New on DVD

Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law: Volume 3
(Warner Bros. Home Video/Adult Swim; $20.99 at Amazon)

As Adult Swim continues its slow descent into crude potty humor and bland concepts with the likes of Tim and Eric Awesome Show and Saul of the Mole Men, the late night programming block also took the liberty of ending one of their best programs, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. The two-disc set skimps on the special features (no commentaries this time around), but all 12 episodes are essential viewing, and include non-stop laughs from the show’s stellar cast, including Gary Cole (as Birdman), Stephen Colbert (as Phil Ken Sebben and Reducto), John Michael Higgins (as Mentok, the Mind Taker), and Paget Brewster (as the perky and suggestive Birdgirl). Special guest Lewis Black portrays the Deadly Duplicator, who runs the shop Birdman gets his copies from, and Turner Classic Movies’ Robert Osborne stops by to premiere an classic Hanna-Barbera “Birdman” cartoon, which has been skillfully redubbed by the show’s cast. Overall, the set is worth owning simply for the inclusion of the “Sebben & Sebben Employee Orientation” episode, as well as the half-hour final episode, “The Death of Birdman.”

Zodiac
(d. David Fincher; Paramount Home Video; $17.99 at Amazon)

Every time David Fincher gets another film of his released on DVD, it’s always a bare-bones version the first time through. Then, a few months later, a fully loaded 2-disc (or, in the case of Panic Room, a 3-disc set) will emerge, and used DVD stores will soon become flooded with single-disc editions of Fight Club and Se7en. The same goes for Zodiac, which doesn’t even bother to put the usual, fake special features on the back like “Scene Selections” or “Animated Menus.” In fact, its only special feature is a handful of previews for movies that have been out for a while and (get this) a commercial for the 2-disc director’s cut of Zodiac, which will be released sometime next year! It’s sad, really, because Zodiac is David Fincher’s finest effort, and the best movie I’ve seen so far this year, and really doesn’t deserve this “bait and switch” marketing ploy.

Darjeeling Limited trailer!

Wes Anderson is one of the few American filmmakers who can seriously be considered an auteur (others include Fincher, Jonze, Russell, Tarantino, the Coens, and the other Anderson, P.T.), so whenever a new movie of his is announced, it's big news, at least in my book. Well, here's the trailer for his latest endeavor, The Darjeeling Limited, which promises heartfelt comedy, beautiful scenery, and awesome music. Oh, and Owen Wilson. Pretty much everything you've come to expect from Mr. Anderson. Did I mention it was shot in India?

200 "Bad" Comics

The guy over at Nedroid.com recently accepted the challenge of drawing 200 bad comics, and while I haven't made it through all 200, a lot of them are pretty darn funny.

Sorry I haven't been updating as frequently as usual, but there simply hasn't been much to report. Well, I'm off to buy the Zodiac DVD!

A Clunky Hunk of Machinery This Ain't

Michael Bay delivers one of the best excuses to sit in a dark room for three hours on July 4th and that excuse is titled Transformers. I’ve always considered Michael Bay to be one of the best directors of “disposable cinema,” that is, movies that you don’t need to see more than once. But this one just may end up changing my mind. You can’t help but enjoy a movie that dishes out not just the most incredible special effects ever seen, but also takes the time for characters to utter hilariously ‘80s-style dialogue like “You protect the weak. That is why you lose!”

The dialogue belongs to the sinister Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving, who is required by law to appear in every Hollywood blockbuster), and the character he is directing the statement towards is the noble Optimus Prime, voiced by Peter Cullen, who has been voicing the giant Autobot ever since I was born, a casting choice I commend the filmmakers for making. He’s the only guy I can take seriously with lines like “Before time began, there was... the cube.” Oh, that’s right; the reason all this mayhem starts in the first place is ‘cause there’s this cube called the Allspark and…you know what? It really doesn’t matter.

What does matter are the utterly mind-boggling special effects that take place within Transformers’ generous 144-minute running time. All of the transformers are given well-animated human characteristics, and their comedic value is put to good use in a sequence where lead actor Shia LeBeouf makes the Autobots hide in his backyard to keep his parents from seeing them. Robots transform seamlessly into various forms of Chevy vehicles, GPX boomboxes, Nokia cellphones, and even a Mountain Dew machine. As you can surmise, the only thing that is more prominent than the special effects is the product placement. I'd hate to ask Julian Casablancas how much he and the guys shelled out to have LeBeouf wear a Strokes t-shirt for most of the film’s first half.

But while the film’s generous screentime to car companies and cellphone manufacturers does make good fodder for critics to poke fun at, it hardly takes away from the entertainment value of this movie. All of the actors, LeBeouf especially, deliver quality performances, something of a challenge when you’re constantly being upstaged by giant machinery. The action flows pretty evenly throughout the film, and for the most part, Bay does a good job spacing the intense battle scenes with comic relief courtesy of Bernie Mac (as a used car salesman), Anthony Anderson (as a hyperactive computer geek), and John Turturro (as the eccentric head of the top-secret government organization Sector Seven). It all adds up to a great time at the movies and one killer sci-fi epic that will surely set the standard for all that come after it.

P.S.: I have to give J.J. Abrams credit for creating a trailer that almost upstages the movie it precedes. The trailer for his new film should be considered one of the best examples on how to whet the appetite of an audience without giving away any information, not even a freakin' title!

Anime Chimp Receives Live-Action Beating and Other Movie News

Who knew that the monkey from Speed Racer could be obnoxious in real life as well? Only difference is that when you (allegedly) beat up the live-action monkey, PETA comes knocking at your door.

Also, after seeing this screenshot, I'm really excited about the new Wes Anderson film, The Darjeeling Limited. Pictured are Anderson regulars Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, along with one of my favorite actors, Adrian Brody. The film comes out Sept. 29 in NY, Oct. 5 everywhere else.



Thanks to Film Ick and Rushmore Academy for the tidbits.

Why I Hate Soda Contests

Why I Hate Soda Contests
Originally uploaded by devpd

What you see before you is a Coke Rewards code from a fridge pack of Vanilla Coke. As far as I can tell, the code is "4VJM7GNRVHV97VV" but My Coke Rewards.com is telling me that's incorrect.

I remember back in the day when I bought a bottle of soda, the cap would either read "WIN FREE 20oz SPRITE" or whatever, or it would say "SORRY TRY AGAIN." See? Easy! No website to visit, nothing to sign up for, no points to accumulate. Either you won or you didn't!

Anyway, does anyone wanna take a crack at what this code is supposed to be?