RoosterFlix DVD Picks for December 2nd

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Casablanca (Ultimate Collector's Edition) (1942)
dir. Michael Curtiz

If I didn't already have 2 copies of this motherfucker, I'd probably buy this. Although it's not really bringing anything mind-blowing to the table this time around other than the fact it's in Blu-ray, I'd probably get rid of the ones I already have for it. Here's looking at my DVD collection, kid LOLOLOL fuck, kill me

Product Decsription:
A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. --Tom Keogh

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Step Brothers (2008)
dir. Adam McKay

Even as a John C. Reilly superfan, I must say that I had my doubts with this one. I was pleasantly surprised, though, and basically laughed my ass off the entire time I was in the theater. The story isn't A+ material, but it doesn't have to be. Ferrell and Reilly's chemistry is so potent that they probably could've improved for 2 hours and came away with something worth watching. Definitely one of the best comedies of the year.

Product Decsription:
Crude, juvenile, and proud of it, Step Brothers stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as two 40-year-old men, both living at home and leading the lives of 13-year-old boys, who are thrown together when their single parents (Mary Steenburgen, Parenthood, and Richard Jenkins, Six Feet Under) get married. Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly) start out hating each other as only teenage boys can--but things get even worse for their long-suffering parents when they become best friends. Step Brothers gets most of its mileage from very lowbrow humor, but hidden among the farts and masturbation jokes is the suggestion that while these guys may be emotionally arrested, so are Brennan's hotshot business executive brother (Adam Scott, Tell Me You Love Me) and his high-fiving frat-boy pals, just in a way that's condoned because it makes money. Also crucial is that Ferrell and Reilly capture adolescence in all its gruesome glory--the awkward insecurity but also the egomaniacal, arrogant self-centeredness. Mind you, this isn't the American version of The 400 Blows or anything--one of the movie's setpieces features Brennan tea-bagging Dale's drum set (and if you don't know what tea-bagging is... well, you will after seeing this movie). All in all, Step Brothers combines the adolescent humor of producer Judd Apatow (Superbad, Knocked Up) and the comic chemistry of Ferrell and Reilly (who previously costarred in Talladega Nights)--fans of either will find plenty to enjoy. --Bret Fetzer

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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
dir. Andrew Adamson

Product Decsription:
More exciting than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian continues the movie franchise based on C.S. Lewis' classic fantasy books. The movie picks up where the first left off... sort of. It's been a year since the Pevensie children--Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley)--returned to England from Narnia, and they've just about resigned themselves to living their ordinary lives. But just like that, they're once again transported to a fantastical land, but one with a long-abandoned castle. It turns out that they are in Narnia again--and they themselves lived in that castle, but hundreds of years ago in Narnia time. They've been summoned back to help Prince Caspian (Stardust's Ben Barnes, resembling a young, cultured Keanu Reeves), the rightful heir to the throne who's become the target of his power-hungry uncle, King Mraz (Sergio Castellitto). And he's not the only one threatened: Mraz's people, the Telmarines, have pushed all the Narnians--the talking animals, the centaurs and other beasts, the walking trees--to the brink of extinction. Despite some alpha-male bickering, Peter and Caspian agree to fight Mraz alongside the remaining Narnians, including the dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and the swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard). (Also appearing is Warwick Davis, who was in Willow and the 1989 BBC Prince Caspian.) But of course they most of all miss the noble lion, Aslan, who would have never let this happen to Narnia if he hadn't disappeared. Prince Caspian is epic, evoking memories of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. (Some of the battle elements may seem too familiar, but they were in Lewis's book.) And it's appropriate for kids (Reepicheep could have come out of a Shrek movie), though the tone is dark and there is a lot of death, albeit bloodless. After two successful films, Disney and Walden Media's franchise has proved successful enough that many of the characters are scheduled to return in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. --David Horiuchi

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Wanted (2008)
dir. Timur Bekmambetov

Looks horrible, but I'm still morbidly curious....I might watch this soon.

Product Decsription:
As the impresario behind gravity-defying Russian blockbuster Night Watch, it's inevitable that Hollywood would come calling for Timur Bekmambetov. With a studio budget and an international cast, including two Oscar winners, Timur cooks up a Hong Kong-styled actioner bursting with fast cars and big guns. Our unlikely hero is mild-mannered Chicago accountant Wesley Gibson (Atonement's James McAvoy), whose father died when he was a tot. Wesley never learned to stand up for himself, and his girlfriend, boss, and best buddy all take advantage until the seductive Fox (Angelina Jolie) rescues him from a sharpshooter named Cross (The Pianist’s Thomas Kretschmann). After which, she whisks him away to a mansion on the edge of town to meet the other members of the Fraternity, where leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman) informs Wesley that Cross, a rogue agent, executed his father. Sloan believes Wesley has the goods to take him out, so he undergoes the Fraternity's brutal training regimen (Marc Warren and Common dish up some of the abuse). When he's ready, Sloan sends him out to fulfill his duty, but matters become complicated when Wesley finds out someone isn't telling the truth, leading our former milquetoast to exact an elaborate revenge. For those who've been following McAvoy's career to date, Wanted will surely come as a surprise. In adapting Mark Millar's comic series, Timur offers buckets of blood and a smidgen of depth, but fans of The Matrix and Mr. and Mrs. Smith will want to give this one a look. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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White Dog - Criterion Collection (1982)
dir. Samuel Fuller

