DVDs Ellery Queen Rush Casey Affleck and More

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JANUARY 9, 2011 FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur Posted: October 4, 2010 03:47 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index 2 3 views 0 2Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyDVDs: Ellery Queen , Rush, Casey Affleck and More What's Your Reaction: Read More: Casey Affleck , Dvds , Ellery Queen , Jim Hutton , Jim Thompson , Joan Collins , Jonah Hill , Larry Bird , Laurie Berkner , Magic Johnson , Nascar , Nick Nolte , Russell Brand , Entertainment News Memory can play tricks on you. I fondly recalled the TV series Ellery Queen Mysteries ($59.98; E1), with a tall gangly Jim Hutton (father of Timothy) shambling his way through an episode and then turning to MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOSTBIG NEWS: Gwyneth Paltrow | The Kardashians | Movies | Bristol Palin | Smarter Ideas | More... LOG IN | SIGN UP LIVE UPDATES: Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Shot, Federal Judge KilledGet Breaking News by Email SHARE THIS STORY Get Entertainment Alerts Email Comments 2 Democratic Rep. Shot, Federal Judge Killed At Public Event Gabrielle Giffords Shooter Identified Camille Grammer's Porn Past Comes Back To Haunt Her Intestinal Parasites May Be Causing Your Energy Slump Should The Leader Of The Free World Dress Like THIS? What Not To Say When Your Loved One Is Upset GOP Congresswoman Caught In Sexually Suggestive Photos Thousands Of Birds Found Dead In Italy Recommend 36K Recommend 7K Like 884 Like 891 Like 650 Like 655 Like 715 Recommend 36K the camera (to me!) and asking if we'd figured it out. The Ellery Queen mysteries were famous for that: they provided all the clues upfront so that if you were clever and smart, you had just as good a chance offiguring out whodunit as the sleuth. Oddly, Ellery Queen has never been very successful outside of books and short stories, where he's sold a reported 150 million copies and counting. A hit radio series lasted quite a few years, but every TV incarnation was a flop, including this one, which lasted only one season. Still, it's warmly remembered by fans as faithful to the spirit of the books, due in no small part to the easy charm of Hutton and dependable character actor David Wayne as his dad. Dipping into the 22 episodes plus the TV movie pilot, it's very clear this was a warm-up for Murder She Wrote : a weekly anthology of crime with a genial host and a raft of guest stars like Don Ameche, Ed McMahon, Sal Mineo, Vincent Price, Joan Collins - you get the idea, the Love Boat, Fantasy Island sort of gang. Pretty mild stuff, in other words. A solid presentation, with modest extras like an interview with co-creator William Link. GET HIM TO THE GREEK ($39.98 BluRay; $29.98 regular DVD) -- I do not get Russell Brand. But this spin-off from Forgetting Sarah Marshall played and played in movie theaters, obviously getting great word of mouth. So when I was in the mood for silly fun and ready to give Brand another try, I knew it was time for this comedy about a hapless record company employee (Jonah Hill) who must play nannywith a drinking and drugging rock star (Brand) and get him to a massively important concert on time. When the movie began with a feeble rock parody (showing Brand in a pathetically "important" video called "African Child") I knew I was in trouble. It did not get funnier as the rock star loosens up theemployee and the employee gives some heartfelt advice to the rock star about how to live his life andlessons are learned all around. By and large a time waster, some modest pleasure can be had on the fringes, namely Sean Combs pretty amusing as a record company exec and Elizabeth Moss of Mad Men sexily appealing as Hill's girlfriend. I dread Brand in the Arthur remake more and more. RUSH CLASSIC ALBUMS: 2112 AND MOVING PICTURES ($14.98; Eagle Vision) -- It's a banner year for Rush, what with the acclaimed documentary film Beyond The Lighted Stage and this look at their two most important albums. The Classic Albums series is a dependable one for fans of the actsinvolved and the formula is simple. A brief rundown of the band and their history is provided as a lead-into discuss one or two of their landmark albums, including fresh interviews with band members, a rock critic or two, record label execs, producers and engineers and so on. If you're a fan of the band involved, you can be sure the DVDs won't disappoint and most likely will dig up some info you didn't know before.