How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes and Kim Hollis
September 15, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For people who are still rooting for Earl to finish his list: My Name is Earl: Season 4
Randy Hickey: [reading Earl's list] Number 23. Peed in the back of a cop car.
Earl Hickey: I'm no longer proud of that.
With those words, I was sold on My Name Is Earl as having potential to become one of the funniest shows on television. And though there are some detractors who contend that its quality fell off somewhere during Season 3, I'm of the opinion that the comedy was about as consistent as it gets. I laughed every week, happily watching as Jason Lee's Earl tried to become a better man.
Two weeks before the finale of Season 4, fans were blissfully unaware that NBC was considering cancelling the show. Earl and Randy were proven innocent in the disappearance of Crab Shack owner Ernie Belcher and even bigger revelations were promised. But then, the hammer came down. It looked as though NBC would cancel the series, and though a number of other networks tried to cut a deal to take over the comedy, nothing could ever be settled and My Name Is Earl was pronounced dead. This is all the more bittersweet given that the finale was a cliffhanger. Clearly, showrunner Greg Garcia and the rest of the production crew had little inkling that they might be in danger of cancellation.
Even though we may never know if Earl completed his list or who Earl Jr.'s real dad is, there were still some stellar moments in the show's final season. Earl's dad moves in with him for a time, the brothers attend cheerleading camp, a tornado hits Camden County, "Estrada or Nada?" comes to town, Randy wins the lottery and makes a list of his own, Mr. Turtle makes a long journey home, and we find out who Joy's childhood crush was.
And so we say goodbye to Earl, Randy, Crabman, Joy, Catalina, Kenny, Stuart, Willie the One-Eyed Mailman, Nescobar A-Lop-Lop, Patty the Daytime Prostitute, and TV's Tim Stack. We hope that Karma has treated you well.
Disc includes: Deleted scenes, gag reel, 2 the Max movie trailer, Earl's Fan Mail featurette
Team Cox v. Team Hopkins – It's the best of both worlds!: The Hannibal Lecter Collection [Blu-ray]
Hannibal Rising's absence from this Hannibal Lecter collection comes at no surprise. It was critically detested and made significantly less money than its predecessors. So much so that its total U.S. gross - $27.7 million – falls well short of the opening weekends alone of 2001's Hannibal ($58 million) and 2002's Red Dragon ($36.5 million).
Being an origins story, Hannibal Rising also doesn't have Sir Anthony Hopkins – and I just can't have that.
Regrettably left out of this Blu-ray collection, however, is Red Dragon. Sure, no Jodie Foster or Julianne Moore this time around – due to the fact that the story doesn't involve Clarice Starling – but it did have Ed Norton, Emily Watson and, best of all, Ralph Fiennes playing a crazy person. Though it's been awhile since I've seen it, I remember enough to know I'd go and see this one any day over the commercially successful, albeit excessively gory Hannibal.
Let's just say Hannibal behind bars makes for a much... cleaner movie.
What you do get in the three movie collection – along with Hannibal and the undisputed favorite, Silence of the Lambs – is the often forgotten Manhunter, based on the same 1981 Thomas Harris novel as 2002's Red Dragon. I've yet to see it myself, but have been curious for some time now to see what Brian Cox brings to the Hannibal Lecter character.
Disc includes: Not specified
For people who agree it's impossible to make a Wolverine movie poster without Wolverine pointing his pointy claws at you: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Special Edition)
Though X-Men Origins: Wolverine earned a very excellent $85.1 million in its opening weekend, you've got to wonder how much better the title could have performed had a workprint version of the movie not been leaked online about a month before it was due in theaters. It's estimated that the workprint was downloaded about 4.5 million times prior to its release date. That's an embarrassingly high number.
The movie, the first in a number of X-Men Origins stories set for theatrical release, is actually a prequel to the well-received X-Men trilogy that came before it. Set about 10 to 17 years before the original X-Men film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine focuses on Wolverine's violent past, his relationship with half-brother Victor Creed, early encounters with Colonel William Stryker and the bodywork he underwent during the Weapon X program. Just 36% of critics liked it (according to RottenTomatoes). So if you held out until today to see Wolverine at home, then it seems like you made the right choice.
