Release Dates Jul 08 2008 @ 08:30 am
DVD Releases for July 8th, 2008.
Here come the latest cinematic offerings on DVD. Speaking of DVD, have you ever heard of the “6 Degrees of Jesus” game on Wikipedia (Luke introduced it to me)? It’s where you attempt to get to the article on Jesus from another article in six or less clicks. Starting with the entry for DVD, I went to Star Trek: The Original Series –> Star Trek V: The Final Frontier –> God –> Bible –> Jesus. 5 clicks, however, is not that impressive. Major props in the comments section to anyone who can do it in 4 or less. The gauntlet has been thrown down!
Also, if you’re new to the MovieZeal, I rank these in order of interest, with ‘interest’ being defined as whatever my fickle little brain is into at the moment.
Batman – Gotham Knight
Ok, so I’m cheating a bit with this one. Not only is it not a theatrical release, it’s direct-to-video and animated to boot. However, seeing as I’m in full-on OCD Dark Knight mode and being forced to wait 2 weeks until it actually hits theaters (oh please oh please let there be a press screening I can go to), and seeing as this 6-part anime inspired tale of Bruce Wayne’s rise to the cowl was written by David Goyer (Batman Begins) and Josh Olson (A History of Violence) among others, I think I can be forgiven my lapse in propriety. This looks wicked cool and will provide a nice diversion until July 18th.
Recommended if you, like me, have been carving little Batman symbols in your arm to pass the time.
The Tracy Fragments
A fractured tale of a young girl finding herself, this Canadian film stars Ellen Page, who you might have seen in a little independent film last year called Juno. It employs a how-many-frames-can-we-get-on-the-screen-at-once aesthetic, revealing multiple angles of the same scene at the same time. It could be a revelation or it could be gimmick-overload. Regardless, I’m there for anything and everything that contains Ellen Page (except X-Men 3…shame on you, Ellen, shame on you).
Recommended if Juno meets 24 sounds interesting to you, and while that may be an accurate description (at least superficially), I’m also sure it’s completely misleading.
Chop Shop – 
I profess a detached, clinical admiration for this film. A cinéma vérité exploration of two orphaned siblings struggling to make ends meet amidst the grungy body shops of back alley Queens, the film is beautiful in its own, minimalist way. Although I was moved at times, and although director Ramin Bahrani is unquestionably talented, I have little to no desire ever to visit it again. An impressive work, but one that failed to leave a distinct impression.
Recommended if you liked Man Push Cart or 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
The Ruins – 
Even though Luke nailed this one to the wall with all the extreme prejudice of Dogg the Bounty Hunter on crack, I would still rather watch it than Stop-Loss. I’m not sure if that says more about me or…yeah, I’ll just be honest, it says more about me. So, there’s this ancient primordial evil that these kids find in a South American jungle and…get this, it hunts them down! Pretty original, no? Apparently there are some pretty nasty bits and also some unintentionally humorous ones. Hopefully for the movie’s sake the two don’t overlap too often.
Recommended if you liked Anaconda, Primeval, or Touristas.
Hit the jump for the rest of this weeks selection.
Stop-Loss
Yet another Iraq-war-film-that-couldn’t, Stop-Loss has received its fair share of critical accolades, but despite trusted reviews I still can’t generate any interest in it. Is it just me, or would you guys seriously contemplate sticking toothpicks dipped in hot sauce into your retinas rather than sit through another film about Iraq as well? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a subject to be treated lightly, and in terms of America and the geopolitical scene, it’s a crucial one, but my face is bruised and bloody from all of the anti-Iraq diatribes that Hollywood has been turning out, and sir, I don’t want anymore please.
I realize that our international readership has grown significantly in the previous week, so I would be interested in hearing your perspectives on this. As an American, am I just tired of something that has become an increasing embarrassment for our country? Is that why I don’t want to watch these films? Do they, on some level (any level), appeal to those of you who live outside of the US of A? Inquiring minds want to know.
Sleepwalking
IMDB tells me that Sleepwalking “follows an 11-year-old girl’s struggle to come to terms with her mother’s abandonment.” While not the most thrilling premise, if mined correctly it could certainly produce dramatic riches. The cast is definitely top shelf – Nick Stahl, Woody Harrelson, Charlize Theron, and Dennis Hopper – but this one smacks of Lifetime and The Hallmark Channel. Anyone caught this who can report otherwise?
Recommended if you liked Alien, Reefer Madness: The Musical, Ishtar, or Donnie Darko. Also, I have no idea what the heck I’m talking about.
Superhero Movie
Dear Satan, I realize you hate the world and all, but this is going too far. Us weak humans have a threshold for pain and torture, and quite frankly, this exceeds that threshold in every way imaginable. Following Date Movie and Epic Movie, this one might have pushed us to the brink. I suggest you stop production on Disaster Movie immediately, because if you’re not careful, one day you’ll wake up without a human race to torment any longer, and that’s a lose-lose situation for all of us.