(Finally, I know why that instrumental is called "YYZ.") Of course, it helps when the band is articulate 1 of 5 Alan Grayson Gabby Giffords: A Few Words Dylan Ratigan A Destructive CrossroadsDON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS HOT TRENDS TOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 9 camille grammer helen mirren poses nude miley cyrus lap dance video natalie portman natalie portman pregnant More Celebrity News at People.com More Celebrity News at Popeater.com PHOTOS: Raven-Symone's Dramatic Weight Loss Like 718 Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords In 'Very Critical Condition' After Shooting READ MORE Kate Middleton Joins Future In-Laws at Weekend Wedding READ MORE BUZZ: Are Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens Back On? READ MORE Willliam and Kate's Love Story There's No Viral Video Like 'Home' Michelle Williams on Keeping Heath's Memory Alive and smart, as Rush is in spades and the commentary ranges from pressure from the record company to breakdowns of individual tracks that reveal interesting little flourishes. Extras include extended interviews, some new and classic performance footage that doubles the running time to two hours. THE KILLER INSIDE ME ($29.98 BluRay and $19.98 regular; IFC) -- Casey Affleck is obviously flustered and surprised by the reaction to his performance art piece/mockumentary I'm Still Here with Joaquin Phoenix. But he should take comfort in the fact that if you want to talk about the movies of 2010 you need to see his directorial debut and you need to see his work on The Killer Inside Me, a darker than dark noir based on the Jim Thompson novel about a small-town sheriff who has to cover up one murder with more murders and -- more distressingly -- finds he doesn't mind so very much. Affleck has a gift for playing unpleasant, awkward characters and that's used to full effect here in scenes that areuncomfortably violent in a disturbing, unflinching manner that divided critics and audiences but made itone of the most talked about indie films of the year. It's the latest curve ball from the ever-restlessdirector Michael Winterbottom. Clearly not for the delicate, it's noir without the romanticism. RICH MAN, POOR MAN ($79.95; A&E) -- This is the miniseries that made a star of Nick Nolte AND a star of the miniseries in general. The first 12 hour miniseries aired during the early months of 1976 andexploded in the ratings, ranking #2 for the year, right behind All In The Family. Naturally, it was brought back that fall for a second full season of 22 episodes, though Nick Nolte for obvious reasons was notinvolved. The Irwin Shaw novel was pure soap opera but the first edition had fun with it, to a degree,jamming the film full of actors like Ed Asner and Steve Allen and Robert Reed to join Nolte and Peter Strauss in the epic tale of two brothers and their struggles from the end of World War II through the Sixties. Though dated on every level (acting, dialogue, production values, etc.) the first miniseries isgenius compared to the Falcon Crest -level intrigues of season two. As with many A&E TV releases of catalog titles, the video transfer is merely passable but certainly watchable despite wavering video andlines of age noticeable now and then. Fans will savor this release but the uninitiated will soon realize thisis no American equivalent to Upstairs Downstairs, just trashy fun gussied up as art. Queen's Royal Wedding Rift Kourtney K.'s StunningBikini Bod Jane Krakowski RevealsBaby Bump MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW HOT ON FACEBOOK HOT ON TWITTER Gabrielle Giffords Video NFL Gun Control iPad Haiti Earthquake Atheism Sarah Palin Barack ObamaHUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES MORE BIG NEWS PAGES »One And Done: 'Sarah Palin's Alaska' NOT Renewed: Report 1,212 Comments PHOTOS: Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi's Exotic Vacation 264 Comments Camille Grammer's Porn Past Comes Back To Haunt Her 1,028 Comments PHOTOS: Raven- Symone's Dramatic Weight Loss 531 Comments Bill Murray Crashes Stranger's Karaoke Party 65 Comments PHOTO: Adam Levine Goes Nude 242 CommentsLET'S HEAR IT FOR THE LAURIE BERKNER BAND! ($16.99; Paramount) -- Wildly popular fixture on Jack's Big Music Show, Laurie Berkner pulls together some (but by no means all) of her videos found there and elsewhere on Nick Jr and Noggin. You get 16 songs, intro'd by Moose and Zee with encouragement to get up and dance along, as well as four more music videos. "Rocketship Run," "VictorVito," the hard to argue with "I'm Me and You're You" are some of the cuts included, all of which arecatchy and clever enough to keep parents engaged as well. I'M GONNA EXPLODE ($24.98; IFC) -- This "Mexican New Wave" drama follows two misfit