DVD’s of the Week – 12/15/2009

Since we aren’t filming an episode of the podcast this week, I wanted to do a post for the DVD picks of the week.  I haven’t consulted with John, but I’m pretty comfortable making these selections.

The first pick is Inglorious Basterds, from director Quentin Taratino.  Inglorious Basterds has been in the works for over a decade and has quickly become one of Taratino’s most popular films.  Taratino immensely creative, is one of the best screenwriters working, gets more from his actors than most directors, and has an incredible grasp of cinematic history.  Inglorious Basterds displays all of these qualities, and it is currently ranked #64 on the list of the best films ever according to IMDB’s readers.  I’ll share my thoughts on the movie in the next few days, but there is no doubt it is one of the most unique stories about WWII out there.  It is available in two disc special editions on both DVD and Blu-ray, but this is the type of film to get on Blu-ray if you have the option available, it is visually beautiful.

The second pick is The Hangover, from director Todd Phillips.  The Hangover was one of the surprise hits of the year, though it should be no surprise.  Todd Phillips directed Road Trip, Old School and Starsky & Hutch, so he has a lot of experience with comedy.  Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms are all great actors.  And it has wonderful cameos including Ken Jeong, who is quickly becoming one of the funniest actors working.  The film was such a hit in test screenings that they went into pre-production on the sequel before the first film was even released.  It is available on DVD and Blu-ray.

About

Spencer was born and raised in New Mexico. He grew up with the many great films of the 1980’s before having his world rocked after seeing The Usual Suspects. He moved to Washington State to go to the University of Washington, and currently any free time he currently has is split between working on film projects and watching films.

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