SPEND YOUR MONEY!
NEW RELEASES
*Blu-Ray prices are in BOLD BLUE
Dear John $16.99 $22.99
The Road $19.99 $24.99
True Blood: The Complete Second Season $34.99 $44.99
The Lovely Bones $16.99 $24.99
Up in the Air $9.99 $24.99
Nine $15.99 $19.99
Tooth Fairy $15.99 $19.99
Capitalism: A Love Story $9.99 $14.99
Law Abiding Citizen $9.99 $14.99
It’s Complicated $15.99 $22.99
The Men Who Stare at Goats $9.99 $14.99
$10 DVD sale
Public Enemies
The Ugly Truth
Shrek
Terminator: Salvation
$4.75 DVD sale
Wedding Crashers
The Shawshank Redemption
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
Dora the Explorer – Pirate Adventure
TV on DVD sale
The Office: Seasons 2-5 $19.99
Lost: Season 5 $34.99
V: The Complete Series $12.99
How I Met Your Mother: Seasons 1-4 $19.99
True Blood: Season 1 $39.99
Planet Earth $39.99———————————————–
NEW RELEASES
*Blu-Ray prices are in BOLD BLUE
Lost: The Complete Fifth Season $39.99 $44.99
True Blood: The Complete First Season $46.99 $54.99
Dear John $17.99 $22.99
The Road $19.99 $22.99
True Blood: The Complete Second Season $32.99 $39.99
$4.99 DVD sale
Shoot ‘Em Up
Troy
Van Helsing
Godzilla (1998)
Independence Day
BLU-RAY sale
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints’ Day $19.99
Public Enemies $19.99
Toy Story 2 $22.99
2012 $22.99
Inglorious Basterds $24.99
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra $24.99
Avatar $29.99
Video 
K-Mart
Buy Super Mario Galaxy 2, get a $30 Nintendo coupon good on the following Mario games:
New Super Mario Bros. Wii $44.99
Mario Kart Wii (with wheel) $44.99
Super Mario Galaxy $44.99
Mario Party 8 $44.99
Mario Super Sluggers $44.99
Buy Club Penguin Herbert’s Revenge $29.99 , get 50% off one of the following:
Sponge Bob Boating Bash $29.99
Bakugan Battle Brawlers $19.99
Cars Race-O-Rama $29.99
Target
Buy Super Mario Galaxy 2 $49.99+ & save $20 on any other Mario game listed below:
New Super Mario Bros Wii
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
Super Smash Bros Brawl
Mario Kart
Mario Party 8
Best Buy
Super Mario Galaxy 2 + 500 Reward Zone points $49.99
Buy Super Mario Galaxy 2 w/Wii Remote and MotionPlus, get a $20 gift card
UFC 2010 + 500 Reward Zone points $59.99
Toys R Us
Blur w/$10 gift card Tuesday only/Rewards members only
Buy any Xbox 360 console, get 3 free Platinum or Family Hits games
Buy UFC 2010, get 50% off any UFC item (up to $24.99)
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4: Reserve and you can receive 2 Hogwarts
House keychains when you reserve and the other 2 at pick-up (4 total)
Buy a Wii console, get a Mario shirt
Buy Super Mario Galaxy 2, get a $20 gift card (Sunday only) plus save $15 when you buy the game and the guide
Buy 1, get 1 $20 off select games (all platforms)
Splinter Cell Conviction
Skate 3
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Split/Second
Shrek Forever After
Toy Story Mania
Spongebob Boating Bash
Prince Of Persia
Just Dance
Press Your Luck
Red Steel 2 (Game only)
Iron Man 2
Hasbro Family Game Night 2
The Price Is Right
2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa
Family Feud
Mario & Sonic Winter Olympics
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
Ah My Buddha: Nirvana Collection
Air Gear: The Complete Series
All Creatures Great And Small: The Complete Series 6 Collection (Slim Packaging)
All Creatures Great And Small: The Complete Series 7 Collection (Slim Packaging)
All My Friends Are Funeral Singers
All’s Well End’s Well Too 2010
Armored Fleet Dairugger, Collection 2
Babysitter Wanted (One-Disc Standard Edition)
Babysitter Wanted (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Bleach, Vol. 28: The Arrancar
Bottom Land (Facets Limited Edition)
British Cinema Collection: Old Mother Riley
By Brakhage: An Anthology, Vol. 2 (The Criterion Collection)
City Of The Living Dead (Special Edition)
Classic Literature: Jane Austen (Kultur)
Classic Literature: The Bronte Sisters (Kultur)
Classic Literature: Charles Dickens (Kultur)
Classic Literature: Thomas Hardy (Kultur)
Classic Literature: D.H. Lawrence (Kultur)
Classic Literature: William Shakespeare (Kultur)
A Cold War Spy Collection: The Glory Boys/The Contract
Costa Rican Summer
Dany Laferriere: Films From A Poet’s Imagination – How To Conquer America In One Night/On The Verge Of A Fever
David Cross: Bigger And Blackerer