teens who pretend to run away from home but really camp out on the roof of the boy's residence while his corrupt politician father and her easily distraught mother seek them out all over the country. Writer- director Gerardo Naranjo has a pretty good eye and a certain talent for stringing out an entire film fromthis very modest premise, which barely develops more than I've described here. The boy is sexily confused about his life of privilege and the girl is blunt and no-nonsense but we don't know much more about them at the end than we did at the beginning and they certainly don't seem like star-crossed loversa la Romeo & Juliet. Late in the film, when they crash a birthday party and the boy is a boorish drunk, wereally start to question liking him at all. Maybe he is just a spoiled kid. Then the movie lurches into unearned melodrama that's utterly out of step with the previous 95 minutes and they lost me for good. Maybe Naranjo will develop more, but this is a part-boring, part-pretentious Godardian riff.FOLLOW HUFFINGTON POST MY FAVORITE SPY ($24.95; Olive Films/Paramount) -- Olive Films is an imprint that's been diving into the Paramount vaults and rescuing the movies that the studio hasn't released for one reason or another. After months of releases, it's safe to say that Olive is a dependable label. Their movies have noextras to speak of usually (something I personally don't care about, frankly). But the important point isthat they take good care to present a decent print. I wish the price point were lower but they're probably doing what they can to eke out a profit on movies that are curiosities even to most film buffs. So if the movie interests you, rest assured the quality should be fine. This Bob Hope vehicle will hopefully proveone of their best sellers. It's Hope in fine form as a cowardly comic dragooned into the spy business and(growllllllll) happily paired off with Hedy Lamarr. It's all handled ably by Norman Z. McLeod and ranks as one of Hope's solo best. Also out is the Danny Kaye vehicle Knock On Wood , a so-so movie star biopic Harlow , late period Bette Davis in Where Love Has Gone and Kirk Douglas slumming it in the gloriously tacky Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough. TV ROUNDUP TV sets come out in such a deluge, it's hard to keep up. Here's a rundown of the latest. Petty Blue ($19.99; Paramount/CMT) -- This won't interest non-fans, but for people who love NASCAR and know the Petty family legacy, this Kevin Costner-narrated documentary is a fine look at the men who literally made NASCAR from its earliest beginnings to itsheyday with Richard Petty and into the future. The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Set Two ($49.99; Acorn) -- I do enjoy Lord Peter Wimsey (the books are splendid) and Ian Carmichael is good in these three mysteries, all of which are four-parters of 50 minutes each. But since we had this series in a complete (ifbulky and expensive) boxed set, it seems a step back to release them again in multi-set offerings. Anyone who wanted to rent or buy Set One will surely want Set Two and vice versa so why bother doing them alone? CSI Tenth Season ($79.99; Paramount) -- Marg Helgenberger becomes the de facto head of the team even as Laurence Fishburne settles more into his role. You get the usual season- long arc of a serial killer, crossover episodes with the other CSI 's (included in the extras) and the high-tech wizardry that has about as much to do with most police work as Formula 500 racing does to your regular commute. Legend Of The Seeker 2nd Season ($45.99; ABC Studios) -- As so often happens, this show - - based on the much darker Sword Of Truth novels by Terry Goodkind -- started to find its way in season two just as the plug was pulled. A little more action, a little more freedom tohew closer to the books (rather than create standalone episodes) and a realization that this was NOT Hercules or Xena all helped. Not great but fantasy pickings are slim on TV. Magic & Bird: A Courtship Of Rivals ($19.98; HBO) -- Earvin Johnson and Larry Bird comprised one of the great rivalries in all of sports and that's lovingly captured in this look at how the bitterest of on court enemies later become the closest of friends. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Year Eleven ($59.98; Universal) -- Since this L&O has always delved more into private lives, SVU has peaked much sooner than the original and it's time to call it a day. Guest star arcs from Sharon Stone and Christine Lahti onlyemphasize that. Still, Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay give it dignity. Olivia Wilde Dons See-Through Bikini (PHOTOS) Natalie Portman: I Was 'Barely Eating' During... Natalie Portman Reveals Engagement Ring (PHOTOS) 'Sarah Palin's Alaska' NOT Renewed For Second... Pending Comments View FAQSNL: The Best Of Eddie Murphy/Adam Sandler ($14.98 each; Lionsgate) -- New editions of these greatest hits compilations, both with an extra 20 minutes of sketches added in. It's been a long time since they were originally released, still it's a shame the "extra" footagewasn't just included in the first place. But if you're a fan and didn't buy the earlier set, it'spretty much fool proof. If you did buy the earlier set and aren't certain if you should buy it again, ask yourself this question: do you know all the words to The Hanukkah Song?" If so, buy it. ***** Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features topjournalists and opinion makers as guests. It's available free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews. NOTE: Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of DVDs to consider for review. He typically does not guarantee coverage and invariably receives far more screeners and DVDs than he can cover each week. Also, Michael Giltz freelances as a writer of DVD copy (the text that appears on the back of DVDs) for some titles released by IFC and other subsidiaries of MPI. It helps pay the rent, but does not obligate me in any way to speak positively or negatively of their titles. Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz Related News On Huffington Post: Casey Affleck Premieres Joaquin Phoenix Film In Venice VENICE, Italy — A buzz preceded actor Casey Affleck's directorial debut, "I'm Still Here": Was the movie about brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix'sseemingly downward spiral from... Jessica Alba's Pouf & Lanvin Dress: Love It Or Leave It? (PHOTOS, POLL) Jessica Alba stepped out to the Paris premiere of "The Killer Inside Me" on Thursday, looking quite interesting from head to toe. She wore a... Kate Hudson Talks Weight Gain, Spankings, Her Body's Imperfections Kate Hudson opens up about her body image in a new interview in UK's Telegraph, although she does not address her rumored breast implants. Kate... Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba And Casey Affleck Premiere 'The Killer Inside Me' (PHOTOS) Kate Hudson made some camouflaging fashion choices Tuesday night at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of 'The Killer Inside Me' with costarJessica Alba and... More News Posts: « First Prev 1 2 Next Last » Read more from Huffington Post bloggers: Scott Mendelson: 2010 in Review: Favorite Films of the Year Below is a list of fourteen of my favorite pictures that were released in 2010,plus a final nod to my favorite film of 2010. They are not necessarily 'the best,' as there are plenty of allegedly great films that I missed but they are all pretty great. More in Entertainment...Comments 2 0 119 Fans 59 FansWoody Allen fans might be interested in "My Favorite Spy." Allen has often cited Hope as a major influence. In movies like this one, along with Hope'sother "My Favorite" pictures ("Blonde," "Brunette" ) and "Monsieur Beaucaire, " you can see it. With "Sleeper" and "Love and Death," especially , Allen paid homage to Hope's bragging coward who fancies himself a ladies' man--even using some of Hope's physical mannerisms . "Love and Death" is basically a Bob Hope movie for Russian Lit. majors. Haven't thought of the Ellery Queen show since I was a kid. I remember the mysteries being cleverly worked out, but that the character of Queen was yes, "genial," yet not at allcompelling in the way that Levinson and Link's greatest creation, Columbo, was. The showwas more like an amusing braintease r, like a crossword puzzle or a game of chess (love that DVD cover artwork), than a drama. I also recall John Hillerman, one of my favorite character players, being his usual urbane self as Queen's arch-nemes is. Thanks for reading and commenting . You're absolutely right about Woody Allen's love for Bob Hope and how he modeled early roles on Hope's persona. It's also more fun to watch My Favorite Spy than most recent Allen movies. FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ | Contact Us User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type Copyright © 2011 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights reserved. Recency | Popularity 3fingerbrown 07:20 AM on 10/05/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 01:40 PM on 10/07/2010 Permalink | Share itComments are closed for this entry View All

DVDs Ellery Queen Rush Casey Affleck and More

📄 DVDs Ellery Queen Rush Casey Affleck and More

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