence and gore to the extreme. For the DVD release they are splitting the movies into two separate releases, but if you want some intense action and zombie horror, definitely pick these up. The Jungle Book - October 2nd Available: DVD Yes, it is a Disney movie. Yes, you may think you are too cool for Disney movies. But if you can get past your pride and give it a chance, you will be pleasantly surprised. Disney has faithfully put out excellent Platinum Edition DVD's for years, starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs all the way to the most recent release, Peter Pan, and this release looks to be no different. For DVD aficionados, kids at heart, or people who enjoy quality movies this is a must-buy. Tidbit: Disney reused some of their animations from this movie for Winnie the Pooh. Transformers - October 16th Available on: DVD and HD-DVD Price: $22.99/$27.95 Giant robots beat the crap out of one another. That is the movie in one sentence. Here is a longer synopsis: Giant robots come to Earth looking for something and then beat the crap out of each other. This movie was amazing. Nowadays, it seems most movies are big and dumb. Not that there is anything wrong with that- I'm as big a fan of big, dumb movies as everyone else- but here is a big, dumb movie that actually had some depth behind it. It was one of the most satisfying movies of the summer, and I highly recommend picking it up. Tidbit: To demonstrate how obsessive fans were about the production of this movie, the nerds wanted to pwn whoever thought it would be cool to give Optimus Prime lips. I never thought it would be possible that so much controversy could arise from something like lips. Really, it isn't that weird in the movie; I mean, when there are giant robots walking and talking, you already have to suspend some belief, you might as well throw some lips on while you are at it. Just to show how big of a deal it became: There are 276,000 google pages with the words “Optimus Prime lips” in them. Wow. Spider-Man - 3 October 30th Available: DVD and Blu-Ray Price: $22.99/$64.95 I loved the first two Spider-Man movies. I saw the first one 3 times in theaters and another 6 or 7 times since then on DVD, and thought the second only improved on the first. This third one, though... there was just something about it that didn't hit me right. It wasn't a horrible movie by any means- I wouldn't put this down there with Gigli and Battlefield Earth- but, compared to the first two, it was a serious step back. I thought that it A)took itself too serious and, in doing so, lost what made the first two so much fun and B) tried to do too many things. The film lacked focus, with too many subplots gunking up the movie instead of allowing the movie to focus on the Black Suit and Venom storyline. Tidibit: It has the highest one day total in North America, with a record $59.8 million. Just because I am a nice guy, I'm also including a list of all the other movies coming out this fall that didn't make my “Best of...” list but some of you are probably looking forward to. Already Out: The Office Season 3 $31.99 Prison Break Season 2 $37.99 Sept 18th We Are Marshall $15.99 September 25th Knocked Up $19.99 Oct 2nd Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer $22.99 Jericho: The Complete First Season $34.99 Oct 9th 28 Weeks Later $17.99 Oct. 23th Hostel: Part II $19.99 Oct 30th Scrubs: The Complete Sixth Season $27.99 So there you go- my list of the best Fall DVD releases. If you disagree with my list,think I missed an important release, or just want to talk to me feel free to email me at staticmultimediasam@gmail.com. Note: All prices are from Amazon. |