A Wolverine sequel is already in the works. It's likely to be set in Japan and is planned to be a 2012 release.
Disc includes: The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation with Stan Lee and Len Wein featurette, Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins featurette, Alternate "Memory Erase" Sequence featurette, audio commentary, deleted scenes, alternate scenes
For people who tend to forget that CBS airs material other than procedural dramas: The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Second Season
An aunt of mine has been pestering me for quite possibly years now to check out The Big Bang Theory, a comedy on CBS. Because of lack of time, and more importantly interest, I'm not sure I can handle a multi-cam series with a laugh track anymore after getting used to single-cam shows like The Office and 30 Rock. Thus, I have yet to see a single minute of The Big Bang Theory. I'm a bad nephew.
The series stars Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper) and Roseanne alum Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter) as two socially inept, geeky 20-somethings who through an act of God live across the hall from a beautiful girl (Kaley Cuoco). When Leonard falls for her and tries making a move, Sheldon discourages his actions because he doesn't believe Penny would ever say yes. After averaging a so-so 8.31 million viewers in its debut season, The Big Bang Theory jumped to 10.14 million viewers in its sophomore frame, including a record 13.11 million for the season's 15th episode on February 9th.
For now, I'll remain an NBC comedy loyalist. But with the network sticking it to My Name is Earl – and while you're at it, don't get me started on Scrubs – that may change.
**Then again, I gave How I Met Your Mother a go recently and (mostly) enjoyed what I saw.
Disc includes: Physicist to the Stars: Real-Life Physicist/UCLA Professor David Saltzberg's Consulting Relationship to the Show featurette, Testing the Infinite Hilarity Hypothesis in Relation to The Big Bang Theory: Season Two's Unique Characters and Characteristics featurette, gag reel
September 15, 2009
Blu-ray
Amadeus
An American Werewolf In London (Special Edition)
Army Of Darkness Special Edition
Camille
Casablanca
Child's Play
Crash: The Complete First Season
Deep Impact
Easy Virtue
Grace
The Hannibal Lecter Collection
Hero Special Edition
Iron Monkey
The Legend Of Drunken Master
Misery
My Name Is Earl: Season 4
The Ultimate Force of Four (Boxed Set)
Van Helsing
Varsity Blues
The Wonder of it All
Wrong Turn
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Special Edition)
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman
DVD
The Abyss (Collector's Edition)
An American Werewolf In London (Special Edition)
Army Of Darkness (Special Edition)
Beatific Vision (Special Edition)
Big Bang Theory: Complete Seasons 1 & 2
The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Second Season
Bonanza: The Official First Season
Camille
Case Closed: Season 2
Crash: The Complete First Season
CSI Miami: Seasons 1-7 (Set)
CSI: Miami - The Seventh Season
Deadgirl (Unrated Director's Cut)
Easy Virtue
FBI Files: Season 4
Fear Itself: The Complete First Season (Widescreen)
Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood (Deluxe Edition)
Friday The 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (Deluxe Edition)
Grace
Grey's Anatomy: Complete Fifth Season
Hairspray (Deluxe Edition)
The Hannibal Lecter Collection
Heartland: Season 1, Part 1 (Widescreen)
Hero (Special Edition)
The IT Crowd: Complete Third Season
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 4
Laramie: The Final Season
My Name Is Earl: Season 4
Nightwatching (Special Edition)
One Step Beyond: The Official First Season
Private Practice: The Complete Second Season (Widescreen)
Sanctuary: The Complete First Season
The Transformers Season 2 Part 1 (25th Anniversary Edition)
Varsity Blues (Deluxe Edition)
The Wes Craven Horror Collection (Set)
WWE: Best of Smackdown 10th Anniversary 1999-2009
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Special Edition)