Dear John
Digimon Data Squad, Collection 2
Finale
Flamenco From A To Z (Kultur)
Flashpoint: The Second Season
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Pt. 1
Gaogaigar: Season Two Collection
George Gently: Series Two
Goth
The Great Epochs Of European Art: The Art Of The Renaissance, Baroque Art And Rococo Art (Kultur)
The Guild: Season Three
Hell Girl: The Complete First Season (S.A.V.E. Edition)
Hoarders: The Complete Season One
I Know What I Saw (The History Channel)
In The Footsteps Of Alexander The Great (BBC)
Jack Smith And The Destruction Of Atlantis (Arthouse Films 012)
Kamikaze Hearts (Facets Limited Edition)
Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Fox, Vol. 1 – Sexy Like A Fox
Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple: Season One
Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple: Season Two, Pt. 2
Leverage: The 2nd Season
Love Games (Mya)
Manhunt: The Complete Series
My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story
Mystery Team
NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt – 10 Greatest Wins
National Geographic: American Serengeti
New Town Killers
Obscene: A Portrait Of Barney Rosset And Grove Press
Owl And The Sparrow
Raices Torcidas
Rain Fall
The Road
Royal Pains: Season One
Sandok (Mya)
72 Tenants Of Prosperity
The Shadow Within
Silver Lode
Someone’s Knocking At The Door
Stagecoach (The Criterion Collection)
Submission Of A Woman (Mya)
Sunsets
Superpower
Supersonic Man/War Of The Robots (Double Feature)
Tell Tale
True Blood: The Complete Second Season
Tweeny Witches: Core Collection
UFC 111: St-Pierre Vs. Hardy
Ultimate Machine Girl
The Virginian: The Complete First Season (Limited Edition Embossed Collector’s Tin Packaging)
Voyager (1991 Movie)
Waiting For God: Season Five
Waiting For God: The Complete Collection
What’s Underground About Marshmallows? (Facets Limited Edition)
White Wall
The World Of Buckminster Fuller
BLU-RAY: IT’S GETTING CHEAPER
Babysitter Wanted
Beyond Sherwood Forest
By Brakhage: An Anthology, Vols. 1 & 2 (The Criterion Collection)
City Of The Living Dead
Class Of Nuke ‘Em High
Dark Nature
Dear John
Django
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Flashbacks Of A Fool
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Pt. 1
It Waits
Merlin And The Book Of Beasts
National Geographic: American Serengeti
The Road
Seven Swords
The Shortcut
Spartacus (50th Anniversary Edition)
Stagecoach (The Criterion Collection)
Tell Tale
Tromeo And Juliet (Unrated Director’s Cut)
True Blood: The Complete Second Season
White Wall
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
Stone Temple Pilots
“Between the Lines” and “Take A Load Off” should reassure listeners that not much has changed since the glory days of the 90’s. Given that Wieland’s lyrics often reinforce his reputation as a bit of a jerk (to put it nicely), I love the story that the rest of the band won’t even stay in the same hotel with him: makes me feel less guilty about how gleefully I succumb to their big dumb guitars (and with Oasis out of the way, there’s plenty of room for more Big Dumb Guitar bands).
　
THE WAGES
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
BUY IT AT AMAZON!
OK, full disclosure: I haven’t heard the whole album yet. But the online samples, plus the endlessly rewatchable video for “Clap Your Hands” sent me to check out the Rev’s back catalog, and this is some pretty great shit: Peyton’s a big, black-bearded Bluto with a down-home howl that you’d think came straight from the Delta (in fact, he’s a Hoosier) and who plays bluesy acoustic slide with the kind of intensity you associate with electric players like Buddy Guy. The “big damn band” includes a drummer who plays a plastic five-gallon tub, with rhythm duties handled on washboard by Peyton’s wife; they’re sort of the pre-electric version of Southern Culture on the Skids. Peyton’s also got a bit of Patterson Hood in him, which is good—his songwriting is sharp on topics like “Can’t Pay The Bill,” “Walmart Killed The Country Store” and “Your Cousin’s On Cops”—but also not so good, in that he hasn’t got a Cooley or Isbin or Tucker to vary things a bit, and like Hood, his melodies and voice can get a little wearying over the course of an entire album. But at the very least, youtube that video.
