SPEND YOUR MONEY!

NEW RELEASES

*Blu-Ray prices are in BOLD BLUE
 
Leap Year                                                   $17.99   $22.99
The Tooth Fairy                                          $16.99   $24.99   
Nine                                                            $17.99  $22.99 
Iron Man: The Complete Animated Series    $19.99
X-Men: Volume 5                                        $17.99

IT’S A MOTHER’S DAY SALE!

Up in the Air                                                                $9.99   $19.99
The Devil Wears Prada                                                $12.99 
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past                                             $12.99
The Proposal                                                               $14.99   $22.99   
Couples Retreat                                                           $14.99   $19.99
It’s Complicated                                                           $19.99   $24.99
Love Happens                                                               $14.99   $19.99   
The Princess Bride                                                         $12.99 
The Ugly Truth                                                               $9.99   $19.99
Sex and the City                                                             $12.99 
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel                      $14.99   $19.99
Sherlock Holmes                                                            $12.99   $14.99  
True Blood: Season 1                                                      $39.99

$12 DVD Sale

The Blind Side                                
The Time Traveler’s Wife                                            
Julie and Julia          

$4.99 DVD Sale

Steel Magnolias
Roman Holiday
August Rush
West Side Story

$14.99 TV on DVD DVD Sale

Giada at Home: Season 3
Sex and the City: Seasons 1-6
I Love Lucy: Seasons 1-2
The Real Housewives of Orange County: Season 1

$18.99 TV on DVD Sale

Glee Vol. 1
Army Wives Season 3
The Big Bang Theory Seasons 1 and 2
Grey’s Anatomy Seasons 3 and 4         

———————————————–

NEW RELEASES

*Blu-Ray prices are in BOLD BLUE

Wrestlemania 26                                         $17.99   $24.99
Leap Year                                                   $17.99   $24.99
The Tooth Fairy                                          $17.99   $25.99   
Nine                                                            $17.99  $25.99 
Saving Private Ryan                                     $19.99 
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel    $9.99    $14.99 
Iron Man: The Complete Animated Series    $24.99
X-Men: Volume 5                                        $19.99

MOTHER’S DAY SALE

The Devil Wears Prada                                           $4.99
Maid of Honor                                                        $4.99  
A Walk to Remember                                             $4.99  
Baby Mama                                                            $4.99 
Mamma Mia                                                           $9.99   $19.99
Confessions of a Shopaholic                                    $9.99   $19.99
My Sister’s Keeper                                                 $9.99   $24.99   
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button                     $9.99  $24.99 
Julie and Julia                                                          $9.99   $19.99
The Proposal                                                          $14.99   $24.99   
The Invention of Lying                                              $14.99 
Couples Retreat                                                       $24.99

BLU-RAY SALE

To Kill a King                                              $6.99
Stan Helsing                                                $6.99   
Way of War                                               $6.99
Van Helsing                                               $14.99
Creepshow                                                 $9.99
The Haunted World of El Superbeasto         $6.99   
Doomsday                                                  $14.99 
12 Monkeys                                               $14.99
House of Wax (2005)                                $9.99
Army of Darkness                                      $14.99
Righteous Kill                                             $9.99
Bram Stoker’s Dracula                                $9.99

Video Game Sales Update

Target

Assassins Creed 2 $30
Alien Vs Predator $40
Just Cause 2 $50
Call of Duty: MW2 $50

Best Buy

Nintendo DSi (white, with free Mario and Luigi game): $169.99
Picross 3D $19.99
Zhu Zhu Pets $24.99
Petz Nursery $19.99 (other selected Petz games also on sale, $19.99)
NBA 2K10 (360, PS3): $39.99

THIS WEEK’S DVD REVIEWS at CHUD

Did you miss a review this week? A lot of titles go unnoticed during the hectic news days around the site.

Click here to discover some of the latest DVD reviews.

