Following is a list of notable horror-related DVD and Blu-ray releases from 2011. A "best" list for horror can be a tricky proposition, given the spectrum of styles and degrees of intensity in the genre. Classic chiller fans may not care a whit about the latest gut-spiller, while gore aficionados may roll their eyes at a Depression Era spookshow. But the following eleven titles showcased here stood out, and therefore, were the best in our opinion, because they met two important criteria: they were distinguished by the quality of their stories and/or direction, whether stylish, unrelenting or inventive, and (most importantly) they were scary.
Here's our alarming eleven, in no particular order:
-- Island of Lost SoulsDirector Erle C. Kenton's outrageous 1933 adaptation of H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau makes its long-over DVD debut with this deluxe presentation from Criterion. Seventy years have not dampened the film's queasy blend of pre-Code perversity and sadism in the name of Science, as embodied by Charles Laughton as a supremely arch Moreau, as well as Kathleen Burke's hot-blooded Panther Girl and Bela Lugosi's tormented Sayer of the Law. Extras include interviews with director John Landis, makeup legend Rick Baker and Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale of Devo, whose "de-evolution" manifesto was influenced by the film. An absolute essential for horror fans of all ages and preferences.
The new obsession of mine is celebrities speaking in anything other than English, even if it's their native tongue. So that clip that circulated a while back of Bradley Cooper doing an interview in French was watched many times (is it just hard for us to believe that good-looking famous people can also be bilingual?).
After watching Friends With Benefits (which I wholly recommend), I saw this clip of a press conference in Moscow where Justin Timberlake is asked why he chose to do the movie (the context, according to People, is that he's asked why he chose movies in general). While he's still receiving the translation in his earpiece, co-star Mila Kunis (who was born in the Ukraine) sass the reporter with "Why? Why not? If he can do it, why shouldn't he? What kind of question is that? Why are you here?" to much laughter in the room. Watch below. --Ellen
And by the way here's that Bradley Cooper interview in French:
Cowboys and Aliens may have won the weekend box office, but it was a photo finish: Sunday's estimates had it tied with The Smurfs for the top spot. In the end, Cowboys eked out the win with $36.4 million over the Smurfs' $35.6 million, and Cowboys star Harrison Ford had something to say about the little blue people on Conan this evening. --Ellen
If you haven't seen this clip circling yet, check out this little Comic-Con surprise prior to the "Spider-Man" panel, then watch Andrew Garfield, aka the new Spider-Man, get choked up at the honor of inheriting the webbed mantle. --Ellen
Put Taylor Lautner in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa during the NFL lockout, and you have Field of Dreams 2. At least according to this FunnyOrDie.com video (keep an eye out for some special cameos):
Happy Star Wars day everybody! You know, May the 4th.... May the 4th Be With You... (May the Force Be With You) nyah nyah nyah.
Now that we've had some distance from the end of the saga, I'm rethinking how I feel about the six films in the saga in order. Most anybody with some iota of Star Wars passion wlll agree that Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) is the best, and A New Hope (Episode IV) is number 2, with The Phantom Menace (Episode I) and Attack of the Clones (Episode II) duking it out for the bottom. (We would be remiss not to mention that the entire saga is pre-orderable on Blu-ray, as well as Episodes I-III and Episodes IV-VI separately).
So where would you rank yours? Here's my stab:
1). The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V): There are many, many reasons why this dark second "original" chapter without a happy ending is the best of the bunch, not to mention possibly the best sequel of ALL TIME. Here are a few of them: Tauntauns; the battle on Hoth; the introduction of Yoda; the Han-Leia sparring/romance; "Do, or do not. There is no try"; the asteroid field; the light saber duel, and the MOTHER OF ALL PLOT TWISTS. It's actually the first one I ever saw (yes, I was late to the game) and decades later, still awe-inspiring. Shoot, I may have to watch it again when I get home.
2). Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV): Even if, it turns out, we live in a world where Han didn't shoot first (depending on which version you stick with), this is still awesome, even if Luke's whiny lines have accumulated more unintentional laughs over the years ("But I was going over to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters"). There are two very minor quibbles I have with how this movie held up: Knowing how it all turns out, the whole Luke-crushing-on-Leia thing is just gross now, and after all of Lucas' editing, he still hasn't excised that blooper with the Storm Trooper bonking his head in the doorway.
3). Return of the Jedi (Episode VI): This is a little controversial, because I know the anti-Ewok sentiment is huge, but I rank this above Episode III because there are so many cool things about this installment: The forest speeder chase, the final lightsaber duel, finally seeing what Anakin looks like, the Endor battle, the pit of Sarlaac battle, Jabba the Hut, the cool new green lightsaber... also, despite this being a sci-fi movie there was so much more emotion in this one. (If you doubt me, flash back to Natalie Portman crying in labor and Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader going "NOOOOOOO" in Episode III. Now you have a frame of reference.). Also, I just really liked Luke being more badass and zen than whiny and impudent. I also thought the Ewoks were cute. Yes, I'm a girl.
4). Revenge of the Sith (Episode III): This one is easy. There is no contest that Episode III is the best of the prequels, because that honor was not very hard to achieve. As a standalone film, it has its flaws ("Hold me like you did by the lake on Naboo"). But the arc of the saga guaranteed this to be the best before it was even made, as well as the darkest: Anakin's even killing the wee Jedi, for crying out loud! I walked away from the theater feeling like I was more or less satisfied, but years later I'm not remembering as much of it even though I own it and have watched it several times. The awe-inspiring moments are few, and Anakin's turn to the Dark Side was never gradual nor plausible enough for me. I get it, the kid's mad about his mom, but still. (Side bonus: This one has Wookiees.)