Sincerely, Evan
Recommended if ingesting raw sewage has all of a sudden lost its charm.
on Jul 08 2008 @ 9:21 am 1. Cinexcellence said …
Sony – Japan – Missionaries – Jesus
on Jul 08 2008 @ 9:27 am 2. Cinexcellence said …
Haha, this is so cheap: 2008 – Gregorian calendar – Jesus
on Jul 08 2008 @ 9:29 am 3. G said …
I don’t think I understand the game yet. How do you choose what you start with?
I guess I’m just a killjoy, and should know that I should start somewhere zany…
Anyway, since I’m apparently the resident shill for direct to dvd animation: I have already preordered the Batman DVD at (wait for it…wait for it…) the Redbox! I should have a review up tonight!
Chop Shop rocks. Romanian movies put me to sleep, or rather a depression-induced coma.
on Jul 08 2008 @ 9:29 am 4. Luke Harrington said …
Darn…I almost won.
DVD –> Copy Protection –> Advanced Dungeons & Dragons –> Christian –> Jesus
That’s also four…I wonder if anyone can do it in three?
By the way, I think I disagree about Chop Shop…while I didn’t feel fully engaged during the first viewing, I think if I came back to it I would notice a lot that I missed. I’m not going to say that everyone needs to see this movie now, but I would definitely watch it again.
on Jul 08 2008 @ 9:33 am 5. Luke Harrington said …
OK…while I was posting that comment, Cinex did it in three. Hmm.
G, the usual protocol is to simply hit “Random Article” and start from there. (Unfortunately, this usually leads to an article on some geographic location, which always has a section on demographics, which usually contains some reference to Christianity, which of course leads to Jesus. So it’s a pretty easy game.)
on Jul 08 2008 @ 9:37 am 6. G said …
Aha. I see now that Evan started with DVD though. I’ll try that (I was pretty close to doing a.o. scott in 4, except the word “catholic” appears in the pan’s labyrinth entry 5 times without ever being linked the wikipedia page catholic.
on Jul 08 2008 @ 9:42 am 7. Evan Derrick said …
Ah, Cinex…Gregorian Calendar FTW!
So G, are you saying that you liked Chop Shop but that 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days put you to sleep (which was one of my recommendations for Chop Shop)? Just clarifying. Cause if you didn’t like 4 Months…well…you might have to be excommunicated or something. Just a heads up.
on Jul 08 2008 @ 10:01 am 8. G said …
Yeah, yeah, well, it gets worse: I didn’t like The Death of Mr. Lazarescu that much either.
But in both cases, I can only bust out our old friend, admired but not adored. I admired all 3 of those films. I also actually enjoyed and was engaged by Chop Shop.
I think I just got claustrophobic in the other two – I started having flashbacks to Das Boot (I’m serious. All the interiors in 4 Months reminded me of Das Boot)
on Jul 08 2008 @ 10:22 am 9. Kristena said …
Wait, wait, wait… Is 4 Months something that one actually “likes?” It sounded excruciating to me.
Anywho, I’m loving the Batman animated business. Its six segments are each done in a different style. That alone makes it worth watching. Thanks, Evan, for introducing your wifey to things she’d otherwise never experience.
By the way, could you take out the trash when you come home for lunch?
on Jul 08 2008 @ 10:28 am 10. Evan Derrick said …
Ok, I tied you Cinex…
DVD–>Red–>Satan–>Jesus
And G, I had the opposite reaction. While I enjoyed Chop Shop, I didn’t really connect with it apart from a few moments, whereas 4 Months had me riveted the entire time. I like your comparisons to Das Boot, though.
So what does it say about everyone that they latched onto the Wikipedia game but ignored my introspective questions on the Iraq war lodged within the Stop-Loss blurb?
Well, seeing as I spent the last 10 minutes trying to find a way to Jesus from DVD in 2 clicks, was does that say about me…
on Jul 08 2008 @ 1:24 pm 11. Evan Derrick said …
And thankyou, Mrs. Derrick, for being willing to be subjected to all manner of bizarre media. How many women do you think would sit through 30 hours of an obscure anime show, play Rock Band with you, cross stitch coasters with your favorite 8 bit Nintendo characters on them (Contra FTW!), and bear your children?
Yes, you can all be jealous of my wife now.
on Jul 08 2008 @ 2:19 pm 12. Rick Olson said …
We all wanna find a way to Jay-sus with as little work as possible … put your hands on your computer screens, brothers and sisters …
on Jul 08 2008 @ 2:25 pm 13. G said …
I’m afraid to ask but…which “obscure” anime show? The wrong answer could get you excommunicated.
on Jul 08 2008 @ 3:13 pm 14. Daniel said …
Shouldn’t we be jealous of you, and not your wife, Evan?
