Another kind of lackluster week, though there are a few solid releases in here. The Instant Watch selection is particularly slim, but there’s a good chunk of films slated for the first of the month, as usual, so look for that next week to offset all the expirations that I’ve already started listing in this week’s post. There are a bunch of Warner Archive releases hitting DVD-R this week, enough that I separated them out. If you’re not familiar with Warner Archive, they’re releases of older films from the Warner Bros. vault that are burned on-demand when you order them – these are films that don’t have enough demand to put out full DVDs, but Warner makes them available this way for collectors and movie buffs. I wish they’d just throw them on Netflix Instant and be done with it, but until they go for a streaming option of some sort, this is the best/only way to get them.
New Release Picks of the Week
The Adjustment Bureau
This film came out to mixed reviews, but I quite liked its mixture of romance and science fiction, especially thanks to the chemistry between Damon and Blunt. Not as cerebral as one might’ve wanted, but a solid little thiller.
2011 USA. Director: George Nolfi. Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt.
Amazon DVD | Amazon Blu-ray | Netflix
Happythankyoumoreplease
I skipped this one due to what looked like excessive quirky indie-ness (I mean, just look at that poster), but I do love Josh Radnor on How I Met Your Mother, and I’m still kinda curious about his directorial debut.
2010 USA. Director: Josh Radnor. Starring: Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan.
Amazon DVD | Amazon Blu-ray | Netflix
OTHER NEW RELEASES
Cedar Rapids (2011 USA, dir Miguel Arteta, stars Ed Helms, John C. Reilly; Blu-ray/Netflix)
The Eagle (2010 USA, dir Kevin Macdonald, stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell; Blu-ray/Netflix)
Ceremony (2011 USA, dir Max Winkler, stars Uma Thurman, Michael Angarano; Blu-ray/Netflix)
Unknown (2011 USA, dir Jaume Collet-Serra, stars Liam Neeson, January Jones; Blu-ray/Netflix)
Elektra Luxx (2010 USA, dir Sebastian Gutierrez, stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Carla Gugino; Netflix)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011 USA, dir David Bowers, stars Zachary Gordon; Blu-ray/Netflix)
Harvest (2010 USA, dir Marc Meyers, stars Robert Loggia, Barbara Barrie; Netflix)
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders (2008 USA, dir Mark Hopkins; Netflix)
Orgasm, Inc. (2009 USA, dir Liz Canner, stars Ray Moynihan, Leonore Tiefer; Netflix)
Classic Pick of the Week
Kiss Me Deadly Criterion
One of the all-time iconic noir films gets a much-deserved Criterion release, and with a great pulp-fiction cover to boot. I’m plunking down money for this as soon as I have money to plunk down.
1955 USA. Director: Robert Aldrich. Starring: Ralph Meeker, Cloris Leachman, Gaby Rodgers.
Amazon DVD | Amazon Blu-ray | Netflix (not Criterion)
WARNER ARCHIVE TITLES
Advance to the Rear (1964 USA, dir George Marshall, stars Glenn Ford, Melvyn Douglas)
Don’t Go Near the Water (1957 USA, dir Charles Walters, stars Glenn Ford, Gia Scala)
Flight Command (1941 USA, dir Frank Borzage, stars Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, Walter Pidgeon)
Honeymoon Machine (1961 USA, dir Richard Thorpe, stars Steve McQueen, Brigid Bazlen, Jim Hutton)
The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962 USA, dir Richard Thrope, stars Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss)
See Here Private Hargrove (1944 USA, dir Wesley Ruggles, stars Robert Walker, Donna Reed)
Toward the Unknown (1956 USA, dir Mervyn LeRoy, stars William Holden, Lloyd Nolan)
OTHER CLASSIC/OLDER TITLES
Eclipse Series 27: Raffaello Matarazzo’s Runaway Melodramas (1949-55 Italy, dir Raffaello Matarazzo, stars Amedeo Nazzari, Yvonne Sanson)
Poison: 20th Anniversary Edition (1991 USA, dir Todd Haynes, stars James Lyons, Scott Renderer; Netflix)
Priest of Love (1981 UK, dir Christopher Miles, stars Ian McKellen, Ava Gardner; Blu-ray/Netflix)
The Romantic Englishwoman (1975 UK, dir Joseph Losey, stars Michael Caine, Glenda Jackson; Blu-ray/Netflix)
Seven Keys to Baldpate (1917 USA, dir Hugh Ford, stars George M. Cohan, Anna Q. Nilsson)