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Welcome To My Queue:
Holmes, Narcs, Chan Clans, Silent Movie and More

So, if you waited too long to buy your ticket to The Dark Knight Rises or you’re just waiting for the crowds to die down, you really shouldn’t deny yourself some entertainment.

After the jump check out some recent releases and set aside some time to watch some cinemagic.

The Artist
Sony Pictures / Released June 26, 2012

A beautiful, magical film (which in many ways mirrors the classic Singing in the Rain), The Artist tells
the story of George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a larger than life movie
star, and his fall from grace as silent films are being replaced with
“talkies.”  Along the way he meets and is charmed by Peppy Miller
(Bérénice Bejo) an actress, who’s meteoric rise parallels Valentin’s
fall.  As Valentin loses his wife, home and career, only his loyal
butler (James Cromwell) and dog (Uggie); Peppy finds her own success to
be limited without the love of Valentin.  The film successfully
replicates the the style and tone of an original silent film (no ambient
sound and filmed in gorgeous black & white) and truly is a
beautiful testament to the magic of film.  Director Michel Hazanavicius
pays an enormous complement by celebrating the medium through modern
tools and strongly reminding us of the power of cinema.  Extras include
Q&As, bloopers and featurettes.  The Artist is a must own for any lover of film and deserves my highest possible recommendation.


Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Warner Home Video / Released June 12, 2012 on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download

With the exception of the solid chemistry between stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law, this tepid sequel is nothing more than a non-stop visual assault that trades Holmes’ trademark subtlety for in your face action sequences and a nonsensical plot.  Continuing the unfunny inferred homosexuality between Holmes and Watson from the original film, director Guy Ritchie spends the majority of the film rehashing tired banter, a weak interpretation of nemesis Moriarty (Jared Harris, who I can’t decide if he is miscast or if the role is miswritten), and an interpretation of the master detective as a glib ass.  Extras include apps and Maximum Movie Mode.  Ritchie’s tired, formulaic and campy sequel is noisy, illogical and worse, boring

Project X
Warner Home Video / Released June 19, 2012 on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download

The characters are obnoxious and unlikeable, the plot is formulaic and the acting is amateurish at best, but Project X is funny.  Quite possibly the pinnacle of shock comedy, substituting outrageousness for humor, Project X is a found footage film focusing on a group of high school friends attempting to throw the party of all parties which results in an almost apocalyptic level of anarchy and mayhem.  It’s Paranormal Activity minus the ghosts but plus plenty of drugs, alcohol, hot women and excess.  Extras include featurettes and an extended cut.  Project X certainly isn’t for everyone; I actually walked out of a theatrical screening fifteen minutes in, but I’m glad I gave it a second chance on Blu-ray.  Like high school, it should be experienced once.  Recommended.

Alice: The Complete First Season
Warner Archive / Released July 12, 2012

There’s a new girl in town and she’s looking a bit like Linda Lavin circa 1974.  Inspired by Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Alice the tv series focuses on single mother Alice Hyatt and son Tommy (Philip McKeon) who wind up in the middle of Arizona en route to Los Angeles.  Alice begins waitressing at Mel’s Diner (Vic Tayback, the only crossover cast member from the film plays Mel) and working with waitresses Flo and Vera (Polly Holliday and Beth Howland).  I grew up watching the series and although I hadn’t seen it in a few decades, revisiting the series on dvd was a very pleasant experience.  A solid sitcom, rich with Seventies nostalgia, and a great cast make Alice: The Complete First Season is must have for anyone who grew up with it.  Highly recommended.

21 Jump Street
Sony Pictures / Released June 26, 2012

If you had told me a year ago that I would be praising the work of Channing Tatum, I would guarantee I’d walk away without the benefit of even calling you a liar to your face.  But, nevertheless, 21 Jump Street marked the beginning of my respect of the very funny and talented Tatum.  Picking up on the premise of the television series, Skinny Jonah Hill and Tatum are unfriendly in high school but reconnect in the police academy, becoming best friends and partners.  Assigned to go undercover in high school, the duo find themselves thriving unexpectedly.  Extremely funny with solid action, 21 Jump Street is self aware of it’s ridiculous premise, but shines thanks to the fantastic chemistry between Tatum and Hill.  Extras include commentary, gag reel, featurettes and more.  One of the funniest comedies of the year, 21 Jump Street is highly recommended.