Anything from Samuel Fuller would be an instant purchase, but considering the extreme social commentary on display in White Dog, I'm even more interested. Plus, it's Criterion, so, yeah.

Product Decsription:
Samuel Fuller's throat-grabbing exposé on American racism was misunderstood and withheld from release when it was made in the early eighties; today, the notorious film is lauded for its daring metaphor and gripping pulp filmmaking. Kristy McNichol stars as a young actress who adopts a lost German Shepherd, only to discover through a series of horrifying incidents that the dog has been trained to attack black people, and Paul Winfield plays the animal trainer who tries to cure him. A snarling, uncompromising vision, White Dog is a tragic portrait of the evil done by that most corruptible of animals: the human being.

DVD Features:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the uncut version, approved by producer Jon Davison
New video interviews with producer Davison, co-writer Curtis Hanson, and Sam Fuller s widow, Christa Lang-Fuller
An interview with dog trainer Karl Lewis-Miller
Rare photos from the film s production
PLUS: A booklet featuring new essays by critics J. Hoberman and Armond White, plus a rare 1982 interview in which Fuller interviews the canine star of the film
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Frost/Nixon: The Original Watergate Interviews (1977)
dir. Jorn Winther

Product Decsription:
A historic meeting so gripping and poignant it has been adapted into an award-winning stage play and major motion picture.

This program, culled from the over 28 hours of interview footage between Sir David Frost and U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, was originally broadcast in May of 1977. Never before, nor since, has a U.S. President been so candid on camera. Even more intriguing is the fact that Nixon agreed to appear on camera with no pre-interview preparation or screening of questions. The most famous of this series of interviews is in the final segment that focused solely on Watergate.

This program also contains new footage with Sir David Frost shot in 2007 discussing the historical impact of the interview along with his reactions of their famous encounter. Frost also discusses his views on Peter Morgan's interpretation and screenplay adaptation of this historical event.

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The Day the Earth Stood Still (Special Edition) (1951)
dir. Robert Wise

Going to go ahead and take a "risk" and say this is miles better than the Keanu Reeves-make will be.

Product Decsription:
A hallmark of the science fiction genre as well as a wry commentary on the political climate of the 1950s, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi movie less concerned with special effects than with a social parable. A spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C., carrying a humanoid messenger from another world (Michael Rennie) imparting a warning to the people of Earth to cease their violent behavior. But panic ensues as the messenger lands and is shot by a nervous soldier. His large robot companion destroys the Capitol as the messenger escapes the confines of the hospital. He moves in with a family as a boarder and blends into society to observe the full range of the human experience. Director Robert Wise (West Side Story) not only provides one of the most recognizable icons of the science fiction world in his depiction of the massive robot loyal to his master, but he avoids the obvious camp elements of the story to create a quiet and observant story highlighting both the good and the bad in human nature. --Robert Lane

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The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
dir.

I'm preeeeeetty sure you can't cast shadows like that with just one light source. I'm calling bullshit on this movie.

Product Decsription:
The feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a satisfying if unspectacular installment in the X-Files series, taking place an unspecified time after the show's nine-year television run. Former agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is now a doctor, while Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is being hunted by his former agency and living in seclusion. He and Scully are summoned back by a case involving a missing agent and a former priest (Billy Connolly) who claims to be able to see clues to the agent's whereabouts psychically, though his initial search turns up only a severed limb. Don't expect the usual cast of characters; the FBI has completely turned over (except for the George W. Bush portrait), and the only reason Scully and Mulder are back is because agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) remembers his success on similar cases involving the unexplainable. Don't expect the same rogues' gallery either; unlike the previous X-Files feature film, which was inextricably linked to the series' convoluted mythology arc (and served as a bridge between the fifth and sixth seasons), I Want to Believe is a stand-alone piece that makes use of the series' roots in horror/sci-fi and moody Vancouver, B.C., locales. Also unlike the previous film, which was almost self-consciously shot for the big screen, this film is on a smaller scale, like a double-length episode of the series. But it's still a good reminder of the creepy vibe that hooked fans for years. And the relationship between Mulder and Scully? It seems to have resumed pretty much where it left off, at least when you take into account the long period of separation. But stick around for the end-credit sequence to take in all the possibilities for the future. --David Horiuchi