THE REST OF THE DVDs THIS WEEK

According To Jim: The Complete Second Season
Bloodmyth
The Blue Tooth Virgin
California Dreamin’
Chelsea On The Rocks
Cold Storage
College Boys Live
Dark Nature
Darker Than Black: The Complete Series
Dirt: Season Two
Doctor Who: Story 61 – The Curse Of Peladon (BBC)
Doctor Who: Story 73 – The Monster Of Peladon (BBC)
Doctor Who: Story 86 – The Masque Of Mandragora (BBC)
Doctor Zhivago (Anniversary Edition)
Dogora
Dragon Ball: Season Four
Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box Z, Vol. 3
The Dukes
Edgar Allan Poe’s House Of Usher (2008)
The Facts Of Life: The Complete Fourth Season
Fallen
Fallen: The Beginning
Fallen: The Destiny
The Giant Panda
Greek Pete
Hamlet (BBC 2009)
Hellbinders
The Honeymooners Specials: Second Honeymoon
The Honeymooners Specials: Valentine Special
Iron Man: The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series
Iron Man: Armored Adventures – The Complete Season One
Jessica Sinclaire’s Confessions Of A Lonely Wife
Leap Year
Little Bear And The Master
Makoto Aida: Cynic In The Playground (New People Artist Series 005)
Man Vs. Wild: Season Four
Marcus Welby, M.D.: Season One
Mars Rising
Matinee
Meadowoods
Miyamoto Musashi: The Ultimate Samurai (5-Film Collector’s Edition)
Monsters Resurrected (The Discovery Channel)
Mother’s Day Massacre
The Muse
National Geographic’s Most Incredible Photos
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
Nine
No Time For Sergeants
On The Road With Charles Kuralt, Set 2
Paper Covers Rock
Penn And Teller: Bullshit! The Complete Seventh Season
Perfect Combination
Play The Game
Preacher’s Kid
Race To Mars: The Complete Mini-Series
Robin Hood: The True Story (The History Channel)
Rock ‘N’ Roll High School (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)
Rozen Maiden: Complete Series Box Set
The Sanctuary
Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980s
The Secrets Of Jonathan Sperry
Slasher
The Strange Case Of Delfina Potocka: The Mystery Of Chopin (Tony Palmer)
Suburbia (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)
Sweet Teen (Mya)
Tekkaman Blade: The Complete Collection
Tetro
Tokyo Sonata
Tooth Fairy
Tracey Ullman’s State Of The Union: The Complete Second Season
20th Century Fox Studio Classics, Set 7
20th Century Fox Studio Classics, Set 8
20th Century Fox Studio Classics, Set 9
UFC 110: Nogueira Vs. Velasquez
Valentina Igoshina Plays Chopin (Tony Palmer)
Vampegeddon
Vandread: The Ultimate Collection
The Whitest Kids U’Know: The Complete Third Season
WWE: WrestleMania XXVI
X-Men: The Animated Series, Vol. 5
You’re Under Arrest: Full Throttle, Collection 2

BLU-RAY: IT’S GETTING CHEAPER

Chelsea On The Rocks
Clamp Double Feature: Tsubasa The Movie/xxxHOLiC The Movie
Dirty Dancing
Doctor Zhivago (Anniversary Edition In Book Packaging)
The Dukes
Elektra (Director’s Cut)
Escape From L.A.
The Giant Panda
Hamlet (BBC 2009)
Leap Year
Nine
Preacher’s Kid
Saving Private Ryan (Paramount Sapphire Series)
Seven Swords
Tetro
Tooth Fairy (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)
Tsubasa: Season Two
Tsubasa: Collected Memories
WWE Royal Rumble 2010

VIDEO GAMES

section by: Justin Clark and SCOTT!

IRON MAN 2
Sega
360, PS3, Wii, PSP, DS
5/4
MSRP: $59.99

CLICK HERE TO BUY!

You’d think Marvel might have learned a valuable lesson by now and not let Sega handle their properties, after both the first Iron Man game and The Incredible Hulk both failed at…well, most things, And yet, here we are, two years later, with a game that seems almost impressive in its complete ignorance of why the first game was sensory molestation. True believers, if you really need that proper Iron Man fix on a gaming system, do the right thing: Wait.

OOOOHHH: ON THE DLC TIP

ZENO CLASH: ULTIMATE EDITION
Atlus
Xbox Live Arcade
5/5
1200 MS pts

Zeno Clash is a first person Streets of Rage-style brawler RPG punk fantasy partially inspired by Hieronymous Bosch. Roll over that specific combination of terms in your head a few times, then go download it. PC gamers had nothing but love for this thing last year when it released through Steam, and this Ultimate Edition is a sincere attempt to bring the weird to console gamers in as pretty a package as possible. It’s an acquired taste, the voice acting needs work, and the price tag’s is on the border of steep for the impulse buy, but the rewards are pretty substantial.

RAYSTORM HD
Square Enix/Taito
XBox Live Arcade, Playstation Network
5/5
$14.99/1200 MS pts

Raystorm was one of two big name hardcore shooters of the last couple of console generations I completely missed the boat on (and you have no idea the regret I have that Radiant Silvergun‘s the other game), so Square Enix taking the time to pretty this one up for the HD era is a treat. That said, once again, the price tag is kind of a sticking point. By comparison, the far superior, far prettier, and far longer Ikaruga and Rez HD can be had for $5 cheaper. Inflation eats ass.