　
INTERPRETATIONS: THE BRITISH ROCK SONGBOOK
Bettye Lavette
BUY IT AT AMAZON!
It’s not that surprising that it took Lavette’s career so long to take off: she knows how to belt, shriek and groan, but great material for voices like hers doesn’t come readymade. That’s why it took the efforts of genius blues producer Dennis Walker to finally shape Lavette’s persona on the classic A Woman Like Me, but that hasn’t sustained– particularly on her last album, the heavy-handed Scene of the Crime, where Patterson Hood and Drive-By Truckers abandon all subtlety and join in the histrionics. Too many of the song selections on this album seem to have been chosen principally for the interpretive challenge they present to an American black woman in her sixties, so that she tends to nail the obvious ones (“Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?”, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”), and leave you shaking your head at others (“It Don’t Come Easy,” “Nights in White Satin”). On balance, though, there are enough surprises on choices like “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Isn’t It A Pity,” and “Wish You Were Here” (!) to make the album worth at least forty minutes’ of your time; you’ll have to decide about the fifteen bucks.
　
JASMINE
Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden
BUY IT AT AMAZON!
Whether you regard “Jarrett the artiste” as a genius or an annoyance, Jarrett the pianist is a formidable talent who is at his best when paired with someone like bassist Haden, whose genius is unquestionable. He settles Jarrett down for one of the most ruminative sessions I’ve ever heard from him, and the duo produces one of those rare recordings that make it clear why “love songs” remain at the core of musical expression. It’s been over thirty years since they recorded together, but every note conveys a shared purpose that belies that separation: melodic without being predictable, intimate without being sleepy. It’s one thing to bring something fresh to an unfamiliar tune like Peggy Lee’s “Where Can I Go Without You?”, but at this late date, there’s no reasonable explanation for the appearance here of a definitive version of something as well-worn as “Body and Soul”… well, except for genius.
　
Other Notable 5/25 Music Releases
Hank Williams III, Rebel Within. Bloodlines are the only reason I can think of for this guy’s singing to be making inroads where Steve Earle never could; if anything, his phrasing is even less imaginative and more affected. That said, recommended to people who think that, in alt-country music, sincerity’s more important than smarts.
Smashing Pumpkins, Teargarden By Kaleidyscope 1: Songs for a Sailor. I read the press release for this… artifact… and couldn’t think of much to add. I quote: “The packaging is a silk-screened wooden box (7 ¼” tall x 8″ wide x 1.05″ thick). Each box will contain: a 4-song CD which will have 4 new SP songs and instrumental intros, a 7″ vinyl single containing one NEW song plus b-side, and a hand-carved leopard stone obelisk, about 2’ tall, similar to marble.” Whoa–“instrumental intros,” AND it’s similar to marble? Clearly a steal at thirty bucks.
Marina And The Diamonds, The Family Jewels. International hit “Hollywood” finally makes it Stateside (I’ve been hearing that “oh…my…god!” bit on ringtones for what feels like a year now), and it’s still bugging me that I can’t place the synth riff (Duran Duran? OMD?). Elsewhere, she’s passionate about not being a robot, obsessive about having obsessions, and does better Kate Bush than Tori Amos ever dreamed of. Spiffy pop for smart people.
Leela James, My Soul. The retro cover design, and move to Stax, would suggest that this is the latest in the “Ann Peebles Fan Club” series, but James’ singing has none of Sharon Jones’ modulation or restraint, and there’s no Dap-Kings in evidence: the tunes are bland, and the arrangements are pretty perfunctory, ranging from hip-hop lite to an anonymous Motown groove. Nothing even approaches the razor sharp rhythm or intricate horn charts that make Jones’ albums so much more than the sum of her voice.
Widespread Panic, Dirty Side Down. Most of the ideas in the songs here would have difficulty sustaining themselves for three minutes, much less the five and six minutes plus the band devotes to them. Which is where the expert playing comes in. Recommended groove: “Visiting Day.”
Darrell Scott, A Crooked Road. Considering that I first heard this guy covering Steely Dan, there’s clearly a more cosmopolitan view at work than is typical for a lot of rootsy folk guys. His original stuff has always felt hit-or-miss for me, and I’m wondering how well it’ll sustain over twenty tracks. But if only half of them really hit, that’s more than most albums released this week will deliver.
Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King, Have Blues Will Travel. Really, the title’s pretty much all you need to know: if you like your blues on the raw and rocking side, here’s this week’s dose.
