agentorange [DVD News 11.03.09] news dvd



Are you ready for a massive list of must-view DVD titles from the last two weeks? Good, let's go!

F. Javier Gutiérrez's apocalyptic Before the Fall (amazon), about a small town in the south of Spain that finds out they have 72 hours before a meteorite destroys the earth. Our Cali correspondent Hal got a chance to see the film and called it a "good exploration of how much we should protect innocence," and I can't wait to finally check it out.


Another film that's been around for a while, but is only now hitting DVD is Dead Air (amazon). About a douchey radio dj who has to deal with a virus outbreak, the film sounds a lot like Pontypool, but I imagine it is far more literal minded.

On the TV front we've got a couple sets worth looking at. The bloody, bestselling Afro Samurai: Complete Murder Sessions (amazon) gets a director's cut and Season 1 of the animated Star Wars: Clone Wars (amazon) is also out this week. sporting a beat up clone trooper, it's certainly going for a war torn look we all like to see from our Star Wars. Me? I'm not so much into the CGI animation style of the show. Bring on the live action show!

That creepy kid movie that nobody thought would do well and then it sort of did, Orphan (amazon), is out on sore shelves. Without having seen it, I'd still say it's probably a renter... or a borrow-it-from-your-friend-that-buys-anything-newer.

One film that's causing all kinds of debate is Sauna (amazon), Antti-Jussi Annila's Finnish horror that's got atmosphere galore. I'm behind on this one too, so I'll be making up my own mind this weekend.

From the good good people at Glass Eye Pix (House of the Devil, I Sell the Dead) and KINO International comes the "Psychedelic campfire tale," I Can See You (amazon). As far as I'm concerned these guys can do no wrong so I'll be damned if I'm missing out on this one. Another slice of way-out cult cinema that comes highly recommended is Who is KK Downey (review, amazon).

Oooh and how can I forget to mention the animated anthology of shorts, [Fears] Of The Dark (amazon). Even though this never quite got the kind of reviews I was expecting, I'm dying to check out eight artists' take on the macabre.

Battle Royale director, Kenta Fukasuku's, new one, X-Cross (review, amazon), is also out today (rejoice!). Apparently the film's action plays out by constantly rewinding to show us what's happening from multiple points of view. Could be mind-bogglingly good. Could be mind-mincingly obtuse. Either way, it's Fukasuku so I'm in.

Last buy not least, two low-budget apocalypse flicks have dropped. The First is Pandemic (amazon) which stars the great Ray Wise, and the second is Contagio (amazon) which has a seriously badass cover, but looks like it can't live up to it unfortunately.

And for our own Marina, we have Il Divo (amazon), the story of the Italian Prime Minister whose somehow been elected 7 times since 1946.

That's it folks. Hopefully you stuck in there and saw some titles worth checking up on. Until next time!

Marina (2 years ago) Reply

Orphan looked great & was enjoyable enough but you nailed it; borrow this one. Sadly I wouldn't even bother with the rental cost. Really looking forward to seeing Before the Fall but damn you know me well, my must purchase for the week is Il Divo. Hope it comes loaded with extras (though I doubt it will).

uncleB (2 years ago) Reply

would have been good enough if they would have stayed with the panic of the populas instead of throwing the killer in with it. WHY? Could have been pretty dismal/GOOD without the killer.

Andrew James (2 years ago) Reply

Don't remember a whole lot about the uber-independent vison of Who is KK Downey, but I do remember having a quite a few laughs throughout the thing. The film makers were at the screening I attended and they were really nice guys and you could tell they were having fun.

As for Fear[s] of the Dark, I was really disappointed. Some of the animation is kind of neat for a few moments, but the narrative was really boring in almost each segment. I don't think I even finished the whole thing. Pretty sure I decided I had better things to do and simply shut it off and never got back to it.

ugh_doom (2 years ago) Reply

SAUNA is one of my favorite horror films of the last 5 years. The atmosphere and originality of the film is top-notch. Blends some great history in too. Highly recommended!

ORPHAN, on the other hand, was forgettable. Definitely a renter.

doug (2 years ago) Reply

I absolutely recommend BEFORE THE FALL, the most original movie in years.

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