ROCK BAND TUESDAY

No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom: The Deep Cuts
($14.99/1200 MS pts; $19.99/1600 MS pts for The Complete Album [includes Spiderwebs, Excuse Me Mr. Just A Girl, Sunday Morning, and Don’t Speak])

• Happy Now? +
• Different People +
• Hey You +
• The Climb +
• Sixteen +
• You Can Do It
• World Go Round +
• End It On This +
• Tragic Kingdom +

Orianthi – According To You +
Picture Me Broken – Dearest (I’m So Sorry)*

+-Available for Lego Rock Band
$1.99/160 MS pts per track
*–99 cents/80 MS pts

I am thoroughly convinced that the DLC from the last few months has all been part of some insidious plot on the part of Harmonix to de-age me until I’m fat, awkward and 15 again. And then, they will send their assassins. That’s the only explanation for how much they’ve been hitting the bullseye in terms of the tracks that quite simply “take me back”. Unlike last week’s Silverchair track, though, there’s no guilt in this whatsoever. Tragic Kingdom’s aged remarkably well. It’s still an incredibly fun album to listen to and, if the 5 singles already released as DLC are any indication, to play. Though, I’m pretty sure I have a sweat silhouette still melted into the back of my couch from the first time I played Excuse Me Mr.

If there’s any doubt at how well constructed that album is, though, the two straggler tracks this week should provide a nice basis for comparison. Both of them are pseudo-angsty self-obsessed girl rock, although the Orianthi track at least gets a point or two for being catchy as hell and at least having something interesting for the guitarist to do.

MUSIC

section by: Jeb Delia

FORGIVENESS ROCK RECORD

Broken Social Scene

CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!

Calling this band “unfocused” rather misses the point; and to say they’re “all over the map” actually suggests the rather spacious, adventurous enterprise that is BSS. No matter, it’s time to toss out those stale characterizations, anyway: this is their tightest, most tuneful, together, and… well, focused… album yet. “World Sick” is pure epic joy for an opener, and what would once have been Side 1 continues in that vein, with a theoretical Side 2 darkening with “Ungrateful Little Father” (aka “motherfucker,” a nice Jagger-like touch) and the ethereal “Romance to the Grave.” Just when you think that “Water in Hell” will continue the bleak tone, the track kicks up a sprightly jig on its way out, and you can then spend the next few weeks re-listening as the lyrics give up their secrets.

HEAVEN IS WHENEVER

The Hold Steady

CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!

“Heaven is whenever we get together / sit down on your floor and listen to those records.” My first thought, when I heard that, was “people still listen to records?” And then remembered my vinyl fetishist nephews… what goes around. The departure of keyboardist Franz Nicolay maybe moves this band a half-block further off E Street, and the resulting beefed-up guitars are actually a plus. Still in place is the nostalgic romanticism that echoes predecessors like Garland Jeffreys, Willy DeVille, or David Johansen (not to mention you-know-who): heroic cityscapes, messy Catholicism, those kids in the street, and the notion that just getting that kiss is a goal, and a triumph, in itself. Their best yet? Just might be. “You can’t kiss every girl / You gotta trust me on this one.”

 

TOGETHER

New Pornographers

CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!

A leadoff track that manages to evoke the sheer dizzy rock and roll joy of both early Cheap Trick AND Sparks? Must be New Pornographers time. Like Broken Social Scene, they make the most out of being a (somewhat smaller) musical collective, rather than a “rock group,” and with guests ranging from members of Okkervil River to the Dap-Kings, it’s the typical NP blend of everything that once made listening to the radio a transcendent experience: there was a time when you flipped on the dial to hear Leslie Gore rub against The Rolling Stones, Roger Miller, and The Beach Boys, and that’s what the New Pornographers evoke: they even throw Yes into the mix on “Your Hands (Together)”, only it’s a lot more fun than Yes ever was. I can’t even pick a favorite: I adore Neko’s “My Shepherd,” crack up to Dan’s sly vocal on “Silver Jenny Dollar,” and can’t get enough of the whistling chorus to “Crash Years,” but it’s aural bliss all the way.

 

THE COMPLETE REPRISE RECORDINGS 

Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim 

CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!