Krokus, Hoodoo. These guys once released a Greatest Hits album where half the songs were cover versions, which suggests that even their fans don’t find their songwriting particularly interesting. But if it’s been too long since you heard someone cover “Born To Be Wild,” then here y’go.
First Aid Kit, Big Black & the Blue. “Gotcha!” album title of the week: nobody here is black, or particularly big, and none of the music is blues. First Aid Kit are a pair of blond sisters from Sweden who sing in tight folkie harmony and write lyrics like “love is tough / time is rough” and “I was hushed by my shame.” Recommended to Fleet Foxes fans who are getting impatient.
Modern English, Soundtrack. If this band meant anything to you in 1982, go for it. I was listening to Marshall Crenshaw, myself.
VIDEO GAMES
section by: Justin Clark and SCOTT!
SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2
Nintendo
Wii
5/23
MSRP: $49.99
CLICK TO BUY FROM AMAZON!
It really, I mean REALLY, says something about how much we all suck that fat Italian plumber’s fat Italian sausage that despite being trapped on a system that no one under the age of 65 still plays on a regular basis, despite the only marginal upgrade from previous iterations, and despite the once rewarding, intrepid challenges posed by this series replaced by a hand-holding, pussified series of tutorials (and this new game is apparently more guilty of it than the first), a new Mario game is still very much a big deal. A new Mario platformer, in particular, still elicits an instant Pavlovian response of WANT from the gamer brain.
Course it helps that Nintendo still polishes these things to a high shine, and are still the best damn platformers money can buy. Still, it is both pleasing and disappointing in equal measure that we have not outgrown these games to force Nintendo actually innovate rather than twenty years of tweaks.
UFC UNDISPUTED 2010
THQ
360, PS3, PSP
5/25
MSRP: $59.99
It really shouldn’t have taken as long as it did to get a decent mixed martial arts game out in the market (and no, oldschoolers, Pit Fighter DOES NOT COUNT), but UFC’s 2009 flavor was just what the doctor ordered in that respect. The new edition doesn’t add much, and doesn’t really need to, as Undisputed was an incredibly tight, in depth experience, true to its license. What it does seem THQ fixed is the training, and the showmanship aspect when you’re not in the ring, which was the one area THQ’s WWE games have the one up by their very nature. Is that worth $60, though?
BLUR
Activision
360, PS3, PC
5/25
MSRP $59.99
CLICK TO BUY FROM AMAZON!
About a month ago, this game would’ve been the game to beat in terms of arcadey racers go, but releasing on the heels of Split/Second is going to highlight every single damn one of Blur‘s flaws: namely the Project Gotham realism streak the game exudes when the powerups aren’t involved, which was keeping the demo from being as amazing, loose, and fun as it could be. There isn’t a flat out wrong choice between the two games. It all depends on how much you want to keep yourself tethered to the un-awesome limitations of reality.
MODNATION RACERS
Sony
PS3, PSP
5/25
MSRP: $59.99
And yet, a little further down the rabbit hole than Split/Second is ModNation Racers, Sony’s answer to Mario Kart, focusing on players doing the dirty work in terms of track and character creation. Applying the LittleBigPlanet ethos to a racing game isn’t a bad thing (and it’s a feature the Wipeout series should’ve adopted several games ago), but the jury’s still out as to whether the core gameplay is worth the trouble to begin with.
OOOOHH: ON THE DLC TIP
SPLINTER CELL CONVICTION: INSURGENCY PACK
Xbox Live Arcade, PC
5/27
800 MS pts
The first batch of Conviction DLC has come, bringing 4 new maps for the co-op Deniable Ops missions, with a cool 250 Achievement points to be earned along with them, bringing the total time needed to experience everything the latest Splinter Cell has to offer up to a solid 45 minutes.
ROCK BAND TUESDAY
Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill ($15.99/1280 MS pts)
· War Nerve
· Drag the Waters
· 10’s
· 13 Steps to Nowhere
· Suicide Note Pt. II
· Living Through Me (Hell’s Wrath)
· Floods
· The Underground in America
· (Reprise) Sandblasted Skin
$1.99/160 MS pts per track
OK, deep breaths. It’s not Vulgar Display of Power. Let’s move past that fact. Let’s focus on the good. Flood, which is considered by many Dimebag’s best solo, is on this album. Knowing Harmonix, this is only the first wave of music from that band. And, hey, let’s not pretend this couldn’t be worse. Much fucking worse.
Course, if you still wanna complain about the lack of Cemetery Gates, Walk, or Five Minutes Alone, no one will blame you.
THE WEEK OF MAY 25th 2010
GROUP EDITED by: TROY ANDERSON
DVD/BR SECTION by: Troy Anderson
THE ROAD
Director: John Hillcoat
Weinstein Company / Sony
CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!