Mean Streets
Warner Home Video / Released July 17, 2012

Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets is a seminal film in Seventies cinema, when films went from studio system driven releases to a generation of younger, more daring films.  Set in New York and starring Robert DeNiro and Harvey Keitel, Mean Streets is set in Little Italy and focuses on a group of would be gangsters who aren’t nearly as powerful as they think they are.  With an amazing soundtrack, and Scorsese at his best and perhaps most underrated, Mean Streets features some raw performances by Keitel and DeNiro and an unrelenting approach to storytelling that must have been shocking in 1973.  Extras include commentary, featurette and trailer.  Mean Streets isn’t Scorsese’s best known films, but it is one of his best and a must see.  Recommended.

Outland
Warner Home Video / Released July 10, 2012 

A love letter to Westerns, but set in outer space, Peter Hyams’ Outland is a tremendously fun movie with a terrific performance from Sean Connery and a fantastic cast including Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen, James B. Sikking,  Clarke Peters and John Ratzenberger.  With a healthy influence from Ridley Scott’s Alien and Blade Runner of a future that’s lived in, stained and pretty beat up, Outland is a blue-collar space film with Connery as a police marshal sent to a moon of Jupiter to investigate a drug selling conspiracy.  The film ends (as it should) with a High Noon style showdown.  Extras include commentary and a trailer.  Outland certainly won’t go down as great science fiction, but it’s extremely enteraining, and that’s really what matters.  Recommended.



American Reunion
Universal / Released July 10, 2012

It’s been almost a decade since we’ve seen the last theatrical American Pie film and using the theme of a high school opportunity, it’s the first time since we’ve seen so many of the leads, supporting and tertiary cast members come back to reprise their roles.  For the most part, it’s pretty standard stuff; people growing up, drifting apart and trying to capture what was.  For the most part, the cast is going through the motions, but once again Seann William Scott stands out, actually playing a character (he pretty much did an impression of his performance as Stifler in American Wedding) who wants to move forward but feels himself trapped in the past.  Extras include commentary, select video commentary, featurettes, deleted/alternate scenes and a gag reel.  American Reunion doesn’t break any new ground, but like any high school reunion, it’s always nice to check in on some familiar faces every decade or so.  Recommended.




Coma
Warner Home Video / Released July 10, 2012  

Michael Crichton’s gift for storytelling wasn’t just limited to writing.  As a filmmaker, Crichton directed several films and Coma is a creepy, unsettling thriller.  Crichton was a perfect choice to helm this adaptation of the Robin Cook novel.  A medical school graduate (Crichton also created the tv series, E.R.), he gives an authenticity to the story of
a doctor (Geneviève Bujold) who discovers an unusual number of relatively healthy patients suffering from complications during basic
operations and falling into comas. The patients are sent to an institute for further care, which lends itself to suspicions and an unexpected conspiracy.  Strong performances by Michael Douglas, Rip Torn, and the inimitable Richard Widmark anchor the film (look for brief cameos by a young Tom Selleck and Ed Harris) and Bujold takes on the hero role usually reserved at the time for a male actor.  Extras include the theatrical trailer.  In the years since Coma‘s release, medical thrillers have become a more prominent genre in pop culture, and this film still ranks among the very best.  Recommended.



Altered States
Warner Home Video / Released July 10, 2012 
 

Directed by Ken Russell and written by Paddy Chayefsky (who later took his name off the film), Altered States is an interesting and strange film about a scientist (William Hurt in his screen debut) who combines a hallucinogen with an isolation chamber which results in physical metamorphoses regressing on a genetic level.  This unique film has influenced a number of science fiction works (Fringe being the most prominent) and even though it is flawed and ends abruptly, it’s a really interesting exercise, nevertheless.  The cast includes some strong performances from Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid, Thaao Penghlis and also Drew Barrymore (in her screen debut at age five).  Extras include only a trailer.  Altered States is a thrill ride that is a one of a kind experience and is definitely recommended.

The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan: The Complete Series
Warner Archive / Released June 19, 2012

 
Combining Chinese American literary detective Charlie Chan with Seventies Hanna Barbera archetypes (rock n’ roll group, amateur crime-solvers and a dog), you get a pretty good idea what The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan is about.  The 16 episode series focuses on Chan’s ten children, “the Chan Clan” who find themselves solving mysteries under the supervision of their father the super-detective.  Unfortunately the series suffers from limited animation and plots that feel recycled from virtually any and all of the Hanna Barbera detective series (Scooby-Doo, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, etc.).  Keye Luke, who played “Number One Son” in the Charlie Chan film series in the 1930s plays the role of Chan and Jodie Foster voices tomboy Anne.  The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan is another nostalgia fueled journey for any fan from the Hanna Barbera vaults.  Mildly recommended.

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