by David Blackwell

I decided to take a different approach to the DVD in review article by pointing out the stuff I enjoyed, the DVDs with great extras, and stuff you might have missed out (but should check out).

MOVIES on DVD:

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2-disc SE)

Quentin Tarantino astonishes with his World War II wish fulfillment fantasy with the two women (the French woman and the German actress/ British spy Bridget Von Hammersmark) and the evil Nazi Colonel Landa stealing the movie.   The mock featurette on the making of NATION’S PRIDE is classic.

STAR TREK (2009) 2-Disc Edition

STAR TREK delivers with the best Star Trek movie in 13 years.  It is a film that brings in fans and non-fans alike.  It is faithful to the old while opening a new path for the franchise in the most successful Star Trek film.   The making-of featurettes and deleted scenes make the 2-Disc set worth buying.

FALLEN ANGELS

One of three Wong Kar Wai’s films that came to DVD in 2009.  It is the best of the three.  The films deal with lost love and unrequited love (as in the case of FALLEN ANGELS).  HAPPY TOGETHER is more for fans of the director and not an introduction to the director.  FALLEN ANGELS of ASHES OF TIME REDUX are more suitable for an intro to new viewers.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (TWO-DISC)

David Fincher astonishes with this three hour tale.  The extras on the two-disc are to the usual high Criterion Collection standard.

MUTANT CHRONICLES (2-Disc Collector's Edition)

A very enjoyable sci-fi B movie packed with extras

HARDWARE (2-disc Special Edition)

After years of fighting over who owns the rights to HARDWARE and one cancelled release by Miramax, Richard Stanley’s low budget sci-fi/ horror classic makes it to DVD courtesy of Severin Films.  One of my high points of DVDs out this year was finally watching a film I haven’t seen for years.

OUTLANDER

A solid twist on the Beowulf tale as an alien crash lands on Earth and helps aliens fight against an alien creature.  Best extra belongs to the many deleted scenes.

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN Special Edition

The film has many faults.  The two-disc set gets a mention due to the extensive DVD extras produced by DVD master producer Charles De Lauzirika.

TV SHOWS ON DVD:

LOST The Complete Fifth Season

One of LOST’s best seasons.  The extras are top-notch including the deleted scenes and the faux TV program on the Dharma Initiative.

CAPRICA

This pilot movie to the prequel to BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was released nine months before the series starts airing (it premieres on Jan 22, 2010).  It is different from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA because it shows where everything began and not focus on space based drama.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Season 4.0

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Season 4.5

The BATTLESTAR GALACTICA sets are always great to own and the final season made me sad to see the show go.  This character based drama is filled with issues and themes.   Extended episodes, featurettes, deleted scenes, and audio commentaries/ podcasts fills these sets of one of the best sci-fi dramas ever.  Too bad they couldn’t include THE FACE OF THE ENEMY webisodes.

RED DWARF: BACK TO EARTH

RED DWARF is back after 9 odd years with the best BLADE RUNNER homage/ parody I have seen.  It may lead to six to eight more episodes being produced for DAVE TV.

SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL Season One

SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL Season 2

Actress Billie Piper breathes emotion into a very real call girl.  This sexy series is filled with humor and drama.

TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES Season 2

The TV show only lasted for two seasons before being cancelled.  However, the character development is top notch and will satisfy any TERMINATOR fan who found the new film disappointing.

TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH

The best TORCHWOOD ever as TORCHWOOD reinvents itself as a tighter series.

DOLLHOUSE Season One

DOLLHOUSE is the latest series from Joss Whedon that gets cancelled in season 2.  Watching the DVD set made me love the show when random episodes made me not want to watch the show.  The two unaired episodes (including the original pilot) are the best extras in the set.

BLOOD TIES Season One

BLOOD TIES Season Two

Better than MOONLIGHT and making me yearn to watch FOREVER KNIGHT, this vampire/ human dynamic reminds me of FOREVER KNIGHT mixed with HIGHLANDER.  Also go read the Tanya Huff novels the series is based on.

This article is (c)1-6-2009 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com