Ironically, we kick off today’s Inauguration Day edition of DVD Best Bets with Alexander Payne’s dark comedy Election. Proving that dirty politics is not necessarily the preview of adults, Election stars Reese Witherspoon as an ambitious, straight-“A” high school student who is determined to become the student body president. Matthew Broderick is the guidance counselor who thinks she needs to be taken done a few pegs. With great performances from the film’s lead, Election is a film that has unjustly been overlooked by many.
For some, Peter Jackson’s three-hour update of the classic giant monster film King Kong may be a bit long. If it isn’t too long for you, then you may be happy to know that this BluRay release contains not only the theatrical version, but the 20 minute longer extended cut of the film. Either way, it is hard to deny that, like Lord Of The Rings, this film is a real labor of love.
MGM: When The Lion Roars is a fantastic documentary that charts the rise and eventual decline of one of the Golden Age of Hollywood’s greatest studios. A great primer on the history of the studio, it starts with MGM’s founding, it’s quick rise to the status of a major player in Hollywood under the stewardship of Irving Thalberg and then its eventual decline as the entire studio system disintegrated.
On the face of it, Repo! The Genetic Opera looks like a film that is trying a bot too hard to be a cult movie. In the future, mankind finds itself plagued by a mysterious rash of organ failures, forcing them to turn to the Geneco corporation for artifical replacement parts. However, if you don’t keep up with your payments, the company will send out men to repossess your replacements if you default. I haven’t seen this one myself, but word of mouth has been fairly positive. Just that fact that Buffy The Vampire Slayer‘s Anthony Head has a lead role in this is enough to make me want to get a copy for myself. (If you’ve never heard him sing the part of Frank N’ Furter from The Rocky Horror Show you’re in for a treat.) This title also be available on Blu-ray.
A film fan since he first saw that Rebel Blockade Runner fleeing the massive Imperial Star Destroyer at the tender age of 8 and a veteran freelance journalist with twenty-five years experience writing about film and pop culture. He is a member of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle.