Either way I’m jealous of both of you that you play Rock Band together.
Thanks for another send. Stop-Loss falls in the “Best Early Movies of 2008″ along with City of Men. At this point I can’t say it will be in my Top 10 at the end of the year or anything, but I think that says more about how good some recent and future offerings are than how bad Stop-Loss is. If I’m hankering for an Iraq War movie (happens a lot, doesn’t it?), this will still be the one.
on Jul 08 2008 @ 3:30 pm 15. gf said …
DVD – initialism – Jesus
on Jul 08 2008 @ 3:31 pm 16. Evan Derrick said …
Ok, that was a typo rather than a backdoor compliment for me and my own narcissism. Thanks for spotting the typo, Daniel.
I’m sure I might actually enjoy Stop-Loss if I gave it a chance…there are just so many other films to see.
My hands are on my computer screen, Rick…now what?
And aforementioned “obscure” anime is Monster, one of the most brilliant shows (animated or otherwise) that I have ever seen. So get your mind out of the gutter, G.
Sadly, it isn’t available anywhere outside of Japan, yet (we watched fansubs). It’s about a Japanese doctor in Germany who unwittingly saves a child who may or may not be the incarnation of pure evil, and then when he is framed for murder he is forced to leave his life and kill the boy he worked so hard to save. It’s a combination of The Fugitive and The Omen and it’s an incredible experience. There aren’t any giant robots or cheeky girls with enormous eyes or ridiculous stylistic choices. You can actually watch all 70 episodes online here.
Highly, highly, highly recommended, whether you’re an anime fan nor not. This is gorgeous, complex, brilliant storytelling.
on Jul 08 2008 @ 3:36 pm 17. Evan Derrick said …
Ok, gf wins. 2 clicks. Puts us all to shame.
on Jul 09 2008 @ 1:02 pm 18. Collin said …
I watched the Batman anime shorts last night. While I should preface my comments by telling you that I’m not much of an anime fan, I found it a little disappointing. The first few were a little slow and some seemed almost pointless (”Field Test” in particular). I did appreciate that they had one actor voicing Batman/Bruce Wayne throughout the set. Also, Batman wasn’t nearly as dark or disturbed as I was hoping for. In some sections he seemed like a nice, down-to-earth guy.
If anyone else has seen it, I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
on Jul 09 2008 @ 1:45 pm 19. Evan Derrick said …
I watched it the other night myself, Collin. Being a bigger fan of anime than you are, I was equally unimpressed. Given the caliber of the writers, it’s disappointing that this is all they could come up with. The entire DVD is simply a puff piece for The Dark Knight with the only redeeming qualities being the pretty pictures. The ‘interlocking’ stories are also a joke, as the most tenuous of threads tie each one together. This isn’t a cohesive story by any means, which is what I was hoping for.
As a holdover until the real deal hits next week, its certainly passable. But if you have better things to do, then you can certainly skip it.
on Jul 09 2008 @ 11:24 pm 20. Nathan said …
Nothing fun to add to this conversation except this: apparently animeepisodes.net, the site Evan links to above, was apparently hax0r3d by some uber-leet cyber ninja. I thought web-site defacing was soooo 1990’s.
(Visit their main site at your own risk. As of right now it’s not sending you anything malicious when you go there, but allowing a known-hacked site to put web code in your browser is not a safe thing (TM).)
on Jul 10 2008 @ 8:06 am 21. Evan Derrick said …
Internet geek knowledge FTW! If any of your computers explode after visiting the above link, well, I’m sorry….and you should have bought a Mac instead.
on Jul 10 2008 @ 12:49 pm 22. G said …
I guess I’m a little late, but I’ll add: I watched Gotham Knight. I was bored. I didn’t even muster up the enthusiasm for a review.
on Jul 11 2008 @ 1:33 pm 23. Craig Kennedy said …
I’ll throw in my two cents for Tracey Fragments. The gimmick kind of worked for me. Having said that, I guarantee a lot of people are going to hate it. How’s that for a recommendation?
For what it’s worth, I like Chop Shop and 4 Months but not so much Mr. Lazarescu. I guess there’s just no pleasing some people.
on Jul 14 2008 @ 4:06 pm 24. Piper said …
So Evan,
Did you see the Batman – Gotham Night DVD? I am very interested in hearing how it is as I too am coveting everything related to the upcoming release.
on Jul 14 2008 @ 5:39 pm 25. Evan Derrick said …
Yes, I did, Piper. Pass it up unless you absolutely have to consume all things Bat. The pictures are quite pretty, but the stories are beyond anemic. I enjoyed seeing each different art style, but as soon as it was over I had forgotten all about it.