5). The Phantom Menace (Episode I): This was really hard. This was like Sophie's Choice. Which was worse? Jar Jar (Ep. I) or frolicking in the grass (Ep. II)? That Padme's shirt can be nearly ripped off with one movement (Ep. II), or Jake Lloyd's "yippee!" (Ep. I)? Don't hold me to this choice 'cause it could change the next time you ask, but I think about Liam Neeson (more than usual), the desert pod race, the Darth Maul double lightsaber vs. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn duel (which years later, is still like, a top-two lightsaber duel), and some really remarkable visuals, and subtract Jar Jar Binks, the very strange accents done by nearly everyone including Amidala, the political parts of the plot I still cannot explain to anyone. Does this equal a positive integer? Sorta. Maybe a little. Barely.
6). Attack of the Clones (Episode II): I'm going to preface this by saying that I think Hayden Christensen can actually act (see: Shattered Glass, which he is fantastic in). I have this need to qualify him all the time because people will always judge him by Star Wars, unlike Natalie Portman, who was already established as a respectable actress and came out of this saga with her dignity intact. I will even find myself defending the movie Jumper, which was not good, but I find it watchable. BUT ANYWAYS... my point is, neither of them can act in this movie. Yes, this is a great disservice because of the writing being so bad. The directing (the romantic parts) is bad. There are some good action scenes in here, and I like the whole segment where Obi-Wan goes to the rainy planet (Seattle) and witnesses the clone army. (There is also a very good outtake with Jango Fett dancing with an umbrella/falling off the wing on the bonus features. The outtakes for this movie are overall much better than the other movies, so I guess that's a plus. Watch below.). I was sorely disappointed in the forbidden love story, and there was no plot. At the time I saw it in theaters I really liked Yoda unleashing the can of whoop-ass on Dooku, but now I find all that a little weird too. Maybe Yoda should have just stayed a puppet.
Anyway, that's my opinion. Would love to hear yours! -- Ellen
Priest (dir. by Scott Charles Stewart): This much we can gather from the three trailers available for this movie. Paul Bettany, Hollywood's go-to Albino-Religious-Action Star (see The Da Vinci Code, Legion, this movie), belongs to an order of priests-slash-kickass-protectors battling vampires. He has a fellow priest buddy (Karl Urban) captured by the vampires and is now an evil vampire cowboy (already wondering if the trailers have revealed too much). Bettany's niece is kidnapped and so he goes out with a gun-toting guy in a bomber jacket (Cam Gigandet) and a fellow kickass priestess (Maggie Q) to rescue her, with an arsenal of cross daggers that do pretty cool things to these weird faceless vampire creatures. (Aside from Urban, the vampires don't appear to be the good-looking ones we know today). All the while Christopher Plummer, a head priest guy, insists nothing is wrong (clearly, he is also evil). (May 13)
The Help (dir. by Tate Taylor): Based on Kathryn Stockett's bestseller, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are perfectly cast as stoic Abilene and feisty Milly, two maids in 1960s Missipppi who dare to tell their stories of life as "the help" and the white women they work for. Emma Stone (Easy A) plays Skeeter, the aspiring journalist who compiles the interviews, and Bryce Dallas Howard is the villanous Hilly, who does her best to uphold segregation. Beloved novel-to-film adaptations have struggled in the last few years (Eat Pray Love, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), but relative unknown director Tate Taylor is getting his shot, and it's a big one. (Aug. 12)
Something Borrowed (dir. by Luke Greenfield): A popular chick-lit novel, this one by Emily Giffin, follows modest Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) and glamorous Darcy (Kate Hudson), two lifelong best friends with a problem: Rachel's longtime crush Dex (Colin Egglesfield) is engaged to Darcy. Not just that, Rachel sleeps with Dex after one drunken birthday party. Nobody's really the victim here, but regardless of who's side you're on, note that Giffin wrote a follow-up novel, Something Blue, that tells some of the story (and what happens after) from Darcy's perspective. Just from the trailer, Egglesfield needs to turn up the charm a little bit to be worthy of all this feminine attention; John Krasinski (The Office) fills the Confidant role. (May 6) --Ellen
While watching the bonus features for You Again (full disclosure, yes, I watched it, and yes I enjoyed it more than I thought) I came across this Funnyordie.com clip in which Kristen Bell gets into an ugly argument with her fellow cast members Betty White, Odette Yustman, and Sigourney Weaver. And while White has stolen the show in most everything she's been in lately, it's Weaver who easily takes this one. Watch her stare down Bell in a "who's the bigger star based on box office" standoff, and start shouting the names of all her financially successful films ("AVATAR! ALIEN! GHOSTBUSTERS!... WORKING GIRL!") and then get a little desperate ("TADPOLE! ... 1492: THE DISCOVERY! ... HEARTBREAKERS!... GALAXY QUEST!") but still finish off-screen long after she's left ("... AAAVATAAR!") --Ellen
Simon Pegg & Nick Frost, the duo behind Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, and the upcoming film Paul, do their take on C-3PO and R2D2 on Tatooine for Collegehumor.com. Pegg (3PO) is notably good at those 'Droid tweets. --Ellen
Happy Star Wars day everybody! You know, May the 4th.... May the 4th Be With You... (May the Force Be With You) nyah nyah nyah.