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The Rape of Europa (Collector's Edition) (2007)
dir. Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, Nicole Newnham

Product Decsription:
The issues raised by The Rape of Europa, a documentary about the Nazi pillaging of art and the Allied effort to return it, can't be conveniently consigned to the dustbin of history. This story is still playing out, contentiously and emotionally, as art is recovered and heirs sue for restitution. (The case of Klimt s portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, familiar to many New Yorkers, opens and closes the movie.) The Rape of Europa covers endlessly interesting material: the central role art played for the Nazis; the arriviste connoisseurship of Hitler and Goering; the Germans different treatment of cities like Krakow (spared for its Germanic art) and Warsaw (almost obliterated for its Slavic art and sensibility). It also raises endlessly interesting questions: Should soldiers lives be risked to save historic sites and artwork? Can a culture survive if its art is wiped out? The film, based on a book by Lynn H. Nicholas, crams in a lot, which means it can seem rushed and cursory. And some parts beg for fuller treatment. The Monuments Men, G.I. s (mainly) whose mission was to recover and return art, could easily be the subject of their own documentary. They're heroes. And their work was vital to, in the words of one Florentine woman, the victory of beauty over horror. Rachel Saltz, New York Times

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A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All (2008)
dir. n/a

I can't watch this show or The Daily Show because the studio audience is so fucking obnoxious and annoying that it ruins practically everything. They burst into hearty laughter and thunderous applause at the slightest, weakest political quips and their ass-kissery knows no bounds. Both Colbert and Stewart are very smart and funny dudes to say the least, but their shows are insufferable. Highly recommended!

Product Decsription:
What better way to celebrate Christmas than with the fake media's biggest Scrooge, Stephen Colbert? Dirty liberals like Elvis Costello, Feist, and Willie Nelson--along with real American Toby Keith--are on the guest list for this special that includes all the ego-fueled mayhem of THE COLBERT REPORT, as well as a smattering of irony-laced Yuletide songs, such as "There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In" and "Little Dealer Boy."

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Shadow Company (2006)
dir. Jason Bourque, Nick Bicanic

Product Decsription:
This year thousands of private soldiers will be deployed in conflicts worldwide. These individuals, known as private security contractors, are changing the face of modern warfare. But to those at home, their world and influence remains a mystery. Who are these security contractors? What do they do? Why do they do it? Shadow Company, by Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque, is the groundbreaking feature-length documentary that reveals the origins and destinations of these modern-day mercenaries. The rules of war have changed.

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Pleasure For Sale (2008)
dir. Harry Gantz, Joe Gantz

So basically it's just a Sundance version of HBO's Cathouse.

Product Decsription:
The raunchy, original 6-part series from Sundance Channel and Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Joe and Harry Gantz (Taxicab Confessions) takes an intimate and revealing look inside a legal brothel in Pahrump, Nevada.

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My Father My Lord (2007)
dir. David Volach

Product Decsription:
WINNER: BEST FILM OF 2007 (TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL)
A heartbreakingly tender (New York Times) new entry into Israel s ongoing filmmaking renaissance, My Father My Lord is an anguished, mordant sigh of a fable (New York Sun) set in the ultra-orthodox Israeli community in which writer-director Volach was raised. This astonishing debut feature (Variety) is a beautifully made film (Newsday) portraying childhood at its most transcendent and fundamentalism at its most intimately corrosive. We do everything in the Torah without asking why, Rabbi Eidelman (Assi Dayan), a pious, respected elder in a cloistered Hasidic enclave tells his wonderstruck only son Menahem (Ilan Grif). But at an age where life prompts questions increasingly outside the confines of doctrine, Menahem unwittingly runs afoul of his father s inflexibility. Mindful of her marriage vows but accepting of her son s boyish curiosity, Rabbi Eidelman s wife Esther (Sharon Hacohen Bar) is caught in the middle. A holiday at the seashore meant to reconnect the family brings the ideological rift between pre-teen boy and middle-aged man to a biblically and dramatically tragic climax. Lifting equally from the secular religiosity of Krzysztof Kieslowski s The Decalogue and the aesthetics of Jewish ritual itself (Village Voice), and profoundly compassionate toward its characters (NY Times), My Father My Lord shines with a radiance and grave grace. (Entertainment Weekly)

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Seeding of a Ghost (1983)
dir. Chuan Yang

Whoa. The description is hot fire. I might have to see this.

Product Decsription:
In this supernatural splatterfest, a Hong Kong taxi driver suffers after being cursed by a sorcerer he accidentally hit with his cab. After the driver's wife is raped and killed by teenage hooligans, he pleads with the sorcerer to lift the hex and restore his wife to the land of the living. Otherworldly zombie chaos ensues.

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