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Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP’s look at the latest Blu-ray discs and DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Jigsaw tortures his last victim, Glee gets ready to hit a high note and Bruce Willis digs into his black-ops roots.

Pick of the Week

For people who know “final” never really means final in the horror genre: Saw: The Final Chapter

I’ve said it before, yet, why not, I’ll say it again: Paranormal Activity defeating the mighty Saw series is one of my favorite industry stories of the past decade or so. I mean, talk about a modernized David beats Goliath. The Saw franchise, already a bit tired in the eyes after serving up four sequels to the torture porn original that started it all, opened its next chapter, Saw VI, in its customary late October weekend spot and got trampled by a flick that cost less to make than a week’s worth of on-set Craft Service. A year later, the strength in the emerging Paranormal Activity brand forced Lionsgate to release Saw VII a week later than planned. And then Paranormal Activity pulled down $40.6 million over its opening weekend to – gulp – Saw VII’s 3D-inflated $24.2 million.

I can’t speak for the quality of a sixth Saw sequel in as many years – I stopped allocating money to the franchise after Saw III – yet Saw 3D’s mere 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is probably a good indicator.

And what a shame there is in that, considering the first Saw is decent horror – borderline good even. It was fun, it was indie, it had a story and a left-field ending that I didn’t see coming, but made some sense. It wasn’t what we’ve come to expect from Saw, that “Ha ha! That dude from Saw III is back in Saw VI because he was working with Jigsaw the whole time but his wife is secretly working against him but her dentist is also on Jigsaw’s side and remember that chick from Saw II? She’s been in hiding for years and is back in Saw V and oh man!” I’ve taken some liberties here, of course, but you get the idea. How is that in any way intelligent?

Disc includes: Audio commentaries, deleted and extended scenes, music videos, 52 Ways To Die: Recounting the Traps from the Saw Films featurette





For people who like to break into song for no apparent reason: Glee: Season 2, Volume 1

If Glee already isn’t in the stratosphere, it certainly will be come February 6th, when its first new episode in a couple months follows Super Bowl XLV between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. In recent memory, the post-Super Bowl slot has been most kind to reality television (Undercover Boss and two editions of Survivor) and then an episode of Grey’s Anatomy back when the hospital drama was actually talked about in social circles.

Glee seems like the natural choice for Fox. I mean next to the aging American Idol, Fox has Glee, its animation block and, I guess, Bones. I wouldn’t even say House is all that special anymore. I mean when’s the last time you ran into somebody who was all like: “Did you catch House last night? We have sooo much to discuss.”

Anyway, as for Glee, I can’t say I’ve seen much since the first half of season one. My problem with it is I expected too much. I wanted snarky comedy with heart (and memory!) and what I seemed to get in return was a show that got away with storylines that were just way too convenient. (Teach got kicked out of his house? Well, thank god the Glee club just procured a bunch of mattresses!)

In its second season, Glee seems to have gained momentum, and has built entire shows around big ideas – like episodes paying homage to Rocky Horror, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and, um, Britney Spears. It continues post-Bowl with a “Thriller”-themed ep.

Disc includes: Glee Music Jukebox featurette, bonus song, The Making Of The Rocky Horror Glee Show featurette, Getting Waxed with Jane Lynch featurette, The Wit of Brittany featurette, Glee at Comic-Con 2010 featurette

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