This is one of those Tuesdays where the list of movies that I Have-Not-Seen-But-Plan-To-Do-Just-That dwarfs those that I have, in fact, experienced with my own two eyes and do, in fact, Recommends. Looks like you guys aren’t the only ones who have some work to do:
Recommends
The Road (Sony Pictures) — Talk about an unfair bar of expectation. Still, I think John Hillcoat does a more than serviceable job turning Cormac McCarthy’s emotional, poetic crusher of a Pulitzer Prize-winner into a fittingly stark big screen experience. To be blunt, no, watching this movie didn’t come close to rocking my world the way reading McCarthy’s words did—which I can honestly say permanently warped my world view for the sadder—but I knew that wasn’t going to happen (if you really want to watch a movie that captures what it feels like to read The Road, watch Elem Klimov’s Come and See). Though Hillcoat’s The Road is no match for McCarthy’s, I still think it’s worth giving a spin on DVD or Blu-ray, especially to play the “lost in adaptation” game.
Stagecoach (Criterion) — I’m tempted to bump John Ford’s 1939 classic Western to the below list just because it’s been so long since I’ve seen it, but since I have seen it, up here it shall be. This new Criterion release features a new hi-def visual transfer as well as a ton of other goodies. It seems a tad obvious to call Stagecoach essential viewing, but it is, so buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
Have Not Seen But Plan To Do Just That
By Brackhage: An Anthology, Volumes One And Two (Criterion) — My left pinky toe has only skimmed the surface of the ocean that is Stan Brackhage, so this release is especially helpful for me. Buy Volume One and Volume Two on DVD or the 2-Volume Blu-ray Set.
All My Friends Are Funeral Singers (IndiePix) — Buy it on DVD.
Yesterday Girl (Facets) — Buy it on DVD.
Mystery Team (Lionsgate) — Buy it on DVD.
David Cross: Bigger And Blackerer (Sub Pop) — Buy it on DVD.
Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset And Grove Press (New Video Group) — Buy it on DVD.
Owl & The Sparrow (Image Entertainment) — Buy it on DVD.
— Michael Tully