Forget “Ring A Ding Ding” and what you may think you know about “The Girl From Ipanema.” This intimate 1967 session is unlike anything Sinatra recorded before, or since. It’s whispered romance, a soft ocean breeze, the taste of fine liquor on the tongue, the scent of a lover close at hand, and the bittersweet tang of regret set against a golden beach sunset; in short, one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. The remastering doesn’t add much to the already gorgeous sound, but this reissue for the first time includes the additional ten tracks that Sinatra and Jobim recorded a year later. If you only know the original release, the second set is somewhat less compelling, but it does have a few classics, including “Wave,” the recording of his that Sinatra used to listen to over and over again to recapture the lowest notes he ever hit. Honestly, even if you think you hate Sinatra (and, let’s face it, the guy was something of an asshole), you owe it to yourself to experience this album at least once.

Other Noteworthy 5/04 Music Releases

Godsmack: The Oracle. I’m willing to accept that they’re just big fans of Alice in Chains, not blatant copyists, because I’m a charitable sort. You may be less generous.

 

Deftones: Diamond Eyes. I’ll admit that I just don’t hear anything special about this band, but people whose taste I respect tell me I’m full of shit on that, so if you’re one of those people… well, here’s the new Deftones album!

 

Court Yard Hounds: Court Yard Hounds. Turns out that 66% of the Dixie Chicks actually sound a lot like 100% of the Dixie Chicks.

 

Asia: Omega. Hmmm. I thought this was a reunion album. Turns out not only did they record their reunion album two years ago, I actually listened to it. And I can’t remember a damn thing about it, except that it was expertly played.  

 

Minus the Bear: Omni. I used to think that studio hacks like Toto or Michael McDonald might have been tolerable if they’d had this band’s sense of humor, but the wacky song titles seem to have disappeared this time. Which leaves the perfectly credible, and somewhat generic, indie pop.

 

The Flaming Lips And Stardeath and White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins And Peaches: Dark Side Of The Moon. THE album of the week I’m most curious to hear; mostly because Pink Floyd usually puts me to sleep, while Henry Rollins never has.

 

The Temptations: Still Here. Sonofabitch. They ARE still here. And they’ve found Autotune.

 

Tonic: Tonic. The chunky guitars used to make the hair-metal harmonies sound credible. Reversing that ratio isn’t the direction I’d have chosen, but I’m not the one with the platinum albums.

 

Mike Patton: Mondo Cane. The other new album I’m dying to hear: Popular Italian songs? With an orchestra? If this turns out to be his Scott Walker move, that would be just about the best thing ever.

         

Josh Ritter: So Runs the World Away. Poetical and historical in a way that Paul Simon would understand. It even rocks ever so slightly, but whenever it does, Ritter starts filtering his voice as though he’s embarrassed by such low-rent shenanigans.

THE WEEK OF MAY 4th 2010

GROUP EDITED by: TROY ANDERSON

DVD/BR SECTION by: Troy Anderson

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Director: Steven Spielberg
Paramount/Dreamworks

CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!

Special Features

• Featurettes

Saving Private Ryan comes to Blu-Ray for the first time. Well, it’s here. The special features include some updated featurettes and a lot of material cobbled together over the past few DVD releases. All of which was seemingly upgraded to HD. The battle scenes hold together, but the grime and dirt in the transfer seems weird at 1080. However, the Omaha Beach landing and the sticky bomb sequence are the definition of reference quality audio. I get to hear tons of Blu-Rays a month, but this disc sports the best audio presentation on any Blu-Ray released thus far.

NINE
d. Rob Marshall

CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!

Special Features

Nine makes me under the concept of epic fail. Taking a popular Broadway show based on an international classic and turning it into this is a failure. What is this film if it isn’t anything more than a director truly not grasping the material. Whether it’s Chicago or Memoirs of a Geisha, Rob Marshall has proven that he’s a Point A to B guy. If the studio tells him to throw in some Oscar bait original songs, he’ll make it work. If he needs to deal with cast changes, he can do that. But, what he can’t do is make the action onscreen compelling. Things happen and people are left to absorb it. This is the death of dynamic cinema.

HAMLET (2009)
d. Gregory Doran

CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!

• Commentary by Gregory Doran, Sebastian Grant, and Chris Seager

• The Making of Hamlet

Hamlet has been done to death. But, David Tennant makes the role his own as he plays against the powerful Claudius. Patrick Stewart is no slouch either, as he plays the ghost of Hamlet’s father and the evil uncle. What makes this release stand out for me is how it’s such a clear shot across the bow regarding Tennant. The guy is huge in England, yet he remains on the periphery in America. Hopefully, more Americans will see him in this and realize that he’s a superstar in the making.

NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS
c. Andy Griffith, Nick Adams, Murray Hamilton and Don Knotts

CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!

Special Features

• Nothing