Buys'n'Gifts
DVDs from the East... The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk (still feeding the Kung Fu Fridays beast here at home) and Seven Samurai (finally found a copy that wouldn't break the bank). DVDs from the West... Two new Classic Doctor Who releases (well, three since The Rescue and The Romans are in the same release, the other is Attack of the Cybermen) and Lars and the Real Girl (a birthday gift, actually, so thanks to Iz and Etienne for that).
Oh and our resident xBox got itself a download of The Lost and Damned for GTA4. I'm taking it slow, but those hogs are a pretty ride.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: The big one I flipped (it took me a week, most of it on vacation) is the 3-disc release of Hot Fuzz. Indulgent and at the same time self-deprecating, I thought all the extras on this puppy were entertaining, but man... that took a long time. Here's the breakdown:
Disc 1: The film (2 hrs) with 5 commentary tracks (Simon & Edgar, the guys playing cops, Edgar & Tarantino, the guys playing villains, and two real policemen), deleted scenes (20 min), outtakes (10 min) and a few extra bits.
Disc 2: Making of documentary (30 min), 8 featurettes (45 min), 23 video blogs (25 min), pictures, posters, sfx comparisons, plot holes explained, and Dead Right, Edgar's amateur cop film he made when he was 18 (40 min)... which has 2 commentary tracks (his, and Nick and Simon's hilariously groaning away at it).
Disc 3: A documentary on the US press tour (1h10) with a commentary track, 5 more video blogs, and 4 filmed podcasts.
Phew! As for the film, it's a clever cop comedy, which nevertheless has a too-long finale. That's the point of the parody, I know, but is strains my patience as much as any Michael Bay-type finale would.
We turned Kung Fu Friday into Hong Kong Friday this week by watching Infernal Affairs which, despite the totally ridiculous cover, has no real gun fu in it. This is the film The Departed was based on, and when I say based on, I really mean remade wholesale. Scorsese lost a few points with me that night, as Infernal Affairs tells the same exact story (very much with the same details) with 40 fewer minutes and a villain that out-badasses Jack Nicholson. Tony Leung and Andy Lau aren't bad either... what am I saying, they're great! Throw in Christopher Doyle's beautiful cinematography and you have a high end Hong Kong picture that tends to outshine its American copy. The DVD has a couple of making of features. Nothing much, but cool to watch.
Then, The Right Stuff. To tell the truth, this was the first time I sat through the entire 3+ hour monster, as I'd always found its direction rather wonky. Still do. It's bloated and indulgent, with comedy that misfires more often than it amuses, but there are some very good elements in it nonetheless. Chuck Yaeger's story is the real heart of the film despite essentially being a parallel subplot, and the editing is often a delight. I'd actually gotten this to put in front of my From the Earth to the Moon collection (which is followed by Apollo 13), because I love the early days of space travel as a rule, and I was interested in what extras the DVD could offer. Well, while there is information and footage on the Mercury missions, it's mostly about how to relate them to the screen (which is fine) and how it was received by some of the astronauts. There a commentaries on selected tracks and a long PBS biography of John Glenn on the occasion of his returning to space in '98. Deleted scenes complete the package. Good stuff, and I can say I have a greater appreciation for the film.
Olivier's 1948 Hamlet was necessarily next. I had a VHS version of it, but had yet to watch my DVD copy. Thing is, my Hamlet blog requires me to discuss its opening scene sometime this week, so I gave it a full viewing. Still has some surprisingly modern elements, and I can see why it would win Best Picture at the Oscars that year, but I can't get into Olivier's performance. According to Criterion's leaflet, that's a common opinion. The DVD has nothing else to offer, most of Olivier's Shakespeare-related extras being on his Richard III, which was included in the same boxed set.
Speaking of
Hyperion to a Satyr, entries this week include:
Act I Scene 1 according to ShakespeareAct I Scene 1 according to BranaghNew
Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG cards: 26, most from Warriors of the Deep and completing my committment to that story. Destiny of the Daleks is next. Can't exactly do a Masters of War expansion and not include the despotic rubbish bins in it, can I?
Someone Else's Post of the Week
Chris Sims of Invincible Super-Blog fame wrote a feature for the Comics Alliance about
Suicidally Depressing Comic Strips. I knew newspaper comics were something of a wasteland, but I hadn't realized they'd gone from unfunny to terminal. Face it, the comic strip form now thrives on the Internet, not in the pages of your local paper. Says something about their respective viewership.
She's no granddaughter from where I'm sitting.
From the strange boudoir photos of Britain.
Ladies, I've got hair enough for all of you.
Let the glam begin.
Cuz everybody loves a dog.
I told you I was including all of them.
Though to be fair, Jean Marsh was never hotter than as Sara Kingdom.
Best I can do.
Girls swoon now.
Come and have the special Polly cocktail. (Yes, a full-blown Moonbase reference.)
The 60s were all about the hair. Not that it isn't now.
Oh those Victorian values!
For the other side of this coin, see The Mind Robber.
The stories Bessie could tell.
The cleanest shot of the set.
Sarah doesn't want to play our game, but she doesn't need to.
Was the UNIT era, the disco era?
Don't you just love a bad girl?
And they say the Time Lords are sexless.
If you want her in taller hair, the Internet can help you out.
Two words that don't really go together, but here you are, girls.
Probably not Janet Fielding's favorite day on Doctor Who.
Her only good costume, as she slipped out of the series.
Cuz everybody loves a bad boy.
Oh 80s, sometimes you did good.
And sometimes you made me feel confused.
Very confused.
Grace and class.
Before the Doctor, before Mickey, there was this bloke down at the pub...
Some of you have been waiting 30 pictures for this.
I feel a little like Postmodern Barney...
There's a four-letter acronym for this.
Just so's you can look at the tattoo, of course.
You're no Jo Grant, honey, but points for trying.
Dimensionally transcendent.
You're not learning anything new today, are you?
We don't know her name yet, but she's off to a good start.