Special Features
- Director’s Commentary
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- The Making of The Road
- Theatrical Trailer #1
- Theatrical Trailer #2
The Road was a great novel. Cormac McCarthy has written many great novels and a few people have tried to adapt them. John Hillcoat has been riding on the strength of The Proposition. They were two great flavors that were supposed to merge into something greater than themselves. What happened was a year’s worth of delays, bad word of mouth and a final edit that left out several key moments of the novel. Sure, Viggo Mortensen busted his ass to make the film hit those few key character points. It’s just that this film wasn’t the book that grabbed readers by the coccyx.
STAGECOACH
d. John Ford
CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!
Special Features
Stagecoach is one of the best road movies made for the silver screen. Sure, this was the first Ford/Wayne team-up, but the film is about more than that. The Ringo Kid was one of the lesser John Wayne roles, but you could see Wayne developing his onscreen persona. A lot of younger viewers will mistake that boldness for American jingoistic bullshit. What it did mark was the golden days of America’s greatest artform. It’s funny how a video game can make people revalue the Western. If you can walk away from the XBOX for more than three hours, I’d recommend picking this flick up.
DEAR JOHN
d. Lasse Hallstrom
CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!
-
Deleted and Alternate Scenes
Alternate Ending
Outtakes
A Conversation with Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried and Lasse Hallstrom
Transforming Charleston
Military in Movies: Dear John’s Military Advisors
Mr. Tyree, The Mule, and Benny Dietz
The Story of Braeden Reed
Dear John is a story about a soldier finding love. When 9/11 happens, he marches off to become a faceless human shield for corporate interest. It’s Nicholas Sparks, so you can follow the formula tree to figure out the complete story arc. The film is adequate, as Amanda Seyfried is becoming a reliable lead. What is more disheartening is director Lasse Hallstrom slumming it with this sort of material. I get the humor in trying to make a sweeping teen romance about 9/11, but Hallstrom should be above this kind of stuff. There’s a drinking game to be developed out of this bitch.
TRUE BLOOD: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
c. Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer and Sam Trammell
CLICK HERE TO BUY IT AT AMAZON!
Special Features
-
- The Vampire Report (Special Edition): Check out the past year’s biggest
stories in vampire news, politics, and popular culture in the special
edition of The Perspective with Victoria Davis
Fellowship of the Sun: Reflections of Light: Rules to live by with Fellowship of the Sun leaders Steve and Sarah Newlin
Seven audio commentaries with the cast and crew, including Alan Ball,
Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Michelle Forbes, Alexander Skarsgard,
Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, and many more - The Vampire Report (Special Edition): Check out the past year’s biggest
True Blood is
a decent show that I keep trying to really dig. Alan Ball is a creator that creates shows that I’m supposed to love. However, he’s got the subtlety of Stanley Kramer dropping a Cleveland Steamer on the AIDS memorial quilt. The show’s still got some cool kills and character moments. More importantly, this is the season when the action starts to move outside of Bon Temps. Even more important than that, Anna Paquin shows over her amazing rack. BUY IT NOW!
NETFLIX INSTANT VIEW (POURING THE DIRT INTO BLOCKBUSTER’S GRAVE)
New movies to watch instantly
New TV to watch instantly
4 comments
I would like to second the "Stagecoach" recommendation. I watched this for the first time last week and I was blown away by it. The movie is streaming on Netflix if you can't shell out for the Blu-Ray.
I buy Blu Rays, but there is no way the increase in picture quality can't justify the price difference of the Up in the Air DVD $9.99, Blu Ray $24.99.
Blu Ray will never be more than this generation's laserdisc.
Troy, I am left wondering if you have actually seen The Road. If anything, it is one of the most faithful adaptations of book to film. There is nothing lost in translation. If anything, it is bleaker than the book, which I DO love. The book has a lot of fat. For example, the same conversation between MAN and BOY takes place over and over in the book. The film gives us a few examples. We also get just the right amount of cannibal encounters. Perhaps not the ones you wanted to see, but they do exist. I worry you haven't even seen the film.
Hi!
I haven't seen the film since late last year, so maybe time is coloring my opinion. I didn't feel that the film was that close to adapting the book. I didn't find it to be bleaker, but I wasn't looking for that.
The work between Viggo Mortensen and the child actor (whose name is escaping me) was solid. But, everything outside of that felt choppy and unfocused.
Justin Clark's got a review of the DVD coming up, so we'll have to get his take on it for a third opinion. I'll sit down with the Blu-Ray soon enough and I'll chime in as well.
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