First and foremost, here's the DVDs I've reviewed for DVD Talk since my last update:
The Ultimate Pink Panther Collection
The Women (2008)
The Longshots
Paris Je T'Aime
Garden Party
Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan
Brave New York/Sway
Victor Borge Classic Collection
Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music
Here's the movies and docs I looked at in the last month or so; not a great bunch, really. I don't think any got any higher than the weak-ish "Recommended" rating. That Pink Panther box is a good $200 on Amazon, though, so getting that for free (in spite of how many of the weak Panther flicks are in it) was pretty cool.
The Wire: The Complete Series
Freaks and Geeks: Yearbook Edition
Saturday Night Live - The Complete Fourth Season
Home Movies 10th Anniversary Set
Live From Abbey Road: The Best of Season 1
As I mentioned earilier, watching discs for review ending up being mighty time-consuming this month, thanks to the inevitable holiday box sets. All of the above TV sets (with the exception of the slim Live From Abbey Road set) are ones I would have liked to have purchased anyway, so it's cool to get them for free-- especially The Wire set. That review was a bitch to write, but I think the time I took (and pressure I imposed on myself to get it right) paid off; this is probably the piece I'm happiest with so far at the Talk.
Frost/Nixon
The Wrestler
Che
Milk
Nothing But The Truth
And here's the ones I've reviewed theatrically, through a combination of seeing things right away and having a marvy wife who gets screeners at her cool job. All are worth seeing, but Frost/Nixon and The Wrestler are probably on my 10-best list for the year.
Doubt
So is John Patrick Shanley's searing, beautifully executed adaptation of his award-winning play, performed to the hilt by Meryl Streep (in one of her finest and most memorable performances), Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. The dialogue is terrific, the subtext is thick and tangible, and it's got atmosphere to spare; my only real complaint is with its very last beat, featuring a line that even Streep can't quite sell. Aside from that (very minor) quibble, this is a terrific picture.
It's A Wonderful Life
Bad Santa
Every Christmas, I try to watch both of these movies; as far as I'm concerned, the present the yin and yang of holiday flicks (we're still gonna try and watch another Christmas fave, the original Die Hard, before the holidays are out). This year we watched the "director's cut" of Bad Santa which, contrary to the norm, is actually shorter than the original theatrical version. It's a little darker (dropping the opening narration and getting a little more graphic during a murder scene), and loses some entire scenes, both for the better (I was never crazy about the scene where he tries to teach the kid to box, due mostly to the lame-ass crotch-punching) and for the worse (the running bit with the advent calendar is missed). An interesting (slightly tighter) alternate version. As for Wonderful Life, well, it totally wrecked me this year; I don't know if I'm just getting more sentimental or if that's a film that gets richer as you get older, get married, etc. Either way, Jesus, what a great goddamn movie.
The End.